That's Life: Jump On Board....

Hello friends...

Happy Monday and hope you all had a great weekend! Just before I share this week's post, I just wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who sent me Birthday wishes, gifts and cards ~ I felt very spoilt by all the love you gave and appreciate every single message.

So as we put my birthday weekend behind me, it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is make ANYTHING BUT A CARD and with so much choice, I'm sure that you'll all have some fun making and sharing your fabulous projects which the DT will be excited to see.

For my make, I chose to create a Mini Clipboard with a masculine theme and used one of my favourite stamp sets from the 2023 Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous release ~ The Inspector as the focal point, coloured with Distress Marker Pencils.

So, jump aboard...it's time to share how I made this week's project!

CLIPBOARD

To begin with I started by covering my clipboard.

To cover the board, I removed the clip by unscrewing the screws that hold it in place on either side. I then took a panel of paper from Backdrops 6, I chose a script design and after cutting it to size, I adhered a strip of Design Tape Trim to the top and bottom edges of the paper.

I then took the star border stamp from The Inspector set, inked this with Barn Door Archival Ink and stamped it across the bottom section of the paper, just above the trim tape before I went on to adhere the panel to the backboard with Matte Collage Medium, adding a coat over the surface to seal the paper.

After running my Walnut Stain distress crayon around the edge of the paper, I blended the colour with a damp baby wipe.

Now to create that rusty appearance to the clip and I began by adding some Translucent Grit Paste over the surface of the metal and allowed it to dry and become hard. Once that has happened, it's time to start adding the paint layers and applying each colour individually and drying between applications, I used the following Distress Paint colours to colour the metal.

BLACK SOOT, CRACKLING CAMPFIRE, GROUND ESPRESSO, ANTIQUED BRONZE, SALVAGED PATINA, RUSTY HINGE.

I love that pool of ink on the right hand side...it makes my inky heart so happy!

Once I was happy with the blend, I moved onto the next stage but remember if you need to add any more of each individual colour, just make sure you dry the previous layer before adding the next ~ if you don't it might become a little muddy in appearance.

To accentuate the grit paste, I used Treasure Gold Gilding Wax that I have in my stash, and using my fingertip, I applied the smallest amount over the top of the crusty surface.

After I re-attached the clip to the board, I attached a Mini Flair Embellishment, 6¼¢ and adhered it in the centre of the clip using Matte Collage Medium.

TAG

With my clipboard ready, it's time to move onto the tag that sits behind the inspector.

For this I used a size 8 Mixed Media Heavystock Tag and began by misting with water before applying the following spray stains and Oxide Sprays;

Ground Espresso, Speckled Egg, Frayed Burlap, Tumbled Glass, Rusty Hinge, Crackling Campfire and Speckled Egg Oxide Spray

I heat dried the tag thoroughly before placing the Mini Layering Circuit Stencil from set 48 over the top of my tag and using a palette knife, I applied more of the Translucent Grit Paste through the design.

Remove the stencil and working quickly whilst the paste is still wet, sprinkle gold embossing powder over the top and then set to one side for the paste to harden ~ this should take about 30mins dependant on weather conditions. Once it is hardened, then carefully heat emboss the gold powder until it becomes shiny and molten ~ be careful to not linger too much on any one spot as the paste will bubble and the powder.

In the open areas of the tag, where there's no raised embossed areas, I added some numbers using the numbers stencil that is also in Set 48. I inked through the stencil using Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I machine stitched a border around the edge of my tag, inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then mounted it onto a piece of chipboard before adding foam pads to the back and mounting it onto the centre of my tag, securing it in place at the top with the clip.

At the top of the clip, I added a Numbers Snippet. I dipped the snippet into Gathered Twigs Distress Ink that I applied to my glass mat and then heat dried the ink. I also added a Memoir Ephemera piece on the right hand side of the tag, Luggage In Advance, again inking the edges with Walnut Stain distress Ink and adding a few rips and tears before I mounted it onto the clipboard using foam pads.

THE INSPECTOR

After stamping the image of the inspector onto a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card, I watercolored him with Distress Watercolour Pencils. In my previous make, I chose to colour his jacket and cap blue, but on this make I coloured him with Barn Door to create a red jacket and hatband and his cap is coloured with Hickory Smoke.

The face is coloured with Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap, before I moved onto his glasses, coloured with Rusty Hinge and Barn Door. I added a blush of pink to his cheeks and lips and his hair and moustache are both coloured with Walnut Stain.

After cutting around the outline of the stamped image, I attached the image onto my tag with more foam pads to add dimension.

In the centre of the crest on his cap, I added a mirrored star, altered with a little Mushroom Alcohol Ink.

DECORATIVE TRIM

Across the bottom of the Inspector I added a Pinked Decorative Trim. I painted the trim with Black Soot Distress Paint, dried the paint and then sanded the edges before stamping the "Strictly Hand Made" wording in clear embossing ink directly onto the trim.

Sprinkle with gold embossing powder and then heat emboss. I attached the trim using foam pads.

GEARS

On either side I added a combination of Sprocket Gears and Mini Sprocket gears, all of which have a light coverage of Translucent Grit Paste, and once dry, painted using the same colours as I used on the clip.

I arranged the gears, layering them on top of one another and also attaching them to the trim and creating the dimension to give the appearance they are all connected to the next set, and would all turn one another.

To complete this section, I painted two Arrow Adornments with Candied Apple Distress Paint and once these were dry, I adhered them over the tops of the gears, placing them both pointing upwards.

We're nearly there and it's just the final touches left.

FINISHING DETAILS

Down each side of the tag, I placed some Hardware Heads onto the board itself. These are once again altered with the same paints as I've used throughout and adhered with Matte Collage Medium. I also added some of the smaller Hardware Heads to the centres of the gears.

Finally, I added a Hook Clasp to the right hand side, that I fixed to one of the gears and hung a Thought Token, "Go, See, Explore" from the end.

So that's my project finished and I hope you've loved the tricks and techniques I've used to make this piece.

As always, if you are inspired by anything you see on my blog, don't hesitate to message me or tag me on any social media platforms or leave me a message here and I'll pop by to take a look ~ I'm always so humbled and honoured to see what you've been making after visiting my blog.

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....