Crafty Color Combos = Fall Magic

Oh, how I love fall color! 🍂 From golden leaves and cozy sweaters to the soft glow of late autumn sunsets, this season is pure inspiration for paper crafters. In my latest newsletter, I shared some of my favorite fall color palettes — early, mid, and late season — each one filled with gorgeous ink and paper pairings. Today, I’m putting one of those late fall combinations to work on a card that truly captures the heart of the season.

The colors I chose are Daffodil Delight, Mossy Meadow, Misty Moonlight, Blackberry Bliss, and Early Espresso. Together, they create a rich, earthy palette that feels warm, elegant, and just a touch rustic — perfect for a card that says “thankful.”

I began with a Basic White card base. To add texture and depth, a panel of two-tone Blackberry Bliss cardstock was run through the Cut & Emboss Machine with the Gathering Leaves Embossing Folder. The darker side was lightly sanded to bring out the embossed leaf details, giving it a softly aged patina that instantly added character. That panel was adhered to the front of the card base.

Next, I added a Basic Beige grid pattern from the Gathering Together Specialty Designer Series Paper. This adds a subtle contrast and gives the design a sense of balance. Across that, I placed a Misty Moonlight Two-Tone banner strip that I had crumpled, smoothed, and crumpled again to give it a wonderfully worn texture, I then sanded the lighter side to bring out a soft, weathered look. A bit of Linen Thread wrapped around the center through the cut banner ends brought even more texture, and I taped the Linen Thread to the back before adhering the piece to the center of the grid-patterned DSP.

Then came the stamping and die cutting using the Gathering Moments stamp set and coordinating dies. I stamped leaves in Early Espresso and Mossy Meadow on scraps of Basic White cardstock, and the berries in Daffodil Delight on the lighter side of Daffodil Delight Two-Tone cardstock. After die cutting all the images, I arranged them into a large oval wreath across the center of the card, letting the shapes overlap naturally over the Misty Moonlight banner.

The sentiment “Thankful for You” was stamped in Blackberry Bliss ink on a strip of Basic White cardstock with the ends banner cut. Adhering the sentiment piece with dimensionals to make it pop, a small Linen Thread double bow was then tucked under the left end of the sentiment so it looked as though it had been tied into the wrapped thread beneath. For a finishing touch, nine Low Profile Sparkle Dots in Mossy Meadow were sprinkled across the card front, mostly landing near the berries to draw the eye across the design. Inside, a Basic White panel sits on a Misty Moonlight mat — a simple but polished finish that makes the card feel complete.

I’m entering this card into The Paper Players Challenge #762, where the theme is “Thankful for You.” How perfect is that? The soft late-fall colors, the layers of texture, and the cozy mix of tones makes this one of those cards that will be hard to mail — but it’s headed to a dear friend who means the world to me – so off it goes!

You can download the free PDF tutorial for this card to recreate it yourself. There’s no video today, but all of the measurements and details are included in the tutorial.

If you read my latest newsletter, you’ve already seen how those fall color palettes shift from bright and lively early autumn tones to the rich, mellow hues of late fall. This card is a perfect example of how those shades come together to create something truly special.

I hope The card inspires you to try one of these color combinations yourself and experience a little bit of that fall magic in your own crafting.

Supplies used (also listed in the Tutorial):