An Altered Letter Swap

I really have been crafting, but trying to find the time to actually post my creativity on my blog has been the challenge.

So without further ado, here is another swap that I just completed.
The themes for the swap were:
Classic - Elegant look that is crisp and clean. This design is simple yet timeless.
Contemporary - The look is clean and may include a few strong accents or embellishments.
Romantic – Anything from floral patterns, velvets, lace, script or lots of embellishments.
Playful Charm - Complementary colors in muted or bright tones, 3D dimensional and whimsical accents.
Naturalist - Incorporate texture by using handmade papers, fibers such as jute, ripped torn or sanded edges.
Spontaneous – (WIld, FUNKy, FUN----Anything goes)
The letters would have to be made of wood in a large size about 8 or 9 inches tall. 

After the sign-up, the name assignment was made really easy.  The person that signed up after you was the person's initials that you were tasked to create.  My letters were VB.  She stated that "I like natural colors, but my style is a combination of the six identified by the hostess."
I found some swirly letters at Joanns and proceeded to look through my stash for patterned paper.... afterall, I am trying to use my stash.

So here is what I came up with.  I don't remember who's patterned paper I used, but I thought it was very elegant looking to go with the swirly letters.  I painted the wood with gold, applied the paper with scotch quik dry glue and cut off the excess.   I Mod podged both the front and the back to preserve the papers.  The Rhinestones were gold and clear Recollections rhinestones.  The flowers were an assortment of flower parts.  The leaves were cut off of some flower picks and have a wire cneter.  The flowers were made up from Prima flowers with the centers being the smaller Recollection flowers.  After putting these elements on it, I decided the other elements were going to take away from the patterned paper and stopped there.  On the back of the letters, I used some Bazzill cardstock in a golden brown to finish it off.  I added a small butterfly to the bottom of the "V" along with the recipients name.  On the "B", I added a metal plate that reads "Beauty Comes From Within".

My letters were created by a wonderful scrapbook artist FranCine Green.  I asked for Vintage look ... and she was amazingly creative.