A tale about....recycling! ;) - LIIU #6 DT project

Re-edited: This project has been featured as one of the top three picks at the Stampsmith Challenge #3!!! ;)))

Hello Peeps!

I hope you've been waiting anxiously as I want to share with you a little project of mine that I am really excited about ;). But grab a generous cuppa first as this is going to be a looooong post. I have neglected you a bit recently so trying to make it up now lol ;).

But first of all, let me introduce you to the new challenge at Let's Ink It Up. The theme is to use anything you like that is recycled, could be the whole project or just parts of it, as long as there is something recycled on your project ;)

LIIU challenges will now run for the entire month, so you will have until 30th November to enter.

This month we have two sponsors and in effect there will be not one but two winners for this challenge! ;)

Whimsy Stamps have a line of whimsical and fun rubber stamps and also a digital stamp collection with new releases on the 1st of each month. The lucky winner will receive $15.00 voucher to spend in their shop ;).

The second prize, £15.00 voucher to Bunny Zoe Crafts, is sponsored by Wags N Whiskers .

Bunny Zoe's Crafts stock many popular rubber stamp brands, personalised stamps and have a great selection of designer papers, ribbons, embellishments, buttons and 160 different charms.

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Now onto my project...

For a very long time I have been thinking about organising my beautiful collection of sentiments by Raindrop Echo for Whimsy Stamps. And what a better time to prepare something than when Whimpsy Stamps are sponsoring our challenge? ;)

So I made this little book to help me find the perfect sentiment easily. I always spend ages looking through my folders and in the end I usually just give up :(.

My inspiration was this print from Cafe Baudelaire Prints. 

I loved the crown, the flourishes and the ornate frame around the text so I incorporated these elements in my design.

And as it's a recycling challenge here's how I interpreted the theme.

The book covers were created using cardboard from my cat's food box. This was then covered on both sides with watercolour paper and coloured in warm autumnal shades with distress inks using a blending tool.

The front cover was first stamped and clear embossed to create a resist. Then I played with the delighful Lord Tim's stamps, gold embossing powder and I added a few accents with sequin waste.

The flowers were cut using Nestabilities die from a brown paper shopping bag, then coloured with distress inks and crumpled for a fluffy look. The flowers were layered on flourishes cut using Slice.

The book's rings were decorated using some long forgotten ribbons from my stash. I also "recycled" some ribbons from the Flower Girls' posies from my wedding and a couple of tassels from a choccie box we have recently received ;).

I would like to take this opportunity to promote the idea of recycling on a larger scale which I am quite fond of myself ;). Freecycle groups match people who have things they want to get rid of with people who can use them. Their goal is to keep usable items out of landfills and

promote the idea of someone's junk being someone else's treasure ;). To find your nearest Freecycle group click here.

And just one more thing on the matching and swapping front ;). At LIIU we are organising a happy swap, click here for further details. You've got until 17th November to join. I already have and hope to see you joining soon too!

Have a happy weekend everyone! Hope you can join us for this challenge and the swap. And don't forget to check what my DT Sisters have created, I was completely blown away by their projects this week!

Thank you for surviving until the end of the post and thank you for all your sweet comments, I love to know when you've been here! ;)). And...you might need a new cup of tea by now! :)

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Dezinaworld Challenge - Song/music/dance (one of the sentiments in the book reads - "Music is the language spoken by Angels")

Sunday Stampers #127 - Autumn

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #91 - Inspiration photo

The Stampsmith Challenge - Oval shapes (the ornate frame stamp)
Cupcake Inspiration Challenge #83 - Photo inspiration (autumnal colours)
Scrap-Creations - Favourite technique (creating backgrounds using distress inks)
Lots To Do Challenge - Autumnal colours
Paper Romance #30 - Everything but the kitchen sink
The Pixie Cottage #43 - Sketch and/or recycled elements (recycled items)
Anything Goes Challenge #23 - B is for... Book