Misty Autumn Leaf

Full disclosure: Today's card is not one of my favorites, but I like some of the elements so I decided to share it anyway.  I have been making so many winter and love cards lately (mostly for Operation Write Home) that I wanted to step back and make an Autumn card.  I love Autumn, but I really, really, really love Christmas!  I seem to rush into the Christmas season faster and faster each year (much to my husband's dismay, I switched the ring tone on our house phones to "Jingle Bells" months ago!).  I am also running behind on my monthly cards for the Divine Design Bible Verse Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers, so this will be my October verse card for the challenge. 

Here is my effort to refocus on Autumn as we approach Thanksgiving:

I started by die cutting a circle from a piece of scrap paper, then used the negative of the die cut as a mask.  I placed it over my card stock panel and sponged Ancient Page Saffron, Memento Desert Sand and Memento Potter's Clay in the open space of the circle.  I thumped Summer Sun, Garden Green, Always Artichoke and Handsome Hunter markers on my leaf stamp, then misted it with water and stamped it over the circle, then removed my mask.  I stamped the sentiment in Ancient Page Pine and adhered the panel to a piece of Ultrasmooth Vanilla and a brown card base.  I used a distressing tool to rough up the edges and sponged some Distress Ink over the panel (I forgot to write down which Distress Ink I used).  I think if I made this one again I would use less Distress Ink and maybe an add embellishment or two. 

I apologize for not keeping track of the card stock and Distress Ink colors as I used this time.  I've tried to get into that habit but my memory slips now and then!

If you're like me and overwhelmed with pre-holiday planning and shopping, I hope you will take a few moments for yourself to create something just for your own pleasure.  If you're crafting for the holidays (or in my case, for the holidays and my daughter's upcoming birthday), it can start to feel like work or a chore.  If I can do some crafting just for fun and relaxation, it helps balance out all the stress-inducing "have to" items on my list.  I am hoping to sneak away for a bit of crafting every day or two during this busy season, just to maintain my sanity!  I hope you will, too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:
 

Stamp: PSX
Paper: Various sources

Ink: Summer Sun, Garden Green, Always Artichoke and Handsome Hunter markers (Stampin' Up!); Ancient Page Saffron, Ancient Page Pine (Clearsnap); Memento Desert Sand, Memento Potter's Clay (Tsukineko); Distress Ink (Tim Holtz/Ranger)

Tools: Big Shot (Sizzix); Circles #2 (Sizzix); Edge Distresser (Close to My Heart)

 

Acrylic Block Collage, Take 2

I just couldn't stop playing with this fun technique this week!  This is a continuation of the technique I posted yesterday.  If you missed it, HERE is yesterday's post.  You can also see the original challenge and technique instuctions on Splitcoast Stampers HERE.

This time I wanted to use softer, more subtle colors, so I decided to use purples and pinks.  My first card is a very Clean and Simple sympathy card:

The background was created by inking my acrylic block with several shades of pink and purple, then spritzing it with water and stamping it on the white card stock. After the background dried, I inked a small heart stamp and stamped it randomly over the background. Then I stamped my flowers and sentiment. Quick and easy!

I have mixed feelings about this next card.  I used the same basic background as the card above, but this time I inked stem images all over the area. I like the effect but feel it might just be a little too "busy" with all those stems! 

This technique just has so many possibilities.  I still want to make a card with separate color blocks, so I need to add that one to my list.  But I have a couple of other challenges waiting on my craft desk, so I am off to work on those now!

Thanks for stopping by!

Products Used:

 

Paper: Whisper White card stock (Stampin' Up!)

Inks on background: Various shades of pink and purple markers and dye ink pads

Inks on sentiment and flowers: Elegant Eggplant (Stampin' Up!)

Sentiment and flower stamps: "Close as a Memory" (Stampin' Up!)

Tools: Acrylic block, water mister

Coffee and Pumpkins: Autumn is Coming!

For this week's Sketch Challenge at Splitcoast Stampers I created two cards: a coffee card and a pumpkin card.  I have quite a collection of coffee-related stamps (coffee is this insomniac's friend!) and I love working with brown hues, so this first card was really fun to make.

I started with a brown card base. I stamped the coffee cup (Close to My Heart) in Stampin' Up! (SU) Chocolate Chip dye ink on Ultrasmooth Vanilla card stock (SU). I cut the image out with a circle die on my Big Shot, then layered that circle on another piece of brown cardstock. I used an old SU tool, Layer Ease, to outline a layer around the stamped circle and cut that out by hand. (On a side note, I am seriously thinking I need to purchase some nesting dies. Trying to cut a perfect layer by hand in the middle of the night is no fun!). I attached two panels of coffee bean patterned paper to a layer of Ultrasmooth Vanilla card stock, then attached them to the card leaving a gap between them. However, the circle is so large that it looks like I just used one large panel. If I were to make this card again, I would just use one large panel across the page rather than taking the time to make two separate sections. I adhered the circle between the panels using dimensionals to help it "pop" off the page.

I stamped the sentiment (Art Impressions) on a piece of Ultrasmooth Vanilla card stock, layered it on a piece of brown card stock, tied some jute around the lower portion of the card and adhered the sentiment over the jute with dimensionals.

You will see more coffee-themed cards on this blog in the coming weeks, and since the weather is turning cooler, hot chocolate will probably make an appearance, too! I stock up on a lot of brown paper during this time of year!

Here is my pumpkin card (sorry for the picture quality...I was trying to capture the embossing):

This card was more challenging for me.  I rarely use orange in my crafting and rarely create Halloween-themed cards.  The image is a stamp I picked up at Michaels.  I stamped it in Memento Espresso Truffle dye ink on white card stock, then colored it with markers.  I cut the circle with my Big Shot and inked the edges with a brown marker.  I embossed a piece of brown card stock in my Big Shot using a Tim Holtz woodgrain embossing folder.  I cut that into two sections and adhered it to a piece of orange cardstock.  I attached a brown card front to a tan card base, then attached the orange panel to the card front.  I adhered the pumpkin image in the space between the embossed brown sections.  I stamped the sentiment (Unity) in Memento Espresso Truffle on white card stock, layered it on orange card stock and adhered it to the card front. 

I actually re-worked this card so many times that I had to put it away and work on it again this morning.  Sometimes putting a project aside and coming back to it later gives me a new perspective and fixes any "creative blocks" I'm experiencing.  I have a box of images and started cards that I keep on my craft table, and every now and then I will dig in the box and give one of those projects a second chance!

Do you ever just get "stuck" on a card?  How do you spark your creativity and breathe new life into an abandoned project?  I'd love to hear your comments!