Hey, there crafty friends! This is Mindy Eggen, and I have fall card inspiration to share with you today using Distress Spray Stains from Ranger!

Spray stains are a quick and easy way to add color to your projects. The regular spray stains are very vibrant, while the oxide sprays have a little more chalky-ness to them. I wanted vibrancy, so I opted for the spray stains for my project today.

In my neck of the woods, I feel like the leaves changed colors and fell off the trees so quickly this year. Fall is my favorite season because of the colors and since I feel like I blinked and missed it, I’m bringing the joy of those colors to my card.

The Autumn Leaves die set from Hero Arts fits the bill perfectly. Not only do these dies cut out the leaves, but they also have etched lines on the finished cut. Before I did any die-cutting, I took a handful of 3″x 3″ squares cut from Heavystock cardstock and sprayed them with a variety of colors that I would have seen on the trees. By drying the pieces in between each spray, I layered the colors to give them a more realistic look. 

I also added a quick coating of the Distress Mica Spray in Tarnished Brass. If you look closely at the photos, you can see flecks of the mica on the leaves. 

Once those pieces were completely dry, I die cut numerous leaves. I love the etched detailing the dies provide to add more interest to my final cuts.

The leaves were the star of the show for me, so I kept the sentiment quite simple by using the Everyday Sayings die set. Since I already had flecks of gold on my leaves, I used foil cardstock from Concord & 9th to tie everything together nicely.

By adding the die cut sentiment to the front of the card with foam squares from Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L, I added depth and dimension to my card, helping the sentiment stand out.

Everything was adhered to white cardstock, but an alternative would be a white panel added to a cream or ivory-colored card base.

While spray stains are my favorite medium to use for fall leaves, this technique would also work great for any other die cuts you have, including titles and sentiments!

I hope you enjoyed today’s inspiration and it has sparked some ideas for you. Thanks so much for joining me today!

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