HOPE IS NEVER LOST

Hello friends!

I hope you all had a safe and happy weekend and you're ready for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This week, we are asking you to ADD SOME GREEN to your projects and if you want to play along with our fun theme, then we can't wait to see what you create. The DT are also showcasing the fabulous AALL & Create products within their makes, something you don't have to do but if you want to, then there are plenty of wonderful designs to choose from, here at SSS!

For my make, I chose to create a Mini Etcetera Tag which is dedicated to the people of Ukraine! I don't think there is anyone who hasn't shed a tear over the images that we're seeing, it's been horrendous to watch at times and my heart goes out to all those who are affected by this conflict. I think we all hope for peace and an end to this war!

So let's get started, and here's how I created this week's make!

To begin with I cut a panel of watercolour card the same size as my Mini Etcetera tag.

I then lightly spritzed the surface with water, before adding colour using Distress Spray Stains and Oxide Sprays. I started with Speckled Egg and Tumbled Glass Spray Stains and a touch of Speckled Egg Oxide Spray, as a base and once happy, I heat dried the cardstock. I then smooshed Rusty Hinge and Crackling Campfire Distress inks onto my glass media mat, spritzed these with water and picked up the inks around the edge of my tag to create rusty pockets of colour.

Once the inked card was dry, I machine stitched a border around the edge and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Now for adding some layers to the background and for this I used AALL & Create Washi Tape. I chose the Twine Washi Tape because in amongst the design, it also has the words Courage and Positivity which I wanted to include on my make.

I tore pieces of the tape, and then just adhered them across my inked cardstock, building up layer upon layer and ensuring the two words are standing out. I added Matte Collage Medium over the top of the tape, to seal it.

To knock back the whiteness of the tape, I scribbled a small amount of Walnut Distress Crayon over the surface, blending out the colour with my fingertip and a semi dry baby wipe.

I then added some zig zag machine stitching along the joins of the tape and once that was complete, I adhered the card onto my etcetera tag surface using Matte Collage Medium, cutting the hole away and adding the hole reinforcer piece which I painted with Walnut Stain and Antique Linen Distress Paint.

At this stage, I also added a ledge for my bird to stand on. You can just see this poking out from the undergrowth and I used a Bracket Etcetera Trim, slightly wider than the tag itself and covered it with the same inked card as I used on the background, die cut using the Decorative Trims Thinlits die set. I then attached the trim to my tag.

Setting the tag to one side, I then moved onto the gorgeous bird and of course, this bird is one of the new Sizzix Chapter 1 dies from Tim Holtz.

BIRD

The die is called Bird and Egg and I used the bird only. I cut the base layer of my bird from black kraft stash, the white of the eye from white card and for the body and wings, I used inked Mixed Media Heavystock card, coloured with Distress Spray Stains.

COLOURS USED:

Body: Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Spray Stains

Wings: Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains; Speckled Egg Oxide Spray

I assembled my bird, layer by layer and then used foam pads to attach it to my tag, placing it to stand on the ledge.

FOLIAGE AND FLOWERS

With the bird complete, I moved onto adding some green and this was achieved by the foliage that the bird is standing in.

I inked more Mixed Media Heavystock card with the following colours:

Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters, Rustic Wilderness, Speckled Egg and Peeled Paint Distress Spray Stains

I then used the Festive Bouquet Thinlits die set to cut two different types of foliage.

Once I had enough foliage, I arranged it in a swathe around my birdie and added tiny clumps of moss in between the layers.

Now we come to the spray of flowers and of course, these are in the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

I used Bouquet Findings and spritzed one set with Prize Ribbon and a second set with Mustard Seed Spray Stains. I dried the flowers thoroughly before attaching them one by one in amongst my foliage.

We're nearly there and all that's left is to add my message.

I cut the word HOPE from metallic kraft stash, cutting three separate layers and adhering these to form letters the thickness of chipboard. I then cut a further layer of black card to create the drop shadow behind the gold lettering.

I then attached the die cut letters to my tag, and added a metallic sticker, (cutting away the word 'hope' from the sticker) beneath it to complete the message that HOPE IS NEVER LOST!

To complete the tag, I threaded rope through the hole, and attached a Thought Token to one of the end of the rope...

...and finally, attached a rusty machinery head in the top right hand corner.

My project is complete and all we can do at the moment is hang on to the fact that HOPE IS NEVER LOST!

As always, if you make anything, or if you've 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 next Monday at 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 ~ stay safe and keep well.

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

AALL & Create: Twine Washi Tape

Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: Mini Etcetera Tag, Bracket Etcetera Trim

Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Tim Holtz/Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway, Alphanumeric Bold Text 1, Decorative Trims Thinlits, Festive Bouquet

Distress Spray Stains: Prize Ribbon, Mustard Seed, Tumbled Glass, Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters, Rustic Wilderness, Speckled Egg,  Peeled Paint, Brushed Corduroy, Gathered Twigs, Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen

Distress Ink: Walnut Stain, Crackling Campfire, Rusty Hinge, 

Distress Oxide Sprays: Speckled Egg

Distress Crayon: Walnut Stain

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Machinery Heads, Metallic Sticker Book, Bouquet Findings, 

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Sizzix Adhesive Sheets, Foam Pads

Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Metallic Kraft Stash, Distress Watercolour card, Black Kraft Stash

Glass Media Mat

Blending Tool

Tim Holtz Paper Trimmer

Heat Gun

Rope from my own stash