My regular readers will know that I’m currently decluttering and reorganising my craft studio. It’s not that it’s a mess, I can’t work in a mess, but rather that the flow is wrong. So I’m moving things around so that everything seems more natural. While I’m at it I may as well remove stuff that’s been kept ‘just in case’ but in my heart I know I’ll never use. Of course the fact that I’m creating space just when a new catalogue is coming out is pure coincidence… During a short break this morning I decided I needed a bookmark for my organisation guide and Hand-Penned Petals was close at hand.

HAND-PENNED MUTED

I love colouring the large multi-flower image from the Hand-Penned Petals Stamp Set but usually go for bright colours, today I had something quite different in mind.

I began by cutting a 2″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Thick Very Vanilla Card. Then I shaped the top and added a ribbon slot at the same time using the Fancy Tag Topper Punch.

Next, using Early Espresso ink I stamped the floral image across the bottom of the card strip. Then in the space that was left I stamped the “Anything is possible” sentiment. I decided that was quite apt when it comes to reorganising.

For my colour scheme I had a sort of sepia effect in mind which I thought would work well on the Very Vanilla base. So I started colouring the flowers using the light and dark Petal Pink Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. Then I coloured the centres using the Ivory Stampin’ Blends marker.

I resisted the impulse to use green for the leaves, and instead chose light and dark Crumb Cake markers.

Finally I cut some Petal Pink 5/8″ Organdy Striped Ribbon and folded it in half. After passing the loop through the slot at the top of the tag, I threaded the ends through the loop and pulled gently to secure the ribbon in place. In less than 10 minutes I had my new bookmark.

The funny thing is that after photographing the bookmark I opened the book to keep it safe. Randomly I turned to page 201 and looked at tip #545. It said…

“If your craft area is short on space, try storing the craft books on a book shelf in another room.”

It might just be a coincidence but that’s an idea that’s worth pursuing…

PRODUCT LIST,

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Hand-Penned Petals Stamp Set with the coordinating Penned Flowers Dies (not used today) using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore that option.