Distressed Backgrounds and Specimen Entomology Slides

 

Hey friends!  I'm sharing a couple of cards with you today from the August new release at Creative Worship Stamps.  I was so excited to see this month's release included the Entomology Elements stamps and Specimen Slide dies!  This is a theme I always enjoy.  

I created an couple of inky background panels using Uncharted Mariner, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap and Pine Needles Distress Inks.  For this first card, I repeat stamped one of the butterflies over a panel in Pine Needles to make "patterned paper" then layered with another of the darker papers I had inked.  I cut the Specimen Slides from heavy watercolor paper and inked them, then layered over hymnal paper.  I stamped a sentiment from the Wordfetti Mash-Up stamps inside one of the labels and a different butterfly, which I watercolored - fun!  

My next card uses the same papers and process, with the addition of stamping the Vintage Elements stamps behind the slide.  I layered with the die cut silhouette flower and bird.  

I'm giving away one Entomology Elements stamp set on my Instagram page HERE and hope you will enter to win.  Check out the rest of this month's release at Creative Worship stamps for more inspiration.  xx, Autumn

Grungy Little Entomology Tag Book

 

Hey friends!  I'm happy to be sharing the new release products by Creative Worship Stamps this month and what a fun collection it is!  I was eater to play with the new Entomology Elements stamp set and paired it with the Specimen Slides dies for this grungy little tag book.  It's small enough to send in an A2 envelope, but still packs a lot of fun.

I assembled the book by folding a sheet of watercolor card and using the Tag & More dies to cut a folded double tag, by putting the fold just inside of one of the cutting edges.  Then I decided I wanted a third flap, so I cut a third tag and adhered it with washi tape on both sides, but upside down.  It would probably be just as easy to do this with all three tags, ha!  Leave it to me to make something complicated.  

I used a combination of Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge and Cracked Pistachio to ink the tag trio for a worn, rusty effect, tapping each color onto my kraft mat and spritzing with water before dipping the elements into the watery ink.  I stamped butterflies from the Entomology set in a repeat pattern across the front and back tag.  

I used the same inks to watercolor the butterflies and cut them with the coordinating dies.  And filled in the background with partial stamping using my Faith Definitions 1 stamp set.

For the cover I switched gears and added a mushroom from the Vintage Nature Elements set, layered over a piece of torn eyelet fabric I stained with the same inks.  I finished with bakers twine for the bottom facing tag and sari ribbon for the top.  

The Tag & More dies are designed to work with a monthly release of tag, ticket and sentiment stamps.  There's the Spring Collage with a flower tag, the Summer Collage, with a butterfly and this month the Autumn Collage with a maple leaf.  I'm so happy to see this product line offering so many versatile options, and love just using the tag and ticket dies on their own!  I do hope you've enjoyed this project and will check out the new release and join us in this month's Instagram hop at @sewpaperpaint.