We Can See Clearly...

Hello everyone and welcome to a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week, our theme is...WE CAN SEE CLEARLY and it's all about using acetate or vellum! Whatever you choose to use, we can't wait to see how you incorporate these surfaces into your creations and hope that you'll have fun playing along with this brand new challenge!

To be honest, I don't use acetate or vellum very much in my work and when I have in the past, I'll either use if for flowers, wings of butterflies or dragonflies or maybe as a window but this week, I thought it would be really fun to try something different and use it as a base for my project. So, with this in mind, I decided to die cut a tag from a piece of acetate and I was so pleased with the finished piece and hope you love it too...

To begin with I die cut a tag from a piece of acetate. I had some really thick acetate in my stash but you could also use old packaging which would work just as well!

I then started to build some layers onto my surface and began by painting on some gesso, applying it in a random fashion and not being too controlled about it! Once this was dry, I then used Glue N' Seal to attach a torn piece of tissue wrap over the top of the gesso! 

When using acetate, you will need a little patience as each layer dries because if you use a heat tool, you could melt or bend the acetate which isn't a great look!

Once my layers were thoroughly dry, I then used the Mustard Seed Distress Crayon to add a small amount of colour over the top of the tissue wrap, blending it with my fingertip before then adding some texture paste through the Zig Zag Layering Stencil, again being patient to let it dry thoroughly.

Lightly spritz the tag with some Gold Foil Color Bloom spray and again, allow to dry. Once this is done, I then added a smear of 3D gel over the top and sprinkled the wet medium with glass glitter and micro beads, tapping away the excess!

To complete the tag and to give it a vintage worn look, I alcohol inked around the edges before adding a light flick of Black Soot Distress Paint across the surface.

Setting the tag aside to dry, I then moved onto my embellishments and for this, I die cut some Tiny Tattered Florals from mixed media card, spritzed the spikey flower die cuts with Peacock Feathers and the small roses with Gold Foil Color Bloom Spray Mist. Heat dry the die cuts before assembling each flower ~ I also added stamens into the centres of the larger spikey flowers. Once the flowers are made, I then spritzed them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls for some extra shimmer.

For the photograph, I used one of the PhotoBooth images, inked around the edge and then applied a Fragment Finding over the top, using Glossy Accents to attach it into place. When applying the Fragment Finding onto the photo, I usually move the fragment around whilst pressing down, so that it dispels all the air bubbles. I then lightly scratched the surface of the fragment piece before inking the edge with Mushroom and Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink and adding a Remnant Rub showing the year to the top left hand corner.

Attach the photo, together with the flowers, floristry fibres and some laurel leaf foliage, punched from gold Metallic Kraft Core card stock and inked with Mushroom and Gold Mixative alcohol ink. I also added a small gold pearl to my background.

Dye a piece of Crinkle Ribbon with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain and then tie into a scruffy bow, adding a vintage button to the centre.

As the finishing touch, I used a Small Talk sticker and placed it in the bottom left of the tag.

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. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and 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/Sizzix Dies and Punches: Tag Die and Bookplates Movers & Shapers, Tiny Tattered Florals, Laurel Leaf

Distress Paint: Black Soot

Distress Spray Stains: Antique Linen, Peacock Feathers

Distress Crayons: Set 1

Layering Stencil: Zig Zag

Mediums: Gesso, Prima Art Basic Matte 3D Gel, Glossy Accents, Mushroom Alcohol Ink, Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink, Color Bloom Gold Foil Spray Mist, Ranger Texture Paste

Idea-ology: Crinkle Ribbon, Small Talk Stickers, Fragment Findings, Vintage PhotoBooth Photos, Remnant Rubs

Surfaces:Metallic Kraft Core Core'dinations Card, Mixed Media Card

Embellishments: Gold Rush Glass Glitter, Copper Micro Beads, Memory Hardware Glass Pearls

Ranger Craft Sheet

Blending Tool

Heat Gun

Big Shot

Palette Knife

Acetate, flower stamens and button from my own stash