Saturday Sketch Challenge 167

Good Evening Friends!

It's time for another sketch from the stamping 411 operators! I have to say, this week I struggled with my own sketch.. :D It certainly happens.. I emailed a few of the operators, got some opinions, set the card aside for a few hours then came back and reworked it. I'm MUCH happier with the result.

I started with a piece of the new fabric and cut it based on the sketch. I attached it to my card with sticky strip (sticky red tape).

After last weeks post many of my friends and customers asked me about the pleated ribbon technique. In particular, Betsy asked me how this technique works so I'll do a quick tutorial here on how I do the pleated ribbon. I first saw this technique on my girlfriend Tiffany's blog. She saw a project on Kimberly VanDiepen's blog. The original project was done with paper and punched with the eyelet border punch, then pleated. Tiffany made this card with her inspiration. So you can see tiffany's paper pleating here and then her first neatly pleated card from back in March. After seeing Tiffany's post, it took some time to sink in, but I was inspired to make a card for mojo Monday that used three different pleated ribbons, and you can see that card by clicking here... Back then, I used snail adhesive to put my pleated ribbons together, but snail doesn't hold as well as the alternative, sticky strip for pleating my ribbon, so I decided it was time to show you how I do it now.

LOL Did you get all that?? It's really fun to see how an idea evolves. Now this technique is all over the internet and everyone is pleating their ribbon. Everyone is different and we all have different ways of doing the same thing. Here's how I do it....

Add a piece of sticky strip to where you want your ribbon to stick. If the ribbon is going to go to the end of the layer, I like to wrap the sticky strip around the back, like I did with the past two stamping 411 cards I've created (below).. (click the stamping 411 label on the right to see the list of cards below this post). So stick the sticky strip down on your card well, then peel back the red backing to expose the super sticky layer.

Now I know you cant really see the sticky strip, but it's under there. Start by sticking a ribbon to the end of your card.. I love using the new seam binding from Stampin up because the ribbon is so thin it's VERY easy to manipulate.
Then using your thumb, pleat your ribbon. mine is certainly not as neat as Tiffany's first perfectly pleated card, but I like to just bring my ribbon to the top and bottom making a fun, ornate, imperfect shape with my ribbon.
Here's what it looks like when it's completely done. Again, if you want to have your ribbon go across an entire layer, continue your sticky strip to the back of the layer, and flatten it out in the back so it doesnt get too bulky.
My card this week was certainly a labor of love. You cant see it from the card above, but that music paper is at the bottom of the eyelet border punch and the music is peeking out from underneath that layer. I find the vintage look beautiful, but I really do struggle to make it come together sometimes.. I gravitate towards the clean and simple, but it was fun to get my fingers dirty and play.

So what else did I do to this card... Well, after I cute the fabric and ribbon I pulled at the edges to fray and make it look a little aged. I sponged some vanilla craft ink out on the edges and added some pretty self adhesive pearls.

I stamped the girl from greeting card kids in stazon ink, and water colored the image with markers. When I was done, I finished it off with smooch accent ink, shiny, sparkly top coat and carried the red ever so slightly through the scarf and the trip on the coat and hat. It's actually very sparkly in real life. The ground also has sparkles which makes the ground look frosty. In any case.. I had fun...

Have a great holiday weekend! Next week my daughter will be going to kindergarten, so I'll be posting a little more frequently. I'm going to enjoy the last few moments of summer this weekend. Give someone you love an extra hug this week!

Rubbah hugs,
Selene Kempton