Autumn Woods Slimline Card Folio Tutorial with Reneabouquets and Ciao Bella

Hello, Friends!  It’s Throwback Thursday and I have this Autumn Woods Slimline Card Folio Tutorial to share with you.  If you were lucky enough to grow up in a place where you could go adventuring in the fall, then this card will bring back all sorts of wonderful memories for you.

There’s a scent in the autumn woods that is unlike anyplace else on earth.  Fragrant pine needles mingled with musky wet leaves and tree bark and maybe a hint of rotting apples on the forest floor.  We used to escape to the paths through the woods behind our house on a regular basis in the fall.

My mother said the bright blue skies and vibrant maple leaves brought out the gypsy in her soul.  She might be right in the middle of drying dishes when she would drop her towel and say, “let’s go for a walk!  I need some air!”  And off we would traipse, down the fern lined embankment behind our house, up the rocky hillside that was just steep enough to make you sweat just a little and then finally onto the leaf-covered carpet of the deer paths.

Crisp, clean Vermont air filled your lungs and the only sound that broke the silence was the rustle of leaves, a few skittering squirrels, and the sound of your own feet padding along on layers of pine needles, leaves and compost.

Then there were the mushrooms, or toadstools, as Mom called them.  They would spring up in little fairy circles.  Or great huge ones poked their heads up through the rotting leaves.  They had a scent, too, and we always wished we had known which ones were safe to eat. We’d trudge along until Mom remembered she had ironing to do, or bread that needed to be shaped into loaves.  Then home we would go, the memory of that glorious day locked in our  hearts forever.

Acorns and Oak Leaves

I was feeling nostalgic for those old woods behind the house I grew up in the other day.  So I broke out some fall goodies and relived the memory as my fingers worked with paper.  This 4 1/4″ x 8 1/2″ Ciao Bella Slimline Card Folio is what came together on my work table.  The colors, the soft designs in the paper and that glorious mushroom image took me back in time.

TIP: Frame your focal image with Reneabouquets Fabulous Fall Pattern Printed Beautiful Board.  I altered mine with a bit of sepia paint so it would match the color palette of my card a bit more closely.  Copper metallic paper and cork specialty paper adds to the fall feel of this botanical card.

TIP: Add a real wood slice, some feathers and a gorgeous Reneabouquets butterfly to your composition to bring the autumn woods theme to life.

TIP: Keep everything closed up neat and tidy with a copper hinge clip.  You can turn it into a handsome embellishment by tying on some lovely autumn charms.

A Peek Inside

Oh, here’s Mrs. Tiggy Winkle, rooting through the leaves.  D you suppose she’s looking for more mushrooms?

TIP: Score a  1/2″ hinge on a piece of caramel cardstock and tuck it under the center card panel to create a flap page.  Most of the card interior is paper pieced together with scraps from earlier projects.  You can cover up the seam lines with fussy cut elements.

Fold one of the large images in half and trim to fit inside the card folio pocket.

This is not only a great place to add photos or journaling, but you can tuck in a fall tea bag and honey stick, too.

Autumn Woods Slimline Card Folio Tutorial on YouTube

If you’d like to see how this card folio came together, I hope you’ll enjoy this tutorial on my YouTube channel.

I hope you enjoyed this walk down memory lane with me today.  If you’d like to see a selection of past Ciao Bella Sound of Autumn projects, you can find them in the Archives.

You can find a linked supply list below this post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio, 

kathy

SUPPLY LIST

• Reneabouquets
  • Beautiful Board Tiny Fabulous Fall Pattern 
  • Champagne Dreams Butterflies
• Ciao Bella Sound of Autumn Papers  ( Please note: this collection is retired and somewhat difficult to find.  I’ve done my best to locate it for you, although it is not available from any of my usual affiliate companies.)
  • 12×12 Patterns
  • Double Sided Creative Pad
  • 6×6 paper pad *I could not find the 12×12
• Moss Green Seam Binding Ribbon
• Retired Prima Flowers and Charms from my stash