When I think of meadows I usually think of them in the summer. We’re trying to cultivate a natural flower meadow in a large area behind our house but it’s slow going. We started off with a few lupins that grow wild along the roadside. Having rescued the plants from being mowed down they are now well-established and spreading beautifully. We also have other plants springing up that I’ve yet to properly identify. But as autumn takes hold the whole area changes into shades of brown inspiring today’s collage project.

MEADOW BACKGROUND

This project all began when I found a 2-1/2″ x 4-1/2″ piece in my Kraft Paper Pack. It was obviously left over from another project but today it was destined to become the base for a collage experiment.

First I picked up a Blending Brush and added some Crumb Cake ink over the surface. Then I brushed on some patches of Bermuda Bay ink, followed by some areas of Early Espresso ink.

With the base prepared I then pulled out the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set. Starting with the large flower head I stamped it onto the card using Rich Razzleberry ink, then without re-inking I stamped a second time. I repeated this process twice more to give me some obvious flower images and some faded ones.

Next I took the block of worn script from the Meadow Stamp Set and stamped parts of that a few times using Early Espresso ink.

It was only at this point I decided to turn this piece into a gift tag. It was larger than my usual gift tags but sometimes a big tag is what I need. So, using the straight corner option on the Very Best Trio Punch I shaped the two top corners of the piece.

I could have used the same punch to add a ribbon slot, however I’d already decided to use some very wide ribbon and that might have been a tight squeeze. But then I remembered some small circle dies in the new Warm Welcome Dies set. I chose the smaller of the two (1/4″ compared to 11/32″) and die-cut a hole at the top of the tag. Now I was ready to add the details.

I began by adding some rustic texture using the Timber 3D Embossing Folder.

CUSTOM TOUCHES

The ribbon I’d chosen was the 7/8″ Natural Finish Ribbon and I started by cutting a 6″ piece. Then from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set I took the single word “Love” and used Early Espresso ink to stamp it onto the ribbon.

While the ribbon was drying I also stamped “Love” onto a scrap of Very Vanilla Card. Then I stamped the longer “Heartfelt love and caring thoughts are with you” sentiment onto the Very Vanilla Scrap too. Finally using Paper Snips I cut out the separate “Love”, plus just the words “Heartfelt” and “with” from the longer sentiment.

Turning to the Meadow Dies I chose the tall thin stalk and die-cut it from Mint Macaron Card. Then I used a Blending Brush to add a little Bermuda Bay ink. I liked how it looked but thought it could use something ‘extra’. So I cut another 2″ of the Natural Finish Ribbon and pulled the threads apart. This created a really interesting shape so I placed it onto the tag. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue I pressed the die-cut stalk on top which also held the threads in place. From there I used liquid glue to add the three words of my altered sentiment in the space that was left.

Although the stalk brightened the tag up a bit I thought it could do with a little shine in the form of some Gilded Leafing. So taking the liquid glue bottle I gently squeezed some glue to the top of the nozzle then released the pressure so most of it went back inside. Next I rubbed what remained on the tip over a few small areas on the tag. Then I placed some pieces of Gilded Leafing onto the glue, press down firmly and left them to dry.

Meanwhile I threaded my custom stamped ribbon through the hole at the top of the tag and twisted the back section so the stamping could be seen from the front. To hold it in place I cut some Crumb Cake Twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack. I wrapped the twine around the ribbon close to the top of the tag and tied it in a simple bow.

To finish I rubbed off the excess Gilded Leafing with my finger and put it back into the pot. Then after adding a few Rustic Metallic Adhesive-backed Dots my collage-style gift tag was complete.

I really love how this project turned out and while the tag is interesting my eye keep going back to the stamped ribbon. That’s something I’ll definitely be trying again. What do you think?

PRODUCT LIST

WARM WELCOME DIES – The Warm Welcome Dies are on early release from the January to June 2023 Mini Catalogue. During the early purchase opportunity they can only be bought as part of a discounted ‘bundle’ with the coordinating Warm Welcome Stamp Set (not used today). I’ve included a ;ink to the bundle below and I’ll add a link to the dies only as soon as I am able on January 5th.