Make a Christmas Wish...

Hello friends and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week our theme is all about STARS and all we want you to do is incorporate them into your projects and just have fun playing along!

I love everything to do with the moon and stars, it absolutely fascinates me, so this was my perfect challenge and I created a Christmas card plaque which I will be giving to my parents for Christmas. The theme for this was all about wishing upon those sparkly stars, making their dreams come true and all courtesy of Santa's Helper who is delivering that precious star so that they can make their wish and I hope 2020 will be their year to shine brightly!!

So, here we go and here's how I created my very special project...

To begin with we'll start with the background and for this I cut a panel of watercolour card, 14 x 18cm and started to add some colour using layers of Distress Inks ~ Evergreen Bough, Tumbled Glass and Antique Linen which I applied to my glass mat, spritzed with water before dragging the card through, transferring the colour onto the card.

Once I was happy with my build up of colour layers, I heat dried the card.

After applying some torn pieces of tissue tape to the central area of my inked card, I added a layer of Matte Collage Medium over the top and once again, heat dried the medium before applying some depth of colour using Pumice Stone and Evergreen Bough Distress Crayons and blending out any harsh lines with my fingertip. I then added a touch of Crackle Paste to create a little more texture, just over the taped background and applying it to random areas. Once it was dry, I ran the Pumice Stone Crayon over the paste, just to accentuate the crackles.

To add even more texture, I used the Hocus Pocus Mini Layering Stencil over the taped area and applied some Grit Paste through the stencil. Ofnce the paste is dry I then splattered the background with some Black Soot Distress Paint and machine stitched a border around the outside.

I matted my background onto layers of card, one layer covered with Red and White Design Tape from Christmas 2018, a layer of green card, a layer of kraft card and a layer of gold metallic card. I then mounted my layers onto a white card blank which I inked around the edges with Antique Linen Distress Ink.

I now have my background and it's time to start creating a scene and I started with Santa's Helper. I cut the image twice  from black chipboard and layered the two pieces over the top of one another to create one substantial die cut. I then applied a layer of Matte Collage Medium over the top and sprinkled black glitter over it. Tap away the excess and set to one side. Once the glitter is completely set, I then coloured a piece of Mummy Cloth with Barn Door Distress Spray Stain and once that was dry, I wrapped it around the elf's neck to keep him warm and tied it to create a scarf.

For the stars, I cut four various sized stars from chipboard using one of Tim's older dies, the Crescent Moon and Stars die and also used the Sizzix Dimensional Stars die, both of which are from my own stash, to cut one of the medium sized stars in the dimensional stars set. After folding the star along the score lines, I applied a layer of Matte Collage Medium over each of the five stars and added some Gold Rush Glass Glitter.

Tap away any excess glitter but whilst the medium is still wet on the glittered stars, I added even more glitter and sparkle and sprinkled Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust over the top. Allow for all the stars to completely dry.

Taking the baseboard frame from the Christmas Layers and Baseboard Frame set, I cut a section from the bottom of the frame so that it would fit my card perfectly. The frame measures, 12.5 x 16cm.

I attached the frame to my background using foam pads and then added four Hardware Heads, embossed with a little white embossing powder and placed them onto each corner.

Taking my glittery elf, I placed him onto foam pads and attached him in the centre of the frame. I then added the dimensional star so that he's carrying it.

You can see the dimension that the foam pads give to the elf in the photo below...

At the top of the frame, I added an arrangement of Holiday Greens, cut from Classic Kraft Stash. Each piece was dry brushed with Picket Fence Distress Paint and once I'd added a smear of Collage Medium over the foliage pieces, I dipped them into Rock Candy Distress Glitter.

Allow to dry and then arrange the pieces in a spray across the top of the frame. I also added a few pieces of foliage that I cut from silver metallic kraft stash before attaching a mini plaquette in the centre of the foliage. To complete the foliage, I added some berries and as many of you know if you follow my work, I use Autumn Red Tonic Nuvo Drops to create these and just apply a drop the relevant pieces.

Add the remaining stars by attaching them around the frame.

Finally, I used the 'Christmas Wishes' Quote Chip along the bottom of the frame and used two silver metallic droplets to either side of the chip.

So, that's my card finished and ready to be written and given to my parents ~ fingers crossed they love it as much as I loved creating it and I also hope you love this project and all the techniques that I've used to bring it to life!

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/Sizzix: Santa's Helper, Dimensional Stars, Mini Holiday Greens
Mini Layering Stencils Set 43
Distress Inks: Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass and Evergreen Bough
Distress Spray Stain: Barn Door

Idea-ology: Mummy Cloth, Christmas Quote Chips, Mini Plaquettes, Metallic Droplets, Christmas Layers and Base Board Frames, Hardware Heads

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Rock Candy Glitter, Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust, Black Glitter, Gold Rush Glass Glitter, Autumn Red Tonic Nuvo Drops, Crackle Paste
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Metallic Kraft Stash, Kraft Card, White Card Blank, Midnight Green Card, Chipboard, Symphony Tissue Tape
Foam Pads, 2018 Tim Holtz Christmas Design Tape, Distress Watercolour Card, Black Chipboard
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot

Santa's Helper....

Hello everyone...

It's been a busy week here on my blog and thank you so much to everyone who's visited ~ it's always nice to read your comments and I'd like to take the opportunity to welcome all my new followers and say a big hello! Today, I'm back to share another of the projects that I made using the Chapter 3 dies and this particular project is more than just a card because it opens out into a gift card wallet. So, I hope you'll enjoy the process of how I created this piece and I hope it inspires you with some ideas to create similar projects of your own!

Creating the wallet:

To begin with, cut three pieces of Mixed Media Heavystock card to measure:

23 x 18cm ~ Card Folder

8.5 x 10cm ~ Present Pocket

Take the card folder and with the longest edge placed horizontal in front of you and measuring from the left hand side, score two lines vertically at 11cm and 12cm. Fold along scorelines to create your folder. Ink the edges of the cardstock with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

Cut two panels of decorative patterned paper and matt onto kraft card before mounting each panel onto the inside of the wallet.

Cut two further panels of patterned paper and attach these to the front and back on the outside of the wallet.

Place the present pocket in front of you, longest side horizontal and score the panel of card at 1cm, 9cm. Measure and score at 1cm from the bottom edge of the card. Fold along the score-lines.

To form the present pocket, cut away and remove an angled corner section on the bottom left and right hand corners, across the scorelines and then fold them in before placing adhesive tape along the flaps. Ink the edges of the present holder with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

Attach the present pocket to the right hand side on the inside of the wallet. You'll notice that I added a trim at the top and bottom of the pocket and these were cut using the Star Trim 3D Impressilits Embossing Folder. This folder is fantastic for creating finishing trims that just give a professional look to the project and after cutting the trim from Mixed Media card, I lightly inked over the embossing with Walnut Stain ink, before accentuating the raised areas with a little Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax that I applied with my finger. I then attached the trim to the top and bottom of the pocket.

On the front of the pocket, I added a panel of mixed media cardstock, which was slightly smaller in size than the pocket and which I'd coloured with a combination of Antique Linen, Walnut Stain and Frayed Burlap Distress Inks. I applied the inks to my glass mat and spritzed them with water, before dragging the card panel through the inks to pick up the colour. Once happy, and you can always double dip if you think it needs more colour ~ I then heat dried the card, inked the edges with a little more Walnut Stain and then adhered it to the front of the pocket, adding small brad fasteners to each corner.

Using the Alphanumeric Die to die cut black kraft card, I cut out the letters to spell out 'A Gift For You At Christmas' and attached these to the panel on the front of the pocket.

I used the Christmas ribbon die set to die cut the bow which I cut from watercolour card coloured with Candied Apple Distress Inks and then using the embellishing dies of presents, sweets and candy canes, I cut a selection of these pieces to fill up my pocket, so that they appear to be spilling out.

To create the gift card that sits on the left hand side, I used the Gift Card Bag die from Tim Holtz and cut some more of the Mixed Media Heavystock card, which I coloured with the same inks as I used on the pocket on the right hand side. After assembling the pocket and inking the edges, I attached it to my wallet holder and then adhered a stitched panel of decorative patterned paper and another of those gorgeous star trims onto the front.

Now that the wallet is all finished inside and ready to decorate on the outside...

Start by cutting a panel of watercolour card, slightly smaller in size than the cover of the wallet and after applying Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen and Evergreen Bough to my glass mat, spritzed the inks with water and then dragged the card through to pick up the colours. Heat dry the card and when it is thoroughly dry, I then placed the Starry Layering Stencil over the top of the card panel and applied a layer of Grit Paste through the stencil. Whilst the paste is still wet, sprinkle some Rock Candy Glitter over the top and set aside to allow for the glittery paste to dry.

I added a border of machine stitching around the outside of the glittery card panel, inked the edges with a little Frayed Burlap DI and then matted this onto a second panel of card, that I coloured using the same Distress Inks combination as I used on the glittery background. I then attached this to the front of my wallet.

To create Santa's Helper, cut him twice from black card and then layer the pieces over the top of one another to make one solid die cut. I added some shading to my little man using a white pencil before attaching him to the cover with foam pads, placing him on a border of the star trim to ground him.

Now for the presents and all the presents are cut using dies in Santa's Helper Die set and use a layering system of die cutting ~ everything you need to create one present comes on one singular die. All you need to do is choose your colours and die cut the pieces. I chose to use patterned papers from the 2018 Christmas Paper Stash and then cut some of the bows from Metallic Kraft Stash and some from Classic Kraft Stash.

Once I had my selection of presents, I used four in total, I added three for my little man to carry, complete with Jingle Bell topper...

...but added one that had been put in his way and just about to trip over! This present also had a little jingle bell attached to the bow.

We're nearly there and all that's left is to add the lettering. I used the Handmade Die to die cut the word 'JOY' cut from chipboard three times and layered over one another to create solid chipboard lettering. To glitter the letters, I applied a good layer of Matte Collage Medium over each letter and then sprinkled them with a dusting of Vintage Platinum Dust. Set these aside to dry, probably overnight and once they are, all I did to complete them was create a shadow using black card. Cut each letter from the card and then layer the glittered lettering over the top, slightly offsetting each letter to create the drop shadow. Attach the letters to the front of the wallet.

Finally, add two mirrored stars onto the background...

...and some red twine, wrapped around the spine and tied into a bow.

So, that's it for this project and I hope you've loved the creative journey of how this piece was created ~ it's such a fun project to work on and is just a little different from sending a Christmas card to loved ones!

Thanks so much for stopping by and hope you'll visit again very soon! xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Santa's Helper, Christmas Ribbon, Handmade, Alphanumeric Label, Star Trim 3D Impresslits Embossing Folder
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil: Starry
Distress Inks: Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain, Festive Berries, Candied Apple, Antique Linen, Tumbled Glass and Evergreen Bough

Idea-ology: Tiny Bells, Mini Screw Fasteners

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Grit Paste, Rock Candy Glitter, Vintage Platinum Glitter Dust
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Watercolour Card, Black Card, Metallic Kraft Stash
Foam Pads, 2018 Tim Holtz Christmas Paper Stash, Distress Watercolour Card, Black Chipboard
Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot

White pencil and red twine from my own stash

Christmas starts here...

Hello friends...

Hope you're all having a great week and looking forward to the weekend! Today, I'm sharing a card that I created for the Tim Holtz and Sizzix Chapter 3 release, which some of you might remember from Tim's FB Live, way back in July and don't worry if you don't because you can still see it HERE! I've had quite a few lovely followers asking about this card and asking when I would be sharing it ~ I always love reading all your messages and thank you so much for taking the time to contact me, I really do appreciate it, and now that October has arrived, then I thought this would be time for Christmas to officially start here on my blog and hope it was worth the wait!

So, let's get started ~ it's time to start celebrating the most wonderful time of the year!

Now, as many of you know ~ I do love making big statement cards, I think here in the UK we do tend to make slightly larger cards than the US, but I always think that this size of cards are perfect to send to special, loved ones and it also showcased that wonderful Merry Christmas die to perfection!

I began by creating my black card base, which measures 20 x 17cm and then scored and folded it on the left hand side.

I then cut a further panel of black card, 19 x 16cm and using the 'star' stamp from the Great Outdoors stamp set from Stampers Anonymous, inked in white ink ~ I stamped around the edges of the black card panel to create a gorgeous twinkling background. I then took the white ink pad and just edged the black card using the pad direct to paper, which creates a really nice chalkboard effect to the background.

I then cut a slightly smaller black card panel and repeated the stamped border around the edge of this panel. To set the ink on both pieces of card, I gave it a blast of heat using a heat gun and then matted the larger panel onto silver metallic kraft card before mounting it onto my card base.

Taking the smaller stamped panel, I stitched a border around the outside in ivory cotton thread, leaving some of the strands hanging loose.

After matting the smaller stamped panel onto silver metallic kraft card, I attached foam pads to the back of the panel and then mounted this onto the front of the card base.

Now to move onto the Merry Christmas banner and for this I used the Christmas Ribbon die set and cut the wording from Mixed Media card and inked the edges very lightly with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. I then cut the wording a second time from grey card and matted the ivory layer over the top, slightly offsetting this layer to create a drop shadow.

To create the floral arrangement, I used the Large Funky Festive. This layered die does take a little bit of die cutting time but it is so worth it when you see the beautiful poinsettias and festive foliage.

If you want to use coloured card to create the festive foliage, then that would be perfect but for this particular card, I used Distress Inks and Oxide inks to colour Heavystock Mixed Media card.

For the poinsettia layers, holly berries and the ribbon bow: A combination of Festive Berries and Candied Apple Distress Inks and Oxide Inks

For the foliage: Iced Spruce Oxide Inks, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss

For the mistletoe leaves: Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint and Antique Linen for the berries

For the branches: Gathered Twigs

After applying each of the individual families of inks to my glass mat, one colour family at a time ~ I then spritzed with water and smooshed the cardstock through to pick up the colour. If you need more depth of colour, just keep dipping in and out of the inks until you're happy. 

TOP TIP for the next stage: Add some adhesive sheets to the back of your inked card as this is going to be your friend when you start layering all of the pieces together. After drying the card stock thoroughly, I cut all my foliage from the card, lightly inked the edges of each individual piece with Frayed Burlap and then layered each of the pieces to create a good selection of die cuts. For the centres of each of the poinsettias, I used black card to cut these small circular pieces. To create the gorgeous icy feel that is on the greenery, I started by dry brushing Picket Fence Distress Paint over the tips of each piece before heat drying the paint. I then took a clean brush and dipped it into Matte Collage Medium and applied the medium over the tips before dipping each piece into Rock Candy Dry Glitter ~ tapping away the excess and leaving them to one side to dry.

Now that all the hard work is done ~ all that's left to do is put this card together and start by adhering the Merry Christmas ribbon die cut to the smaller black panel using Matte Collage Medium. I then took all my die cut foliage and arranged it across the bottom of my card in a swathe.

To complete the card, I cut the bow from some more of the red coloured card but used my Festive Berries Distress Marker pen to create a shadow on the underneath section of the bow. Assemble the bow and layer each of the pieces before attaching it to the wording.

As a finishing touch, I added some die cut stars, cut using the Swirling Stars die and then a couple of hex fasteners to the top left and right hand corners of the inner panel....

...and that completes this card, which I hope gives you some inspiration for your Christmas card making!

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: Great Outdoors

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Large Funky Festive, Christmas Ribbon, Swirling Stars
Distress Oxide Inks: Festive Berries, Candied Apple, Iced Spruce
Distress Inks: Frayed Burlap, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Festive Berries, Candied Apple, Antique Linen

Distress Marker Pens

Idea-ology: Hex Fasteners

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Unicorn White Hero Arts Ink Pad
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Watercolour Card, black Card, Metallic Kraft Stash
Foam Pads
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot

Along Came The Spider...Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 3 Release

Hello friends...

Today, I'm sharing another of the Sizzix Chapter 3 projects that I created for Tim's FB Live which you can catch up with HERE and I must apologise that I haven't posted it before but I've been a busy bee, locked away making more super secret projects for Tim, all of which you can see very soon ~ just keep watching this space!

For this project, it was all about the Geo Halloween Die and that spider! Now, in real life ~ I would literally run a mile if I saw that spider, I can't even handle a small one, they just freak me out but strangely enough in dies, and jewellery...I have no problem whatsoever! So, back to the project and I combined the creepy spider with the Timekeeper clock and some idea-ology to create a clock tower and will talk you through some of the stages of how this came together...

This is quite an epic piece to make with lots of details and techniques that I have shown you in previous posts. So in this tutorial, I'll concentrate mostly on the clock and spider but also give a brief description of how I bought other areas to life but I'll begin with the Vignette Tray and how I prepped it ready for decorating. This is the largest of the trays in the set and when you receive it, it's a beautiful natural wood but I wanted to change it to black and for this, I used Black Soot Distress Paint and applied it directly to the box, back and front.

Once it was dry, I then took the Cobwebs Thinlit Die that I have in my stash and used this to die cut some webs. I then cut them into sections and attached them to my sides and the top of my box using Matte Collage Medium.

At this stage, I also cut a spider and it's web from the Frightful Things Die Set and attached this to the both sides of the box, placing them to hang down from the main web.

Once the webs are secure and the medium is dry, I applied another coat of Black Soot over the top, dried it thoroughly. To accentuate the webs, I took a dry paint brush and dipped it into a small amount of Brushed Pewter Distress Paint. Remove the majority of the paint on the brush, wiping it onto a cloth and then lightly brush over the top of the webs, allowing it to kiss the raised surface, just catching it so that it adds a hint of shimmer.

Once everything was dry, I applied some Cobweb Design Tape from last years set around the edges on the front of the box. I always add a layer of Matte Collage Medium to secure the tape into place.

Now to decorate the inside and I started by adding the paper, which is taken from the Dapper Paper Stash and cut panels to fit the inside before adhering them with Matte Collage Medium.

I then wanted to give more of a creepy feel to the box and for this I added some Crackle Texture Paste, just applying it randomly around the edges of the box.

You'll also notice that I've added some more webs to the inside of the box which were die cut and then embossed using Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder, combined with Charred Gold. You can see them shimmering just behind the clock face.

Moving onto the clock...

1. The clock and the hands are all cut twice from thick chipboard and then layered to create substantial die cut pieces. I then applied some Grit Paste over the top of the chipboard, allowed it to dry before applying a layer of Black Soot Distress Paint.

2. Once dry, I applied some more paint layers to create the rusty, crusty look to the clock ~ Evergreen Bough, Rusty Hinge, Antiqued Bronze and Tarnished Brass. Applying the paints one at a time and just dabbing them onto the surface using a dry paint brush. Once I was happy I backed the skeleton clock face onto a circle of chipboard which was painted with Distress Paints.

3. To create the cog section of the clock, I added some Sprocket Gears, rusted up with a little Alcohol Ink and combined these with a few old watch parts that I had in my stash, all of which I arranged to look like the inside of a clock.

4. I then took the Steampunk Parts die set and cut some more chipboard to create the circle that sits in the centre of the clock. I applied a coat of gesso over the top of the chipboard to prime it before applying the Distress Paints, starting with a solid layer of Antique Linen, before applying Picket Fence, Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke and Ground Espresso in layers over the top of one another using a pouncing technique that adds the paint to the surface but doesn't create a solid coverage.

5. Fix the centre onto the clock using Matte Collage Medium.

6. For the effect on the hands I used embossing powders. Applying a layer of embossing ink to the surface and then using a combination of Liquid Platinum and Charred Gold powders over the top. I then heat embossed the powders until molten and repeated this process a couple more times to create the beautiful enamelled effect.

7. Attach the clock hands to the face, attaching a Hardware Head in the centre before placing the clock into position inside the box.

Moving onto the spider...

1. I cut the spider twice from gold metallic kraft stash and then attached both die cut pieces to a piece of acetate. I cut around the outline of the spider die cuts to create two separate pieces. Put one of the die cuts to one side.

2. Apply Black Soot Distress Paint to one piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card and Candied Apple to a second piece, and once the paint was dry, I cut a further two images of the spider from the black and red card. I then took the coloured red and black inner pieces of the spider die cut and inlaid them into just one of the gold spider die cuts, attaching them to the backing of acetate.

3. Layer the inlaid spider over the top of the second die cut that you put to one side, using foam pads between to create a little more height and dimension.

4. I attached the spider to the bottom section of the clock face, placing it over a bed of sisal fibres for a creepy web look.

To complete the box, I added the Handmade lettering to spell out the word, Wicked. I cut the letters from chipboard and gave them an ombre effect using Black Soot and Candied Apple Distress Paint. I mounted the lettering onto Vignette Panels that I layered and attached them over Bracket Etcetera Trims that are crackled with Crackle Paste which is then accentuated with Distress Crayons.

I applied dried moss around the edges, rusted some Hardware Heads and attached them to the corners of the panel and then added some of those spooky skulls.

To complete the box, I added lots of details ~ Nailhead Findings from my stash, more moss, some Mummy Cloth, boneyard findings and a little bouquet of red flowers wrapped in some paper.

To complete the box, I added some Halloween Clippings Stickers from the Curiosities Sticker Book and a Vignette Accent to the top.

So, that's 

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

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Geo Halloween, Handmade, Frightful Things, Timekeeper, Steampunk Parts, Cobwebs
Stampers Anonymous: Bracket Etcetera Trims

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Brushed Pewter, Antiqued Bronze, Picket Fence, Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Hickory Smoke, Ground Espresso, Candied Apple, Rusty Hinge

Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone, Peeled Paint
Distress Spray Stain: Candied Apple

Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Vignette Accents, Vignette Tray, Mini Sprocket Gears, Sprocket Gears, Curiosities Sticker Book, Skull Fragments, Vignette Panels, bouquet Findings, Boneyard Findings, Mummy Cloth
Alcohol Ink: Pitch Black, Rust, Patina

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Crackle Texture Paste, Grit Paste, Liquid Platinum Embossing Powder, Emerald Creek Charred Gold Embossing Powder
Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock Card, Chipboard, Dapper Paper Stash, Halloween Wallpaper, Metallic Kraft Stash
Tim Holtz Media Glass Mat

Heat Gun
Palette Knife
Moss
Big Shot