Today we have not just one but TWO gorgeous slimline Autumn cards to inspire you! Remember that all of the ideas and inspiration we share for slimline cards can be adapted to a standard size greeting card so take the elements you love and use them YOUR way!
Today’s cards use two of the latest offerings from our latest stamp release. With three different woodland animal stamp sets and a huge garden gnomes stamp set, you’ll have plenty of creatures to stock your forests for autumn or any other time of the year. Let’s see what our designer Annie has created for us today.
First up is her Autumn Critters Card: Annie used a mix of images from both the Woodland Animals #1 and Woodland Animals #2 stamp sets along with the coordinating dies to create this truly adorable scene!
She started by using the Slimline Solid Deckle Die to cut a piece of pale blue card stock and then blended Sierra ink from Color Fuse Set #8 around the top and side edges of the cardstock to give the scene a little depth. PRO TIP: Start blending your ink from the outside in, starting off the edge of your panel to help make sure the most saturation of color is at the edges. She then used a saying from the new Kittie Says Friends Stamp Set using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.
Now she got started on those cute little critters. She stamped her images from Woodland Animals #1 and Woodland Animals #2 onto white cardstock using alcohol-friendly ink so she could color them with Copic markers. She then cut them out with the coordinating dies from the Woodland Animals #1 Die Set and Woodland Animals #2 Die Set.
Now you can start assembling your card. Annie used a piece of woodgrain card stock as one of her layers and added her inked panel on top using dimensional adhesive. PRO TIP: Using dimensional adhesive, like foam tape or foam squares and dots, gives you not just added thickness but also add shadows that helps to create depth on your cards. Use it to show off things you want in the foreground but also to add those shadows where you want the eye to stop and appreciate your talents!
Annie colored the stump, branches and stone with Copics, fussy cut them and added them to her background. Then she added some grass cut using the Slimline Grass Die (coming soon!) using that dimensional adhesive.
Pop your colorful critters into the scene with more dimensional adhesive and this easy card is done! Annie says “I love the friendly vibe these beautiful illustrations have and think they are perfect for that sentiment!” We agree, especially with this adorable card!
Pop your colorful critters into the scene with foam adhesive and this easy card is done! I love the friendly vibe these beautiful illustrations have and think they are perfect for that sentiment!
Now we get to see this whimsical Autumn Gnomes Card. Annie says “I thought these cute gnomes deserved a thick autumn forest” so she used some clever techniques to make this a little more magical.
First she created a mask using the birch tree image from the Woodland Animals #3 Stamp Set by stamping it on masking paper. PRO TIP 1: When making a mask, trim very closely with sharp scissors so when you stamp over the mask, you are able to avoid gaps between your images. PRO TIP 2: If you DO end up with any gaps, fill in with a very fine point marker in the same color. PRO TIP 3: Keep your masks in the same package or container as your stamp set and you will always have it at the ready.
Stamp a row of birch trees across a piece of watercolor cardstock, here with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink. Vary the distance between trunks as you might see in nature. When you stamp a tree close to another, use your mask to cover your first tree to make them look like they are in front of behind each other.
Color the background panel with your choice of watercolors,using just a little gray shade on the tree trunks and a little wash of pale blue between the trees.
Die cut the background panel using the largest die from the Slimline Nested Stitch Dies. PRO TIP: To create the grass so that it blends in seamlessly with the die cut panel, cut a strip from green cardstock FIRST using the same die you used to cut your panel and THEN cut it with the Slimline Grass Dies (coming soon!) at the height you want your grass to be. This works for all edges and borders!
To make that awesome the tree canopy, Annie used her PRO TIP from above and first die cut yellow cardstock using that largest die from the Slimline Nested Stitch Dies, then cut it with the Slimline Clouds Dies (coming soon!). Again, this allows for a seamless addition of top and bottom and even side details on a die cut panel. Using orange, yellow, and red Copic markers, Annie, just dot colored randomly all over her cloud strip to make it look like autumn leaves. GENIUS!
Now she stamped her choice of fellas from the Garden Gnomes Stamp Set onto watercolor cardstock using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and colored them in with watercolors. Then she cut them out with the super handy Garden Gnomes Die Set.
To assemble the card, Annie layered her birch tree background onto red cardstock and adhere it to her card base. Then she added her leaf and grass strips using dimensional adhesive. She stamped her sentiment onto a scrap of the same red cardstock as her layer in Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder to coordinate with her white birch trees.
Then all that was left was to add her cute little details like the stones and mushrooms from the Woodland Animals #2 Stamp Set into her scene with liquid glue and then addp the gnomes, sentiment, and hedgehog (also fromWoodland Animals #2 Stamp Set) onto the card using dimensional adhesive.
Here are all the goodies used on these slimline Autumn cards:
Are you getting ideas for your own autumn slimline cards? When you do make some we would love to see them and invite you to share your creations on our Facebook Fan Group page to inspire your fellow card makers!
