Tutorial: Happy Thanksgiving with Lisa Spangler

Happy fall, y'all! Hope that you're having a good one. In this tutorial I'm going to share a technique that's great for fall leaves – or any time of year really. It takes advantage of the way that Color Theory inks react with water to give a neat effect. Let's get started!

I used the Thankful stamp set for this card – it has such a great variety of elements. I started out by stamping the basic wreath in a brown waterproof ink – you'll see why in a minute.

Next I started adding leaves. I stamped the red leaves first with Color Theory poppy ink since they are the brightest and the ones that catch your eye the most. This always helps me to get a good balance. I stamped some on the inside of the wreath and some on the outside, but I kept them all going in the same direction. Then I added in some yellow leaves with Color Theory lemon zest.

After that I stamped the sprigs in purple rain. Finally, I stamped the oak leaf in crème brulee. I love how they make the leaf look fuller but yet they don't take away from the bright colors.

Now for the fun part! Grab a waterbrush (or if you don't have one, you can use a regular paintbrush) and go lightly over the leaf. Try to go just up to the edge but not over it.

The water will react with the ink to give a watercolor look. Cool, right?

It's best to over all the leaves of the same color in one pass, then clean the brush and go over the next color so that you don't muddy the colors. I didn't do the oak leaves, but you can if you'd like.

Thanks so much for joining me today, and hope you'll give this technique a try!

Supplies: Stamp + Craft Die: Thankful by Katie Thierjung, Color Theory Poppy ink pad, Color Theory Lemon Zest ink pad, Color Theory Purple Rain ink pad, Color Theory Creme Brulee ink pad