Watercoloring - Right as Rain

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.

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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.

Penny Black | Thanks a Bunch

Hello! This card features one of the Penny Black Flower of the Month offerings, Dainty Daisies and Hand-Picked. A tag on the pitcher includes the “Thanks a Bunch” sentiment. I stamped and watercolored the floral elements and the pitcher. Once dry, I cut them with their coordinating die sets (Dainty Daisies cut-out and Hand-Picked cut-out). The elements were placed on a tone-on-tone background (Enlightened) cut with a shaped die (Graceful Stackers) to give the design extra interest without competing with the flowers. The result is a simple, fresh card that feels like a little bouquet of gratitude.

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Art Impressions | Loungin’ Linda

Hello! I’m back with another card that combines a watercolor image from Art Impressions with one of the coordinating pre-printed backgrounds. After using this approach on a gardening-themed card, I wanted to try it again with Loungin’ Linda. The beach scene does much of the work of creating a setting, while Linda adds the personality. I cut the sentiment with a circle die and positioned it so the circle extends off the top edge of the card, creating a partial sun that covers the sun printed on the background.

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