Fond of Autumn Card

Hello there!  I'd planned on sharing another card idea using the Aspen Trees Dies but thought you might be getting bored and needed to see something else instead.  But don't worry.  I'll get back to more of those ideas soon.  For a change, I went back to my fall ideas to see what I could come up with.  The Fond of Autumn set found on page 52 of the July-December Mini Catalog is a perfect one to use if you're in the mood for coloring like I was.  Don't you love coloring with the Stampin' Blends?  It's so easy to put one color on top of another and keep blending until you get the color and shading you want.  It's awesome and pretty much easy as can be.  I'm always amazed at how awesome the coloring is!  😄

So let's start off with the main image.  It's from the Fond of Autumn set and is the large image in the set.  The large die from the Autumn Bouquet Dies that coordinates with the set actually cuts the large image into four sections at one time.  For today's card, I only used the middle image with the oak leaves and acorns.  It's stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Basic White cardstock.  I colored just this section and die-cut it to use.  I also stamped a couple of the extra acorns in the set to have on hand.  

For coloring the images, I used these Blends:  Granny Apple Green Light & Dark, Pumpkin Pie Dark, Cajun Craze Dark, Old Olive Light & Dark, and Crumb Cake Light & Dark.  When I color with the Blends, I tend to color in a section with the lighter color, shade with the darker color, then go back and blend with the lighter color again.  After the pieces were all colored to my satisfaction, they were die-cut and set aside.  The extra sections were saved for another card later.

Next was the sentiment to choose.  This one is from the Beauty of Friendship set found of page 104 of the Annual Catalog.  Hmmm...  I'd forgotten all about this awesome set but ran across it when I was looking for sentiments.  Need to give it some love and attention soon.  Anyway, back to our card.  It was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto a Basic White cardstock piece.  It's die-cut using the 2nd smallest Deckled Rectangles Die.  

Starting with a piece of Pumpkin Pie cardstock that measures 11" x 4 1/4", it's then scored at 5 1/2" and folded in half for a side-fold card.  Just a little different.  I thought the Pumpkin Pie small check pattern in the Gingham Cottage DSP would be a great backdrop for these autumn images.  I already had a piece cut that measured 5" x 4" in my stash, so why not make use of that?  I attached it to the folded Pumpkin Pie card base with adhesive.  I also had a scrap of Pale Papaya cardstock that could be used.  The Deckled Rectangles Dies was used to cut an edge on this piece for interest, and the deckled edge tied it back to the sentiment layer.  

When laying everything on the card for placement, the sentiment looked too small.  After fussing with it for a while, inspiration hit - vellum!   I cut a piece using the 3rd smallest die from the set.  This filled in the area better, but it didn't detract from the overall design.

The vellum layer was attached behind the sentiment layer using adhesive.  Then it was attached to the card front with adhesive.  A portion of Parakeet Party Metallic Ribbon was tied into a big loopy bow and attached behind the oak leaves and acorns.  Then it was all attached on the top corner of the sentiment layer with Dimensionals.  One of the acorns was attached to the opposite corner of the sentiment with a Dimensional.

The inside of the card needed to be lighter for writing a note inside.  A piece of Pale Papaya cardstock that measures 5 1/4" x 4" was attached with adhesive.  I also had a skinny 1/2" piece of the same checked DSP that I added to the edge to mimic the front of the card.  An extra acorn was attached inside the card too.

NOTE:  As you can see, I thought the card was finished and I hadn't planned on adding any bling.  After thinking about this overnight, I went back and added three of the 2021-2023 In Color Opal Rounds in the Pale Papaya color to the sentiment layer.  This adds so much to the card and was the perfect finish.  So please, use your imagination to add them to the picture!

Thanks for stopping in today.  It's a rainy day here, so that means it's a good day to go down to my craft room and create something.  I was planning a trip to the Post Office to mail out some goodies to friends, but that might get put off til tomorrow.  You know I just might melt if I go out in this rain!!  LOL

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon