Even though I’m designing and making papercraft projects every day things don’t always go according to plan. I can’t tell you how many times a finished project has a poorly stamped image or sentiment on the back of a layer. However I don’t always redo something. For instance, embellishments are a great way to hide smaller ‘accidents’. Today’s tag project ‘do-over’ wasn’t to hide a mistake, just an uneasy feeling that it was somehow ‘unfinished’. Now, more than 10 weeks after starting, I’m finally happy with these Pretty Prints scraps.

VERSION 1

I must be honest and say that this project was created from the scraps of scraps. In June I created a bookmark to show off three of the four colours in the Pretty Prints 12″ x 12′ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. Having finished that project I still had a few pieces I just couldn’t bin so I decided to create a gift tag with them.

First, taking the size of the scraps as my inspiration, I cut a 2-1/2″ x 4-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Then I chose the “Best wishes and happy thoughts” sentiment from the Nature’s Thoughts Stamp Set. Using Rich Razzleberry ink I stamped it at the bottom of the Basic White Strip leaving the space above to be filled in with the scraps of DSP.

The scraps were already cut at an angle, all I had to do was fix them in place with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). I started with a Bermuda Bay piece above the sentiment and then added the other scraps until I’d covered right up to the top of the strip.

All I needed to do now was use a pencil to mark the centre of the strip on the back. Then using the slot option on the Very Best Trio Punch I punched a hole. To add some extra interest I also used the fancy corner option on the punch on the top two corners. With that done I cut 6″ of silver cord from the Simply Elegant Trim pack and tied it through the hole.

This was when I thought I’d be finished but I felt that there needed to be something to separate the sentiment from the DSP pieces. So I cut a 1/8″ strip of Silver Foil Specialty Paper and glued that up against the bottom edge of the DSP. At last I was done. Or so I thought…

SEPARATING THE PRINTS

Since then the tag has been sitting on my desk waiting for me to show it to you. But I just wasn’t happy with it. So for today’s simple Sunday project I decided to resolve my ‘issues’ once and for all.

To be honest I just thought the tag was a bit boring. On my original bookmark project I’d separated the stripes by leaving a narrow gap between them. Of course that wasn’t an option here as the DSP was already firmly attached. Then an idea popped into my head.

I went back top the Silver Foil Specialty DSP and found a scrap of the same bright silver foil I’d used above the sentiment. Then I flipped it over and fixed a couple of strips of Tear & Tape Adhesive on the back. With that done I cut four strips of foil, each one 1/8″ wide, and now complete with a neat adhesive strip.

One by one I peeled the backing off the adhesive and pressed the foil into place on top of the DSP strips on my tag. Finally I trimmed off the excess foil with Paper Snips, using the edge of the tag as a guide.

I loved this look so much better than the original design but I wasn’t quite done. Sitting on top of the DSP these new foil pieces created ridges on the design that really added a wow factor (unlike the foil strip above the sentiment). So there was nothing for it, I simply had to add another foil strip on top of that original one to make them all match.

That was it! At last I was happy with this tag and all it took was 10 weeks and a few extra scraps. But I wonder which of the two versions you prefer? Please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts.

You’ll find more projects using the Pretty Prints DSP in these earlier blog posts:

• Pretty prints, pretty colours
• Slimline with pretty prints

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Nature’s Prints Stamp Set in a bundle with the Natural Prints Dies (not used today). I also bought the Very Best Trio Punch in a bundle with the Very Best Occasions Stamp Set (not used today). Buying products using the ‘bundle’ item number saved me 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. For this reason I’ve included links to both bundles in case you want to explore these options for yourself.