Remembrance of Fall Leaves!

Ebrush Design Team: Jan Hunter Week 3 Cycle 1

Jan treats us with a beautiful leave project. I love the fall leaves and had never seen the change of colors until just recently. Jan project is a beauty!

Welcome to my 1st Craftwell eBrush DT project for the month of November.  The leaves are nearly gone from the trees, but the memories aren't.  I hope you'll enjoy this project just as much I did creating it.

This is actually, a BEFORE the finished project shot -- but, If the background looks familiar, it's a leftover portion of the background done for Fluttering Fall Leaves post on October 27th of this year.  You can find the details here.   The colors seemed little bright for what I envisioned, so I decided to see how  adding a layer of vellum and modge-podge might work to mute the colors just a little.  I liked the look and it does look a little like some leaves encased in ice.


The process:
eBrush
Spectrum Noir markers
Transparent Stencils - leaves from several kits available at  SVGCuts.com
White foam core (about 10 x 12 inches)
Quote cut into stencil form
Vellum
Electronic Cutting Machine (I use the eclips 2 and eCal Software)
Cardstock for quote stencil
painter's tape
Spray the leaves using a stencil, the eBrush and  rich earthy colored markers.  If needed, use the leaf cut from your stencil as a mask.  This process adds a little more dimension and a few of your leaves will look like they're laying on top of each other in randomness just like they do in real life.  You can use the marker to add depth along the edges or just adjust your spraying to be more on the stencil and just a breath of color on the edge of the leaf itself.  Fill your piece as desired.

Even though Alcohol markers dry quickly, you may find your art just a bit tacky, depending on the humidity.  let it sit for a couple of hours before moving to the next step.  However, you can prepare for the next step while your artwork is drying. Take a sheet of vellum (I used white) and tear into small strips.  Modge-Podge the bottom of the vellum and apply directly to the foam core - your brushed side up.  Carefully, apply a coat of the Modge-Podge to the top of the vellum  as you add each pieceand continue until the entire surface of the foam core is covered. (Note, don't get too much spread over to your art work, our your marker may smear a little).  Add another layer of Modge-Podge if desired to ensure that all the edges have been secured once the entire surface has been covered.  Once this step has dried, you can trim any excess vellum from the edges with a craft knife, scissors or razor for clean edges.

 Prepare your stencil with your quote on it.  I used some painters tape to center and secure it to my prepared surface.  Once again, using the eBrush, I sprayed and completed the quote.  I did use a blender pen to remove the color from the letters that needed some open spaces that weren't included in the stencil.  That worked very well in removing the color from those very small areas.  I also added a hit of white gel pen in a few areas to highlight the letter so it wouldn't blend too much into the background.

Remove the stencil and if there is any tackiness - let it dry a little longer before mounting in a frame or adding ribbon to hang your project.  I'm choosing to just let mine sit unframed on the mantle for the time being.  It's certainly caught the eye of many of our household visitors and I love seeing it there.
[place final picture here]

I can see this project also being applied to large tags or pennants  on canvas or burlap for a Fall decor banner.  Hmmm, another project may soon be in the works here.... Enjoy your crafting and we'll see you again soon!

We love Jan's creations and you can learn and share with her by visiting her blog. Also  don't forget to join eBrush by Craftwell Facebook group!