Papertrey Ink October 2016 Blog Hop

Welcome to the Papertrey Ink October 2016 Blog Hop!  Nichole always has such a way of finding inspirational images for us and this month is no exception.  It's also a great way to celebrate the arrival of Fall.

Today also happens to be the 20th anniversary of mine and hubby's Catholic Church Wedding.  We have been married for 32+ years, but we didn't have a Catholic Church wedding until 1996.  It was a big deal at the time and I even had a real wedding dress although I skipped the train and the veil.  It was wonderful and lots of our family and a few close friends were there with us.  We even had a small cake and punch reception at our home afterward and one of my Sisters-In-Law had a small wedding cake made complete with a Robbie & Rachel Topper (Cherished Teddies).

I love fall weather.  Give me days filled with sunshine and 70 degrees and I am a very happy girl. I don't need a coat or jacket but a cup of hot tea, hot chocolate or a Mocha Latte tastes really good!  It's my practice session for the coming Winter season.

All of the different colors and textures in our inspiration image are so warm and cozy feeling and that was the main thing I wanted to portray with my design.  I started my card by doing ink blending on a piece of Canson #140 Watercolor Paper in Orange Zest and Pure Poppy.  By using the watercolor paper, it allows me to be able to spritz the paper generously and really blend those two colors out.  I used Tattered Angels Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist and set it aside to dry while I made a top folding card base from Dark Chocolate Cardstock.  That particular shimmer mist is no longer made but I am planning to try this one by Tsukineko once mine is all gone.  I still have a couple of bottles of Iridescent Gold left.

I love the old hymnal in the inspiration image and I tried to incorporate Sheet Music or Music Notes in some way to my background, but then it just competed with the beautiful plaid paper so ultimately I removed it.  I have a sheet music embossing folder, some sheet music patterned paper and even some sheet music background stamps.  I actually tried all three but I love the plaid paper and it just gave cleaner design lines for my project.

I cut the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle Die out of my Gold Foiled Plaid Paper.  I love this paper and I used a leftover piece for this card but I only have 3 sheets of this left and I've had it for at least 10 years which means I can't get more.  Sigh.... I had to use it for this card though because it popped right into my head as soon as I saw the Inspiration Image.

Once my watercolor paper was completely dry, I cut it using my Little B Hearts Dies.  The outside die cuts while the inside die just leaves the criss-cross impression all the way around. I have other heart dies but these are the ones I reach for over and over again.  There are six different sizes included in the set including one that is quite a bit larger than this and could be used on a 5 x 7 card.

After treating my die cut heart with my powder tool, I stamped the sentiment from Give Thanks in Versamark and heat set it with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder.  I also stamped the Acorns from the same set and heat embossed them as well.  To help define the edges of those elements, I went around the heart with Pure Poppy and Dark Chocolate for the Acorns. Additionally I stamped and heat embossed the wheat from the Paper Clippings: So Thankful For You Stamp Set in gold embossing powder on some of the scraps left from the ink blending.  The wheat always makes me think of home which always make me feel warm and cozy!

I was born in Missouri, but I was raised in Kansas and my husband was born in Kansas and grew up there. Winter Wheat accounts for 70 to 80 percent of total production in the U.S., with the largest amounts produced in Kansas (10.8 million tons) and North Dakota (9.8 million tons). To me, the image of wheat is synonymous with Kansas and in Western Kansas in particular, there are miles and miles of interstate highways that run along side the wheat fields. No matter what time of year it is, it's a sight that always evokes a feeling of being home. My husband's family has been farming in Kansas for over 100 years and his brother still farms there, so we feel very connected to the land there.

When assembling my card, I die cut another heart from Fun Foam just one size down to put behind the front one so it would be nice and stable for mailing. When you use foam tape, the paper can get bent up between the pieces so I like to use the fun foam for something this large.  I attached the acorns with a couple of foam squares.

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for this week is "Autumn", so I'll be entering this card over on their Challenge Blog as well.  Be sure to stop over at both places and check out all the fabulous entries!