Garden Variety Continues...

It's time for group post day #2 for the April Papertrey Ink countdown.  Today the team is featuring some new additions to the Garden Variety line up.  This new addition to the previously release Garden Variety set includes the Garden Variety II stamp set which contains a new seed packet frame image and some additional labels and elements that coordinate with the original set.  There is also a new Seed Pack Frame die to coordinate with the new frame image.  Also being released this month is a new set to coordinate with the Year of Flowers series called Year of Flowers Titles.  It's a simple little set that contains titles for each type of flower in the 12 Year of Flowers collection.  These titles fit nicely in the seed packet frame.  

So, a little more about today's project.  Nichole asked us to find an inspiration piece to jumpstart our projects today.  I came across these fun garden markers on Etsy.  I loved the rustic feel of the stamped letters and I decided to see what I could come up with using some of the new products being released this moth

 
(image credit)

Using those beautiful markers as my inspriration, I created a gift ensemble that would be perfect for any flower garden lover.  The ensemble includes a card, a seed packet which holds a gift card, and some garden markers.  

First, a little about the card.  I used the new Seed Packet Frame 2 die and the coordinating image from the new Garden Variety II set.  The watering can is from the original set, but the flowers filling the can are new!  There is a pot image in the new set that coordinates with this flower bunch as well.  I added the "mother" sentiment from the Mother stamp set.  I give my mom a gift certificate to her favorite nursery almost every year for Mother's Day, so this will be perfect for her!

I used the Seed Packet die to create a coordinating gift card holder.  I cut the Seed Packet from patterned paper and added the new frame over a piece of vellum which I stamped "A gift for you" from the Delightful Dahlia set.  

For the garden markers, I took some polymer clay out to play around with.  These were fun to make and I felt like a kid playing with Play-doh again!  I used the flower names from the new Year of Flowers Titles set to make an impression into the clay before baking it.  I also added a few decorative elements from the new Garden Variety II set.  

Now, I'm definitely not a clay expert by any stretch of the imagination, and I don't have any fancy tools for working with clay besides a basic tool kit, but I'll show you how I made these.  I learned a few things along the way and if I do any more of these, it should go a little more smoothly.  :-)

I started by rolling out my clay.  It can't be too thick, but it shouldn't be too thin either.  I would aim for about 1/8" thick...maybe a little more.  So that you don't distort it by moving it from one place to another, you can roll it directly onto the surface you plan to bake it on, or you could do it on parchment paper.  After it was rolled out evenly, I took the Happy Day Label die and pressed it into the clay.

I used a needle-ended tool from the clay tool kit to "cut" around my die.  I think a paper piercer would also work for this part.  

Then I peeled away the excess clay.  

I pulled the die away and I was left with my clay label which I then "stamped" with my flower names and added a few decorative elements.  When impressing the images into the clay, try to do so with even pressure...enough to get a good impression, but not too much pressure that the image becomes distorted.   

After I finished the stamping, I baked the clay according to the instructions on the package.  I attached my markers to some small wooden dowels.  I put a block of floral foam in the bottom of a metal bucket (from the Target Dollar Spot) and trimmed a circle from patterned paper to fit inside my bucket.  I just stuck the ends of the dowels through the paper and into the foam.  

Well, that' all for today!  Thanks so much for stopping by!  Before to check out what the other DT gals have put together using this new line up of Garden Variety products.  

• Ashley Cannon Newell
• Danielle Flanders
• Jess Witty
• Erin Lincoln
• Maile Belles
• Nichole Heady
• Lisa Johnson
• Dawn McVey
• Heather Nichols
• Melissa Phillilps

Supplies not linked, but available as of April 15th from Papertrey Ink:  Garden Variety II stamp set, Year of Flowers Titles stamp set, Seed Packet Frame 2 die

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