Summer is gone

Well it is over, it's now October, we've had lousy weather all summer, so why is the sun shining and we have blue skies?  We could have done with nice weather during the summer holidays when the kids were off!  Instead, stuck at home most of the time with a hyperactive LOUD toddler, a teething baby plus 2 older kids who were bored.  Ah well, should enjoy the sun whilst I can!  My eldest has gone on a residential trip this week with school so she should be having fun and not be getting too wet, well for today at least.

The inspiration for my card this time, came in the form of a picture message I got on my blackberry, a cute snuffly hedgehog hiding in the undergrowth.  I haven't seen a live hedgehog for years, sadly the only ones I ever see might have done well to study the green cross code.  But there he(she?) was and I thought autumn is definitely here now.

The image I have used is a Tiddly Inks digi stamp of a hedgehog and butterflies.  What better image to choose for autumn colours?  Mr Hedgehog is coloured using cinnamon and sable promarkers and the butterflies coloured using burnt orange and pumpkin.  I have hardly seen any butterflies this year, but for some reason they love the plant which climbs up a neighbours wall and I have seen common anglewings and red admirals which inspired the colours for this card.  Ripped edges touched up with tan promarker added to the rustic feel.  I added some pumpkin coloured ribbon and some paper flowers with buttons stitched onto them to finish the topper off.  The backing paper is a colorbok paper from a set my friend bought me in the states, and the base of the easel uses a sheet of crackle effect paper I bought in papermill earlier this year. The 'stopper' is another piece of the first DP cut and punched on the corners with a punch which I think looks just like the lower wings of the butterfly at the front of the card....  The butterfly in front of the hedgehog, is cut from the same DP as the backing to the image and it really does fly as I mounted it behind the easel on a strip of acetate, so when there is a bit of airflow near it, it flutters :)

For many years, I have loved looking up quotes to fit my mood or an occasion and the quote I have used on this card is Autumn is a second spring when every leaf's a flower by Albert Camus.  Sums it up perfectly!

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Easel
Tiddly Inks Challenge - Crackle Accent
Aly's Sunday Challenge - 2 DPS and 2 buttons
Craftalicious - Harvest Festival/Autumn
Sentimental Sundays - Autumn or fall
The ABC Challenge - E is for Easel