Hello Autumn! 🍁🍂

Hi everyone, yesterday afternoon I had to sit down at my craft table and get a real wriggle on, as for the first time a new month had rolled round, and I hadn’t completed my Lavinia calendar page - waaah!! Life just seems to have got in the way recently, but yesterday I just shoved everything else to the side and got busy - here’s the result.

I have to start by saying this didn’t turn out remotely like my original vision, which was always going to include a squirrel and acorns; but I started with the pheasant and then the squirrel looked far too big, so I just went in a different direction! You may also wonder why there is a heart between the 2 hares? Well, we have our wedding anniversary in September, so within this autumnal scene the bunnies gazing at each other and the heart are a nod to that ❤️

I cut a piece of white stamping card 19.5cm x 14.5cm, then created the landscape and sky by blending various Distress and Elements inks using my hill and circle masks. I stamped the 2 focal trees in Portobello Versafine Clair, then the pheasant and hares using Pinecone VFC to bring them to the foreground. I stamped some background trees using masking and 1st/2nd generation Portobello and Sand Dune VFC, then coloured the main trees with my Zig pens.  I added mini mushrooms in the bottom corners and some autumnal background wording, then stamped leaves in various autumnal shades both on and falling from the trees, using Elements inks.  I blended Vintage Photo Distress Ink round the edges to darken them and draw the eye to the centre of the image, and added some white Posca highlights before matting the finished panel onto my calendar.

Stamps: Lavinia Tree of Courage, Tree of Hope, Pheasant, Forest Hares, Tree Scene, Skeleton Tree Scene, Mushrooms Mini, Leaf 1 Mini, Mini Maple, Single Heart Mini, Winter Spice;

Media: Lavinia Elements inks (Sahara, Russet Orange, Emperor Red, Mulberry, Olive); Spectrum Noir Harmony dye ink (Bordeaux); Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Vintage Photo, Tea Dye);  Versafine Clair (Pinecone, Portobello, Acorn, Sand Dune, Strawberry); Sakura Stardust sparkle pen (yellow); Posca pen (white);

Tools: Lavinia acetate Hill and Circle masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Colourful Options (September) - Anything Goes

Country View Crafts FB Challenge (September) - Hello Fall

Crafty Animals #98 - Include an Animal

Do Al(l) Kreatives #105 - Anything Goes

Dream Factory #142 - Wild

FarmQuest General Store #31 - Anything Farm or Country Goes

Four Seasons (September) - Fall

Girlz & the Art of Letters #8 - H is for … (2nd entry)

(hares, heart)

Inspiration Station #277 - Inspiration Photo

(I was inspired by autumnal trees and the changing colours of the leaves)

Lavinia Creative Challenge (September) - Enchanted Forest

Love to Scrap #175 - Anything Goes

Night Owls #52 - Trees

Outlawz Anything Goes In a Card Free Zone (August)  - Anything but a Card (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - Stamp It in STAMPtember

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

We Love 2 Create #9 2025 - Anything Mixed Media/Papercrafting Goes

Word Art Wednesday #714/715 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

I have a bit of a respite now, as I have already completed my October calendar page (in fact it was the first one I did back in October 2024!) - in fact I only have November left to complete. However the 2026 calendar is now on sale, so I’m asking myself is the whole cycle soon going to begin again?? Watch this space …

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,