Serendipity Stamps August Blog Hop #1!

Hi all!!

It's August, can you believe it? And you know what that means...fall can't be too far behind! Time to start thinking about making those fall cards! 

I love anything fall-themed. When our local papercrafting store begins carrying fall stamps, I admit I go a little crazy, but collecting fabulous stamps is part of the fun of our hobby, right? 

I have a fall card for you today, but first let me remind you that today is the first day of Serendipity Stamp's first August Blog Hop! Serendipity showcases a new set of stamps every two weeks. Just comment on the Design Team's blogs listed below to enter to win a $20 gift certificate to Serendipity Stamps. The more blogs you comment on, the likelier you are to win!

Here's a list of all the designers participating in the blog hop today...

Mary's Blog (Serendipity Stamp's owner)

Julie Warner

Beth Chiu (that's me!)

Vicki Zimmer

Marybeth Lopez

Miriam Napier

Keep in mind that the stamp and die of the month are Acorns and Sweetgum and Sympathy, respectively...both are 50% for the month of August! Woo-hoo!

For today's card I used the Acorns stamp...

This stamp is so pretty and so easy to color! I took a fun class last year with the incredibly talented Jenny from One Krafty Cat (http://onekraftykat.blogspot.com/). In the class we learned how to color leaves to make them look realistic. One of the main things I learned was not to worry about blending the colors perfectly...leaves aren't perfect in nature so why should they be in our images?  Here are the Copic markers I used...

 After my image was colored I cut it out using an oval die cut. 

I created the card background using Authentique's 'Harvest' patterned paper collection. I chose several papers to layer and used die cuts to create the horizonal stripes strip and the lacy edge border. I wrapped persimmon-colored twine twice around the card, securing with strong tape. I then popped up my image using foam tape and added it to my background. 

Next, I made a bow using the persimmon twine and an acorn charm from my stash and added it to the card. I also die cut a small leaf from the Leaves Reverse Die and tucked it below my bow. 

At this point I decided to make my card into a fall 'thank you' card. For my sentiment, I stamped For All You Do (small) using Distress Oxide Ink in Walnut Stain. I cut this out using a fishtail banner die and mounted this onto the front of my card.

For the inside, I layered more Authentique patterned papers. I stamped the Thank You II Horizontal using Walnut Stain Distress Oxide ink and added it with another leaf to finish the card.

As always, a big THANK YOU for visiting my blog today...I hope you have a great week!!