Hi everybody! It's good to be back home and blogging again! We got home from our road trip late Friday night...and you know what happens next... Laundry! And kitten snuggles. LOL. We had an amazing and fun time together on our vacation through California, Oregon and Washington. We saw so many beautiful sights, and ate good food, and took loads of pictures! I know a lot of you followed along with us on Instagram Stories! It might take me a while to sort through all the pictures and get a post ready to share about our trip. In the meantime, you can see some of my favorite pictures on my Instagram account. CLICK HERE! (You do not need an account to view the photos on your computer!) I am totally renewed by time away from the computer and the TV and all of life's responsibilities. I loved having my husband all to myself every day. We got to talk and laugh together and drink coffee and walk. It was wonderful!! My feet are tired and my heart is full. It is already Fall in the Pacific Northwest and we saw tons of Fall leaves! The weather was perfect too. Late September/Early October is our favorite time to take a break and travel. It was also our wedding anniversary last week! Yay! We thank God for a safe and fun journey!
Yesterday was my first day back in the studio, and it also happened to be World Cardmaking Day! I had to hustle to make something for the day! LOL. I didn't plan ahead on that one! I hadn't created anything in more than two weeks and it was a bit of a rough start to craft! I decided to use some of my new supplies I got at Impress Rubber Stamps in Seattle! I got the beautiful Foliage Dies from Pretty Pink Posh! And my inspiration was all the gorgeous Fall color! So I got out my Distress Inks and made an Autumn wreath! I didn't have the energy to blog yesterday - so I'm sharing it with you now. I think after this I'd better get busy and make some Halloween projects! Be sure to read my last post, and comment for a chance to win a spot in a cool class I"m part of. Nice to be back!
I started this project by die cutting a bunch of the leaves and pumpkins out of Bristol Cardstock. I like the way Bristol interacts with Distress Inks and it's thick enough to stand up to lots of ink. This card is a five inch square and the layers are simple: Woodgrain cardstock and cream cardstock.
I used LOTS of colors of Distress Inks and the small size sponge daubers to ink the color onto the leaves and pumpkin. Each leaf/pumpkin has at least five colors on it! Yikes. Yes, I was ready to play! The final touch of all of the images is that I sponged them with Walnut Stain ink. Really gives a rustic deep touch to the project. I don't normally use that dark of a brown, but I like it in this instance. The splatters were done with Vintage Photo Ink.
There really is no right or wrong way to do these leaves! Play. Have fun. Get dirty! Try new colors together! This part of the process was so relaxing and enjoyable. I love mixing colors. The leaves were arranged onto the card in a circle/wreath shape. A simple twine bow at the top to finish it off. I wasn't sure what to use for a greeting, so I used a pretty hello die cut. I think this would make a nice Thanksgiving card or any other type of Fall greeting.
To attach the hello die, I used liquid glue on the h and the o and glued it to the leaves. The middle part is sort of floating there...
The list of all the Distress Ink Colors I used is in the supplies section.
This is a photo of a gorgeously perfect leaf I found on the ground in Seattle. The leaf colors are a perfect Fall rainbow! It was so pretty I had to snap a picture of it! This photo was the color inspiration for my card today. I took a lot of leaf pictures in the past two weeks! The perfect artist drawing a Fall palette for us to enjoy. Sigh.
It's very good to be back! I missed you! This week I'm guest blogging over at Ellen Hutson (Yay) and I'll have two fun cards to share for that project. Can't wait to show you. Hope all is well with you in your corner of the world. XOXO
SUPPLIES FOR TODAY!
That is one gorgeous Fall wreath card, Wanda.
Those colors are just perfect!
Posted by: Helen Gullett | 10/12/2018 at 04:17 PM
Lovely card--your wreath is so pretty and the colors almost seem to glow!
Posted by: Renee Milner | 10/08/2018 at 09:34 PM
Welcome home! I enjoyed following along with your trip on instagram.
Aren't trips like that just so refreshing, not only for the body but for the heart also. A rebirth for the total of you. Your card today is just lovely. I always say Autumn is my favorite color, so your card is spot on.
Posted by: Sara | 10/08/2018 at 08:27 AM
Your colors are spot on ! Welcome back
Posted by: Nancy Hassan | 10/08/2018 at 08:15 AM
Welcome back.... glad you arrived home safely and from the wonderful photos, you had a very good time. Congrats to you and Mark, happy anniversary. Don't the years just seem to be speeding up?? The colors in Michigan are starting to show. We have been plagued with rain but warm temperatures. Today and tomorrow in the 80's. Your card is wonderful. I am going to try your technique as I have a couple of "thank you" cards. My daughter's were very generous to me on my birthday. So glad you are back, I missed you......
Posted by: Anne Sturgeon | 10/08/2018 at 08:09 AM
Love this card Wanda! You captured the leaf colors perfectly. I followed along on IG and your trip looked amazing. I am home from my cross country trip to MT and it IS good to be home!
Posted by: Julie L | 10/08/2018 at 04:57 AM
Wonderful card! Love the fall colors (very rarely seen in FL!) makes me home sick. Wow you got to see and shop at Impress! I receive their blog and just wish I could wander through their store. Enjoyed all your pictures, thanks for taking me on a mini vacation through your pics.
Posted by: Virginia P FL | 10/08/2018 at 02:41 AM
Welcome home! The color inspiration from the leaf is perfectly reflected in the coloring of your card.
Posted by: Veronica Fairbrother | 10/08/2018 at 01:54 AM
Gorgeous fall card! I love the wreath and the colors!
Posted by: Denise Bryant | 10/07/2018 at 07:13 PM