Thanks to everyone who followed me on Facebook over the weekend. To say that I am tired is a bit of an understatement. For the past 4 years to mark World Cardmaking Day I’ve set myself a personal challenge. I resolve to design and make from scratch, 24 cards (complete with decorated insides and envelopes) in 24 hours.

It’s not an easy task, but if it was it wouldn’t be a challenge. I often make things harder than they should be, for instance by not finishing a blog post that needs to go out while I’m working on the challenge. Yep that was me! And I do need to stop to eat and grab a few hours sleep, which this year amounted to about 3-1/2 hours. I also pile on the pressure by photographing each project as it is completed. Then I edit the photos and upload them to Facebook so you can follow my progress. This provides a short break from creating, but the support and messages of encouragement I receive are a huge boost. So thanks to each and every one of you who simply followed along. Thanks for the likes and the comments too. It truly helped. So now all that’s left is to start showing you the individual projects, one blog post at a time.

SIMPLE WREATH

Today’s simple ‘thanks’ wreath card was number 6 of the 24 I created.

I actually began the project with the oak leaf punch from the Autumn Punch Pack. From the Color Velveteen Paper Pack I chose Cinnamon Cider and Soft Sea Foam and simply started punching.

When I had a stack of oak leaves I began thinking of adding some acorns. There is an acorn punch in the Autumn Punch Pack but it wasn’t quite what I had in mind. So I grabbed the two darker shades from the Brushed Metallic Cardstock. Then I punched out two acorns from each piece. Next, using my Paper Snips I trimmed the top part of the darker acorns to create the cup shaped tops. Finally using a Mini Glue Dot I attached the darker cup to the lighter acorn. Now it looked like the acorns I remembered from my youth.

It was only at this point that I decided to use the leaves and acorns as decoration for a wreath. While I have dies that would cut a leafy wreath shape I wanted a more abstract stamped version.

Using Shaded Spruce ink I stamped the large circular image from the Swirly Frames Stamp Set onto a layer of Soft Sea Foam Card. Then I added some loops of Linen Thread at the bottom of the wreath with Mini Glue Dots. On top of the thread I then began layering some of my oak leaves with more glue dots. Finally I finished the bottom embellishment with the two acorns. One was attached with a glue dot, and the second slightly overlapping on a Stampin’ Dimensional.

THANKS

Before I went I further I thought I should probably begin making the card base.

Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored a piece of Thick Very Vanilla Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Next, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue, I mounted the wreath layer to a piece of Shaded Spruce Card. Then I glued that to the front of the card base.

Going back to the Swirly Frames Stamp Set I stamped the long straight line and dot image towards the top of a layer of Very Vanilla Card. Then using liquid glue I fixed this layer inside the card base. Finally I stamped the same image at the bottom on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope.

Now I could turn my attention back to the card front.

I still had a few leaves left so I used Mini Glue Dots to fix them towards the top right of the stamped wreath. This would be the base of my sentiment. But which one?

In the end I found a simple “thanks” in the From All Of Us Stamp Set. Using Shaded Spruce ink once more I stamped it onto Thick Very Vanilla Card. To mimic the dotted feature on the wreath I chose the Stitched Shapes Dies to cut it out. The smallest circle die in the set was the perfect size.

So I finished my thanks card by attaching the die-cut sentiment with some Stampin’ Dimensionals. Then after adding a final few oak leaves with glue dots, card number 6 was complete.

MORE TO COME

I hope you enjoyed this card. If you followed the challenge as it happened and this wasn’t your favourite, fear not. I promise to give more details and photos from the other 23 cards in the coming weeks and months. Meanwhile here’s a little teaser in case you missed it on my Facebook page yesterday…

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Autumn Punch Pack in a bundle with the coordinating Beautiful Autumn Stamp Set. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore this option.