For the last few days I have been working on a very different type of project, but still very much paper and ink based.

I was chatting the other week with the owner of our favourite coffee house/Restaurant, about his plans and ideas to dress his windows with a seasonal display. As we were chatting I had an vision forming in my mind, and I felt I was able to offer my help to put his ideas into place. Over the years I have spent a fair few hours in this Cafe, my husband and I find it a relaxing place to sit/eat/drink/chat – I can even be found working there catching up on computer admin on my own some days.

Autumn for me is the season that truly matches my creative style. I just love how nature becomes centre stage, and how the beauty of leaves and trees really come into their own as they change colour, and show their skeletal forms.

The colour palette of autumn is beautiful too, and is a pleasure to work with in the form of my distress inks & oxides. You still get the crisp blue sky from the autumnal sunny day, and that seems to make the green of the grass glow, now that it’s healthy and lush after being parched through the summer. And of course the vibrant reds, oranges, browns of the leaves that are in constant state of change, even introducing  shades of purple sometimes.

To make

I used my Silhouette Cameo cutting machine to cut out two styles of leaves (maple & oak) in three different sizes from neutral coloured design paper.

I wanted to colour the leaves and allow the printed design of the paper to still be visible, adding interest. I chose two seasonal colours from my regular distress inks (festive berries & carved pumpkin) along with a Cosmic Shimmer Metallic gilding polish by Creative Expressions (Haybale, an autumnal muted yellow with a beautiful sheen).

Fortunately these vibrant colours matched perfectly with the accessories at the Cafe. I threaded the leaves onto an invisible thread, so that they could be displayed in strands in the restaurants window.

I am so pleased with the effect, it was the vision I had in my minds eye from the beginning. I was able to achieve an effective noticeable display, without blocking out any of the the natural light from the window.

Autumn Leaves window display

View from inside

View from outside.

I think my first foray into window dressing was received well, the owners seem pretty pleased with the results. I already have ideas for a Christmas display….watch this space, hopefully I’ll be able to work with the owners again for the festive season.

Thanks for reading about this different project today,