Our challenge on Stamp with Us this morning is a recipe one. The recipe is 4 x patterned papers and 2 x coloured card ONLY (no other embellishments of any kind). I decided if embellishments were out, then I'd best use my paper and card to make my own embellishments. I opted to make an origami box (instructions on
Splitcoaststampers) and embellish it with a Dahlia fold flower (also on
Splitcoaststampers).
Recipe
Stamp set: Sincere Salutations
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery
DSP: Tea Party
Ink: Always Artichoke
Punches: Boho Blossoms, 1-3/8" Circle, 1-1/4" Circle
Other: Nesties
I made up the origami box using the measurements on the SCS instructions, which gives a 4" square box. The trick to any origami is crisp folds and so I used the groove in my Paper Cutter and my Bone Folder to get these. If you haven't made one before then it helps to practice on a piece of ordinary copy paper. There's no gluing (unless you want to), just scoring and folding. This is what the inside looks like (you could line it with another square of paper if you don't want to see the loose flaps).
To decorate the outside (within the rules of the challenge) I cut three narrow strips of paper all of the same width and stuck them two of them around the centre of the lid, keeping the joins at opposite sides. Using the third strip I made a paper bow. I folded the strip back on itself to create a loop and trimmed it to size. Using the offcut I then folded another piece of paper around the join in the loop and stuck the bow over one of the joins in the centre strip around the lid. I created the dahlia for the box using the 1-3/8 Circle punch and stuck these flat to a circle of Certainly Celery card then onto a larger circle of Pretty in Pink card raised on dimensionals. The Best Wishes sentiment was stamped onto a strip of Certainly Celery card which was trimmed to the depth of the sentiment. One end of the strip was fed into the 1-1/2" Circle punch from the top of the punch to round the edge. The sentiment and the leaves were attached to the box lid before adding the dahlia circle over the top with dimensionals.
Having enjoyed making the box I then figured I'd make a card to match.
Recipe
Stamp Set: Sincere Salutations
Cardstock: Pretty in Pink, Certainly Celery
DSP: Tea Party
Ink: Rose Red
Punches: Boho Blossoms, 1-1/4" Circle, Corner Rounder
Other: Crafter's Toolkit, Nesties
I used Pretty in Pink as my base card and use the corner rounder punch on all corners. I cut a piece of DSP to fit the front of the card, corner rounded and then cut in half and stuck on the front to show both sides of the DSP. To cover the join in the paper I cut a strip of Pretty in Pink card and paper pierced the edges using the Crafter's Toolkit. The sentiment was stamped directly onto the DSP. Having said that the key to origami is crisp folds I didn't follow my own advice when making the first dahlia and I folded by hand, using my fingers to make the creases. This time around I was using a smaller circle (the 1-1/4" Circle punch) and used my Paper Cutter and Bone Folder for the creases - I found it much easier.
I used the smallest flower from the Boho Blossoms punch for the centre of each dahlia, raised on a dimensional. To create the leaves I punched Certainly Celery card with the 1-1/4" Circle punch. I reinserted the circle into the punch and moved it to one side, punching to create a leaf shape and an offcut crescent moon shape. The eraser end of a pencil held through the punch aperture can help hold the circle in the right place while you punch it. After folding the leaf down the centre I then added veins by scoring with a ball tool (or bone folder) with the leaf on my soft Crafter's mat (from the toolkit)
I do hope that you'll have a go at the challenge this week. I think it's a fun one and challenging without being too difficult.
Please also take a look at the other creations by my fellow members on the Design Team. They're such a talented bunch.
Sara xx
For me, this design started with the left hand background strip. I had in mind to use one of my Stampin' Around wheels with versamark and gold embossing powder and opted for the Whimsy to echo the large circle in the sketch design. I figured that coffee and cream colours always work well with gold and then I just had a look through my stamps to see what would work well size wise. 
