The Miraculous Maple leaf!

Hello crafting friends!

I've been wanting to join in the fun at the CAS Watercolour Card Challenge where Maple Leaf is the cue word. And (this is a recurring theme I know) I have no maple leaf stamp! But a lovely pal of mine mentioned that she's been dragging real leaves through ink pads and 'stamping' them onto card stock; and then, while I was out yesterday, a Maple leaf blew onto my coat! So, I took those things as A Sign! Come and see what I made with the leaf:

I started by washing a damp panel of watercolour paper with So Saffron and Old Olive inks. When the panel was dry, I pushed my leaf into a Soft Suede ink pad, using a paper towel to protect my fingers, and once I felt it was thoroughly inked up, pressed it onto my watercoloured panel. It made a vague maple leaf impression, not very pretty at all. But I was undeterred!

I got out Cajun Craze and Pumpkin Pie inks and watercoloured the leaf, building up colour gradually. Once I was satisfied, I allowed it to dry, then added detail with a fine liner pen and a gold Stampin' Dazzle pen.

The sentiment is from MFT's Floral Focus and I sponged Old Olive ink round the bottom left hand corner of the panel to add depth before attaching it to the card front. 

Really glad to be linking up with CAS Watercolour, where the challenges always seem to get me extra inky!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The maple leaf came from Waterperry Gardens near Oxford where a friend and I went to explore yesterday. It's a beautiful garden, open to the public, and has a series of inspiring smaller gardens within a garden. There's a tiny rural museum there and a really gorgeous gift shop as well as a well-stocked tea room where we partook of some delicious homemade cakes. There was also a pumpkin hunt laid on to entertain the children but which did a great job of entertaining us too. One of the pumpkins laughed ghoulishly at us as we passed, making us jump out of our skins - not just once but repeatedly! 

Thanks for joining me today. Have you ever tried 'stamping' with leaves? Do let me know in the comments below - and I've love to see if you have photos or a link!

Hugs,