Fall Frenzy & Great Deals w/Maria Peters

Hello Crafty Friends, my name is Maria Peters and I am an enthusiastic card maker from Hamburg, Germany.

I’m so excited and more than happy to be a guest designer for Wplus9 today. Dawn is one of my coloring hero’s, so it’s such a great honor to be here today on her blog. Thank you so much for your invitation! Also, a big thank you to Jana Millen for all the helpful information and for taking such good care of me.

I created three Fall themed Cards with several Wplus9 products and bonus – several of the products featured are currently on sale right now! There are lot’s of great deals to be had so be sure to check out the Sale section as well as the Clearance section. Remember, clearance items are last chance and will be retired once they are gone.

For my first project I used the gorgeous New Home stamp set along with the coordinating dies. I combined it with some of the leaves and a Sentiment from the Curious Forest Friends stamps and die, (which will be fully featured later in the post).

Since I was a young girl, I’ve been a big fan of American Country Living and the beautiful shiplap houses. So, the New Home stamp set was a must have for me. I knew exactly what I would love to create with when I ordered this set.

I started by creating the shiplap house front. I stamped the “wooden planks” using the lined image stamp from the set with a light grey ink on a piece of Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper. Then I added some dimension and a “weathered Look” to the “wooden planks” with light beige and light grey Zig Watercolor Brush Pens and  Warm Wool Dye Ink.

After that I stamped the door, plants, leaves and so on with black Hybrid Ink on another piece of Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper. I decided on a color scheme of white, blue and orange, just a gorgeous fall palette. 

When I paint with watercolors, I always work in several layers. This way you have more control and can gradually add more depth to the motif without going overboard. Usually I make three to four layers. For this card I used a mix of Karin Brush Markers Pro and Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens. 

At the end I added a bit of “rust” for a vintage farmhouse look on the enamel buckets and the lights next to the door using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink.

In the next step I die-cut all pieces with the coordinating dies. Then I arranged them on the card front and took a photo for reference with gluing things in place. This makes it easier to position everything well on the cardfront. Then I glued all pieces on the card front using craft foam and a strong double-sided tape.

I stamped the sentiment with a watermark ink onto a piece of orange cardstock, white heat embossed it and arranged it on the card front. Then I glued the card front onto the card base I made before from heavyweight white cardstock using double-sided tape.

For my second card I used the Beautiful Bouquet: Mums stamp set and one of my favorite sentiment stamp sets – Bold Banner Greetings. I love the sentiments in this set as well as the fonts. Both of these sets are currently on sale too at an amazing discount! Be sure to check them out.

I created a square card and water colored the bouquet using the no line coloring technique. I started with an underpainting I made with several shades of yellow, orange and red over the whole card front as my background. If you already have a plan in mind and colors chosen, it’s easier to add the background in first and looks more cohesive in the final painting.

Once dry, I stamped the bouquet with a light beige dye ink on my square piece of Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper.

Again, I added four layers of watercolor paint to create depth and dimension. After I finished the coloring, I stamped the sentiment with a watermark ink on the card front and gold heat embossed it.

Then I stamped the sentiment a second time with watermark ink and embossed it again. Double embossing makes the embossing thicker and bolder, making the sentiment stand out even more. Then I covered the sentiment and spread some splashes of golden watercolor paint over the card front.

I made a square card base using heavyweight white card stock and glued the card front on the card base using craft foam for dimension and a strong double-sided tape. Some sequins in matching colors finished the card.

For my third and last card, I created a fall scene around the super cute critters from the Forest Friends stamps and coordinating Die. I also used the Curious Forest Friends stamp set and Die…these are also on sale! I combined both sets with the Landscape Borders Die and a sentiment from Hand Lettered Hello.

First, I created my watercolor background in several shades of blue and turquoise on a piece of Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper using Karin Brush Markers Pro. 

Then I stamped the critters on another piece of Arches Hot Pressed Watercolor Paper and water colored all images with Distress Inks, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens and Karin Brushmarkers Pro.

After the coloring was done, I die-cut all pieces with the coordinating dies. I die-cut the hill and ink blended it with Distress Inks in yellow and orange. Just like before, I arranged all the pieces on the card front and took a photo for reference. 

I stamped the Sentiment with a watermark ink on the card front and white heat embossed it.

Then I stamped the sentiment a second and third time with Watermark Ink and embossed it again. So, the sentiment stands out more. I tried this out the first time and I love the look.

Then I glued all pieces on the card front using craft foam and a strong double-sided tape. Finally, I glued the card front onto a white card base and the card is ready.

I hope you guys enjoyed what I created. Thanks so much for taking the time and stopping by!

Hugs, Maria

You can find more of Maria’s work on Instagram @a_country_home.

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Featured Supplies

Here is a list of the featured supplies used in today’s project(s) along with links to purchase for convenience.

Wplus9 Beautiful Bouquet: Dahlia Stamps Shop at: WP9	Wplus9 Landscape Border Die Shop at: WP9	Warm Wool PURE COLOR Dye Ink Shop at: WP9	Bold Banner Greetings Shop at: WP9
Hand Lettered Hello Shop at: WP9	New Home Shop at: WP9	New Home Die Shop at: WP9	Forest Friends Shop at: WP9
Forest Friends Die Shop at: WP9	Curious Forest Friends Shop at: WP9	Curious Forest Friends Die Shop at: WP9