Autumn Wreath

Yesterday I went a little crazy and ordered a bunch of stuff out of the Holiday Mini And then I had it sent overnight delivery! I know, crazy right?! Well we are supposed to get up REALLY early tomorrow so we can leave by 5:00 am to go to Valley Fair and I wanted to get to bed early last night so I could get to sleep at a decent hour tonight. I could not fall asleep! I kept having visions of creations I wanted to make and I remembered seeing some willow wreaths for $1/each in 3 sizes (I'll let you guess where, wink, wink!) and I wanted to check online to see if they still carried them. I did end up sleeping before I usually do (remember that I work until midnight and have a 45 minute drive home normally) but I was still up until after 1:00 am! I then got up at 8:00am, showered, and ran right into town to grab some of those wreaths. I was hoping to make it back home before the UPS man arrived with my box of goodies since it was pouring rain and all of the boys/young men in my house were still sound asleep (all 4 of them!) Luckily I made it back before the UPS man, barely, and I have been playing with my new stuff off and on since then. I also made a pot of yummy chili since it hasn't made it out of the 50's today. Hello, Minnesota weather!

One of the visions keeping me awake last night was an Autumn wreath and I so LOVE how it turned out! This is a 9" wreath so it is not really big, but I took a long time putting it together as I putzed through it :) I first stamped both sides of  3 colors of card stock, applied shimmer paint to both sides also.

Then used the Big Shot to cut out and then emboss a bunch of leaves. I have enough leftover leaves to do several wreaths!

Then I didn't like the color of the wreath, too bright and pine colored. So I used Log Cabin Smooch Spritz on it. Still too light. I then took an empty Smooch Spritz container and filled it with 91% rubbing alcohol and 10 drops of Soft Suede reinker and sprayed it all over the wreath. That gave it a kind of oak finish. Perfect! (it took almost the whole little vial! It's a good thing rubbing alcohol is cheap!)

Next I cut into my brand new package of Autumn Spice Specialty DSP. Can I just say YUM! this paper is card stock weight, textured and patterned on both sides with beautiful prints!!! LOVE it! I made 3 rosettes from the Table settings die. I had to distress the paper a bit so it would be nice and flexible. Then I used Crystal Effects to apply some of the new Champagne Glass Glitter. Another new favorite! This stuff is a delight to work with and it is so beautiful! The Crystal Effects works really well with this glitter and there is no shedding :)

I even cut into my new roll of Gold Waffle paper. I have to say I was hesitant about this stuff. But it is really easy to work with and adds a lot to a project. I then started assembling my embellishments, and in the effort to stop hoarding all of the new embellishments (which I usually do until they retire!), I used the Antique Brads, Designer Buttons, and Big Designer Buttons, and the Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding Ribbon that I just got today also! Can I just say I am amazed at Stampin Up! They always come through with the best stuff!!!

I used the 2 way glue pen to apply the glitter on the title piece here, but i think if I had to do it again I would have used the Crystal Effects again. I just didn't want to wait for it to dry, lol. OK, here is the list of supplies:

• Stamps: Day of Gratitude, Bright Blessings jumbo wheel
• Paper: Old Olive, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Naturals Ivory, Gold Waffle paper, Autumn Spice Specialty DSP
• Ink: Old Olive, More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Early Espresso, Chocolate Chip
• Other: Big Shot with Leaves #2 and Table Setting die and embossing folders: Vintage Wallpaper, Square Lattice, and Finial Press. Cherry Cobbler 1/2" Seam Binding ribbon, Decorative Label punch, Cherry Cobbler Big Designer Button, Old Olive Designer Button, Antique Brad, Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, Log Cabin Smooch Spritz , Crystal Effects, Champagne Glass Glitter, glue dots

And this is what it looks like as a whole. It was really hard to get a decent picture of the whole thing today. I'm not sure why. Just trust me when I say this is so much better in real life!

Don't forget to check out my Ribbon shares on the Kits for Sale page!