More Autumn Decorating

With the help of dies and my Silhouette Portrait, I turned my inexpensive candle into a fun Fall candle and had so much fun that I jazzed up a few more for my daughters.
Here is the one I started with for me. 

The layered pumpkins and maple leaves on the top of the jar are cut with Spellbinder dies.  The leaves on the front of the jar around the verse are Impression Obsession dies.

Here is another candle for a daughter-in-law. 

Sentiment is a piece of designer paper.  Leaves are cut with Spellbinder dies. 

Top: Spellbinder leaves and the flower is cut with the Silhouette.

How about two more?
(The photos aren't great because I took them with a flash after finishing them in the evening but it will give you an idea of how they turned out.)

Embossed designer Paper as a band and the sentiment band is also cut from a 12 x 12 pad of designer paper. 

I added gold to the leaves.

Little bit of gold embossing on the corners of the sentiment piece and on the leaves on top

Oh, by the way, the scent of the candle is Pumpkin Spice Chai.  YUMMY!

Challenges:
Die Cuttin Divas - Fall Colors
Time Out -  inspiration photo
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Words 2 Craft By - life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the Fall
Power Poppy - pumpkin spice
Joy Clair - photo inspiration 
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration - theme = anything

Autumn Decor

The weather has changed so I am in the Fall mood.  Usually I put off decorating with Fall things until October but I have already brought out baskets, pumpkin candles, etc.  Last week I received my order of Mrs. Meyer products from Grove Collaborate ( I always have dish soap, counter spray, and hand soap at my kitchen sink).  Included was the products with Autumn scents.  I LOVE them.  Here is a pic of what the label looks like for this seasonal scent:

And here is what I did to them:

Such a fun, lovely background already so I cut a piece of black light weight cardstock and adhered it over the rectangle on the label using lots of ScorTape.  I cut pumpkins out with Spellbinder die, scored lines in them, used a Prisma pencil for the color on each line.  The leaves are Impression Obsession dies on which I used pencil and oxide ink.  The pumpkins are popped up with dimension tape so some of the leaves slip under.  On the spray bottle in the middle, I adhered one of the leaves to the pumpkin so it is popped up too.   I'm so happy with them; so fun for the Autumn.

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - pop it up
Time Out - mood board
Words 2 Craft By - fall
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration - anything goes (theme)

CAS Gatefold

Talk about easy!  I am almost embarrassed to post this card because it was so easy to make but here it is.

Card base is GKD Ivory cardstock which I stamped with GKD leaves using a rock and roll technique.
The main sentiment panel is a digital stamp by the Doodle Garden that I colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.

Challenges:
Scorepal - CAS
Simon Monday - stamp
Simon Wednesday - stamp
Time Out - let us be grateful for what makes us hahppy
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Work It Wednesday - stamp technique

Lovely New Die Cut

It was a surprise the first time I played with this Simon Says die.  I was thinking it would cut out a wreath.  Well, it does but I thought it would be a wreath I could hold rather than cutting the leaves out leaving a negative cut.  Now I am having fun thinking of ways to use it.

I stamped the sentiment on a separate piece of cardstock, cut it with a MFT circle same size as the center of the wreath, distressed the edge with Ranger Twisted Citrus oxide ink then adhered it with dimensional tape.
The rose is Power Poppy colored with Copics and Prisma pencils, fussy cut before adhering to the corner of the card.
 Challenges:
Crop Stop - anything
Simon Monday - stamp
Simon Wednesday - stamp
House that Stamps Built - anniversary
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration Theme - anything

Revisiting An Old Technique

 After searching for over an hour for a certain file of digital BG papers,(still don't know where it went!) I finally gave up and decided to make my own.  I wanted wood paneling behind the image so I grabbed a piece of SU Blush Blossom , scored it at uneven increments, then used three different colors of brown craft ink and distress oxide ink.  I was just practicing with this piece but ended up liking the results and used it for this card.

The basket image is a Stamploration stamp which I colored with Copics and Prisma pencils.  I cut it out with the coodinating die but then fussy cut off the border that was left.  It is popped up with dimensional tape and adhered to a piece of vanilla cardstock cut to fit the scalloped frame, Lacey Frame by Spellbinders.
The verse is digital printed on vanilla cardstock.
MFT Card Challenge:

Challenges:
MFT - sketch
Joy Clair - mood board
Crop Stop - anything
Simon Monday - stamp
Simon Wednesday - stamp
Time Out - Let us be grateful for what makes us happy.
Stamploration Theme - anything

Stamploration Anything Goes

 Word Art Wednesday - anything

Apple Season

Apples sauce, apple butter, apple pies.  Love them all.  Not so much the work involved but when I see those pretty jars lined up, and then pop one of them open later in the year, I know the work was worth it.  So because I have apples on my mind (and on the porch, counters, etc.), I made a card with them too.

Several blog challenges aided in what I did and how I did it.
The sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches

the colors at MFT Color Challenge

Simon Wednesday challenge - stamp
Simon Monday challenge - stamp

The truck stamp is Stampin'Up, grain stamp - GKD, apples - Craftin' Desert Divas
Coloring is Copic and Prisma pencils.
Card base is Brown Kraft from the Kraft Outlet

Other Challenges:
Double D - anything with wheels
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Stamploration Theme - anything

Back to a Routine

It's not like I haven't had busy times in my life.  Raising and homeschooling six kids tends to be time consuming and take some energy.  Let's not forget about raising calves and chickens, having a garden, canning, baking, running a small food co-op, and when the kids were teens running our own restaurant.  But I don't think I have ever been as busy or as tired as this summer.  At this age, 50 days of grands and other company in 10 weeks time just about did me in.  As much as I hate to admit it, the phrase in the sentence above (at this age) is probably the culprit.  Besides the company, I did have a huge garden, flower beds, high temperatures, and several weeks of smoke because of the forest fires.  I'm sure some or all of that contributed to my succumbing to the flu this past Sunday and why I am having a hard time bouncing back.
Is there a lesson here for me? 
I have never been one to act my age but I think it is time to face up to the fact that I am not a young superwoman and need to slow it down a bit.
Anyway, now that all the grands are back in school and friends and family are into their Fall schedules, I can get back to making more cards (although there still are a lot of pears to can and applesauce to make!)  I have made a few here and there during the summer but now it is time for some Autumn/Thanksgiving cards and do I dare say it, Christmas cards.
Here is one I made yesterday evening using the sketch at MFT. 

Sketch:

After coloring one of the pages in the Stamploration Color Blooms coloring book with Copics, I cut it into strips and adhered to a white base (GKD heavy cardstock).  The sentiment is by Altenew which I embosses with white EP.

Challenges:
Simon Wednesday - anything
House that Stamps Built - anything
Word Art Wednesday - anything
Crop Stop - anything
Stamploration Theme - anything

Stamploration Never ending challenge