Good Times...

Hello friends and welcome to a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, where we are having some Summer Fun! As always, we hope you'll join in with our theme and whatever your favourite summer activity is, we hope you'll share it with us and we can't wait to see what you create!

For my project, I chose to use the Surf Shack die from Tim Holtz but instead of creating a surf shack, I went for an elegant coastal home, No.63 Coastal Drive ~ the home of my dreams and something you see in the movies or in the World of Interiors magazine ~ light and airy inside and set slightly back from the sea with nothing to see for miles except sun and sand!

To begin with, I used the the Village Dwelling die to die cut the base of my house. This is the die that you need if you are using most of Tim's add on dies to create the various styles of houses! I used this die to die cut the house from corrugated card and the roof from a piece of Core'Dinations Distress card stock.

I painted the corrugated card with gesso and lightly sanded the Core'Dinations card with a sanding tool to give a more worn effect to the roof.

After some light inking on both, I constructed the base of my house and then, set this aside to work on the add on sections. For this, I used the Surf Shack die and die cut the front roof section and the windows from a further piece of Core'Dinations card and once again, sanded each piece before adding them onto my house. You'll see that I also used a further piece of corrugated card, just under the peak of the roof, as I wanted this to remain white to match the house.

I added a door made from kraft card and used an idea-ology Hex Fastener as the door knob. For the doorstep, I used a piece of the Pumice Stone card from the Core'Dination stash and added this, yo my hour. I also die cut the main struts of the house from corrugated card and added a little welcome door mat created from the linen in the Textile Surfaces pack.

For the base of my house, I wanted to create the look of sand, so I die cut the base from Manila card and then added a good layer of Prima White Sand Texture Paste over the top. Let the paste dry thoroughly before adding Antique Linen and Pumice Stone Distress Paint to the surface to create the sandy colour.

Once happy with the base, I added my house over the top and place a mini plaquette onto the front of the house.

For the extra base of the house, I used a canvas board and applied a layer of Tumbled Glass Distress Paint over the top. When the paint is dry, I then added a small amount of Mermaid Lagoon Distress Crayon to create highlights on the water. Over the top of this, I then used my fingertip to add an extra layer of Picket Fence Distress Paint. This created the look of the sea and to complete the base, I added some shimmery highlights of blue Vintage Transfer Foil.

I then wanted to create the look of steps going up to the front door and for this I used pieces of driftwood.

I attached the driftwood to the canvas board to create a solid platform, added a small amount of Gathered Twigs Distress Crayon along the edges and then attached my house over the top.

Now for the fun part of adding all the little extras that bring this house to life.

The lifebelt is die cut from a small piece of chipboard, painted with Gesso and then I added red twine around it before inking the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The palm is also die cut from chipboard and painted with Distress Paints. I attached the palm to the canvas base and added the surf board, die cut from white Core'Dinations card, leaving the central section white and painted the rest of the board with Candied Apple Distress Paint.

After adding moss and seashells around the house...

...I then added the finishing touch ~ a sign post and for this, I stamped my Hashtag wording, "good times" onto a piece of cream card, inked the edges and then attached the banner to a cocktail stick which I then attached to the front of my house.

I really hope you love my interpretation of Tim's Surf Shack die and I can't wait to use this die to now go and create a proper little surf shack to go with alongside this one!

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: Village Dwelling Die, Surf Shack Die
Tim Holtz Stamps: Hashtag

Distress Paint: Tumbled Glass, Candied Apple, Picket Fence, Ground Espresso, Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap
Distress Spray Stains: Antique Linen

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
Distress Crayons: Mermaid Lagoon, Hickory Smoke

Idea-ology: Mini Plaquettes, Hex Fasteners

Surfaces: Kraft Card, Textile Surfaces, Textured Surfaces, Distress Core'Dinations Card, Manila Card, Canvas Media Board, Vintage Foil Transfer Sheets

Mediums: Collage Medium, Prima White Sand Texture Paste, Jet Black Archival Ink, Gesso

Red Twine

Ranger Craft Sheet

Heat Gun

Blending Tool
Collage Brushes
Big Shot
Moss, driftwood, shells and chipboard from my own stash