Nature inspired card

I’m so proud of this card I made for my splitcoast little sister. The challenge was to use elements from nature (leaves, fibers, etc). The trees here haven’t turned yet, but I do have a bunch of twigs in the back of my yard from the last bad storm that came through. So I used one of the twigs as my inspiration.

I immediately thought of wrapping the twig with Linen Thread and hanging something off of it. I’ll explain how I attached it in a bit. But first let’s talk about the tree medallion. I decided to continue with the tree theme and use the “autumn” tree from SU!’s Tree For All Seasons stamp set. I colored in the tree using Earth Elements Watercolor Crayons (I’m still in love with them), and used Coluzzle to cut out the circle. I distressed the edge of the circle using my fingernails and then brushed it on my Chocolate Chip Classic Ink Pad. I then punched a hole in the top using my 1/16″ Circle Punch.

For the background on the card, I smooshed up a napkin, dabbed it on the Chocolate Chip Ink Pad, and then dabbed it all over the card stock. It is a great (and inexpensive) way to make an interesting background.

Now onto the twig and attaching it to the card. I pulled loose a good bit of Linen Thread. I started wrapping it around the middle of the twig, leaving about 6 inches  loose at the end. Once I’d wrapped about an inch, I then cut the linen thread another six inches from where I stopped wrapping. I used Mini Glue Dots to secure the ends of the thread to the stick. I then used my hobby blade to put 2 holes in the card, about and inch apart and and inch from the top of the card. I pulled each end of the thread through a hole, and tied on the other side of the card. This held the twig in place while I tied on the medallion.

To hang the medallion, I cut off a piece of Linen Thread about 8″ long. I pulled the thread under the stick, and tied it so that equal lengths hung down. I then threaded one of the lengths through the medallion, then tied in a nice bow to the other length. I then trimmed the ends to a reasonable length.

Finally. I used Mini Glue Dots on the ends of the twig, to secure it in place.

All in all it was a very quick card to make, but packs a big WOW! I wish the picture did it justice, because it has such wonderful movement and texture!

Recipe:

Stamps: A Tree For All Seasons

Ink/Color: Chocolate Chip, Earth Elements Watercolor Crayons

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Linen Thread, Blender Pens, Mini Glue Dots