Simon Says Stamp Designer Spotlight - Week 1

 Hello Friends

I am really thrilled and delighted to have been asked to be in the Designer Spotlight at Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog for the month of August again this year!

This week the theme is Birthday Celebrations!  It is a very special one, Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog is 11 years old!  Happy Birthday!  The design team is also featuring AALL & Create Products this week.

I used two sets of AALL & Create stamps and one AALL & Create stencil along with lots of Tim Holtz goodies to create a seaside themed project. 

I started by painting a Tim Holtz Etcetera Tag (Mini) and a Tim Holtz Baseboard Frame with Peacock Feathers and Twisted Citron Distress Paint before stencilling with Texture Paste through the AALL & Create Superbly Square stencil.

I then applied Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint over the tag and the frame.  This muted the colour of the Texture Paste but I was happy with the result.

Next I stamped the sentiment from the AALL & Create Background Voices stamp set onto white card.  I also stamped the lighthouse and flower from the AALL & Create Sea Essentials stamp set and coloured the images with Distress Ink.  Once dried I cut out the images and gave them a coat of Glossy Accents.

I changed my mind and didn't use all of the items shown in the photo above.

I attached the stamped images, along with the frame to the tag and then added a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Compass Coin to add some balance.

Finally I added some string from my stash to the bottom of the tag (as well as to the wooden ring at the top of the tag) before filling a Tim Holtz Tiny Vial with sand and attaching this to the string.

To celebrate the special birthday, if you enter the challenge you will have the opportunity to win a $50 voucher to spend!  How fabulous is that!

All of the products I used are listed at the end of this post.

We hope you will join in the Birthday celebrations at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week.  Thanks so much for your visit, I really appreciate it.

Crafty Hugs,  Anne xxx

Simon Says Stamp Products Used:

AALL & Create Sea Essentials Stamp set #442

AALL & Create Background Voices Stamp set #457

AALL & Create Superbly Square Stencil #109

Tim Holtz Etcetera Tag Mini

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Watercolour Card

Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black

Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Peacock Feathers

Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Twisted Citron

Tim Holtz Ranger - Texture Paste

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baseboard Frame

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Vials

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Compass Coin

Tim Holtz Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Festive Berries

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Scattered Straw

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Carved Pumpkin

Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass

Ranger Glossy Accents

Simon Says Stamp Designer Spotlight - Week 5

 Hello Friends

Since there are five Mondays in August I get one final chance to be in the Designer Spotlight for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  I would like to thank Simon Says Stamp for having me as their guest this month, I have really enjoyed the experience!

The challenge this week is 'Oodles of Doodles'.  I will admit, this was not an easy challenge for me and I spent many days over thinking it before I came up with my idea.  I promise you it does have lots of doodles in it, if you know where to look!

I have been itching to use Tim Holtz's Arthur die and have seen many wonderful examples on social media.  I chose to give him a rather sinister look for my Halloween themed project.

I started by using a Tim Holtz Vignette Shrine which I thought would make a perfect 'home' for Arthur.  I painted the whole box in black to give me a good base to work on.

For my background I used Distress Oxide in Spiced Marmalade, using the wrinkle free technique and then splattered liberal amounts of Pumice Stone and Black Soot over the background.  I die cut the doodly flowers from Tim's Media Marks die set, cut out a circle for the moon (applying a light coat of Distress Oxide in Spiced Marmalade and a couple of brushes of Pumice stone).  I then covered the whole of the outside of the Shrine with Collage Paper in Typeset/Composer, using Ranger matte medium both under and over the Collage Paper to give good adhesion.

I cut the background to size and glued this into the back of the Shrine and I used Tim's new Halloween Trim Tape to give a nice edge to the Shrine.  I would later add some doodles to the tape.

Next, I constructed Arthur, it took me a couple of attempts!  I die cut Arthur from Watercolour cardstock and then coloured the various parts with Distress Oxides in Pumice Stone and/or Hickory Smoke and assembled him.  His orange eyes and feet were coloured with alcohol markers from my stash.  I just love those eyes.  I attached him to the branch that comes with the Arthur die, it is painted with Gathered Twigs and Vintage Photo Distress Oxide.

You can see from the above picture that I 'doodled' between the numbers by adding some dots.  I die cut Tim's new Halloween Spider Web die with spider and attached it to the inside top of the box.  I also die cut the squiggly doodly flowers from Tim's Media Thinlits Die set and added these to the background.

The moon is raised up on a piece of foam tape and I added some of Tim's Tiny Lights, that I wrapped around the foam before attaching the moon.  I poked a small hole in the back of the Vignette to thread the lights through.

For the bottom of the Shrine I added some moss, Ideaology Wishbones (from Arthur's last meal), pumpkins from my stash and some Holiday Greens foliage.  I painted and added the base to the shrine, distressed the edges and added one of Tim's older Etcetera pieces to add some detail to the bottom.

I added one of Tim's Ideaology older quote tokens from my stash, filling the words with Picket Fence Distress Paint to make them stand out.

This is the view from the back showing the Tissue Wrap and also the holder I created for the battery pack - it is easily accessible when I want to turn on the lights.

Here is a view of the roof, I used Tim's Media Marks 2 stamp set to create the lines on the roof and then I just doodled between the lines to give the roof a bit of a lift.

And finally here is Arthur with the backlit moon.  I love that his eyes stay looking spooky, even in the darkness.  Perfect for Halloween.

I hope you will join in the challenge at:

One lucky person will have the chance to win a $25 Gift Voucher:

You can find a list of the products I used below, which are available from:

Once again, a huge thank you and shout out to Lols and the whole Simon Says Stamp Team for having me in the Designer Spotlight this month, I have enjoyed every minute!

Thanks so much for your visit too, it is much appreciated and I hope to see you again soon.  I am meant to be having a little break from crafting next week, but as my new Tim Holtz Halloween stamps have arrived, I may just have to have a play!

In the meantime, keep safe and well.  Hugs, Anne xxx

Products Used:

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vignette Shrine

Tim Holtz  Colorize Thinlits Die Set  - Arthur

Tim Holtz Thinlits Spider Web die set

Tim Holtz Sizzix Media Marks Thinlit die set

Tim Holtz Ideaology Halloween Trim Tape

Tim Holtz Sizzix Holiday Greens die set

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Media Marks 2 Stamp set

Tim Holtz Collage Paper - Typeset/Composer

Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Oxide Inks

Tim Holtz Ideaology Tiny Lights

Tim Holtz Ideaology Wishbones

Tim Holtz Distress Paint

Ranger Multi Matte Medium

Simon Says Stamp Designer Spotlight - Week 2

Hello Friends

Thank you to all of you who visited last week, I truly appreciate it!  Week 2 has come around so quickly, I hope you are all staying safe and well.

The new challenge at Simon Says Monday Challenge this week is SUMMER MEMORIES.  

My project might look a bit odd for the theme but as a child my Brother and I spent the whole of our summers at the beach, only reluctantly going home for an evening meal.  So, I created a project to remind me of those wonderful days of swimming, canoeing, fishing and collecting treasures.... and of course I will take any opportunity to create a water themed project!

I started by creating the cover of the tin.

I used a Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trinket tin and I created a hole in the front using Tim's scissors to create my 'porthole'.  I then embossed some silver design foil using Tim's 3D Foundry Embossing folder, adding this to the outside front of the tin.  I distressed the foil with some Rusty Hinge Distress Paint.

I die cut the porthole frame using Tim's Steampunk Parts die and black cardstock, adding this to the porthole.  Again, I distressed the card with Rusty Hinge Distress Paint, first by dry brushing it and then adding some heavier areas of paint to give a rusted effect.  The die cut propeller was aged in the same way and added to the front.  The bird is a Tim Holtz charm from my stash, I added some Distress Paint to tone down the shine.

I turned my attention to the inside of the tin.  For the faux netting I used a beautiful stencil by Visible Image to create the fishnet look.  I used the wrinkle free technique to colour some white card and then applied Ground Espresso Distress paint to the stencil, spritzed it lightly with water and applied it to the card, dabbing it gently with a paper towel to get the fishnet look.

To complete the look I added some gauze from my stash, that was coloured with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink, and I added a couple of Idea-ology bottles, glued some real sand to the bottom to give an ocean floor look.  I added some aged book page to one bottle to give the look of a message in a bottle.

For the main part of the tin, I stamped and fussy cut the seahorse from Tim's Blueprint stamp set, coloured it with Distress Inks and applied a coat of Ranger Rock Candy Distress Paint.  I die cut some greenery to add behind the seahorse and also added some Tim Holtz Tiny Lights behind my scene but sadly they do not show up well in my daylight photo.  To finish off I added some Idea-ology pearl baubles to the sea floor.

 I created a simple pocket at the back of the tin to hold the battery pack.  I punched a small hole at the base of the tin for the light string to go through.  I added a Faucet Knob to the top of the tin and to finish the outside I attached some Idea-ology Design Tape around the outside (not shown).

I do hope you will join in the challenge this week.

One lucky winner will receive a ....

to spend at Simon Says Stamp.  You have got to be in it to win it!

Thanks so much for joining me this week, I hope you will visit again next week.

Take care, keep well and stay safe.  Hugs, Anne xxx

Simon Says Stamp Products Used:

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trinket Tin

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Steampunk Parts die

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Holiday Greens Thinlits die

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Trinket Frames die

Tim Holtz Nautical Blueprint stamp set

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Corked Vials

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Faucet Knobs

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Findings Baubles

Tim Holtz/Tonic Snip Scissors

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Design Tape

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Lights

Tim Holtz Ranger Foil Sheets

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Foundry 3D Texture Fade

Tim Holtz Distress Paint

Tim Holtz Distress Ink

Tim Holtz/Ranger Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint

Visible Image Ripped Fishnet Stencil

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