Every Detail Of Their Journey...

Hello friends and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week we are asking you to Transport It and however you choose to interpret the theme, whether that be with trains, planes or automobiles or maybe you want to do some time traveling in a place far, far away ~ we can't wait to see your wonderful projects and creations!

For my project, I chose to transport you to a tropical paradise, a place where adventure awaits the family in the photo and every detail of their journey in 1948 is documented within this vintage style tag full of layers and dimension.

So, let's get started because it's time for the new challenge!

I started by prepping the background for my tag, a medium sized Etcetera tag which I love to use as these tags are so robust and can take all the mediums that will be added.

I began by adhering a piece of paper from the Correspondence paper stash using a Collage Brush to apply the Matte Collage Medium to the paper. I then used a sanding tool to burnish the edges of the paper to create a smooth finish before applying a coat of the medium over the top and attaching the hole reinforcer which is painted with Ground Espresso and Antique Linen Distress Paints.

Once the medium is completely dry, I used a palette knife to apply Crackle Texture Paste around the edges of the tag. Set the tag aside and wait for the crackles to appear and whilst this magic is happening, I moved onto prepping the vignette frame.

For this I used the largest in the set of four frames and applied a coat of gesso to the surface. I heat dried the medium and then used a combination of Antique Linen and Pumice Stone Distress Paints as a base layer on the frame. Once the paint is dry, I then dry brushed Ground Espresso DP over the top, dried the final layer before adding a touch of Aged Brass Alchemy Wax.

The crackles should now have appeared on the tag and to accentuate these, I used a blending tool to apply Ground Espresso Ink over the top of the crackles and then used a damp cloth to gently wipe away any excess ink. By doing this, the residue of ink should soak into the crackles. To finish the tag, I ran the Ground Espresso Distress Crayon around the edges and blended out any harsh lines with my finger.

Now to build up the layers and I began by attaching some Ephemera pieces from the Expedition set, together with torn pieces of Design Tape and collaged them directly onto my background using Collage Medium. I finished off by adding some shading and paint layers around the pieces and stamping a postmark from the Correspondence Stamp Set.

I aged a photo from the Found Relatives Occasions set by using a sanding tool around the edges and across the photo to create scratches. I wanted to keep this photo black and white, no added colour but I did apply small amounts of Vintage Collage Medium to random areas, just to age the image slightly before attaching the photo to the frame and adhering the frame over the top of the layered ephemera pieces.

Add a few splatters of Black Soot Distress Paint across the surface and set aside to move onto the flowers.

For these, you need to use both sizes of the flower dies from the Tropical Thinlits set to die cut lightweight card. I then painted the die cuts with a combination of Candied Apple, Carved Pumpkin and Picked Raspberry Distress Paint, allowed the paint to dry before misting with the Pearl Mica Spray from Wendy Vecchi's Mica Spray Set.

I then shaped the petals and using three petals for each flower, I layered the two sizes to create my hibiscus flowers, making six flowers in total. For the centres of each flower I attached the stamens cut from the flower dies and then placed the pistil, cut from black card in the centre. To complete the flowers, I added a dome of Glossy Accents and sprinkled black micro beads over the top. Allow the centres to dry thoroughly, as these need to be set before you touch them.

For the foliage, I used Mixed Media Card. I applied Evergreen Bough and Forest Moss Distress Oxide Inks and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink to my Mixed Media Mat and then misted with water before swiping the card through the inks. Heat dry and then use both leaf dies to die cut the card. Ink the edges of the die cuts with Gathered Twigs.

I can now attach my flowers to the tag and arranged these, together with the leaves, sisal fibres and some twigs to the top right and bottom left corners of my frame. I also added some Melange Pebbles, which I painted with acrylic paints.

You can see the dimension that these give to this piece in the photo below.

To finish my tag, I added a mini plaquette, clippings sticker, 'Every Detail Of Their Journey' and a quote chip, 'Adventure Awaits' and placed these above and below the frame...

...before finishing with a hinge clip and swivel fastener, clipped to the side of the frame complete with some charms including a typed token, compass and metal gear.

I hope you love the creative process behind this project and enjoyed my interpretation of the challenge theme ~ it was such a fun piece to make and as always, I've loved sharing some tips and techniques that I've used to bring this project together.

 

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: Tropical
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Stamps: Correspondence

Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Ground Espresso, Black Soot, Pumice Stone, Candied Apple, Picked Raspberry, Carved Pumpkin
Distress Crayons: Black Soot, Ground Espresso
Distress Oxide Inks: Forest Moss, Evergreen Bough
Distress Inks: Ground Espresso, Gathered Twigs, Shabby Shutters

Idea-ology: Clippings Stickers, Quote Chip, Mini Plaquette, Found Relative Occasions, Vignette Frame, Expedition Ephemera, Snippets, Typed Token, Swivel Clasp, Hinge Clip, Souvenir Adornments, Journey Design Tape

Mediums: Gesso, Matte Collage Medium, Vintage Collage Medium, Glossy Accents, Wendy Vecchi Mica Spray

Surfaces: Etcetera Tag, Correspondence Paper Stash

Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat
Big Shot Plus

Heat Gun
Sisal Fibres, Micro Beads and Moss from my own stash