So this morning I sat down to create a panel for a paper carrier bag. Everything started out fine, I decided to create flowers using the Poppy Moments Dies. Then I pulled out the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack for my background. And that’s when things took a detour. You see I got caught up in all the gorgeous wood patterns. I simply couldn’t choose which one I liked best. Before I knew it the wood paper wasn’t simply a background, or even an accent. With a marquetry firescreen made by my grandfather almost 50 years ago as my inspiration, the wood patterns became the whole design! Add to that the fact that I wanted the ‘picture’ to be a single layer, and I had my work cut out for me (pardon the pun).

WOOD PATTERNS

It was only after I’d finished many hours later that it occurred to me that I should have taken lots of photos during the process. Sadly I didn’t.

So all I can say is that I chose a really dark wood piece for the mat layer, and a lighter one for the background. I also used the dark piece for the two poppy outlines.

I knew this was going to get complicated so before cutting anything I backed the DSP with some Adhesive Sheet. At least then I’d only have to remove the backing when I was ready to assemble my 41 piece puzzle.

I could have made my life a lot easier if I’d simply cut the two poppy outlines again from a lighter pattern then used those pieces for my inserts. Sadly for me I decided to have the grain of the wood going in different directions on the petals. That meant cutting a strip of the paper and cutting out every petal of the outline die separately.

When it came to the flower centres I took the outline flowers and cut the centres from them. Then I cut centres from lighter patterned paper so I could insert these pieces into the holes.

If that wasn’t enough I also wanted the leaves to look as if they were coming from ‘behind’ the flowers. That meant starting by cutting the leaves using the two layering dies. Then I cut the bottom of the assembled leaves using the edge of the flower dies so the pieces would fit together as a single layer.

WELCOME CONCLUSION

Once all the flower and leaf pieces were cut I then realised I hadn’t considered whether to include a sentiment. Looking through my stash I chose “welcome” from the Well Written Dies. It seemed appropriate and also fitted in the space I had available. So I cut that from one of the DSP sheets and I was finally ready to begin putting it all together.

The only piece of DSP that I’d forgotten to back with Adhesive Sheet was the main lighter layer. So for that I had to use Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to mount it onto the dark mat layer.

Then piece by piece I removed the adhesive backing and pressed them into place. Some of those pieces were tiny so I was glad to have the putty tool on my Take Your Pick to help me.

Once everything was in place I sandwiched the completed layers between two new cutting pads and ran it through my die-cutting machine. The pressure from the machine would ensure all the pieces were firmly attached. With that done I put the assembled piece into a wooden picture frame and I was finally finished.

I am not going to lie, this project took hours and I’m not entirely happy with it. But considering it was my first attempt at marquetry it could have been a whole lot worse. All I can say is that I have even more respect for my Grandpa who created a firescreen picture using real wood veneer.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Poppy Moments Dies in a bundle with the Peaceful Moments Stamp Set (not used today). Buying the two items using a single ‘bundle’ item number meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying them separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore that option.