Hello friends...
As we begin a new week, it's time for the next Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, our theme is called WHATEVER THE WEATHER!
Now, I always like to try and think outside the box and for this project you might be thinking, 'what's that got to do with weather"? Well, the story behind this piece is all about a street party, and here in the UK, us Brits have always celebrated big occasions, such as a Royal Weddings, a Jubilee or a Coronation with a street party and 'whatever the weather', come rain or come shine, these parties always go ahead. But maybe the biggest street party in history was the celebration of victory in Europe in 1945 and with this in mind, and with the 80th Anniversary of VE Day on the 8th May, I chose to create a project celebrating this special occasion and hope you love the piece I've made using products from Tim Holtz.
So, whatever the weather, let's get started and here's how I created this tag!
PREPPING THE TAG
I used a Mini Etcetera Tag as my base and began by covering the edges with Tim Holtz Design Tape. The one that I used is an older design that I had in my stash, but you can use any available design for this purpose.
I then cut a panel of paper from the Correspondence Paper Stash to fit the front of my panel, leaving a narrow border of the tape showing around the outside. You will notice that there is a different design at the bottom and this is because I cut the paper into two pieces, and the blue design is the reverse side of the Union Jack section.
After ripping and tearing the edges of the paper, I machine stitched a border around the outside of both my panels, and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink before attaching the separate panels to my tag using Matte Collage Medium. It doesn't matter about the join of the two papers at this stage as we will be hiding that with Etcetera Trims.
In the top left and right hand corners, I attached Screwheads which I painted with LumberJack Plaid Distress Paint.
To complete the background, I used one of the Numbers Snippets which I attache to the top left hand corner. The date on this piece is actually May 12th but I snipped the year off and then altered the date to the 8th, so it would be the correct date. I adhered this into place with Matte Collage Medium, and added a Cello Sticker down the side.
Finally, I used the stars from the Labeled rub ons and placed these above the date.
...and I added some Black Soot Distress Paint splatters across the surface.
ETCETERA TRIMS
I used two of the medium lengths of Scalloped Trims, and using the matching dies that are available from Tim and Sizzix, I die cut and covered one side of each of these trims with some more of the papers from the Correspondence Stash.
Run the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon along the edge to make them appear more worn and shabby before attaching the trims to one another to form an 'L' shape which is going to become a ledge.
I then attached this ledge to my tag, hiding the join in the papers. With the ledge in place, I applied some Crackle Paste to the top section of the ledge, and also along the edge. Allow for this to dry before adding Pumice Stone Distress Crayon to accentuate the crackle. I always run the crayon over the surface and then use a baby wipe to blend it into the cracks.
I attached two Hardware Heads to either side of the ledge, and painted these with Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint.
In the centre of the ledge, I placed an idea-ology Let's Celebrate Metallic Sticker.
SCENE
We're now ready to decorate the tag and we'll start with the scene.
For this I used a Paper Doll from the Poses set and I applied a coat of Clear Gesso to the surface. I allowed for this to dry before I used Distress Crayons to colour tint the image. I also added white highlights to the dresses to give a little more interest.
I mounted the Paper Doll onto the left hand side of my tag, using foam pads to add some dimension.
Now for the fun part and colouring those Red, White and Blue baubles. After selecting various sizes of the Baubles, I used the following Alcohol Inks to add colour; Denim, Red Pepper and Mushroom.
I placed the baubles in a small zip lock bag, or you can use a plastic container, and add a few drops of the alcohol ink. I then seal the bag and give them a shake to cover the baubles with ink. After I'd emptied them out onto a paper towel, I allowed them to dry before I attached them to my project using Glossy Accents and placing them along the length of the ledge.
I then added some moss clusters in between and some dried grasses from my stash.
Just above these ladies heads, I added a Clippings Sticker, "peace and happiness", and to their left, I attached an ephemera piece, a stamp from Field Notes Snippets.
1945 and VE DAY
For the year 1945, I used the Alphanumeric Label Die Set. This is from my stash, and is sadly unavailable at SSS but I'm sure most TH addicts probably have it their stash. I cut each number 3 times from gold metallic card, and layered them up and then cut a further layer from black Kraft card and attached the gold numbers to the black layer to create a drop shadow,
I attached the numbers down the centre of the Union Jack.
Underneath the ledge, I cut the words VE DAY using the Bold Alphanumeric Die Set. Once again I cut three layers from gold metallic Kraft card, followed by a fourth layer from black Kraft card. After attaching these letters to my tray, placing them underneath the ledge, I altered them with Distress Paints for more of a worn, vintage look to the lettering. I used Crackling Campfire and Black Soot, with a hint of Antiqued Bronze.
BUNTING
The bunting die is part of the Bunny Games Die Set, and I just cut this three times, once from Mixed Media Heavystock inked with Antique Linen, once from card stock inked with Candied Apple, and a third time from card stock inked with Faded Jeans. I repeated to make a second strip of bunting before I assembled each piece by adding the little flags to the solid die cut section. After inking the the edges of each die cut, I placed these across the top of the tag.
To complete the bunting, I tied pieces of string into tiny knots, and placed these on each end of the bunting rope.
DETAILS
We're nearly there and all that's left is the finishing touches...
I altered a Hinge Clip with Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze and Salvaged Patina Distress Paint and clipped this to the left hand side of the tag. I then attached some chain from my stash, and hung a Word Tag from the end.
I painted the "Hope' word tag with more of the Lumberjack Plaid paint before accentuating the letters using some gilding wax from my stash.
...and that's my make for this week complete and I hope you love this piece and the inspiration behind it!
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....
Recipe for project:
This is really beautiful! Thank you for all the detailed instructions, I am going to see if I can make something similar. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous project! And so meaningful too. You are a genius with the layering and grudging vibe!! 💙 🤍❤️
ReplyDelete