THREE OF A KIND--Leaf Prints

 This past Saturday, Cyndy taught us how to make a card with a real, live leaf instead of ink and stamps.  After choosing a freshly picked leaf, we placed it between two pieces of heavy cardstock, folded a piece of copier paper around it and ran it through the Big Shot.  After mounting it on a piece of green cs and attaching it to our card, we added some embellishment for a final touch.

 

Today, at home, I tried repeating the process.  For the second card, I used two different leaves, (one stamped twice,) wrapped some burlap ribbon around the panel and mounted the image over dsp.  

For the third card, I tried using an oak leaf I found on my front deck that had turned a deep brownish red.  It's very faint here because it was already dried out, but I liked it anyway.  Since the leaf was oak, I mounted it over the acorn dsp.

This was a fun technique and very easy to do--thanks, Cyndy! 


TIP:  Fresh leaves that haven't fallen off the tree or bush work best.  Look for leaves that have an interesting shape or distinct edges.

ANOTHER HALLOWEEN CARD

Can you tell I'm liking these window cards??

TOTALLY SCRAPS!

Here's another card using the "out-take" from a window card.  I added a couple of leaves that were floating around my table top, along with an extra greeting.  Couldn't have been easier to put this one together.  As for the black and white zig-zag strip, it was too short to go across so I snipped it in half and mounted one on each side of the circle.  Sssh...it's our little secret!

EEK!--PAPER PLAYERS #366

The scary part of this card is that it didn't photograph well, colorwise.  The background is actually a deep shade of purple.  Either that, or I'm color blind...

Thanks to YouTube, I was able to make this bat with my owl punch, the inside edge of a scalloped square and an oval punch.  For a video on making the wings, just enter France Martin Mummy Bat in the YouTube search area, and it will come right up.

This card is for the Paper Players HERE.

ANOTHER HYMN BLOCK

Words of encouragement through a familiar hymn are plentiful in this SweetnSassy stamp set.  I can see that these are going to get a lot of use!

The old hymn writers sure knew how to combine meaningful lyrics with music that touches the soul.

THANKSGIVING CARDS ALL DONE!

This is another card for the 3 1/2 x 5 1/2" size envelope.  This smaller size is helpful when using smaller images.

I started with dry embossing the leaves and adding some Distress Oxide inks over them with a stiff brush.  The leaves were inked up and spritzed with water before cutting them with dies.  Before adding them to the card, I taped down some copper thread.  The final touch was the greeting, just the right size for the scalloped punch.

MODERN TREES (Again!)

I'm really getting a lot out of this set of Modern Trees from My Favorite Things.  I made this for my daughter and her family to match her decor.  The tree trunk is embossed with copper, and the leaves are done in silver embossing.

I thought of putting some silver thread down the left side, but decided to leave it as is for a more modern look.

WINDOW CARD

The nice thing about a window card is that one greeting takes care of both the front and the inside at the same time.  In this case, the dsp gives it color and images appropriate for Fall.  More examples of window cards can be found on the Papertrey Ink blog HERE.

THE CARD YOU HATE TO SEND

This sympathy card is for a friend who lost a family member this week.  The stamp is from a Sweet & Sassy set of six familiar hymns that work well for many occasions. 

This is also being featured on the Sweet & Sassy web site.

CARD FOR A FRIEND

It's amazing how two cards using the same stamps and dsp can look so entirely different.  This one features watercolored leaves done by spritzing the stamp after inking it up, a copper embossed tree trunk and a little bit of green grass under the tree.  The greeting is also done in copper embossing.

For embellishments, I used SU sequins and copper thread.  Using just a few sequins keeps  the card from looking cluttered.  The small greeting was chosen so as not to compete with the image.

AUTUMN TREE 4 YOU

This photo doesn't due justice to the image, unfortunately.  The image is a bit pale, but not as light as it looks here.  The leaves have been coated with clear WOS for a bit of shine.

In addition to sparkle or shine, I like to add texture to my cards.  I used a panel of textured yellow cs and some burlap ribbon beneath the dark brown border.  I added dimensionals beneath the dark brown panel to give the image some lift (physically and visually) and kept the embellishments simple.

I can see that this set will be getting a lot of use! The set, "Modern Trees," by My Favorite Things, can be used for any season.  I purchased it after seeing a card done in silver and gold on gray cs--very elegant.  I plan to CASE that soon!

 

 

IT'S ACORN TIME!

Here's a happy squirrel harvesting his acorn.  He is from a color layering set by Hero Arts.  The bundle includes the stamps, 4 dies and 4 ink cubes.  I just love squirrels and how our Creator gave them a tail that serves as a blanket in the winter!

Now that I'm halfway through my 100 Christmas cards for this year, I'm taking a break in order to make some Fall birthday and Thanksgiving cards.  The StampinUp dsp used here is part of a beautiful collection for those Autumn occasions.