Mum's the word...

If there's one flower that defines the Fall season for me, then mum's the word! Chrysanthemums to be exact. My dad just brought over this rusty, spiral, tiered plant stand that was my grandmother's. It was like a Christmas present to me! Dad and I both thought that some nice fall mums and perhaps some pumpkins from the garden would look great in Grandma's plant stand. I can't wait!

So today, I found some fabulous photos for you...straight from my inspiration files of online photos. Here's some beautiful yellow mums. And how about these.....would you say Berry Sorbet? Or Melon Berry?

Or mix and match 'em, I think all colors look great together.

Here's some tiny mums mixed in with some beautiful, creamy, dreamy spider mums.

And these beauties mixed in with some peachy/salmon colored roses are what inspired my color choices for today's projects. What a beautiful, simple arrangement!

And talk about Autumn Abundance, look at this awesome bucket full of mum and fall gourds and apples. Be still my heart!

And leave it to Martha to have something good too:

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/from-the-garden-fall-favorites

I couldn't be more inspired! There's nothing like a photo or visual to get the creative juices flowing. Remember to cut out photos from magazines, take photos of your surroundings and google stuff like crazy. There's lots and lots of inspiration to be found, you just have to look for it.

Today, I'm going to be using Nichole's beautiful Autumn Abundance stamp set, in particular the mums. But first, I wanted to create some beautiful background papers. I stamped Melon Berry and Lemon Tart ink onto pieces of 2008 Bitty Dots Basics patterned paper. I'm reaching for this dotty paper more and more, I love it! I thought this little flower from Everyday Classics (PTI Aniversary stamp set) was very mum looking.
Next up was coloring Nichole's beautifully illustrated mum image. Here's my lineup of Copic Sketch colors.

If you zoom in close on the photo below, you can see that I used a variegated color scheme for my mums. The dark red(R59) was in the center with an orangey color (R02) next to that, and then my yellows(the Y's) on the outside tips of the mums. Just gorgeous colors, I say! I used the neutral colors to make a stoneware looking vase. After I was done coloring, I used the Colorless Blender (0) to make dots on my vase...gives it a mottled look.

For the oval shadow, I stamped the oval image from Everyday Classics with Spring Moss ink...first masking my vase off with Eclipse Masking Tape. Images were cut and embossed with a Spellbinder's Labels 1 Nestabilities die template. A length of pretty Summer Sunrise Swiss Dott ribbon finishes off the card fronts.

For my sentiment, I placed it on my clear block in a curved line then stamped it along the curve of the Labels 1 die edge. Cool!

And don't forget the buttons, the beautiful Vintage Buttons! I used one each of Lemon Tart, Melon Berry and Scarlet Jewel to reflect the three colors in my colored mums. Rustic Cream Twine finishes off the buttons. A Fiskars edge punch was used on the Lemon Tart cardstock for some added detail. Card bases are Kraft cardstock.

And here's my finished creations. Such beautiful colors, these are so pretty!!

So should I start stalking my greenhouse for potted mums yet? I cannot wait to decorate my porch for Fall now! I'll keep this beautiful summer weather......just give me some mums though and I'll be a happy camper!!