Ooh it was chilly this morning! Autumn is definitely in the air and the garden is starting to show it. I have a feeling my casserole recipe book is about to make it to the top of the pile. I do love autumn though, there’s something about the colours and textures that never fail to inspire me.

Today I decided to decorate a mini pizza box with a sweet sunflower as my focal point.

Although I knew I wanted a yellow sunflower on my box, I began by looking at the Come To Gather 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack for the background. There are lots of lovely designs in the pack but I was immediately drawn to the gingham sheet in Pretty Peacock and Mint Macaron.

I cut a 3″ x 10″ strip and wrapped it around my Mini Pizza Box, securing the DSP to itself with Tear & Tape Adhesive. Then I wrapped some Whisper White 5/8″ Polka Dot Tulle Ribbon around the box and attached it to the DSP.

FAUX SUEDE TEXTURE

For the sunflower I punched some Crushed Curry Card four times using the Medium Daisy Punch. I layered all four pieces on top of each other using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow), staggering the petals on each layer.

Then for the centre of the flower I chose Soft Suede Card punched using the 1″ Circle Punch.

While I liked the colour, I wanted to add some texture so I pulled the circle between my thumb and a Bone Folder. I turned the card and repeated the process, and continued to rotate and turn over the card each time. As I worked I could feel the card softening as I gently broke the fibres. Eventually I could see that the card was separating into layers so I carefully peeled them apart. When I turned over the layer I had a ‘faux suede’ effect which would be perfect for my sunflower. All I had to do was fix it onto the petals with a little liquid glue.

TEXTURED LEAVES AND CURLS

For the leaves I turned to the Nature’s Roots Dies and the smallest single leaf. First I cut three single leaves from Pear Pizzazz card using the outline cutting die. Then I turned to the coordinating embossing die in the set.

I began by sticking the back of the embossing die to some washi tape so I could then gently press the embossing surface onto a Pear Pizzazz ink pad. Next, using the washi tape, I picked up the die and placed it face up on the desk. I then laid one of the die-cut leaves on top and folded the washi tape over to keep it in place while I ran it through my die-cutting machine. Once that was done I peeled off the washi and removed my inked and embossed leaf. Then I repeated this process with the other two leaves.

I still had one last idea for adding colour and texture to my box, card curls. These were really quick and easy to make with a 1/8″ scrap of Merry Merlot Card. All I did was wrap the strip of card tightly around a cocktail stick (toothpick), then slide it off.

SO THANKFUL

That just left the “So thankful” sentiment from the Beauty & Joy Stamp Set. I stamped the sentiment using Merry Merlot ink onto Very Vanilla Card, then punched it out with the Classic Label Punch.

To complete the autumn box decoration I fixed the edge of the sentiment to the back of the sunflower with liquid glue. Then I added two of the embossed leaves behind the flower with Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals. That just left the third leaf and card curls which I added to the back of the arrangement with liquid glue.

Now the sunflower embellishment was complete I used some more liquid glue to fix it into place on the box wrap.

I must admit that left to my own devices I would probably have pulled out reds, browns and oranges for this autumn project. That said I love the Pretty Peacock wrap layer, and would never have considered that as an autumn colour. This is why I love Stampin’ Up!, they make me think outside the box. Literally.

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