Hello everyone, so glad you're hopping along with us here at OSAT Blog Hop! This month, the theme is Fall/Halloween, so grab your pumpkin spice lattes and let's have some fun! You should have arrived here via the very talented Wynne Grob's blog! If not, use the links below to go back so you don't miss seeing her beautiful projects!
So now, onto my Halloween/Fall entries! I have to say, this was a super fun month for me, because I absolutely LOVE fall. I ended up choosing
Through The Trees by Papertrey Ink to play around with. I did some multi-generational stamping to obtain the 3 colors on the leaves. I used StampinUp More Mustard, Always Artichoke and Cajun Craze. Starting with MM, I inked all the leaves and pressed down, then I went back with my AA and inked up all the leaves, but sponged off the middle, then pressed down. Lastly, I applied my CC and sponged off all ink, but for the outer edges. This gave me the perfect tri-colored look for my fall tree. Lastly I added the trunk and stamped a few times for a really dark impression. I couldn't be any happier with how this fall tree turned out. Now, I'll be honest, I do not have one of those fancy stamping tools that allows numerous impressions. I just used a CD case, with 2 layers of thin craft foam in the bottom, washi taped my cardstock onto the foam and went to town!
The challenge was turning this into a shaker card. Shakers are not my strong suit, I make a lot of mistakes before I get it right. But it's fun to challenge myself and I'm really happy with these results. (don't ask how many rounds I had to scrap though!) The striped background paper is by Doodlebug, the frame was cut using MFT Rectangle Frame die and Jellybean Green cardstock. I distressed the frame with some Brushed Corduroy Ranger Distress Ink and then heat embossed using 2 layers of Antique Gold. Lastly, my fillings were sequins, beads and a few of the small stitched leaves by Impression Obsession (I distressed these as well) oh, and some tinsel glitter, (which I will probably leave out in future shakers due to the static cling on the acetate film front!)
So next up is my project. I can't claim the idea for this cute lil'punkin, but I'm happy to share the link, so you can make a few for yourself!
Click Here for Instructions
I ended up adding one more layer to the bottom of my pumpkin to make it a bit rounder/taller. The great thing about this is, you could make your pumpkin shape a lot different, just by changing up how many layers you use and the width of the strips! I used a sheet of 12x12 paper that I didn't particularly love, but as a pumpkin, it's wonderful!! After the pumpkin was assembled, I sponged the edges with SU Pumpkin Pie ink to both add a little contrast AND hide the white core of the paper. It looks more finished this way. I used a few leaves from an old stamp set, colored and ink spattered them, then cut out and glued to top. Then I added a twig, some twine and gold cord, a sweet little chipboard tag by MME and a green pearl by Doodlebug. (Sometimes these tiny embellishments really make the project!) Another little tip, use Hot Glue to glue your layers together, it holds very well and you'll have a sturdy finished piece! It just dawned on me, using red cardstock, this would make a really cute apple!

Close up of the innards in my shaker card!
I know that was a lot of reading, I hope you enjoyed my projects for this month and thank you so much for stopping by!!!
Click the NEXT button below to head on to the next hopper, Megan Thompson's blog!