Papertrey June Blog Hop Challenge

I was challenged by the color palette in this month's Papertrey blog hop challenge, but loved the idea of playing around with pleats and ruffles.

Here is the inspiration photo - more details on the challenge are found on Nichole's blog :

And what I finally came up with:

The stack of scrap paper was getting a little high on my desk, so I was sorting it when I came across a piece of older My Mind's Eye paper that had the colors of the challenge. 

I started playing around with the idea of a box pleat and cut a couple of 1.5" strips of this 12" paper. I played with a couple of scraps to figure out my score lines - even scribbled a pattern to follow.

Please note: nothing is to scale on that pattern LOL.

I put a little adhesive on the back of the folds to hold the pleats in place while I worked out the rest of my pattern.

I used a die from the PTI Half & Half Die Collection to create a frame for my sentiment.

The die creates a finished edge on one side and is open on the other, allowing you to make as long or short a cut as you want.

Because I wanted to create a frame, I took the fancy cut end and taped it to the die so I could run the piece through my Big Shot a second time and cut the other end.

Isn't that a cool little option? LOVE versatile dies & stamps!

My sentiment comes from the PTI Mega Mixed Messages stamp set and ribbon & pearls from my stash add the finishing touches.

Here is a closeup of the box pleat - each of the pleated strips is attached to the card base in the middle, with the ribbon covering the seam. I didn't attached the other end, allowing the pleats to open up a bit. All the corners are rounded to help soften the look.

I'm not happy about the way the colors are coming across in these photos - they are much closer to the inspiration colors in real life, but I don't have time to play with them now.

The chore I've been avoiding all day is still waiting for me, so I'm off to work on taxes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Jacquie