fir & foliage no. 1

It’s Tuesday and I have another fun announcement for you! Last week we kicked off a new (our first ever) regular blog feature called TGIF. Today I’m announcing another new blog feature called Make & Tell Tuesday!

On Tuesdays, I’ll share a project and a video showing at least some aspect of how it was created. My goal is to make this a regular feature, but fair warning, it may not happen every week. Being a small company, there are lots of things to handle, as I’m sure you can imagine. So it may not happen every Tuesday, especially during busy times, but I’ll give it my best!

Today’s first Make & Tell Tuesday features a couple of cards made by combining the Fir & Foliage No. 1 & No. 2 sets together for some pretty autumn cards. Are you fully into Christmas mode, or are you still finishing up some fall projects? I can’t bring myself to put away the autumn things just yet, and combining these two sets has been on my mind for awhile!

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This first card uses several trees to create a pretty scene. I simply sponged a bit of Tumbled Glass Distress Oxide ink onto the background before adding the trees, which were stamped onto the matching dies so they could be layered. I also added a few splatters to the background. The sentiment is from the Bountiful Wreath set.

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This next card uses more of the Fir & Foliage No. 1 & 2 trees. When I had my MISTI set up to stamp the layered trees, I stamped a bunch of them in different colors, so I had enough to create multiple projects. This time I created a watercolored background for them, including what resembles a shoreline and reflection.

Here is today’s video, showing how I did the background for this card. Enjoy!

I hope you enjoyed this first Make & Tell Tuesday! We’ll see you back here on Friday!

Our celebration of all things autumn continues today. So many of you say it’s your favorite season, and I agree whole-heartedly! There’s just something about it.

I have so many projects to share with you today, so we better get on with it! Let’s meet today’s new products… (everything that’s being introduced today will be available for purchase in The Shop, beginning at 10am EDT on Friday, August 23!)

Harvest Home Stamps & Dies

Let us gather and give thanks! The Harvest Home stamp set features a sweet multi-step barn and house. Experiment with creating scenes nestled inside the over-sized leaf included in the set for truly unique designs. There are several scene-building items included in the set as well – a windmill, fences, moon and stars, and even some tiny hay bales. Combine this set with the matching dies for lots of layering and scene-building options! This set also works well with our Pathway Stencil, and Fir & Foliage No. 1 stamp set.
Sentiments included in the set: “let us”, “gather”, “& give thanks”.
Approximate sizes:
barn – 1.25″ x 1″
house – 1″ x .7″
assembled leaf – 4″ x 1.75″
windmill – .25″ x 1.2″
larger hay bale – .4″ x .25″
“gather” sentiment – 1.7″ x .4″

Bountiful Wreath Stamps & Dies

Celebrate the bounty of autumn with this beautiful multi-step frame. Experiment with stamping this lovely frame in all sorts of different color combinations, or go for a monochromatic look. Mix in some metallic embossing for an even more elegant look! Combine this stamp set with the matching dies to create windows or frames. The assortment of sentiments included in the set are perfect for all of your autumn and thanksgiving projects!
Mix & match sentiments included –
In larger script: blessings, thanks, harvest time
In smaller text: & be blessed, harvest, autumn, give, to you & yours, come home at
Approximate sizes:
assembled wreath – 3.9″ x 3.8″
thanks sentiment – 1.8″ x .8
blessings sentiment – 1.75″ x 1″
autumn sentiment – 1.1″ x .2″

To aid in your list-making and planning, below you will find the prices for today’s products.

Harvest Home 4″ x 8″ stamp set – $18
Harvest Home Die – $24
Bountiful Wreath 6″ x 8″ stamp set – $24
Bountiful Wreath die – $24

Now for the fun part! Let’s get on to the projects using these new sets!

I shared these sweet little leaf scenes in the sneak peek the other day. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with them…they’d make adorable tags or focal points. I decided to create some window notecards. I used the small and medium Crimped Frame dies to create these mini card bases. The leaf from the Harvest Home set is the perfect size to stretch across the opening. The leaf die included in the Harvest Home set consists of three pieces – the top and the bottom, both of which have scored details. The third part of the die is just a bit larger than the top and bottom pieces so that when layered it gives a nice border all the way around. In between the top and bottom pieces is where you can tuck the tiny house and barn and build your scenes. Here I also tucked some of the leaves and berries from the Autumn Sketches set. The inside is stamped with a new Sentiment Suite set coming your way this release, which has a thank you theme…perfect for this season of thankfulness!

This next card features both sets being showcased today. The Bountiful Wreath set creates the perfect frame for the Harvest Home scenes. The jumbo leaf from the Harvest Home set can be tucked behind the frame to create rolling hills for your scene. I used the inner portion of the Bountiful Wreath die to cut a window in my card front. The sentiment stamped inside is also from the Bountiful Wreath set.

I think you might be kind of excited to learn that the Harvest Home set also works really well with a few other products in our line-up. The trees from Fir & Foliage No. 1 are great for creating larger scenes that fill your card front. I also used the Pathway Stencil here. Check out those little hay bales…I think they might be my favorite detail from the Harvest Home set!

There is also a cluster of tiny stars and a moon included in the Harvest Home set. You can’t have the perfect autumn set without a little moonlight, right? Here I did some watercoloring to create a night scene. I heat embossed the stars with white powder against the blue watercoloring. I once again built my scene inside the leaf from Harvest Home. This time I didn’t stamp the leaf with the images from the stamp set, but just sponged it with inks to match my watercoloring. I cut my watercolor panel using the large leaf base, and then nestled the pieced-together leaf inside to create an inset look. This one was so fun to created. Can you imagine it with a sunset instead of a night sky? That would be fun to try, too!

My next card has a very different look from the others. It almost reminds me of a painting we might have had in our home back when I was a kid…something about it feels very vintage! This time I used just the bottom part of the leaf diecut, which allowed me to build a larger scene above it. I really had fun creating the watercolor sky and abstract trees in the background. I also tucked in the smaller tree from the Fir & Foliage No. 1 set. It’s maybe a little over-sized compared to the house in this particular scene, but I still think it works and it just makes the house feel like it’s all cozy, nestled in its leafy hillside. 😉

My next card is a different take on the Bountiful Wreath set. This set really can be used throughout the year, not just for fall! Here I paired it with our little wren friend from the Robin & Wren set. This time I snipped away the top arch of the Bountiful Wreath frame, then layered it over the Halfsies Oval die. Inside the oval cut-out I sponged some ink and also stamped the outline branch from the Autumn Sketches set. For a fun touch I also added a Bountiful Wreath to the flap of the envelope. I trimmed it down so that it fit nicely on the flap. Just a fun touch to make a really coordinated look…like something you might pick up at a stationery shop.

My final card for today has a very different look from the others. I just love that jumbo leaf from the Harvest Home set. The embossing turned out so pretty, I just want to put it on everything! Here I created a very soft and elegant card. With a change of sentiments it would be a perfect fall wedding card, don’t you think? I cut the leaf from white cardstock and then sponged it with some Tattered Rose Distress Oxide ink along the vein edges. I backed it with the solid leaf, cut from kraft cardstock. I added some gold embossed leaves and berries, stamped with the outlines from the Autumn Sketches set. The background has a bit of very soft watercolor, and also a bit of stenciling using a stencil you’ll see more of later this week! I also heat embossed a couple of the branches from the Autumn Sketches set. Once again I embellished the envelope flap by sponging some ink, and heat embossing that pretty branch from Autumn Sketches.

Now that you’ve gotten to meet all of today’s new products, you can “greet” them for a chance to win a $50 gift card! Read on for details…

Comment here on the blog for one entry (one comment per person)
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Comments close at Midnight on Thursday, August 22
Winners will be posted at 7am ET on Friday, August 23rd here on the blog

Without further ado, here is what our amazing Inspiration Team has to share with you today!
(click on the images to visit their blogs, or click HERE if viewing this post via email)