Hope is Never Lost- Another look at Saltwater Taffy

Hello my friends! I am back today with another creation that I made while playing with new Distress color, Saltwater Taffy. Tim announced the new color on Saturday and it is just an amazing color to play with. It is one of those chameleon colors that can change when used on different papers and with different techniques.

This card has a more peachy/salmon tone to it because I used Distress Heavystock which has a very light cream tone to it. I also combined Saltwater Taffy with a few other colors in the Distress line that included Frayed Burlap…one of my favorite light & grungy, shabby chic browns.

Now, before I move on to the tutorial, I’d like to share some real life stuff. Obviously, I made this card several weeks ago in order to have it ready for the new color release, but as I am typing up the tutorial today, I find it very fitting in my life and have been reflecting on the words, you can choose to read on or skip ahead if you’d like, but I just wanted to share some of my thoughts with you. 🙂

Hope is NEVER Lost…these words have a little more meaning for me today, and I hope they do for you too. Although, I really try to keep things positive here, real life does happen and I wanted to share some of that with you.

Last week was a sad one for our little family as we said goodbye to our sweet Cooper, our mini dachshund, of almost 17 years. Then the following day, the heartbreaking news of the Ukraine. Although, our dogs death and the devastation for the people of the Ukraine are at much different ends of the spectrum of hurt, my heart and emotions last week were a wreck as I mourned our loss and the devastation for the Ukrainians. My head has a hard time wrapping around the idea of what the Ukrainians can even be thinking, feeling or the depth of despair they must be feeling. To me, it is unimaginable, but yet, what I’ve read and seen in the media, they are still hopeful and strong.

Luckily, there is hope, there is always hope, you just have to look for it.

I remembered that Cooper was with us for almost 17 years, and up until a few months ago, he was well and present in all that we did… something that isn’t a thing to take for granted. Not with our family and friends and not with our pets, not everyone gets that much time. Although his physical body and unconditional love aren’t here physically, the love that he shared with us will be in our hearts forever, and I know we will see him again.

Then, over this past weekend, more hope but also combined with faith and love…what I see happening in the world to help the Ukrainians with the outpouring of love and support through whatever way people can give or show it, it is happening!!!

Hope, faith and love is on our side through all our troubles. Yes, unfortunately, there will be more sad days ahead, but we can rest in the assurance that we will always have hope, faith and love on the other side of our troubles, no matter how big those troubles are. I am SO grateful for that, God is GOOD and he will always use the bad things, flip them around and turn them into the GOOD! My heart knows that more today than yesterday and I just wanted to share that with all of you.

Now, on a much lighter note…let’s get to making!

I started by creating the background of the card with the new Tim Holtz Doily 3D folder using a piece of Distress Heavystock. I smooshed Frayed Burlap Distress ink onto the flat side of the folder, then spritzed a piece of heavy stock lightly and ran it through my Big Shot Foldaaway 3 times.

This gave the paper a super impression…I can’t get over how real this looks! AMAZING!

I set the doily embossed paper aside and started working on the floral piece.

I stamped a floral area using Distress Embossing ink and the Floral Outlines CMS430, then embossed it using a gold embossing powder. I’m sure you all know how versatile this stamp set is, I just can’t help but grab it when I want to watercolor. Fingers crossed that eventually Tim might create another one…one can hope. I just love it so much.

I smooshed both Saltwater Taffy Distress ink and Oxide ink onto the palette section of my craft mat and smooshed some of my favorite distress ink greens, which included, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss and Frayed Burlap and began watercoloring using a detail water brush. I dried in-between the colors using my heat tool until it was colored to my liking.

Using a sharp pair of scissors, I fussy cut around a partial edge of the floral pattern. decided to leave a portion uncut to have a place to fit the vellum phrase. You’ll see what I mean in the next photo.

I zigzag stitched the flat edge of the floral piece using my sewing machine, then embossed a vellum piece of scrap with the “Hope is never lost” phrase from the Tiny Text Stamp Set CMS394. Then fit it and adhered it to the flat part of the floral cutting.

I cut a slightly larger piece of paper, ink blended the edges using Frayed Burlap Ink, then stitched the bottom and top edges using my sewing machine.

I cut a portion of some Crinkle Ribbon/Seam Binding, spritzed it with water and dipped it into the leftover bits of Saltwater Taffy ink (both regular and oxide) that was left on my craft mat, then dried it with a heat tool. The ribbon, once dry, was stitched to the paper extremely randomly in a messy pattern to the top and bottom of the piece.

Using both the Saltwater Taffy and Frayed Burlap Distress Inks, I randomly stamped some handwritten background into the blank space below the floral area, then dried with my heat tool.

I dug through some of my vintage pearl buttons, then stitch 3 to the floral piece of paper using thread that was dyed using Saltwater Taffy ink. I left the loose threads on the edges, then using a bit of collage medium and my finger, twisted it to create twisty bits and knots.

The watercolored floral piece was adhered to the ribbon background using foam tape.

Next, I decided that the flowers needed some yellow/orange centers and lightly watercolored a little using Scattered Straw Distress Ink with my water brush, then I dried it with a heat tool. See how the Scattered Straw blended a bit into the Saltwater Taffy to create a peachy orange? Oh, how I love ink and how it blends!

Although not photographed…oops, I got a bit carried away 😉

I went back to adding some inky goodness to the doily background piece. I dipped the paper into some bits of the leftover Frayed Burlap ink that was left on my craft mat, then dried it with my heat tool. Then, added some drippy bits of Saltwater Taffy inks into the background and dried with a heat tool. Again, (because I have this thing for handwritten background stamps) I very messily stamped some areas on the right bottom corner of the doily background, then dried it with my heat tool. I smooshed a little embossing ink onto the textured area of the doily then very lightly, sprinkled some gold embossing powder, then embossed it.

I stitched to the right and left side of the background then adhered it to an inky piece of paper that was drug through ink that I had smooshed onto a craft mat, then dried with a heat tool.

With that, my card was complete!

Thanks so much for stopping by today! Take care and have a great week!

Creatively yours,

Stacy

Products used to create this card… to shop at Simon Says Stamp click HERE,

and to shop at Scrapbook.com, click HERE.

Saltwater Taffy Distress inks and sprays, Distress Heavystock Paper, Floral Outlines Stamp Set CMS430, Tiny Text Stamp Set CMS394, The Poinsettia Stamp Set CMS426, Vellum Paper, Gold Embossing Powder, Distress Embossing Ink, Frayed Burlap, Forest Moss, Mowed Lawn Distress Inks, Crinkle Ribbon/Seam Binding, Vintage Buttons, thread and sewing machine and more…

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