Gathered in Gratitude | Autumn Wall Art with IOD | Lisa from Sweet and Sassy Treasures
Fall is a season of gratitude that makes us want to slow down, gather close, and make something beautiful with our own hands.
IOD artisan Lisa captured that feeling perfectly in this gorgeous autumn wall art piece. It's a beautiful project that makes you want to clear your craft table and start immediately. Warm, textured, and full of handmade depth that only comes from taking your time with a project and truly enjoying the process. 🥰
Using the IOD Cornucopia Mould and the Fairy Tale Florals Transfer, Lisa builds a stunning and easy "Gathered in Gratitude" display that feels like autumn distilled into one beautiful piece. The techniques she shares along the way are genuinely worth saving. This post is a good one to come back to again and again.
Watch the Full Tutorial
Lisa walks you through every layer, every glaze, and every finishing touch. Pour yourself something warm and settle in.
What You'll Need
IOD Products:
🎨 IOD Cornucopia Mould
🎨 Fairy Tale Florals IOD Transfer
Additional Supplies
✨ 8x10 MTF Plywood Sheet
✨ Thrifted frame
✨ Resin (for casting the mould)
✨ Off-white, taupe, warm cream, and darker brown paint
✨ White paint + gold metallic paint
✨ Weathered wood or gray glaze
✨ Soft black glaze
✨ Sealer
✨ Vintage Photo Distress Ink
✨ Printed cardstock with "Gathered in Gratitude" text
✨ Glue + hot glue
✨ Baby wipes
Building the Background
Every great piece starts with a strong foundation, and Lisa starts with an off-white base with layers of taupe, warm cream, and darker brown paint along the edges. Then she brings the original base color back in to highlight the center. It becomes a beautiful background with depth and warmth. No flat, one-dimensional backgrounds here. 💕
Before any glazing happens, Lisa seals the background board first. This is a technique worth remembering. Sealing before glazing gives you so much more control over the glaze layer, allowing you to manipulate and wipe it back exactly where you want it rather than fighting absorption. A small step that makes a big difference in the final result.
For texture, Lisa dry brushes paint across the surface in alternating vertical and horizontal strokes, creating a subtle woven, canvas-like effect that adds another layer of richness to the background. Gorgeous. 😍
Casting and Finishing the Cornucopia Mould
The IOD Cornucopia Mould is the hero of this piece, and Lisa gives it the most beautiful finishing treatment.
She starts by applying white paint as a base coat under the gold metallic paint, which creates a muted, subtle metallic finish rather than a bright, shiny one. The effect is warm, aged, and completely in keeping with the autumn aesthetic of the whole piece. It's a small but brilliant technique that makes all the difference. 🙌
For dry brushing the details, Lisa varies her pressure deliberately- a heavier coat on the intricate base details, a heavy dry brush through the middle, and a light touch on the flower tips. This variation creates beautiful dimension across the casting and lets all that incredible IOD mould detail come to life.
A weathered wood or gray glaze applied to the recessed areas and wiped back further deepens the shadows and accentuates every fine detail. 😍
Working with the Fairy Tale Florals Transfer
Here is where Lisa's creative instincts really shine, and where a really useful technique comes in for anyone who has ever stared at a large transfer sheet and wondered how to make it work in a smaller space.
Rather than applying the Fairy Tale Florals Transfer as a full sheet, Lisa cuts it into smaller, wispy elements and individual leaves, using them to fill empty spaces and customize placement across the board. This way, you get a look that feels organic and hand-arranged.
Once the transfers are positioned, Lisa burnishes each one thoroughly using the provided clear carrier sheet to make sure everything is fully adhered. Then comes a technique we love: she dry brushes paint lightly over the transfer images and wipes it back gently with a damp wipe. This softens the transfers into the background beautifully, integrating the florals into the piece rather than letting them sit on top of it. 💕
To build even more color depth, Lisa reapplies the project's existing base colors and warm tones over the painted details. She uses the same palette, layered again, building richness and dimension without complicating the color story.
Finishing the Frame
Even the frame gets the Lisa treatment! This technique is one of the quickest, most satisfying finishing tricks we know.
A soft black glaze applied over the wooden frame and wiped away immediately with a baby wipe refreshes the whole thing in minutes. The glaze settles into the wood grain and details, aging the frame beautifully without any complicated process. 🙌
The Final Touches
The finishing touch is the printed "Gathered in Gratitude" cardstock title. Lisa distresses them at the edges with a vintage photo distress ink and gently manipulates and wrinkles them for an authentically aged look. Hot glued into place alongside the frame, it ties the whole narrative of the piece together.
The finished piece is warm, layered, and full of genuine autumn character! 🥰
Ready to make your own? Find your nearest IOD Stockist using the big red Where to Buy button on our website. 🙌
New to IOD? Our Product 101 pages are packed with beginner-friendly techniques to help you get the most out of every product. We are so glad you're here, and we can't wait to see what you create.
Made your own Gathered in Gratitude piece? Share it with the IOD Creative Tribe on Facebook. It's a community of makers who genuinely love to cheer each other on. We would love to see yours. 💕
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