{Stencil Sunday} Fabulously Stenciled Fall Cards by Carol

Happy Sunday, STAMPlorations friends! We are back with a new helping of Stencil Sunday goodness! You'll get to see projects that show off how to creatively use ARTplorations stencils. And each month, we'll pick one winner of a $15 gift code -- the winner will be drawn from all comments left on the Stencil Sunday posts for the month, as well as from the designers' blogs.

STAMPgirl Carol used our stencils to create a couple of gorgeous fall-themed CAS cards.

  

Here's Carol with her projects:

Hello, Carol here, warmly welcoming you to my first - of two - STAMPlorations Stencil Sunday posts for October.

Both my cards were inspired by the beautiful fall leaves that surround Lily and I when we go on our walks. I took this photo while she was busy with a stick; I just love the fiery reds/yellows/orange and the deep purple hues of this collection of leaves. Fortunately, I have both new and older leaf stencils in my collection...

As you know, I'm pretty straightforward when it comes to stencils, treating them with simple inking. You'll see my CAS style replicated here...with wee twists (at least for me they are *grin*)

For my first card, I went with the 'trendy' slimline panel ('casing' myself from a previous card) and tried to mimic the random pattern of the leaves from the photo.

Below is my initial 'construction' set-up: 3.5 x 8.5" panel; 'selected' leaves, masked off (selected = leaves that are 'complete' within the pattern); distress inks (Dusty Concord, Fired Brick, Ripe Persimmon, Wild Honey); blending brush.

Always one for 'needing' dimension on my cards, I decided, once I finished inking, to add some curly frame die cuts. I trimmed the panel ever so slightly to fit onto a black 3.5 x 8.5 piece of cardstock, which offers both framing and stability to the blended paper. I recessed the frames by adding foam to the intact section.

STAMPlorations products I used:

Leaf Prints 2, Pierced Curly Frames/Tags Nesting Dies, Thankful & Blessed

"Random" leaves and a new ink scheme...I quite like this!

For my second card, I was, again, inspired by Nature's palette.

First, a peek at some of the tools used: cardstock; mask for circle - made from packaging plastic + die cuts; distress inks (Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Dusty Concord); blending brush, Leaf Mini stencil, with single leaf masked.

I stenciled the solitary leaf within a circle, to keep the design crisp and fresh.

STAMPlorations products I used:

Leaf Prints - Mini Stencil, Thanks Word Die

I added sparkle to 'thanks' and to parts of each leaf...challenging to capture in a photo, but...giving it a whirl.

Hope my 'clean and simple' style does justice to these laden-with-possibilities stencils! See you back here on October 27th for my second Stencil Sunday feature.

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Carol sure knows how to create gorgeous clean and simple cards with stencils! For a chance to win a $15 gift code to the STAMPlorations store, leave a comment here and on Carol's blog by November 8. We'll announce the winner in the October winners post on November 10.

Did you enjoy today's featured post? Carol will be back in two weeks for two more awesome projects so check back here then :o)