Harvest Moon & A Bouquet of Brooms

Bouquet of brooms? Yes…all from the September Brutus Monroe Stamp set. I actually colored and I like how it looks!! I used Detail Ink in Raven and stamped the brooms on die cut white cardstock. (I designed and cut my own broom die cuts using my Silhouette as soon as we received the stamps. Back to the coloring — I used colored pencils in just three colors: yellow, golden brown and copper brown. They actually have snazzy color names but since I am using Derwent Studio pencils from the 80s, I figured the names have most likely changed. I laid down the yellow all over the straw part of the broom and a bit on the handle. Then I put in some shading with the mid-color pencil and finally deepened the shading in spots with the darkest brown. I used the same technique, but much lighter, on the handle. When I gathered the finished pieces in my hand I just thought they were so cute — like a bouquet — so that’s how we got here!

With my Silhouette, using both ivory parchment and print cardstock, I cut circles in two sizes and tags large enough to work with the sentiment stamp from the set. (The print is one I used for my planner stickers printed out on cardstock.) I used Liquid Elements in Guilded spraying two light coats on the ivory parchment circles and tags. I love how it sparks the boring parchment in just the right way! (Not sure I want to tell you all but I did accidentally spray the Sterling color first. What a nut! Luckily I noticed it when the first drops hit the paper — the sterling is much deeper in color. In my defense, I think I just look at the AG and the AU on the bottles and think the AG is Antique Gold. I am going to write in GIANT LETTERS on the labels so I don’t make this mistake a third time! And, maybe look at it with my glasses on...nope...that would be too easy!

Putting it all together I taped a smaller circle to the larger circle for the harvest moon background of the bouquet. Arranging the brooms in bouquet fashion, using lots of tiny little tape bits, I attached it all to the circles. Thinking it needed a little something else, I placed a strip of print cardstock across the top of the card. I stepped out the studio door and gathered a few bits and pieces of straw (there are some benefits to country living). I gathered them together again using those darn tiny bits of tape again and stuck the whole thing flatly to the card then popped the moon & bouquet over the straw before it all had time to pop off! I stamped the cute sentiment on the white die cut and attached it to the tag I cut earlier and then placed it as it would be in a bouquet of flowers, tying the whole thing up with a piece of hemp that is a bit too heavy. I trimmed the straw tops and bottoms and called it done!

The little gift box tags are pretty straight forward. I attached both the broom and the sentiment to a gold spritzed tag and punched a hole! If I can do it so can you! It all came together to spark the little kraft goody boxes. While they may be tiny, they are just the right size to hold one or two homemade truffles. What is it they say about tiny packages?

I am planning on using this card as the invite to a harvest moon get-together. The goody boxes will be at the door as guests leave. I think it’s festive and fun and honestly…quite easy. I am so tickled to be coloring again — it’s been way too long and I remember the joy it gave me so many years ago. It was fun to put all these pieces together, including the straw. If you don’t have straw look around and see what might work in its place. The fun is looking beyond the ordinary to find materials that fit. Just a thought — does this make me a mixed media person now? Happy Halloween!