That's Life: The Travelling Man...

Happy Monday friends...

Hope you all had a great weekend and you're now ready for a week of crafting and the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week our theme is all about THINGS WITH WHEELS and the DT would love for you to join us and play along.

For my make, I chose to create a masculine style Etcetera Tag and used many gorgeous Tim Holtz items to tell the story of this travelling gentleman and his journey.

So, let's get started because it's time to share how I created my tag...

TAG

To begin with I used the Mini Etcetera Tag and placed Design Tape trim around the edges.

I then cut two strips of paper from the Orange 8" x 8" Palette Paper Collection and adhered these down each side of the tag using Matte Collage Medium, slightly overlapping the design tape trim. This will create a faux border of paper, without using a whole sheet of your precious stash.

To create the final layer, I cut another panel of paper from the collection, the Liverpool map design and cut this to fit down the centre of the tag. After machine stitching a border down each side, I added some small rips and tears and then adhered the paper to my tag.

I also attached a ruler ephemera piece from the Memoirs Ephemera pack, and placed this across the bottom section of the tag.

...and then adhered a postage stamp ephemera piece in the top right of the tag, complete with a cello tape sticker over the top.

Apply a coat of Collage Medium over the top of the entire tag and then once that is dry, I used my Gathered Twigs Distress Crayon along the edges of the paper, blending out any harsh lines with a damp baby wipe.

The tag is now ready for the embellishments...

PHOTOGRAPH

We'll begin with the photograph, and for this I chose the image of the 2 gentlemen standing by their car from Tim's Snapshots pack. I cut this image down to show only the man on the left and the car ~ you can keep the other image for a second project.

I colour tinted the image using Distress Crayons and a waterbrush, and added foxing to the photo to create more of a vintage feel.

I then placed the image onto a piece of mount board and added a frame from the Photo Studios Layers over the top. Once again, I added some rips and tears around the edge of the frame, and used the Gathered Twigs Crayon to add foxing and colour to the edges.

To add some details to the photo, I used a Labeled Remnant Rub, "Tag No." in the top right hand corner, with a piece of Cello Sticker Tape over the top and then attached an Ephemera label in the bottom right hand corner before mounting the photo onto the etcetera tag using foam pads.

To the top of the frame I clipped a Large Hinge Clip, which I had altered with the following colours of Distress Paints;

Black Soot, Crackling Campfire, Antique Bronze, Vintage Photo, Lumberjack Plaid

Apply the paints one layer at a time, building up the colour and the intensity. If you need to add more of any colour, just keep repeating until you're happy, but always remember to dry the layers in between otherwise they will become muddy in their appearance.

I then stuck a Star Adornment in the centre of the clip, which I painted with a layer of Lumberjack Plaid Distress Paint, followed by a dry brushing of Black Soot Distress Paint over the top.

I added some chain to the clip, and hung a Key Adornment from the end. To create the rusty patina finish to the key, I used Salvaged Patina, Black Soot, Rusty Hinge, Salvaged Patina and Crackling Campfire. Once the painted layers had dried, I applied a light coverage of Gilded Foundry Wax over the raised areas to accentuate the detail and the wording. Heat set the wax.

GEARS

Now to create the selection of metal idea-ology pieces and for this I chose to use, Industrial Gears, Gauge Dials, Gauge Frames, Screwheads, Mini Sprocket Gears and Sprocket Gears. Taking a selection of all the gears, I altered the surface using the same paints as I used on the key. For the Gauge Frame, I used Salvaged Patina as a base coat and kept the majority of this showing, adding only a light touch of the remaining paint colours.

Behind the gauge frame, I attached a gauge dial which shows a compass, inking the surface of the piece to add more of a vintage feel.

Once all my painted metal work was dry, I arranged the pieces around the bottom of the photograph, layering the pieces over the top of one another to create various heights and dimension.

All the pieces are attached with Matte Collage Medium and in the centres of some of the gears, I added idea-ology Screwheads.

FINISHING DETAILS

We're nearly there and all that's left is those all important finishing details.

I attached a Type Chip with the number ¼ to the left hand side, placing it at the top of the cluster of gears.

I then added the Quote Chip Label, "A Little Magic Can Take You A Long Way", which sits over the top of the gears.

Finally, I added the paper roll or a little map. This was a piece cut from the same paper as I used on the background, and then rolled up tightly. I wanted the wording "Liverpool" to be facing upwards, so I ensure that when I rolled the paper this would be in place. I added twine to either side of the paper roll and secured these with a knot before attaching then roll to my tag, placing it centrally, just underneath the gear arrangement.

...and that complete's my project for this week and I hope you love what I've made and it inspires you with ideas, tips and techniques!

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....