Today’s fun fishing-themed “just for you” tag comes courtesy of a customer’s comment. I made a card a couple of days ago featuring an umbrella where the handle was punched from silver foil sheet. She commented that at first glance she thought I’d used a paper clip and it got me thinking…

What if I used a deconstructed paper clip on a project? Well later that day I was playing with the Whale Of A Time Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. and as they say, the rest is history…

SEA FISHING

After decorating the drawer-style treat box I was left with some scraps of DSP. The sea floor, crab, shell and weed made a lovely scene and I really didn’t want to waste it. So that’s when the idea for a fishing gift tag popped into my head.

Taking my cue from the paper I chose Pretty Peacock Card for the tag base. First I used my Paper Trimmer to cut the card to 2″ x 4″. This is a touch shorter than my usual tag bases, but it was influenced by the size of the DSP I had to work with. Then I trimmed the 4″ piece of DSP to 1-7/8″ wide, before using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to mount it onto the card leaving an even border at each side.

Next I added an oval hole at the top of the card using the Detailed Trio Punch. I chose the Basic Gray twine from the Well Suited Twine Combo Pack and threaded a piece through the hole. Then I tied it in a simple knot close to the tag base.

Finally on the back of the tag I glued a 1-7/8″ x 3-3/4″ piece of Whisper White Card. This would be much easier to write on than the dark tag base.

For my fishing hook I found a regular silver-coloured paper clip and stretched it out leaving a curve at each end. I passed the larger curve between the two threads of the tag just above the knot. Then I tied another knot just above the paperclip to stop it falling off. Finally I tied one last knot at the ends of the twine to keep them neat.

MESSAGES DIE

For my sentiment I wanted something fairly small that could be attached to the fishing hook. I found what I needed in the Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set, a compact “just for you” sentiment.

Next I needed to think about what I was going to stamp it on and how it would look. I could have simply stamped it on card and cut it out with Paper Snips or a Paper Trimmer, but I wanted something a little fancier.

So I turned to the new Messages Die. This die is actually designed to cut out 19 sentiments and four small images from the Many Messages Stamp in one go. But that’s not the only way to use it. I was really excited to get the die to create a whole pile of different shapes for other sentiments too.

Today was going to be fairly straightforward. I’d already used the die to cut out a layer of unstamped Thick Whisper White Card. So I had a little bag full of the pieces. All I had to do was select the one I wanted and stamp the sentiment onto it. But first I needed to add a hole so I could attach the sentiment onto my fishing hook. In reality the die-cut sentiment was too small to hold, so I rethought my idea and pulled out the Messages Die again.

This time I took a longer strip of Thick Whisper White Card and punched the oval hole using the Detailed Trio Punch. Then I roughly trimmed down the strip and placed it over the part of the Messages Die that I wanted. Holding the card in place with some random washi tape I then ran the die through my Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine.

JUST FOR YOU

Now I had the sentiment shape complete with the required hole, I stamped the “just for you” sentiment onto it using Pretty Peacock ink. Obviously I needed to avoid the hole, but as the Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set is made from see-through photopolymer it was a simple task to get the placement just right.

Finally, to complete the tag I placed the sentiment over the lower end of my fishing hook and squeezed it closed. Job done.

If you missed the sea-themed treat box you’ll find it in my blog post Whale this could get me into trouble.

And the card that started it all? You’ll find that in my blog post Yellow umbrella and strawberry rain.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Messages Dies in a bundle with the Many Messages Stamp (mentioned, but not used today). Using the single ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included both options in my list in case you want to look at this in more detail.

Also available in a bundle is the Sweet Strawberry Stamp Set with the Strawberry Builder Punch (also not used today). I’ve included a link to that bundle too in case you’re interested.