Thursday, September 27, 2012

Autumn Blessings

Growing up in Hawaii, I've had few chances to see the color changes of fall, but I've romanticized about it. Creating autumnal cards is my way of celebrating the season.  The kraft paper 50 pack blank note card set from Sierra Pacific is the perfect base for the warm color tones of fall.  I started with the envelope and used the Tim Holtz tattered leaves die to cut one leaf out from the flap. At first I was just going to back the cut out with printed paper but then I thought that a lined envelope would look more elegant.  Making a lining for an envelope is easy, just trace the opened envelope and cut it out.  Trim the lining to fit the envelope, cutting off the bottom (about 1") so that the lining will sit below the gummed edge.  Using a double-sided printed paper would be best for a for a cut out envelope lining, but I wanted to use a single-sided autumn leaf paper so I just cut out a second flap and glued it behind the cut-out flap.  Does that make sense?
For the card I simply glued down a bit of woven material (from the floral department of Ben Franklin Crafts).  Next I printed a piece of burlap ribbon (also from BFC) with the words Autumn Blessings.  After gluing down the ribbon, I adhered the leaf that I cut out of the envelope and dyed by smudging Memento ink on it.  (Ben Franklin Crafts has a good selection of fall and vintage colored inks.)  Next, I stamped a quote onto a small scrap of kraft paper, smudged the edges with ink and used sticky dots to fasten it onto the card.  Finally, to highlight the edges of the card, I applied ink sparingly using a paper towel covered finger. The autumn words I used came from a TPC Studio clear stamp set, but you could use any of the numerous fall themed sets available at Ben Franklin Crafts.  Be creative and celebrate the season of change!

7 comments:

Creations by Shirl said...

Wow Lynn I'm impressed how beautiful this turned out.... You should enter this card in some Autumn/Fall challenges they are a lot going on right now. You would have lots of new blogging friends popping onto your blog that's for sure...
Great job~

Cheryl said...

What a pretty fall card Lynn! You've used a lot of great products that the stores carry. Very creative!

Have A Scrap Happy Day said...

You did a fabulous job Lynn. The fall colors are so pretty. You know, I was looking for that fiber material the other week. I ended up buying burlap. Better check out BFC. I really love the fiber effect. Been seeing them pop up here and there in blogland. Happy, happy crafting.

SuiLan said...

Gorgeous card and coordinating envelope. I love them!

Annette Allen said...

this is so pretty..i love how you did the envelope all those leaves are amazing...love this little set...

Hope you have an awesome Friday..

eunice said...

Luverly!!! Totally impressed at how realistic your autumn leaf turned out just with a bit of stamp pad colors...so pretty!

Cami said...

Beautiful card and envelope using these lovely fall papers and the TH dies. I like this idea of lining the envelope. Thanks so much for the tips on how you did it!