Thank You at The Kraft Journal

It's a brand new year, and great time to start thinking about saying THANK YOU for all the gifts and blessings we've received over the holidays.  For this week's Thank You Challenge at The Kraft Journal, I made a couple of bags just for this purpose.  Together, they will make a set for giving a book and a gift card to a friend who was a blessing to me over the holidays.  My first bag is a Large Kraft Polka Dot Merchandise Bag which is large enough to hold a paperback book.  I kept it fairly simple by adding a doily which is folded over the top, and then I decorated an antique clothespin with lengths of Natural Hemp Cord holding some rusty bells.  I also tucked in a small "Thanks" sentiment which a rub-on.  Using my Bone Folder Tool, I rubbed the sentiment onto a small scrap of Buff/Ivory Cover Weight Cardstock that I also inked.

The second bag I used is a Mini Kraft Polka Dot Merchandise Bag which is the perfect size for tucking in a gift card.  This bag compliments the other, and is embellished in a very similar fashion.  Rather than using a pre-made doily, I die-cut a smaller doily from a piece of Buff/Ivory Cover Weight Cardstock for the topper.

Next, I added some smaller rusty bells tied with Natural Hemp Cord.  I attached her sentiment using the same method above (by using my Bone Folder Tool, and rubbing the sentiment onto a small scrap of Buff/Ivory Cover Weight Cardstock that I also inked).  I then took a Tiny Wooden Clothespin and sprayed it with Walnut Ink to make it look antiqued.  You can see this better in the picture below:

Some of you have asked me how to ink stain the Tiny Wooden Clothespins.  It's SUPER easy, but I will show you how I do it.  First of course, you need to buy your Tiny Wooden Clothespins - the Kraft Outlet sells them for $1.49 for a pkg. of 24 pieces.  I use Tsukineko Walnut Ink from Michaels (of course, using a 40-50% off coupon), and place the Tiny Wooden Clothespins on a protected surface (I use a paper towel).  I simply spray them, and then roll them over a couple of times to ensure that every part has been covered with the ink.  I let them dry on the paper towel, and.....there you have it!  Aren't they adorable?  And they look antique or aged which is really cool.  I hope this is helpful, but if you have any questions, I sure don't mind answering them.

The very first step is just to lay out the plain Clothespins onto a dry paper towel a few inches apart.

The next step is to spray the Clothespins thoroughly with Walnut Ink, and then turn them over to ensure both sides are completely covered with the ink.

The final step is to simply let your inked Clothespins dry completely.  That's it!

 

It would be great to have you stop by and play along in our THANKS Challenge this week at The Kraft Journal.  We look forward to seeing your sweet creations.

I've shared these THANKS projects in the following challenge:
Amusing Challenge for the A Muse Studio - Thank You

Karen