Thursday 14 April 2016

Stamping with....... A PARSNIP!!!! (with apologies to Di)

Oh dear, Di from Pixie's Crafty Workshop is never going to forgive me for this! But I really don't mean I've been stamping with a small white bear, I really DO mean the delicious root vegetable.

It all started last night when I was preparing some parsnips to roast for dinner. I remembered how I used to show people how to make carrot butterflies to decorate stir fries with, in the days when I used to give evening classes in Oriental cookery, and I wondered if I could carve a parsnip the same way.

Then I stated to peel the potatoes and thought about childhood days of potato printing and my brain made the link - what if I were to carve a parsnip and print/stamp with it?

So, I kept the parsnip tops, left them overnight to dry out, and dug out the old lino-cutting tools I used to use for carving carrots with.



I kept two tops, in case I messed one up (which turned out to be a wise move).

To carve a butterfly, first cut it so there s one long edge and one shorter one, and cut diagonal lines between the two


Then use your lino tool or a sharp knife to cut V-shapes either side of the centre, top and bottom, and halfway up each side for the wings. I also distressed the edges a little with a knife.


And now you are ready to print! The core of the parsnip recedes slightly, giving an interesting "starburst" effect in the middle. I used a very juicy pink Versacolor pad to stamp with, setting the stamping with a heat gun when it was finished.


Then I cropped the stamped area to fit a card blank and added a ribbon that has been in my stash for many, many years - it was part of the very first Hot Off The Press kit I bought from QVC so it was while my daughter, now almost 37, was at 6th form college (I know because she was doing a project about TV shopping in her media studies class, that's how I started to watch QVC!). It's ribbon with a very odd scrunchy but soft, distressed feel to it, which gives it a rather distressed look, perfect with these "distressed butterflies" and exactly the same salmon pink colour. All it needed to complete the card was a tag and a peel-off greeting.


And that, my friends, is how you stamp with a parsnip. Di please note, no small furry animals were harmed in the making of this card!

I'm sharing this with

Shopping our Stash - You stamped with WHAT???
CASology - Pink

11 comments:

Di said...

Well I never! We had a lettuce core the other week and now this Jane - brilliant! I'm also so pleased that Parsnip himself is safe from marauding veggie knives!

Hugs

Di xx

Cara said...

Genius! I can just imagine you stood in the kitchen having a lightbulb moment! A fab card that you created and well done on using up the ribbon, just proves that things really do come in useful 20 years later. Cara x

Liz said...

Brilliant, Jane! ONIONS (well, a parsnip, but close enough) AND PAPER combined in the making of one project. So clever! Great card. xx

Sarn said...

Tee hee . . . fab technique and am glad Parsnip bear was nowhere near your knife! He's been in enough trouble lately! xxx

Deidre said...

Talk about recycling :) Love that you went from the kitchen to the craft room! Great card! Thanks for playing along at CASology this week!

Chris Dring said...

You may need to change your blog name to Parsnips and Paper now, cuz this is freaking awesome!! What a fantastic card!! Thanks for joining us at Shopping Our Stash!

CG said...

LOVE this! Way to multitask LOL! Best, CG

Donna said...

That is awesome!!! In my opinion (not liking to eat them) this is the best possible way to use a parsnip!!
Thanks for playing along with us at SHOPPING OUR STASH for our "You Stamped With What??" challenge!

Melissa said...

Oh, goodness!!! You get an A+ for creativity!!! Who'd have thought?! Love that the sentiment hints at the parsnip "kisses". ;)
Thanks so much for joining us over at CASology!

lauren bergold said...

oh my gosh!!!!!! that's as AWESOME as it is clever! & one of the best uses ever for parsnips, lol, too!!! thanks for SHOPPING YOUR STASH with us this week! ♥♥♥

Deena said...

We are veggie stamping sisters lol. I should have dried my potato as well but I was too impatient to wait lol. Thanks for joining in the Shopping our Stash you stamped with what challenge this week.