Gift Bags @ Ellectic Ellapu

Hello and welcome to the first challenge of 2016 over at Eclectic Ellapu.
We have had a few weeks off to chill over Christmas but are back with the first of this years challenge. 

The theme is Make/decorate a gift bag.

Here is what I did...

decorated gift bag

I took a ready-made brown paper gift bag and dry brushed white gesso roughly over the front, back, sides and handles of the bag.

I took a piece of thick paper and screwed it up to put creases in it then covered it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and sprayed it with water. I randomly stamped it with a florish stamp and Versafine Vintage Sepia ink to create a subtle effect. Then adhered it to the front centre of the gift bag. 

vintage photo distress ink

flourish stamp

I used some lace ribbon layered with brown woven ribbon and stuck it along the bottom half of the inked card. I then arranged a floral embellishment with paper flowers, paper cord, leaves and an old chain.

lace ribbon

floral embellishment with paper flowers

I did the same at the top of the bag on the handle and added an organza ribbon bow.

organza ribbon

paper cord and chain

Check out the rest of the purple teams creations for this month's challenge. Hope to see you there.

Thanks for popping by,

toodles for now...

PaperArtsy GDT

yyyyeeeeyyyyy.... It's here. The time I get to share with you all. It's my Guest Design Team post for PaperArtsy.

I was recently offered the opportunity to play a small part on the Paperartsy Design Team. And as I am a huge fan of everything Paperartsy I of course jumped at the chance.

So... I was asked to chose a stamp plate and some PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic paints. I chose the gorgeous Hot Picks 1211 stamp plate and South Pacific and Beach Hut Fresco Finish paints to work with.

I chose the Hot Picks 1211 stamp set because I fell in love with the vintage sewing images. As I have a background in textiles I have always enjoyed working with vintage sewing patterns, searching for vintage materials and fabrics.... so this stamp plate seemed perfect. 

I decided to make something different and wanted to concentrate on the 3D element. I chose to make a vintage themed sewing box. I wanted the box to have a 'Cinderella' feel about it. The part in the film when the little mice sew a beautiful dress for Cinderella and the are running around in between the cotton reels.... 



I chose quite a large MDF box to work with. I sanded the box and gave it a couple of coats of white gesso. 
I painted the inside of the box with South 
Pacific and the outside and lid with Beach Hut PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylics. 

I stamped the multiple cotton reel tops stamp on to one-ply of cosmetic tissue using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink in a repeat pattern to cover the size of the lid. I adhered it to lid using IndigoBlu's Slap It On Matte Medium. 

I stamped the full cotton reel stamp numerous times to create a line with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. I did this twice and adhered it to each short side of the box. I did the same with the tape measure stamp and adhered it to the long sides of the box.

I painted some wooden cotton reels with South Pacific Fresco Finish and inked over them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink then wrapped different threads around each reel. I used some white cotton, vintage lace and a length of vintage trim which I inked with Vintage Photo and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink. 

I then stamped the round cotton reel end a number of times on to white card using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, distressed them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and adhered them to each end of the wooden cotton reels. 

I made a little folded packet from card and stamped the needles stamp on the front using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. Then inked over it with Vintage Photo Distress ink. 

I hunted around in my large collect of vintage stash for some embellishments. I found some buttons, an old distressed dressmaking tape measure and some metal findings. 
I arranged the found pieces on top of the box lid with wooden cotton reels and needle packet. 

To finish, I dyed a length of lace with the distress inks and adhered it at the base of the box.

Check out my creation over at the Paperartsy blog here. 

Thanks for popping by, leave a crafty comment if you wish. xxx