That's Life: Don't Stop Believing....

Hello everyone and Happy Monday!

As another week flies by, it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, we want you to THINK PINK because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Now I'm not a pink girlie but I do love vintage pink and gold as a combination, and to honour all those strong women, and not forgetting all the men too ~ I've created a tag using my favourite colour combo with one word ~ HOPE because hope is never lost in this journey, because whether you are currently receiving treatment or the people who work so hard to find a cure, we always have to hope!

So, let's get started, it's time to get for me to share all the details of this tag....

This make uses a Size 8 Etcetera Tag and Mixed Media Heavystock Tag as a base.

TAG

To begin with I created my background, and for this I began by stamping some detail using the Stampers Anonymous Tiny Prints Stamp Set by Tim. I inked the stamp with Ground Espresso Distress Ink and randomly stamped the print directly onto the tag, just catching areas here and there as I didn't want a solid coverage.

I then spritzing the tag with a little water before spritzing the surface with Victorian Velvet, Pumice Stone and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains. I then added a very light misting of Tattered Rose.

Once happy with the blend, I heat dried the tag, inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then machine stitched a border around the outside.

Adhere the tag onto a Size 8 Etcetera Tag, using Matte Collage Medium.

To complete the tag, I threaded some inky ribbon through the hole at the top. The ribbon is dyed using Victorian Velvet and Antique Linen Sprays and whilst wet, I scrunched it up into a tight ball to create the wrinkled effect. Once dry, it can be looped onto the tag and secured into position with a mini pin...

LEAVES

With the background complete, it's time to move onto the focal point and start building the layers. I began by creating the leaves that frame the image and for this I used the SA Leaf Prints stamp set by Tim and the co-ordinating SSS die set.

I used the same Distress Sprays as I used on the background but this time I coloured some Distress Watercolour Card.

Once dry, I then stamped a selection of the smaller leaf print images onto the coloured card using Ground Espresso Distress Ink before die cutting the leaves with the co-ordinating die set. I used 5 leaves.

Now it's time to add some vintage sparkle to these and for this I used the brand new Liquid Tinsel. I chose the Fine Antiqued Liquid Tinsel and painted the medium onto my leaves, trying not to cover the stamped detail. Allow for this to dry.

PHOTO

Whilst the glitter is dry, I worked on the photo and used one of the images from the idea-ology Photo Booth pack. I used a water brush to colour tint the image with Distress Crayons and then added some rips and tears around the edges before machine stitching the photo onto a piece of felt that I cut with pinking shears.

I couldn't resist a little more of the Liquid Tinsel and added tiny dots of this to background.

A arranged the leaves around the photo and attach them to the tag, adding some curly moss tucked into the arrangement. I also attached a pink ephemera piece, from the Palette Ephemera Pack and placed this on the left of the photo.

Well at this point, we've added the sparkle to the photo and to the leaves, so why not add a little more!! Which is exactly what I did, and I brushed some of the Chunky Antiqued Liquid Tinsel onto the moss.

In the top right hand corner of the leaf arrangement, I added a 'hashtag' Type Chip. I cut this chip in half and then tucked the hashtag into the leaves.

To complete the arrangement, I added a couple of die cut hearts which I cut from the leftover scraps of card that I used for the leaves. The two hearts are die cut using the heart dies from the Sizzix Love Birds die set by Tim.

SENTIMENT

We're nearly there and all that's left to do is add the sentiment...

I used the letters from the Vault World Travel Die Set and cut them twice from gold metallic Kraft card. I layered the individual letters over one another to form more of a substantial letter and then attached them to my tag, placing the word HOPE in the bottom right hand corner.

Finally, I added a Tiny Clip onto the right hand side of the photo....

...and that completes my tag and project for this week. I hope you love what I've made and enjoyed the techniques I've used to create this piece.

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....