Beautiful & Brave....

Hello friends...

As another week flies by, (is it me, or is this year going really quickly?) it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is...RED, WHITE and/or BLUE and we hope you'll play along and join us for this fun challenge.

The DT are also showcasing Darkroom Door products and I used the Starry Night Stencil to create my background of stars but of course, as always you can choose whatever you want to work with, you don't have to use Darkroom Door but if you do, then that would be fabulous! For my project, I combined the stencil with products from Tim Holtz and Sizzix to create an Etcetera tag celebrating the 4th of July!

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

To begin with I applied a layer of gesso directly onto the small Etcetera tag to prime it for all the mediums that will be added. Once the gesso was dry, I then started layering my paints ~ for this particular project, I wanted to keep the background fairly neutral to allow the red, white and blue embellishments to stand out and make a real feature. So, I started with a layer of Dina Wakley's Buff Acrylic Paint and then added some deeper tones, Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo Distress Paint. At this stage, I also attached some of the Air Mail Design Tape around the edge of the tag. Once happy, I applied some Symphony Tissue Tape to create some layers to that background and added some Matte Collage Medium over the top of the tape. I then went in with Pumice Stone, Black Soot and Vintage Photo Distress Crayons, blending out the colour with a semi dry baby wipe. To complete the base layer on the tag, I stamped some script using the script stamp from the Entomology set.

I'm now ready to add those stars and applied Grit Paste through the Starry Night Stencil. I allowed the paste to dry before then adding some colour by painting the individual stars using Faded Jeans and Candied Apple Distress Paints but keeping some of the larger stars white.

When the paint is dry, I flicked Black Soot DP across the surface and attached my hole reinforcer piece which I painted dark blue.

Now to start building up those layers, and to begin I cut a panel of the star design paper from the Correspondence paper stash and machine stitched in black thread around the outside to create a border. I then matted the paper onto a layer of red classic kraft stash card, followed by a layer of blue linen. To add even more layers of interest, I stamped some images from the Correspondence Stamp Set, a postmark in the bottom left corner and numbers in the top right. I also popped a Snippets Ephemera piece onto the panel.

I mounted my layered panel onto the centre of the tag, attaching it with foam pads to add dimension, which you can see in the image below.

Moving onto the rosettes, I cut five rosettes, two different sizes, from two different designs of paper in the Correspondence paper stash and then assembled each one. I placed the larger sized rosettes onto my panel which will act as a support for the next layer ~ an ephemera piece which I distressed to create a more worn look.

Once the ephemera piece was in place, I then added the three smaller rosettes, placing them across the centre of the tag and allowing them to overlap the edges.

To complete this section, I then placed my Paper Doll in amongst the rosettes, allowing them to support her and therefore create another layer. I also added some cheesecloth beneath her feet because I didn't want her to float in mid air, I wanted to ground her.

Now, I move onto the next stage, the flag banner which I placed across the bottom section...

For this I used the flags from the Americana Thinlits set and cut the individual pieces from Classic Kraft Stash using the fabulous Tim Holtz Sidekick...this is perfect to cut all those smaller dies and small pieces if you haven't got the bigger cutting machines to hand. I then assembled the pieces to create the flags. I then attached the flags with foam pads, staggering them so they weren't all in a line.

Finally, I added my 'Brave' wording and for this I used the Shadow Script 1 die and cut one section from Metallic Kraft Stash and the backing/shadow section from Classic Kraft Stash before layering them together and attaching them across my central section.

To complete the tag and add those finishing touches, I painted three Star Adornments with Candied Apple Distress Paint and then adhered them to the centres of each of the rosettes before placing a Clippings Sticker, the word 'beautiful' just above my die cut word and adding a Mirrored Heart to the sash of my little girl....

...I then finished with some ribbon through the hole of the tag.

 So, that completes my project for this week and I hope you love the piece I've made and I hope all my friends in the US have a wonderful, safe and happy 4th of July ~ I'll be thinking of you and celebrating it here in the UK!

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:

Darkroom Door Stencil: Starry Night

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Dies: Shadow Script 1, Rosette, Americana
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Stamps: Correspondence, Entomology

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Candied Apple, faded Jeans
Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone, Black Soot and Vintage Photo

Idea-ology: Clippings Stickers, Expedition Ephemera, Snippets, Symphony Tissue Tape, Star Adornments, Mirrored Heart

Mediums: Gesso, Matte Collage Medium, Buff Acrylic Paint
Distress Marker Pens

Surfaces: Etcetera Tag, Correspondence Paper Stash, Metallic Kraft Stash, Classic Kraft Stash

Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat
Big Shot Plus
Tim Holtz Side Kick
Tim Holtz Guillotine

Heat Gun
Sisal Fibres and Crinkle Ribbon from my own stash