That's Life: Autumn Leaves

Happy Monday friends...

Hope you are all safe and well and had a good weekend! I can't quite believe how the weeks are flying by at the moment, but as we head into a new one, it's that time again for the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is all to do with a AUTUMN/FALL COLOURS MOOD BOARD and we want you to share your projects featuring the spectacular colours of this glorious season.

For my project, I was inspired by the beautiful Sizzix Leaf Fragment Thinlits Die set by Tim Holtz and used this set to create an Etcetera Tag that is brimming with autumnal colours, plenty of layers and the quote that this is the season for us to GO+SEE+EXPLORE!

So let's get started and here's how I created this piece...

To begin with I covered my Etcetera Tag, I used the small size, flipped it upside down from the traditional tag shape and then covered it with paper from the Halloween Backdrops set. I thought the colour palette of this particular sheet was the perfect backdrop for my tag. I machine stitched a border around the outside before adding some rips and tears around the edge. I then adhered the panel onto the tag using Matte Collage Medium and adding a coat over the top to seal it. You can see how the little rips create texture around the edge in the photo below...

...and if any of the tag becomes exposed, I just pop and attach small offcuts of paper behind the rips and folds to look as if the paper has been layered.

I applied some crackle paste to random areas around the edge of the covered tag, allowed this to dry before running the Walnut Stain Distress crayon along the edges and blending out the colour with my fingertips which I dampened ever so slightly, just to make the crayon glide over the surface.

The tag is ready and I now moved onto the leaves...

For this I used the Leaf Fragments Thinlits Die Set to cut a selection of leaves from Mixed Media Heavystock card which I coloured using a combination of the following Distress Spray Stains, Oxide Sprays and Mica Sprays.

DISTRESS SPRAY STAINS: Candied Apple, Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Crackling Campfire, Seedless Preserves, Peeled Paint, Aged Mahogany

OXIDE SPRAYS: Speckled Egg, Antique Linen, Peeled Paint

MICA SPRAYS: Crooked Broomsticks, Bubbling Cauldron, Jack O'Lantern, Flickering Cauldron

Of course, you can use any combination of colours you want, I'm just giving you all a guide to what I used ~ but as Tim always says, YOU DO YOU!

Once I was happy with the colours, I then die cut all my leaves and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I then arranged the leaves to cascade down the centre of the covered tag and attached each one with hot glue, which allows me to create a slight lift to each leaf and give dimension to the piece. I then added some Spanish moss in between the layers to give that real feel of Autumn.

Moving onto the photo, which I took from the Halloween Paper Dolls pack and after applying a coat of clear gesso over the surface, I allowed this to dry and then watercolored the image with Distress Crayons. I just wanted a very light tint to the image, so used fairly neutral colours and a hint of blue on his jacket.

I then placed the photograph behind the Baseboard Frame from the Halloween Baseboards set and adhered it in place with Matte Collage Medium.

To add some texture to the frame, I applied small amounts of Translucent Grit Paste around the aperture, allowed this to dry and then added colour with Distress Paints. I add the paints one by one, and layer them to create the effect I wanted and used Crackling Campfire, Black Soot, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso. With the paint dry, I then added a small amount of Gilding Wax over the top to accentuate the texture.

I attached the photo frame to the centre of my leaves building up foam pads on the back to create the height I needed ~ I think I added about four layers. You can see how this creates the illusion that the photo is suspended onto the leaves.

Now for the next layer and for this I used the clock from the Baseboards set and I placed the clock face behind an Optical Lens, adhering it with a tiny amount of Matte Collage Medium around the edges of the clock.

I then inked the metal of the Optical Lens with a little Foundry Alloy, Rust, Pitch Black and Mushroom Alcohol Ink to add more of a aged rusty look to the metal.

I attached the Optical Lens directly onto the frame, placing it centrally and then attached a Theories Quote Chip, GO+SEE+EXPLORE over the centre of the lens. I inked the edges of the Quote Chip and then added a Hardware Head on either side, which once again I altered with the same Alcohol Inks as I used on the lens.

To complete the tag, I added some rusty hardware in the bottom corners....

...and then in the top right hand corner, I added the label from the Halloween Snippets set and adhered this with Matte Collage Medium.

Final detail and that was a stitched scrap that I placed at the top of the photo and attached a Mini Pin to the fabric.

So that's my tag finished and I hope you've been inspired by this piece ~ maybe you have a relative and you would love to use a photo of them inside the frame, or you could use the leaves and something entirely different as the focal point ~ the ideas are endless!

...as always, if you make anything, or been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....