Leaves are falling, autumn is calling...

"...and all at once, summer collapsed into fall" ~ Oscar Wilde

Welcome back everyone...

...and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is all about my favourite season of the year ~ Autumn/Fall. I absolutely love this season and as the temperature is slowly dropping, I can't think of anything better than pulling on my sweaters, jeans and boots and going for long walks on a crisp autumnal morning ~ it's heaven and this is what inspired my project for this week! I decided to create a mini Etcetera tag that has a feel of the outdoors, combining wood, leaves and some lovely little ladybugs that are playing amongst the foliage...

So, let's get started and here's how I created this project, full of dimension and of course, a few layers.

To begin with I took the mini Etcetera Tag and covered it with some wood effect paper that I took from the Halloween Paper Stash ~ this paper was from last years pad but I'm so happy to see that it has also been included in the 2018 pad too. I adhered the paper in place using Matte Collage Medium and then sanded the edges to get a neat finish to my tag before applying a layer of Collage Medium over the top to seal the paper.

Once the medium was dry, I then applied some Crackle Paste around the edges, allowed the paste to dry, crackle and do it's thing before adding some colour using the Gathered Twigs Distress Crayon. I now have my basic tag ready for decorating.

Moving onto the next stage, I wanted to create a really lovely textured wooden background that would sit behind my leaves and I also wanted some dimension, so for this I took the largest Vignette Panel and applied some Crackle Paste over the top using a palette knife, again letting the paste do it's thing and develop those lovely crackles.

When the paste is thoroughly dry, I then added some colour, spritzing the wood with Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain and letting it soak into the surface. I then applied some Peeled Paint Distress Oxide Ink over the top, blending it into the crackles with a blending tool before spritzing it with a light misting of water ~ I love the effect that this has given the wood, making it look all gnarled and worn. I attached one of the Baseboard Frames over the top the panel, wrapped some twine around the frame and then adhered this onto my Etcetera Tag.

To complete the tag, I coloured the hole reinforcer piece with Antiqued Bronze Distress Paint and a little Ground Espresso over the top, before attaching the piece to the tag and adding rope through the hole.

Now that we have all the basic layers completed, it's time to move onto the embellishing and to begin with I made all those gorgeous leaves using the Tim Holtz Fall Foliage Die and a variety of Distress Oxide Inks.

To create these leaves I used HeavyStock Mixed Media card which I swiped through the various inks that I applied to my Glass Mat and had misted with water. As you can see, this selection of Oxide Inks, create these beautiful autumnal colour tones which are just perfect for this project.

Once all the leaves were cut, I then inked the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink before spritzing them with a hint of Antiqued Bronze Mica Spray.

After shaping the leaves to create a more realistic look, I then lightly crumpled each of them before unfolding them and arranging the leaves on the left side of the frame, attaching them over a bed of Spanish Moss and some twigs from my garden.

To create balance to the project, I added some Snippets Ephemera pieces to my framed panel and also, I attached a Vignette Hardware piece and Index Clip.

All that's left now is those adorable little bugs and for this I stamped the Ladybird image from the Entomology stamp set, three times onto some Mixed Media card.

Coloured each stamped image, cut them out by hand and then layered the pieces up with foam pads, applied between each stamped layer which then creates these dimensional insects. I then added a layer of Glossy Accents over the top and allowed it to dry before placing my two little ladybugs onto the project ~ nestling one amongst the leaves...

...and the second on the corner of the frame.

To complete the tag, I added a 'Lucky" Quote Chip...

I hope you've enjoyed the creative process behind this week's tag and loved the inspiration of this piece, it was definitely a project I enjoyed creating!

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/Stampers Anonymous Stamps: Entomology
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Fall Foliage

Distress Paint: Antiqued Bronze, Ground Espresso
Distress Oxide Inks: Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive, Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, Gathered Twigs, Aged Mahogany, Dusty Concord

Distress Inks: Ground Espresso
Distress Spray: Gathered Twigs

Distress Crayons: Gathered Twigs
Distress Marker Pens

Idea-ology: Quote Chips, Snippets Ephemera, Vignette Panel, Baseboard Frames, Index Clip, Vignette Hardware

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Ranger Ink Crackle Paste, Glossy Accents, Jet Black Archival Ink, Antiqued Bronze Mica Spray

Surfaces: Etcetera Tag, Halloween Paper Stash, Mixed Media Heavystock Card

Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Tim Holtz Guillotine

Heat Gun

Spanish Moss and Twigs from my own stash