It’s hard to believe how quickly summer flew by and that we are already in fall! To get into the autumn spirit, I joined the latest Lawn Fawn Challenge (Awesome Autumn) last week, which inspired me to start creating some fall themed cards. This past weekend, I reached for the adorable Falling Leaves stamp set by Mama Elephant to make a box card.
Mama Elephant recently celebrated their 13th year anniversary, and their newest release is full of cute designs. While shopping the release, I couldn’t resist adding this previously released Falling Leaves stamp set to my cart! I just love the playful critters enjoying the piles of falling leaves. It reminds me of my childhood when my sister and I would jump into the leaf piles in our backyard. With so many trees around our house, we always had plenty of leaves to play in!
Supplies Used
- Mama Elephant Falling Leaves Stamp Set and coordinating dies
- My Favorite Things Outside the Box Level Up Die-namics
- My Favorite Things Outside the Box Grassy Hills Die-namics
- My Favorite Things Colorful Canvas 6×6 paper pad
- My Favorite Things MSTN Pretty in Plaid 6×6 paper pad
- My Favorite Things Slimline Cloud Edges Stencil
- Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
- Hammermill 100lb white cardstock
- Copic and Ohuhu Markers
- Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide Ink
- Versamark Ink
- White Embossing Powder
Card Making Process
To capture that playful feeling, I wanted to create a fun 3D scene, so I used the Outside the Box Level Up dies from My Favorite Things. This set is one of my all time favorites for making box cards because it not only creates the basic box shape but also has a nice arched back panel and angled side panels.
The angled sides let you stack multiple shelves inside, so you can adjust the height of the elements in your scene and build more dimension. Instead of the included shelves, I used the Outside the Box Grassy Hills dies, which are an add on.
The best part is that even though it pops up into a 3D design, it still folds flat to about 5 1/2 by 4 1/4 inches, making it easy to tuck into an A2 size envelope. Unfortunately, since My Favorite Things closed their doors earlier this year, this set and all the add ons are no longer available, but any box card die would work for building a similar scene.
Coloring the Images
I started by stamping the images onto white card stock. Next, I cut everything out with the coordinating dies. Then, I colored all the stamped images with a mix of Copic and Ohuhu markers. Here are the combinations I used:
Copics
- Bear: YR23, E53, E51, E50
- Raccoon: W7, W5, W3, W1, W0, W00
- Bunny (in leaf pile with arms out): W3, W1, W0, W00
- Bunny (laying down): E43, E31, E41, E40
- Ears/Cheeks: R20, R00
- Tree Branch: E29, E25, E23, E21
- Fox: YR18, YR14, YR12
- Scarf: BG18, BG13, BG11
- Leaves: RV66, RV63 (red/violet); YR18, YR14, YR12 (orange); YR23, YR21, YR20 (golden yellow); E43, E42, E41 (light brown)
Ohuhu
- Leaves: GY8, GY5, GY4 (green)
As you can see, I used a wide variety of colors for the leaves! In my last fall card, I chose leaf colors based on patterned paper. This time, I simply picked colors I thought worked well together, and luckily, when I finished coloring, I found some patterned papers in my stash that coordinated perfectly.
Assembling the Box Card
I cut all the box pieces from patterned paper and used Salvaged Patina Distress Oxide ink over a stencil to add clouds to the background panel. After assembling the base, I played around with the placement of the critters until I was happy with the arrangement, then glued everything into place. I added some foam tape to the back of the branches and raccoon so there would be some dimension.
For the sentiment, I used the included die to cut a strip from the same patterned paper I used for the grass, stamped the greeting in Versamark ink, added white embossing powder, and heat set it. I adhered the sentiment to the front of the box and finished the design by scattering a few extra leaves throughout the card.
Final Thoughts
I really love how this card turned out! I hadn’t used this box card die set in a long time, and I really enjoyed creating this autumn scene with it. I especially enjoyed mixing so many different colors for the leaves because it gave the whole design such a playful vibe.
Box cards always feel a little extra special to me because of the 3D effect, and I love that they fold flat so easily for mailing. I think I’ll be making more of these this season, maybe even with a winter or holiday theme.
If you’ve never tried a box card before, I highly recommend giving it a try. They’re surprisingly simple once you get the hang of the die cutting and assembly, and they really make your stamped images come to life.
Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy fall crafting!
