Papertrey Ink September 2016 Blog Hop

Nichole Heady has once again provided us with a fantastic photographic inspiration image for this month's Papertrey Ink Blog Hop. These were her instructions to us:

"Sometimes when an artist keeps things simple, that is when they are most creative. This month we are sticking to the basics. A little twine, Kraft paper, crisp black, sprigs of greenery, perhaps even a few pine cones. Mix and match these elements to create your own paper crafty project. Make a Kraft tag to frame your sentiment. Use a mini clothespin to clip a die-cut in place. Finish a length of twine with a basic bow. Let the inspiration [photo] be your guide and allow your creativity to flow!"

Everything about this image is crisp, clean and simple so I wanted my card to be the same. I started with a Classic Kraft Cardstock top folding card base and a 4 x 5.25 inch Stitched Rectangle panel of True Black Cardstock.  I also cut three tags from Kraft Cardstock using the tag die from Love Showers Die Set and three Banners from the Paper Clippings: Happy Birthday Details Dies.  I glued each of the three tags and each of the three banners, one on top of the other to make them nice, thick elements.  I feel this adds to the more masculine look of this card which is intended for a nephew's birthday.  I die cut the Happy Birthday die which came from Penny Black some time ago using gold foil cardstock to help pick up the gold shimmer in the leaves.  Because of how slender the letters are in the die cut, it was easy to align them along the stitching line in the banner and give them a slight curve kind of like you do if you want to add a curve to your sentiment stamps.

For the leaves, I made some color spray using Pine Feather Reinker in a little spray bottle and sprayed watercolor cardstock with it.  I have a pretty heavy concentration of ink in my spray so the leaves would be dark green. Once the paper dried, I misted it all over with Iridescent Gold Shimmer Spritz and let it dry again.  The shimmer spritz I'm using is from Tattered Angels which is no longer made but you'll find that this Tsukineko Sheer Gold Shimmer Spritz works the same and has the same look.   Next, I cut the leaves out using a Memory Box Slender Leaves Die. This is an older die that is no longer available but has three leaves on the stem and also embosses when it cuts. I cut several of these so I could arrange them how I wanted on my tag and adhered them using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.

I really love the pine cones, clothespin and the little bundle of cinnamon sticks in the inspiration image, but I felt any more elements would be too distracting for a clean and simple design. Trust me, it was not that easy seeing as how I have the new Holiday Greens Stamps and Dies in the house!  I used a length of Natural colored Hemp Cord for the tag.

Be sure to pop over to Papertrey Ink Blog to see all of the projects along the blog hop.  Thanks very much for your kind and encouraging comments!