Do you have trouble seeing obvious things in other ways? I know I do. For instance I often find that when I know what something is supposed to be I have a hard time accepting it as anything else. Patterned paper is a particular problem, especially with “scene’ type designs. For this reason I always celebrate when my brain manages to see ‘outside the box’. Like this morning when I pulled a sheet of ‘trees’ from a pack, but they were sideways and suddenly all I saw was ragged stripes.

ENJOY THE JOURNEY

So with the idea of stripes in my head I decided to make this sheet from the Enjoy The Journey 12″ x 12″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) the coordinating element of my project. I began by cutting a 4″ x 12″ piece from the sheet. Then I cut across that strip at 8-1/8″ and set the piece aside.

Taking the remaing smaller piece of DSP I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix it onto the flap of a white Slimline Envelope. Then with my Paper Snips I trimmed off the excess paper using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Going back to the larger piece I cut a 7/8″ x 8-1/8″ strip and glued it down the right-hand side of a 3-1/8″ x 8-1/8″ layer of Basic White Card. This would be used to line my card base.

Next, using my Paper Trimmer I cut a 7″ x 8-1/2″ piece of Garden Green Card. Then with the short side at the top I scored it at 3-1/2″. After folding the card along the scored line I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create my slimline card base. With that done I glued the white liner piece on the inside.

For the front of the card I started by cutting a 3-1/4″ x 8-1/4″ piece of Parakeet Party Card. Then using liquid glue I attached the 3-1/8″ x 8-1/8″ piece of DSP that was left, before mounting the layers onto the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

CELEBRATE WITHOUT TAGS

Now all I needed was a sentiment and for that I turned to the Celebrate With Tags Stamp Set that was carried over from the July to December 2023 Mini Catalogue. Using Garden Green ink I stamped “Happy Birthday” onto some Basic White Card.

Next I found some ‘rectangular’ shaped dies in the Something Fancy Dies set. This partcular sub-set of 3 nesting dies has an interesting corner shape which I love. So taking the middle one of the three to my Mini Cut & Emboss Machine I cut out my sentiment.

At this point I decided that the white was a bit stark but I had a plan. Leaving the card inside the die I used a Blending Brush to add a very light layer of Garden Green ink over the surface. Then when I finally removed the die I had a pale green sentiment with a white ‘faux’ mat.

All I needed now was some Garden Green twine from the 3 Twine Combo Pack. I cut once piece 8″ long and created three overlapping loops, fixing then together with tiny dots of liquid glue. Then I fixed the cut ends behind the top of the die-cut sentiment. Next I cut 4″ of the twine but this time created just two loops before gluing the ends behind the bottom of the sentiment.

Finally I attached the assembled sentiment to the front of the card and my project was complete.

Even now when I know the stripes are trees I don’t see them that way any longer. Mind you for anyone who happened to get the Thanks A Bunch Stamp Set during Sale-A-Bration I do see green carrots!

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