Watercoloring - Right as Rain

More Fall Fun with Penny Black

Hello! I returned to a card design I used in July and adapted the formula for the Penny Black 31-264 Joyful Fall stamp set. This is the third card I have made with the set. You can see the other cards HERE and HERE.

- Stamp the Penny Black 31-264 Joyful Fall image (Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp) onto watercolor paper and color. Once dry, cut with the coordinating die (Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp).
- To create the frame, cut Lawn Fawn Speckled Eggshell cardstock (Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp) with the Penny Black 51-422 Stitched Square & Circles die set, using the 4-1/2″ square die. Use a circle die in the Penny Black 51-551 Stitched Circles set to cut a circle from the square.
- Dry-emboss Taylored Expressions Sweet Basil panel with the now-retired Fun Stampers Journey Changing Seasons folder. (I created the embossed panel while organizing my embossing folders, which I outlined in this post.)
- Use a circle in the Penny Black 51-422 Stitched Square & Circles die set to cut an inner mat from the Sweet Basil for the assembly.
- Stamp the Penny Black 30-283 Happy Snippets sentiment and cut with a tag die (I used one from My Favorite Things).
- Add the girl and sentiment to the prepared base.

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Penny Black | Jumping into Fall

Hello! I used another image from Penny Black’s new Joyful Fall stamp set, released in September, for this fall card. The girl jumping into a pile of leaves captures a simple autumn pleasure. I watercolored the image, then paired it with a Penny Black frame die (51-815 All-in-One Oval) and a dry-embossed background (Taylored Expressions Cloudy Days) for added texture. The sentiment, also from the Joyful Fall set, has a matching die for easy cutting.

See my first card with this stamp set HERE.

Affiliate links are used when available at no extra cost to you.
Penny Black 31-264 Joyful Fall stamp set Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp

Penny Black 52-068 Joyful Fall cutout die Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp

Penny Black | Joyful Fall

Hello! Penny Black’s new Joyful Fall stamp set, released this month, includes four girl images, and I chose one of them for this fall card. It was just the thing for a low-energy, low-bandwidth day. Die cutting often involves lots of decisions and product choices, but with this image, I could sit down, watercolor first, and worry about the card design afterward.

Once the painting was finished, I framed it with a Penny Black die set and added texture with woodgrain cardstock and a stamped knit cable background (now-retired MFT Knitted Sweater background stamp). I stamped the background panel while writing this post. The overall card size is 4 1/2″ square.

Affiliate links are used when available at no extra cost to you.
Penny Black 31-264 Joyful Fall stamp set Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp

Penny Black 52-068 Joyful Fall cutout die Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp
Penny Black 51-816 All in One Hex/Octagon die Scrapbook.com | Simon Says Stamp

Penny Black | Autumn Boots

Hello! One of my resolutions this year is to craft more seasonally and to watercolor more often. I’m trying to be intentional about both, using the seasons as a reason to reach for stamps and supplies I already own and giving myself more opportunities to practice watercoloring. This fall card brought those two goals together.

Today, I am sharing a fall-themed watercolored card. For this card, I used the Penny Black Autumn Boots stamp (introduced a few years ago). I stamped the image with Archival Watering Can ink and watercolored it with Tombow markers and Distress inks. After the image dried, I used an A2-size die to cut it. Next, I stamped the image onto masking paper, fussy-cut the masking paper, and covered the image with the mask before adding ink for the ground and sky. The detailed design made the masking more challenging than I expected, and the background was only partly successful. To complete the sky, I added ink with my paintbrush.

The process reminded me that I should first watercolor the background before I watercolor the image.

For the sentiment, I used a newer Penny Black stamp set with a coordinating die, which made adding the sentiment stress-free.

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Fall Is in the Air: Cards to Celebrate the Season

Fall is in the air. You can see it everywhere right now. Magazine covers are filled with cozy fall meals, autumn decorating, and pumpkins. And while fall technically lasts for months, it feels like such a short season when it comes to crafting. Before we know it, we’re thinking about Christmas cards. I want to embrace fall while it’s here.

This roundup is all about non-Halloween fall cards that feel like fall. Click on the photo to visit the original post for additional details. Please note: some of the products used may no longer be available. This roundup is intended to provide inspiration rather than serve as a current shopping guide.

I use these roundups as a visual roadmap for my own crafting. Seeing everything together helps me remember what I already own, spot supplies I’ve forgotten about, and identify the things that might be worth adding to my collection.

The pumpkin is instantly recognizable as seasonal. In these die-cut designs, a whimsical house for a squirrel, a cozy home for woodland creatures, and the focal point of a card with florals.

There’s something especially appealing about imagining how woodland creatures might enjoy fall. A wagon ride with pumpkins or a cozy spot to curl up turns familiar autumn motifs into charming little die-cut scenes.

I also love fall cards that make me feel like I could step right into the scene. These watercolored designs do that, one a porch scene featuring a cat and dog and the other a pickup loaded with seasonal goodies. Both capture the atmosphere of the season.

Fall has a wonderful richness that translates beautifully to cardmaking. For me, that’s part of the appeal of fall cardmaking: to capture the warmth of the season before it disappears. I am looking for ways to include cozy textures and the fall color palette in my choices of cardstock, embossing folders, and patterned paper.