Due Date ~ Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Hi everyone!

Well, another week has flown by and it's already time for a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week our challenge is called ~ DUE DATE!

Will you think of libraries, date stamps or maybe craft assignments? Or will you craft along the lines of a new baby or perhaps something past it's due date? We look forward to seeing what you create and don't forget the due date for this challenge is no later than Sunday evening!

For my project, I decided to upcycle a clipboard. What was once a boring old board, is now something a lot more exciting and will have pride of place in my craft room!

To begin with, using a palette knife I applied a good coat of Wendy Vecchi Crackle Paste over the entire surface of the board and set it aside for those cracks to appear! Once the board is dry, then you can start adding colour and for this I used a wash of Cracked Pistachio, Picket Fence and Tarnished Brass Distress Paint. Give the paint a blast of heat to dry it and then I added a small amount of Brushed Pewter Distress Stain and let it seep into the cracks before wiping away any excess using a baby wipe.

I added some more Picket Fence around the outside and then dabbed a clear embossing pad onto random areas around the edge and applied Sticky Embossing Powder over the top before tapping away the excess. Heat the powder and then I used the Ranger Foil Sheets to apply small amounts of gold to give a rich, opulent look. Add a small amount of Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edges.

The next stage was to alter the clip from a shiny silver to a rusty bronze and for this, I used Alcohol Inks applied to the clip using a felt applicator tool.

For the finishing touch, I added an alpha part, coloured with Picket Fence and Tarnished Brass Distress Paint and now, you have one altered clipboard ready for the fun part of embellishing!

For this, I started by adding a strip of film ribbon across my board and held this in place with Tissue Tape. I then used a Size 5 tag that I coloured by dragging through Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain that I applied to my craft sheet. I used the same embossed method as before to create the gold finish around the edge before mounting a stamped image over the top. I then attached the tag to my board, together with some of Tim Holtz's Pocket Cards.

I then wanted to add and build up some more layers and texture and decided to use the gorgeous new dies from Tim. First, I die cut the feathers duo and then embossed them with the Texture Fade. I painted each feather with a blend of Peacock Feathers and Shabby Shutters Distress Paint and dried them with a heat tool. To bring out the veins in the embossed areas, I added a small amount of Picket Fence over the top using my fingertip.

I then used the Butterfly Duo die to die cut one of the butterflies twice and once again, embossed them with the matching Texture Fade. I coloured each of these using Abandoned Coral and Barn Door Distress Paint. I tipped the wings with more of the gold foil and then, layered the first butterfly with the gold tips over the top of the second die cut and added a Pen Nib to the centre.

I added the butterfly together with feathers and secured them into place. I also added an ephemera piece and various pieces of idea-ology to the arrangement ~ all the idea-ology is coloured with Treasure Gold to give a more vintage rusty look.

For my final embellishment, I used one the circular die from the Scribbles and Splats die set and die cut a piece of card coloured with Distress Inks. I added touches of gold foil to the die cut and then tucked it into place.

As a finishing touch, I added some studs in each corner and small crystal embellishments.

Now all that's left for me to do is hang this in pride of place and clip my reminders onto the board which means *fingers crossed*, I will never forget a due date ever again!

I really hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and love the finished clipboard. If you need any further inspiration for this challenge, then you need look no further than our 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: Week Journey

Tim Holtz Dies: Scribbles and Splats, Feather Duo, Butterfly Duo

Inks: Jet Black Archival Ink, Walnut Stain Distress Ink, Clear Embossing Ink

Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Barn Door, Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, Tarnished Brass

Distress Stain: Brushed Pewter

Alcohol Inks: Miner's Lantern

Mediums: Wendy Vecchi Crackle Paste, Ranger Foil, Treasure Gold, Sticky Embossing Powder

Idea-Ology ~ Tissue Tape, Mini Sprocket Gears, Sprocket Gears, Hinge Clips, Pen Nib, Film Ribbon, Mini Paper Clips, Faucet Knobs, Pocket Cards, Framed Alpha Parts

Embellishments: Prima Marketing Cartographer Crystals

Surfaces: Watercolour Card, Size 5 Manila Tag

Ranger Craft Sheet

Palette Knife

Big Shot

Heat Gun

Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool