Autumn Leaf A Collage by Lynne Moncrieff

Hello

I cannot explain my fascination with leaves, whether real or in stamp form. Although I probably have enough leaf stamps to last me through all of Autumn, I continually find myself pulled towards them, so it was inevitable that the Tim Holtz Pressed Foliage set would be calling me.

Supplies

Tim Holtz Cling Stamp Pressed Foliage
That's Crafty! Pearl Inks: Antique Gold, Black, Tree Bark
That's Crafty! Medium White Gesso 
That's Crafty! Multi-Purpose Craft Adhesive
That's Crafty! Surfaces MDF Panels 6" x 6" Pack of 3
Archival Ink Designer Series Potting Soil
Extras: rag/watercolour paper, rusted washers, sewing machine, walnut colour thread, various eco dyed papers.

Instructions

To begin, onto the rag/watercolour paper panel, I first randomly applied Gesso, I am not interested in covering the complete panel, this will result in more interesting effects once the Pearl Inks come into action.

Opening up the three colours of Pearl Inks, using a watercolour brush, I first spritz the paper with water, focusing the water on the middle area of the paper.  I then dip the brush into the Pearl Inks, starting with Black and Tree Bark, allowing the colour to diffuse, manipulating with the brush or more water if necessary. While this is wet, Antique Gold was then applied. The paper was left to dry flat, air drying allows the colours to settle and I prefer the effect compared to forcing to dry with a heat tool.

The Antique Gold brings a wonderful touch of Autumn to the collage. With the same brush, splatters of the Pearl Inks were added.

Rooting around my box of (extensive!) scraps of eco dyed papers, I found some rice papers which I  layered with a torn piece of rag/watercolour paper which had been stained with Pearl Inks (leftover from a previous project). Layering them together, I took them to the sewing machine to machine stitch.

Then, in another large box of rusted elements, I selected three rusted washers (I rust items at the same time as the eco dying process). They bring balance to the composition and also, that rusty tone is wonderful for Autumnal projects.

With Potting Soil ink, a leaf was stamped onto more eco dyed rice paper. The same colour could be achieved with a diluted wash of the Pearl Inks in Tree Bark mixed with Black.

To bring texture to the stamped leaf and to adhere to the background panel without the use of adhesive, the leaf was machine stitched.

A fragment of rusted rice paper, added to the lower corner of the stamped leaf panel, once again brings balance to the composition.

The collage was then adhered to a That's Crafty! MDF Panel, size 6" x 6".

Thank you again for taking the time to visit this post.

Kind Wishes
Lynne