Welcoming Fall

Happy first day of fall!! I am very excited for the fall season to begin. I love the weather this time of the year & watching the leaves change colors. We planted a beautiful Coral Bark Japanese Maple tree this past weekend, and that was the inspiration for my card this week. If you are not familiar with this type of tree, it has a gorgeous "coral/red" bark on the limbs. There are so many pretty Japanese Maple trees, it was hard to pick just one. I was also in need of some thank you cards, so I will be using this card for that purpose. I used the Build a Tree from the latest release & a A2 Soiree note card in Karat. I really love the shimmery finish on the Soiree cards. I colored my tree based on the shades of the leaves of the tree we just planted (green turning to yellow), but you can use any combination you like. That's what makes the Build a Tree stamp so much fun. I have a lot of ideas in my head for this particular stamp, so stay tuned in the future for that. The first photo shows most of the supplies used for this card. A few aren't pictured, but will be mentioned in my card instructions.

I used the Martha Stewart Circle Cutter for making the larger circles in this project. There are many circle cutting tools out there, this just happens to be the one that I have. Punches are much quicker to use, but if you don't have the size you want, a circle cutter comes in handy. I also found a video link on how to use this cutter for those of you that may be interested. I have listed the measurements directly on the picture for you. I stamped the tree trunk using Memento Rich Cocoa Ink. I added some reddish hues (again, using the tree we planted as inspiration for the colors) using colored pencils. I also used a colored pencil to create the "grass" below the tree. The leaves were stamped using the Memento inks pictured. I also added some falling leaves by only inking up one leaf. The Memento Dew Drops make this easy since they have a fine tip on one end. I distressed the edges of the Eggshell circle by sponging with Vintage Photo Distress ink. The "thanks" sentiment was stamped using VersaMagic Jumbo Java ink onto Jack O Lantern card stock punched out with a 1" circle punch (I used a Martha Stewart punch). Daffodil pearl stickers were used under the sentiment. Jewels were added to the corners using the Halloween jewel stickers from the new release. The finished card is pictured below.

I hope you enjoy your first day of the fall season!! See you next week!   

Comments

[tami]

What a gorgeous card and I love the photos. You totally rock Nancy. I just emailed you prior to seeing your card. I love this. WOW WEE girlfriend!!

[Armie]

Ooohh, such great timing Nancy, I just bought this BUILD A TREE stamp and, what an awesome inspiration this is!! Love the "falling leaves" and that SOIREE Karat paper..just shimmers. TFS your creativity with all of us..you rock! :o)

[Tinla]

Nancy, absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!! Love the beautiful stamps, careful instructions, blog, circle theme, and the beautiful colours. How wonderful that you planted a tree; it sounds lovely...and looks like it will give you many more inspiration starting points:) I can see the subtle shimmer on the Soiree notecard...great touch! Another pleasurable Tuesday blog post, Nancy...TFS your amazing creativity!!!