A Little Fall Foliage and a Lot of Thanks: Create This Handmade Card

Fall is one of my favorite seasons for cardmaking because the colors do so much of the design work for you. Rich reds, golden yellows, warm oranges, deep browns, and earthy greens instantly create a cozy feeling. For this Fall Thankful For You Card, I wanted to capture that feeling while keeping the design clean enough that the sentiment remained the star. I’m combining die cutting, dry embossing, and ink blending with a mix of CutCardStock papers to create a handmade card that feels layered and detailed without becoming difficult to recreate.

Why This Fall Card Design Works

When I design a card like this, I’m always thinking about balance. The large “Thankful for You” sentiment is the focal point, so I needed the leaves and background to support it rather than compete with it. That is why I kept the card base bright white with Cougar White Smooth CardStock 110 lbs and concentrated the fall colors around the edges and background. The white space gives the eye somewhere to rest while making the warm cardstock colors pop.

I also like using a narrow embossed panel instead of covering the entire card front with texture. The Falling Leaves 3D Embossing Folder creates beautiful dimension, while ink blending over the raised design makes those leaves easier to see. This is a useful cardmaking technique whenever you want more texture without adding lots of embellishments. A little ink over dry embossing can completely change the appearance of a panel.

Building a Fall Color Story with Cardstock

The cardstock colors were an important part of the design. I chose DCS Habanero Red Cardstock, DCS Green Curry Cardstock, DCS Yellow Jacket Cardstock, Pop Tone Orange Fizz Cardstock, and Pop Tone Hot Fudge Cardstock because they work together like the changing leaves outside my window. The mix of colors also gives me plenty of options when arranging the die-cut leaves.

One design decision I particularly like is using the small interior pieces from the leaf dies as accents rather than trying to use every piece to construct a perfect leaf. Those little pieces can be scattered around the card to repeat the colors and create movement. It is also a great reminder that die-cutting does not always have to mean assembling every piece exactly as intended. Sometimes the “extra” pieces are the ones that make a design more interesting.

A Little Fall Foliage and a Lot of Thanks: Create This Handmade Card

The sentiment is another place where I wanted contrast. I used Pop Tone Hot Fudge Cardstock for the lettering and Cougar White Smooth CardStock 110 lbs for the shadow layer. The dark brown gives the greeting enough weight to stand out against the colorful leaves, while the white outline keeps it connected to the clean card base. I used the Simple Sayings Die Set, which is now retired, for this particular project, but the idea is easy to adapt with another large sentiment die from your stash.

If you don't have the same leaf dies, don't let that stop you from trying this design. Look through your supplies for any leaf, branch, floral, or even small geometric dies that can be repeated in several fall colors. You could also substitute scraps of cardstock you already have. In fact, this is a wonderful stash-friendly cardmaking idea because small pieces of colored cardstock are all you need for most of the die-cut elements. If you are new to die cutting, start with just two or three leaf shapes. More experienced cardmakers can experiment with layering different leaf sizes or adding foam adhesive behind a few pieces for even more dimension.

One of the biggest lessons I take from this project is that a handmade card does not need complicated techniques to look thoughtfully designed. The combination of die cutting, dry embossing, and ink blending creates plenty of visual interest, while the limited color palette keeps everything cohesive. I hope this A Little Fall Foliage and a Lot of Thanks: Create This Handmade Card project encourages you to look at your own supplies differently and experiment with texture, color, and repetition. What fall colors would you use for your version? Leave a comment and share your favorite fall cardmaking color combination—I’d love to see what inspires you!

Thanks for dropping by today I hope that you found a little spark of creative inspiration with my project today. Wondering what I used in this project? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails in the Materials Used section, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible.

Supplies Used

Here you will find the list of supplies that I used to create today's card. All supplies are linked to supply sources below. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.

Happy Crafting,

Rick Adkins

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