Dove of Peace...

Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great weekend and looking forward to a new week ahead! Of course, as always on a Monday, it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week are theme is TRIO-TASTIC! We want you to use three elements on your projects and the choice is yours as to what those three things are! So, I hope you'll join us and the team can't wait to see what you create...

For my project, I chose to create festive decor panel using a trio of glitter. Now glitter isn't something I always use but for Christmas, it has to be done...those bottles need to opened and I created a really subtle sparkle on my project using three various types of glittery products and I hope you love what I created!

So, it's time for a new challenge...

...and here's what I did!

To begin with, I started with the base which is a 6" x 8" Burlap Panel. I smeared a small amount of gesso around the outside of the panel, just to edge it with the look of frostiness.

Cut a panel of the music score paper from the Tidings Paper Stash and machine stitch around the outside of the paper. Distress and then ink the edges with Frayed Burlap Ink and matt onto a piece of kraft core cardstock. Cut two pieces of the twine and using the tiny attached secure them across the bottom section of the layers. Add a hex fastener to either end of the string and then mount the matted layers onto the centre of the burlap panel, using Multi Medium to secure them into place. I then set the panel aside to dry.

Now for the fun part of creating all those embellishments....

For this I started with the background panel and cut a piece of silver metallic kraft card and then embossed it using the Dotted Bullseye Texture Fade. To add some colour to the metal, I started by applying a coat of Tarnished Brass Distress Paint. I allowed the paint to slightly dry and become tacky before removing any excess with a kitchen towel. Carefully heat dry the surface and then to add more depth of colour, I used Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Crayons. Buff the surface with the kitchen towel. I then matted the embossed metal onto a sheet of card, covered with a red Holiday Deco sheet which leaves a beautiful shimmery border around the outside, followed by a layer of green kraft core card stock.

To create all the die cut elements, I started with the mini globe which I die cut from silver metallic kraft core card, and then mounted using foam pads for dimension onto a silver deco sheet. Using the Distress Splatter Brush, I added a few sprinkles of Picket Fence Distress Paint and allowed to dry.

The dove is die cut from a piece of chipboard, using the Enchanted Doves die from Tim Holtz. I painted the die cut piece with with a layer of gesso and once dry, inked the edges with Frayed Burlap Ink before applying a layer of Glossy Accents. Sprinkle a mixture of Rock Candy Distress Glitter and Pearl Art Ingredients Glass Glitter over the top. The combination of the two creates a beautiful sparkle but also gives a really nice texture.

Using foam pads, attach your finished globe and dove to the metallic card layers and then attach the matted layers onto your burlap panel.

For the foliage, I die cut various pieces of the Holiday Greens in different shades of green kraft core card. Using my fingers, I applied small amounts of Collage Medium onto the edges of the foliage and dipped them into Rock Candy Distress Glitter. Once all the pieces were dry, I then splattered them with some Picket Fence Distress Paint and arranged them across my metallic panel.

Cover a piece of card (any card will do) with a gold Deco Sheet and use this to die cut the Peace wording from the Vintage Tidings Die set (I LOVE this set of dies and oh my, that font is to die for). Attach the wording over the top of the foliage.

To complete this section, I added some Joyful Stickles Glitter Glue taken from the Holiday Seasonal Stickles set, to the highlight the berries on the die cut pieces. Allow to dry...

To complete the panel, I placed some Tim Holtz Baubles into the foliage and added the Dec 25th ephemera piece from the Christmas Time Ephemera pack, to the top left hand corner.

As the finishing touch, I cut a small piece of boxwood twine and place it into the doves beak...

This was such a fun project to created and I really hope you love all the ideas and techniques that I've packed into this panel and that it's given you some festive inspiration.

As always if you do need any further inspiration, 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....

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz Punches Dies: Mini Holiday Greens, Mini Globe, Enchanted Doves, Vintage Tidings

Texture Fade: Dotted Bullseye

Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Tarnished Brass

Distress Crayons: Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain

Distress Ink: Frayed Burlap

Idea-ology: Baubles, Boxwood Twine, Christmas Jute String, Christmas Time Ephemera, Hex Fastener

Surfaces: Burlap Panel, Nostalgic Kraft Core Card, Metallic Kraft Core, Holiday Deco Sheets, Deco Sheets, Tidings paper Stash

Mediums: Gesso, Collage Medium, Ranger Ink Holiday Seasonal Stickles, Rock Candy Distress Glitter

Pearl Art Ingredients Glass Glitter

Tim Holtz Splatter Brush

Ranger Craft Sheet

Heat Gun