Well yesterday was interesting. Hubby was out with the snowblower for more than 5 hours trying to clear our driveway after the snowstorm. While the wind scrubbed some areas, in others we had snowdrifts up to 5 feet deep. The road was just as bad, making for challenging conditions for the snowplow driver. But with the sunshine revealing the patterns carved in the snow by the wind I was reminded of the free Simply Marbleous 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (DSP). So that’s what I wanted to showcase today.

SIMPLY MARBLEOUS SATIN

The Simply Marbleous DSP has just two different designs. On one side is a marbled pattern that I used on a gift tag a couple of days ago. While that design is lovely, it was this satin effect that really caught my eye. To really show it off I decided to use it on a Mini Paper Pumpkin Box. From the six colour choices in the pack I went with the greeny-blue option (a combination of Pool Party and Coastal Cabana).

After making up the box I began to cut the pieces for my background layers. I’d calculated that I could actually get everything from one single 6″ x 6″ sheet of the Simply Marbleous paper.

So I started by cutting a 3/4″ piece off one side of the 6″ x 6″ sheet, then I trimmed this down to 3-1/2″. I set the remaining 2-1/2″ scrap to one side to use on a separate project.

Next from the sheet I cut the section for the top at 3-1/2″ x 5-1/4″. Finally from what was left I cut three more 3/4″ strips. One was trimmed down to 3-1/2″ to match the very first strip, and the final two were left at 5-1/4″.

To create some dramatic contrast I opted to use Basic Black Card for the mat layers. Each one was cut 1/8″ larger than the DSP it was to support. So in the end I had one piece 3-5/8″ x 5-3/8″, two at 7/8″ x 5-3/8″ and two at 7/8″ x 3-5/8″.

With the cutting complete I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to mount each piece of DSP onto its corresponding mat. Then with that done I glued the pieces to the top and sides of the assembled box.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

At this point the box could be used for anything, but I decided to make this a birthday box. To mirror the dramatic black borders around the paper I knew exactly which stamp set I wanted, Sentimental Swirls.

From the stamp set I chose the four-petal flower outline stamp and the single leaf outline. Both these images coordinate with the Flowers & Leaves Punch which would save time later.

On some scrap strips of Thick Basic White Card I stamped two flowers and five leaves. Then I set two work colouring them using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. For the flowers I chose Daffodil Delight, with Granny Apple Green for the leaves. I wasn’t really worried about blending, I’d chosen these markers because they don’t leave those tell-tale lines like regular markers. My technique was quick and easy, colour each image using the lighter marker, then go over one side of each leaf and petal with the darker one.

Once the colouring was done I punched out the pieces and assembled them into two elements, using liquid glue to stick the leaves behind the flowers. Then from the Genial Gems pack I chose the larger Pale Papaya embellishments and fixed one in the centre of each flower.

Going back to the Sentimental Swirls Stamp Set I chose the “happy birthday” sentiment and stamped it onto Thick Basic White Card using Tuxedo Black ink. Then I punched it out using the Rectangular Postage Stamp Punch. Finally using Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the flowers to the sentiment before adding it to the box lid. Job done.

PRODUCT LIST

I love how this project turned out it really does show off the satin look of the Simply Marbleous DSP design. To see the marble pattern (in Balmy Blue/Misty Moonlight) check out my previous blog post Inspired by swimming otters.

Sadly the DSP cannot be purchased, but you can get it for free until February 28th (while stocks last). Simply place an order for $60 of Stampin’ Up! products (before shipping and taxes). Then when prompted during the checkout process choose this paper as your free gift. There’s also other paper and exclusive stamp sets to choose from too, and no limit on how many you can earn. Check out the Sale-A-Bration Brochure for all the details. Otherwise you can view all the free products in the Sale-A-Bration section of my online store.