The Pretty Little Birds Chirped...

Hello friends!

Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend and now ready for the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge which is starting right now and this week, our theme is called IN THE GARDEN! 

With spring around the corner and hopefully some warmer weather to come because it's absolutely freezing here in the UK at the moment...we are thinking ahead to those sunny days spent in the garden amongst the beautiful flowers and wildlife. So with this in mind and because I love to tell a story with my work, I created a home decor panel packed full of dimension and all about a beautiful little girl surrounded by all the things she loves in her garden...

So, let's get started because it's time for the new challenge and here's how I created this piece!

To begin with, I used a pre-gessoed canvas panel which measures 24 x 18cm. To create a background for my project and cover this panel, I used the Botanical Collage Paper. I wanted to keep my background neutral so for this project, I haven't added any colour to the paper, just kept them black and white. I adhered my paper to my canvas using Matte Collage Medium ~ you will need to adhere two sections of the paper to cover the entire panel and I actually made the join across the panel about two thirds of the way up from the bottom. Apply a layer of the medium across the surface of the paper and then heat dry.

To create a more aged look, I scraped a very small amount of gesso across the surface, heat set the paint and then ran Ground Espresso, Pumice Stone and Black Soot Crayons around the outside of the covered panel, blending out the colour with a semi dry wet wipe.

For the next layer, I used one of the collage frames, which once again I slightly aged using a sanding tool and Pumice Stone Distress Crayon around the outside edge.

I wanted to create a recessed aperture to this frame and created this by attaching a panel of Worn Wallpaper directly onto my covered canvas panel and then attaching the frame over the top using foam pads. I hope you can see the dimension this gives in the photo below.

Now to create my garden scene and to begin with I took two pieces of driftwood from my own stash and coloured these with a combination of Walnut Stain, Antiqued Bronze and Black Soot Distress Paints, which I find create the perfect dark wood effect.

I then layered the pieces of driftwood to make my step before adding some Art Stones to add texture and the look of 'stones' on the step. I attached the stones by sprinkling them over the top of some 3D Gel medium which I just applied to the wood with a palette knife.

Once the stones and medium are thoroughly dry, I then applied some colour using Steampunk Copper, Gold Rush and Green Olive Alchemy Paints, dry brushing the paints over the top of the stonework before attaching my completed step directly onto the frame using Collage Medium to secure it into place.

To complete this section, I attached some moss and some Bouquet Findings, snipped from the stems and coloured with Tattered Rose Distress Spray Stain. I also added some die cut foliage at this stage, which I cut from Classic Kraft card. You can also see, I added some little berries to the foliage using Tonic Nuvo Drops.

I placed the little girl, who is one of the new characters in the Paper Dolls set, in the centre of the frame over a bed of sisal fibres and attached a bouquet of flowers for her to hold. To support my paper doll, I used a couple of Bingo Game Pieces layered together, which I then attached behind her body ~ this created enough support to hold her solid and create the dimension I needed.

I added a couple of butterflies and a little birdie from the Botanical Layers Ephemera set to complete the scene.

Moving onto the 'garden' wording beneath the step, I used Letterpress Blocks which I painted all the same colour using Ground Espresso Distress Paint. I allowed the paint to dry before dry brushing the lettering with Antiqued Bronze Distress Paint. Once that was dry, I just used a touch of Emerald Alchemy Wax over the top before attaching the letters directly onto the frame, below the step.

Finally I added my quote chip...

...and some hardware to the corners and a mini plaquette to the the top of the frame.

I hope you've enjoyed the process behind this project and it will give you some inspiration with our theme ~ we'd love for you to join us and play along and look forward to seeing what you create!

And don't forget, you can find more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog 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 stopping by today and I'll see you very soon!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Dies: Garden Greens Thinlits
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Walnut Stain, Ground Espresso
Distress Crayons: Black Soot, Pumice Stone, Ground Espresso
Distress Spray Stain: Tattered Rose

Idea-ology: Nailhead Findings, Clippings Stickers, Paper Dolls, Collage Frames, Botanical Collage Paper, Worn Wallpaper, Botanical Layers, Bouquet Findings, Mini Plaquettes, Letterpress
Mediums: Gesso, Matte Collage Medium, 3D Gel Medium, Tonic Nuvo Drops
Prima Art Stones: Mega, Mini, Art Stones
Alchemy Art Waxes: Emerald
Alchemy Paints: Olive Green, Gold Rush, Steampunk Copper
Surfaces: Classic Kraft Stash
Ranger Craft Sheet

Heat Gun
Sanding Tool
Sisal fibres, moss, driftwood and canvas panel from my own stash