Homegrown Summer ~ Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Hey everyone!

Welcome to another week and another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week our extremely talented DT member, Michelle has suggested a summer challenge for us and it's called ~ Homegrown Summer! Inspiration can be found everywhere ~ in our gardens, maybe even children who have grown like weeds, or even an idea that's just taken root! There's a lot of room for growth and we can't wait to see how a homegrown summer is inspiring you!

For my project I thought about how much I loved my garden and how beautiful it looked when it sprung into life this summer. I'd taken a lot of photos and thought it would be lovely to display the photos and bring a small piece of my garden inside so, with this in mind, I created a photo display stand where I could change the images dependent on my mood and dependent on the next great photo opportunity that I'd take advantage of!

To begin with I printed a photo from my computer. I cut the image down to create the style of a polaroid photo, matted it onto black card and added a Remnant Rub.

For the next stage I needed something that would hold my photo in place and for this I used a Trophy Cup which was absolutely perfect.

I altered the cup with alcohol ink, added a small piece of foam inside the cup and then attached dried moss spilling out of the top. To complete the cup, I attached a mirrored star to the front.

I attached my photo to a memo pin and tied a some linen ribbon into a bow, before sticking the pin into the foam that I had placed inside the cup ~ the foam holds the photo securely in place.

Next, I made a base for my display holder and for this I used kraft card and created a small box, approximately the size of a 'large-ish' matchbox! I painted the box with Weathered Wood and Picket Fence Distress Paint to give the appearance of 'weathered wood' and once the paint was dry, I scratched away at the surface to reveal some of the kraft card underneath to give a vintage feel.

To create the lines on the box and the look of wood, I dipped the edge of a ruler into the Watering Can Archival Ink pad and then stamped with the ruler onto the box. To complete my crate, I added border stickers around the bottom and a Big Chat sticker to the front.

For the final embellishments, I used the Butterfly Duo die to die cut and emboss two layers of the butterfly image.

I inked the die cut with Gathered Twigs, Fossilised Amber and Mustard Seed Distress Ink and then spritzed the die cut with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist, which also helps to set the ink.

Once the die cuts were dry, I added them to a piece of coiled wire and attached these to my 'crate base'!

To complete the project, I layered some of the Prima Flowers together to make layered paper blooms, adding a small centre stamen to each flower and then spritzed them with some more of the Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist Spray. I attached the flowers to the base with some torn cheesecloth, natural fibres, twine and a piece of hand dyed crinkle ribbon, dyed with Shabby Shutters Distress Stain to create a soft pastel colour. As the final finishing touch, I added a small dot of Pewter Liquid Pearls to each corner of the box to give the look of rivets.

I really hope you've enjoyed this week's project and these little display holders are so much fun to make and can be used for all sorts of occasions ~ Christmas, Halloween or just with a special photo of a loved one, they are so versatile!

As always, 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:

Sizzix/Tim Holtz Dies: Butterfly Duo

Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Weathered Wood

Distress Stain: Shabby Shutters

Distress Ink: Fossilized Amber, Mustard Seed, Gathered Twigs

Alcohol Ink: Rust, Pitch Black

Watering Can Archival Ink, Pewter Liquid Pearls, Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist

Idea-ology: Mirrored Stars, Remnant Rubs, Trophy Cups, Crinkle Ribbon, Big Chat Stickers, Industrious Frames and Trims Stickers, Linen Ribbon

Embellishments: Prima Flowers Otis Coy, Twine

Surfaces: Kraft Card

Ranger Craft Sheet

Blending Tool

Heat Gun

Big Shot

Moss, cheesecloth and fibres from my own stash