Fall is my favorite time of the year! It’s a time when the leaves start changing colors, the air is cooler and the holidays are right around the corner. So today I have 8 fall-themed card ideas to share featuring the Love of Leaves Bundle from Stampin’ Up! This particular bundle is all about leaves. The stamp set has beautiful leaf images and sentiments. However, it’s the Stitched Leaves Dies that caught my eye right away. The dies produce stitching in and around all of the leaves in the set. Absolutely stunning results!
Simple Card Layouts
As you now by now, I really enjoy using my card layouts over and over to create a variety of different looks. So as we move through the card ideas today, you will notice that I used the same layout to create two different cards. The cards feature the beautiful Gilded Autumn Specialty Designer Series Paper. Since there are a variety of beautiful fall themed patterned, I decided to use the same card layouts showcase a few of them. It’s a great way to use up your patterned papers!
So these first two Love of Leaves cards feature a simple banner style card design. Start with a 4-1/4 x 3-3/4 inch piece of patterned paper for the background of the card. Cut a 1-3/4 x 5-1/4 inch piece of a different pattern, snip the end into a banner and adhere it to the card as shown. Now comes the fun part! Create the stitched leaves by nesting the leaf outline and inside die together. Each leaf in the bundle has an outline die, which will cut out the leaf shape. And, each leaf also has a coordinating “inside” die that will emboss the stitching right in the center of the leaf. So you can nest the dies together to cut and emboss all at once! Then use the leaf to embellish your card!
Layering with the Love of Leaves
The second set of cards features some simple layering and it’s a great way to use up scraps. For these cards, start with a piece of Early Espresso cardstock for the base of the card. Actually, all of the card bases feature Early Epsresso. Next, cut a 5-1/4 x 4 inch piece of patterned paper and adhere it to the card front.
Cut a 3 x 4 inch piece of Cajun Craze cardstock and adhere it to the center of the patterned paper. Cut a 1-3/4 x 3 inch piece of a different pattern (or use up any scraps you have on hand). Adhere it to the center of the Cajun Craze cardstock. Then simple embellish the card with one of the beautiful stitched leaves and a little sentiment. For the sentiment, I stamped several “hello” words across a piece of 1/2″ wide Crumb Cake cardstock using Early Espresso ink. It made it so easy to just “snip” off one of the words and add it to my card with a dimensional.
Layouts with Scraps
The next two Love of Leaves card ideas feature some scrap pieces of patterned paper I ended up with from creating over 16 different cards. I love to use up scraps and I use them in a variety of different ways. I will use them to create a fun layout, like these cards. However, I will also use them on the inside of my cards.
This particular card layout features four 2 x 2 inch pieces of patterned paper adhered to the upper part of the card front. The sentiment is stamped on a 1 x 4 inch piece of Crumb Cake cardstock and popped up with a few dimensionals. For the finishing touch, embellish the center of the squares with a beautiful stitched leaf.
Using the Negative Space
Besides creating a variety of beautiful stitched leaves, you can also use the “negative” space that is left over from cutting out the leaf shapes. Yes, you can maximize your card making by using the negative space created from the Stitched Leaves Dies. And the cool thing about the negative space is that it has the beautiful stitching around the outline of the leaf.
The first card features the leave outline cut into a 3 x 4 inch piece of patterned paper. The patterned paper is adhered to a 3-1/4 x 4-1/4 inch piece of Crumb Cake cardstock. And for the finishing touch, I simply used to “inside” die cut to create the stitching on the Crumb Cake cardstock that is peeking through the negative space. The second card features the exact same layout, I just changed the look by reversing how I used the patterned paper and cardstock. The leaf image was cut out of the center of a piece of Cajun Craze cardstock. The patterned paper peeks through the negative space. So pretty!
There are also some fun ways to decorate the inside of the cards. Above are a few simple ideas.
Love of Leaves Tutorial
I had so much fun playing with the Love of Leaves Bundle that it’s featured in this month’s card making tutorial. Everyone that shops with the September host code will receive a printable tutorial featuring 6 additional card ideas featuring the Love of Leaves! That means that you will have a total of 14 different ideas between the tutorial and the cards I shared here today! Here’s a sneak peek of the cards:
The September 2020 host code is VCU46AAQ and is valid through September 28, 2020. Every month I feature a new card making tutorial. It’s my gift to you, a little thank you for shopping with me. Shop with the host code at https://lynndunn.stampinup.net to grab this month’s FREE tutorial.
I hope you enjoyed these card ideas and the different ways you can use the Love of Leaves Bundle. For more ways to get the most of your card layouts and stamp sets, check out my latest post HERE. Have a creative day! ~ Lynn
Supply List
Fall is my favorite season, too, even though we haven’t see much of the seasonal weather these last few years. These are beautiful cards. I like the way you use both the positive and negative spaces.
Thanks so much Diana. The fall colors always catch my eye. We are starting to see a little bit of the fall colors here in Wisconsin