Fall - Right as Rain

Elizabeth Craft Designs | Harvest Sunflowers

Hello and happy final week of August! Today, I am sharing a handmade card that brings the beauty of sunflowers to life! Featuring a wood barrel brimming with sunflowers, this card is created using Elizabeth Craft Designs die sets. I cut the pieces from white textured paper, coloring each piece with inks to achieve rich, vibrant tones that make the sunflowers pop.

- Cut pieces for sunflowers, leaves, and stems with the Florals 26 set from Soft Finish cardstock. Color with Distress Inks. Shape with flower tools if desired. (I have tools from Dress My Craft, Heartfelt Creations, and McGill.) Assemble.
- Cut pieces for barrel with dies in the Floral Foliage 1 set from Soft Finish cardstock. Color with Distress Inks and assemble. I previously shared a card HERE featuring the Floral Foliage 1 set.
- Create a 5″ x 7″ card base from textured white cardstock. Add patterned paper cut with the largest die in the Nestabilities 5 x 7 Matting Basics A set.
- Add barrel, flowers, and leaves to the card front with foam and dot adhesive.
- Stamp sentiment (I used an older SU set) on white cardstock in Potting Soil ink. Cut with small tag die (I used a now-retired MFT set).

Save 10% off your entire order (with a minimum purchase of USD $25) at Elizabeth Craft Designs with the code PNWMANIS.

Spellbinders | All Seasons Collection

Hello! I’m thrilled to be a guest on the Spellbinders blog sharing three cards created with the All Seasons Scrapbooking Collection, exclusive to Spellbinders. The BetterPress plates in the collection feature a timeless lowercase script font for sentiments that fit any season and a multitude of occasions. I’ve used three of the BetterPress sets and one of the die sets from the collection, along with other Spellbinders die sets, to design a fall card, a Christmas card, and an Easter card. Each card highlights the beauty and adaptability of this collection, bringing a touch of seasonal charm to your crafting projects.

Elizabeth Craft Designs | Autumn Scene

Hello! As the colors of fall begin to grace the trees, I was inspired to capture the season’s beauty on my latest card creation. Using the Elizabeth Craft Designs Floral Foliage 1 die set, I crafted a scene featuring a wooden barrel overflowing with realistically colored autumn leaves. The set includes a birdhouse, complete with a pair of birds. You can find more fall-themed handmade card inspiration HERE.

- Create a 5″ x 7″ card base. Cover the base with patterned paper, cut with the largest die in the Spellbinders 5″ x 7″ Matting Basics A set. (I used now-retired Simple Stories patterned paper designed by Katie Pertiet.)
- With the Floral Foliage 1 set, cut pieces from Soft Finish cardstock, and color with Distress Inks. I used Brushed Silver cardstock for the bands on the barrel. Shape colored leaves with ball stylus tools. Add Finnabair black micro beads for the bird’s eyes.
- Stamp sentiment (SU set) in Potting Soil ink; cut with small tag die (I used a now-retired MFT tag.)

Save 10% off your entire order (with a minimum purchase of USD $25) at Elizabeth Craft Designs with the code PNWMANIS.

Fall & Halloween Cards: Autumn Inspiration

Hello fall! Here in the Pacific Northwest, there is a little bit of fall in the air and the days have grown shorter. To embrace the season in my cardmaking, I am revisiting fall-themed cards (including Halloween) in my blog archive, from the warm hues of harvest and cozy comforts of sweater weather to the playful spookiness of Halloween. Click on the card image to be taken to the original post.

Embrace the cozy weather with a card featuring a novelty sweater and a knitted pattern background.

Send a warm greeting with a card that captures the beauty of fall.

Celebrate the harvest season with cards showcasing pumpkins piled high in a rustic cart.

Bring a whimsical touch to Halloween on a card featuring a gnome dressed as a wizard cruising in a sporty car.

Haunted houses never go out of style, as seen on this card featuring an abandoned house with bats, ghosts, and a glowing full moon.

Observations As I look at the cards, I see that I used dry-embossed backgrounds or woodgrain elements on the fall cards for texture. Additionally, the color orange appeared on all of the cards. I did not include any Thanksgiving cards in this roundup; although I have made a few over the years, it is not an occasion for which I regularly make cards.

I hope this roundup sparks your imagination to create your own fall-themed cards. What are some of your favorite products with this theme? Do you have products on your “to buy” list with this theme?

Sunny Studio Stamps | Truckload of Pumpkins

Hello! Today I am sharing a fall-themed card featuring the delightful Sunny Studio Stamps Truckloads of Love stamp set, with coordinating dies. Envisioning a visit to the pumpkin patch, I created a pumpkin-picking scene with the set’s pickup truck, pumpkins, and two of the cute critters.

To begin, dry-emboss an A2-size panel of rust cardstock (I used SU Cajun Craze) with the Buffalo Plaid embossing folder. Add to card base. You can read more about dry-embossed card backgrounds HERE.
Stamp Truckloads of Love pickup, pumpkins (twice), and two of the critters with Versafine on Arches Cold Press watercolor paper and heat set. Color the images with watercoloring mediums of choice (I used mini Distress Inks). Once dry, cut the images with the dies in the coordinating set. (Check out my “Resources for Watercoloring Stamped Images” HERE.)
Cut scallop mat from white cardstock with the Mini Mat and Tag 3 set.
Stamp sentiment on white cardstock and add Distress Oxide Inks to sky and road (using vellum to mask while applying the inks). I created the sentiment on my computer as I wanted to specifically reference a pumpkin field.
Trim inked sentiment panel to fit inside the Mini Mat and Tag 3 scallop mat. Add inked panel to mat.
Adhere truck, pumpkins, and critters. Add assembly to card base.