Thursday, September 26, 2024

Sunflowers and Pumpkins

Hello, friends, and welcome!  Turning to those first few days of fall when the sunflowers are still blooming and the leaves are not quite turned... there may even be a ripe pumpkin or two in the sunniest patch.  No matter the season, they can all come together on our cards.  That's something to celebrate.

The up front star of the show is a new-to-me Cottage Cutz die called Fall Centerpiece.  Maybe it's from last year, but it came to me during their Labor Day sale.  The little "hello" is from a different Cottage Cutz set.  All the CC dies were cut in Neenah 110 lb white and colored with inks and brushes.



The card base is cut from shimmery white, including the Tutti Designs Maple Vine Frame which I glued to the base and brushed over with inks.  The background colors are not true in the picture I'm viewing on my laptop.  It's actually a soft pale-orange (SU Apricot Appeal) blended into a darker warm-orange (SU Really Rust).  Both colors retired in 2010.

The arch is also shimmery white, cut with the new-to-me Spellbinders Essential Arches which I decided were essential indeed.  Not fancy, just functional.  I was on a shopping hiatus for a while, but... sales happened, sigh.



  • I was going to leave off the sentiment but when I saw The Sisterhood of Crafters "Hello" theme I added it to my card and it looks just right.
  • Of course, I have to send my card over to Darnell's NBUS Challenge #66 with my never-been-used Fall Centerpiece and Essential Arches.
  • Additionally, I'm sharing in Vicki's A Cut Above September Challenge which closes on the 28th.  It's all about die cuts as a focal point.  The optional theme is "monochromatic", which I had in mind when I made the card base, but then it looked like such a nice background for the Fall Centerpiece.


 



That's it for today!  I've got some things on my table that I hope to finish soon, fingers crossed.  I'm off to run errands today.  Happy fall!


Stamps:  None  Paper:  Neenah Classic Crest Super Smooth Solar White 110 lb for main image dies, shimmery white for base and arch  Ink:  Various Stampin' Up  Coloring:  Blending brushes  Dies:  Cottage Cutz Fall Harvest, CC Telephone for sentiment, Spellbinders Essential Arches, Tutti Designs Maple Vine Frame  Other:  Dimensional tape for one sunflower

23 comments:

HilaryJane said...

This is absolutely stunning. I love how you have used the white arched die cut to help make your sunflowers pop and that die on the background looks wonderful inked like that. I have never thought of doing that. It really is very effective. Thanks so much for the inspiration xx

crafty-stamper said...

Beautiful Autumn card, love all the fabulous die-cuts.
Carol x

Vicki said...

This is so lovely! I can see the shimmer in the background inking. Beautiful sunflower, foliage and pumpkins. Your coloring is always so impressive. Lots of layers and dimension with those die cuts. Thanks for sharing at A Cut Above's September Anything Goes With A Die Cut and optional Monochromatic Challenge.

Nanny's Pansy Patch said...

Your card definitely made me smile! I love everything about it especially the beautiful flowers nestled in the pumpkin. Great background! One thing about fall is the gorgeous sunflowers! Enjoy your weekend!

Loll said...

This is STUNNING, Leslie. LOVE this die set, especially in your talented hands. Beautiful card that had me oohing and ahhhing! xx

Yogi said...

Oh that is so pretty. Very well put together. Happy fall. although it's getting too close to winter. We've still got nice sunny days. Have a great day

Birgit said...

What a stunning fall bouquet. Your card is truly gorgeous in every sense of the word. The background with the leafy frame is the perfect place to lay the focal point. The sunflowers and pumpkin dies have me wanting to go on a shopping splurge too.

Marcia Hill said...

WOW...gorgeous card Leslie! Your pumpkin and sunflowers are SO pretty and look wonderful against the shimmery white arch...they really POP!! Your background is absolutely BEAUTIFUL...love how you did the gradient blending on it!! Lovely, lovely late Summer/early Fall card and a perfect way to say "hello"! Hugs. :0)

Diane said...

Absolutely gorgeous and great minds think alike as I bought this same die during their sale along with 'ahem' a 'few' others, I have it in my 'to do' basket! The coloring of your die cut pieces are fabulous and beautifully blended, I hope I can come up with something as beautiful with mine!! I had been wanting that die since it came out and when I saw it was on sale it immediately went into my cart! I seemed to have bought an overabundance of new fall and Halloween this year!!

Margaret said...

So gorgeous. I love the SU colors you used and RR has always been a favorite. Sorry it's gone. Great layout with your images and coloring is fabulous as always.

I Card Everyone said...

Leslie, my screen shows those colors you described just perfectly - wish you were here as Tom could calibrate your screen for you!
I love your gorgeous centerpiece - who would not love one like it gracing their table this time of year - or such a pretty hello gracing their mantle?
=]

Lisa Elton said...

I adore every beautiful thing about your card! I also agree with MIchele, who wouldn't love a centerpiece this fabulous on their table! Spectacular card, Leslie!

Bonnie said...

Love the centerpiece with the pretty sunflowers and pumpkin holder! Wonderful shading on all the colored images!

pam said...

Beautiful card Leslie, love the autumnal colours.
Hugs Pam x

nancy littrell said...

OMG.....Perfect Centerpiece with the beautiful sunflowers and pumpkin holder, Leslie:-) I LOVE every single detail of your beautiful Fall Card, my friend. Love and Hugs....Nancy

Glenda said...

This is just beautiful! I love your sunflowers and pumpkins and the embossing folder just speakes to me! Been dealing with Helene here...lots of wind and water and no power all day yesterday! Glad to see the backside of this one!

Christine Alexander said...

such a beautiful festive fall card, your pumpkin full of flowers is gorgeous ♥

Conniecrafter said...

Beautiful, I so love a bouquet in a pumpkin and that is a beauty with the sunflowers. I just love the way you inked up the background too, such pretty colors and they blended so well and look great on that shimmery paper!

Pam Sparks said...

I can see right off the bat I need this die set! Fabulous Fall card Leslie! I love the blended background, dies...EVERYTHING! It's gorgeous! Going to go look for the set! lol

Pam Sparks said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ida said...

So pretty! - Love how you blended the colors on the embossed background. Everything is so well coordinated on this card.

Darlene said...

OH my friend ... this is just gorgeous! LOVE that beautiful ombred background (very creative idea) and your pumpkin filled sunflowers just screams FALL! Beautifully colored and crafted (no surprise there!). A beautiful Hello card ... going to make someone smile for sure!!
Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Sisterhood of Crafters challenge! Good Luck and we hope you’ll come back often.

Darlene
DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS
Owner
Sisterhood of Crafters
Co-Owner … Can You Handle the Pressure, Double D, Four Seasons, Peace On Earth, Stencil Fun, Simply Clean & Simple, Two Old Bats, Triple BWord Power, Love Those Pretty Papers

Lynette said...

I'm finally doing a little catching up on my blog-reading. Sorry for the lack of comments, but I did check them all out! I love this idea of gluing the die-cut on and then doing the ink blending - so cool!