Autumn Flight - Printers Tray by Julie Ann

Hello Everyone. I can hardly believe we are entering the 'Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness' already! It only seems a moment ago we were welcoming Spring! I do love the colours, sights, smells and sounds of Autumn so I decided that I wanted to capture a sense of this highly atmospheric season within one of the new, deeper Calico Printers Trays - and here it is.

The depth of these trays gives lots of scope for experimentation. I chose the 4cm depth, but I'm looking forward to creating with the 2cm and 3cm sizes soon too. For this project I chose not to use the shelves that come with the tray.

I aimed to create the hazy light at the close of an Autumn day. I began by first painting the background of the Printers Tray a neutral colour and then adhering torn scraps of tissue, napkins and stamped tea bag papers.

For a misty, twilight effect, I tied everything together with washes of blended acrylics diluted with an acrylic glaze.

A scrap of cheesecloth, some stamping and a beautiful Calico owl in flight along with some Fungi wood shapes helped give a definite autumnal mood.

For the reverse side of my tray, I chose a warm shade of terracotta acrylic with white embossed script. To create interest I decided to add a miniature Autumn house, which I created using one of the Block Style Wide House Kits and my own art work.

I like to block off the edges of the kits with masking tape so that the paint doesn't get into crevices and make the edges difficult to glue in place. When the kit is completed you can use a decorative tape to give a neat finish to the project.

Calico have so many beautiful Autumn embellishments, I had a great time painting them and adding them to the project to create seasonal detail.

I kept the roof open to display these painted twigs and to give the impression of the owl flying into the night sky, possibly having roosted in the roof of the little tumble-down house in the woods, where wild creatures find shelter as the days grow colder.

Perhaps in the white embossed script, there is a suggestion of snowy days to come...

...when the moon will make frosty leaves glitter and the owl will be grateful for the shelter the abandoned fairy cottage provides.

Autumn leaves are one of the loveliest aspects of the season and Calico have some beautifully detailed leafy embellishments just waiting to be given touches of flame. Golden sunsets setting the skies ablaze suggest Autumn to me as well, so I added splashes of melted gold UTEE to the sides of the Printers Tray.

I particularly love these acorns and oak leaves. I wanted to create the impression of leaves taking flight along with the owl!

Thank You so much for stopping by today. I hope as the days shorten you will enjoy a few more sunny days and some beautiful walks through carpets of crisp, autumn leaves. Have a creative time until we meet again.
Calico Craft Parts Used
MDF Printers Tray Kit Style 1
Block Style Wide House
Sprig of Oak Leaves and Acorn
Apple Tree Branch Motif
Flying Barn Owl Style 4
Wood Maple Leaf and Twig
Sugar Maple Leaf and Twig
Wood Beech Leaf and Twig
Wood Sweetgum Leaf
Sheet of Mini MDF Acorns and Oak Leaves
Wood Mushroom Fungi shape