Fall into Fall: Elizabeth

We don't know about you, but here in the Studio we're ready to push aside the blazing sun and leap, or perhaps just gently fall, into the beautiful colors of Autumn and the happy treats of Halloween.  We hope you will join us as we do just that over the next few weeks.

Halloween designs are a brewin' on my art table.

For me, this design was all about the journey.  My approach for this card was to play with different mediums, colors and layers without having a specific card layout in mind.  When it comes to Halloween, I tend to shift from clean and simple white space to full on color.

To begin, I stamped "Witchy" on white cardstock with Onyx Black VersaFine ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I colored the image with Copic markers and fussy cut the image.

I knew I wanted some sort of sentiment, but not as a separate stand alone element so I incorporated my greeting into her broomstick.  The sentiment from "Best Witches" was stamped on white cardstock and cut by hand into a shape that would work with the handle of the broom.  I wasn't too particular on the coloring.  I used the same colors I used in her dress, but mottled the colors when applying them.

The background is where most of my journey occurred.  Other than knowing what color tones I wanted, I had no expectations of how I wanted the finished piece to turn out.  With that being said, I grabbed a rectangular piece of white cardstock and started covering it with clear gesso.  To quicken the process, I dried the gesso with my heat gun.  Then I started splashing Grumbacher watercolors all over the piece.  It was fun not worrying about being precise or the fear of muddy colors.  I just went for it.  There was a certain point that the colors "spoke" to me and I knew it was time for a background pattern.  After seeing how the colors turned out, I knew the perfect backdrop would be "Parade of Squares" which was stamped in Midnight Blue StazOn.  I loved the effect.  Almost like she was standing in front of a wrought iron gate.  One final layer of matte gel medium sealed the colors and allowed me to distort some of the stamping.

To finish the card base, I figured if she was standing in front of a gate then there should be some trees in the distance.  Black cardstock stamped with Peaceful Moment in Onyx Black VersaFine and heat embossed with clear powder gave that effect.  To make it even more mystical and to add a touch of fog, I randomly rubbed Wedding Dress Memento Luxe ink over the embossing.

The layering is pretty straightforward and you will be able to tell from the picture how I matted the pieces.  There is 3M Scotch Foam Mounting Tape beneath the witch and the white cardstock mat.

Oh, and for her magical locket a tiny spot of Crystal Stickles.

Penny Black Supplies:  Witchy 40-553 (by Mo Manning), Parade of Squares 40-568, Peaceful Moment 40-569, Best Witches 30-131

Stayed tuned to find out if Jill's next design is filled with fall foliage or Halloween magic.