Inspiration Challenge #10: Sapporo Table Linens

Welcome to today's inspiration challenge! The piece I chose for this week is the Sapporo Table Linens from Crate and Barrel. You can click the link to see the original. I apologize that I was unable to get a better photo of the catalog page, and that I'd already written on it before I remembered that Crate and Barrel doesn't allow its photos to be saved.

Since these linens seem to have a Japanese influence, I decided to use my Embrace Life stamps. The colors I chose are really rust, brocade blue, and certainly celery.

I tried a few new things with this card. First, the coloring: I stamped the flowers on celery in the rust and blue. I didn't want to use a neutral cardstock but I also wanted the flowers to have only a hint of green. So I used sponge daubers to color them in, putting the most color in the center and then gradually using less as I worked out toward the edge. It was tricky getting the right balance between hiding the green and letting the stamped image show through. But I really like the end result.

The leaves were stamped with celery ink on celery cardstock and then cut out using paper snips and a craft knife. Whew, this was fussy! I'm not sure if I'd do this again. But I really wanted to have green leaves on a rust background and I couldn't think of any other way to make them show up. I'd welcome suggestions if there's a technique that I'm not aware of!

I attached the leaves and flowers to rust cardstock with Tombow mono multi and then cut around it. It's mounted on brocade blue, and both panels are fingernail distressed and edged in cranberry crisp. I had intended to work that color into the card but it didn't fit once I'd finished everything else. I think it looks good for the edging, though.

The background is from Boho Backgrounds - I liked how it mirrored the smaller flowers in the inspiration piece. It's stamped in rust on a celery card. Tip of the Day: I had trimmed this stamp by cutting a zigzag pattern around the circles, and since I had done that, it was super easy to line up the stamp for the background. The zigzags lined up perfectly against the image I'd just stamped.

I knew the sentiment for this had to be pretty simple and small. I chose the "thank you" from Short and Sweet and stamped in rust on celery, then punched out with my oval punch. The brocade blue oval went behind it and then I attached two copper vintage brads. I punched a 1/16" hole right at the tip of the smaller oval on each side, and that allowed me to line up the brads perfectly. The ovals are slightly distressed and edged as well.

If you play along with this challenge, and I hope you will, leave me a comment so we all can see! Keyword for uploading at SCS is DSIC10. Have a great day!