Stained Glass Leaf

Don’t you love autumn colors? They inspired me when creating today’s card. All the oranges, yellows, and reds are appearing in our Michigan maple’s right now.  

I kept this card clean and simple with the focus on the leaf. To make the leaf stand-out I gave it a stained glass effect that I’ll explain here. It’s super easy. The other thing I love about this card is all the texture. There’s so much wonderful texture in the Royal Sundance Felt Card Stock that makes it a great choice for a card base or background. 

I started by creating an A2 (4.25 x5.5) top-folding card base. For the card case, background, and the leaf I used Royal Sundance Felt Card Stock in Brilliant White. It has a texture that resembles a watercolor paper. For the background panel, I embossed a separate piece of Royal Sundance with the We R Memory Keepers Weave embossing folder. I cut this panel approximately a 1/4″ less on each side. 

Next, I did some die-cutting. I needed basically 3 different things for the leaf. One leaf with the tiny pieces still intact that I colored. Another die-cut of the leaf outline to lay over top of the coloring. Then three solid leaves that I glued together to add dimension. 

For these background leaves, I used Classic Crest Solar White Card Stock. For the top layers, I used Royal Sundance Felt in Brilliant White. The same card stock I used for the card base.   

Sometimes, I touched the tips of the brush markers together to get a different blend. I think of it as “kissing the markers.” It actually creates a slightly different color. After a few brush strokes, the new color is gone so it doesn’t ruin your brushes to do this. It just takes a little time because you have to keep touching or “kissing” the tips together. I’ve had the best luck by “kissing” a lighter color to a darker one. Then coloring with the lighter marker. 

To give the leaf dimension, I glued the three solid backgrounds together with Tombow Mono Liquid Glue. Then adhered the colored leaf on the top. It looks kind of messy right now but we’ll fix that in the next step. 

To cover up the messy coloring, I glued the outline piece over top of the stack of leaves. That was my plan all along so I really wasn’t concerned about staying inside the lines.

To create the stained glass look, I applied Nuvo Crystal Glaze into each of the leaf sections. You could also use Ranger’s Glossy Accents. The outline leaf made this technique easy. So look through your supplies and find an image with an outline that can contain the glaze or glossy accents. 

Another option is using a smaller image. An image that could easily be filled in. It takes some time for the glaze to dry. I laid it flat and left it to dry overnight. I’m sure it doesn’t need that long but I didn’t want to take any chances. The glaze spreads out and settles in so that is why you lay it flat to dry.

The Thanks sentiment is die-cut from Curious Metallic Card Stock in Cognac. 

After the glaze was dry it was just a matter of assembling everything with adhesive. I added a small bow made from twine to the leaf stem. 

Thanks so much for visiting. This card’s for you! If you’re looking for more inspiration, check out all the designers here on the blog.  All Royal Sundance Card Stock is on sale until the end of the month. Now’s the time to stock up. Thanks again for stopping by.

Inky hugs,

Marcia