Keepsake Card - October Bouquet

October Bouquet Keepsake Card

There’s a particular beauty to October: rich color, crisp air, and leaves that glow for just a little while before they fall. My October Bouquet captures that season with dahlias, salvia, and the fiery leaves of Japanese maple.

Inside, the art continues softly behind your message, along with the traditional meaning of each:

• Dahlia: devotion

• Salvia: wisdom

• Japanese maple: ephemeral

Japanese maple’s meaning, ephemeral, celebrates beauty that lasts only a moment, like autumn leaves at their peak. Together with devotion and wisdom, it makes this a meaningful card for honoring a mentor, a grandparent, or a lifelong friend, or for celebrating an autumn birthday or anniversary. It’s also a gentle, comforting choice for sympathy, honoring a life that was precious and too brief.

I draw what’s really there, so if you look closely, you’ll spot a tiny insect hole in one of the leaves. I love those small imperfections, because they’re part of what makes each flower real. I spent about 30 hours on the original, drawn in black ink and colored pencil at 18" x 24" from a live bouquet grown by Muddy Feet Flower Farm, a woman-owned grower.

• Size: A6, 4.5" x 6.25"

• Paper: felt-textured, FSC-certified card stock with 30% post-consumer waste

• Envelope: white, invitation-style flat flap, 4.75" x 6.5"

• Inside: faded full-color art with flower meanings, plus room for your message

• Made in: the USA, including the paper for both card and envelope

• Packaging: All Vivid Cottage cards are sent without single-use plastics.