Happy Friday! Here in Canada we are heading into our Thanksgiving long weekend. Where I live, the leaves are changing colour, and the air has that crisp undertone indicating colder days are not that far off. October for me is all about pumpkins, apple harvests, slow cooker meals, family gatherings, and Halloween.
The Creative Team is talking all about the seasons this month and how we can document them. Lindsy compiled a lovely post sharing several examples of what this change in season means to our team. If you haven’t read it yet you can click over to it here.
As a card maker I have been known to fall into the trap of buying all the cute seasonal products even if I know I can’t actually use them. What I mean is, sending Thanksgiving or Halloween cards is not a thing in Canada. I can’t tell you how many card kits I received over the years with super cute stamps sets of pumpkins, or apple pies, or forest critters, that I just never used. So it got me thinking … how can I use my seasonal items in an atypical seasonal way?
How about creating cards that embrace elements of each season but don’t actually reference the season? So I set out to create a set of birthday cards that followed the same basic design, and used the same set of supplies, with the addition one or two seasonally specific elements.
Here’s what I gathered.
I seem to have collected more Glimmer plates that is healthy for one human, so I started there. I chose 4 different plate designs that could represent the 4 seasons. Then I went to my 6×8 paper pads and chose some papers from Shimelle’s Reasons to Smile collection, as well as an older 49&Market collection. Once I had the papers, it was time to pair them with a colour of foil. Last step was to find a ‘happy birthday’ die. Then I got busy.
I foiled each plate onto white card stock with the exception of the plaid one for winter which I foiled directly onto a deep blue 49&Market paper. This was the last card I completed and I’ve got to tell you, when I pulled back the foil to reveal the design I may have gasped. It’s gorgeous!
To highlight that this is a winter birthday card, I added some snowflake stickers from my stash and a few pearls. It really didn’t take much to embellish this card as that foil does a lot of the work! I lost the teeny tiny ‘i’ from my die so I just added a blue gem instead. I’m pretty sure it looks intentional. And if not, just lie to me, okay?
Next up is Spring and for that I used a floral foil plate and an opal foil which, on white card stock, is next to impossible to see. But I had a plan! I would ink blend over the foil and then when I wiped the excess ink away, the opal foil would show up as white. It worked! Take a look.
I’d chosen a light pink paper for my background as that seemed to scream Spring the most at the time. Then I chose a rainbow blended 49&Market paper to use as the shadow for my ‘happy birthday’. The last step was to add a rainbow of little gems.
For Summer I knew I wanted something sea themed and to use the gorgeous turquoise foil in my stash. One of the glimmer plates I own has a sea horse on it which seems very summery to me. I paired that with the bright rainbow stripe from Reasons to Smile and finished the card with some clear dots that mimic bubbles.
Which leaves us with the season we are currently in – Fall. Or Autumn, whichever you prefer. I confess that the glimmer plate from Hero Arts with all the leaves on it was the plate that started this whole journey though the seasons. I’ve been wanting to use it again but always seem to grab something else. Not today!
I paired the Rose foil with Shimelle’s woodgrain ledger print, but the white card stock felt too stark so I used my ink blending trick again. This time I chose Aged Mahogany and I love the soft reddish pink it adds to the card. The finishing touch for this card was some bronze coloured pearls.
So there you go, four birthday cards for the four seasons. Very similar designs, yet each with its own feel.
One last tip for you … when you are making cards like this, it helps to batch your process. For example, I found all the glimmer plates first, then I paired them with foil colours that felt seasonally appropriate, then I found papers that coordinated with the foil and the feel of the season. When assembling the cards I did them one by one up to the point when I was adding the gems. I left that step for last, laid out the four cards and found gems from my stash to go with each card.
Once that step was completed it was a simple thing to add the gems and call it a day.
Have you ever used your seasonal products to make a card, or even a layout, that had nothing to do with the season? If so, we’d love to hear about it. Add your story in the comments and send us a link to your project so we can take a look too.
I hope you enjoy this weekend. If you are one of our Canadian readers, then have a very Happy Thanksgiving.
Here’s one last look at all four finished cards. Which is your favourite?
