French Faux-Metal Cuttlebug Look & DIY Text Paper for stamping

I was feeling mighty mojo-less, so I spent a wee bit going through some great craft magazines that were a sweet gift from my aunt Maggie & it inspired me to make this:

Here's the embossed piece with crayon (on the left)
on top of the magazine inspiration piece:

That memories accessory is hot. It's a metal embellishment (I think.) It made me happyweepy thinkin' of memories of browsing shops with my aunt Maggie (though not in Paris, sigh.) ;0) They had tonnes of funky distressed metal & french inspired home decor. It inspired a French(?) faux-metal look. To make it just:

• Cuttlebug white paper
• Swipe with black ink pad (or brayer for more control)
• Cut it into a square
  
• Use the corner rounder to make it scalloped ( I had to start in the middle of each side & do one end twice to get it even)
  

The flowers started out life as this...

... a funky old book from 1895 that I got in a second-hand shop. I scanned the page above (a great article entitled "How Artificial Flowers Should be Made: a new remunerative occupation for the home") and then cut it and pasted to make this printable sheet I like that it has no cardstock waste when punched and you can darken or lighten it with photo software to print it. Here's the full sheet:

It actually has these catchy sentences in it that are perfect for stamping (even though they are referring to silk-flower making):


How fitting, hey? I love that it describes the detailed handwork:

Isn't that description of flower-making ideal for punching flowers? I punched some with SU's 5-petal punch & then stippled them with markers.

Making the flowers:

After punching them, I stippled with three monochromatic colours, starting with dark & finishing with light:

1. Taken with Teal
2. Tempting turquoise
3. and Close to my Heart's Breeze (similar to Cool Caribbean)

To stipple I just pounce lightly with the marker--making little dots of colour. First, I had stamped "hi" on them (using the whimsical lower alphabet) with black craft ink & embossed it in clear e.p. I edged them with marker to distress 'em and add dimension.

The plain flowers have centers made using a circle punch of d.p. & hand-cut squares of black c.s. & wee gems stuck on with liquid glass (I love Crystal Effects, but Close to my Heart's has a nice tiny applicator tip.)

The coloured flowers are mounted on pop-up glue dots (which are so super sticky that they also hold on the little "delightful friend" tabs.)

The tags are embossed with words from Amazing to Zany & embellished with eyelets 'n' black hemp twine 'n' wee gems. The bottom ribbon strip is made with:

• BasicGrey (Skate Shop Alias SKT-307)...
  
• ...edged in Taken with Teal marker and...
• ...layered with a strip of that text paper (with the stamping sentences of course, heehee) and the layer with organza (adhesive on the back
• ...finally I tied a bow around the cardstock and stuck it all on

The coloured mat in behind the white'n'black dotted paper is that same Alias paper. I scratched away some of it with the edge of my scissors to get the white underneath to show for a shabby layer.

There's a white mat underneath that which has my favourite distressing technique: black marker edging (like the flowers.) It seems to tie things together. You can use any colour of course and it's a sneaky way to add the look of layers without adding cardstock. It saves adding weight and spending on cardstock.

To try marker edging:

You can just hold the item (like flowers) & edge it. Or you can but it up against the edge of a table or cutting mat. Pull the marker along so that it makes a line on the edge of your cardstock. You can experiment with the angle to get the line thickness you like. (You may find that you need to wipe the edge of the mat or table to prevent marker smudges on your cardstock.)

Hope this was useful & that your crafting is blissful, :0)