That's Life

Monday, 19 October 2026

Ghosts....

Hello everyone, and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This week, our theme is all about Halloween and something spooky. So, with my favourite time of year, well and truly underway, I had no problem deciding what to create and chose to make a panel, using Tim Holtz idea-ology.

This panel tells the story of the man with a haunted look in his eyes! No-one knows why but could it be to do with the three women and the mystery of what happened to them on October 31st....

So, let's get started because it's time to share all the details of this panel...

I used the larger sized Stampers Anonymous Rectangular Etcetera Panel for this project and covered each of the four edges with Tim Holtz Design Tape.

COVERING THE PANEL

To cover my panel, I chose paper from the Halloween Backdrops paper pack, and some photos and various other pieces from the Halloween Collage Pack.

I began by cutting my patterned paper choice, which is going to be adhered to the left hand side off the panel. I added some rips and tears around the three outside edges, but not on the right hand side of the paper, before I machine stitched a border around these three edges. I adhered the stitched paper to my etcetera panel, leaving the corners slightly crumpled and folded back to show the panel underneath.

On the right hand side of the panel, I chose a selection of strips from the Halloween Collage Pack and cut these to fit down the right hand side of my panel.

I machine stitched around the top, bottom and right hand side of the strip and then added some more machine stitched detail around the photo of the three women, which will sit near the top of the panel.

Adhere this to the Etcetera Panel and then apply a coat of Collage Medium over the top to seal the paper.

To add more layers of interest to the background, I attached an ephemera piece in the top left corner. The October 31 piece is from the Halloween Ephemera Pack and I distressed the edges before adhering it directly onto the panel, using Matte Collage Medium. I then ran the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around all the edges, blending out any harsh lines of colour with my finger tip. I then hammered a Nail Tack into the ephemera piece.

Other embellishments that I added to the panel were some strips of Cello Sticker Tape and a Mini Pin to the stitching on the photo.

Along the bottom of the panel, I added the longest length Bat Etcetera Trim from the Bat Webs Trim pack and painted this black, before attaching it to my panel using Matte Collage Medium. I then sanded the edges of the trim before adding some Hardware Heads to the trim, together with two on either side of the panel itself.

Each of these Hardware Heads are altered with the following Distress Paints to add more of a rusty look ot the metal; Black Soot, Crackling Campfire and Antiqued Bronze

EMBELLISHMENTS to tell the story

Now we can begin to bring the story to life.

The layers and image of the man are all from the Halloween Layers and Paper Dolls pack and include the tape measure, roses and the moon. I also used some of the smaller images of the roses from the Halloween Ephemera Pack.

I attached all my pieces using foam pads and started by placing the moon onto the panel, attaching it to the left hand side. I had some small die cut bats on my desk ~ sorry, I'm not sure which die this is from, but it's definitely a Tim Holtz/Sizzix Die, lol and using these two tiny bats, I just placed them onto the moon.

I then added the photo of the man, which I colour tinted using Distress Crayons, and again attached him with another layer of foam pads.

To ground the bottom edge of the image, I added the ruler piece from the Layers pack and attached this with foam pads, placing this directly underneath the image, before then, adding the skull sticker border which I took from the Halloween Sticker Book.

Finally, I placed the quote chip, "A Strange Thing Happened". This chip is from the Halloween Baseboards pack, and I aligned it with the bottom edge of the man, attaching it with more foam pads.

The four layers of roses were then arranged around the man, layering them for more height and dimension using foam pads.

At this stage, I added some moss, which I tucked behind the rose layers.

In amongst the roses, you might see a deathly beetle just crawling away.

For this I used an Entomology Adornment and painted the metal surface with Black Soot Distress Paint. I allowed for the paint to dry before then dry brushing some Antiqued Bronze Distress Paint over the top, just catching the raised areas and details of the metal piece. Once dry, I attached it to my panel.

We're nearly there and all that's left is those finishing touches...

FINISHING DETAILS

To complete the project, I added a Type Chip, which is attached to the left hand side, and tucked underneath the ruler ledge. And finally, I took the quote ~ "with a haunted look in his eyes" from the Collage Strips pack, cut this down to size and then in half, and placed the two pieces onto my panel, in the bottom left hand corner.

So, that's my project complete for this week, and I hope you love it...

As always, if you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today...

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Rectangle Etcetera Panel, Bat Web Etcetera Trims

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Crackling Campfire, Antique Bronze

Distress Crayons

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Halloween Backdrops, Halloween Layers and Paper Dolls, Cello Sticker Tape, Screw Heads, Halloween Ephemera, Halloween Collage, Halloween Baseboards, Entomology Adornment, Type Chips, Mini Pin, Nail Tacks, Halloween Sticker Book

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Foam Pads

Glass Media Mat

Waterbrush

Heat Gun

Moss from my own stash

Monday, 12 October 2026

Don't Stop Believing....

Hello everyone and Happy Monday!

As another week flies by, it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, we want you to THINK PINK because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Now I'm not a pink girlie but I do love vintage pink and gold as a combination, and to honour all those strong women, and not forgetting all the men too ~ I've created a tag using my favourite colour combo with one word ~ HOPE because hope is never lost in this journey, because whether you are currently receiving treatment or the people who work so hard to find a cure, we always have to hope!

So, let's get started, it's time to get for me to share all the details of this tag....

This make uses a Size 8 Etcetera Tag and Mixed Media Heavystock Tag as a base.

TAG

To begin with I created my background, and for this I began by stamping some detail using the Stampers Anonymous Tiny Prints Stamp Set by Tim. I inked the stamp with Ground Espresso Distress Ink and randomly stamped the print directly onto the tag, just catching areas here and there as I didn't want a solid coverage.

I then spritzing the tag with a little water before spritzing the surface with Victorian Velvet, Pumice Stone and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains. I then added a very light misting of Tattered Rose.

Once happy with the blend, I heat dried the tag, inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then machine stitched a border around the outside.

Adhere the tag onto a Size 8 Etcetera Tag, using Matte Collage Medium.

To complete the tag, I threaded some inky ribbon through the hole at the top. The ribbon is dyed using Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen Sprays and whilst wet, I scrunched it up into a tight ball to create the wrinkled effect. Once dry, it can be looped onto the tag and secured into position with a mini pin...

LEAVES

With the background complete, it's time to move onto the focal point and start building the layers. I began by creating the leaves that frame the image and for this I used the SA Leaf Prints stamp set by Tim and the co-ordinating SSS die set.

I used the same Distress Sprays as I used on the background but this time I coloured some Distress Watercolour Card.

Once dry, I then stamped a selection of the smaller leaf print images onto the coloured card using Ground Espresso Distress Ink before die cutting the leaves with the co-ordinating die set. I used 5 leaves.

Now it's time to add some vintage sparkle to these and for this I used the brand new Liquid Tinsel. I chose the Fine Antiqued Liquid Tinsel and painted the medium onto my leaves, trying not to cover the stamped detail. Allow for this to dry.

PHOTO

Whilst the glitter is dry, I worked on the photo and used one of the images from the idea-ology Photo Booth pack. I used a water brush to colour tint the image with Distress Crayons and then added some rips and tears around the edges before machine stitching the photo onto a piece of felt that I cut with pinking shears.

I couldn't resist a little more of the Liquid Tinsel and added tiny dots of this to background.

A arranged the leaves around the photo and attach them to the tag, adding some curly moss tucked into the arrangement. I also attached a pink ephemera piece, from the Palette Ephemera Pack and placed this on the left of the photo.

Well at this point, we've added the sparkle to the photo and to the leaves, so why not add a little more!! Which is exactly what I did, and I brushed some of the Chunky Antiqued Liquid Tinsel onto the moss.

In the top right hand corner of the leaf arrangement, I added a 'hashtag' Type Chip. I cut this chip in half and then tucked the hashtag into the leaves.

To complete the arrangement, I added a couple of die cut hearts which I cut from the leftover scraps of card that I used for the leaves. The two hearts are die cut using the heart dies from the Sizzix Love Birds die set by Tim.

SENTIMENT

We're nearly there and all that's left to do is add the sentiment...

I used the letters from the Vault World Travel Die Set and cut them twice from gold metallic Kraft card. I layered the individual letters over one another to form more of a substantial letter and then attached them to my tag, placing the word HOPE in the bottom right hand corner.

Finally, I added a Tiny Clip onto the right hand side of the photo....

...and that completes my tag and project for this week. I hope you love what I've made and enjoyed the techniques I've used to create this piece.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today...

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

SSS/Tim Holtz Stamps and Dies Bundles: Leaf Prints

Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz: Mini Etcetera Tag

Sizzix: Big Shot, Love Birds, Vault World Travel

Distress Spray Stain: Pumice Stone, Victorian Velvet, Antiqued Linen

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Ground Espresso

Distress Spritz: Tattered Rose

Tim Holtz idea-ology: Cello Sticker Tape, Photo Booth, Metallic Card, Mini Pin, Palette Ephemera, Type Chips, Tiny clip

Mediums: Black Soot Archival Ink, Matte Collage Medium, Foam Pads, Liquid Tinsel

Surfaces: Size 8 Mixed Media Heavystock Tag, Distress Watercolour Card, Felt

Ribbon

Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun

Moss from my own stash

Sunday, 11 October 2026

Haunted...

Happy Sunday everyone...

Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend and if the sun is shining where you are, I hope it's not too hot and you're enjoying the weather.

Today, I'm excited to be sharing a project over on the Simon Says Stamp Blog.

Below is a little sneak peek but if you click HERE, then you can pop on over to the blog to take a look at the project in it's entirety.

Thanks so much for stopping by today and I'll see you again tomorrow with my Monday project...

Love Emma xx

Monday, 28 September 2026

Somebody's Watching Me....

Hello everyone...

Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend and you're ready for a new week if adventures and crafting!

As always, the start of a new week means we have a new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog, and we want you to USE MORE THAN ONE STENCIL on your makes and hope you'll join us and play along with this fun theme.

For my project, I created a spooky tag and used products from Tim Holtz, Stampers Anonymous and SSS to create this project all about the Bone Collector...

So, let's get started, it's time to get for me to share all the details of this tag....

To begin with I used a Mini Etcetera Tag as my base, together with Mosaic Etcetera Tiles ~ all by Stampers Anonymous.

TAG and TILES BACKGROUND

To create my background for this piece, I cut two pieces of Mixed Media Heavystock Card. Taking one of the pieces of the card, I used a palette knife to apply Black Opaque Texture Paste through the Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Crossed Layering Stencil and on the second piece, I applied the same paste through the Script stencil. Allow for each piece to dry and make sure to wash the stencil and palette knife immediately.

Once the paste was dry, I added the colour using a combination of Unravelled, Decayed, Ominous Mica Spray Stains.

At this stage, I also spritzed a third piece of the cardstock with the Mica Sprays but didn't apply paste to this piece.

Once I was happy with the colour, and the card was dry, I cut the Script stencilled card into pieces to fit four of the tiles measuring 1.5 x 3 inches and then cut the remaining card, stencilled with the Crossed design into four 1.5 x 1.5 inches pieces. Adhere each of these pieces onto the Etcetera Tiles with Matte Collage Medium.

Taking the tiles, I placed these a Mini Etcetera Tag, attaching them to the centre of the tag, starting with the square tile in the top left, followed by the rectangular tile, next to it and then working down the tag, alternating the tiles each time to complete the four rows.

At the top and bottom of the tag, I added the plain pieces of Mica stained card, placing them to cover the bare areas of the tag itself and trimming away the excess.

Apply Walnut Stain Distress Crayon along the edges and between the joins of the tiles to complete the background and in the top right corner, I added an October 31 Ephemera label from the Halloween Ephemera Pack, attached with Matte Collage Medium and with a small ripped piece of Cello Sticker Tape.

FOCAL POINT

Now we move onto the focal point of this tag, the part that tells the story of the Bone Collector.

For this I used the Tim Holtz and Simon Says Stamp Co-Ordinating Anatomy Chart stamp and die bundle.

I stamped the images of the hand and the femur bone onto a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card and coloured them with Distress Watercolor Pencils before die cutting them with the co-ordinating dies.

After inking the edges of each die cut with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, I shaped the hand into a curve and together with the bone die cut, I attached them to my background using foam pads.

To the left of the stamped images, I placed an Ephemera Piece. This was actually from an older set of idea-ology Baseboards but it can also be found in the Halloween Ephemera Pack but if you use this piece, I would mount it onto a piece of chipboard or cardstock before attaching it to the project.

To complete this section, I used the "Bone Collector" Word Plaque from the Halloween Word Plaques and Tags set and altered the silver metal with Distress Paint; Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Crackling Campfire. I then accentuated the raised lettering with a coverage of Treasure Gold gilding wax that I have in my stash.

I attached the plaque to the background using foam pads to add dimension and then added a screw head onto either side, again altered with the same Distress Paints to match the rest of the plaque.

LEDGE

Along the bottom of the tag, I added a ledge that is filled with haunted treasures.

To create the ledge, I used two Pinked Etcetera Trims and stuck these together to form one thick ledge which I then attached along the bottom edge of my raised Etcetera Tile panel.

Now, all I need to do is fill the ledge with all these treasures using the following products from Tim's idea-ology range:

Drippy Candles, Corked Vials, tiny Corked Vials, mini books made using the covers from the Halloween Ephemera pack and labels on the spine from the Curator Snippets pack, Halloween Skulls and bones from the Boneyard pack

There are lots of tutorials on my blog showing how I alter and create these tiny pieces, and these techniques can be searched for in the search engine, which is just on the left hand side of my blog...

But for now, once all my little trinkets were made, I attached them to the ledge using Matte Collage Medium.

Tiny Books and Skulls

Corked Vials and Drippy Candles

FINISHING DETAILS

We're nearly there and all that's left is to add those all important finishing touches.

I added some drippy wax around the bases of the candles by using my hot glue gun and just allowing the glue to ooze out and then drip. Once this is dry, I painted the glue with a layer of Antique linen Distress Paint, allowed this to dry, then dabbed on a light coverage of Ground Espresso Distress Paint.

I finished with some small clumps of moss and hammered some Nail Tacks into the tag.

Finally, I added the final creepy touch, a small spider. This is from the Halloween Adornments pack and I painted it black. I then attached it to my project, placing it so it appears to be held in place with the finger on the stamped hand.