Is it time for Fall yet?????

Is it time for fall yet?? I keep waiting for that hint of cool in the air--sometimes I can almost feel it on my morning walks, but this morning was just too warm.  I am always eager for a change in season, especially fall, which is my favorite time.  It can't get here fast enough, since we are all tired of the hot summer heat.  The card above depicts my all time favorite go-to stamp for fall--Hero Arts F5270--Traditional Pumpkin.  I have had it for some time and I think used it for fall cards for the last three years.  Yet again, I drag it out, and do the same old technique I love--paper piecing beautiful fall printed papers.  This time the papers are from Cosmo Cricket's Nutmeg collection--another 6" x 6" pad waiting in my vast stash to be used and made into something beautiful, cute, memorable, or useful.  I paired this stamp with some new findings in my craft room--my not so recently acquired but still waiting to be used ZigZag stamp from Hero Arts (CG422) and my newest acquisition--my button studio from Epiphany Crafts.  (An item which I have mixed feelings about--certainly overpriced for the simple job it does not quite as well as I would have liked, but oh, well, it's a new toy and I can use it.)  The sentiment on the card is from Hero Arts' Season of Giving clear stamp collection, and the felt leaves I believe are also from Hero Arts.  I stamped the zig zag background with three colors of Clearsnap Colorbox Fluid Chalk ink-Pumpkin Spice, Yellow Ochre, and Olive Pastel.  A few ties of May Arts twine pulls the card together.  I love Bazzill paper for cardstock for cards!  I didn't even have to use a score tool on this--it just folded nicely!  I think I read that Bazzill papers have polyester fibers in them--maybe this is why it folds so nicely.  Not a perfect card--I see mis-alignment rampant and I had to use an orange pigment pen to get the sentiment to look decent, but I like it.  It reminds me of fun autumn times ahead and the promise of a little cooler weather.   Let's taste the last of the summer heat, maybe let it linger in our mouths just for a while, but let's wash it down with a draught of cool autumn.

School Days Shadowbox

This shadowbox showcases pictures of my husband's grades 1- 10 above.  My mother in law gave me these pictures a number of years ago (quite a few years, acually!) and I decided it was time to do something with them.  I have had this idea swirling around in my head for some time, ever since the Graphic 45 school stamps (which you can see in the project) came out.  I used muted tones of red, blue and yellow as a backdrop for the pictures.  In addition to the stamps, I used some computer generated embellishments as well as purchased ones.  I am thinking I should make one of these for my school pictures, or my son's, if I am organized enough to find them!  I should get the shadowboxes started first, then add the pictures as I locate them!  Sometimes we're so busy living life it's tough to think about saving our memories, but my husband really did like the presentation and I think it brought back some memories to him. 

Chip Decor

I have discovered Chip Decor from Hobby Lobby is fun!  This is a gift I am making my sister for her birthday.  I painted the edges of the shape black, then used the Chip Decor Cricut cartridge to generate the word from scrapbook paper.  Since I didn't have a printed 12" x 24" paper, I just abutted two 12" x 12" papers together and it ran fine.  I bet you can't tell where the papers meet!
     After applying the paper to the chipboard shape, I decorated it with black and white stickers and other little bits, including some gold embossed butterflies.  I do wish I had embossed before applying the paper to the shape, but it did work out fine.  I used the same cartridge to generate the letters of the family member's names, using a 3/4" setting from black cardstock.  I found some tiny metal frames and added the pictures of each family member.  Some pearls and stickles finished the project.  Voila!  (I hope she likes her present!)