Flash Back Time

Hey there!  I've been working on the cards that will be sent out to the home-bound people from our congregation next week.  It usually takes me at least several days or more to think about what the theme for the month will be like fall, Christmas, summer, etc and what I want to use to create the cards.  With it being September already, that brings to mind going to the apple orchards to pick apples and getting cider and doughnuts of course.  So far, I haven't found much in the line of apple orchards around here.  That means I'm just working from memories right now.  Then to add to my thought process, I had a devotion that was talking about the apple of God's eye.  Figured I definitely had to work with an apple theme this month.  Since I have nothing current from SU! that features apples, it was time to dig around in the retired stash to see what I could find.  That's what I'm sharing today.  If you're only interested in current items, you might want to bail now.  I think the stamp I chose is from more than 5 years ago.  Do you have any of those "oldie but goodies"?  Come and join me for a little retro stamping!

Doesn't this look like it's a fresh-picked MacIntosh apple?  (And no worms!!)  It was so much fun creating this design.  It's not quite done yet.  I still have to finish the inside of the card to incorporate my Bible verse.  Then it will be ready to go in the mail.  Let's get started.

The stamp set used here is the Harvest Hellos with the coordinating apple/pumpkin punch.  Do you remember this?  Instead of stamping the apples before punching, I punched 25 of them from Basic White cardstock.  Then I got out both Lemon Lime Twist and Real Red ink pads and the Blending Brushes I'd be using.  Each one of the apples were individually inked with Lemon Lime Twist on the right side.  Then each of them has Real Red blended onto the left side with the color over-lapping onto the green just like a real apple.  I loved how these apples turned out!

After coloring all the apples, I used the same punch for the stems punched from Pecan Pie cardstock.  The leaves were punched from Granny Apple Green to make them a little darker than the apple.  After punching out the leaves, each one was stamped with the coordinating leaf stamp in the set using Garden Green ink.  All these pieces were set aside until I was ready for them.

Next was the layering that I wanted to use here.  I had just received the new Branching Out Dies.  Let me just say I love the shape of them!  I chose the smallest die to cut a piece of Basic White cardstock.  Then I took the 4th smallest size and die-cut some Real Red plaid DSP from another retired pack.  I was just going through all my papers to find a Real Red print of some kind that went with the apple.  So, this is it.

The card base I chose is Real Red.  It's 8 1/2" x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  The layer is a quarter sheet of Lemon Lime Twist to match the apple.  It needed something on this layer to give it some interest.  I remembered the new Gathering Leaves Embossing Folder that just came out.  It has a nice overall pattern that fit nicely with the design of the card so far.  This layer was attached to the folded card base using "green glue".

The sentiment was next.  It is also part of the Harvest Hellos stamp set.  The smallest die in the Perennial Postage die set was used to die-cut Basic White cardstock.  After cutting, the sentiment was stamped using Pecan Pie ink.  It needed a little definition, so a small bit of Pecan Pie ink was sponged on the outside edges very lightly.

The two die-cut layers were attached to the center of the card using "green glue".  I wanted all the layers to be fairly flat with only the sentiment and the apple raised up on Dimensionals.

After getting all the layers arranged, three of the Holographic Dots were added to the design.  It's amazing how these gems picked up both of the main colors so nicely.

Ok, there you have your retro stamping class for today.  When I make the cards each month for these lovely people, I try to incorporate some of my retired stash of goodies.  If I don't get some of these supplies used, there won't be room for me in the house anymore!  At least that's what my hubby keeps telling me!  Hope you had fun playing with some of my old standbys.  Maybe this wasn't what you had in mind for today, or maybe this inspired you to dig through your treasures to see what you might have forgotten you had.  Thank you for taking the time to see what's going on in my stamp room.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon