See No Evil....

Happy Monday friends...

Hope you all had a great weekend and ready for the start of a brand new week and a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week our theme is called, MONOCHROME and we want you to create something that embraces our fun theme and come and join us and play along.

For my project, I chose classic black and white and because it's my favourite time of year, how could I resist the temptation of Halloween, it's impossible! So, with this in mind ~ I got my creep on and created an Etcetera tag full of darkness and mystery, telling the tale of two children who might not be all that they seem...are they just lost in the woods or is there more to their story? Who know's but it's up to you to let your imagination take control....

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

To begin with I prepped my medium sized Etcetera tag and painted the surface with black gesso.

Once the gesso was dry, I then took the Flames Layering Stencil and placed it across the top section of my tag and then holding it in place, I applied a good layer of Grit Paste.

Removing the stencil, I then placed it across the bottom section of the tag and applied some more Grit Paste. To give some crusty edges to the tag and add some more texture, I then added some more paste along the edges of the tag, just applying it with a palette knife.

Allow for the paste to thoroughly dry, don't be tempted to move on to the next step until it is and once it was dry, I then used Black Soot Distress Paint and painted over the top of the entire surface of the tag.

Once this painted layer was dry, I then applied some Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax over the raised areas of paste and around the pasted edges, just using my fingertip to catch the embossing. I always use small amounts and then gradually build up the intensity, less is more ~ you can add but can't take it away as easily. I then took the Old Silver Wax and applied this over the top of the gold, allowing some areas of gold to show through. I love how the wax picks up and accentuates the paste, it actually reminds me of vintage wood carving.

After painting the hole reinforcer piece with Black Soot Distress Paint, I attached it with Collage Medium over the hole and set the tag aside to move onto the embellishments ~ it's time to build up the scene.

To begin with I took the Lace Baseboard Frame and ran the Black Soot Distress Crayon around the edges of the frame, blending any harsh lines of colour with my fingertip.

To create the twiggy background that surrounds the creepy twosome, I used the Tangled Twigs die and cut it from black card. After cutting away the central portion of the die, to reveal a hole and allow the twigs to look spiky and gnarly, I applied my Versamark Embossing pad to the ends of the twigs and then sprinkle Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder over the top. Heat emboss the powder until molten and then add some more Versamark over the top, followed by another sprinkling of powder and another blast of heat. Finally, add a last layer of Versamark but this time, just catch areas of the twigs, don't apply a solid layer and this time, sprinkle with Black Embossing Powder. Again heat emboss until molten. I attached the Tangled Twigs to the back of the Lace Baseboard Frame and then cut a panel of paper from the Abandoned Paper Stash and placed this behind the twigs.

I then used foam pads on the back of the frame to attach it to my tag.

Now to bring this spooky tale to life and to begin with I placed my Paper Doll twins onto the centre of the frame, arranging some of the twigs around the dolls to create a little dimension and leaving some others behind them.

If you look really carefully, then you might notice that the child on the left is holding something in their hand ~ they've been playing with bones and to create this I used a piece of thread which I wrapped around a Boneyard Finding. I then attached the thread at the top, placing it in the spooky child's hand, leaving the bone to dangle.

I cut a strip of Mummy Cloth and hand dyed it with Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains and once the cloth was dry, I added some of the cloth beneath the children's feet, together with some green moss and some Boneyard Findings.

With the remainder of the Mummy Cloth, I pulled this apart to create fine strings of thread and then attached it around the top of the Lace Baseboard Frame, using Collage Medium to secure it into place.

To create the foliage up the side of the frame, I used the Garden Greens die to die cut black card and also, Mixed Media Heavystock card. After cutting panels of each card, I then coloured them with a combination of Old Paper Distress Spray Stain and Antique Linen, Pumice Stone and Old Paper Oxide Inks ~ I love how different these inks look on each piece of card but both of them have this really chalky finish which I love!

After die cutting a selection of foliage, I wanted to add some more texture to the black die cuts and for this I took my Versamark Ink Pad and just allowed the ink to kiss the foliage pieces before sprinkling them with gold embossing powder and heat embossing it.

It just creates a little more colour and texture to the die cuts which I love! I then built up my archway of Garden Greens and placed them on the right hand side of the frame, tucking pieces of moss into the arrangement to add some more dimension.

To complete the foliage, I added a creepy eye in the centre.

Now for the finishing touches and after attaching a Finnabair Rusty Clip to the side...

I attached a Halloween Snippets Ephemera piece in the top left hand corner, adhering it into place with Matte Collage Medium and adding some Black Soot Crayon around the edges...

I then added a spider adornment charm in the bottom left hand corner, which I painted with Black Soot Distress Paint to add that little bit more creepiness to it....

...and also added some Hardware pieces to each corner of the tag, again painted with a little Black Soot Distress Paint!

Finally, I used the Lost In The Darkness Quote Chip, complete with Hardware Heads attached to each side and placed this across the frame.

So that completes my project for this week and I hope you've loved this piece and enjoyed the creative process of how it all came together!

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:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Medium Etcetera Tag, Flames Layering Stencil
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Tangled Twigs, Garden Greens
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Brushed Pewter

Distress Spray Stain: Frayed Burlap, Antique Linen
Distress Oxide Inks: Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Old Paper
Distress Ink: Pumice Stone
Distress Crayons: Peeled Paint
Distress Marker Pens

Idea-ology: Abandoned Paper Stash, Mummy Cloth, Boneyard Findings, Halloween Quote Chips, Hardware Heads, Halloween Paper Dolls, Creepy Eyes, Lace Baseboard Frame, Wicked Adornments, Halloween Snippets

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Black Gesso, Versamark Ink Pad
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Black Card
Alcohol Inks: Mushroom
Embossing Powder: Liquid Platinum, Gold, SSS Fine Black Embossing Powder
Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool
Prima Marketing: Rusty Metal Clip, Old Silver Alchemy Wax, Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax, Hardware
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Tim Holtz Tonic Mini Snips
Moss