May 12, 2010

Year of the Flower: Lily of the Valley

Welcome to another countdown post from Papertrey Ink. Today I'm showcasing the sets Year of the Flower: Lily of the Valley and Inside & Out: Thank You.

I am intrigued with old prints of botanicals, birds and insects. I have lots of vintage looking prints hanging in my home because they make such fascinating art work. I included the photo below in my post today to show you what some of these botanical images look like. Although this one isn't very old looking, the idea of these prints is kind of a collage look. Back in the day I suppose scientists had to draw and paint all of their specimens before there were high tech cameras and the like.
I wanted to recreate a botanical looking print for my project today. Do you ever wonder if some day your children's grandchildren will look at your cards and letters....just like how we look at old postcards and letters. I hope so.
I love the way my botanical print turned out. I ended up adhering my print to a Kraft Large Square Envelope. You'll see why in a bit.
I'd first like to give you a few tips for making new things look old. To start off, I stamped my Lily of the Valley image onto actual, old ledger paper using brown, waterproof ink. The paper is brown and worn looking. You can find ledger sheets like that look just like this in the scrapbook stores or online. Next, I watercolored my imaged with watercolor crayons and an aqua brush. By watercoloring, you can get soft, muted colors. And don't be afraid to color outside the lines. I love that look, although I know some of you might freak at the thought.It's okay peeps. For the white of the lilies, I used a white colored pencil. I then used distress ink pads to ink up various Papertrey background stamps. Ink them up as usual and then spritz them with water before stamping. This drowns out and distorts a little of the image, perfect for that aged look. I used Background Basics: Text Style, the small lily image from Lily of the Valley, and Background Basics: Botanicals. Just keep layering images until you've got a nice collage look.
Next up is that large Kraft envelope. I stamped images on the back flap from Big & Bold Wishes, spritzing the image before I stamped.
I used the envelope liner template that is coming out this month to line the envelope with paper from Green Tea Leaves. The liner size isn't really made for this large Kraft envy so I had to re-score my fold line. I think it looks pretty good though. I'm not planning on sealing the envelope so it was okay to cover up the adhesive part too.
Using some of the old ledger sheets that I had from a garage sale find, I intend to write a few messages to my family on my birthday this month. I thought the sentiment I used from Inside & Out: Thank You was just perfect. You can zoom in to read it. I'm going to tuck my handwritten notes inside the envelope and tie it up with a pretty brown ribbon, as shown in my first photos.
To achieve an aged look for Papertrey's Satin Luxe ribbon, try this tip: With a sharp pair of scissors, trim off both edges of the ribbon. This removes the little edge that keeps the ribbon from fraying. Wad the ribbon up in your fingers, over and over again. Scrunch, scrunch some more. This makes lots of frayed edges that you'll have to trim. You're left with frayed ribbon that is a little rumpled and crinkles and some of the sheen is even taken away from the shiny satin. You can compare the before and after looks in the photo below.I punched two holes in my envelope and am going to insert it into my regular scrapbook. On my birthday, I'm going to write my notes to my family....a little reflection, some hopes and dreams for my girls, my appreciation for my family. Some day my girls can read the notes and know what high hopes I have for them in life.

See the different size items in my scrapbook? You can see my smaller envelope, my 8.5 x 11 pages and my 12 x 12 pages. I love these mixy matchy sizes, it all makes for a really scrappy scrapbook.
On a side note, I think I even met one of the challenges from the Papertrey scrapbook forums, right? I used watercoloring for a scrapbook project. If you're into scrapbooking, want to start scrapbooking.....or need to get back into your scrapbooking, start following the forums. There's lots of us who need inspiration to get some pages done!

Hope you enjoyed my post today. Oh, and those pages behind today's project are my Week in the Life pages that I did following Ali Edwards' idea. I'll finish those up and post them soon. :)

31 comments:

kksb said...

Wow! You are incredibly creative and clever. Your ribbon idea is great. Looking at your first picture of your Lily of the Valley envie/page I thought the ribbon was velvet. I love Lily of the Valley, though I cannot get it to grow in my yard. Your botanical project shines! You did a great job of replicating the old type prints. I have a pear botanical on my kitchen wall. I am going to stop now. I can't say enough wonderful things. Your project is grand!

Cassandra said...

Amazing! I would have asked where you got the antique print. Very clever ideas in this one, keep up the great work.

PJ said...

Simply awesome - love love love your project! Thanks!

Ann said...

What a wonderful project Mish! Such a creative idea that reinforces just how fabulously versatile Papertrey stamps really are.

Laura.K said...

Wow. I love your clever ideas.Thanks.a

Babies-Beth said...

Mish! I think you are the second one done the scrapbook challenge! You used a PTI stamp and you used watercoloring- and you get extra points for the ribbon, lol!! It's beautiful, and I bet I could make that work with some baby hair or tags from presents or something inside! Wow! You are so inspirational!

Mariah said...

Beautiful job and the scrapbook "page" is so unique. Love it!

Michelle said...

I LOVE that sentiment.. "its not what you have in your pocket but what you have in your heart" that speaks to me! Love it! Awesome project girlie!

Nancy said...

What a great lasting memory you have created and will continue to add to for your family, great job, love the vintage look too.

Brenda Weaver said...

this is amazing! I love your botanical print so much! I need to go try this asap!

Kari D said...

Just when I thought I saw all the ways the lily of the valley stamp could be used, I hopped on over to your sight! OF COURSE I should have realized the you would take it to another level! AMAZING. I love the botanical print look....and the fact that you used it to share little "love notes" with your family is so perfect. THANKS for your amazing inspiration. PS LOVE your new banner and picture. VERY NICE!

Bethany Paull said...

Mish! That's amazing.

Vicki B. said...

Wow - you really did get the vintage look down today! Just amazing!

jan metcalf said...

Lovely love note idea! Happy Birthday!

Ellie said...

OH MY GOSHHHHHHHHH... Oh OH OHHHHH... OHHH MY GOSH... Michelle you are BEYOND awesome.. OH MY GOSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH... OK gonna go back and stare some more.. YOU are AMAZING indeed!

Karen B said...

A very beautiful project! I love
the simple elegance of Lily of the Valley and your project is so inspiring!

anya said...

Mish, this is stunning. You have recreated the vintage botanical look perfectly - I just love it! What a great technique.

Susan T said...

So Great Mish. Thanks for all the tips. You are the best!!!!!

Lorus! said...

I am not big on the antique look, but this is beautiful! I love not just the look, but the idea. What a special way to add memories to your scrapbook. I love the thought that my children would treasure things I made or wrote when they are older!

Tigriswillreign said...

Thanks so much for the vintage tips! I especially love the ribbon and spritzed distress ink stamping!

Lori said...

Ok, that is awesome. I love the ledger paper and the whole thing really does have the feel of a water colour sketch being a torn out page of a journal. Great impact.

Shay said...

I am in love with your project...it is divine!

Diane Jaquay said...

Your project is FABULOUS! Love the vintage look you've achieved!

Tammy Nichols said...

Super nice job! I love the worn look of this card. All of the elements go together so well! Nice job!

Kar said...

love this Mish. You are amazing with the stamps!!

Linda Nicholson said...

Hey Mish! Love your post today (duh....like when do I not love your posts? LOL!). Do you use the WeRMemory Keepers divided protectors for your albums? If so, does the rings/holes for the 8 1/2 x 11 page protectors fit the rings/holes for the 12x12 scrapbooks? I use the 12x12 pages but would love to do the scrappy look like you do too!

Linda

Becky said...

Gosh, that is just amazing! I love the wonderful soft look it has, and all the different layerings of stamps. I'm a cardmaker more than a stamper, and this makes me feel like I make very obvious (not sure if that's exactly the word I want) cards, but this is so subtle and beautiful... I need to try something like it sometime. Thanks for the inspiration!

Donna K said...

Your lily card is beautiful. I am trying to create vintage looks and your technique has inspired me to keep at it. I kind of forgot about spritzing the stamp to get the distress look. Great reminder.

Dee in N.H. said...

WONDERFUL! Love your card and I'm still laughing about the Apron post!
Great blog!

Heather Rogers said...

Love the craft and beautiful flowers! I love how you print off pics of the real flowers to go by. I always pull them up on the computer but yours is a much better idea. I think your new header is so pretty and shabby. :)

Sue Lelli said...

Absolutely STUNNING!

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