Giving Thanks...

Hey everyone and welcome to a new week and a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week, our theme is all about Giving Thanks and at this time of year, the words "grateful" and "thanks" come up a lot...so, with this in mind, we can't wait to see how you interpret our theme and what you create!

For me, I am so grateful for the love of family and friends and created a piece of home decor that would stand proud in my home and be on display for everyone to see!

...and here's how I made it!

I've had Tim's Flip Frame for ages and been meaning to use create something with it but just never got around to it...until now and I thought this was the perfect opportunity and was so pleased with how it turned out!

I started by cutting a piece of mount board to measure 3.25" x 5". I applied a coat of gesso over the surface and heat dried it. I then attached some torn pieces of Tissue Wrap over the top using Glue N' Seal to hold it in place.

Once the medium was dry, I used Antique Linen, Fossilised Amber and Picket Fence Distress Paint over the top, spritzing the paints with water to blend the colours together. Heat dry again before adding some more colour using Antiqued Bronze. I always dry each individual layer of paint before moving onto the next stage.

I then added strips of Tissue Tape before adding some Texture Paste through the Dot Fade Layering Stencil. Finally, once the paste is dry, I spritzed the entire background with Color Bloom Gold Spray and just let the ink move around to create drips and splatters.

So that I could hang my panel on the frame, I punched two holes in the top left and right hand corners and added some eyelets before setting it aside to thoroughly dry and moving on to making some leaves.

For the leaves, I started by spritzing a piece of Manila card using Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Squeezed Lemonade Distress Spray Stains. I dried the card thoroughly and then used the gorgeous Layered Leaf die to die cut and emboss two leaves. At this stage, I also used the Fall Foliage dies to die cut more leaves, which I ended up not needing but they are now ready for a future project!

Once all my leaves were cut, I inked around the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and spritzed them with Perfect Pearls Biscotti Spray Mist! Whilst the leaves are still slightly damp, I then shaped them to create a more natural look!

I attached my large layered leaves and some smaller Fall Foliage to the background together with a piece of natural foliage.

I love creating dimension on my work and as you can see, there is plenty on this panel!

I then coloured some Crinkle Ribbon using the stunning Wilted Violet Distress Stain and once the ribbon was dry, I tied it into a scruffy bow and attached the bow and a Gumdrop to my leaf arrangement.

Finally, I added a Small Talk Sticker and some Remnant Rubs directly onto the background.

Now...all that's left for me to do, is hang my panel on my Flip Frame and place it in my hallway for everyone to see!

I really hope you've enjoyed how this piece came together and loved the finished project!

As always, if you need 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 and Texture Fades: Fall Foliage, Layered Leaf and Texture Fade 

Tim Holtz Layering Stencil: Dot Fade

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain

Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Antique Linen, Mustard Seed, Antique Bronze

Distress Stain: Wilted Violet

Distress Spray Stain: Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Squeezed Lemonade

Mediums: Texture Paste, Perfect Pearls Biscotti Spray Mist, Color Bloom Gold Foil Spray

Idea-ology: Flip Frame, Crinkle Ribbon, Special Delivery Remnant Rub, Small Talk Stickers, Gumdrop, Tissue Tape, Tissue Wrap

We R Memory Keepers Eyelets

Surfaces: Manila Card

Palette Knife

Ranger Craft Sheet

Blending Tool

Heat Gun

Big Shot

Mount board and natural foliage from my own stash