Tis the Season for Pumpkin Spice and Warmest Wishes cards by Diane Mason

Hello, and welcome back for Watercolor Weekend!

 

Hello, Ai Watercolor Friends! I hope you are enjoying a fabulous fall weekend! For the last several weeks, it has been unseasonably hot in the San Francisco Bay area. It has finally cooled down, and it’s beginning to feel like fall has arrived—so bring on the Pumpkin Spice!

Today, I’m excited to share two Woodland Critter cards with you, one for fall and the other for Christmas. These cards feature stamped images from the recently released 5953 – Woodland Critters Set, KH5951 – Foxes Set, and 5954 – Woodland Bears Set. These new sets are so adorable, and both the Woodland sets come with dies that can be used to cut the images out!

Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice card:

Both of my cards today feature the adorable little squirrel from 5953 – Woodland Critters Set. I just love this sweet little image of a squirrel enjoying a hot beverage! I wanted it to appear that he was enjoying a Pumpkin Spice latte, so when I inked the stamp in 565/969 I purposely left off the candy cane. First, I selectively stamped the two pumpkins (from the pumpkin pile) from 5595 – Harvest Pumpkin Set in 969 and the stems and leaves in 249. I masked the pumpkins, and then stamped the squirrel image, remembering to leave off the candy cane. The leaves in the foreground are from KH5951 – Foxes Set and were stamped in 969. I watercolored the squirrel in 947 and 969. I added rosy cheeks with a touch of 856 and also inside the ears. I used 312 to paint the scarf and the plaid stripes. For the coffee mug, I used 993, 933 and 947. I shaded the whipped cream with 565. I painted the cinnamon stick with 947. For the left pumpkin, I painted it with 933 and 925. For the right pumpkin, I used a combination of 993 and 933. The stems and leaves were painted with 312. The tree stump was painted with 947 and 969. I washed in the grassy area with 312 before adding leafy foliage around the squirrel from KH5951 in 312, 249, and 993. I painted the leaves in the foreground with 993, 933, 312, and 947. I added grass with 249 using the tiny grass stamp from 4051 – WC Foliage Set 1. The sky was washed in with 565. I darkened the squirrel’s eyes and nose with a brown TwinTone. I also used the brown TwinTone to add back some details.

The “Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice!” sentiment from 5191 – Feast Mode Set was stamped in orange on watercolor paper and die-cut using a tag die from 5132 – Tag Stitched Dies. Using the leaf dies from 5783 – Fall Leaf Frame Die Set, leaves were die-cut from cardstock, embellished, and attached to the tag. The plaid patterned paper is from the 5838 – Fall Journal Paper Pack. The painting and tag were both mounted with foam tape for added dimension.

For the inside of the card, I stamped the sentiments from 5600 – Harvest Sentiments Set in green and orange. The pumpkin and vine in the corner are from 5595 – Harvest Pumpkin Set.

Warmest Wishes card:

For my second card, I inked the squirrel image from 5953 with 565/969. The squirrel’s body and tree stump were painted in the same way as the first card. For the scarf, I left it white and added shadows with 565. I then added a green plaid stripe using 177. The hot cocoa mug and candy cane were painted in 856. I added a green stripe to the mug in 177. Again, the whipped cream was shaded with 565.

I brushed in a watery sky and added snowy shadows with 565. Once the painting was thoroughly dry, I heat-embossed the snowflake images from the 5954 – Woodland Bears Set using VersaMark clear embossing ink and Ranger’s White Super Fine Detail embossing powder. Additional snow flurries were dotted in with Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bleed Proof White.

The peppermint striped patterned paper from 5853 – Christmas Magic Paper Pack was die-cut with the second largest banner die from 5134 – Banner Double Stitched Dies. To create a flap for the card front, I needed the banner to be longer to make a fold at the top. To extend the banner, I did a partial cut, then shifted the die and did another partial cut, and voilà – a longer banner die-cut! The card front was matted with red embossed cardstock. I used double-sided tape to attach the banner flap to the inside and folded it over to the front. The painting and embellishments were arranged and popped up with foam tape (leafy vine from 5805 – Mini Journal Box Dies, snowflakes from 5782 Snowflake Frame Die, and decorative frame cut in half from 5768 – Decorative Journal Page Set 1). I stamped the Merry Christmas sentiment from 5953 – Woodland Critters Set in green, die-cut with a banner die, and mounted with foam squares

To open the card, you lift the banner and open the card from left to right. For the inside of the card, I added a strip of patterned paper to the bottom edge, snowflake die-cuts from 5782, and stamped the sentiment from 5566 – Christmas Sentiments Set in red.

Thank you for joining me for Watercolor Weekend! I hope these cards brought you as much joy as they did for me while making them. It was a fun challenge to use the same image and adapt it for both fall and winter. Until next time, Happy Painting!