Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Tropical Travelogue Valise & Passport

Hi!

Here's a Graphic 45 project that I put together today, using G45's Tropical Travelogue collection. Since there are so many gorgeous colors and patterns in this paper line, I thought I would focus this project on some of the pretty black and cream papers first. [BTW: I apologize for the dark/harsh lighting in these photos -- still working out the kinks in my new craft room.]


Tropical Travelogue is all about escaping to a warm, exotic place - so I thought it'd be fun to pack up my imaginary bags and passport and create this vintage travel set!




My valise was one of two wooden purses that I picked up from Creative Crafts in Corvallis, Oregon. I had painted it white several months ago in hopes of using it for a dear friend's nursery. Well, I felt the paint smell, while faint, wouldn't be good for her new baby - so I scrapped it and used the second, unfinished purse for my baby project. Ever since, I've had this white wooden purse hanging out in my craft room - until now. 

To create my valise, I first inked all the painted surfaces with Tim Holtz's Distress Ink. I then covered the front and back with Jungle Fever. I used three strips from Tiki Voyager to create a border and two accent pieces. The thin cream-colored strips are scraps from Tim Holtz's Vintage Lace die. The gorgeous cream-colored flower strip is from Petaloo. (I was so inspired by the Graphic 45 and Petaloo blog swap back in December, I just had to pick up as many different kinds of Petaloo flowers as I could!) I then attached a Bo Bunny trinket and a piece of Exotic Destination paper with an Idea-ology mini ball and chain set.


What's fun about this project is the inside ... I designed the interior to behave as a little suitcase, so you can store little trinkets and memorabilia inside, such as my Tropical Travelogue Passport. To create this little book, I used images from Exotic Destination along with some sand-colored mesh ribbon, one of many neat blog candy prizes I won from Gloria Stengel.


For the inside, I glued a couple strips of Tiki Voyager to the edges. I then cut two pieces of Jungle Fever paper and glued both pieces inside. My suitcase straps come from some black ribbon that I also won from Gloria's blog. I glued four pieces over the Jungle Fever paper. 


Lucky for me, I had just enough black ribbon so that each one could be tied with a bow!


Hmm ... I see it stores my Tropical Travelogue passport just fine ... but can it hold some other stuff? How about some matches, an envelope, and a wedding invite? Not sure if the wad of mesh ribbon will fit ... 



I think there's definitely room for the ribbon - and some more matches, some scripture pocketcards, and my passport:


Everything fits!


There you have it, an exotic little valise to store some of your favorite island memories, and a passport to match. Thank you for looking!


Supplies:

Graphic 45 - Tropical Travelogue paper
Petaloo flowers
Tim Holtz Idea-ology ball & chain
Bo Bunny trinket
Distress Ink

12 comments:

Paper Nurse said...

WOW Maria, amazing! Specially like the inside with the ribbon tie downs just like a suitcase. Just beautiful!

Janna said...

Gorgeous set Maria! Great job!

Sandra said...

Very cool valise! This travel set is amazing. The inside is as beautiful as the outside! Just gorgeous!!

Maria said...

Thanks, ladies! I wish I had more of these wooden purses ... the possibilities are endless ...

Michele Kovack said...

This is absolutely gorgeous!

Deb Neerman said...

WoWzA, this is fantastical! Simply amazing what you've created here, Maria!! Love it!

anna christensen crafts said...

Wow Maria! This puts the 'awe' into awesome! A fantastic project. I'm amazed you found all your crafting stuff so soon after moving! This is so gorgeous... Graphic 45 really suits your style. Anna xx

My Take on Paper Crafts said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!!

Marjie Kemper said...

What a great project! I love the outside but then you have so many goodies inside, too... beautiful!

Maria said...

Thank you, everyone! :)

Mrs Frizz said...

oh wow ...this is absolutely gorgeous ... beyond gorgeous in fact ...

Maria said...

Thank you for your super sweet comment, Mrs. Frizz!