Have you ever tried die cutting and stamping on balsa wood? I’m learning that it is a fun and very flexible media to play with. It is thin; mine is the thickness of a sturdy card stock and die cuts easily. The surface is smooth enough to stamp on and the wood texture adds such a warm natural touch :D I die cut a Medium Tag from the balsa wood and stamped one of the butterflies from Butterfly Friends in Versamark before white heat embossing. The sentiment from the same set is stamped and white heat embossed onto vellum before cutting into a flag shape and stitching to the tag. The stitching does split the wood a bit but I solved this by adding washi tape to the back and then glueing a second tag to the back to hide this. The final touch was a little wood veneer star from Studio Calico.
I used the tag to decorate a little linen draw string bag I have; I thought the natural fabric was a perfect pairing for the wood. I attached the tag with some Hemptique twine, looping it around the bag twine and tying in a bow.
Supplies: Stamps – Simon Says Stamp butterfly friends; Die – Simon Says Stamp medium tag; Ink – Versamark; Embossing Powder – Hero Arts white; Card – Bazzill vellum; Balsa Wood; Wood veneer – Studio Calico stars; Twine – Hemptique aquamarine
Wow Debbie I love this. Gorgeous
this is so pretty…will have to find myself some balsa wood.
What a completely appealing idea. Invokes a feeling of serenity …actually most of your creations do that for me. Truly lovely. Was curious how the wood veneer faired under the stitching. Thanks for the tip.
Conil, I must admit that the stitching was the tricky part. I added washi to the back of the tag to help. It worked but I’d certainly keep stitching to a minimum.
I live this…must get the dies to try this….thank you for sharing your awesome talent :)
I really love the added texture that the balsa wood gives to the finished tag. I just love neutral tones and the overall effect of white and tan is so lovely. I am curious though – where did you manage to find thin sheets of balsa wood?
Hi Carol, I was given the balsa wood from a friend. I asked her and she got it from a craft store I think although there are lots on ebay too. It’s thin, sort of the thickness of thick card HTH :D
This is beautiful, Debby. I love the linen and wood together, it all has such a peaceful, natural feel to it :)
I love this! I can’t believe you could sew on it. These would make fabulous holiday tags. Thanks so much.
Very cute!
Such a gorgeous tag, Debby! I love the details of the white butterfly on the balsa wood, and the vellum banner is so crisp, clean and perfect! Beautiful design, and a really clever way to complement your linen bag!
I really love the look of your balsa tag with the embossing and stitching and vellum. All of the elements combine to make a perfectly beautiful creation! I must find where to get some balsa so I can give this a try. Thank you for the inspiration!