One Thing Leads to Another

I have such a hard time cleaning my studio because One Thing Leads to Another! Today's project is a result.

I have been trying to sort through things and either get rid of or find a use for some of the random "stuff" I've accumulated over the years. One of those things was a result of a craft I'd tried years ago - scherenschnitte. If you've never heard of it, it's an old German paper craft than involves lots of teeny, tiny, detailed fussy cutting. It was all the rage back when rustic country decorating was hot. I bought some paper patterns and tiny scissors, but quickly discovered that I did not enjoy it. I don't have the patience to do something that requires such slow, careful attention to minute details. Because I hate to throw things away, though, I'd hung on to a rooster that I'd cut out (mind you, this was back in the 80's! Do you think I have a problem???)

I pulled it out the other day, determined to throw it out, but I just couldn't do it. It occurred to me that I could use it to decorate one of the gift bags that I sell at a local shop. I call them "junque" bags because "junque" seems better than "junk" and because I use up odds and ends to decorate them. I had a lightweight piece of paper sitting on my work surface that had been sprayed with red ink. I thought it would look nice behind the rooster, but it wasn't quite big enough. I decided that a little red & blue collage would look good with the rooster (which was a plain, cream colored paper).

I tore a page from an old dictionary and rubbed a blue ink pad on it, then added some spray ink on top of that. I layered the two papers together, using a little washi tape to hold it together temporarily. I stitched the two pieces together with my sewing machine, then added some additional pieces of torn washi tape as well as some leaves I'd previously die cut that were also sitting on my work surface. Hey - maybe I'm doing a better job of cleaning than I thought - I've managed to get rid of a couple of things that were cluttering up the place!

The rooster was looking a little plain now against the collage background, so I decided to pull out an old Stampin' Up! background stamp to add some detail to it. I randomly covered the stamp with Distress Pumice Stone & Black Soot. Then I sprayed a little water on the stamp before pressing the rooster over it. I really like the way it turned out, and it seemed to work better with the background now.

I used acrylic matte medium to glue down the greenery and the rooster and put everything under a telephone book to dry for a while. Then I spread some adhesive all over the back of the completed collage and glued it to a plain brown kraft bag. That also went under the phone book for a while until completely dry.

I hope you enjoyed today's project - I know I did! I'm linking this to the March Take It Make It Challenge over at Craft Stamper.

Immi