Tell Your Story...

Hello friends and happy new year everyone ~ I hope you've all had a wonderful Christmas and a good start to the new year! I"m sure many of us are currently watching the events that are unfolding in Australia and my heart goes out to everyone who is being affected by these horrendous fires! I know many people who live in this amazing country, including some very close friends of mine and my thoughts and love are with you all ~ please stay safe!

Today, the Simon Says Stamp DT are back on the Monday Challenge Blog and this week our theme is called SOMETHING NEW and the team are showcasing Darkroom Door within their projects.

I actually made this project at the beginning of December, it's been such a busy crafty month from that point on and I just knew I wouldn't get the time if I didn't make it at that point ~ so, I chose to create a card that celebrated the brand new decade and all those wonderful adventures that lie ahead and used a combination of metallics to create some sparkle and shimmery shine!

It's time to say hello to 2020 here on my blog and let's get the new decade started...

To begin with I chose to use the Starry Night Background stencil from Darkroom Door and placed this over a panel of black card 14 x 17cm. I then applied Transparent Texture Paste through the stencil. After carefully removing the stencil, and whilst the paste is still wet, I sprinkled Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust over the top of the paste, tapped away the excess before setting it to one side to dry THOROUGHLY!! No poking at it with your fingers, just let it do it's thing and set.

Whilst the paste is doing it's thing, I moved onto the globe and used Tim Holtz's Destination die to die cut Mixed Media Heavystock Card, that I had previous painted with a combination of Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze Distress Paints. After putting down the first solid layer of paint, Ground Espresso, I then applied a dry brushing of each layer of paint individually, heat drying between the layers and just building up the colour.

Once it was dry, I then placed the die cut onto foam pads and mounted the globe onto a piece of black card, stamped with the gorgeous sparkles stamps from the Great Outdoors stamp set. I stamped the stars in clear embossing ink before applying gold embossing powder and heat embossing the powder until molten. You can see the stars shining through from behind the globe die cut in the photo below.

To complete the starry night background, I lightly splattered Antique Linen Distress Oxide Ink over the surfaces of both the stamped background and the larger glittered panel, before inking the edges of both pieces with the Antique Linen Distress Ink.

Put the globe to one side and taking the glittered background, matt onto gold metallic kraft card, followed by a layer of pewter coloured card, a second layer of gold metallic card and finally a layer of kraft card. Then mount the layered background onto a pewter coloured card blank.

I then mounted the dimensional die cut globe, complete with the stamped starry night background, onto the front of the card using foam pads to add some dimension.

Now we can move onto the sentiment banner that sits below the globe. For this I cut a strip of blackout kraft card and used the Alphanumeric Label die to die cut gold metallic kraft stash to create the words "The Adventure Begins". Top Tip: Applying adhesive sheets to the back of the gold metallic card makes it so much easier when it comes to sticking the letters to the banner.

Matt the banner onto a piece of champagne coloured metallic 3 kraft stash and then a piece of black card before mounting the banner onto the card blank with foam pads.

Add a Hardware Head to either side of the quote.

For the 2020 that sits on top of the globe, I used the Handmade Die to cut my numbers from chipboard that I covered with some of the gold metallic card.

Once the numbers were cut, I then inked them with Mushroom Alcohol Ink to knock back the brightness of the gold.

I mounted the year onto the surface of the globe and then placed a Tim Holtz metallic quote sticker, "Tell The Story", directly beneath the globe. The sticker came from my stash.

Finally, I added three shimmering bursts of gold using the amazing Radiant 3D Die to cut more of the gold metallic kraft stash. I used the smaller sized die cuts and placed them onto my card, adding a Metallic Droplet in the centre of each.

To complete the project I added a clip at the top of the project.

So that's it from me for this week and I hope you've enjoyed the process behind this card and how I've combined all the metallic elements to create vintage sparkle and bring this project to life! The one thing that I will say is....OH. Em. Gee....was this a pain to photograph! The camera just hated all that glitter and metallic shine but I hope I've managed to capture it and I hope the photos do this project justice!

Don't forget, if you would like to see more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 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 Monday 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 and hope to see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Darkroom Door Starry Night Stencil

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Alphanumeric Label, Handmade Alphabet, Destination, Radiant 3D Die
Stampers Anonymous: Great Outdoors
Distress Paint: Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze
Distress Oxide Inks: Antique Linen

Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Metallic Quote Stickers, Metallic Droplets
Prima Marketing Rusty Metal Clip

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Gold Embossing Powder, Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust, Transparent Texture Paste, Mushroom Alcohol Ink
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Blackout Kraft Stash, Metallic Kraft Stash, Metallic Kraft Stash 3, Pewter Card, black Card
Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot

Beautiful & Brave....

Hello friends...

As another week flies by, (is it me, or is this year going really quickly?) it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week our theme is...RED, WHITE and/or BLUE and we hope you'll play along and join us for this fun challenge.

The DT are also showcasing Darkroom Door products and I used the Starry Night Stencil to create my background of stars but of course, as always you can choose whatever you want to work with, you don't have to use Darkroom Door but if you do, then that would be fabulous! For my project, I combined the stencil with products from Tim Holtz and Sizzix to create an Etcetera tag celebrating the 4th of July!

So, let's get started because it's time for the new challenge!

To begin with I applied a layer of gesso directly onto the small Etcetera tag to prime it for all the mediums that will be added. Once the gesso was dry, I then started layering my paints ~ for this particular project, I wanted to keep the background fairly neutral to allow the red, white and blue embellishments to stand out and make a real feature. So, I started with a layer of Dina Wakley's Buff Acrylic Paint and then added some deeper tones, Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo Distress Paint. At this stage, I also attached some of the Air Mail Design Tape around the edge of the tag. Once happy, I applied some Symphony Tissue Tape to create some layers to that background and added some Matte Collage Medium over the top of the tape. I then went in with Pumice Stone, Black Soot and Vintage Photo Distress Crayons, blending out the colour with a semi dry baby wipe. To complete the base layer on the tag, I stamped some script using the script stamp from the Entomology set.

I'm now ready to add those stars and applied Grit Paste through the Starry Night Stencil. I allowed the paste to dry before then adding some colour by painting the individual stars using Faded Jeans and Candied Apple Distress Paints but keeping some of the larger stars white.

When the paint is dry, I flicked Black Soot DP across the surface and attached my hole reinforcer piece which I painted dark blue.

Now to start building up those layers, and to begin I cut a panel of the star design paper from the Correspondence paper stash and machine stitched in black thread around the outside to create a border. I then matted the paper onto a layer of red classic kraft stash card, followed by a layer of blue linen. To add even more layers of interest, I stamped some images from the Correspondence Stamp Set, a postmark in the bottom left corner and numbers in the top right. I also popped a Snippets Ephemera piece onto the panel.

I mounted my layered panel onto the centre of the tag, attaching it with foam pads to add dimension, which you can see in the image below.

Moving onto the rosettes, I cut five rosettes, two different sizes, from two different designs of paper in the Correspondence paper stash and then assembled each one. I placed the larger sized rosettes onto my panel which will act as a support for the next layer ~ an ephemera piece which I distressed to create a more worn look.

Once the ephemera piece was in place, I then added the three smaller rosettes, placing them across the centre of the tag and allowing them to overlap the edges.

To complete this section, I then placed my Paper Doll in amongst the rosettes, allowing them to support her and therefore create another layer. I also added some cheesecloth beneath her feet because I didn't want her to float in mid air, I wanted to ground her.

Now, I move onto the next stage, the flag banner which I placed across the bottom section...

For this I used the flags from the Americana Thinlits set and cut the individual pieces from Classic Kraft Stash using the fabulous Tim Holtz Sidekick...this is perfect to cut all those smaller dies and small pieces if you haven't got the bigger cutting machines to hand. I then assembled the pieces to create the flags. I then attached the flags with foam pads, staggering them so they weren't all in a line.

Finally, I added my 'Brave' wording and for this I used the Shadow Script 1 die and cut one section from Metallic Kraft Stash and the backing/shadow section from Classic Kraft Stash before layering them together and attaching them across my central section.

To complete the tag and add those finishing touches, I painted three Star Adornments with Candied Apple Distress Paint and then adhered them to the centres of each of the rosettes before placing a Clippings Sticker, the word 'beautiful' just above my die cut word and adding a Mirrored Heart to the sash of my little girl....

...I then finished with some ribbon through the hole of the tag.

 So, that completes my project for this week and I hope you love the piece I've made and I hope all my friends in the US have a wonderful, safe and happy 4th of July ~ I'll be thinking of you and celebrating it here in the UK!

Don't forget, you can find more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for stopping by today and I'll see you very soon!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Darkroom Door Stencil: Starry Night

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Dies: Shadow Script 1, Rosette, Americana
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Stamps: Correspondence, Entomology

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Candied Apple, faded Jeans
Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone, Black Soot and Vintage Photo

Idea-ology: Clippings Stickers, Expedition Ephemera, Snippets, Symphony Tissue Tape, Star Adornments, Mirrored Heart

Mediums: Gesso, Matte Collage Medium, Buff Acrylic Paint
Distress Marker Pens

Surfaces: Etcetera Tag, Correspondence Paper Stash, Metallic Kraft Stash, Classic Kraft Stash

Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat
Big Shot Plus
Tim Holtz Side Kick
Tim Holtz Guillotine

Heat Gun
Sisal Fibres and Crinkle Ribbon from my own stash

On The Wings Of Love...

Hello friends and welcome to a brand new week and a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week the DT are showcasing Darkroom Door products with our MASCULINE challenge theme! So, whether you choose to create a card for Father's Day or just want to make a masculine project, we can't wait for you to play along and join us with this week's fun challenge...

For my project, I chose to create a really textured and dimensional burlap panel using the Darkroom Door Abstract Triangles Background stamp as my chosen product to showcase and combining this beautiful stamp with one of my favourite Tim Holtz dies, Industrial.

So, here we go...it's time to tell you all how I created this project!

 

I began with the panel and wanted to create a patina effect around the edges and for this I used Grit Paste, mixed with a little Cracked Pistachio Oxide Ink. I then applied the coloured paste to the edges of my panel. I then let the paste dry thoroughly before adding the next layer of colour, Mermaid Lagoon Distress Paint ~ I only wanted a hint of this colour and used my fingertips to apply it over the top of the paste. Then, using a dry brush, I added some Cracked Pistachio Distress Paint over the top, blending the two colours together. Once I was happy I heat dried the panel and then very gently dry brushed some Steampunk Copper Alchemy Paint around the outside edges of the grit paste. Again dry the paint and to highlight the gritty texture in the paste, I used Rich Copper and Aged Brass Waxes, applying them very lightly with my fingers to just catch the rough texture.

I now moved onto the next stage, the background ~ I applied three colours of Distress Oxide ink pads to my craft sheet, spritzed them with water and then dipped a piece of Mixed Media Heavy stock card, (16 x 11.5cm in size) in and out of the inks, picking up the individual colours to create the right blend. Heat dry the card thoroughly and at this stage, if you do need more ink, just apply more of any chosen colour to your craft sheet, spritz again with the water and then pick it up.

Once the inked card is completely dry, I then inked up my Abstract Triangle Background stamp with Versamark Ink Pad and stamped the image over the top of the card, sprinkled gold embossing powder over the top, tapping away the excess and then heat embossed the powder until molten.

Ink the edges of the card with some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, before distressing them with the Distressing Tool and machine stitching around the outside. Matt the card onto corrugated card from the Textured Surfaces pack, followed by a layer of gold metallic card, each time leaving a border around the outside.

I then wrapped some twine around the card layers, just wrapping it in a loose and random fashion and secure the ends at the back before mounting the card onto the front of your panel.

Now for the gears and for this I used chipboard to cut a selection of gears using the Industrial die. Lay them all out in front of you and paint them with a layer of Antiqued Bronze Distress Paint. Dry the paint throughly and then apply Grit Paste over the top of each gear. It is a little time consuming but so worth it to get that real rusty effect.

When the paste is completely dry, I then started to add the colour ~ for the patina coloured cogs, I used the Cracked Pistachio and the Mermaid Lagoon Distress Paints as before. For the rusty cogs, I chose to use Rusty Hinge, Black Soot and Vintage Photo. Apply the paint over the top of the paste and allow to dry between layers, adding more colour if necessary. Once the gears are all covered in paint, I then started to add the waxes ~ Rich Copper, Aged Brass and Red Amber. Apply each colour of wax to highlight the texture.

Arrange the gears onto your background and attach them with Collage Medium and foam pads to have different areas of dimension. At this stage, I also added some hardware to all four corners of the central panel, again coloured with the waxes.

We're nearly done and only have the pocket watch and wings to complete. Separate the front from the back of the watch and using the base section, attach a piece of linen from the Textile Surfaces pack to the inside. I then applied some Collage Medium, stuck my rusty heart in the centre and sprinkled a mix of micro beads and glass glitter around the outside of the heart. Tap away any excess glitter.

I added a Quotations sticker ~ "love" to the centre of the heart and then placed the front of the watch onto the base.

To get the beautiful metallic effect, I painted the watch with Gold Rush and Steampunk Copper Paint and also painted the Regal Adornment Wings in the same combination.

Once the watch was dry, I rubbed some of the waxes over the top of the wings and around the edges of the watch before adding twine around the neck.

I attached the watch and wings over a bed of sisal fibres and the gears, using Collage Medium to secure it into place.

I really hope you love this project and it's given you a few ideas for some masculine cards or home decor pieces to make of your own!

 As always, if you do need any further inspiration, then you need look no further than our blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for stopping by today and see you again very soon!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Darkroom Door Stamps: Abstract Triangles
Tim Holtz Sizzix Dies: Industrial

Distress Paints: Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks: Vintage Photo, Broken China, Cracked Pistachio
Tim Holtz idea-ology: Regal Adornments, Pocket Watch, Quotations Metallic Stickers
Mediums: Gesso, Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Ranger Gold Embossing Powder, Versamark Ink Pad
Prima Marketing Waxes: Rich Copper, Aged Brass, Old Silver, Red Amber
Prima Marketing Acrylic Paints: Gold Rush, Steampunk Copper 
Prima Marketing Products: Copper Micro Beads, Mini Hardware, Tin Hearts, Black Micro Beads, Gold Rush Glass Glitter
Surfaces: Burlap Panel, Textured Surfaces, Metallic Kraft Stock, Textile Surfaces

Palette Knife
Paint Brushes

Ranger Craft Sheet

Heat Gun
Distressing Tool
Hemptique Twine
Sisal fibres from my own stash