Shopping our Stash #188 - TP or not TP

**For my Tuesday Morning Sketches post, please click here. Thanks!!**

We have a really fun challenge for you this week at Shopping our Stash - toilet paper. Paper Towel. I'm serious! There are lots of fun ways to incorporate these into your crafty projects - toilet paper casting, embossing, inking, using blender solution to add texture...the design team has used a variety of techniques and there are loads more. So - we want to see you use your TP! You can also create a project inspired by the patterns on your toilet paper or paper towels. 

Although I definitely had some epic fail moments while getting started, I enjoyed the messy play of toilet paper casting! My finished project includes embossed toilet paper and the reverse side of a casted piece. I did the embossing by trial and error -  the error? Do not run the toilet paper and embossing folder through while they are wet. Just don't. You'll have to clean your entire machine, and will shred the TP into teeeny itty bits that stick everywhere. 

I didn't take pictures while I was working because I didn't know if it would turn out, but what worked to create the embossing was: four sheets of toilet paper stacked, dampened (really just use enough water to dampen the entire piece, not soak it). Spray mist if desired. Place inside the embossing folder and close it, burnishing it with your hand (do NOT run through the machine!) Open the folder and dry carefully with your heat gun, keeping the paper inside the folder. Once it's dry, run it through the machine for a crisper embossing.

Supplies: toilet paper; Cuttlebug embossing folder; Flourishes heart stamp; PTI and Stampendous background stamps; Tattered Angels spray mists in Yellow Daisy, Turquoise Blue; Candy Apple; Distress Crackle paint in Broken China; Tim Holtz bubbles stencil; Distress inks in Broken China & Festive Berries; Paper Smooches swirls dies; Ranger Perfect Pearls spray in turquoise; Dress it Up "love" button; buttons, seam binding, doily, gems all from stash

I stopped several times while making this to say to myself OH GOD WHAT AM I DOING? I began the background panel by using Distress Crackle Paint and the bubble stencil. Once that was dry I stamped the various background swirls and splots and sponged to soften the white. I added the embossed corners, and the doily, and was stumped. Buttons to the rescue! The heart had terrific detail from the casting, but a very distracting heavy layer of shimmer that I didn't care for, so I used the reverse side. The splotchy inky mottled look was exactly what I wanted. I trimmed carefully along the edge of the stamped image. The seam binding bow is sewn on. The swirls were cut from a piece of pre-misted paper I'd done before Christmas. And the 'love' button was the perfect final 'something' it needed!

Besides the Toilet Paper challenge at Shopping our Stash, I kept the Tic Tac Toe board from Our Creative Corner at hand while I was making this. 

I did end up using more than three of the options, but my goal was the centre vertical row of die cuts, stamps, and embossing folders. 

So are you ready to play with your TP? join in with the SOS crew: 

Leslie

Alica

Deena

Lauren

Donna

Chris

Barb

And you have until Monday,February 16th to join in!

xoxo,

Jessi