September 18, 2016

SERENDIPITY FALL

It's almost fall y'all! Did you realize that?

I have been super busy with studying lately. Overwhelmed actually. The other day I decided that I dearly deserved a break -- something of my Creative Therapy. Very much needed. What do I find incrediblyrelaxing -- and mind-numbing? Creating Serendipity Paper.

You see, I am a PACK RAT. You weren't aware of that personality trait of mine, eh? I save virtually every single piece of paper that comes off my paper trimmer, with very few exceptions. The thinner strips get put into a bin that I noticed the other was pretty much overflowing. That means it's time to create SERENDIPITY PAPER! This end product is the reason I save all these strips. 

Break time! I sat at my work table and sorted through all these strips, separating the "fall" colors into one pile, the blacks in another, the whites/creams into another, and finally, I had a small pile of strips of music.

My partial pile of autumn scraps can be seen in this Instagram post. It is just so exciting and enervating to get ready for a major project.

After I had this pile accumulated, I went through it again, this time shortening some of the pieces to better lengths, such as about five inches or less, tearing the ends. Some of the wider strips I tore in half. I love the juxtaposition of the straight edges in contrast to the torn edges. It gives the end result ever so much more personality.

The next step was to create my motherboard. I used a 9" x 12" sheet of nondescript card stock for my substrate. Using Tombow Multipurpose Glue (my favorite green glue!), I glued the strips hither and thither over the base piece. I didn't want these strips to go anywhere, and knowing that some areas would be somewhat bulky, I used this glue for security reasons. (I sound like I work for the government!)

To get from sorting, tearing, gluing down the strips, stamping and embossing took about three hours to come to this result: This piece only measures 8" x 9" though because at this point, I've already cut off four inches of it to use for creating.


Below is a close-up of what the hodgepodge mess looks like.
You can see that I did some embossing in copper and gold to give it extra sheen and interest.


I use my guillotine paper cutter to cut them into as close to 1" squares as I possibly can. Some of the areas are so thick due to the number of layers of paper that I worried about the health of my trimmer as I was trying to cut through them. Even though I was incredibly careful with my trimming, the squares were not perfect one inch squares every time. 


I love how, once the sheet is cut up, each little square is a perfect little work of art. 


So far, I have used 12 of the squares to create little pieces. Two of these pieces are pictured below. The third "piece" is a card that my Stamp-In Workshop girls will be creating in October for their own little commemoration of autumn. 

To see that third piece, you'll either have to come to my workshop on Monday, October 10 (I'll send you directions!) or wait until it finally shows up on my blog with a tutorial. Your choice. (The workshops always start at 12:30 p.m. CST.)

Anyway, this first one is mounted on Whisper White and layered over a square of the beautiful retired Mossy Meadow, finished by a thin border of black. This piece measures 3 1/4" x 3 1/4", just the perfect size to use on the front of a card.


This second one is mounted on a flecked piece of off-white cardstock, then onto a layer of (yum!) Blackberry Bliss, also, unfortunately, retired, then against black. I took this photo with the square lying in the sunlight, hoping to be able to show off a little of the metallic gleam from the elegant embossing.


Now, I will be waiting to hear from you that you will be at my October 10 workshop! 

Serendipity
Smiles.

15 comments:

  1. Oh I love both colours. We are moving into Spring in Australia but I do love Fall Colours. Thank you for sharing with us at Over the Moon.

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  2. I would absolutely love to attend your workshop, Linda - but the commute from central Ohio and back would be a bit daunting! I envy the ladies who do get to go.

    I'm thrilled to see that I am not alone in saving small scraps for the creation of something serendipitous later. It does take time to turn those strips and scraps into art, but like you said, it's very therapeutic and a great way to mellow for an afternoon or evening.

    My own choice of glue for this project is most often Ranger's Multi Medium Matte as I find it's less noticeable when it dries than the Tombow liquid glue (which I call Fruit Loop glue because of how it smells!). I tend to be a bit of a glue slob, though, so it's easy for me to believe you're a much neater glue-er than I am. If I do choose the Fruit Loop glue to work with, though, I'll throw a coat of Mod Podge over my masterpiece before cutting it into smaller pieces.

    Thanks for sharing this project! If I didn't have a slew of other projects with deadlines, I would love nothing more than to sit down with my scraps! (Okay, that's a lie. I might like feasting on some chocolate even better, but as a diabetic I can only indulge myself in moderation.)

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  3. Joyce, you always make me smile! I find I have great control with my Green Glue (and I've never noticed that it has a smell!) I see where you're coming from with putting a layer of something over the top to protect it. But, I really really like the texture all the pieces on top of each other makes, so that's why I leave it uncovered. I can't believe you think a commute from Ohio to come to a workshop would be too much! I wish you could come too. I'd love to meet you in person.

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  4. This is very cool! What great fall colors, thank you for linking up with us at the to Grandma's House we go link party! Pinned!

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  5. This is such a neat idea! :)

    I would love for you to share this with my Facebook Group for recipes, crafts, tips, and tricks: https://www.facebook.com/groups/pluckyrecipescraftstips/

    Thanks for joining Cooking and Crafting with J & J!

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  6. These framed pieces are beautiful! Thank you for sharing your links with us this week at Celebrate Your Story, have a great weekend!

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  7. I love all the layers, and embossing, really nifty.
    Thank you for sharing on Oh My Heartsie Girls WW this week!
    Karren

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  8. Gorgeous! A paper quilt! Thanks for sharing at Pleasures of the NW's DIY party

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  9. This looks fab - I love the colours! Thanks so much for sharing over at #FridayFrivolity. :)

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  10. I love these Linda! The colours are so pretty and perfect for Fall. I love when we can take little breaks to create ;) Thanks so much for linking it up to our Inspiration Galore Project Party. Pinned and saved.

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  11. Wow - really beautiful depiction of the season! Thanks for sharing on the Pleasures of the NW's DIY party!

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  12. LOVE that your layered artwork was cut into 1" little squares. It reminds me of the "inchies" we used to do some years ago. Best wishes, Linda @Crafts a la mode Pinned also.

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  13. You have made some beautiful serendipity paper!! It looks wonderful cut into squares and framed. It reminds me of a scrap quilt, so pretty and unique.

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  14. I am always amazed at the cards and such you create! Always so pretty!! Thanks for sharing on My 2 favorite Things on Thursday. My blog was down last week but it's up and running again. I hope you can find time to stop by and share some more this week! Pinned!

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