Monster Reunion....

Happy Monday friends and welcome to another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and my second post of today ~ if you're arriving here for the Simon Says Stamp blog party, just click HERE.

This week our theme is all about using SOMETHING CLEAR and the DT are showcasing Visible Image products within their projects. So, if you pop over to the SSS Challenge blog, then you can see all the inspiration from the team and check out how the products we chose to showcase.

For my project I combined a Visible Image stencil to create a background and combined this with just a few Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous products to create a Halloween home decor piece that is full of surprises.

So, let's get started and here's how I made this project...

To begin with I took a piece of acrylic, cut into a tag shape, that I bought from a local home store. If you don't have acrylic, then you can always use thick acetate, or even recycle some plastic packaging which will both work really well for this project. All you need to ensure is that it will stand upright without bending when attached to the base.

To begin with I added some alcohol ink, Mushroom and Teakwood, around the edge of the tag using the alcohol ink applicator tool to pounce the colour onto the surface.

Flipping the tag over and placing it in front of me with the inked side at the back, I placed the Grate Visible Image Stencil over the tag and applied some Vintage Gold Icing Paste through the stencil using a palette knife. Carefully lift the stencil away and set the tag aside to dry.

Whilst the paste is drying, I moved onto my little green ogre, taken from the Monster Reunion stamp set and stamped him onto watercolour card using Black Soot Archival Ink. I then watercolored the image with Distress Marker Pens, adding more colour to build up the intensity where needed to add light and shade to the image.

I then cut around the outline of this little character and set him aside too.

Moving onto the base of my project, I took the smallest Vignette Panel in the pack and covered it with a piece of paper from the amazing Abandoned Paper Stash and adhered it to the panel using Matte Collage Medium. I then sealed the paper with the medium, heat dried the surface and ran the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edge, blending out the colour with my finger.

To form a base for the tag to be attached too, I took two different widths of the smallest Pinked Etcetera Trims and stuck them together to form a step. I did apply Crackle Paste to my step but once everything was attached, you don't actually see much of the step, but it's a nice touch if you have the time to do it but if not, you can always just paint it with Distress Paints.

Attach the step to the panel and then, taking the acrylic tag, I applied a thin line of collage medium along the bottom edge of the tag and also apply some medium to the step. I then placed the tag against the step and allowed it to dry and set solid. You'll now have your 'L' shaped basic structure.

To attach the stamped image, I actually applied some wooden sticks to the back of my image to ensure that he would stand upright and not tip forward or bend. I then attached him to a wood slice, which I placed upright, against the back of the image, you can just see it in the photo below ~ but this will create even more support.

To create a more crusty feel to the wood slice, i applied some Grit Paste the slice, allowed it to dry and then added some 'verdigris' colour using Walnut Stain and Peeled Paint Distress Crayons.

I attached the ogre to the acrylic tag using Matte Collage Medium...

...and then attached one of the broomsticks next to him, fanning out the bristles slightly to give more of a sweep to the broom.

Now to create my little woodland scene and all the lovely little details that bring this story to life....

To begin with, I cut some Mummy Cloth and dyed it with Frayed Burlap and antique Linen Distress Spray Stains. After teasing the cloth out slightly, I draped it along the bottom of my project, tucking it behind my stamped image and arranging it to cascade down the steps. 

I then added some more verdigris covered wood slices, that I built up on the left hand side and also placed one on the right hand side. I then took two various sized pumpkin pieces ~ I love these pumpkin pieces and  over the years, I have used them in so many projects, especially around Halloween time and as I've shown you on many occasions, you can either keep them natural, just as they come out of the pack or you can paint them, as I've done here but I've always added a little extra touch of moss and a twig piece to the top to make them look more realistic. Two of my favourite projects using these pumpkins, can be seen here and here...and if you want any more inspiration and pumpkin ideas, check out Paula Cheney's blog ~ HERE!

For these pumpkins, I painted them white but also added a touch of shimmer using Unicorn's Hair and Fairy Wings acrylic paints. 

I added the pumpkins to the wood slices and then placed small amounts of moss around them.

On the right hand side, I placed an arrangement of Boneyard Findings and then added a skull fragment over the top, again placing moss around the pieces, together with two little vintage mushroom pieces that I have in my stash.

To complete the base, I added some Art Stones in various sizes. To attach the stones, I apply some Collage Medium to the places I want the stones to be and then sprinkle the little pieces over the top and allow them to completely set. Once they have set and the medium is dry, I then tap away any excess stones.

To add colour to the stones, I used Pumice Stone Distress Paint and then a touch of Unicorn's Hair and Fairy Wings Alchemy Sparks Paints over the top.

We're nearly there and all that's left to do is cut some bats from black card using the Bat Crazy Die, shape their wings and attach them to the acrylic tag. I then added a Halloween Quote Chip, 'Beware' complete with Hardware Heads and a touch of moss, before attaching a die cut spider that I cut from more black card using the Frightful Things.

Now for the extra surprise and what is so much fun about this piece ~ I added a battery operated light behind the tag, so that it shines through the acrylic section and lights up the whole project from behind, giving a warm, autumnal glow ~ hope you love it!

So that completes this week's project and I hope you've enjoyed and been inspired by some of the techniques I've incorporated in this piece.

Have fun creating your projects and don't forget, if you would like to see 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 taking the time to stop by today and hope to see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Visible Image: Grate-ful Stencil
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Monster Reunion
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Bat Crazy, Frightful Things
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Evergreen Bough, Antiqued Bronze, Picket Fence

Distress Spray Stain: Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen
Distress Crayons: Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain
Distress Marker Pens

Idea-ology: Abandoned Paper Stash, Mummy Cloth, Boneyard Findings, Halloween Quote Chips, Pumpkin Pieces, Broomsticks, Hardware Heads, Vignette Panel

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Archival Ink Set 3
Alcohol Inks: Teakwood, Mushroom
Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool
Surfaces: Distress Watercolour Card, Black Card
Prima Marketing: Fairy Wings, Unicorn's Hair, Mini Art Stones, Art Stones, Vintage Gold Icing Paste
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat
Tim Holtz Watercolour Brush

Heat Gun
Tim Holtz Tonic Mini Snips
Stamp Platform
Moss