Tropical Library Pockets

Inspiration: Global Project #243 (Floral) + SUO #250 (Designer's Choice)

I saw someone sharing on YouTube handmade library pockets and I thought it would be a fun project to try using my Stampin' Up! supplies. I used the retiring Mosaic Mood papers for the pockets and the Timeless Tropical stamp set to decorate them. I'm behind on making cards for my downline so I decided to work on multiple. The strips needed for the pockets measure 4" x 8" so I was able to get three at once (would have been four if I'd planned better, but the last one would have had horizontal stripes on it, when my plan was to use horizontal stripes). 

I will say this about the big tropical flower from this stamp set. It's gorgeous, but I've struggled with coloring it so far. Because I wasn't sure how to go about it this time around, all three flowers are done differently. I tried inking it with markers, spritzing with water and stamping. I tried stamping it in Terracotta Tile ink and adding ink with a dauber, and then stamping with Soft Suede ink and daubing ink (Blushing Bride and Terracotta Tile). I then used my Stampin' Write markers to ink the stem on all three (and a bit of definition on the watercolored one using the markers). All three of them are good enough to use, but still leave me a little cold. I wonder if I'll finally find a way to use it that I truly like.

For the insert, I used Very Vanilla cardstock and used the palm tree image inked with markers. This part, I really love. The mix of Pear Pizzazz with Mellow Moss and Soft Suede with Early Espresso gives great depth to the image. I added the thank you sentiment from the same set in Mint Macaron right beside it.

I wanted to ink the pineapple image using the markers as well and I decided I would be handcutting the image and adding it to paper clips. It's my new handmade ornement obsession. A lot of companies are selling some (at a premium) and paper clips costs next to nothing (and they tend to multiply, so I have a bunch of them even though I'm fairly sure I've only ever bought a box). 

Then, I wanted to add ribbon and I had three possible options, so I decided to try out all three! I used Mellow Moss satin ribbon on the first, burlap ribbon on the second and braided burlap trim on the third. I added little pineapple charms on all three, and From my Heart faceted gems in the flower center.

I then measured the resulting envelope (with the paperclip) and made matching envelopes out of patterned paper for all three cards. The catalogue is coming to an end, so I'm trying to use up my remaining paper that's about to retire, and envelope is an effective way to get through patterned paper quickly. I will say I love the idea behind the Mosaic Mood patterned paper (and the fact that it has a glossy finish that really makes it look like tile), but man, those papers have busy patterns and are not easy to incorporate into projects. I received it as a gift from Stampin' Up! when I attended an OnStage event last year and I managed to get through about half of the pack on my own, so that's pretty good.

With experience, I've learned how to differentiate between paper that I like looking at and paper that I like using. Among the characteristics that I've noticed make a paper collection hard to use are small patterns that are repeated too closely on the page and make the overall pattern really busy, without any "breather" pages in the collection (like tone-on-tone design that will balance those busy designs out). Also, if a collection doesn't have a lot of colours - too many colours will be equally as challenging, but I've noticed that I have better results when I have at least three colours (and I'm not counting neutrals). For example, a lot of Christmas papers only have red and green in the whole pack, with white or vanilla as a neutral. I prefer when there's a third colour added (yellow, aqua, brown, etc.) While the Mosaic Mood paper has four different main shades (green, mint, red and yellow), it doesn't have those breather pages. Even the monochrome pages have the mosaic pattern all over them, so it is not plain enough to balance out the full-out mosaic designs. Just look at those envelopes I created to see what I mean. Those patterns are not for the faint of heart. 

 

 

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies
Stamps: Oasis tropicale (Tropical Oasis)
Cardstock: Thick Very Vanilla
Specialty Designer Series Paper: Mosaic Mood
Ink: Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Mint Macaron, Pear Pizzazz, Terracotta Tile, Blushing Bride
Accessories: Stampin' Write Markers, Burlap Ribbon, Burlap Braided Trim,
Mellow Moss Stitched Satin Ribbon, Corner Rounder Punch, Tropical Oasis Trinkets,
Peaceful Poppies Sequins, From My Heart Faceted Gems, Envelope Punch Board,
Painted Labels Dies, Paper Clips (Office Supplies)

 

Comments

[Kayla McCreadie]

This is gorgeous! what a great idea!
Thanks for joining in the GDP challenge!
Love Kayla. xx

[Cindy]

I love this. Such a fun idea and your pockets turned out fabulous! Thank you so much for participating with us at SUOChallenges.com. We hope that you will join us again on Tuesday, June 9, for a new challenge!

[Heather H]

Wow, these are gorgeous, Cindy! Love those pineapple clips, and how thorough you were to try every option every way, lol. Now that's a system! Thanks so much for playing at Sunday Stamps!

[Christy Stanford]

Beautiful projects, Cindy! I love how they all have something unique about them. I think I'm an equal opportunity patterned paper hoarder, but I keep my giant collection for use on scrapbook pages (I just acquire much faster than I use it!). Thanks for playing along at SUO Challenges, hope to see you for the new challenge starting today!