Fall Card with Simply Leaves Set

Hello friends!  I don't know about you, but I seem to be a sucker for leaf focused stamp sets.  And this new Simply Leaves stamp and punch bundle is no exception.  Depending on the colors that are used, you can get almost a whole year's worth of seasons covered just by using this one set.  Today, it's hot and humid as all get out around here.  Perfect for looking ahead to the cooler days of fall, don't you think?  For the first card I made with this new bundle, which is an Online Exclusive item, I started with the idea of using the card featured with the set in the store.  I loved the earthy colors used with a glimmer of gold brightening it up.  Of course, my card ended up looking quite different from my inspiration card.  But what else is new!

If you've happened to click onto the SU! Online store and checked out the card sample I'm talking about, I'm sure you see the similarities.  But I have a problem copying anything just the way it's presented.  Always need to put my own spin on it, you know?

I started with a base of Pecan Pie cardstock that measures 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" and is folded at 4 1/4".  I made this into a top-fold card.  For the embossed band across the card, I chose to use the Two-tone Pecan Pie cardstock on the lighter side.  It's such a warm caramel color that worked for the card.  I cut a piece that measures 6" x 2".  This was embossed with the Leaf Fall Embossing Folder that has been retired but worked well for my fall themed card.  

After embossing, a sanding block was used lightly over the embossed areas to enhance the light core of the cardstock.  This gives it more interest but doesn't overpower the rest of the design. 

A piece of Gold Foil was cut at 2 1/4" wide to frame the embossed piece.  The embossed piece was attached to the foil with "green glue" and then to the card front with "green glue" also.  Paper Snips were used to trim off the two excess ends from the angled layers.

Now let's get to those leaves.  One print in the Delicate Dreams Designer Series Paper is a lovely neutral print that looks like a piece of linen cloth.  It would be a perfect base to stamp some of my leaves on.  First, one large leaf shape was punched from this paper with the coordinating punch.  Then the dotted veins stamp was added in the leaf shape with Pecan Pie ink.  Using a Blending Brush and Pecan Pie ink, the edges of this leaf were very lightly darkened. 

The small plaid leaf stamp was stamped once each with Pecan Pie, Pumpkin Pie, and Cajun Craze ink onto the same linen print.  There's no small leaf punch, so these were all fussy cut with paper snips.  The design looked too plain, so another of the large leaf stamps was stamped onto Basic Beige cardstock with Cajun Craze ink.  This was also punched out.  Another of the small leaf stamps was used with Pecan Pie ink and stamped onto a Basic Beige cardstock piece.  This was fussy cut.

The sentiment comes from this same Simply Leaves stamp set.  It was stamped onto a 5/8" wide strip of Very Vanilla cardstock using Cajun Craze ink.  To add a little more interest, a Pecan Pie Dark Stampin' Blends was used to create stitches around the sentiment.

The leaves were arranged on the card.  The two larger leaves were attached near the stems with adhesive, but the tips of the leaves were loose.  Three of the smaller leaves were attached with adhesive at the stems and a Mini Dimensional near the tip of the leaves.  This helps them stand out from the card base.

A larger bow of Linen Thread was tied and attached behind the sentiment.  Then this was attached at the bottom of the leaves with Dimensionals.  

A sprinkling of the beige Pearls of Beauty was added to the card design.  The pearlized golden finish on these pearls really set off the added gold strips.

Very Vanilla cardstock was used for the inside layer.  One of the sentiments (from the same set) was stamped with Cajun Craze ink.  

I had one small leaf left over and needed another for the inside.  The stamp for leaf veining was stamped onto Basic Beige cardstock using Cajun Craze ink.  It was punched with the coordinating punch from the set.  A Blending Brush and Pecan Pie ink was used to highlight the edges.  The two leaves were attached with adhesive to finish the design.

Even though several of the leaves needed to be fussy cut, this was a quick and easy card to design and put together.  It certainly helped to see the artist's concept card ahead of time to get me started in the right direction.  Please don't ever overlook the huge treasure trove of ideas that Stampin' Up! gives us in the catalogs and online ideas.  It wouldn't be hard to stay busy for a good long time just using those ideas as a starting place for all the card making I do.  Thanks for stopping by today.  I've got a summery card idea ready to roll using the same Simply Leaves bundle.  It uses a very easy fun fold addition to make it just a little different.  Hope to see you soon!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon