Just A Note... Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Hi everyone!

Today, is the start of a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog and this week we have, NO RULES!! That's right, we want you to just craft and show us what you've been creating.

For my project, I decided to make something that I would find useful ~ a memo holder! No matter how many notebooks I buy, when I'm on the telephone or at my desk, I can never find them just when I need to write down that all important note or number and I usually end up running around the house looking for them! So with this in mind, I looked at memo blocks in my local high street and to be honest, they just didn't appeal ~ too floral, too pretty, too boring and so I decided to make my own and this is what I created! As always, I hope you love what I've made...

 ...and here's how I made it!

To begin with I used the Sizzix Cabinet die from Tim Holtz to die cut two shapes from chipboard. I also cut three strips of chipboard, two measuring 9 x 2cm and a further strip measuring 8.5 x 2cm. Paint all the chipboard with a coat of Gesso and at this stage, I also painted one side of each piece of chipboard, (the painted side will become the inside of the box), with Evergreen Bough, Picket Fence and Tarnished Brass Distress Paint. Once all the painted panels are dry, I attached the smaller of the chipboard strips across the bottom of one of the Cabinet die shapes, (painted side innermost) and secured it into place using Glossy Accents. Attach the longer strips along the sides to form the inside walls of the box. Finally, place the second Cabinet Die shape over the top and this will create your basic box shape.

Next, I used the Cabinet Die to die cut two pieces of Manila card which I embossed with the Riveted Metal Texture Fade. Attach the card to the back and front of the box and then using the same colours of Distress Paint as I used on the inside, I painted the outside of the box to give a verdigris look to the surface.

Once the paint was dry, I applied small amounts of Treasure Gold over the surface to highlight the raised embossed areas and also to the sides and edges. I also inked the surface and the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

To complete my box, I added some small cotton spools as little legs and painted these with the Tarnished Brass Distress Paint. At this stage so that it makes the box harder wearing, I gave it a coat of Multi Medium.

Now for the fun part, to decorate the outside and for this, I added some Industrious Borders down each side of the memo holder and added a touch of Treasure Gold wax over the surface before burnishing it with a soft cloth.

Add some Picket Fence Distress Paint to an Ornate Plate and whilst the paint is slightly tacky, buff away some of the paint to reveal the majority of the metal again but leaving a chalky look to the plate.

I stamped the hashtag wording onto a piece of inked card and placed the card behind the aperture of the plate before attaching it to the front of my box using brads.

To create the flowers, I used the smallest of the Tattered Florals shapes on the die to die cut three pieces of card for each flower. I spritzed each of the petal shapes with Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey Distress Spray Stains and whilst slightly damp, I scrunched each of the petals into a ball and then heat dried them. Open out the petals and spritz lightly with Perfect Pearls mist, before giving them another blast of heat to dry them. I layered each petal over the top of the previous one, slightly offsetting each layer and then I attached a small stamen into the centre of each flower and secured it at the back with hot glue.

I attached the flowers to the front of my memo holder using hot glue, added some die cut Garden Greens and arranged all of them around the Ornate Plate, together with coils of rusty wire.

Finally I added small metal rivets onto the box.

And that completes my memo block, ready to fill with a pen and paper and to place by the phone so that I no longer need to run around the house looking for that elusive scrap!

Don't forget that if you're looking for some more great ideas and inspiration for this challenge, then you need to look no further than the blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. Good luck....

Thank you so much for all your visits today and hope you all have a great week ahead

See you again soon...love Emma xx

Products used:

Tim Holtz Stamps: Hashtags

Sizzix/Tim Holtz Dies: Cabinet Die, Garden Greens

Texture Fade: Sizzix Diamond Plate and Riveted Metal by Tim Holtz

Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Evergreen Bough, Tarnished Brass

Distress Spray Stains: Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge

Inks: Jet Black Archival, Walnut Stain DI

Sprays: Ranger Perfect Pearls Biscotti

Mediums: Gesso, Glossy Accents, Multi Medium, Treasure Gold Wax

Idea-Ology ~ Ornate Plates

Embellishments: Metal Studs

Surfaces: Manila card

Brushes

Ranger Craft Sheet

Hot Glue Gun

Rusty wire, stamens, chipboard and cotton spools from my own stash