Hello Friends!

I had so much fun working with one of my old favorites, Rooted In Nature, that I chose to use it again for another masculine card.  This time, I paired this older stamp set with some of the new DSP, Gilded Autumn.  I LOVE this paper!  I’m a paper freak anyway, but…. this…paper!!!  The rich, earthy tones in these papers are so ME!  You could look around at the decor in my home and say, “Yep…she got her inspiration from Gilded Autumn DSP!”  Actually, I’m pretty sure that Stampin’ Up got inside my home and took their inspiration from me! LOL!

At any rate, with these blazing hot temperatures we’ve been having, I think I’m pretty much ready for the Fall season.  I’m looking forward to that first rain…Mmmm, I love the outside smells after it rains for the first time after a dry spell.  Some rain, a cool breeze, and a hike through the woods… I can hardly wait!!!

Speaking of a hike through the woods… I mentioned some of my favorite places on our property in my last post, so I thought I’d share a few pictures that I took after writing that post.  It was hot inside and out, and a shady spot in the forest with an ice-cold beverage sounded like a good idea.  As it was too hot to hike (my opinion – not Dean’s), we jumped on a four-wheeler and took a ride to some of my favorite places on the ranch that evening, to sit in the shade and soak up those earthy-good smells!

The pictures truly don’t do it justice, as I’m unable to factor in the smells and sounds of the forest with these pictures.  You’ll just have to trust me on this one… God blessed us with a beautiful place to call home!

Another reason I can’t wait for cooler temperatures is that I love riding my horses through these areas.  I know Adam, my cowboy son, would scoff at me, but if it’s too hot for me to hike, I can barely ask my horses to hike with me on their back!  Yes, they’re a little bit spoiled!

But let’s get on to today’s card!

LET’S GET INKY!

Materials Used:

Papers:

• Card base – Very Vanilla cut at 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ and scored at 2 1/8″ and 6 3/8″ for a double gate fold.
• Front mats 1 – Cajun Craze cut (2) at 2″ x 5 3/8″
• Front mats 2 – Gilded Autumn DSP cut (2) at 1 7/8″ x 5 1/4″
• Image panel mats – Cajun Craze cropped with Stitched Rectangles Dies (2 5/8″ x 4″)

Gilded Autumn DSP (green) cropped with Stitched Rectangles Dies (2 1/8″ x 3 1/2″)

• Inside mat – Cajun Craze 5 1/4″ x 4″
• Inside sentiment panel – Very Vanilla 5 1/8″ x 3 7/8″

Stamp Sets Used:

• Rooted In Nature

Metal Dies Used:

• Nature’s Roots
• Stitched Rectangles

Ink:

• Early Espresso
• Crumb Cake
• Cajun Craze
• Mint Macaron

Accessories:

• Gold Glitter Enamel Dots
• Stampin’ Blends:  Cajun Craze, Mango Melody, Cinnamon Cider, Old Olive

Putting It Together!

1. Adhere front mats (Cajun Craze & DSP) to card flaps.
2. Stamp large leaf in Early Espresso and Small leaf in Cajun Craze randomly on the Cajun Craze image panel mat.
3. Stamp tree image on Very Vanilla cardstock.
4. Color image with Stampin’ Blends.  I used Cajun Craze, Mango Melody, Cinnamon Cider and light Old Olive.  I just dotted the various colors on fairly randomly, allowing them to blend into each other to look like the turning leaves of Autumn.  The tree trunk is Dark Cinnamon Cider.
5. Crop the tree image out using the die from Nature’s Roots.
6. Adhere tree image to DSP rectangle.
7. Adhere that panel now to the stamped Cajun Craze Panel.
8. Stamp the “Be Strong Be Happy Be You” sentiment from Rooted in Nature three times, once each in Early Espresso, Crumb Cake and Mint Macaron.
9. Fussy cut one of each block of the sentiment out using snips so that the whole sentiment is tri-colored.
10. Adhere to stamped Cajun Craze panel, under the image panel, in a staggered fashion.
11. Place glue only on left half of the Cajun Craze panel and adhere to left front panel.
12. Randomly apply Gold Glitter Enamel Dots to card front.
13. On the inside of the card, stamp one large leaf in Mint Macaron in the center of the Very Vanilla panel.  Stamp two smaller leaves, one in Crumb Cake and one in Cajun Craze.
14. Stamp the sentiment in Early Espresso over the top of the stamped leaves.
15. Adhere Very Vanilla sentiment panel to Cajun Craze mat, and adhere to center of card inside.

I think that this card exudes the sentiment “BE STRONG   BE HAPPY   BE YOU”  and is appropriate for male or female.  And, of course, who doesn’t want a card from a family member or friend reminding them how wonderful you think they are!  Send this to someone who needs a little encouragement!

Stay cool out there my friends!  In fact, stay in and STAMP!

Until next time,

Janet

Product List

Rooted In Nature Cling-Mount Stamp Set [148217] $42.00	Nature’s Roots Dies [151786] $39.00	Paper Snips [103579] $10.00	Paper Trimmer [152392] $25.00	Stitched Rectangles Dies [151820] $35.00
Gilded Autumn Specialty Designer Series Paper [153520] $15.00	Very Vanilla 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [101650] $9.75	Cajun Craze 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [119684] $8.75	Early Espresso Classic Stampin’ Pad [147114] $7.50	Cajun Craze Classic Stampin’ Pad [147085] $7.50
Crumb Cake Classic Stampin’ Pad [147116] $7.50	Mint Macaron Classic Stampin’ Pad [147106] $7.50	Gold Glitter Enamel Dots [152155] $8.00	Cajun Craze Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [154879] $9.00	Mango Melody Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [154888] $9.00
Cinnamon Cider Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [153105] $9.00	Old Olive Stampin’ Blends Combo Pack [154892] $9.00