Falling Leaves….

Happy October, Everybody!!

What does October mean to you?  To me … it means cooler weather and family as we celebrate Halloween and the arrival of Fall Festivals.  I love this time of the year.  The pace seams to slow down a little, the leaves change colors … well, not in Coastal Georgia (where I live), but it does in the mountains.  I grew up in the mountains of North Carolina (Waynesville) so … I love cooler weather.  If it could stay in the 70's during the day all year long, I'd be perfectly happy.  Well, 'nough of that … Today I want to share with you a card we made in my monthly  card class.  I call it Falling Leaves and … well, it is.

See … it is "falling leaves. Let me tell you how I made it.  I used a couple of different stamping techniques — sponging, brayering, and using a texture impressions embossing folder with Stampin' Up!'s Big Shot Die Cutting Machine.  (NOTE:  All my supplies are from Stampin' Up! and can be found on the Shopping Tab on this page.)  The supplies I used to made the card are…

STAMPS:   Vintage Leaves

INKS:  Soft Suede, Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry

PAPER (with dimensions):  Cajun Craze (8 1/2" x 5 1/2"), Early Espresso (5" x 3 3/4"), Sahara Sand (4 3/4" x 3 1/2"), Whisper White (8 1/2" x 5 1/2"), Copper Foil (scraps)

ACCESSORIES:  Big Shot Die Cutting Machine, Woodland Texture Impressions Embossing Folder (TIEF), Leaflets Framelits, Brayer, Stampin' Sponges, 1/4" Copper Trim, Linen Tread, Fast Fuse  Adhesive (or your adhesive of choice), Mini Glue Dots

I used a couple of techniques on the card. 

1. The first technique I used was coloring the embossing folder – to do this I used a brayer.  You can use any of our inks to do this – I'd stay away from the archival inks, though.  They are permanent.  The color comes right off of the embossing folder with water.  Just add color with your brayer and run it through the Big Shot. 
2. The second technique is sponging.  I stamped the leaves on Crushed Curry cardstock using the images from the Vintage Leaves stamp set with Always Artichoke ink.  Then I sponged then with Cajun Craze, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry and Sahara Sand inks. 
3. The final step is cutting out the leaves with your Big Shot using the Leaflets Framelits.  Then … put your card together.  I chose to make a bunch of leaves and hold them together with some Linen Thread.  My husband held the leaves while I tied the string.  I did add a couple of Mini Glue Dots to hold them in place.

I hope you all enjoy the card and have a WONDERFUL FALL!!

Rubber Hugs!!