Encre, papier, ciseaux: Happy Birthday, Old Branch

Inspiration: Clean & Simple #85 + CAS Colours and Sketches #286

I love how this card turned out. The pretty fall colours were speaking to me and I figured they would pair well with the Jump for Joy stamp set. After deciding to use those images, the Clean & Simple sketch (which I always love to play with) caught my attention, as I figured the corner images could be the pile of leaves. From there, the whole card came together really easily. I'm also happy I decided to use Crumb Cake for the card base, as it showcases the fall colors really well. Another favorite detail is the Tin Tile embossing folder pattern on the Merry Merlot cardstock. This 3D embossing folder is from the Stampin' Up! 2018 Holidays catalogue and it is truly gorgeous. I dry-brushed some Bright Copper Shimmer paint (also from the Holidays Catalogue) on the raised surface and it gave this antique finish to the pattern, which I really love.

As I was thinking of sentiments, I got the idea to write "Happy Birthday, Old Branch," which worked well with the tree leaves. I already had a cute die for the Happy Birthday I knew I could use, but I needed to hand stamp the other two words, so I pulled out my old Snap Stamp Alphabet from Karen Foster. Even though those were bought years ago, they still are my best options to quickly add personalized wording. They are quite small, so they won't really fill space on a card, but they are perfect when adding something longer, and the fact that they snap together makes lining and spacing very easy.

With the darker colour palette and the limited embellishing, I think this would work very well as a masculine card.

Card size is 6-1/2" x 3-1/4". I used the coin envelopes I found in my earlier envelope purchase to make a matching envelope. I did end up cutting a sliver off the end of the card (so it's not exactly 6-1/2" anymore) as it was too tight of a fit in the envelope when closing the flap.

Supplies
Stamps: Jump for Joy (Lawn Fawn); Snap Stamp Alphabet (Karen Foster)
Cardstock: Crumb Cake, Merry Merlot, Mango Melody, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla
Ink: Early espresso, Merry Merlot, Mango Melody, Poppy Parade
Accessories: Tin Tile 3D Embossing Folder, Bright Copper Glimmer Paint,
Stampin' Dimensionals (Stampin' Up!); Jump for Joy Lawn Cuts (Lawn Fawn); Markers (Copic);
Coin Envelope (www.envelopes.com); Bonne fête/Merci die (Dee's Distinctively); Ribbon (unknown)