Give Thanks Fall Cards by Barbara Rankin

Hi everyone!  Barbara here on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today.  Can you feel the chill in the air yet?  I love this weather, and Fall is very much on my mind.  So, I made a couple of cards with Fall in mind, but these cards can be used for any occasion.  Who would you give them to?

For the Be Thankful card, cut a piece of print paper from 8x8 paper pad to just slightly smaller than card front.  I am using a 5"x7" kraft card with the fold along the top, so I cut the paper to 4-3/4" x 6-3/4".  Then I distressed the edges with a paper distressing tool and inked with brown distress ink.

Cut a border strip from 8x8 paper pad, ink edges with distress ink, and use an awl or a pencil to roll the edges, as shown.

Adhere both paper layers to card front, as shown.

Glue Heart Dangle along top edge, as shown.

Lay heart frame over 8x8 paper and cut out heart shape.

Glue paper to back of frame.  Fill frame with crackle accents, set aside to dry.  (TIP:  Sit frame onto a small piece of card board so that you can pick it up easily and set it aside, off your desk area, so you don't accidentally set paper on top of it or stick your finger in it before it is dry.  TRUST me on this!!)

Fussy cut a pumpkin and two butterflies from the 12x12 paper pad.  Distress cut edges with brown distress ink.

Lay the two butterflies on a scrap of card board and apply a coat of glossy accents to the wings only.  Set these aside to dry.

Shape pumpkin with fingers and adhere to bottom right of card with foam dots.

Adhere tiny amber gems to each bead on the dangle chippie.  I used my paper piercer tool to pick up the tiny gems.

Add a thin coat of Buttercup glitter paste over pumpkin, and a thicker coat of Copper glitter paste over the two dangle hearts and the heart frame.  Adhere heart frame to base heart.  

Use finger to add shape to butterfly wings.   Glue just the butterfly bodies to the front so the wings will lift off of  the card.

And here is the finished card.

For the Pumpkin Love card, I am using a 5"x7" kraft card, and so I cut a piece of print paper  from the 12x12 paper pad to measure 4"x 6-3/4" and adhered to bottom of card.

Trim leaf border from the 8x8 paper pad and adhere to top of card.  Cut "Pumpkin Love" journaling card from one of the 12x12 papers and adhere to card front, as shown.

Cut a small piece of the checkerboard from the texture sheet to fit over the small pumpkin.  Draw a pencil line to coordinate with the shape of  the pumpkin.

Cut excess chipboard around pencil line and glue the checkerboard down to the pumpkin.

Glue remaining chipboard pieces to the base layer.

Spread light molding paste through stripes stencil and let paste dry.

Prime chipboard with a coat of white gesso and let dry.

Paint pumpkins with Pyrole Orange.

Highlight center of pumpkins with Hansa Yellow Light.

Dry brush Green Gold along top and bottom edges of pumpkins.  Paint leaves and stems with Sap Green.  Highlight center of leaves with a dry brushing of Green Gold.

Paint stems and curly bit from bottom leaf with Burnt Umber.  Dry brush Burnt Umber over both pumpkins.  Wipe away any excess, if needed.

Add pop dots to the back of the pumpkins chippie.

Adhere to card front.  Wrap organza ribbon around card along top fold and tie in a bow.

Supplies Used:

GSL Bead Strand Heart Dangle
GSL Pumpkins
GSL Texture Sheet Checkerboard
DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics
  Pyrole Orange
  Hansa Yellow Light
  Green Gold
  Sap Green
  Burnt Umber
BoBunny Glitter Paste
  Copper
  Buttercup
Prima Amber Moon paper (12x12 and 8x8)
Two 5"x7" Kraft cards
Distress ink - Vintage Photo
Tim Holtz Stripes stencil
Blending Tool
Ranger Crackle Accents
Ranger Glossy Accents
Yellow gemstones
1-1/2" wide ribbon
Pop dots

I hope you have been inspired by my Fall cards today, and be sure to check out the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts shop to see all the fun chippies available.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!!!

Barbara

The Witching Hour is Time for Tea

Hello all! Lora Mahaffey here in full Halloween mode. My favorite holiday. I know, I have never said that before.
I'm enjoying playing with all the wonderfully rich fall colors. I am looking forward to rustling leaves, sweater weather and all things pumpkin (pumpkin muffins!). And tea on the porch wrapped up against the early morning chill.
The ladies have been doing late night recon.....flying about, checking on the night birds and woodland creatures, making sure the forest is healthy, celebrating the night, the stars and the beautiful moon. All is well, so they've given their brooms a needed rest and it's time for tea!

I began with the Display Tray Dome (which is coming soon!).

I painted the front frame work black and papered the back with a becoming shade of gray.

Using the front frame work as a template I lightly drew around it, defining the spaces and allowing me to work within them without the frame being in the way. You can kind of see the pencil marks. Sorry for the not very clear picture, I think you can see what I mean.

I then began composing and then gluing the main images into the frames I liked them in. Trying to be mindful of balance and visual weight. You can see the pencil mark a bit better here.

After all the main players were glued down, I glued the face frame in place. It makes a big difference!

Now it's time to play! I didn't have a plan for this. I just played with various things I cut out that caught my eye until they looked right and the ladies started to take on more personality. I also played with my favorite tool of the moment...a Sharpie Poster Paint Pen (I like the acrylic one NOT the oil based one) and added some dots and swirls.

I think this lady really likes her candy corn. And she has pretty fab hair.

And why not a little masked dancing with your favorite bats after tea?

SUPPLIES:
Display Tray Dome (coming soon)

Acrylic Paint (black and white)
Sharpie Fine Poster Paint Marker (white)
Stickles in Lime Green, Black Diamond, Sunflower and Orange Peel
 Various Collage Images from Sandy Gordon's ART TEA LIFE

Thank you for stopping by!