die cuts - Right as Rain

A Cozy Fall Card Reimagined

Hello! I revisited a card I made last year, which was created with the Hero Arts Cozy Critters set (offered as a club kit in September 2025). The set is also available at Spellbinders. Since making the original card, I’ve added new supplies to my collection, giving me an opportunity to mix things up and create a different version of the same cozy scene. I replaced the original animal included in the club kit with two critters from the Spellbinders Trailside Trio set. The result is a cozy fall scene with a slightly different personality.

I also used several Taylored Expressions embossing folders (now retired) that I rediscovered while organizing my folders. The Beadboard folder was used for the card background, and the pillows were dry-embossed with the Cable Knit folder. The texture adds interest without competing with the die-cut scene. For the color palette, I chose seasonal shades that give the card a cozy, tucked-in-for-the-season feeling.

I like revisiting a card design this way. Rather than starting from scratch, I can change the focal images, sentiment, textures, or colors and create something that feels new. It is also a good reminder that reorganizing craft supplies can lead to ideas as well as a more functional craft space.

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Fall Door Die-cut Scene

Hello! A decorated front door is a sign of the change in season. A wreath, a few pumpkins, and scattered leaves can turn an everyday entrance into a welcoming fall display. For this card, I recreated that feeling in a die-cut scene with the now-retired Taylored Expressions Door to Door Collection. The dies in the collection, along with several other TE sets, make it easy to build an entry with fall colors.

When I purchase cardmaking supplies, I’m beginning to look at them through the lens of play value, a term often used when talking about children’s toys. A toy with high play value can be used in many different ways and continues to offer possibilities over time. Given the cost of many cardmaking products, I think it’s worth considering how many different ways a die or stamp set can be used. A door die set with accessory sets can have high play value. The door can be decorated for fall in addition to Halloween, Christmas, spring/Easter, and summer/Fourth of July (to name a few) with additional die sets. In this case, I received the Taylored Expressions Door to Door Collection for design team assignments, so cost wasn’t a consideration. Going forward, looking at supplies through the play value lens can help me decide whether a purchase offers enough creative possibilities to make it worthwhile.

Supply List

Taylored Expressions Dies: Door to Door 2, Door to Door -Molding, Door to Door Summer Décor, Door to Door – Fall, Little Bits – Leaves, Little Bits – Halloween Scene, Little Bits – Fall Harvest

Honey Bee Burlap embossing folder

Taylored Expressions Cardstock: Sweet Basil, Pineapple, Toffee, Poppy Seed, Sweet Potato Pie, Pumpkin, Sugar Cube

Bazzill Candy Buttons cardstock

Fall Quilt-Inspired Card

Hello! I’m really enjoying letting the season guide my cardmaking right now. For this card, I chose a palette of orange, navy, warm yellow, and off-white. To begin, I used the Taylored Expressions Quilted cutting plate die (now retired) to create a quilt frame from Lawn Fawn Speckled Eggshell cardstock. I love quilts, but I don’t quilt, except with paper!

- I heat-embossed the Penny Black 30-863 Autumn is Calling sentiment on Taylored Expressions Blue Corn cardstock, trimmed it to fit in the center square, and glued it to the back of the frame. I backed the frame with an A2-size panel of the Blue Corn cardstock and added the assembly to a card base.
- Next, I added texture to four cardstock panels (TE Blue Corn, TE Sweet Potato Pie, TE Pineapple, and Lawn Fawn Speckled Eggshell) with the Spellbinders Starshine Background cutting plate.
- Finally, I cut each pierced panel with the quilt die and inlaid the pieces into the frame.
- I finished the card with a die-cut needle and thread (TE Little Bits – Needle & Thread). It seemed like the perfect little detail for the quilt theme.

This is the kind of seasonal crafting I’m enjoying: choosing a few colors that feel like fall, working with the themes of the season, and finding new ways to use the supplies already in my collection. It’s satisfying to shop my craft room and discover that I already have everything I need.

Taylored Expressions | Fall Farm Scene

There’s something especially satisfying about building a little scene on a card. For this farm-themed design, I pulled out older Taylored Expressions supplies (from 2016). I combined them to create a cozy farm scene with a pickup truck, pumpkins, a barn, a tractor, and a windmill. An embossing folder adds texture to the foreground, suggesting a hayfield. I used an Elizabeth Craft Designs sentiment stamped on a cloud. This card came together with supplies I already had, and I enjoyed creating a seasonal card.

Supply List
Taylored Expressions dies: On the Road – Truck, Cloud Duo, Build a Scene – Rolling Hills, Little Bits – Halloween Scene, Little Bits – Fall Harvest, Build a Scene – Farm Fence, Little Bits – Barn, Little Bits – Tractor, Little Bits – Windmill
Taylored Expressions Weathered embossing folder
Taylored Expressions cardstock: Cherry Pop, Candy Corn, Sweet Potato Pie, Pineapple, Sweet Basil, Blueberry, Earl Gray, Sugar Cube, Black Licorice
Elizabeth Craft Designs Autumn Words sentiment set

Fall Card Made with What I Already Have

Hello! As you may have read in my recent posts, I’ve been trying to approach cardmaking a little differently. Instead of looking for something new to make, I’m looking at what I already have with fresh eyes. I’m also trying to craft for the season I’m in. Right now, that means pulling out the autumn stamps, dies, and cardstock I already own and letting them inspire me. This card is a good example. The formula includes a stamped background, a dry-embossed panel, an oval mat, and a focal watering-can image.

As I organize my supplies, I’m pulling fall stamps and dies forward in their storage boxes, so I see and use them. The shift is helping me rediscover supplies I already own rather than automatically adding something new to the collection. It also ties into some of my recent thoughts about cardmaking mojo.

Supply List
Penny Black 51-766 Watering Can, 51-754 Pumpkin Parade,
51-360 Pumpkins & Leaves, 51-653 Autumn Décor dies
Spellbinders Fancy Edge Ovals dies
MFT tag die
Penny Black 65-012 Allover Stitches embossing folder
Taylored Expressions Buffalo Plaid background stamp
Hero Arts Message Strips stamp set
Taylored Expressions Toffee cardstock; Lawn Fawn Vanilla Malt cardstock; Bazzill Candy Corn cardstock; Bristol colored with Distress Oxide inks
VersaFine ink; Archival Potting Soil ink
May Arts twine

You can see that I used quite a few different supplies to make this card. But before you decide you need something new, take a look at what you already own. When I went through my blog posts, searching by keyword, I discovered that I have four different sets of medium-sized watering-can dies. Four! Clearly, I have enough watering cans.

What about you? What background stamp do you already own? An oval die? An embossing folder? A few seasonal images or embellishments that could change the look of a familiar design?

Sometimes, when you look at a finished card, you don’t immediately see everything that went into it. The background stamp, embossing folder, die-cut shape, or small supporting elements can be easy to overlook. That’s part of why I’m trying to look at my supplies differently and craft with what I already have.