Autumn Sweeties: November ATCs

It is still very much autumn to me after a mild summer; trees in my neighborhood are just beginning to turn colors. So I very much wanted to convey the season with my monthly-trading ATCs. As a student of the Japanese haiku poetry, I have come to understand the importance of  season words (kigo). An universal and timeless image associated with a season can strongly influence the response of a reader. For instance, how do you feel when you see a lone leaf fall from a tree? What thoughts arise when sitting on a patio wrapped in a shawl underneath the glow of paper lanterns? How do your senses react to a picture of pumpkin pie? I attempted to apply this concept to this month's cards . . .

 
For the background and backing of the ten ATCs, I chose Soul Expression's assorted package of autumn designs and solid colors. Then I took a rubber stamp made by ©Leavenworth of Japanese lanterns inked with copper pigment and stamped each card. The result was very subtle and the card needs to be tilted to the light to show the details of the stamp. After the ink dried, reproduced die cuts from Germany of vintage children were adhered with YES! paste (my favorite). Then little cute stickers from K&Company™ and eksuccess/Jolees® were added to each card. Often I remove a layer of foam height from stickers; if the card cannot fit into a clear sleeve or envelope, it is too thick for me. I take what I want from prepackaged stickers, borders and ephemera; cutting and piecing different elements together instead of taking it directly as-is from the package.

The final touches before the solid backing was adhered, was the sponging of vintage photo Distress Ink™ around the edges of the card, after rounding the corners. To me, the cards communicate a feeling of nostalgia and changing of season through the simplicity of a few images with autumn colors. What are your thoughts, or rather, feelings? Would love to hear from you . . .