Season of Blessing

Hi Weekend Warriors!

I usually don't post on the weekend because I'm otherwise distracted but today I have some extra time on my hands. We are currently embarking on a kitchen/great room remodel and I have about 45 minutes before the next phase of demo commences. Many of the kitchen cabinets are coming out today, then continued work on getting out the old flooring. We will have the professionals come in and put the new stuff in but we figured we can demo with the best of them! I have to say... pulling staples out of the subfloor is not a fun job - yuck!

Let's change the subject!  I think almost everyone I know loves fall. While they don't necessarily appreciate that winter comes soonish after fall, they do love the colors, the scents, the beauty etc. It's fun to decorate with a fall theme, cook those comfort food meals and craft with fall in mind.  I have some fun cards to show you today that scream "It's Fall Y'All"!  I actually never say "Y'All" but it rhymes - haha!

My first card uses a fun technique with blue painters' tape.  You tear off a piece of tape that is longer than the area you want to ink up. You lay it gently on an open ink pad and press down on the tape lightly with your fingers. You may want to use a disposable glove if you are particular about not getting messy!  Then, you lift up the tape from the ink pad, place the tape on your paper and press it down, rubbing back and forth. You then peel up the tape and voila, ink on your paper. You can repeat this same step with the same piece of tape if you are making more than one card. Be sure to tear off a new piece of tape for each different color of ink you want to use. 

Since my card was wood-themed, I used the "Hardwood" background stamp on the background of my card.  The trees are to die for, right?  They are from the new "Winter Woods" set.

My next card features a new set from the 2018 Holiday Catalog called "Pleasant Pheasants". I didn't use the pheasant stamp for this card, but used the other images that evoke a wonderful fall theme of pumpkins, harvest, wheelbarrows, etc.  This was a straightforward card to make with a slight twist at the end. I did my stamping with Momento black ink and then colored with our Stampin'Up! watercolor pencils. I used a blender pen to blend in my coloring which always makes the colors seem a little brighter.  The scary part at the end is taking the "Burlap" background stamp and stamping over the entire piece with very light Crumb Cake ink. If you Crumb Cake ink pad is recently inked, you'll want to stamp off once on some scrap paper before you stamp on your card piece. I was trying to create a linen-like look that made this look a bit like it was stitched rather than rubber stamped.

For this last card, I grabbed an old favorite from last year, the "Painted Harvest" set. The sunflower images are so fun to create. I also wanted to create some texture on this card so I used the "Springtime Impressions" floral die and created a "white on white" look with Very Vanilla card stock. It has the look of lace and I loved the effect. I adhered the floral die cut to my card BEFORE I did my stamping and then let some of my stamping overlap onto the die cut.  What do you think?

I hope you've been inspired on a dreary, rainy fall day, at least here in Montana. It's a perfect day to huddle in the craft room or tear up your house for a remodel - either way, win/win! It's fun to share my ideas with you and I often pretend you are right in front of my and I'm telling you about my projects, step by step.  Don't be afraid to dive into rubber stamping! It's a great hobby and past time and I promise you won't gain unwanted pounds, waste your time or regret it!  Contact me for more details and I'll help you get started, no matter what your experience level is your or budget.

Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah