Arden's Blog - The Aartvark Studio: February 2018

Sunday, February 18, 2018

Weaving the Basket

I had a little ah hah moment today. I realized that I could actually put a ribbon through the Basket Weave Dynamic Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Here's my sample:

So I took some Basic Gray paper, I ran it through my Big Shot with the Basket Weave TIEF. Then I cut little slits in one of the little lines with an Olfa Cutter. (I quilt and this is one just for paper). You can also use an Exacto Knife or small paper scissors. Then with tweezers I slid some of the new Basic Gray Shimmer Ribbon Pack. You need a 1/4" wide ribbon to fit.

The basket outline is created with Smoky Slate, Versamark and embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. I colored in the roses and leaves with Stampin' Blends. I used silver twine and tied a little bow to hold the label, tied on with the silver metallic thread.

This is a fun way to embellish your cards. Try it!

Here's the ingredients. Note that the first two items are from Sale-a-Bration, FREE with a qualifying order.

Blossoming Basket Clear-Mount Bundle
$0.00

Flirty Flamingo 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Very Vanilla 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$9.00

Aqua Painters
$17.00

Heat Tool (Us And Canada)
$30.00

Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder
$5.00

Flirty Flamingo Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Cardstock
$8.00

Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Pink Pirouette Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Daffodil Delight Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Calypso Coral Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Soft Suede Classic Stampin' Pad
$6.50

Versamark Pad
$8.50

Blossoming Basket

I love this new set.

It reminds me of a type of art that was popular in the early 19th century - Theorem Paintings. Theorem Painting was done by oil painting with stencils on white velvet. Theoretically, the young women were supposed to learn math from art. I guess that was early STEAM! (lol, because you rarely had over 3 or 4 numbered stencils!) I learned the technique and, while it's usually used for fruit baskets, sometimes it had roses in the baskets. The first step was to tea-dye the velvet. I used to try various types of teas and sometimes coffee. Coffee left some dots which was kind of neat.
Here is one of my fruit baskets.

For this basket, I "tea-dyed" the vanilla cardstock by sponging the card and added the grungy dots with Timeless Textures. The basket was first inked in Smoky Slate, then Versamark. I embossed it in clear embossing powder. I chose to emboss it so that the lines would barely show and I thought it might hold the watercolor in the lines.

The flowers and leaves were a whole lot of colors, practically every pink and green I own, aquapainted with the fine-tip brush. I also "tea-dyed" the lace ribbon by inking it.

I hope you find your inner artist and "Theorem Paint" this basket.

The basket is part of the new Sale-a-bration 2, available until March 31, with a qualifying purchase. The basket folder will be a part of the new annual catalog!

Shop now in my online store! Here's the catalog.