That's Life: autumn

Showing posts with label autumn. Show all posts

Monday, 31 August 2026

Autumn Serenade....

Happy Monday...

As we begin a new week, it's time for another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, we challenge you to GET IN SHAPE and create anything but a square or rectangular project.

With this in mind, I went to my favourite shape, a circle and used products from Sizzix and Tim Holtz to make a card to celebrate the start of Autumn/Fall. I also used a product that I bought a while ago but haven't used until today, the Sizzix Stamp and Spin Accessory Tool, which is so much fun and I can highly recommend if you love pattern building.

So, let's get started, it's time to get into shape....

CARD BLANK

To begin with I created my card blank, and cut two circles of black card, 16.5cm in diameter. I used a WR Makers Circle Cutter that I bought a while back and is still available to buy from stockists, but you can also cut these circles freehand by drawing around a circular object.

I scored a line across the top section of one piece of card, approx 5cm from the top, folded along the scoreline and then, applied adhesive to the area above the scoreline before attaching this piece to the second circle to form my card blank.

LAYERS

To form the base for my final layer, I cut further circles of card. I began with the largest, a circle of Kraft card which I machine stitched to add a border around the edge.

I then cut a 14.5cm circle of black card, followed by a layer of cream card, inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. Each layer is reduced in size by 0.5cm to form a border.

Once I had my card base, it was time to create the wreath design and central focal point...

BACKGROUND

For the background, I used the Sizzix Stamp and Spin Accessory Tool to create my circular wreath.

As I mentioned at the beginning if you circles and you love pattern building, then this tool is a must but, and please be aware of this, you do need to use this product in conjunction with the Sizzix Stamp and Stencil Tool ~ it will not work without.

I began by using a piece of Distress Watercolour card which I placed inside the Stamp and Stencil Tool. For the background, I used stamps from the Stampers Anonymous Leaf Print 2 and Floral Outlines Stamp sets, both by Tim Holtz. I positioned one of the smaller leaf print stamps onto the Stamp and Spin Tool, and inked this with Antique Linen Distress Ink. The finished card panel, is approx 14cm, so be aware to keep the stamping within this diameter.

Stamp the first image onto the watercolour card, and then re-ink the stamp and spin the tool, repeating the stamped image to form the circle.

The reason I stamped the image with a pale ink, is because it is giving you the basic shape for the wreath and acts as a guide for when I add the second layer of leaves.

After selecting some of the stamps from the Floral Elements stamp set and using one stamp at a time, I positioned the chosen stamps onto the stamp and spin tool but this time, I stamped the images using various autumnal colours of Distress Inks, inking up the stamps and then spritzing with a light mist of water and stamping the image onto the card, spinning the tool to create the wreath.

Once I was happy with background, I used the largest of the SSS Basic Shape Circles Die Set to die cut the card shape and machine stitched a border around the edge.

You now have the background and place this to one side to create the next layer.

Using the standalone Stamp and Stencil Tool and the same leaf image from the Leaf Print 2 stamp set, stamp 8 leaves onto Distress Watercolour Card.

To create the watercolour effect, I used the following Mini Distress Inks:

Peeled Paint, Crackling Campfire, Seedless Preserves, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey

I applied the inks to the stamps and then misted the ink with water, before stamping them onto the card.

I then used the SSS Leaf Print 2 Co-ordinating Die set to die cut each image.

After lightly inking the edges of each leaf with Old Paper Distress Ink, I added foam pads to the back and attached them onto my background, using the paler stamped outline, that I did at the beginning as a guide as to where to place them.

CENTRAL LAYERS

For the central layers, I used a combination of Basic Circle Shapes and Stitched Circles to cut and build up my card layers, which I attached with foam pads to the centre of the wreath. The card layers comprise of gold metallic Kraft card, a layer of green Kraft card and watercolour card, inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

I then added my Funky Insect, the beetle, which I attached to the centre of the circles, placing it over the top of some frayed Mummy Cloth and a small off cut of a Mica Tile from my own stash.

For the tutorial of how I used Distress Embossing Glaze and the colours that are needed to create this funky insect, just click HERE.

For the finishing touches, I used a remnant rub, no.761, taken from the Specimen Remnant Rub set and added this to the leaf in the centre, at the bottom of the circle....

....and finally, I attached some Hardware Heads around the outside edge of the layered circles, which I altered with Crackling Campfire, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze Distress Paints, to create more of a rusty finish to the metal.

So that's my project complete and I hope you love the tips and techniques I've used to create it.

As always, if you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today...

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

SSS/Tim Holtz Stamps and Dies Bundles: Leaf Prints 2

Stampers Anonymous: Floral Elements

Sizzix: Big Shot, Stamp and Spin Accessory Tool, Stamp and Stencil Tool, Funky Insects

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint, Crackling Campfire, Seedless Preserves, Rusty Hinge, Wild Honey

Distress Paints: Crackling Campfire, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze

Distress Embossing Glaze

Tim Holtz idea-ology: Specimen Remnant Rubs, Screw Heads, Mummy cloth

SSS: Basic Shapes Circle Dies, Stitched Circles

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Foam Pads

Surfaces: Watercolour Card, Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Metallic Kraft Classics, Tim Holtz Cool Kraft Stash, Black Card

Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun

Mica Tile

Monday, 24 August 2026

Harvest Moon...

Hello everyone...

Hope you've all had a good weekend and you're now ready for a new week, and a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This week, our theme is all about LOTS OF LAYERS and we'd love to see how you will interpret this theme and can't wait to see what you create.

For my make, I chose to create a card to celebrate my favourite season, Autumn/Fall and not only did I add layers to build up the card base, I also added layers of die cuts and layers of Distress Inks, to bring the scene to life.

So, let's get started, it's time to take you through all the details of how I made this layered card.

To begin with I created a black card blank, measuring 20 x 15cm.

CARD LAYERS

To build up the layers of the card, I began by cutting another panel of black card, 19.5 x 14.5cm and I lightly spritzed this layer with Decayed and Unravelled Mica Sprays. I don't want a solid block colour on this panel, just a splatter of shimmery dots. Mount this layer onto the black card blank.

I then cut a piece of silver metallic Kraft card and layered this onto a panel of slate grey card, 18.5 x 13.5cm, which leaves a border of the darker card showing. Mount these layers onto the card blank using foam pads.

The layers are now ready for the background scene...

BACKGROUND

Cut a panel of Mixed Media Heavystock card, 17.5 x 12.5cm.

To create the moon, I used the middle sized, solid piece from the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Moon Mask Stencils and placed this on the left hand side of the card panel, positioning it so it's off the edge of the card.

I then used the following colours of Distress Ink to create the night sky, blending the colours in layers.

DISTRESS INK: Black Soot, Villainous Potion, Uncharted Mariner, Ground Espresso

Starting with the blue, followed by purple and ending with the two darker colours, I applied each of these colours with a Blending Tool, and building them up to create the moody sky.

Once I was happy, I removed the mask and then placed the co-ordinating detail mask back onto my panel.

I blended Hickory Smoke through the stencil before removing it and then blended Antique Linen and Fossilised Amber over the entire moon area to create the glow.

Finally, I splattered some Decayed Mica Spray across the skyline and allowed this to dry.

Once I'd machine stitched a border around the outside of the card panel, the scene is ready to bring this story to life.

SCENE BUILDING

For this I used The Scarecrow Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz stamp set and the co-ordinating dies from SSS and firstly, I stamped the bats over the top of the inked moon, using Black Soot Archival Ink.

Now for the fence that you can see sitting at the back of the scarecrow. This is die cut from black card using the Seth Apter Gridiron Die Set by Sizzix. I then cut the die cut down to the size I needed to create my fence and applied Gilding Wax over the surface to add a bronze shimmer to the die cut.

I applied foam pads to the back of the gridiron die cut, placing them where they won't be seen and will be covered by the scarecrow and grasses and attached the 'fence' to my background.

Next I stamped and coloured the scarecrow. I stamped this onto Distress Watercolor Card and then watercolored the image with Distress Watercolour Pencils before using the SSS Co-ordinating dies to die cut the image.

I then stamped the two grasses in Peeled Paint Archival Ink and again used the co-ordinating dies to die cut each piece. I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I attached these pieces to my card using foam pads to add dimension.

I then added some moss and dried grasses around the base of the images.

To complete the card, I stamped the Happy Fall onto the bottom left hand corner....

...and then added some gold stars to the sky. These stars are die cut from gold metallic card, using the waste product from the Falling Stars Die Set but if you don't have this die set, any die that features stars will work.

Finally, I attached the ':' idea-ology Type Chip as a decorative element in the top right hand corner....

So, that's my layered card finished and I hope you love this little scene that was bought to life using many layers.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today...

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

SSS/Tim Holtz Stamps and Dies Bundles: The Scarecrow

Stampers Anonymous: Moon Mask Stencils

Sizzix: Big Shot, Gridiron, Falling Stars

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Black Soot, Villainous Potion, Uncharted Mariner, Ground Espresso, Hickory Smoke, Fossilised Amber

Mica Spray: Unravelled, Decayed

Distress Watercolour Pencils

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Foam Pads, Black Soot Archival Ink, Peeled Paint Archival Ink, Gold Luster Wax, Rose Gold Luster Wax

Surfaces: Watercolour Card, Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Metallic Kraft Classics, Black Card

Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun

Moss

Dried Grasses from my own stash

Monday, 1 September 2025

Countdown to Autumn...

Hello everyone and HAPPY STAMPtember...

As we celebrate the start of this exciting month, it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week we are showcasing the wonderful products of our very own Simon Says Stamp brand and the theme is called STAMP IT! So, however you choose to use stamps, we can't wait to see what you create and hope you'll join us and play along!

For my make, I started the countdown for my favourite time of year ~ AUTUMN and I chose to use Tim Holtz's Nature's Wonder stamp set together with the Simon Says Stamp co-ordinating die set. I love that these dies cut the images perfectly and there's no more fussy cutting which is definitely something to celebrate!

So, let's get started because it's time to share how I created my tag...

To begin with I used two Etcetera Tags which I layered ~ the Mini Etcetera Tag and the Size 8 Etcetera Tag.

CREATING THE BACKGROUNDS

I started with the larger tag, and began by applying Design Tape around each of the four edges. I then cut a piece of decorative paper from the Halloween Backdrops pack and added rips and tears to the edges. I machine stitched a border and then adhered the paper to the tag with Matte Collage Medium, adding more tears and curling the corners to create a gnarly, vintage feel to the piece.

After applying a coat of Collage Medium to the surface of the paper, I then took my Walnut Stain Distress Crayon and used this to add colour to the rips and tears. I also added a small Cello Sticker Tape to the edge on the right hand side of the tag.

Moving on to the smaller, Size 8 tag I created my own background. For this I used a Size 8 Mixed Media Heavystock tag and the Numeric Mini Layering Stencil. I placed the stencil so the numbers would be in the centre of the tag and then applied Translucent Grit Paste through the stencil.

Remove the stencil and whilst the paste is still wet, I sprinkled Pumice Stone Distress Glaze over the top, tapping away the excess and then setting it to one side to dry.

Once the paste is touch dry, (or near enough) I then heat embossed the glaze until molten and created a faux enamel effect. Remember to not settle on one area for too long as you only want to melt the glaze and not create bubbles in the paste.

To add colour to the tag, I used a combination of Distress Spray Stains and Oxide Sprays:

Distress Spray: Black Soot, Frayed Burlap, Speckled Egg, Antique Linen

Oxide Spray: Speckled Egg

After misting the tag with water, I layered the sprays until I was happy and then allowed the tag to dry. The stencilled area will resist the colour, and if there is any residual ink, just wipe it away once the tag is dry.

To complete this, I machine stitched a border and then attached it to my Etcetera Tag with Collage Medium, before mounting this tag onto the centre of the larger tag, again using the medium to adhere it.

I added some flicks of Antique Linen

LEAVES

Now to create the leaves for this piece and create those beautiful colours of Autumn.

As mentioned, I used Tim's Nature's Wonder stamp set by Stampers Anonymous and the co-ordinating die set by SSS.

I stamped each of my leaves onto watercolour card using Black Soot Archival Ink and then watercolored them with a selection of Distress Watercolour Pencils in Aged Mahogany, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Crackling Campfire, Carved Pumpkin.

Once happy, I then used the co-ordinating dies to die cut each of the stamped leaves and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I used a total of 8 leaves for this make and shaped each of themes that this will create dimension on the finished piece.

PHOTO BOOTH IMAGE

With the leaves ready, I colour tinted the PhotoBooth image using Distress Crayons and a water brush. I chose this particular photo as I wanted someone wearing a coat and smiling ~ someone who looks as if they're embracing the season. I also wanted to keep the colours that I used to colour tint, quite warm, so chose similar colours to the ones I used on the leaves and added a blue background.

I added some rips and tiny tears to the edges of the photo, and then attached a piece of idea-ology Cello Sticker Tape to the left hand side before machine stitching some detail onto the photo.

I attached the photo to a piece of felt that I cut with Pinking Shears from my own stash, and then mounted the felt onto a piece of mountboard. The mount board will create a stable base once the photo is stuck into place.

To complete the photo, I added the Oct 18 remnant rub from the Labeled set.

LAYERING THE LEAVES AND MOUNTING THE PHOTO

It's now time to create the focal point to this piece and I attached the photo into position with foam pads. I then arranged the leaves to cascade across the tag, by placing these on either side of the image.

I then tucked in some pieces of Spanish Moss, that I have in my stash but can be found in floristry departments. The moss creates more interest and texture to this arrangement which I love.

FINISHING DETAILS

We're nearly there and all that's left is those tiny details that add so much more to a piece than you think.

Firstly, I clipped a Large Hinge Clip to the top. This clip was painted with a combination of the Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint, Antiqued Bronze and Black Soot for a beautiful vintage finish.

I added the 'Merchandise" ephemera piece which is taken from the Field Notes Snippets pack and attached this just below the Hinge Clip. I also attached a Machinery Head to cover the hole in the top of the smaller tag. I painted this piece with Lumberjack Plaid Distress paint for a chippy vintage look.

Beneath the photo arrangement, I added a Theories Quote Chip, "Focus On The Good". I sanded the edges of the chip and then inked them with Walnut Stain Distress Ink before attaching it to my tag. On either side of the chip, I placed a Large Fastener. To add the dents and "dings" to the surface of the fastener, I used the Texture Hammer.

So, that's my make finished for this week and I hope you love the story behind this piece and all the tricks and techniques I've used to create the project.