Simple Inspiration

I love it when I can find simple inspiration in everday, ordinary things that I see around my house, at the store, or even at my office.  And I love it even more when my inspiration transforms into pieces of art that I fall completely in love with.I found this clipboard while shopping yesterday, and immediately my mind kicked into creative overdrive.  It was the perfect foundation for a small, simple, and fast project, and I was able to experiment a little more with vellum, and how it reacts with modge podge- a combination I had never tried before.

The base layer is one piece of patterned paper over the entire board.  I added a torn piece to the middle, after I used a brown ink pad to distress it.  I simply laid it on a scrap piece of paper to catch the ink off the edges, and swiped it gently over the paper a few times, until I had the amount of distress I was looking for.   (I love the distressed look my brown ink gives to this piece. It’s such a simple element to add, but I feel that it adds just that right amount of ‘oooh!’ to this project.)  Once I added that piece, I inked the edges of the entire board.  I used a few glue dots to initially adhere the vellum to the piece, then I added some transparent patterened tape around the bottom of the board, including the back.  I cut out and distressed two embellishments to finish up the adornments, and then I used a thin layer of modge podge to seal it all.  I used the modge podge on the back of the vellum as well as the front to adhere it completely.  The paper, especially the vellum, will pucker a little when you use the modge podge, but it should dry flat.

The best part was that I was able to finish this in just a couple of hours last night (including drying time).  I do have one thing I would change, and that is to print the quote, not hand write it.  It would look neater and blend much better with the background I created.

I can’t decide if I want to use this piece as a picture frame, to hold papers and notes while I type at work, or to simply display it as-is, since I think it totally works as a stand alone piece.  Also, I’m trying to decide if I should use ribbon to dangle it from the wall, or a small easel to prop it up for a tabletop frame.  A piece of black and white musical ribbon would look well with the transparent tape I used at the bottom of the board (Tim Holtz.  LOVE his stuff!)  But I think having an easel would be better to display this overall.  I guess I’ll just have to make a few more, and try both ways.