Blog Hop featuring Tim Holtz stamps and Simon Says Stamp coordinating dies...

Hello everyone and welcome to the latest Blog Hop featuring the Simon Says Stamp Exclusive co-ordinating dies that coordinate beautifully with some of Tim Holtz's best loved stamps.

I'm so excited to be joining this hop, and if you're hopping along, you might have arrived here via Barb Engler's blog but if not, and you want to catch up with everyone who is participating in this hop, then don't worry because you can head back to the beginning, by clicking HERE. Also, if you would like to see the entire product release and many more, then just pop on over to HERE.

For my project, I created a vintage style Etcetera Panel, and combined the Field Notes Co-Ordinating Dies and stamp set with the beautiful butterfly from an older release, Perspective.

So, let's get started and here's how I create this panel....

To begin with I used one of the smaller size of the Stampers Anonymous Rectangular Etcetera Panels from the pack of 4 and I painted it with Scorched Timber Distress Paint.

PANEL

To cover the panel, I used a piece of paper from Backdrops Vol 4, cut to the same size as the panel. I added rips and tears around the outside edge of the paper and machine stitched a border all the way around and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I then adhered the paper to the board with Matte Collage Medium, keeping the rips and tears in place and crumpling the corners for a touch of "oldy worldy vintage".

After adding some splatters of Burnt Sienna Acrylic Paint from my stash and flicked this across the covered panel, I set this to one side to move onto the tag.

TAG

For the background, I chose to use the Stampers Anonymous Roses Layering Stencil by Tim Holtz and using blending brushes, I inked through the design with the following colours of Distress inks:

Kitsch Flamingo, Peeled Paint and Rustic Wilderness

Once my inking was complete, I added some text using the script stamp from the Tiny Toadstools stamp set by Tim Holtz before I laid the stencil back over the areas that I had inked and applied Translucent Grit Paste over the inked areas. Remove the stencil and wash immediately and set the tag aside so the paste can dry.

When my paste was thoroughly set, I added a neutral colour to the background using Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain and Old Paper. I dabbed away any heavy areas of colour, gently heat dried the tag and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink before adding a few splatters of the Burnt Sienna Acrylic Paint across the surface of the tag.

After machine stitching a border around the edge of the tag, I mounted this onto a piece of Kraft card, cut slightly larger than the tag itself with strips of Design Trim Tape placed around the edges of the Kraft card.

To complete the tag, I placed a Curator Snippet in the top right hand corner, and added some Cello Sticker Tape over the top.

I then placed a W R Makers Eyelet through the hole at the top of the tag and set it with the Crop A Dile.

Attach the tag to the covered board using foam pads to add dimension.

FIELD NOTES EPHEMERA

Now, it's time to create the ephemera pieces that sits down the left hand side and that's where we can use the Field Notes stamp set with this amazing new coordinating die set...

To begin with I chose the ephemera pieces I wanted to use ~ I chose 5 different pieces. I then used Tim's Archival Inks to stamp these onto Mixed Media Heavystock card inked with various shades of Distress Inks. Once I had the pieces stamped, I then used the coordinating dies to die cut the individual labels and ephemera.

After inking the edges, I attached them to my panel, placing four of them in a cluster on the left of the tag. I adhered some of the labels directly to the panel with Matte Collage Medium, but placed foam pads on the remaining labels to add some dimension...

I attached the last label, "This Side Up" in the top left hand corner.

BUTTERFLY

With my pieces in position, I stamped the image of the butterfly from the Perspective Stamp Set, and watercolored this with Tim's Distress Watercolour Pencils. I then used the coordinating die set to cut out the image.

After shaping the wings, and attaching the thorax to the centre, (which is a separate die cut), I attached the butterfly to a circular Sizzix Vintage Label Die Cut. I used the largest circle in the set.

Finally to complete the panel, I used the wording "Field Notes" from the Specimen Remnant Rubs and applied it to an off-cut of card before adding this to my panel, placing it just beneath the butterfly...

...and I attached to long fasteners to the panel, placing these in the bottom right hand corner and applying some gilding wax over the top to add some shine to the metal.

I finished this piece with a large Hinge Clip that I had in my stash, and clipped this to the top left hand side of the panel.

So, that's my project complete and I hope you love the piece I've created ~ it's so much fun to used these dies and saves so much time on fussy cutting each individual piece ~ which is something I never relish doing but now, don't need to! More time for crafting...

Thanks so much for stopping by today and now it's onto the next stop of this hop...

See you again soon, love Emma xxx

HOP ORDER:

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Nina-Marie Trapani

Cheiron Brandon

Heather Hoffman

Stacy Hutchinson

Jean Doeringsfeld

Tami Bastiaans

Barb Engler

Emma Williams

Jenn Shurkus

RECIPE FOR CARD

CLICK HERE to shop all products used to make this card

Simon Says Stamp Co-ordinating Dies and Stamps: Field Notes Bundle, Perspective, Perspective Die Set

Tim Holtz?Stampers Anonymous: Etcetera Panel, Roses Layering Stencil, Tiny Toadstools

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway Machine, Sizzix Vintage Label Die Set

Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Walnut Stain

Distress Paint: Lumberjack Plaid, Scorched Timber

Distress Spray Stains: Antique Linen, Old Paper

Distress Watercolour Pencils

Tim Holtz idea_ology: Hardware Heads, Cello Stickers, Specimen Remnant Rubs, Curator Snippets, Backdrops Volume 4

Mediums and Adhesive: SSS Foam Squares, SSS Tape Runner, Black Soot Archival, Translucent Grit Paste, Archival Inks

Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card

Tools: Blending Brushes, Blending Tool, Splatter Brush, Crop A Dile

Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat

It's a Kind of Magic....

Hello everyone...

As we begin the new week, it's time for a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge and this week,  we are challenging you to MAKE YOUR OWN BACKGROUND!

So, with so many different ways of doing this, and whether you use inks, sprays, pastes or paints, you will be spoilt for choice and we can't wait to see how you will interpret this fun challenge theme.

For my background I chose to use Distress Spray Stains and Oxide Sprays, together with stamps and I just had so much fun building up those layers to create interest and texture ready for the focal point of those beautiful butterflies.

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

For this make, I used a combination of Tim Holtz products and chose an idea-ology clipboard, a Size 8 Etcetera Tag and a size 8 Mixed Media Heavystock tag as my substrates.

BACKGROUNDS

The background on the tag and the clipboard are both created using the same colours of sprays, oxide sprays and inks. I chose the following:

DISTRESS SPRAY STAINS: Iced Spruce, Old Paper, Speckled Egg. Gathered Twigs

OXIDE SPRAYS: Old Paper

DISTRESS INKS: Uncharted Mariner, Scorched Timber

I began by cutting a panel of Mixed Media Heavystock card, and also used a size 8 Mixed Media Heavystock tag. I misted each of these surfaces with water and then started to apply my sprays, using the Distress Spray Stains first and only applying a light touch of Gathered Twigs, and then some light flicks of Old Paper Oxide. I applied a little more water to blend the colours and then allowed these to dry. You can also use a heat tool to dry the inks.

Once my surfaces were dry, I inked around the edges with Scorched Timber Distress Ink.

To add some more interest to my background, I used Black Soot Archival Ink to ink up the script stamp from the Stampers Anonymous Tiny Toadstools stamp set and added the script randomly onto my card panel and tag.

Set the panel to one side and taking the tag, I added some more stamping down the right hand side. I used one of the stamps from the SA Faded Type stamp set and inked this with clear ink, before applying gold embossing powder over the top. Tap away the excess and then heat emboss until molten.

Finally, I used Tim's Splatter Brush to add some white paint speckles and machine stitched a border around each piece to complete the backgrounds.

CLIPBOARD

We're now ready to start constructing this piece and to begin with I worked on the clipboard and after unscrewing the clip, I attached the inked card panel to the board using Matte Collage Medium.

I then stamped the Factory No.1896 down the left hand side of the board. This stamp is from the Eccentric stamp set.

Taking the clip, I wanted to this to have a rusty, crusty appearance which is so easy to achieve and you can see a tutorial on how I do this by clicking HERE.

To alter this clip, I used exactly the same process as I used in my earlier post, but I omitted the Salvaged Patina Paint on this particular piece.

Once the clip was ready, I reattached it to my board and then attached the Mini Plaquette, No.79 to the centre of the clip.

TAG

Moving onto the tag, and to begin with I stamped the butterflies from the Papillon stamp set down the left hand side of the tag. This stamp set now has co-ordinating dies from Simon Says Stamp, so no more fussy cutting when we move onto the next step.

BUTTERFLIES

To create the butterflies, I re-stamped the image onto watercolour card using the brand new Mini Oxide Ink Pads and my stamp platform.

I inked the stamps directly with various colours from this release, including Crackling Campfire, Barn Door, Peacock Feathers, Bundled Sage, Scorched Timber, and Gathered Twigs. I personally find it easier to do one butterfly at time. I then lightly misted water over the inked stamps before stamping them onto the card.

If you feel you need more colour, then re-position your card on the platform and just go in with the ink pad.

Once I was happy with my butterflies, I used the Simon Says Stamp co-ordinating die set to die cut each one from the card.

I inked the edges of the die cuts with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and then attached them to the tag, lifting the wings and not attaching these. I placed each image over the top of the previously stamped image on my tag, and this ensures I get the correct placement and also you can see the text from the stamp.

Before I attached my tag to the Etcetera Tag, I stitched the bodies of the butterflies to the tag.

With my tag complete, I attached it to the clipboard using Matte Collage Medium.

To complete the tag, I added a Curator Ephemera piece in the top right hand corner.

I also added a Quote Chip, 'A Little Magic Can Take You A Long Way", and once again, I placed a Cello Sticker tape over the chip.

Finally I added an Adornment Star and two hardware heads, all of which I painted with gold acrylic paint.

DETAILS

It's now time for all those tiny finishing details and I began by adding a Numbers Snippet to the right hand side of the clipboard, tucking it underneath the tag, and once again, I added a Cello Sticker Tape.

Finally, I attached a Swivel Clasp to the clip and from the chain, I hung an idea-ology Thought Token which I painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint. Once dry, I then scribbled Phantom Mist Distress Crayon over the token and wiped away the excess to reveal the wording.

So, that's my make complete and I hope you've loved the piece I've created and feel inspired by the techniques.

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....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Papillon Trims Die and Stamp Set, Etcetera Tag, Faded Type, Tiny Toadstools, Eccentric

Sizzix: Tim Holtz Big Shot Foldaway

Distress Oxide Minis

Distress Paint

Foundry Wax

Distress Ink: 

Distress Spray Stain: Old Paper, Gathered Twigs, Speckled Egg, Uncharted Mariner

Oxide Sprays: Old Paper

Phantom Mist Distress Crayon

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Cello Sticker Tape, Screw Heads, Star Adornment, Quote Chip Labels, Number Strips, Curator Ephemera, Clipboard, Thought Token, Swivel Clasp, Mini Plaquette

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Black Soot Archival, Black Opaque Paste, Gold Embossing Powder, Clear Embossing Ink

Surfaces: Heavystock Mixed Media Card, Size 8 Mixed Media Tag, Watercolor Card

Glass Media Mat

Waterbrush

Heat Gun

Tim Holtz and Simon Says Stamp Dies and Stamps Blog Hop

Hello everyone and welcome to the Inspirations Blog Hop featuring the Simon Says Stamp Exclusive co-ordinating dies that match Tim Holtz stamps.

I'm so excited to be joining this hop, and you might have arrived here via my very talented friend, Stacy Hutchinson's blog, but if not, and you want to catch up with everyone who is participating in this hop, then don't worry because you can head back to the beginning, by clicking HERE. Also, if you would like to see the entire product release , then pop on over to HERE.

So, let's get started and I'll can't wait to share all the details of how I used one of the amazing co-ordinating die and stamps sets to create my mini gift envelopes and gift tag.

To begin with I created my bases and for these I used the Collector (for the gift envelopes) and Specimen (for the tag) die sets and cut my pieces from Mixed Media Heavystock card.

GIFT CARD HOLDERS

Once I'd die cut my card to create two gift card envelopes, I scored along the lines and then added some Distress Spray Stain to create more of a vintage feel to the cardstock. I used a combination of Antique Linen and Pumice Stone sprays, and after misting the surface with water, I applied the sprays and then used a heat tool to dry the card.

I then inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress ink before I assembled each of the envelopes.

Along the flap of each envelope, I inked one of the Ornate Trims stamps with Frayed Burlap Archival Ink, and then stamped the decorative trim. I repeated this on the second envelope using a different design of trim.

With the envelopes ready, I moved onto the layers.

For these background layers, I applied Distress Crackle Paste, through the Stampers Anonymous Splash Layering Stencil (THS080) onto a piece of Distress Watercolour Card. I set the card to one side to dry and for the crackles to appear and once this happens, I added the colour.

For this I used Distress Spray Stain in Speckled Egg, Antique Linen, Bundled Sage and Uncharted Mariner, together with Speckled Egg and Bundled Sage Oxide Spray.

I spritzed some water over the surface of the crackle pasted card, and then applied each of the colours, one by one. I then gave the card another light misting, you don't want to oversaturated the cardstock, just move the colours around to blend and then I gently heat dried the inks.

Once completely dry, I cut the card into two separate panels to fit the fronts of the envelopes and inked the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

I then attached the panels to layers of Silver metallic Kraft stash and mounted these completed panels onto the fronts of my envelopes.

To complete the envelopes, I used the Crop-A-Dile to punch holes into the flaps and set a couple of eyelets into each before threading some seam binding ribbon through each eyelet, which I coloured with Tumbled Glass and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains.

As the finishing touch, I added some Cello Tape Stickers to the envelopes.

We can now move onto the butterflies....

BUTTERFLIES

This is now where the fun begins and where we get to use the glorious new co-ordinating die sets from SSS, together with the stamps sets from Tim Holtz. For this make, I chose the Flutter stamp set, and I began by inking each butterfly with Black Soot Archival Ink, (I used three, 1 for each make) and stamping them onto watercolour card stock. I always use the smooth side of the cardstock when I stamp.

I then coloured my butterflies with Distress Watercolour Pencils and once I was happy and the watercoloring was completely dry, I used the co-ordinating Flutter die set to die cut the butterflies.

I then inked the edges of each one with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink, and shaped the wings.

BUILDING UP THE LAYERS

We can now start to build the layers and complete the envelopes.

I began by using mica sheets that I have in my stash and I used two pieces and layered these over the top of one another, fixing them to the envelope with foam pads to add dimension.

I then cut two circles from the remaining crackled cardstock that I used for the background, and used these as my base for the butterfly.

I mounted my butterflies over some loose threads from my haberdashery box which I glued directly onto the circle, and then attached the butterfly over the top, leaving the wings free from adhesive, as I want these to rise up, as if the butterflies are in flight.

We're nearly there and all that's left is the sentiments that sit underneath the butterflies...

SENTIMENTS

For each envelope, I used a frame and sentiment. The frame is die cut from silver Metallic Kraft card using the dies in the Specimen die set. I cut three layers to build up the frame and and then added the sentiment to a piece of mixed media cardstock, that I placed inside the frame.

I completed each frame with Hardware Heads on either side.

The "see the world" sentiment is from the Tiny Text Remnant Rub set by Tim Holtz...

...and the "use your wings is from the Tiny Text Stampers Anonymous stamp set.

I completed the envelope with an Ornate Trim, die cut with the co-ordinating die set, and attached this along the bottom of each of the envelopes.

To create more of a rusty finish to the silver metal, I used a paintbrush to apply Crackling Campfire, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze Distress Paints to the metallic surface. I wiped away any excess paint, so that it pools and sits in the recesses, especially where I've added the hardware heads.

FILM SLIDE TAG

As a little extra make, I thought it would be fun to make a gift tag and as I mentioned at the beginning, I used the Film Slide die in the Sizzix Specimen Thinlits Die Set by Tim.

Once my film slide was folded and inked, I used all the same elements as I used on the envelopes and layered the mica sheets, threads and butterfly as my focal point. I then added the ornate trim across the bottom section. To complete the make, I added a "no.48' remnant rub, some tiny nailheads and an eyelet in the top, complete with twine from my stash.

So, that's my makes complete and I hope you've enjoyed this process and it's inspired you with ideas of how to use some of the amazing dies and stamps from this release.....

Thank you so much for stopping by today and before I go, don't forget to join Tim and his star student, Heidi for Create Together, live on the Simon Says Stamp YouTube channel, tomorrow at 12 noon ET.

See you soon, love Emma x

Hop Order

Simon Says Stamp Blog
Nina-Marie Trapani
Caly Person
Stacy Hutchinson
Emma Williams 
Cheiron Brandon
Cathie Cowles
Barb Engler

CLICK HERE to shop all products used to make this card

Simon Says Stamp Co-ordinating Dies and Stamps: Flutter, Ornate Trims

Stampers Anonymous: Splash Layering Stencil, Tiny Text

Tim Holtz Distress Inks: Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain

Sizzix: Specimen, Collector

Distress Paint: Antqiued Bronze, Black Soot, Crackling Campfire

Tim Holtz Oxide Sprays: Speckled Egg, Bundled Sage

Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stains: Speckled Egg, Antique Linen, Bundled Sage and Uncharted Mariner

Distress Watercolour Pencils

Tim Holtz idea_ology: Tiny Text Remnant Rubs, Hardware Heads

Mediums and Adhesive: SSS Precision Glue, SSS Foam Squares, SSS Tape Runner, Black Soot Archival, Distress Crackle Paste

Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Classic Metallic Kraft Stash

Tools: Blending Brushes, Blending Tool

Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat

Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway Machine

Twine from my own stash