The World Needs Who You Were Made To Be...

Hi friends and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

This week our theme is all about Sprays and Splashes and I'm sure you'll agree with me that there are so many interpretations of this fun theme and the DT can't wait to see what you create and how you'll feature the challenge theme within your projects.

With Father's Day in mind and as a way of celebrating an extremely special man in our life, I chose to create a canvas panel packed full of sprays, splashes, texture and layers and used one of my favourite Tim Holtz stamps, The Professor 2 as the focal point of this piece. I also couldn't help but be inspired by some of Tim's recent Q&A Demos on Facebook Live and have thrown in a few of the techniques that I learnt from him along the way.

So, let's get started because the new challenge has begun...

To begin I created the canvas panel and the metallic background panel which I will eventually mount the artwork onto. I used a Media Panel, cut to measure 24 x 18cm and painted it with a combination of Antiqued Linen, Weathered Wood and a touch of PaperArtsy's Heavy Cream Chalk Paint which I brayed over the top to create more of weathered look.

Once the canvas panel was dry, I then added some Design Tape around the edge to create a lovely frame ~ I'm so sorry as I'm not sure which set this comes from, my tapes have all got a little muddled in the storage box but any tape will do, it's up to you which is your favourite.

For the metallic panels, I used silver metallic kraft stash card, cut it into two panels and then embossed these with the 3D Foundry Texture Fade. I then applied a layer of Black Soot Distress Paint over the top of the embossed card and after approx. 30 seconds...I used a paper towel or a soft cloth to wipe away the excess paint but allow for some of the paint to sit in the embossed areas, accentuating the design. If you want to add more paint, then just keep reapplying and wiping away but once I was happy with the look, I then started to add a little colour and used the Vintage Photo Distress Crayon, running it over the cardstock and blending out the harsh lines with my fingertip.

Now to create some rust and for this I used Distress Translucent Grit Paste and just applied the paste directly onto the embossed card, using my fingers. Whilst the paste was still moist, I sprinkled some Rusty Hinge and Vintage Photo Distress Embossing Glaze over the top, tapped away the excess and then set the panels to one side to dry. This usually takes about 30 mins dependant on temperature and surroundings.

Once the paste has set, I then heat embossed the glaze ~ using the lowest setting on my heat gun and very gently heating it ~ if the paste starts to bubble, then don't worry, just move on and then go back to that area if the powder still needs more heat.

When you've done, you will have the most gorgeous pockets of rusty goodness and to complete this, I just added some Antiqued Bronze and Black Soot Distress crayon over the top, blending out the colour with a damp brush or fingertip.

So I now have my panels ready and pieced these together, mounting them onto Blackout Kraft stash card and a layer of old gold pearl card, to create a larger sized panel that would fit onto my canvas, which is exactly what I did ~ placing them centrally onto the panel, leaving a border around the outside.

Now to move onto the inner panel and firstly, I stamped and coloured the Professor 2 image, (this is the larger image) and fussy cut around the outline.

Moving onto the inked panel and for this I cut a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card and then spritzed the card, which I lightly misted with water, using a combination of Ground Espresso, Speckled Egg and Shabby Shutters Distress Spray Stain. I then added a light misting of Speckled Egg Oxide Spray over the top. If you need to add more water, then just spritz over the top of the card and watch the inks blend together to create a perfect background.

After inking around the edge and adding some stamped layers using the Faded Type stamp set and stamping in Black Soot Archival Ink. I then wanted some texture to this layer and once again, I used the Translucent Paste but this time applied it through the Grunged Layering Stencil. As with the metallic background, I coloured the paste using Embossing Glazes, Vintage Photo and Broken China but this time I also added a touch of metallic in the form of Seth Apter's Embossing Powder Metalz set from Wow and used the Etched Platinum Embossing Powder. Once the paste has set, heat emboss.

In the top right hand corner, I added a small label complete with number both stamped using the Field Notes Stamp Set.

To complete the panel, I machine stitched a border, matted it onto more of the Blackout and gold card and then mounted it onto my canvas board using foam pads to add some height.

Now to put this together and I placed my Professor onto foam and mounted him onto the panel...

...and then added a border strip. This strip was an offcut from a previous project but coloured with Oxide and Spray Stains and just worked perfectly mounted across the bottom of the Professor panel on this project.

I then took the Heartbeat die set and using the cut the heartbeat wave line only, cut this four times and then layered each die cut over the top of one another. Apply Distress Embossing Dabber over the top and then sprinkle the Etched Platinum and the Crusty Copper powders from the Seth Apter set onto the layered die cut. Heat emboss until molten.

I repeated this step a further 3 times to create the enamelled look to the wave line before adding the heart into the centre, again layered up, using the waste that is taken from the die cut and then painted with a combination of Candied Apple and Black Soot Distress Paint.

I attached the heartbeat across the border strip, and added a Star Adornment in the centre, altered with a little Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink.

To complete the panel, I added my wording and used the Alphanumeric Tiny Type Upper die set to cut the word "dad" from gold metallic card, placing this beneath the heartbeat wave line.

I then added the finishing touch, a sentiment plaque. I love the look of metallic on metallic and have done this on quite a few projects in the past either with stamps or dies, but this time I used the Tiny Text stamp set, stamped the sentiment onto a strip of metallic card and after embossing with some more of Seth's powders, I inked over the top with a little Mushroom Alcohol Ink.

Mount the strip onto the panel and added two Hardware Heads either side.

Finally, I added a couple of metallic hardware pieces onto the panel and a Tiny Clip.

So that's it from me for today and my Father's Day gift is now ready to hand over to my Dad. I hope you've been inspired by the tips and techniques in this project and will try out a few of the ideas on projects of your own.

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 $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 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 ~ stay safe and well, and see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: The Professor 2, Tiny Text, Faded Type, Field Notes
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Heartbeat, 3D Foundry Texture Fade, Alphanumeric Tiny Type Upper

Distress Spray Stain: Shabby Shutters, Weathered Wood, Speckled Egg, Ground Espresso

Oxide Spray: Speckled Egg
Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
Distress Crayon: Vintage Photo
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Candied Apple
Embossing Glaze: Broken China, Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge
Distress Marker Set

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Star Adornment, Tiny Clips, Hardware Heads
Alcohol Ink: Gold Mixative, Mushroom

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Archival Ink Set 3, Wow Embossing Metalz Set, Embossing Dabber, Translucent Grit Paste

Surfaces: Media Heavystock Card, Metallic Kraft Stash, Dina Wakley Media Board, Black Out Kraft stash

Glass Media Mat

Big Shot

Heat Gun

The Professor of Possibility...

Hi everyone...

Hope you've all had a wonderful weekend and ready for the week ahead! This week, on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog, we are showcasing Tim Holtz products and incorporating them within our challenge theme ~ Tag It!

My project for this week was one that I was so honoured to be asked to create for the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous booth at Creativation 2020 and I'm really excited to be sharing this double layered Etcetera tag, because yes ~ *drumroll*, The Professor is back, and he's bigger than ever and twice as much fun and I thought this piece was the perfect project for this week's challenge.

So, let's get started because it's time to tag it!

To begin with I'll start with the tags themselves and I used the small and medium sized Etcetera Tags as my base. I primed both tags with a coat of gesso and once the surface was dry, taking the larger sized tag, I applied the paint layers ~ Ground Espresso as my base colour, followed by Antiqued Bronze and Black Soot, both of which I applied using the dry brushing technique and always making sure that I dry the layers of paint between each application.

Once the painted tag was dry, I added some Evergreen Bough Distress Paint ~ just a touch, here and there, applying it with a palette knife and scraping it over the surface.

Now we move onto the second tag and for this I used a base coat of Evergreen Bough. Once the surface was dry, I started adding more paint layers of Black Soot, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo and some white gesso. Each time using the dry brushing technique and just applying the paint randomly to the Evergreen Bough background.

To add some interest to the background, I used the Newsprint Background stamp, inked with Black Soot Archival Ink and again stamped it onto the background, just allowing the stamp to kiss the surface and not create solid blocks of stamping. If you click on the photo below, you can see more detail of the stamping on the background...

Heat dry the tag surface to set the ink and then, using Crackle Paste...I applied the paste to the tag, allowed it to dry and crackle and then accentuated it with the Pumice Stone Distress Crayon.

For the final layer of rusty goodness, I used a combination of Distress Paints and Crayons, Vintage Photo, Antiqued Bronze, Rusty Hinge, Ground Espresso and Black Soot and applied the rust finish around the edges of the tag.

So we now have the tags ready and I just mounted the smaller tag over the top of the larger one, adhering it with Matte Collage Medium and adding a banner of paper that was actually an offset from a larger piece and I just loved the look of the numbers placed behind the smaller tag.

I then attached the hole reinforcer piece which I painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint and added a Sprocket Gear and a Star Adornment ~ both of which I 'rusted up' with a little paint.

Moving on, it's time to get the Professor ready for his outing and I stamped the main image onto a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card and then watercolored the image with Distress Marker Pens and a water brush.

I then stamped a second image onto scrap paper to create a mask and after fussy cutting around the outline, placed the mask over the top and inked the surface with a combination of Distress Inks and Oxide Inks in Old Paper, Pumice Stone and Frayed Burlap.

After heat drying the surface and leaving the mask in place, I inked up the stamp from the set in Hickory Smoke Archival Ink and stamped the advertising material onto the background, together with a postmark stamp from the Field Notes Stamp Set, inked in Barn Door Archival Ink and stamped in the bottom left hand corner.

I removed the mask and stitched a border around the outside before matting it onto silver metallic kraft stash and a layer of paper from the Correspondence Paper Stash and mounting the layers onto the smaller painted tag.

To complete the stamped panel, I added a strip of metal card, embossed using the 3D Foundry Embossing Texture Fade and placed this across the bottom of the professor, adding a Faucet Knob, again painted with a combination of Candied Apple and Black Soot Distress Paint and some Hardware Heads.

To complete the stamped image, I used the "Agent 29" stamp from the Field Notes stamp set and stamped this onto a label, again stamped with images from the same stamp set. I attached a mini pin to the label and adhered the piece onto the stamped panel.

Finally, I added a Pen Nib which I rusted with Distress Paints ~ Antiqued Bronze, Evergreen Bough, Ground Espresso and Black Soot. I then tied a piece of twine around the nib and attached it with Collage Medium.

The Professor is now in place but he needs his laboratory and for these I crackled a combination of Tiny Corked Vials and Corked Vials. I applied some Matte Collage Medium to each corked vial, allowed it to dry and then applied a generous layer of Rock Candy Crackle Paint over the top. Allow for the crackle paint to do it's thing and once it has, I applied some Alcohol inks ~ Rust, Mushroom and Gold Mixative over the top, letting the inks drip down the bottles and seep into the crackles.

I added labels to each of the bottles and tied some twine around their necks, adding an 'E' Typed Charm to the one.

To make the ledge that the bottles sit on, I used three various lengths of Bracket Etcetera Trims and built these up to create one shelf. I then painted the shelf with gesso, and once it was dry, used the same paint colours as I used on the larger tag.

After heat drying the trims, I then sanded the edges for more of a vintage feel to the ledge and then attached the ledge into place with Matte Collage Medium.

I arranged my corked vials onto the shelf and placed some dyed Mummy Cloth around them and some Sprocket Gears painted with Distress Paints for a rusty finish.

As the final detail on this tag, I used the Tiny Text Stamp Set and stamped the "See Possiblity Everywhere" quote onto some inked card. I then attached the banner to the tag, placing it directly below the shelf and added a couple of Hex Fasteners to either side, again painted with the Candied Apple and Black Soot Distress Paint combination.

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:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: The Professor 2, Field Notes, Tiny Text, Newsprint and Type, Small Etcetera Tag, Medium Etcetera Tag, Bracket Etcetera Trims
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: 3D Foundry Embossing Folder
Distress Paint: Ground Espresso, Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Candied Apple, Evergreen Bough, Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge
Distress Inks: Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap, Pumice Stone, Old Paper
Oxide Inks: Old Paper, Pumice Stone
Distress Marker Pens
Tim Holtz Archival Inks Set 1 and Set 3
Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone
Alcohol Inks: Rust, Gold Mixative, Mushroom

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Mini Sprocket Gears, Star Adornments, Mini Pins, Pen Nib, Faucet Knobs, Corked Vials, Tiny Corked Vials, Hex Fasteners

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Crackle Paste, Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint, Gesso

Surfaces: Metallic Kraft Stash, Mixed Media Heavystock, Chipboard, Correspondence Paper STash

Glass Media Mat

Big Shot

Heat Gun
Vial labels, type token and Remnant Rubs from my stash

Step Back In Time...

Happy Monday friends...

Hello everyone and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week our theme is called Transport It and we would love for you to join us and play along.

For my project, I chose to take you on a step back in time ~ please say hello to the professor, a man who has invented a time machine that will transport him on adventures, near and far!

So, let's get started and let me transport you through how I created this tag...

To begin with I covered a medium Etcetera Tag with paper from the Correspondence Paper Stash. I adhered the paper onto the tag using Matte Collage Medium and then sealed it with Vintage Collage Medium.

I wanted to create a really rusty, crusty look to the edges of the tag and I started by adding some Crackle Paste. I applied the paste using a palette knife and just adding it around the edges, spreading some of the paste inwards. Allow the paste to dry and the crackles to appear and then to accentuate the cracks, I used Hickory Smoke Distress Crayon which I scribbled onto my glass mat and then picked up with a wet brush to apply it to the crackles, allowing the colour to sink in. Moving onto the next step, I added the rust and for this I used Ranger Ink's Embossing Dabber and just applied it randomly around the edge of the tag before sprinkling some of Seth Apter's Chunky Rust Embossing Powder over the top and heating it with a heat gun.

Once I was happy with the rusty edge, I ran the Gathered Twigs and Black Soot Distress Crayons around the outside, blending out the colour with your fingertip.

After attaching the hole reinforcer to the top of the tag, I now have my base ready to decorate...

For the next stage, I added some layers onto the tag to add some depth to the finished project. I used some ephemera pieces from the Keepsakes and Remnants Layers Pack, together with some Design Tape from the Elementary collection. I adhered these to the central area of the tag using Matte Collage Medium, adding some depth of colour around the edges with the Pumice Stone Distress Crayon.

Moving on to the next layer, I added a selection of gears ~ the majority of the gears are all die cut from chipboard, covered with Metal Foil Tape and cut using the Sizzix Industrial Die by Tim Holtz. Once I had my gears cut, I then inked them with Alcohol Inks; Mushroom, Gold Mixative and Patina applied to the metal gears using an alcohol applicator tool.

Attach the gears to cascade across the tag from top to bottom, adding some Kaisercraft Wooden Cogs into the mix, which I painted with a combination of Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze and Evergreen Bough Distress Paints.

We're now ready to introduce the star of the show, the professor and his time machine!

To begin with I stamped the professor, his top hat and the propeller onto some Mixed Media Heavystock card and watercolored them with Distress Marker Pens. I then fussy cut each of the images and built up my professor, placing the top hat and propeller on his head.

Moving onto building his time machine, I used the Voltage Die from Tim Holtz and die cut all the elements on the die from thick chipboard. I then primed each of the pieces with gesso.

To add the vintage paint work to the bolts, base and the circular section of the voltage meter, I used the combination of Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Evergreen Bough and Rusty Hinge, applying each layer of paint individually, heat drying between applications and just building up the colour and the texture! There is no paste, nothing on this piece ~ just paint!

I adhered all the die cut pieces into place and then added some silver metallic kraft stash card into the window. For the date on the dial, I attached my painted dial piece onto the metal window and then used some Remnant Rubs from my stash to add the year, 1890.

As a finishing touch on my 'time machine', I added some shattered mica and placed this onto the window section of the meter, attaching it with Collage Medium.

Attach the pointer needle, coloured with Candied Apple and Black Soot Distress Paint to complete the time machine before adding a Hardware Head as the finishing touch.

Now all that's needed is to build up the layers and dimension to bring this time traveller's story to life...

Attach the 'time machine' over the top of the gears, placing the professor onto foam pads for dimension and attaching him to the right of meter, adding an arrow adornment directly beneath him.

For the final details on this tag, I added some hardware heads, a combination of metal ones and some of the die cut ones that come from the Voltage die and placed these onto the gears.

Finally, I adhered a star adornment, painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint....

...and a quote chip, 'Wander'.

So that completes this week's project, which hasn't been the easiest to photograph ~ the glare of the mirrored dial, the shine of the gears and the mica all made this piece a little challenging...sometimes these photos take longer to get right than the actual project, lol and I won't tell you how many I took!!! But I hope I've managed to show all the detail and you will be inspired by this piece or some of the techniques I've used!

Have fun creating your projects and 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 taking the time to stop by today and hope to see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: The Professor, Medium Etcetera Tag
Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Voltage, Industrial
Distress Paint: Black Soot, Evergreen Bough, Antiqued Bronze, Walnut Stain, Ground Espresso, Candied Apple, Rusty Hinge

Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone, Gathered Twigs, Black Soot
Distress Marker Pens

Idea-ology: Remnants Design Tape, Quote Chips, Star Adornments, Elementary Design Tape, Arrow Adornments, Hardware Heads, Remnants Layers, Snippets

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Black Soot Archival Ink, Crackle Paste, Emerald Creek Chunky Rust Embossing Powder, Vintage Collage Medium, Embossing Dabber
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card, metal Foil Tape, Correspondence Paper Pad
Kaisercraft Wooden Cogs
Alcohol Inks; Mushroom, Gold Mixative and Patina
Prima Marketing Hardware Accents
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Palette Knife
Rope and Mica from my own stash