To The Moon and Back...

Hey everyone and welcome to a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog! This week, our theme is called THROWBACK and the challenge is to be inspired by any of the previous challenges. So, you can take a look back at the long list over the years and you can either pick an older challenge of ours, maybe one you didn't have time for yet or one you never finished! Whatever you choose, be sure to tell us which challenge you were inspired by in your entry!

As for me? I was inspired by last years "To The Moon" challenge ~ you can see the original post HERE and there was one die that I had been dying to use but didn't get around to using it for Halloween! So, with this in mind...I thought black cats aren't just for trick or treating, they can also just pop by to say hello in the shadow of a silvery moon!

...and here's how I made my card, full of sparkle and shine and plenty of dimension!

To begin with, I created a white card blank, 15 x 18cm which is a size that I love working with at the moment!

To create the background, I started by cutting a piece of white card and adding my wall across the bottom. For this I used the Bricked Layering Stencil and applied a mix of Texture Paste and Stormy Sky Distress Paint through the stencil. Allow the paste to dry and then add some more colour over the top, using Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke and Black Soot Distress Inks. To create the moon, cut a circle of paper, (I used copy paper) to create a mask. Lay the mask on your card, placing just above the wall and then ink around the circle using Stormy Sky Distress Ink. Remove the moon mask and then ink inside the circle with Antique Linen Distress Ink before inking around the edges with Hickory Smoke. Flick water across the surface of the card and remove the droplets with a kitchen towel. Heat dry thoroughly before spritzing the skyline with Perfect Pearls Biscotti Spray Mist. Heat dry again, before matting and layering the background onto a piece of Core'Dinations Distress Card followed by a layer of Metallic Kraft Core Card. Mount the layers onto your white card blank and outline the matts with faux stitching using a black pen.

Add a border sticker along the top of the wall.

Now, to create the glittery cat and I used black card and the Hocus Pocus die for this. Add embossing ink over the surface of the die cut and then sprinkle with Sticky Embossing Powder and heat. Apply Black Soot Distress Glitter over the tacky surface that the powder creates and tap away the excess. I then attached the cat using foam pads to stand on top of my wall.

Spritz a piece of white card with Fossilised Amber and Spiced Marmalade Distress Spray Stain and heat dry before die cutting some leaves using the Autumn Foliage die. Ink the edges of the leaves and slightly crumple them to create a more realistic look.

Arrange and attach the leaves in a cluster in the corner of your card and also, use some of the smaller leaves to scatter around the card, creating the look of them blowing in the wind. Cut a strip of crinkle ribbon and I then dragged a Spiced Marmalade Distress Marker Pen down one side of the ribbon and Gathererd Twigs down the other side to create a stripe. Slightly dampen the ribbon to take away the harshness of the lines but to still keep the stripes. Heat dry, tie the ribbon into a bow and attach in the centre of your leaf arrangement. Add a gumdrop to the centre and some rusty coiled wire.

Die cut the word Hello using the Friendship Script Dies and glitter using the same technique as on the cat. Attach the wording to the wall and place a mirrored star in the corner.

Finally, add some sequins to the sky for an added hint of shimmer and sparkle.

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....

Just click on the link below to go shopping:

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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/Sizzix Dies: Hocus Pocus, Friendship Words Script Thinlits Die and Fall Foliage

Tim Holtz Bricked Layering Stencil

Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Stormy Sky, Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone, Black Soot, Vintage Photo

Distress Paint: Stormy Sky

Distress Spray Stain: Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber

Distress Marker Pen: Gathered Twigs, Spiced Marmalade

Mediums: Texture Paste, Black Soot Distress Glitter, Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder, Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder

Idea-ology: Crinkle Ribbon, Gumdrop Ornamental Embellishment, Mirrored Stars, Gallery Industrious Stickers

Embellishments: Sparkle And Shine Sequins

Surfaces: Mixed Media Card, Metallic Kraft Core Card Stock, Distress Core'Dinations Card

Ranger Craft Sheet

Blending Tool

Black Pen

Distress Sprayer

Heat Gun

Big Shot

White card blank from my stash