I love puns.  So I knew the ‘best fishes’ sentiment in the Jar of Love Stamp Set from Stampin’ Up would definitely get some use.  The set also includes a fish image and I love the detail on it, now boring fish there.  So when I saw this week’s Paper Players colour challenge, PP405.  I knew exactly what I would do.

The colour challenge is just that a challenge, with a monochromatic palette of So Saffron, Mango Melody and Pumpkin Pie.  My initial reaction was to think of sunsets, but maybe that was a bit obvious.  So instead I decided to pull out my Jar of Love Stamp Set and catch a fish.

THE JAM JAR

I started with the medium-sized jam jar image stamped twice onto Thick Whisper White Card with Mango Melody ink.  Then I stamped the ‘water’ image on both pieces using So Saffron ink that I’d first stamped off onto scrap paper.  Finally the pretty fish image was added to the water in one jar with Pumpkin Pie ink.

TIP – If you have a solid stamp with fine details these can be obscured by stamping with an over-inked pad.  To solve this problem use the edge of a gift card to pull back some of the excess ink to one end of the pad.  You don’t have to press too hard, but you will see the surface of the pad lighten slightly.  Test your detailed image to check the details are now clear and then you can stamp onto your project.  If there’s still too much ink, repeat the process once more.  Unlike many people, I never waste this ‘excess’ ink by removing it permanently with a paper towel.

PREPARING THE TAG BASE

The Jar of Love Stamp Set has a coordinating set of dies called Everyday Jars Framelits.  So using my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform I die-cut the stamped jars then set aside the jar without the fish..

I decided I wanted the front of the jam jar tag to look like it was made of glass.  This was a simple process of pressing a VersaMark ink pad onto the surface of the fish piece.  Then I sprinkled it with Clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess.  All that was left was to melt the remaining powder with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

With the jar front done, I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach the other jar to the back.

BEST FISHES

Although the stamp set has a ‘handle’ for the jar, and there’s a coordinating die for it, I decided my handle should be a little more realistic.  That meant Linen Thread wrapped a couple of times around the neck of the jar.  Then using a simple knot at each side I added the handle.

The ‘best fishes’ sentiment came next, stamped onto a narrow strip of Thick Whisper White Card using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  I wanted the sentiment to look worn so used a Bone Folder to curve the piece several times in each direction.  Then with Paper Snips I cut a small V in the end.  Next, using a 1/8″ Circle Handheld Punch I punched a hole in the other end, then tied it to the twine around the neck of the jar with a simple knot.

SMALL DETAILS

As I was putting away my tools and materials for this project, my tag on the desk, I got the feeling that it wasn’t quite finished.  It needed something extra and I found just the thing in the Jar of Love Stamp Set, a little fly.

I inked up the fly image with Tuxedo Black ink and stamped it onto scrap paper.  Then without reinking the stamp I stamped it onto a scrap of Thick Whisper White Card.  Next I coloured the image using a So Saffron marker from the Subtles Stampin’ Write Markers Collection.

 

Going back to my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform I cut out the fly with the coordinating die from the Everyday Jars Framelits.

But it still wasn’t quite done.

I added a tiny bit of glue from the Fine-Tip Glue Pen to the wings and sprinkled on a little Dazzling Diamonds Stampin’ Glitter.  That was so much better.

I finally finished the tag with my fly attached to the end of the sentiment with a Mini Stampin’ Dimensional.

CHALLENGE DETAILS

Here’s the logo for this week’s Paper Players colour challenge PP405.

Thank you Paper Players, without your colour challenge I would probably never have made my best fishes tag.

Now to pop over to the Paper Players blog to add my project to their challenge gallery.

Then I’ll take a look at what other people have created using these three colours.

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