CHANGING SEASONS with LEAVES

 While many might automatically think of Fall or Autumn, since these new products were released in July, my mind automatically went to all four seasons which we have here in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Spring is a long-awaited season.  It is the season when leaves appear on our naked cold wintering trees, and these leaves are the hope we long for that winter is over.   The leaves of Spring are often a light, but brilliant green not found in other seasons.  Its as if God has saved this color just to get our attention and celebrate.

The leaves of summer are full bodied green.  The leaves are far more than foliage on our trees, they are protection and safe havens for our birds and small critters, and are the sign that our trees are alive.

The leaves of  in the Fall or Autumn in the Northern Hemisphere change colors, depending on the amount of light from the previous season.   And while the Fall signals another big change is coming, you can't help but enjoy this change from green to a variety of colors.

                                

When Winter comes along in November or later and often lasts through April, the leaves have fallen away, so there are no leaves on the trees then. I imagine if any were to remain they would be frozen, covered in snow or frosty.

TECHNIQUE #1 - REVERSE EMBOSSING WITH INK ON WATER COLOR PAPER

The products I used are: Water Color Paper 4x6, Embossing Machine, Embossing folder, clean water, ink for leaf color, another ink for background color, water painter or paint brush. Note that the ink doesn't have to be the realistic leaf color  (Old Olive or Granny Apple Green for the leaves. Blueberry Bushel for the background)

On a 6x6 or 4x6 piece of water Color Paper, emboss the leaves with the Embossing folder, but don't include the die.   On the DEbossed side of the leaves - that's the imprint that is lower or down in from the background of the design - drop a few drops of clean water, then with a water painter or small brush paint brush, add a small amount of ink from your ink pad or from the re-inker bottle that you have created a puddle of ink with.   When you add the ink to the drops of water, it will flow as you move it slowly around the leaf, making sure to stay within the embossed leaf shape.

Dry with a heat tool. 

With background color ink pad.  Open the ink pad and drag it across the debossed side of the print. You may know this as Reverse Embossing.  Start at the top or one end, and drag in one stroke, the pad over the entired piece.  Don't press too hard because you don't want too much background ink on the leaves. Its OK though if that happens - its art.  Move the ink pad to the next section of the print and drag it in only one direction again, and repeat until the whole print background is covered with the ink.  Refrain from going back and filling in spaces, as you don't want the straight line edge of the pad to make marks. You'll discover how you want your prints to look.   

Dry with a heat tool.   Use as is or cut out some leaves and mount on a coordinating cardstock as I have done on the print above.

TECHNIQUE #2 - DRY EMBOSS WITH WATER COLOR PAPER (This print is my favorite) I have always loved blues and greens together

Water color paper 4x6, Grass Green Ink, Blueberry Bushel Ink for Background, Water Painter Brush or Paint Brush, clean water

With this technique you are doing the opposites of #1. The colors I chose for this remind me of the leaves of summer and the brilliant blue sky.  On the EMbossed leaves - that's the raised above side: Use a damp (not wet) paint brush, add ink from the stamp pad or a puddle of re-inker ink, and paint it around within the leaf, making sure to stay in the leaf. 

Dry with a heat tool.  You want to make sure these images are dry before painting the background so the colors don't bleed together.  But if they do - its art.  With a clean damp brush, add ink from the pad or puddle on the background spaces, bringing it UP TO the edge of the leave. 

TECHNIQUE #3  ADD INK TO THE EMBOSSING FOLDER FROM THE INK PAD

Embossing Folder, Embossing Machine, Water Color Paper, 3 or more colors of ink pads.

                                            Real Red, Wild Wheat, Grass Green, Pecan Pie Inks

With Ink pad, blending brush or sponge dauber, add inks randomly to both sides of the Embossing Folder, inking both the leaves and the background, and leaving some spaces without ink. Spritz both sides with water. NOTE that the back side of the E. Folder (that doesn't have the square SU image on it) is the DE bossed side, and the ink will go down into the leaf.  The EMbossed side, which is the top or the front of the E. Folder, the ink will go onto the background.  Put a 6x6 or 4x6 piece of water color paper in and machine and emboss.  You will get two different prints, one on each side of the paper. Now before the ink dries or before you clean it off,  spritz again and put another piece in and emboss again to get yet another print. 

TECHNIQUE #4 REVERSE EMBOSSING ON THE EMBOSSING FOLDER

Embossing Folder, Embossing Machine, Water Color Paper, Ink Pad

This view shows the DEbossed side.  I think you can see that the ink is below the background.

This view is the opposite with the ink on the EMbossed, where the leaf and ink is raised above the background.

This is similar to the Reverse Embossing, except that you are covering the Embossing Folder with the ink and not the paper.  Drag the ink pad across the front and back of the E Folder, completely covering the folder. Put the dry Water Color paper in. Emboss.  Check which side you like. You may decide to spritz the E. Folder to get the remaining ink off the folder - no ink is wasted.

TECHNIQUE #5  EMBOSSING WET CARDSTOCK

                                                            Here is the DEbossed side.

Here is the EMbossed side, after spritzing with water which produces a deeper impression.

TECHNIQUE #6 STAMP THE IMAGE  ON VELLUM WITH VERSAMARK/CLEAR EMBOSSING POWDER

                                            

I didn't plan this out first, so there were a few extra steps.  I heat embossed with clear embossing powder on vellum, thinking I would die cut them and be done.  But the leaves didn't show up like shown on the left image on vellum below.  So I put that pieced of heat embossed vellum into the embossing folder, and dry embossed it for texture, shown below on the right.  I didn't expect the image texture to be so detailed. 

Here's what I did then to create a card with a "wintery" leaf in mind.  

I heat embossed by stamping with Versa Mark, water mark ink with Clear Embossing powder on Night of Navy Cardstock   On Vellum, I stamped with Versa Mark and Clear Embossing powder, heat embossed.   I cut them out. 

Then I put the leaves, individually, in the Embossing Folder and embossed.  This brings out the details, and changes from see-through to opaque.  On the Debossed side, I outlined the leaves with the Slate Grey Blends marker.  

I glued the large leaf by the spines and stem and with very little glue, glued the stem of the small leaf.  

I'm so pleased with the texture and look of this technique which could be used for any season or reason.  Do you think you would try any of these "Changing Leaves" techniques?