SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE ~ SOME STARS

This week’s Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge really took me to a nostalgic place. When I thought of stars, I immediately thought of “The Stars and Stripes” which in turn, made me think of my Dad, a proud WWII Navy Veteran. So, this week’s piece is in honor and remembrance of my Dad.

I found this 8x10 shadowbox frame on a clearance shelf at a big craft and hobby store. It was meant to hold a 4x6 picture in the center…but I thought it could serve a much better purpose….as it now has.
Sometimes I think less is more so in creating this piece, I never intended it to be dripping with stars; only some and only in strategic locations. I didn’t want them to be the focal point but rather the bits of color and imagery that I needed to accent the main focus of this collage; vintage pictures of my Dad.
I had some vintage looking paper that is just stars and some that is just stripes, so I used them when I created my rosettes and buntings. I love Tim Holtz’ Paper Rosette Strip die cut! I cut some single tiered rosettes that I used in the lower left hand corner and also one that I cut apart and used as more of a bunting in the center (peeking out behind a Registration Certification card).

I created a larger bunting at the top left corner. To do this, I cut one rosette strip out of the stripe paper and one out of the star paper. I used double sided tape to layer the stripe paper underneath the star paper. Then I just created the rosette and glued it together. I used Faded Jeans Distress Ink to distress the rosettes.

I scanned and sized the photos of my Dad and his military service cards to fit the shadowbox. I made them look older by first lightly going over them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink then Walnut Stain and finally Black Soot just at the edges. It’s amazing how just those three Distress Inks can take something from brand new to looking really old in seconds!
I added some photo corners to a couple of the pictures because I think they give pictures more of a vintage feel. There are black corners on one photograph and the "natural" photo corners on the other photo.  I added just a touch of Black Soot Distress Ink to the natural photo corners to age them a little bit.  I cut out one picture of my Dad and used it more as a silhouette in the lower right corner.  I backed that picture on a heavier cardstock and used double sided tape to adhere it to the bottom of the shadowbox.  This way, it stands out and allowed me to tuck things in behind it.
So, there you have it...SOME STARS!
Now, why don't you hop on over to the SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE blog and check out the other wonderful pieces that the design team members have posted in order to get your creative juices flowing?!  I think you will find their work AMAZING!!!
The challenge is so much fun and you could be the winner of a $50 credit voucher to shop at our wonderful SIMON SAYS STAMP STORE!  And...you could also be recognized for your outstanding work by receiving the coveted Simon Says Stamp Top Three Award!
 
I hope to see your work on the challenge!  Take time to play....IT'S SOUL FOOD!