Friday, December 2, 2011

From Tiny Acorns Grow

My blog has been full blast into Christmas/Winter creations but I wanted to share one more fall related project with you today. I belong to an ATC (Artist Trading Card) group who trade on a monthly basis and the November theme was fall/Thanksgiving.

Trees have a special meaning around here since the blast of tornadoes blew through our state back in April, killing 250 people. It seemed like tornadoes were literally everywhere throughout the day including the F1 that hit our neighborhood around 4:30 that morning. Luckily we were ok and our house was virtually unscathed except for a few minor things. Others weren't so lucky so I'm not complaining. However, I can't help but mourn the loss of many of our backyard trees. I'm especially reminded of it now that the leaves have fallen and I am staring into the houses across the way. We have several upturned with gigantic roots the size of trucks or even bigger. We cleaned out some back there but really couldn't afford to have those taken away. So that is yet another constant reminder. And it's not just us, it's everywhere. But then again, when I see an empty lot where a house use to be or a house that survived but still has one of those darn blue tarps on it, I count my blessings all over again. We drove through my hometown of Cullman, AL on Thanksgiving day and my husband asked me, if you closed your eyes and someone popped you down in the middle of this area, would you know where you were? I had to say no, that I would not. It was that unrecognizable. But I digress...

I used an older Verve set "Tall Oaks" and stamped the acorn onto patterned paper and then cut out with a circle Nestie. The matching sentiment was stamped onto kraft cardstock trimmed with a Fiskars border punch. The leaves were cut using the Taylored Expressions Leafy Branch die. The circle stamped pieced and the leaves were attached with dimensional dots to give them some lift. All paper was from the W R Memory Keepers Autumn Splendor pad.


Products: Verve stamps, W R Memory Keepers dp, Taylored Expressions die, PTI button, TCP Linen Thread, Fiskars border punch, Spellbinders Nestabilities

Unfortunately this was my last set with this fun swap group as I have had difficulty finding the time for it. I have also discovered that I prefer to swap ATCs one-on-one or with an occasional swap rather than on a regular basis.

I'll see you back tomorrows with the first of the Sweet November previews. 

1 comment:

  1. These are gorgeous Nancy and a great way to say goodbye to fall...though all our snow has melted and it's a beautiful 51 degree day today! :)
    I can't even imagine how scary that day was and all the devastation that came from it! I always think it is sad when a tree gets uprooted, they are so pretty and leave such an empty gap when they're gone.

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