My Other Creations: Paper Towel Collage

With this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme being, "Create Your Own Background" (and throw in some cool Darkroom Door stamps if you have any), I thought why not make a background out of a paper towel?  I'm always getting them wet and inky anyway when I clean off my craft mat, so I decided to embrace my clean-up materials.

I started with Distress Inks and a record stamp from Darkroom Door.  I stamped the records one at a time with different colors of Distress Ink, then spritzed the circle shape with water right after I stamped it so the colors spread and blended.

Once my paper towel dried, I stuck some Washi tape on it.  Washi and paper towels?  Heck!  Why not?  (Washi doesn't stick the greatest to paper towels, so that's probably why not.  But I was feeling sassy and did it anyway!)

When my Washi was serious about not sticking, I showed it who was boss by sewing the strips in place with my sewing machine-- not to mention adding some other sewn lines here and there just for fun.  And because I like the scraggly look (or  because I'm lazy), I left all the sewn lines connected and didn't trim off the excess thread.

I added a little collage within my collage by incorporating this vintage flashcard that I cut into a file shape, stamped and painted.  And the most adorable part?  This happy little birdie from Darkroom Door.

I wanted a sentiment to top it all off, so I went with, "Sunshine," because we can all use some of that when days are dark or lonely or cold.  The sentiment is cut out from Simon's Hello Sunshine die set, which is insanely versatile.

At the end of the day, I hope this paper towel is pleased with its transformation.  It's got to be better than whatever fate awaited it in the garbage can, right?

Here are the supplies I used on this project that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Darkroom Door Rockstar Stamp set
Simon Says Stamp Hello Sunshine Frame Wafer Dies

Darkroom Door Robin Cling Stamp	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet	Dina Wakley MAGENTA Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Loew Cornell WATERCOLOR CAKES 24 Paints	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Pad
Wild Honey - Distress Ink	Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Distress Ink Tumbled Glass	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink	Squeezed Lemonade - Distress Ink	Spiced Marmalade - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad MERMAID LAGOON
Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Ripe Persimmon - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad CRACKED PISTACHIO	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad LUCKY CLOVER Ranger	Sizzix Big Shot	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad
Mixed Media Sponges Bars	Tim Holtz Idea-ology TISSUE TAPE SYMPHONY Music Self Adhesive Vintage Paper

I am excited to see all the genius-level backgrounds you create this week!  Be sure to upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!