Autumn Pastels

This is a card I have just made as my first entry into challenge#19 with Chocolate Baroque  http://chocolatebaroquechallenge.blogspot.co.uk/.  The colour palette for this one is a pastel selection and I'm not really a pastel person (as anyone who visits this blog will see), but I love joining in with these challenges so I've had a go - and thoroughly enjoyed it!  I have used CB stamp sets Mellow Fruitfulness and Nature Table; I added colour with Distress Inks and acrylic paint; I added texture with decoupage and texture paste.  I started with the background panel and blended DI's on a piece of white card.  I then faux bleached the panel and dried it with a heat gun.  Next I mixed some acrylic paint with texture paste and spread it through a stencil to create some trees, then set it aside to dry.  On another piece of white card I stamped images from both stamp sets and heat embossed them.  I then put four DI colours directly onto my glass mat and using a wet brush I watercoloured the images.  When they were dry I fussy cut the images and blended ink around the edges as I don't like white edges.  I blended DI's onto more white card to match the background then die cut some leaves  and a branch, and inked the edges.   I also die cut some foliage from Kraft card and inked the edges. I stamped some meadow flowers and leaves onto the background panel using first and second generation ink.  I blended ink around the edges of the panel and matted it onto dark card to frame it.  On a piece of cream card I stamped the flowers and leaves randomly around the edges of the card to create a frame, and inked the outer edges.  I layered the panel onto the card.  I attached all the stamped, die cut and fussy cut images to the card with dimensional glue, with the apples hanging from the branch and the other images representing a woodland floor.  I'm really pleased with this design, I think it's a great worker card - birthday, retirement, male or female - whatever you want!