Monday, July 26, 2010

Almost Bargello

I have to admit that I never heard the term Bargello before.  For those of you who know what it is, you will see that my card isn't a true Bargello pattern, but I think it is close.  If you are like me and never heard the term before, Bargello is a form of embroidery that is created through a series of upright flat stitches laid out in interesting patterns.  Bargello was traditionally stitched in wool on canvas, making it very durable and perfect for pillows, upholstery, and carpet.  I learned all of this by reading my June issue of Stampin' Success.  I am so glad I finally have the time to catch up on all of my reading because there is so much information out there, but unfortunately not always enough time to try it all.

So to try to create my own card using the Bargello pattern I cut small strips from a piece of Designer Series Paper in the Elegant Soiree pack.  I then aligned them into a pattern that I liked and used my snail adhesive to layer one on top of another.  Now that is where I didn't keep the traditional Bargello pattern.  I think from what I read  I should of laid them down right next to each other, but I liked the way they looked layered. If you wanted to do a true Bargello pattern you would align your colors into your desired pattern and then adhere them to a piece of Whisper White cardstock, cut the cardstock to your desired size and place it on your card front.  I just layered one on top of another and trimmed it up and placed it all down.  The butterflies were cut with a coordinating piece of Designer Series Paper using my Big Shot and the Beautiful Wings embosslits die. The sentiment was layered on top of the same DSP as the butterflies.  A piece of Hemp Twine was tied around the top. 

If you never tried this pattern before I hope you are inspired to try your own Bargello pattern - whether it be a true Bargello or a slightly different version, have fun playing with your patterns and I think you will really have fun seeing all of the different designs you can come up with.

Stamping Tip:  The bargello technique works best with striped papers! 

For today's card I used the following:
Cardstock:  Crumb Cake #120953, Very Vanilla #101650
Designer Series Paper:  Elegant Soiree #117163
Ink:  Baja Breeze #111833
Stamp Set:  Teeny Tiny Wishes #115370
Punches:  Word Window #119857, Modern Label #119849
Accessories:  Big Shot Die Cut Machine #113439, Beautiful Wings Embosslits Die #118138, Dimensionals #104430
Ribbon:  Hemp Twine #100982

1 comment:

Crystal said...

I've been wanting to try this technique - it's a great card, thanks for the inspiration! :)