The Colors of Fall

The colors of fall here in Michigan can often be amazing and breath-taking. After we have had a hard frost, the trees begin their transformation, and the peak color only lasts 7-10 days. Weather and the amount of rainfall come into play to determine how much actual color we see in the fall. This has been one of those years... beautiful.
I actually waited too long to take these photos. They should have been taken a few days ago, but life gets in the way. I took a walk this afternoon, breezy, cool, with the musky scent of fall in the air. Definitely a day to remember til spring comes next year. I picked up a few leaves along the way...
...and made a card for a friend.
Do you have seasons where you live? I've always felt that the cold we have to endure during the winters are probably worth the changing of the seasons.

Flowering Vine


The background for this card was created by using a stencil and water color crayons. I had seen similar type flowers on the web somewhere and tried to recreate them from memory. I cut a circle and just started playing around with folding them. I think these are wonderful fall colors, dark teal and a reddish brown.
What are some of your favorite fall color combination's?
We've had a hard frost on the ground here in Michigan the last two mornings. It's time to go out and clean out the flower beds, they look so sad. Winter is right around the corner.

Casing or Inspired?

Since I've returned home, my mojo has been in hiding. I've tried on three different occasions to make a card, and haven't even been able to do that successfully. What do I do? Throw it in a pile of started but uncompleted projects and hope to be able to return to it.
 I know we all suffer from this mysterious malady now and then. So what do I do? Clean/organize my craft area, shop for more supplies, read a variety of blogs hoping to be inspired. I really needed to make a birthday card for a man, and was feeling desperate. I did finally come across a card on the Bo Bunny blog that inspired me. Thank you Irene Tan for the inspiration.
I found this card to be very stimulating visually, loved the elements and colors. Very manly, don't you think? So, I'm mulling this card around while doing mundane household chores, and then had an aha moment. I started digging through my stash, and this is what I came up with...

and then another...
 and the final one.
So, in your opinion, was I casing Irene's card, or was I inspired?
I have to tell you that after I made these cards...my mojo had returned. Now I'm ready to work on a Christmas banner swap project.