A Change of Seasons

Hi Crafters,

It has been awhile, but boy am I glad to be back in the crafting seat!  The past month for our family has been one of real turbulence and trials.  Thankfully after moving house twice in a four month time period, as spring has rounded the corner here in Melbourne, things are slowly returning back to normal.

There is something contagious and exciting when each season changes, bringing with it an expectancy of hope and anticipation of good things just yonder.  So today I picked up a new stamp set which I absolutely adore - "Count My Blessings".

I love the sentiments contained in this set, but the stamps are just as beautiful.  With autumn acorns, leaves and flowers, this set is versatile and nifty for creating a range of cards or scrapbooking backgrounds.  Today I created a trio of cards, each bringing a unique touch of textured warmth & layers that can be used for any occasion..

The thing I love about stamping and card making/ scrapbooking is that it is entirely up to you how simple or complex you want your end product to be.  With the three cards I created, the first card I opted to keep clean and simple, making it a perfect card for the beginner stamper...

Using Very Vanilla as the card base, I created a central bordered strip of Chocolate Chip cardstock, topped with Crumb Cake.  Using the Chocolate Chip Stampin' Pad, the acorn stamp was then stamped randomly.  Two strips of Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla were added, and the sentiment was copper embossed & cut out using the Stitched Shapes Framelits.  If you haven't tried heat embossing yet, I definitely recommend it.  The effect is simply stunning and can take any card to another level without overdoing it.  This card was then finished off with copper enamel dots.
  

My second card used a similar pattern using the acorn stamp set, however on this card I introduced water colouring.

  

The base colours remained the same - Very Vanilla, Chocolate Chip and Crumb Cake.  Twine was added under the stamped strips, and the strips were raised to add another dimension using Stampin' Dimensionals.  To apply colour to the stamped images, I used Stampin' Markers to highlights the middle and edges of the leaves and acorns, and then coloured them in lightly using Stampin' Up! Watercolour Pencils before going over them with a blender pen.  The sentiment was taken from the stamp set "Wood Words", also available at present in the current annual catalogue, and heat embossed in gold. 

The third card features a large sentiment as the focal point, and features a range of different textures and techniques that come together to create a lovely card for that special someone.

The Chocolate Chip cardstock formed the card base, layered with a sheet of striped patterned paper from one of the Memories & More Card Packs (sorry I can't remember which one). The sentiment was stamped in Calypso Coral on Very Vanilla cardstock, daubered around the edges in Crumb Cake ink to add interest, and framed with Crumb Cake cardstock. The leaves stamp was perfect for creating a patterned strip using Wild Wasabi, and was finished off using twine.  Two copper metal embellishments were added in the top right corner.

I hope I have inspired you to give this stamp set a go... the options are endless!  If you liked my cards or have a question, please feel free to leave me a comment in the comments section below.

If you liked my cards & would like to try your hand at making them, you can purchase these items from my Online Store 24/7. Remember to use the September Host Code UK4QTE6Q at the bottom of your shopping cart to receive free rewards for shopping with me (only available in Australia).

Also be sure to check out the NEW September Craft Kit released this month - $55 including postage & handling within Australia!  

Till next time, happy crafting!

Lorin xx