Western 3" x 5"s

Here is my western-themed 3" x 5" for the upcoming retreat swap. I made 23 of these - one for each attendee. When they are all swapped, we will each have 23 different 3x5s to bind into a little fat book, either with rings or maybe the Bind-It-All. I can't wait to see all the other ones!

This little baby was way more time-consuming than I intended. Originally I was going to use the cowgirl stamp (Queen's Dresser Drawers) directly on a background, but it was too detailed to show up. So I then stamped it on cream cardstock with Adirondack Espresso ink and cut each one out. The words are also on this stamp, so I cut them out separately.

The background was made using Claudine Hellmuth's "peeled paint" technique where you paint one coat of acrylic paint (this is the blue layer above), then you generously swipe petroleum jelly (Vaseline) on this layer once it's dry. Immediately after adding the Vaseline you coat with another layer of acrylic paint in another color (creamy ivory above). Once this is dry you wipe it and the Vaseline acts as a resist - the paint will wipe off where the Vaseline was. If your project remains a little greasy, you can wipe it with a baby-wipe. I like how this technique gives a very aged look and you can use whatever colors you wish.

I tore a piece of bandana print paper for the bottom and glued on the stamped piece and the words. I covered the back with another piece of bandana print paper. To make sure everything stayed together and to also give some more texture, I sewed around all four sides with brown thread.

I didn't have enough of the barbed wire twill to do much, so I cut small pieces and stapled them to the upper right corner. I tore denim strips and tied through the conchos and used glue dots to attach.