Simon Says Stamp - Designer Spotlight Week 5

Hello Friends

Sadly, this is my last week in the Designer Spotlight at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  I would like to thank Lorraine, Simon Says Stamp and the team for having me along for the month of September, I enjoyed every minute of my time with you all.

The challenge this week is 'LETS GET READY FOR CHRISTMAS'!


A few people have used the Jolly St Nick die to create 'indoor' vignettes (notably Tami Bastiaans and my lovely friend Tracy Blackett) so I thought I would have a go at creating an 'outdoor' scene, with a Christmas tree lit up inside to guide Santa and his helper to deliver presents....

I used the largest tray from Tim Holtz's Vignette Set, painted it with black Gesso and then roughly cut a hole where I wanted the window to go (if you do this, be careful the wood is tough).



To create the brickwork I used Fired Brick Distress Oxide Re-inker added to some crackle paste and used Tim's brick stencil to apply it to the Vignette and then left it to dry overnight.  I watered down some of Distress Oxide Re-inker and applied it to the bricks the following day to highlight the crackles a little more.

I turned my attention to the other elements.  Using the Tim Holtz Jolly St Nick die I cut and then  constructed Santa (this takes a little bit of time as there are a large number of parts) but I followed video instructions by Pete Hughes HERE.

The little Elf comes in one piece but I cut him out in several colours (along with his parcels), cut him apart and then 'dressed' him.

For the Christmas tree I used one of Tim's Woodland trees, coloured it with Pine Needles Distress Spray Stain, decorated it with some lights and added pearl baubles (by Tim) and some sequins from my stash.

I created a 'box' from black card to fit inside the back of the Vignette and I lined the walls with some of Tim's 8 x 8 papers for my wallpaper backing.

I wanted a large window at the front and to do this I die cut two of Tim's new Window Frames and pieced these together to form a larger window, adding some acetate to the back for the glazing.

To finish off the window I added some curtains inside, using Tim's Mummy Cloth, dyed with Fired Brick Distress Oxide Re-inker, watered down.  I added Candy Canes from Tim's Santa's Helper die to the outside of the window along with some touches of snow (Grit Paste).  I also used the paste to create a snowy path at the front.

Finally, I thought it needed a little extra something, so I found my old stash of Tim's Idea-ology Printer Letters, I had to improvise a little with the 'd' and 'e', painted these with Picket Fence Distress Paint and added some 'snow' to the top with Texture Paste.

I am quite pleased with the way my vignette turned out but it was a devil to photograph!

As always, there is a $50 voucher for one lucky winner
chosen by the Design Team!


The products I used that are available from Simon Says Stamp are all listed below.




Thank you so much for your visit, I have a few posts this week, so hopefully
I will see you soon!

Hugs, Anne xxx

PRODUCTS USED:

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Set
Tim Holtz Jolly St Nick die
Tim Holtz Window Frame die
Tim Holtz Santa's Helper die
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Large Woodland Tree Lot
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Bricked
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baubles
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Lights
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mummy Cloth
Tim Holtz 8 x 8 Paper Stash
Tim Holtz Ranger Texture Paste
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Grit Paste
Tim Holtz Pine Needles Distress Spray Stain
Tim Holtz Fired Brick Distress Oxide Re-inker
Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Picket Fence

Last of Summer for AALL & Create

Hello Friends

As we roll into Autumn, I thought I would celebrate those last few days of Summer by creating some summery ATCs as my GDT post for AALL & Create.

I used Tracy Evans' Butterfly and Dragonfly Stamp Set #45 along with Autour de Mwa's Lotza Dotz Stencil #39.

I started off by brayering two colours of Paper Artsy paints onto my chipboard ATC bases.  I used Aqua Duck Egg and Cherry Blossom.

I added some Distress Oxide Re-inker in Broken China to colour some embossing paste and applied it through the Lotza Dotz stencil.  It leaked a little on the left hand side ATC but I wasn't worried as this would be covered up.

I stamped out my images (the butterfly is not shown here) and coloured them with Distress Inks.

I added a pen nib to the butterfly and stamped and applied two of the sentiments from the stamp set.

This is the stamp set and stencil I used.  You can find a full list of worldwide stockists HERE.  You can of course, purchase them direct using the same link but you are encouraged to support your local stockist wherever possible.

Thanks so much for your visit, it is much appreciated.  I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Simon Says Stamp - Designer Spotlight Week 4

Hello Friends

I am here today to share another project in the Designer Spotlight for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

For the new 'STITCH IT' Challenge I created a Halloween project.

I love to put a 'not too scary' Halloween piece in my front window on All Hallows Eve, so that it doesn't scare the little ones too much.  

I started by preparing the tombstone base by painting all of the base elements with Black Soot Distress Paint.  I then stamped the top and bottom parts of the Tombstone Etcetera Tag with Tim Holtz Stone background stamp before heat embossing it with clear embossing powder.  Once dry, gesso was dry brushed over the the Tombstone parts to give a slate like look.

Next, I used Distress inks in Scattered Straw, Carved Pumpkin and Wilted Violet to colour a piece of  white card for the background.  Once coloured I used the Tim Holtz Swirling Stars die to cut a few stars into the background and then stitched up the sides with black cotton to add some interest. I decided last minute to add some white splats with gesso.

I die cut the witch and cat and dressed the witch with some dyed gauze and created a skirt with some netting from my stash.  I stitched the items in place onto the witch.  The die cut cauldron was dry brushed with gesso before adding some Twisted Citron Distress Paint to give the impression of the cauldron boiling over.  I added some Idea-ology bones and dried florist bits to the cauldron.  The fire was created by die cutting the fire elements from the Tim Holtz Fireplace die set.  I also added a few twigs from the garden along with some Idea-ology skulls, pumpkins and dome from my stash.

At the top of the Tombstone I added a die cut spider web, a Raven, a spider, metal word adornment, quote and skull, crossbones and Quote Chips.

So that's it for this week from me but it would be lovely to see you join in the challenge.

As always, there is a $50 voucher for one lucky winner!

The products I used that are available from Simon Says Stamp are all listed below.

Thanks so much, as always, for your visit, I really do appreciate it and I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx


PRODUCTS USED:
Tim Holtz Etcetera Tag - Tombstone
Tim Holtz Slate and Stone Cling Stamp
Tim Holt Bigz Cauldron die
Tim Holtz Fireside Thinlits die
Tim Holtz Thinlits Swirling Stars die
Tim Holtz Batweb Trim Thickboards
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Boneyard Findings
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Word Adornments
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Crossbones Adornment
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Adornments
Tim Holtz Halloween QuoteChips
Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Various colours
Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Black Soot
Dina Wakley Ranger White Gesso
Judikins Clear Embossing Powder

Simon Says Stamp - Designer Spotlight Week 3

Hello Friends

The weeks are flying by, this is my third week in the Designer Spotlight with Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.


A new week means a new challenge and the challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week is 'Monochrome'.



I still had the stamps and die out on my desk from last week's celebration of STAMPtember® and it gave me an idea straight away for the Monochrome Challenge.  I created a monochrome journal as my project.

I used Eileen Hull's Wrapped Journal die for my base, cutting it in Black Mount Board before stamping with the beautiful STAMPtember® Flora Background stamp, and then embossing it in white embossing powder. 

I added some ribbon from my stash as a closure for the journal. 

For the inside I made four signatures and I used the STAMPtember® Shimmer Rounded Rectangle die set to add decoration to the front of the plain signatures.

 I handmade a black and white bead adornment to finish off my journal.

As always, if you join in the Monochrome challenge there is the chance of winning a Gift Voucher to Simon Says Stamp on line shop.

The products I used that are available from Simon Says Stamp are listed below.



Thanks so much for your visit, 
I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx


PRODUCTS USED

Eileen Hull Wrapped Journal die
Simon Says Stamp Flora Background Cling Stamp
Simon Says Stamp Shimmer Rounded Rectangle
Simon Says Stamp Black Cardstock 100#
Ranger White Embossing Powder
Studio Katia Snow Dust Seed Beads

Voyager Pocket Notebook for AALL & Create

Hello Friends

My Guest Designer project for AALL & Create this week is a Pocket Notebook using Olga Heldwein's beautiful Voyager stamp set (AALL #198), along with the Digital Bubbles stencil (AALL #45) by Autour de Mwa.

I was at a Craft Fair recently and saw the talented Tracy Evans demonstrating with colours that were quite different for her, so of course I had to buy some similar ones (not the same) to try, I think they work well with Olga's stamp.  Sometimes it is good to try different things!

I used Paper Artsy paints in Bougainvillea, Smurf and Snowflake.

I started by brayering my three colours onto a media board and using a second board to clean off the brayer.

Next, I added some stencilling, again using the blue paint.  The above two photos were

taken at night, so the colours look a bit muted.

After die cutting the notebook, using Eileen Hull's Notebook die by Sizzix, I stamped Olga's stamp onto the front and used a smaller stamp from the set to add some more detail here and there.

I used the same paints to colour in the image.

I finished off the inside by adding a ticket holder pocket on the left hand side and a notebook and pen on the right hand side.

To finish off I created a hanging charm to add to the side.

The stamp set and stencil I used are available from AALL & Create, HERE, where you will find a list of worldwide stockists.

Thanks so much for your visit, I really do appreciate it.
I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx

Simon Says Stamp - Designer Spotlight Week 2

Hello Friends

This is my second week in the Designer Spotlight at Simon Says Monday Challenge
and I am still pinching myself!

This week the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge team is celebrating 10 years of STAMPtember®, an annual event held by Simon Says Stamp, by creating projects using items from the new STAMPtember® release of products.  It would be lovely to have you enter the 'STAMP IT' challenge with STAMPtember® or other Simon Says Stamp products, but it is not a requirement.

I was very lucky and received some stamps and a die set to use and I had great fun making a few cards.

I went a little vintage-y with the first two using the following items, all of which are listed at the end of this post.

I used Kraft card for the card on the left, die cutting with the gorgeous Shimmer Rounded Rectangle die.  The die actually cuts into two separate pieces, it leaves the border in the card and cuts out the fancy centre part in one piece.  I wanted to use the whole piece altogether, so I attached a piece of cream card from my stash, across the back and mounted the centre piece back into the card.  This also gave me a lovely cream border for the base of the card.

Before adding the piece back in the centre, I inked around the edge of the 'frame' with Distress ink and I also inked around the edges of the whole card to give some definition.

The sentiment comes from the very useful stamp set Healing Hugs, I stamped and embossed the sentiment directly onto the card.  To finish off I die cut some Tim Holtz Wildflower Stems #1, inked them lightly and added them to the card.

The card on the right was so simple, the beautiful floral background stamp covered the whole of the base of my card.  I stamped and embossed in black onto Kraft card and watercoloured the flowers. Before matting and layering onto my card base I stamped the sentiment onto vellum and added it to the card.  I love how the vellum just lifts the colour of the whole card.

I enjoyed the process so much that I made more cards, using the same style and methods but in a more colourful way.  I think this just shows the versatility of the stamps and die.

I really love how all of the cards turned out, I can see myself getting lots of use out of the stamps and dies in the future.

I hope you feel inspired to join in the 'STAMP IT' challenge, as always there is a very generous prize on offer:

All of the items I used, which are available from Simon Says Stamp are
listed separately below.

As always, thanks so much for your visit, I appreciate it and any comments you wish to leave.  Thanks for looking and I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xxx


Products Used available from Simon Says Stamp:

Simon Says Floral Background Stamp
Simon Says Healing Hugs Stamp set
Simon Says Shimmer Rounded Rectangle die set
Tim Holtz Wildflower Stems #1
Kraft card
White Cardstock
Cornflower Blue Cardstock
Vellum
Sakura Watercolour paint
Black Versafine Clair Ink
Black Embossing Powder
White Embossing Powder
Distress Ink Gathered Twigs

Designer Spotlight - Simon Says Stamp

Hello Friends

I feel hugely honoured and thrilled to have been asked back by Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge to be in their Designer Spotlight for the month of September!

As many of you know, there is a new challenge every Monday and the challenge theme this week is 'Use A Clear Element'.

After scratching my head for a while I got out my acetate, my new Tim Holtz fireplace die and some glass vials and of course, my mind went straight to Halloween, not that it takes very much for my thoughts to head there!  

I pondered on what Dr Bones' front parlour might look around Halloween time.  I call this Found Relative Dr Bones, he has such a sinister look about him.

I used many Tim Holtz Idea-ology pieces in this creation, all of which are listed at the foot of this post.  I also used Ranger Multi Matte Medium as glue throughout the whole project.

First, I gathered together some of the items I wanted to use in my project.

I covered the whole tag with some of the Tim Holtz worn wallpaper, sanding the edges and then finishing the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink.

Apart from the fireplace, the picture of Dr Bones was important.  I prepared a couple of Tim Holtz's baseboard frames, in the end I just used the black one.  I cut a piece of acetate to size and painted Matte Medium on the back of the acetate to give it an aged feel.  I stamped the cobweb from Tim's new Life of the Party stamp set, using archival ink.  Once dry I assembled the picture and frame.

Next, I prepared the fireplace using Tim's new fireplace die.  After die cutting some black card, I used the 3D Texture Fades Woodgrain embossing folder to add some texture before dry brushing lightly with white gesso.  I built up the fireplace in layers to give it 3D appearance  and then added a mantlepiece to the top so that I could display some items.

For the fire itself, I due cut two pieces from acetate and one piece from Metallic Jewels Kraft cardstock.  I coloured the acetate with Alcohol Inks and then layered all three pieces in the grate of the fireplace.  I think the coloured acetate makes the fire look quite realistic as it gives it some 'movement'.  The swag is part of the fireplace die.

I added an old Idea-ology piece to the top of the frame.  Next I added some gauze to the mantle piece before adding a couple of Idea-ology bottles, a skull, some bones and a thimble decorated with a rolled rose (an early Tim Holtz die).

Here is another close up view of the mantlepiece and also the hearth.

So, we hope you will join in the 'Use A Clear Element' challenge this week at:


One lucky person will be chosen to receive:

The products I used are listed below and available from:

As always, thanks so much for your visit, I hope to see you again soon.

Hugs, Anne xx

Simon Says Products Used:

Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag Thickboard

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Halloween Worn Wallpaper
Tim Holtz Sizzix Fireside Thinlits
Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2019 Life of the Party
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Skull Fragments
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Boneyard Findings
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Broomsticks
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Pumpkins Pieces
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Jewels Kraft Cardstock
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Found Relatives
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Thimbles
Tim Holtz Etcetera Bracket Trims
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baseboard Frames
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Corked Vials
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Vials Corked Glass Bottles
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Wicked Metal Ornaments
Hero Arts Acetate Sheets 5 x 6
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Black Soot Ranger
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Flamingo Ranger
Tim Holtz Distress Paint Picket Fence Ranger
Ranger Multi Matte Medium 4 oz