An Autumn Gratitude Card

I've had the faux bois (I think that's how you spell it), fake wood, Sizzix embossing folder and gnome clear stamp set (www. sweetstampshop.com) for awhile so I was excited when I thought of a way to combine the two in a card for some friends who have been substitute parents for my son attending college in Cambridge, MA. Anyway, I used the embossing folder on some cardstock that was brown on one side and green on the other. Sanding the embossed cardstock brought out the details, making the card front look more a tree trunk. I tore the hole in the cardstock to simulate the hollow of a tree. The gnome was colored with Copic pens and adhered with pop-dots. The mushroom image was made with a CC Designs stamp and also colored with Copic pens. The leaf was die cut with a Tim Holtz die called Tattered Leaves. To make the die cut leaf more realistic it was stamped with a Hero Arts stamp from the Real Leaves set and sprayed with gold Tsukineko Shimmer spray. An artificial leaf could be used if you don't want to make one from paper. If you don't have the gnome stamp, you could use a creature from the Hero Arts Woodland Creatures, which also has mushroom images. The words are from a Hero Arts stamp set called, 'So Thankful'.
Inside the card I tied a tag (to be used for writing a message) around the neck of the gnome. The tag was attached with twine from Doodlebug Designs. Ben Franklin Crafts now has a huge assortment of pretty, colorful twine which comes in multi-colored sets or single rolls. Lots of twine on a roll for a low cost! Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope it was worth the stop and that you'll be a regular reader. Leave a comment if you have some time. I enjoy reading every one of them!