Cranky Old Man

     Welcome to Theme Day Thursday! Today Erica's Team is focusing on Fall Foliage.I just love the fall. I love the warmth of the sun and the cool crisp air. Fall and Spring are my most favorite times of year. So naturally I had to sign up to do this theme. I really didn't want to do the usual wreath , so when I saw this poem posted on FB by a fellow DT member (Thanks Ray for posting this)I knew I had to do something with this. This was from an elderly man in Australia who jotted down his feelings concerning his life and I found it so powerful I just had to frame it.

     The title is "Cranky Old Man" and I thought using wise old oak leaves would be so appropriate for this. The cartridge I used was Celebrate With Flourish. It has some really nice die cuts on it. All of the cuts are from Fall2 and @ 1.5". 

     First I printed the poem on parchment paper in brown ink then trimmed it to 8"x10". I wanted to fill the white space around the saying so I decided to do some stamping. I used Inkadinkado V.2 and Autumn Leaves flourishes. The green flourishes were stamped with Perfect Medium and then Perfect Pearls patina was applied. I really wanted a subtle background. After that dried I used the Autumn leaves flourishes and Archival Brilliance ink in Coffee Bean for a more dramatic effect.

     I used all sorts of scraps in burgundy, orange, brown and green to cut my dies. Before removing them from the mat, I inked all the pieces. I even stamped some gold and silver inks on the leaves to add a touch of brilliance.The caps on the acorns are from a scrap piece of distress paper that I sanded for a more natural look.

     After all the cuts were glued in place, I used some (OK a lot) of Liquid Pearls to add some dimension to the leaves and background. The colors I used were: hot cocoa, avocado,platinum pearl, copper pearl and onyx pearl. You can find all these products in Ericas Store.

     I placed this is a wooden frame and photographed without the glass to cut down on the glare. I will look at this often as a reminder to be thankful for all the roads I have already crossed and the wonderful journey each day brings.

     Please head back over to My Cricut Craft Room and see what my Design Team Sisters have to share with you. Hope you have a wonderful week end planned.