I ❤️ New York...

Hello everyone....

This week's brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge has begun and our theme is all about THINGS WITH WHEELS and if you'd love to join us and play along, then we can't wait to see what will inspire you and how you will interpret our fun theme!

For my make, I chose to use the Road Trip Colorize Die, which is one of the brand new sets from the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Everyday release for 2023. For my previous project that I made using this die set, just click here but for this particular make, I was inspired by one of my favourite cities in the world, New York and together with the Alicia Key's song, Empire State Of Mind ~ I created this little yellow taxi cab to feature on my Mini Clipboard.

 So, jump aboard...it's time to share how I made this week's project!

CLIPBOARD

To begin I used the Tim Holtz Mini Clipboard as my base and after removing the clip from the board, which is really easy ~ all you need is a screwdriver and unscrew each of the fasteners, I applied a run of Design Tape Trim around the edge of the board, before choosing a piece of paper from Backdrops Vol 1. I used the New York City map, which of course is perfect as a backdrop for this piece and trimmed it to size before machine stitching a border around the outside. 

I adhered the panel of paper to my board using Matte Collage Medium and then sanded the edges with the brand new Sanding Disks by Tim. (These are a game changer and I highly recommend anyone who hasn't tried them yet...to try them NOW)

After applying a further coat of the medium over the surface of the paper, I ran my Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edge and then addd Hardware Heads to the top left and right hand corners of the clipboard.

CLIP

With the board finished, I moved onto the clip and I wanted a really rusty, gnarly feel to this piece of metal, so I decided to alter it and began by applying a layer of Translucent Grit Paste over the surface. After allowing it to dry, I then painted the entire clip with Black Soot Distress Paint. After allowing the paint to become a little tacky, I wiped away the excess before applying a dry brushing of Ground Espresso, Crackling Campfire and Antiqued Bronze over the top, layering each paint colour one by one, and drying them in between applications.

To accentuate the pasted areas, I used a small amount of Sterling Foundry Wax and applied it to the surface using my fingertip. You only want a hint of this, so just a light touch will do. Heat set the wax with a heat gun.

Finally, I added a Mini Flair Embellishment to the centre of the clip. This one features the hand, which is to represent hailing the cab.

Once I'd re-attached the clip to the board, I then attached a Swivel Clasp. I altered the metal with the same paints as I used on the clip itself.

At the end of the clasp, I added my Word Key. I chose the key that has dream written on it, which is obviously representing the Alicia Key's song and the line, "where dreams are made of". I altered the metal clip with the same paints as before but then applied a small amount to gilding wax to accentuate the lettering. This is a wax that I have in my stash but you can find plenty of different metallic waxes at Simon Says Stamp.

INNER PANEL

To create the second layer to this piece, I cut a panel of Mixed Media Heavystock card and applied Ground Espresso, Speckled Egg, Frayed Burlap, and Tumbled Glass Spray Stains over the surface, which I'd already misted with water. I then applied some more water to blend the stains before dripping tiny amounts of Speckled Egg Oxide Spray over the top.

To add interest to the panel, I used some stencils, and started by applying Walnut Stain Distress Ink through the Script Mini Stencil from set 49, you can see the number on the left of the panel. Heat set the ink, before applying the next layer, and for this I used the Circuit Mini Layering Stencil from set 48. I began by applying Translucent Grit Paste through the stencil with a palette knife, directly onto my panel of inked card and after removing the stencil, I sprinkled gold embossing powder over the top. Set it to one side to dry, which will usually take approx 30 mins depending on your surroundings. Once I was happy to move on, I used a heat gun to emboss the gold powder until molten. Do not overheat the paste as it will bubble, it's better to apply heat in small areas and move on quickly.

After inking the edges and machine stitching a border, I attached the panel to my board using foam pads, before placing a Numbers Snippet, 59 Yards to the left hand side of the panel.

Across the board, I placed a ruler piece that I broke the end off. I inked the wood with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and attached it to my board, adding two Hardware Heads on the right hand side. I then took a straight edge trim from the Bat Webs Etcetera Trim Pack, painted it with Black Soot Distress Paint and once dry, added a Design Tape trim along the edge before attaching it along the top of the ruler piece to form the road.

Just beneath the ruler piece, in the bottom right hand corner, I added a Labeled Remnant Rub.

YELLOW TAXI CAB

Now we can start to build the scene and I began by making and assembling the cab, which is the car from the Road Trip Colorize Die Set...

I cut each layer using the dies, and if you need any help there are guidelines on the back of each die piece that you can follow.

The only difference with this make, is that I exchanged the blue layer for yellow and used a Mixed Media Heavystock card that I spritzed with Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber Spray Stains.

With the car assembled, I added a piece of Mica sheet behind the die cut to form a window, you can use acetate for this if you don't have Mica. I wanted to create the look that the window is wound down, so I just added a piece that would fit half the window and attached it at the back of the die cut car.

Now to make that taxi cab look realistic and for this, I used some dies from the Abstract Elements set, which you can see below.

...and starting with the little black and white section on the back of the cab, I cut the small dots from black kraft card and mixed media heavy stock using the black die that is pictured in the centre of the photo above, the one next to the black scallop squiggle, and once cut I attached each piece alternately onto the cab.

For the tiny 'T', I used the smallest circle in the set and again cut this from black card, attached it to my car and then cut a gold letter 'T' using one of the dies in the Specimen Die Set. This fit perfectly inside the circle.

Now for the top part of the cab and once again I used one of the dies from the above set, the grey die that is on the right hand side, and cut a piece of matching yellow card. I then once again cut numbers using the Specimen Die Set and attached these to the small die cut piece.

I attached the cab to my board with foam pads to create dimension to the project and I placed the cab so that it sits on the ledge. To complete the cab, I cut the little exhaust puff that comes with the die set, and used card that I inked with Speckled Egg Distress Spray Stain, and a second layer of white cardstock. Attach the little puff behind the cab with more foam pads.

As the finishing touch, I attached small clumps of moss along the roadside using a hot glue gun to secure them into place.

ALPHANUMERICS

We're nearly there and all that's left is to create the I❤️NY logo at the top.

For this I used a combination of the letters from the Bold Alphanumeric Die Set, which I cut from gold metallic kraft card and the ❤️ from the Bunny Stitch Die Set, cut from red card.

I cut each individual letter three times and then layered them so they create the thickness of chipboard. I then cut a final layer from black card and placed this behind each letter to form a shadow.

Using foam pads, I placed these on the back of each letter and the heart before attaching them across the top of my project, placing them just below the clip.

Finally, I added a small die cut gold star, which I had on my desk from a previous project, and placed this  on the heart to complete this make.

I hope you love this week's project and the inspiration behind it, it's a piece that I really enjoyed making and I was so happy how the combination of dies, worked so well together to make that little taxi cab.

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 ~ stay safe and keep well.

Love Emma xxx

RECIPE FOR PROJECT

Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: Bat Web Trims, Mini Layering Stencil 48, Mini Layering Stencil 49

Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Road Trip Colorize, Abstract Elements, Bold Alphanumerics, Tim Holtz/Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway

Distress Spray Stain: Ground Espresso, Speckled Egg, Frayed Burlap, Tumbled Glass, Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber

Distress Crayons: Walnut Stain

Distress Inks: Walnut Stain

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Ground Espresso, Crackling Campfire

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Backdrops Vol 1, Numbers Snippets, Design Tape Trims, Word Key, Mini Flair Embellishments

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Transluscent Grit Paste, Sizzix Adhesive Sheets, Foam Pads, Sanding Disks, Sterling Foundry Wax, Gold Embossing Powder

Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Metallic Kraft Stash

Glass Media Mat

Blending Tool

Blending Brush

Tim Holtz Paper Trimmer

Heat Gun

Treasure Gold Gilding Wax, Mica Sheet from my own stash

Are We Nearly There Yet?

Hello friends...

Hope you are all having a great week so far and for all those Tim Holtz Addicts who have probably already bought the new Sizzix Everyday 2023 collection ~ I hope you're having fun with it!

I'm here today to share one of my Sizzix makes that I created for Tim's Live, which you can see and catch up with HERE and I can't thank you enough for all the messages and the love you've shown both of my makes. Your support has been phenomenal and I really do appreciate every single word.

Now back to this project and I'm going to take you through how I made my Road Trip Display Panel, inspired by holidays and vacations that as a little girl, I took with my parents. The memories of those trips are so clear ~ they'd pack up the car to full capacity and we'd hit the road for what seemed like an eternity, before finally arriving at the campsite which we'd call home for the next 1 or 2 weeks! Fun times and happy days...

So let's get started and here we go, it's time for this adventure to begin...

PANEL

For this make I used a square Vignette Display Panel which measures 9" x 9" and I will be using the flat side of the panel for this make.

To begin with I used Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint to paint the sides of the panel. I also painted a border of colour around the outside of the panel itself.

Once dry, I then dry brushed Black Soot Distress paint over the surface ~ this just knocks back the intensity of the colour and creates more depth and not such a solid finish.

With the sides painted and dry, I then used the 'Luggage' stamp from the Eccentric stamp set by Tim, to stamp the wording on the left and right hand sides of the panel, stamping in the top corner on the left, bottom corner on the right.

To complete the sides, I cut three of the solid arrows taken from the Postale Thinlits Die Set, (one of these will be used later in the make), and cut these from cardstock, painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint. I adhered two of the arrows to the sides on my panel.

Moving onto the front of the panel, I started by applying Crackle Paste to the corners and once the crackles have appeared and the paste is dry, I applied Distress Crayons over the top ~ Rustic Wilderness, Gathered Twigs and Black Soot, blending the colour with a damp paint brush so that it works it's way into those cracks.

Now for the papers and I used a combination from Backdrops Vol 1 and Vol 3. I cut the Campsite background paper to fit across the top section of my panel and then cut the grungy brown paper to sit underneath. After machine stitching a border around each panel, I then ripped and tore the edges to create texture and add more of a vintage feel to the papers. 

I inked the edges of the paper and then adhered to the panel with Matte Collage Medium, folding back the corners to reveal the crackle.

To complete the panel, I just added a strip of Design Tape Trim to neaten the joins of the paper...

...and then placed a Numbers Snippet in the top right hand corner.

Finally, I added Hardware Heads to the sides of the panel.

ROAD TRIP DIES

Now to start die cutting and using the amazing Road Trip Colorize set, we'll begin with the car, which I wanted bright red as this was the colour of the little mini we used to be in.

I used a combination of card stock, including Mixed Media Heavystock which was inked with a combination of Lumberjack Plaid and Candied Apple Distress Spray Stains and then for the interiors, I used Neutral Kraft card stock in black and grey, finishing with silver metallic kraft stock for the trims.

I also hand cut a panel of acetate the same shape as the car so that I could create windows in the car. This is fixed between the layers of the die cuts, and adhered with matte collage medium.

After assembling and layering all the pieces to create my car, I moved onto the trees.

To give more dimension to the trees, I cut multiple layers and then built them up with foam pads. I made 8 trees for this particular project and the trees themselves are once again cut from Mixed Media Heavystock card which is inked with various shades of green distress spray stains; Rustic Wilderness, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage. Once my trees were layered and assembled, I lightly flicked Decayed Mica Stain across the the die cuts before setting them to one side to dry.

We now have our car, and trees ready and can move onto the luggage. I cut all my luggage pieces from leftover cardstock that I had in my scraps box including some inked cracked leather card stock which really did help to create the look of leather cases. These scraps are always in a box on my desk, and they are ideal for projects like this where you might need them, so if you're like me and never throw anything away...now's the time to use it up!

I also added some twine around some of the cases to add texture.

BUILDING THE SCENE

To build the scene, I attached two of the straight edged Etcetera Trims from the Bat Web Trims pack after applying some Transparent Grit Paste along what will become the front edge, I allowed them to dry before painting them with a combination of Black Soot and Walnut Stain Distress Paints. I then adhered these trims across the width of my panel, placing them just above the paper join.

With the trims in place, I attached the trees, from left to right of the panel, followed by the car using foam pads to add some height and dimension. I then arranged two cases in front of the trees and the remaining four suitcases and bags to the top of the car, allowing the top one to appear as if it's about to tumble and then placed the straps which I die cut from black card, over the top.

You can see the dimension the foam pads give this piece in the photo below.

To complete the scene, I added some moss along the ledge and some Bouquet Findings which I coloured with Saltwater Taffy Distress Spray Stain. These flowers come attached as a bunch but just go in with your scissors to cut off individual pieces which you can then place onto your projects.

To complete the scene, I cut the 'clouds' using the die from the Road Trip set, and once each of the four clouds were layered, I attached these to my panel, three became fluffy clouds...

....but the fourth is the puff of smoke from the exhaust.

ALPHANUMERIC BULLETIN

We're nearly there and all that's left is the bottom section to create the ROAD TRIP wording.

I used the Alphanumeric Bulletin thinlits die set ~ the letters in this die set are big and create such an impact to any project. They really are a feature and a must-have for your die collection.

I cut the letters three times from black card, and then a final layer from silver metallic kraft card, keeping the outer shadow layer to use later. I adhered each letter over the top of one another before layering the gold layer over the top.

Using a paint brush, I applied Black Soot Distress Paint over the surface of the letters, allowing it to go slightly tacky before wiping away the excess. I then applied a layer of Ground Espresso and Crackling Campfire Distress Paints to create the rusty colour that is on the lettering. Finally, I applied a dry brushed layer of Antiqued Bronze over the top. This will bring back that metallic finish to the lettering but it won't be shiny, shiny.

Once I'd adhered the lettering to the bottom section, I added the silver shadow section around each one and stuck this into place.

Finally, the road sign which is from the Road Trip set...

I cut the pieces from Mixed Media Heavystock and inked them to the colour I wanted to create a wooden sign post. I then layered them and attached them to my panel, placing the sign in the bottom left hand corner. To complete it, I added the arrow we cut at the beginning and then used a tiny die cut "66" onto the arrow. These were cut from gold metallic card, using the tiny numbers in the Specimen die set.

Thank you Paula, Tim and Mario for inviting me back to make some projects with this amazing die collection and thank you everyone for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and keep well.

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: Eccentric, Bat Web Trims

Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Road Trip Colorize, Alphanumeric Bulletin, Postale Thinlits, Tim Holtz/Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway

Distress Spray Stain: Rustic Wilderness, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage, Saltwater Taffy, Lumberjack Plaid, Candied Apple, Speckled Egg, Tumbled Glass

Distress Crayons: Rustic Wilderness, Gathered Twigs, Black Soot

Distress Inks:Walnut Stain

Distress Paint: Black Soot, Candied Apple, Rustic Wilderness, Antiqued Bronze, Ground Espresso, Crackling Campfire

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Display Panel Vignette, Hardware Heads, Backdrops Vol 1, Backdrops Vol 3, Numbers Snippets, Bouquet Findings, Design Tape Trims

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Transluscent Grit Paste, Sizzix Adhesive Sheets, Foam Pads, Grit Paste, Mica Stain

Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Metallic Kraft Stash, Neutral Kraft Card, Cracked Leather Cardstock

Glass Media Mat

Blending Tool

Blending Brush

Tim Holtz Paper Trimmer

Heat Gun