Mixed media autumn cards

Well, election day has come and gone, and I'm so disappointed with the results of the presidential race. I'm also fearful and anxious about what the next four years will hold. So it's been a stressful week, and crafting seems like such an insignificant thing. But it does help me feel a little less anxious. And I hope that by sharing my work -- sending cards or gifting hand-crafted items -- I can put a little joy out into the world. So I'll keep making cards and sharing them here (hopefully a little more often than I did last month).

Today I'm sharing two autumn-themed mixed media cards. In September I ordered a few of the Paper Glaze sampler sets from Picket Fence Studios, and the Colors of Herbs set was perfect for some fall leaves.

I chose a leaf stencil for each card and applied the Paper Glaze to the card stock using a pallet knife. Starting with the yellow, I applied the glaze to random places of the stencils. Then I did the same with the orange and green pastes, blending the colors together in some places, and let the panels dry.

For the first card, I stamped a sentiment from Lighthearted Leaves (Stampin' Up!) on white card stock, die cut it with a stitched circle die, and adhered the circle to the leaf panel. Using the Autumn Leaves dies (Gina K Designs) and card stock that coordinated with the paste colors, I die cut three leaves and attached them to the panel (using foam tape) so they look like they're falling from a tree. I rounded two corners of the panel, adhered it to a dark brown card base, and finished the card with gold sequins.

For the second card, I used the Collage Backgrounds Hero Transfers (Hero Arts) to fill in the open spaces around the stenciled leaves. I die cut the Happy Birthday die (Simon Says Stamp) out of black and gold card stock and attached the sentiment toward the top of the card. For embellishment, I used my finger to apply Gold Hero Paste (Hero Arts) around the edges of the panel, added bits of coordinating ribbon with a tiny stapler, and finished with gold sequins.

I love the texture that the paste adds, and I'm really happy with these finished cards. I also made a few more backgrounds with the other Paper Glaze sampler sets I ordered, but I haven't turned those into cards yet. 

Thanks for stopping by!