Autumn Inspiration

I started out a while back to make a card with some earth-tone colors and a cute little owl.  Then I totally went down another road and decided to make it into a shadow box decoration.  I didn't take any picutres along the way, but I'll describe how I made it.

The background paper is a copper/rust metallic so it has a nice shine to it.  I started out with the leaf cluster stamp and stamped them like branches - one a little higher than the other.  Then I freehanded the tree trunk around them and cut the whole "tree" out.  I stamped another leaf cluster and cut it out close to the image (this is the cluster in front of the owl).

For the owl, I simply stamped him then cut out close to the image.  I used foam dimensionals to affix the owl and the top leaves to give some depth.

For the moon, stars, and swirls around the trunk, I used some of the Sizzix dies I have:

• Circle:  http://www.sizzix.com/product/465
• Swirls and Stars:  http://www.itscheaperthantherapy.com/servlet/the-66/bigz-hello-kitty-flower/Detail

I stamped "Autumn" onto the circle off-centered for a little interest.  I used a sponge douber like this one to ink the edges of all the swirls, stars, and the moon to also give some dimension and "dirty" it up a little.

And here is the final project out of its frame:



While we were looking for a cabinet last weekend, we went to Goodwill and I bought both of these scarves for a grand total of $3!  I am a total scarf fiend - I have a ton of them.  In South Texas, any day that touches below 65 degrees warrants wearing one, otherwise I wouldn't get them all worn.  In my own little way, it feels like I'm doing my part to "will" the weather to get colder.  :)