Leave It Be

Ask anybody what they like best about autumn and you’ll almost always get “the beautiful fall foliage” as an answer. Just as flowers come in a variety of shapes, sizes, textures and colors, so do leaves. Some leaves are more rounded with only one blade, while others have multiple blades. They are nature’s last colorful display before winter.

Autumn leaves also evoke fond childhood memories. How many of us remember raking up big leaf piles and then jumping in them? They also served as a great place to hide from your friends, or your parents (especially when they called you in for dinner!)

Leaves have inspired poets, musicians, artists and, of course, scrapbookers. Just look at how our three designers used leaves in their layouts. The shapes and colors of the leaves are very different. Melissa chose vivid colors that complement the paper while Kelly and Veronica stuck to neutral tones. One commonality is the use of texture. Melissa added texture by using felt and glitter, but look at how Kelly added texture to her leaves. The pattern and slight curling of the paper give these leaves an extra dimension, whereas Veronica chose to stamp and emboss her leaf. Regardless of how you use them, have fun with leaves in your layouts. Once you get started, you won’t be able to leave them be.

Fall Leaves by Melissa Oeters

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper, Papers: We R Memory Keepers, Little Yellow Bicycle, Ribbon: American Crafts, Making Memories, Adhesive: Glue Arts, Scrapbook Adhesives, Markers: Copic, Rubber Stamp: The Greeting Farm, Other: felt, leaf.

Design Notes: To achieve the layering look with the leaves I used 3D Squares to give dimension. Small bow was tied with a piece of ribbon and adhered with 3D Square.

Krafty Leaves by Kelly Starsky

Supplies: Paper: Recollections, Ink: Ranger Industries, ColorBox (Clearsnap), Close to My Heart, Ribbon: Hobby Lobby. Tools: Die-Cut Machine, Die-Cuts: Sizzix (Ellison), Texture Plates: Sizzix. (Ellison).

Design Notes: You will need about 50 die-cut leaves for this project. After texturizing the leaves, I inked them in one of three different colors. Then I folded some and curled others around a pencil. Lastly, I hot-glued them onto a 10 inch diameter ring I cut from a cereal box.

Leave It Be by Veronica Johnson

Supplies: Paper: Bazzill Basics Paper, Basic Grey, Creative Imaginations, KI Memories, K&Co., Hambly, My Mind’s Eye, Chipboard: Jenni Bowlin Studio, Leaves: Michaels, Sanook Paper Co., Kraft Envelope: Maya Road, Sticker: Mrs. Grossman, Reminisce, Rub-on: Moxie, Button: Michaels, Ribbon: Doodlebug Design, Fiber: EK Success, Tag: American Tags, Ink: Tsukinecko, VersaMagic, Ranger Industries, Embossing Powder: Gary Burlin, Glimmer Mist: Tattered Angels, Markers: Copic, Other: brads, eyelet, paper clip, felt, yarn. Tools: Stamps: Stampendous, Hero Arts, Wordsworth, Die Cut Machine: Accucut, Sizzix, Embossing Folder: Provocraft.

Design Notes: Leaves were stamped and embossed, then cut out. Enhance your project by using pop dots to give your project a 3D effect. Another tip is to layer using different textures.

Journaling: Thank You for Your Kindness, Leaves are Falling, Thanks.