You've Got A Friend In Me...

Hello everyone and happy Monday...

Hope you all had a lovely weekend and for those celebrating VE Day, I really hope that despite the difficult times we're living in at the moment, you managed to enjoy the celebrations and salute all those who fought so bravely in WW2...

Today, we have a brand new challenge starting on Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week our theme is called, It's A Dog's Life and of course, the clue is in the title ~ it's all about those furry friends and we can't wait to see how you'll interpret the challenge!

For my project, I chose to create a tag that uses a Tim Holtz Paper Doll and is all about a girl, her beautiful dog and best friend and the adventures that are yet to come! I also decided to include a background that I created using one of the techniques that Tim Holtz shared in a recent FB live ~ the gorgeous glass effect that you can create using Translucent Texture Paste and the new Embossing Glazes. After playing along with Tim's demos, I found that I had so many tags that I'd made and needed to be used and this was the perfect one for this piece.

So, let's get started because it's time to share all the details of how I created my vintage style tag, packed full of layers and texture...

I'll begin by explaining the smaller sized tag and for this I used a Size 8 tag and started by adding some colour using Distress Spray Stains and Oxide Spray Stains ~ these are the colours I chose to use:

Weathered Wood Distress Spray Stain (from my own stash) and Oxide Spray

Chipped Sapphire Oxide Spray

Crushed Olive Distress Spray Stain

Rusty Hinge Distress Spray Stain

Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain

After layering my colours and blending them together with a little misted water, I heat dried the tag and then inked the edges with Walnut Stain and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. I then gave one last spritz of water before ensuring that the tag was completely dry.

Now that I have my background, I applied the Translucent paste through the Floral Layering Stencil from the Mini Layering Stencil Set 25 ~ arranging the stencil to create a pattern of flowers that would sit comfortably behind the paper doll. After carefully removing the stencil, I then applied my glazes ~ Fossilized Amber, Peeled Paint and Weathered Wood ~ sprinkling each of the glaze colours onto the individual areas to accentuate the stencil details. 

Allow for the paste to dry and then heat emboss with a heat tool until you see the glaze change in appearance and become glossy and molten. At this point, don't overheat the paste as it will bubble...

To complete the tag, I added some stamped detail, a little text in Black Soot Archival Ink from the Tiny Toadstools stamp set and then, I used the "splatter stamp" from the same set, inked with clear embossing ink and stamped this randomly onto the background, before sprinkling with gold embossing powder and heat embossing until molten and shiny.

After adding some stitched detail, I mounted my tag onto a Size 8 Etcetera Tag. At the top of the tag, I added a Stitched Scrap, which I looped around the top of the tag, attaching it to the front and back to secure it into place. I then attached a Mini Plaquette, 79 to the bottom of the canvas scrap.

Moving on ~ I took the Mini Etcetera Tag and covered this with a piece of the Worn Wallpaper, which I machine stitched around the outside. I adhered the paper into place using Matte Collage Medium. I also applied a layer of the medium over the top.

To create a vintage feel to the paper, I applied some Crackle Paste around the edges and once the paste was dry and the crackles had appeared, I coloured it with the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon, blending out the colour with a damp fingertip and allowing the crayon pigment to sink into the crackles. I also applied some of the same crayon directly onto the paper, to take some of the 'clean' colour away and create that aged feel.

I then flicked some Black Soot Distress Paint across the surface of the tag, allowed to dry before attaching my smaller tag over the top, slightly offsetting the tag to the left and using foam pads to create some height.

Underneath the tag, I wanted to add some more layers and you can see these poking out on the right hand side ~ for this I used some torn book paper, tucking it underneath. I applied some Vintage Collage Medium over the top and used the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to blend the paper edges into the worn wallpaper.

I also added a label from the Field Notes Ephemera set and layered a Field Label piece, this time from the Field Notes Snippets Ephemera. To complete this side section, I added a Mini Clip, altered with a little Gold Mixative and Mushroom Alcohol Ink.

After choosing my photo from the set, I added some colour tinting using Distress Marker Pens and placed foam pads on the back. I then arranged the photo, together with a Milk Cap piece, and a toadstool taken from the Field Notes Ephemera set and placed these onto my tag.

To ground my image and not have it floating in thin air, I added a Theories Quote Chip. To give this more of a worn feel and a tint of colour, I applied an Embossing Dabber over the surface, sprinkled Embossing Glaze over the top and after tapping away the excess, I heat embossed the glaze. I then attached the chip underneath the feet of my little girl and her furry friend, attaching some moss and a little torn piece of Mummy Cloth for texture. On the right hand side, I attached a Hardware Head.

To tell the story, I added a Clippings Sticker to the photo ~ the wording, 'my friend".

Around the image, I added some die cut hearts that I had left over on my desk from a previous project ~ these are just cut from red card, using the Falling Hearts Die and then attached to the tag using Matte Collage Medium.

You might have noticed that I've added a couple of little stitched details in the top and these are actually die cuts! I used the Media Marks die set to cut some stitches from black card and just popped them into place on my tag, using Matte Collage Medium ~ but don't they look cool?!? I love these as small accents to a project.

For the scruffy bow, I cut a strip of Crinkle Ribbon from my stash and spritzed the ribbon with Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Spray Stain. After scrunching the ribbon up into a ball, I left it to dry, or you can heat dry this, before tying into a bow and attaching to my project. I then placed a Floral Adornment to hide the knot ~ to colour the metal piece, I used the Gold Mixative and Mushroom Alcohol Inks that I used on the Mini clip.

In the centre of the flower, I added some Platinum Stickles Glitter Glue and allowed it to dry.

So, that's it from me for today and I hope you've enjoyed the techniques and how I've used some of Tim's inspiration within my project.

As you may know the lovely Heidi, and all the people working behind the scenes at the Simon Says Stamp Store are running on limited operations ~ they are still accepting orders but due to the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) situation, shipping times are going to be slightly longer than usual!

But due to the outbreak we have made the very difficult decision to suspend the $50 vouchers for now but we know that many people are staying safe at home and we would love it if you would continue to enter the challenges and have fun! We are all in this together!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today and see you again soon. 

Stay safe everyone and take care of yourselves and your loved ones...

....love, care, believe ~ Emma

xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Mini Layering Stencil Set 25, Mini Etcetera Tag, Size 8 Etcetera Tag
Distress Spray Stain and Oxide Spray: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Weathered Wood Distress Spray Stain and Oxide Spray, Chipped Sapphire Oxide Spray, Crushed Olive Distress Spray Stain, Rusty Hinge Distress Spray Stain
Distress Paint: Black Soot
Distress Ink: Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain
Distress Crayons: Walnut Stain
Alcohol Ink: Gold Mixative, Mushroom
Embossing Glaze: Weathered Wood, Peeled Paint, Fossilized Amber
Distress Marker Set

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Clippings Stickers, Mummy Cloth, Hardware Heads, Paper Dolls, Field Notes Snippets, Field Notes Ephemera, Mini Plaquettes, Theories Quote Chips, tiny clips, Stitched Scraps, Milk Cap

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Tim Holtz Crackle Paste, Tim Holtz Translucent Paste, Archival Ink Set 3, SSS Fine Detail Gold Embossing Powder, Embossing Dabber, Versamark Clear Ink

Surfaces: Tim Holtz Mixed Media Tags, Worn Wallpaper
Moss

Glass Media Mat

Big Shot

Heat Gun
Book paper and Crinkle Ribbon from my own stash

In The Family ~ Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge

Hello everyone...

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend and looking forward to the week ahead and of course, the start of a brand new week means that it's the start of a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and this week it's called ~ IN THE FAMILY! So, what will you create and how will you interpret this challenge? The family of distress colours? Your ancestors? Friends you feel are closer than your biological family? The people you share your home with? There are a lot of answers to the question and how you answer our call to creativity is entirely up to you!

For my project, I created and embellished a frame using a photo of my Grandmother. I've always adored this photograph and for me, it encapsulates the era perfectly and I couldn't resist using it and hope I've made my Grandmother very proud with what this piece that I've created!

To begin with, I'd actually made this frame about 4 months ago but when it came to it, I hated it with the project I'd created it for and it never got used. Since then, it's been languishing under a pile of papers waiting for it's day to come and finally, it found it's purpose and I just knew it was the perfect for this project.

The actual frame is cut from chipboard and measures 10" x 8". The chipboard was then primed with a coat of Gesso and left it to dry before I added a layer of Wendy Vecchi's Gold Embossing Paste. Once the paste was completely dry, I then added a layer of the Crackled Paste over the top which I had dyed to this antique brown colour, with Potting Soil Re-inker. It's so wonderful to watch those crackles appear and once the paste had done it's job, I added a little more ink over the top, using a piece of Cut N' Dry and the Potting Soil Archival Ink Pad.

The next stage was to create the inside to the frame and for this, I cut another piece of chipboard, for the backing and a piece of Manilla card, both measuring 10" x 8". I added some Old Paper and Frayed Burlap Distress Stain to my craft mat, misted it with some water and then swiped the card through the inks, picking up all the colour from my mat, then dried it with a heat tool. Using the remainder of the stain on my sheet but adding some Vintage Photo, Antique Bronze and Brushed Corduroy to the mix, I then swiped through a size 8 and size 5 tag and picked up the stain on the sheet but this time, making it slightly darker and richer than the previous layer of card. Again, I heat dried the tags and then distressed the edges of each tag using a Walnut Stain Distress Ink and a Distresser Tool and threaded some Linen Ribbon through the top.

Next, I took the piece of stained card and sandwiched it between the chipboard backing and frame, attaching it with a strong adhesive glue. 

Using the larger of the two tags, I stamped the Tim Holtz verse down the side of the tag and attached this tag, together with the smaller tag (with a Remnant Rub added), onto my background.

I then matted the vintage photo of my Grandmother onto a backing of cream card, adding the year down the side using Deco Industrious Stickers, and mounted the image over the top of the two tags, setting it slightly off centre and placing a Journaling Ticket behind.

To complete the frame, I added various sizes of handmade paper roses, which are inked with Distress Ink and die cut using the Tattered Florals die and placed these along the bottom with some stained Crinkle Ribbon and twisted pieces of Film Ribbon.

I attached an Ephemera ticket to a Memo Pin and placed that amongst the flowers before attaching other various pieces of Idea-Ology, Prima Junkyard Findings Clock Parts metal embellishments and a beautiful vintage button from my own stash.

As a finishing touch, I added a Pen Nib, inked on the tip with Black Soot Distress Paint and added to a BBQ skewer to give the effect of a real pen.

...and that completes my vintage framed family photograph! 

I hope you've enjoyed this week's tutorial and that this piece will inspire you to use your precious family photos in some of your projects ~ I'd love to see any that you create. As always, if you're looking for some more great ideas and inspiration, then you need to look no further than the blog to see all the wonderful creations from my 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. Good luck....

Thank you so much for all your visits today, I really do appreciate them all and love reading all your comments!!

See you again soon...love Emma xx

Products used:

Tim Holtz Sizzix Tattered Florals Bigz Die

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Rubber Stamps ~ Tiny Words

Distress Ink ~ Walnut Stain, Victorian Velvet

Distress Stain ~ Antique Bronze, Old Paper, Frayed Burlap and Brushed Corduroy

Idea-Ology ~ Film Ribbon, Industrious Stickers, Ephemera Pack, Hinge Clips, Remnant Rubs, Linen Ribbon, Memo Pin, Journaling Tickets, Pen Nibs and Crinkle Ribbon

Wendy Vecchi Crackled Embossing Paste

Wendy Vecchi Metallic Gold Embossing Paste

Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad ~ Potting Soil

Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink ~Potting Soil Reinker

Archival Ink ~ Black

Ranger Size 8 and Size 5 Manila Tags

Ranger Craft Sheet

Ranger Blending Tool

Prima Junkyard Findings and Vintage Button from my own stash

Be Yourself ~ "D for Distress"

Hello friends!!

Hope you've all had a fabulous weekend and ready for the week ahead!! As always, a new week means a brand new challenge over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog and I think that this week's, is definitely going to be a popular one because it's all about "D FOR DISTRESS". So how will you distress? Will you ink the edges or use some of Tim Holtz's wonderful Distress products? Whatever you choose to do, we would love you to join in with our challenge...

As regular visitors to my blog, you'll know that I love all things Tim Holtz and I chose to use lots of Tim's Distress products to make my bright Spring canvas. As always, I hope you love what I've made...

To begin with I took a 7" x 5" canvas and covered a section on the front with Tissue Wrap, attaching it with Mod Podge. I then gave the whole canvas a covering of Antique Linen Distress Paint. I now had the base of my canvas finished and needed to add the colour...and for this, I used a combination of Mustard Seed and Picket Fence Distress Paint, which I applied along the top and then allowed to drip down the canvas. The next stage was to add some texture and so I used Wendy Vecchi's Embossing Paste through the Dot Fade Layering Stencil and applied it to random areas of my canvas. 

Whilst that was drying, I started to create my flowers.

For these, I cut multiple layers of a lightweight card using Tim's Tattered Florals die and then inked each section with Wild Honey and Mustard Seed DI before inking the edges with Walnut Stain. I then gave them a spritz of Biscotti Perfect Pearls Spray and after a blast of heat, I layered the flowers together to create my dimensional blooms. As a finishing touch, I attached small watch parts to the centres of the flowers.

Next, I cut a piece of Manila card and using Distress Stains, which I applied to my craft sheet, I "swooshed" the card through the stains to add colour. I then dried the card and applied a small amount of Picket Fence Distress Stain over the top. I then inked up the Courage stamp with Watering Can Archival Ink and stamped the quote onto the inked card. I distressed the edges of the card before layering it onto a piece of corrugated card board, which I painted with Picket Fence Distress Paint.

I mounted the quote onto the front of my canvas and then added the dimensional blooms, together with twine, rusty wire coils and some of the Garden Greens, die cut from Grungepaper and inked with Peeled Paint Distress Ink.

To complete the canvas, I added some Remnant Rubs.

So, I really hope you loved my springtime canvas and for more great ideas and inspiration, then look no further than the blog to see all the wonderful creations from my very talented Design Team members. Every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. Good luck....

Products used:

Tim Holtz Sizzix Die Garden Greens

Tim Holtz Sizzix Tattered Florals Die

Distress Inks ~ Walnut Stain, Old Paper, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint

Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Rubber Stamp ~ Courage

Tim Holtz Layering Stencil ~ Dot Fade

Distress Paint ~ Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Picket Fence and Antique Linen

Distress Ink ~ Mustard Seed, Wild Honey and Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint

Distress Stain ~ Picket Fence, Mustard Seed and Wild Honey

Idea-Ology ~ Elements Remnant Rubs

Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist Sprays ~ Biscotti

Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste

Wendy Vecchi Watering Can Archival Ink

Tissue Wrap

Manila Card

Grungepaper

Rusty wire and twine from my craft stash

Thank you so much for all your visits today and I'll see you all very soon!!

Bye for now...love Emma xx

Gold

Yesterday, as some of you know, I went to The Stitch & Craft Show in Olympia. The funny thing about going to Olympia, is how long it takes! I live in West London, probably about 10 miles away but it actually took me 1.5 hours to get there. That's London Transport for you, together with a long and chilly wait on the platform at Earls Court!! 

This was my first visit to this show and even though it didn't cater for papercrafting as much as I hoped, I still managed to come away with a few bits and pieces and a lighter purse!! lol I also managed to see Dawn Bibby, who was as busy as ever and surrounded by her fans but I did manage to take a photo of her, in a quiet moment. And last but not least, I caught up with the lovely, Sarah for a coffee and chat. All in all, it was a good day out and I can't wait to start playing with my goodies that I bought back from the show!!

Now, it's back to today's share and, a big hello to all my new followers... *waves* Thanks for following me and I really hope you'll stop by and say hello back, very soon!!

And here's today's cards, using a combination of these Clarity Stamps. I hope you like them...

Both cards feature all types of embossed work. From dry embossing, using a Tim Holtz embossing folder, heat embossing, using Dreamweaver embossing paste, the list goes on but I really wanted to show you all the different effects that can be achieved with these fabulous techniques.

This card was made using the Celtic corner stamps to create the border and embossed with gold embossing powder. I then used one of the flourishes from the other set to make my Melt Art enamel feature.

This second card, was inspired by the Celtic corners and I used a Dreamweaver stencil and embossing paste to create the Celtic symbol in the centre of the card. I then stamped the four corners with the flourishes and added crystals as a finishing touch.

So, tomorrow I'll be back with the final two cards in my little Clarity mini series! lol

I hope you all have a wonderful Friday.

See you tomorrow...

Love Emma

xxx