Every Adventure is Worthwhile - Pressed Foliage

 School is back in session across most of the US, and that means that fall is right around the corner. The hot summer days will begin to cool and in many places the leaves will begin to change.  I wish we had more of that here in Southern California, but we pretty much go from green leaves to dead leaves and miss the beautiful fall colors. I guess that's why I love them so much!

One of the new stamps for fall from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous is called Pressed Foliage. It is reminiscent of the Nature's Wonder stamps from last fall, but the sizes and details are different. I think they pair together beautifully though and would recommend getting them both if you can. 

 For the base of this #8 Etcetera Tag (or the one I call the Tiny Tag) I covered it with my Distressed 3-D wood Grain paper technique. Here is the video I made describing this technique.

Back in February and March I was really into this technique and so I made a whole bunch of wood grain with various colors of Distress paints and stains. Then I covered Etcetera Tags, Vignette Trays, cards, anything I could get my hands on. LOL.
I had this #8 tag in my tray of backgrounds that I make throughout the year and that I save for when I am creating projects. I thought it would be the perfect way to showcase these amazing stamps.

Let's talk about these amazing stamps.  I stamped them all with Distress Ground Espresso Archival Ink on Distress Mixed Media Heavystock.  I am going to say it again, the paper you use makes a HUGE difference! Distress Mixed Media Heavystock was developed to let Distress Inks and Oxides do what they do best. So that is why it is one of my "go-to" papers. It's really not that expensive and it is well worth it to do it right from the beginning and not have the frustration that often accompanies other papers.

Once I had all the leaves stamped, I used my Distress Inks and Distress Markers to watercolor the leaves. Dry in between each color. Then once you are happy with the color, fussy cut them out and ink the edges.
Then I did one last thing to try and add to how real these leaves look. I gave them all a light covering of one of  my favorite things, the Distress Resist Spray!  I LOVE Resist Spray!

When it is dry, the Resist Spray somehow gives the Archival Ink a raised look adding to the feeling of reality.  Additionally it gives the leaves a sheen like many of them have naturally. These stamps are so beautiful!
I finished this piece off with one of the sentiments from Nature's Wonder.

I can see these leaves being used on so many things for fall decor, place settings, tablescapes, cards, gift wrap....so many possibilities.

Thank you for taking a peak at this tag and as always, I hope you found something to inspire you,
Tami

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