Nature's Symphony for Freshly Made Sketches 726

 I love those autumn days where it's cool in the morning and evenings but then we're treated to a brilliant warm, blue day in between. That's what happened today and, as an added bonus, I found that I had the house to myself for a few hours this afternoon. Hmmm... start some jobs... or escape to the craft room? No contest really! 

I turned to the latest sketch at Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration. 

Sometimes, it's good to get outside of your comfort zone. Today, I revelled in being well inside mine! I think most of my crafty friends would look at this card and suspect it was mine before they even saw the watermark. 😀

Starting with the choice of bundle. Nature's Symphony is right up my alley with glorious leafy images and die cuts. I even like the coordinating Nature Walk DSP and have used my favourite sheet for the vertical elements of the sketch. I tore the pieces rather than cut them to give a more rustic feel. 

The Basic White card front was embossed with the Exposed Brick folder - a favourite of mine. 

The big leafy foliage die from the bundle is glorious and, thinking of autumn, I cut if from the coppery piece from Textured Metallic Specialty Paper. 

I stamped the large foliage stamp using a mix of inks applied with a sponge dauber: Old Olive, Crushed Curry, Cajun Craze and some touches of Cherry Cobbler. After die-cutting it out, I popped it up on dimensionals. 

The sentiment, from the set, is stamped in Early Espresso (to tie in with the card base) then cut using Stylish Shapes. I've layered it with a matching banner in Early Espresso.

For embellishment, I've added a triple bow of Linen Thread and some Faux Bronze Pentagons.

If you live in New Zealand and don't have a Stampin' Up Demonstrator, I'd love to be yours. I can help you with ideas, get you catalogues and provide you with Stampin' Up products. You can leave a message in the comments or contact me using any of the methods listed in the Contact Me tab at the top of the page. 

You can stamp with me, and shop with me, from anywhere in New Zealand. Click here.