Leafy Thank You

 Hello everyone,

Today's post is a sample thank you card for a possible commission later this year.

The card base is Recollections White.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Early Espresso and Pumpkin Pie.  The sentiment is Penny Black Special Sentiments stamped in Early Espresso on Recollections White and layered on more Pumpkin Pie and Early Espresso.  The leaf sprig was cut with a Docrafts X-Cut Leaves die from Stampin' Up Hello Honey.

Last autumn a friend inquired about placing a large order of client thank you cards for his office but the commission fell through because it was too last minute for me to work out how to include a sentiment on the inside.  I've had time to think about it so I put together this sample card.  The card will be used whether or not I get commissioned.  I used my word processing software to print the sentiment on cardstock then I layered it on a piece of Pumpkin Pie before adhering it to the inside of the card.  It looks pretty good if I do say so myself.  It would be a fairly large order so I would craft multiple sets of a variety of cards.  This sample is pretty straightforward and would be fairly easy to mass produce.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Eclectic Leaves

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely sentiment-less card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Terracotta Tile.  The background was stamped with Stampin' Up Crosshatch in Altenew Rocky Shore on Recollections Vanilla, layered on a copper of unknown origin and highlighted with Copper Pearl Liquid Pearls.  The images are Stampin' Up Kinda Eclectic stamped in Tsukineko Brilliance Pearlescent Copper, Sizzix Thinlits Wildflower Stems #2 cut from a piece of watercolor paper painted with LuminArte Mustard Green, Chestnut Brown and Nutmeg, and DoCrafts X-cut Leaves cut from a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper.

I don't know that I've ever used the Crosshatch background stamped and not just loved the results.  This card is no exception.  I chose more autumn colours for all the elements because it is that time of year after all.  The different leaves and inks really make this card eclectic!  It's a great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Trees in Threes

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another Sweet Pea 'thank you' card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Old Olive.  The printed paper is Stampin' Up Sweet Pea layered on Pumpkin Pie.  The sentiment is Stampin' Up Petal Palette stamped in Altenew Sunkissed and Early Espresso on Recollections White and layered on more Pumpkin Pie.  The leaf was cut with DoCrafts X-cut leaves die from a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper.

This is not one of my favourite papers in the Sweet Pea collection.  I find the blue circles weird and they leave a lot of strange white space.  I layered the sentiment on a dots stamp which mimicked the dots in the blue circles.  I was hard pressed to find an embellishment, choosing to use a die cut leaf with a lot of colour.  It's a bit on the 'heavy' side but isn't completely terrible.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Art Deco Thank You

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a very art deco 'thank you' card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Crumbcake.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Recollections White and Black.  The sentiment is Poppy Stamps Art Deco You Are Wonderful stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Recollections Black.  The leaf embellishment was cut with a DoCrafts X-Cut leave die from a green of unknown origin.

This is not a traditional autumn card but it still works wonderfully as a 'thank you' card.  This card also offers a bit of variety in this commissioned series as not all clients will find a more traditional card to their taste.  I don't have a large rectangle punch with rounded corners so I improvised with a strip of black and a corner-rounder punch and am quite pleased with the results.  I think the pop of green in the die cut leaf works really well with the overall style of this card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Beautiful Fall Leaves

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely 'thank you' card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Bravo Burgundy.  The sentiment is Altenew Many Thanks stamped in Early Espresso on a white of unknown origin and layered on more Bravo Burgundy.  The leaf embellishments are cut with the Docrafts X Cut Leaves die from Bravo Burgundy, Pumpkin Pie and Hello Honey, and are highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999.

This is another wonderful piece of printed paper.  I really love the variety of images as well as the variety of colours.  The die cut leaves are awesome though I wouldn't say the placement is the best I've ever managed.  It's a great result!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Colourful Leaves

Hello everyone,

Today's post is an awesome French birthday card.

The card base is Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry.  The printed paper is Stampin' Up International Bazaar layered on Stampin' Up Lucky Limeade.  The fan of leaves is cut with a Docrafts Xcut Leaves die from Stampin' Up Rich Razzleberry, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point, Tangerine Tango, Pool Pary and Lucky Limeade.  The leaves are highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen.  The sentiment is Bonnidée French Greetings #2 stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Recollections White and layered on more Lucky Limeade.

I'm absolutely in love with this card!  It's just as good as I had imagined!  I was inspired, of course, by the leaves on the printed paper.  I was thrilled to have the perfect die for cutting the leaves whose colours were drawn from the printed paper.  I have visions of using this leaf fan for a peacock card.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Another Autumn Birthday

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another lovely autumn birthday card.

The card base is The Paper Studio.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Close To My Heart Autumn Terracotta.  The sentiment is Avery Elle Brushed stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Autumn Terracotta.  The leaf was cut with Docrafts X-cut Leaves die from a piece of Brusho pigmented watercolour paper.

This is another lovely piece of printed paper.  Though the leaves orient in stripes, the scale is perfect for a card.  I played with the Brusho pigments, layering the powders until I was happy with the results.  I've not been terribly pleased with the Brusho pigments to date so that I managed to get this leaf made me particularly happy.  It's a great result.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

More Fall Leaves

Hello everyone,

Today's post is another wonderful autumn birthday card.

The card base is Craft Smith.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie and Always Artichoke.  The sentiment is Flonz Happy Birthday stamped in Always Artichoke on Recollections Vanilla and layered on more Pumpkin Pie.  The leaf was cut with Docrafts Xcut Leaves die from a piece of watercolour paper that was sprinkled with a variety of Brusho pigment powders.

This is another wonderful piece of printed paper!  I was so happy with the leaves on yesterday's card I couldn't resist using them again.  The leave on the printed paper are blended with multiple colours so I thought using Brusho pigments would somewhat help me replicate the colours.  I've not really had a lot of success with Brusho with this particular leaf taking multiple attempts as I either use to much pigment and it gets muddy or not enough water so it turns out splotchy.  I think I'm going to need a lot of practice before I get to a point where I'm happy with the results.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Lovely Leaves

Hello everyone,

Today's post is a wonderful autumn birthday card.

The card base is Craft Smith.  The printed paper is of unknown origin layered on Stampin' Up Always Artichoke.  The leaves were cut from Stampin' Up Always Artichoke, More Mustard and Really Rust with Docrafts Xcut Leaves die.  The sentiment is Creative Expressions Amazing Sentiments stamped in Stampin' Up Early Espresso ink.

I couldn't resist crafting a fall birthday card using this wonderful plaid.  I was inspired by all the beautiful fall colours in Ottawa right now.  Our neighbor's maple tree is a thing of beauty right now!  The colours of the leaves coordinated with the colours in the plaid paper.  The sentiment is in the design 'sweet spot' and is highlighted even more by the leaves.  This is one of my favourite cards in this series of commissioned birthday cards.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Spectacularly Striped

Hello everyone,

Today's birthday card uses some great paper donated by Crop A While.

The printed paper is of unknown origin.  The sentiment is Penny Black Happy, Happy stamped in Stampin' Up Night of Navy on Very Vanilla.  The branch is cut from a piece of Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper with a Docrafts X Cut Leaves die.

I found this scrap of donated paper with a border already punched.  I don't know if it was punched separately or if the paper was manufactured with the border.  I was able to trim it perfectly even which makes me grateful that I used these smaller card bases.  It took me quite a while to figure out an embellishment so when I found this piece of alcohol inked paper in my stash, I was ecstatic!  The colours of the paper coordinate perfectly with the colours of the stripes.  I seriously doubt I could have replicated this happy accident on purpose.  It sent me to a very, very happy place!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Fall Texture

Hello everyone,

Today's post uses an embossing folder that I also picked up this past Saturday.

The background layers are Stampin' Up Crushed Curry textured with Darice Fall Leaves Swirl embossing folder and highlighted with Sakura Clear Star Gelly Roll pen, Gina K Chocolate Brown and a textured rust of unknown origin (likely Bazzill).  The printed paper was made using the shaving cream technique with Stampin' Up Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and River Rock ink on Recollections Vanilla, die cut with DoCrafts X Cut Leaves and highlighted with Wink of Stella Clear 999.  The sentiment is Avery Elle So Happy stamped in Dusty Durango on Recollections Vanilla.

These die cut leaves are amazing!  With a little bit of glitter (which doesn't show up in the photo), they are just about over the top.  I knew, as soon as I SPI'd this embossing folder, I'd be taking it home.  It's a folder that I will use over and over.  I don't often pair yellow and brown together but in this case, I really wanted a bit of pop.  I think it grounds what is actually a pretty busy card.  You can't see it but I've actually put another leaf inside the card.  I had planned to use all five (odd numbers) die cut leaves but couldn't find a way to make it work.  I then realized that the sentiment panel makes up the odd numbered element and I'm quite happy!

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

Autumn Spendor

Hello everyone,

A friend and I took a field trip to a wonderful scrapbooking store in Eastern Ontario today (would that you could have joined us Linda).  It was the most perfect of sunny fall days and I was utterly inspired by the breathtaking colours.

The printed paper was made using the shaving cream technique with Stampin' Up Crushed Curry, Dusty Durango and River Rock ink and is layered on a textured mustard and rust of unknown origin (likely Bazzill).  The images are die cut with DoCrafts X Cut Leaves from Ranger alcohol inked glossy paper and copper foil.  The sentiment is Close To My Heart Say It All stamped in Dusty Durango.  The embellishment is Pebbles Pearl Candy Dots.

I first did this shaving cream technique at a card class many, many years ago but never attempted it again.  I'm not sure why I suddenly had a yen to give it a try.  For some reason, the messier the technique, the more I seem to like it and I just love this marbled effect.  My studio smells heavenly of Gillette shaving cream and my fingers are stained with ink but this was quite fun.  I did a whole bunch of pieces so you'll probably be sick of them by the time I've moved on to something else.

I found this die cut set while shopping today and have to say I'm quite impressed.  There are fourteen different dies in this set and they are the absolute perfect scale for cards.  I've used Do Crafts paper before but I'd never seen their dies.  It was well worth the cost.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle