Easy Fall Card with an Unexpected Pumpkin Color (Video)

Who decided pumpkins always have to be orange?

Don’t get me wrong—I love all those beautiful rusts, oranges and golden fall colors. But sometimes one little unexpected choice is exactly what a card needs to feel completely different. For today’s easy fall card, I pulled Pool Party right out of the Painted Patch Designer Series Paper and used it to color our pumpkin.

Yes…a Pool Party pumpkin!

And I absolutely love it.

The cool Pool Party paired with Smoky Slate and Basic White gives us a fresh foundation, while all those warmer colors in the Designer Series Paper (DSP) still bring plenty of fall into the design.

And that’s one of the easiest ways to get yourself out of a color rut:

Let your patterned paper choose the colors for you.

Let’s take a closer look at how this card comes together.

Start with an Unexpected Fall Color Combination

Our card base is Smoky Slate, which gives us a wonderfully neutral starting point. Then I pulled Pool Party from the Painted Patch Designer Series Paper (DSP) for the layer behind our patterned paper.

But instead of stopping there, I repeated Pool Party in the focal point by coloring our stamped pumpkin with Pool Party Stampin’ Blends. That repetition is important.

When you introduce an unexpected color—especially one you might not normally associate with your subject—using it in more than one area helps make the choice feel intentional.

Suddenly our Pool Party pumpkin doesn’t feel out of place. It belongs. And that means you can take this same idea far beyond pumpkins.

The next time you’re creating with patterned paper, look closely at some of its less obvious colors and ask: What would happen if I made THAT color the star? You may find a combination you never would have chosen on your own.

Add Interest Without Adding More “Stuff”

There’s already quite a bit happening in the Painted Patch Designer Series Paper, so I didn’t want every part of the card competing for attention. Instead, I created interest in the large Basic White background with texture.

The 3-3/4″ x 5″ Basic White layer is embossed with the Softly Woven 3D Embossing Folder. Because we’re embossing white cardstock, we’re adding detail without introducing another color or pattern.

That’s a design trick worth remembering:

When your card needs a little more interest, texture may be all it needs.

You don’t necessarily need another piece of patterned paper, another color or another embellishment. Sometimes embossing a simple cardstock layer gives you exactly enough.

Give That Pumpkin a Little Sparkle

After stamping the pumpkin in Secret Sea, I colored it with Pool Party Stampin’ Blends.

And then…I couldn’t resist. I added Wink of Stella over the pumpkin for some beautiful shimmer.

It’s difficult for a still photograph to completely capture Wink of Stella, but when the light hits it, that little bit of sparkle makes the focal point feel extra special. This is also one of those details that doesn’t require you to redesign anything.

Same pumpkin.

Same color.

One quick layer of shimmer—and suddenly it has another dimension.

Don’t Forget the Inside!

You know I don’t like to leave the inside of my cards completely forgotten.

For this one, I added a Basic White layer and brought a little of the Painted Patch Designer Series Paper inside with a strip along the bottom. It’s simple, but it carries the design from the front of the card to the inside—and it’s a great way to use another small strip of your patterned paper.

Project Layers (Imperial):

• 4-1/4” x 11” Smoky Slate CS
• (2) 3-3/4” x 5” Basic White CS-emboss one
• 2-7/8” x 4” DSP
• 3” x 4-1/8” Pool Party CS
• 2-1/2” x 2-1/2” Basic White CS die-cut
• 3-1/2” x ¾” Basic White CS
• 2” x 2” Basic White CS stamp/die-cut
• 3-1/2” x ¾” DSP
• Approx. 12” Ribbon

I have created a printable recipe with the complete supply list and cut dimensions for you. Simply click the button below to access the printable file.

Ready to see how everything comes together?

In today’s video, I’ll show you how I:

• build the layers,
• add embossed texture,
• use the DSP to guide the color palette,
• color that unexpected Pool Party pumpkin,
• add a little Wink of Stella shimmer,
• and bring the design to the inside of the card.

Come create it with me!

(note if viewing this post via email subscription, you may need to click the post name to display the video)

Don’t Put Away Your Painted Patch Supplies Yet!

If you enjoyed creating with Painted Patch today, we’re not finished!

I’m pulling these supplies right back out on Friday, September 25 for my FREE Online Workshop, and I’ve designed three completely different cards to share with you.

We’ll explore different layouts, different ways to use the patterned paper, and I’ll even show you how I’ve taken some of these design ideas and recreated them with completely different products.

That’s something I especially want you to see. Because a good card design shouldn’t necessarily work with only one collection.

Once you understand what’s making the design work, you can start looking through the supplies you already own and asking:

“What could I use instead?”

And one of Friday’s cards has a little surprise built right into the design that I’m not showing you quite yet.

Whether you already own Painted Patch, have been considering it, or simply want some new card ideas you can adapt to your own supplies, I’d love to have you join me.

FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP

Friday, September 25 at 11:30 AM ET

Can’t join me at 11:30? Be sure to register/join the workshop group so you can catch the replay.

Before You Go…

I’m curious:

What’s a color you’ve used on a project that surprised you?

Maybe you’ve made a blue pumpkin, a pink Christmas card, purple leaves—or something else completely unexpected.

Tell me in the comments!

And the next time you’re staring at your patterned paper wondering which colors to use, don’t automatically reach for the obvious choice.

Take another look at the paper.

There may be a color hiding in there that’s about to become the star of your whole card.

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