WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE WORD?

This week's Simon Says Stamp and Show is all about words.  To be specific, your favorite word.  Words are such powerful things.  They can hurt and heal.  They can tear down or they can encourage.  So, choose your words wisely.  

I love words like CREATE, INSPIRE, ART and JOY but I think probably my favorite word is..... FAMILY.  When all else fails, our relationships and our families are our bedrock.  I am so thankful for the parents that I had who, by their example, taught me the meaning and the value of a "FAMILY". 

In honor of my favorite word, I have created this vintage "FAMILY" frame from a 6x6 piece of chipboard.

I began by cutting "FAMILY" out of the chipboard using Tim Holtz' Family Movers and Shapers.  Next, I cut out the Mini Vintage Cabinet Card on the left side of the 6x6 board.  I would use this opening as a frame for my vintage portrait.  I wanted this piece to look and feel like an old stone or tile square.  So, I began texturizing the basic chipboard first with some molding paste.  When that was dry, I brushed over it with Claudine Hellmuth's White Gesso.  When that was dry, I mixed Toad Hall and Snowflake Paper Artsy Fresco Finish Paint colors together to get a soft, sage greenish color for my background.

Here is a closeup of my background after applying the molding paste, gesso and paint colors.  I love the texture and the color!  I wanted more depth so I dabbed a cut piece of Cut 'N Dry Foam into just the Toad Hall paint and dabbed it onto the background to add some darker and lighter areas.

Finally, I repeated the dabbing of color onto the background.  Only this time, I introduced Old Gold Fresco Finish Paint to add a bit of shimmer and sophistication to what was looking like a piece of rough tile.  The picture shows the addition of the gold accent.

Here is my frame at the end of applying the texture and the paints.  Next, I heat embossed a design from Tim Holtz' Artful Artifacts stamp set.  I used Queens Gold Embossing Powder.  It is a wonderful antique gold color.

I stamped the entire design on the open area to the right of the frame.  Then I stamped portions of the design to the left corners.  I accented the mini cabinet card opening by heat embossing the gold around the perimeter.  Then I randomly heat embossed some of the outside edges of the frame in gold.  

Finally, I heat embossed "FAMILY" in the gold.  I think the gold embossing makes a dramatic difference on my frame.  I love it!

Next, I added a piece of black cardstock that was lightly dry brushed with some of the Old Gold Fresco Finish Paint behind "FAMILY" so that it would really pop.  I added my vintage portrait of the mother and her two daughters.  I think that picture, with it's sepia and black hues with the black behind "FAMILY" is a perfect combination.

The right side of the frame was the perfect place to add my vintage film reel.  This was made using Tim Holtz' Filmstrip Ribbon, his Mini Gears die cut and two small pieces of a dowel rod.  I originally made this film reel on my Red Letter Day 6x6 board I made for Simon Says Stamp and Show's challenge.  The four gears are cut from Grungeboard and colorized using Gathered Twig Distress Ink.  If you don't have this seasonal ink color, any brown ink will work.  I two pieces of dowel rod (approximately 1 1/4") and also distressed them with Gathered Twig. sized vintage pictures on my computer to fit the filmstrip ribbon and then glued them into place using Glossy Accents.  I backed the filmstrip with a piece of newsprint to hide all of the cut edges of the pictures.  Then I rolled both edges of the filmstrip onto the dowel rods and hot glued them in place.  Next I hot glued the gears onto the ends of the ends of the dowel rods.  I secured the top film reel in place using wire.  I secured the bottom reel in place with hot glue.  

This piece adds a lot of dimension to the frame and I love how the film strip plays off of the vintage portrait in the mini cabinet card cut out.  Finally, I hot glued a few vintage metal buttons on to the left side of the frame.

Now it's YOUR turn to immortalize your favorite word and enter it into our challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  You could be chosen as on of our TOP THREE entries for the week and you also have a chance to win our most generous sponsor's weekly prize of a ...

Check out the wonderful ideas and examples that my Design Teammates have waiting for you this week.  Their work is always incredible and this week is no exception!

Good luck and I can't wait to see your favorite word and how you capture it in an art form!