simon says stamp STAMPtember

Take a look at the STAMPtember release here!

autumn splendour

OK, onto my two cards I made for today. They come from one piece of inky paper I created with Antique Linen, Speckled Egg, Rusty Hinge, Crackling Campfire, Dried Marigold and Frayed Burlap Distress Stains. All that inky autumn goodness was perfect for the new Buckeye Leaf die.

The die is gorgeous, so elegant and with the leaf details this die is perfect as a focal point simply cut from Ivory card. I paired the leaf with a sentiment from the Extra Talkative set. I am enjoying when sentiment sets have matching dies too.

Here are a few things I am enjoying at the moment:

• torn edges
• just a bit of stitching
• water reactive media of some description, be it paints or, as in this case, Distress Stains
• simple design with little accents to take things up a notch

Talking of little accents, I rubbed Ranger Multi Medium Matte over the corner of the background and sprinkled it with Distress Glitter and Mica Flakes.

simple die cuts

where have I been this summer

OK, so this is a hard one to write. I basically dropped off the face of the planet there for a while. I can’t believe that the last time I posted was June! As I mentioned when I said I was taking a break. I am still working on my own health. However, it was a family member being unwell that made a step back necessary. It isn’t my story to tell, and it isn’t appropriate for me to put out the details. However, all I could manage was one step at a time on the essentials. Anything else had to give. As the summer wore on, I did find relief in pushing paint around in puddles inspired by the Scottish landscape from walks we took as one of the only safe activities. I may share those experiments later in the year, but I couldn’t sit down and complete anything. 

As the weather has turned from heat waves to the hint of freshness and the changing of the season, I have found myself back at my craft table. I have been painting and making cards for many years, and the highlight of the year for me is the STAMPtember celebrations. I can’t imagine not taking part, and I think it was the draw of STAMPtember which has helped pull me out of the fog and find relief in creativity again. 
 
I will no doubt write more on this over time, but I will say that facing this and taking a break from all but the essentials does give you pause to reflect on life and what is important. Never take anything for granted; live life because you never know what is around the corner. 

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Items marked with an asterisk (*) provided by a store or the manufacturer. You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.