Embellish It!

One of the main reasons that I began stamping, was to be able to recreate embellishments, tags, etc. for a fraction of the cost. I really liked how easy is was to mass produce invitations, cards and gift items without having to buy multiple packages of embellishments to get my projects completed. I was so thrilled with this month's Papertrey Ink Design Team challenge to recreate or create some embellishments from the fabulous products that Papertrey Ink carries.

Is it any surprise that I decided to include accordian flowers, ribbon and buttons? I had so much fun creating this fun embellishments that could easily be added to gift packaging, cards, tags, etc.




For those of you who are visiting for the first time or for those who may have missed it, you can check out a step by step tutorial on how to make accordian flowers. For these particular flowers, I used Papertrey Ink's Friend's 'til the End and Bitty Dot Basics pattern paper. Since this paper measures 8 inches, I cut two 2 1/2 inch strips for each flower. I simply joined the two pieces together into a long strip once I had accorian pleated each strip. I did use my pinking shears on one side to create more of a *flower* feel. I like how it turned out.

For the gathered ribbon, I simply cut 16 inches of assorted Papertrey Ink ribbon, baste stitched it with my sewing machine and pulled one strand of thread on each side to gather it. Once it had been gathered evenly, I tied the thread on each end in a knot, trimmed the thread and began attaching it to the ribbon.

To attach it to the button, simply add about 3 or 4 craft glue dots to the back of the pre-threaded button. Once you have the glue dots in place, begins adding the ribbon, carefully keeping the front of the ribbon on the outside (it can flip if it gets too gathered). Once you have the entire length of the ribbon on the button, use a few more glue dots to add it to the accordian flower. I would recommend having the project you will be adding your embellishment to, ready and available so that it can be adhered right away.

Do you remember those Target dollar spot magnetic frames from a few years ago? I kept quite a stash on hand and decided to add some magnetic strips to the back of my embellishment and create a fun frame to keep in my studio. Since the embellishment has so much going on, I kept the frame simple and plain so that it wouldn't detract from the photo.

I had so much fun with this challenge. I actually have another little something up my sleeve using this basic design, but in a different way that I can't wait to show you! You also won't want miss what the other gals have come up with...seriously amazing! You can see all of them here including Nichole's project as well!

Thanks for fluttering by!

Supplies
Stamps: Mixed Messages
nk: True Black
Paper: PTI White, Friends 'til the End and Bitty Dot Basics pattern paper
Accessories: Assorted PTI ribbon and buttons, crochet thread, sewing machine and thread, glue dots