KINGS AND QUEENS...and maybe a Jack.

I hope everybody had a great weekend!  Winter CHA is underway and I'm sure the showroom floor is just brimming with the latest and greatest new products that will soon be hitting the stores!  I know I, for one, am so excited about all of the new Tim Holtz and Ranger products...among others!

Check out SIMON SAYS STAMP for all of your crafting needs.  They will be carrying all of the new as well as your current favorite things!

THE SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW challenge theme this week is: KINGS AND QUEENS.  What a great subject!  Stop by the challenge blog and see all of the really creative, fun ideas my Design Teammates have posted for you this week!  

My piece for this week is a sample that I made for Ranger that was not chosen for CHA.  But, that means that I get to share this one with you!  It's a 6x6 chipboard piece that focuses on the use of Distress Stains.  I titled it "MAGIC"; reminiscent of clowns doing card tricks and other magical, mysterious things you would see at a circus or carnival.

Besides the King of Clubs and Queen of Hearts, I added the Jack of Diamonds to my piece.  He is part of the set of playing cards on Tim Holtz' Poker Face Texture Fades.  I didn't want to offend him by not including him this week.  (smile)

I began by distressing a piece of manila cardstock with Scattered Straw and Broken China Distress Stains.  I did this by rubbing the Distress Stains next to each other on my craft sheet and then spritzing them with water in my Mister Bottle.  Next I dragged my manila cardstock through the color and heat tooled it dry.  I repeated this process until I achieved the blended color that I wanted on my background.  Then I cut out a 6x6 piece and glued it onto the 6x6 chipboard using 1/2"  Wonder Double Sided Tape.  Finally, I dusted the background with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Powder, then laid it to the side.

I stamped the clowns and the clock/spinning wheel from Tim Holtz' The Big Top stamp set onto manila cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I embossed the three playing cards on to manila cardstock that had been distressed with Scattered Straw Distress Stain.   I then lightly brushed over the embossed areas with some Black Soot Distress Ink on a Blending Tool.  I colored the "J,Q, and K" and the diamond, heart and spade using a Small Sakura Water Brush, and applying a touch of Barn Door Distress Stain I added to the brush.

Next, I colored in the clown faces using the Small Sakura Water Brush and the following Distress Stain colors to add detail to their faces and hats:  Scattered Straw, Barn Door, Dusty Concord, Tumbled Glass,Broken China, Peeled Paint and Wild Honey.  

Next I rubbed the edges of the playing cards and the perimeter of the 6x6 board with Distress Embossing Ink and then sprinkled Black Sparkle Embossing Powder over the edges covered with embossing ink.  If I got too much in an area, I simply took a small dry paint brush and brushed away the excess powder before heat setting it.  I heat set the edges so that they would have a "magical, mystical" sparkly contrast to the background.  

Next I inked the Game Spinner and fastener and "MAGIC" - letters from Tim Holtz' Alphabet Soup Grungeboard Letters with the Distress Embossing Ink and covered them with the Black Sparkle Embossing Powder.  Then I heat set them.  I love the contrast between the teal-ish background and the sparkly black letters.  The Game Spinner really stands out against the background on the clock/spinning wheel that has been colorized with Scattered Straw Distress Stain and then some Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Powder added to the center circle.  Barn Door Distress Stain is painted around the perimeter.  

I chose some decorative Grungeboard brackets from Tim Holtz' Elements collection to attach the clowns to the background.  This also allowed a pocket for the playing cards to be placed.  The Stars are also from the Elements collection.  I inked all of them with Distress Embossing Ink, sprinkled them with Gold Embossing Powder and heat set them.  Then I lightly rubbed some Black Soot Distress Ink over them to dull the shine and give them a more vintage appearance.  Then I glued them all in place...pop dotting the larger star over "MAGIC".  I pop dotted the clock/spinning wheel in place to give it more dimension.  Finally, I slipped the playing cards in their rightful place, among the clowns.  Hmm...I wonder what cards the lead clown has up his sleeve?!?!

Now it's YOUR turn to create something "magical" using "Kings and Queens" as your theme.  Then post your entry to our blog.  You could be the winner of our sponsor's very generous weekly prize of a.....

  

You could also be selected as one of our TOP THREE artists for the week.  In doing so, you will receive our TOP THREE BLINKIE award to proudly display on your blog.  So, get busy and get creating!

GRUNGY MONDAY~DISTRESS CRACKLE RESIST

I love this technique and wanted to play along with Grungy Monday's Challenge this week.  It's Distress Crackle Resist.  If you're not familiar with this cool technique, here is Tim's video to show you how it's done.

Here is my tag that I made using the Distress Crackle Resist technique in part of my background.

I started with a plain manila #8 tag.  I used Dried Marigold Distress Crackle Paint on my background.  When that had dried and crackled, I added Broken China and a little Wild Honey Distress Ink to colorize the tag.  I flicked a little water on the Distress Ink areas so that I could get a little of that splattered look.

Here is my background before embellishments were added.

Next I ground a little Broken China followed by a hint of Black Soot Distress Ink down into the cracks and wiped away the excess ink.  Then I heat embossed Tim's butterfly using black embossing powder and I also stamped a few areas around the edges of the tag with black embossing powder.  I stamped some script, some little numbers and a little of Dyan Reaveley's harlequin stamp using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I cut up a piece of scrap Mica Tile into little pieces and added it to my tag using Glossy Accents.

Here is a better look at the butterfly and the background behind him.  You can see the Distress Crackle better in this picture.

I added Tim's Weathered Clock stamp to the tag only with a twist.  I cut out the center of the clock and added a piece of Mica behind it.  Then I replaced the center of the clock...so the Mica looks like an old watch crystal. The clock is distressed using Broken China and a touch of Wild Honey and Black Soot Distress Inks. I also added just a touch of Gold Paint Dabber to bring out some highlights.  Then I added Crackle Accents randomly around the exterior clock ring.  You can see the small hairline cracks in it as well.  The Ideaology Game Spinner and Sprocket Gears have been touched with a Juniper Paint Dabber to make them look patina.  "FLY" is Tim's Ransom Alpha Parts that have been dabbed with a Gold Paint Dabber and then a touch of Juniper Paint Dabber for the patina look.

"Wish" is stamped on watercolor paper that has been distressed with Vintage Photo and then spritzed with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Mist.  I added some Gold and Juniper to the Ornate Plate to make give it an antiqued patina finish.  Then I added some Crackle Accents to "WISH".  I love that crackle effect.  Then I added a Swivel Clasp with some patina Ideaology and charms to dangle from the edge of the Ornate Plate.

Here is a better look at the lower half of the tag.

I hope you're having a creative day!!!

SIMONS SAYS SHOW A SONG TITLE

WELCOME TO ANOTHER SIMON SAYS CHALLENGE!  THIS WEEK IS "A SONG TITLE".  

This is a fun challenge because there are as many possibilities as there are song titles!  I am a huge Marilyn Monroe fan so this challenge was easy for me....

"DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND"

This is a 6x6 chipboard that I first coated with white Gesso, adding a little more on the right hand side of the chipboard.  Then I stamped into that heavier buildup of gesso on the right side with Tim Holtz' Large Harlequin Rubber Stamp.  After it dried, I mixed Claudine Hellmuth's Painterly Pink and Blank Canvas Studio Paints to create my nice soft "girly" pink background.  Then I took just a bit of the Painterly Pink on a paper towel and lightly blotted it all over the chipboard, creating the light and dark hues of the pink.  

When all of that was dry, I distressed the edges of the background using Black Soot Distress Ink.  I added definition to the diamond shapes of the harlequin pattern using Glam Pink and Star Dust Stickles.  I filled in rows of harlequins (using my finger to apply the color) with the Glam Pink and then outlined the diamond shapes with Star Dust.  Then I laid that to the side and the real fun began!!  Marilyn....

 

Marilyn began with the dress form from Tim Holtz' Sewing Room die cut.  I cut the dress form from Grungeboard and embossed it with Tim Holtz' Flourishes Texture Fade.  Then I painted the dress form with Charcoal Black Studio Paint. When dry, I gently (using my finger) swiped Painterly Pink over the high areas of the dress form, revealing the pattern and creating almost a brocade effect on the dress.  I added the sparkle on the pattern using Glam Pink Stickles.  I love that look!  

To complete Marilyns' dress, I added gathered pink tulle for the skirt and also the little ruffle at the bodice.  The lovely rose is one from Tim Holtz' Trimmings that is sprayed with my own concoction of Worn Lipstick Reinker/Forever Red Perfect Pearls/Water.  Then I topped the rose with some Star Dust Stickles for that extra pop and dropped a "diamond" in the center of the rose.  Finally, I added just a touch of the pink marabou behind Marilyn's shoulders.  Tim's simple dress form really looks different now!

 

Next, I needed a Marilyn head and some paper doll arms.  I found some online that were PERFECT!  So, I sized them and added them to my dress form (before I added the tulle ruffle at the bodice and the marabou).  Marilyn's head is pop dotted on top of the neck for more dimension. 

Notice the beautiful "diamond" waterfall earrings Marilyn is wearing?  Those are Star Dust Stickles!  The huge bling necklace and bracelet she's wearing is some old trim I found at a flea market.  Perfect!  Her ring is a clear dot from Hero Arts Gemstones. 

Next I added the crystal flourishes to the background before I added the song title.

"Diamonds" is from Tim Holtz' Ransom Alpha Parts.  I brushed the top of the black letters with a Snow Cap Paint Dabber.  Then I added Star Dust Stickles to make them sparkle as if they were diamond studded letters.  I dotted the "i" with another of the big diamonds from my flea market trim.  The rest of the letters were computer generated and then matted on black cardstock.

Just think of the endless possibilities of using a SONG TITLE as a theme!  Check out the TRULY AMAZING, JAW DROPPING CREATIONS that my Design Team buddies at SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE have for your viewing pleasure this week!!!  Then start getting ink and join the fun!  Post your artful creation to our blog and you could be the lucky winner of our weekly random drawing for a ....

  

If your entry is chosen as one of the TOP THREE projects for the week, you will receive our TOP THREE BLINKIE for your blog!  I can't wait to see what you come up with for this fun theme!

 

VALENTINE SPOOLS

Me again!  My friend, Jeanne found the cutest blank cardboard spools at Red Lead Paperworks.  She bought some and invited me over to her house to play and make some vintage Valentine spools.  So, I packed up some Valentine papers, some Valentine stuff that I always keep on hand and off I went for a play date.

Here is what I made ...

The spools come in a package of 6; three different sizes.  We covered them with Valentine papers and then embellished them, using stuff we had on hand. It's amazing how quickly they went together for us!  It was so much fun!!!  

Here is a closeup of my first spool.  The paper is from Hobby Lobby.  It's cute paper just covered with Retro Valentines.  The little heart on top of this spool is from some treat bag toppers (package of 24) that I got less than half price last year after Valentines.  They match the paper!  The little red bead garland is from Christmas stuff, as is the tinsel garland.  Add a glittery red heart and some pretty red ribbon and wha-lah...spool number one!

The second spool is my favorite.  It is covered with My Minds Eye paper.  Then I added a piece of glittery adhesive rick rack (from Christmas stuff) to the center of the spool and a little "jewel" heart on the free space of the bingo paper.  

 

The little hearts cascading down the spool are punched from Valentine papers that I had.  This is a Martha Stewart punch.  Then I punched a little hole in the top of each heart and gently ran some red wire through each heart and wrapped it through the hole as I added them to the wire.  Then I glued the top and the bottom of the wire to the spool.  Next I added the little pieces of red tulle, tied to the wire.  The little hearts are free moving and I love that!!!

Another Jeanne "find" from Red Lead....these Penny Dolls.  Aren't they fabulous?  They come in a box of 5 and they are a white bisque finish.  I loved the dolls but didn't like the flat white bisque finish.  So, here's a trick...

I covered the dolls with Glossy Crackle Accents.  When it dried, the dolls were glossy like porcelain and had all of the little hairline cracks you see in them.  Then I added just a little Gathered Twig to the dolls and wiped away the excess.  I LOVE THEM NOW!!!  They look so vintage and just like they have been dug up in the factory yards of Germany!  I made the crepe paper rosette that they are standing on.  It's cream crepe paper (aged with Gathered Twig) and edged with Xmas Red Stickles.  I glued the crepe paper rosette in place.  Then I glued on the dolls, added the glittery heart behind them, then the little glittery sticks to the left.  Finally I added the little tinsel garland around their feet to hide all of the gluing.

The third spool is the smallest one.  It features Tim Holtz' Cupid Movers and Shapers die cut at the top.  He is set in a "flower" made out of pink tulle.  The spool's top is edged with vintage pink tinsel garland.

Cupid was cut out of chipboard.  I wanted him to look really old and almost like a thin porcelain piece.  And since there was so much cream in my Valentine paper, I wanted my Cupid to be light, not red or pink.  So, I gave him a basecoat of Butter Cream acrylic paint.  When that was dry, I covered him in Distress Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  When dry, I added just a little Fired Brick Distress Ink to give just a hint of red or pink tones.  Then I added some Vintage Photo and Gathered Twig to bring out some sepia tones.  He still wasn't quite right so I added some Gold Paint Dabber to his edges and washed a little Gold Paint Dabber over him; wiping off the excess.  Perfect! I love the imperfections that the Distress Crackle Paint left behind!  It gives him that much more character and makes him look even older.

Cupid is hold a little bouquet of flowers that I wired together, added a gold glittery heart (that was a leaf until I cut it into the shape of a heart) and added a gold wire bow.

I added some little red rosebuds to the pink tulle he's standing in and one bigger glittery heart to help support him on the top.

It's amazing how something so plain can turn into such cute Valentine decorations with not a lot of expense! 

Valentines Day will be here before you know it!!  Why not make some spools?  You think they are cute for Valentines Day?  Imagine Easter....Halloween....Christmas!!!  Oh boy...I better order some more!  

AREN'T GOOD FRIENDS GREAT?

Yesterday I spent the day crafting with four of my favorite people...Lois, Glendene, Jeanne and Debbie.  We have been "buds" through thick and thin for about 5 years.  Three of them I see a lot.  But Debbie, I don't get to see as often.  Still, she is one of those wonderful friends that even if we don't see each other for months, the second we get together; it's like no time has passed at all.  She has the kindest heart and I love her dearly. 

We all got together at Debbie's house, had lunch and made Valentine 5x7 canvas boards together.  Debbie...bless her heart...had little bags of the coolest ephemera waiting for us when we arrived.  So, we all played and laughed and shared and enjoyed each other's company as we just created away!

Here is my 5x7 Valentine board.  Debbie had put white gesso on the boards before we arrived.  I covered mine with some old 7 Gypsies tissue paper that had all sorts of Valentine-ish words on it.  Then I distressed the tissue paper with Fired Brick Distress Ink.  I had forgotten to bring my Sunflower Sparkle Mist with me to add some sparkly to the tissue so I improvised by smearing a little Platinum Stickles on little sections of the board with my finger. I added some ribbon at the top and made a little hanger out of it. 

I found the vintage photograph of the little boy and girl online and thought it was so cute.  Very "Valentine-ish".  Debbie gave us all of the other little vintage images.  Aren't they just awesome?  I added some gathered cream crepe paper that I lightly distressed with Gathered Twig behind the "Be Mine" heart cupcake pick.  Then I added some red tinsel type garland (actually Christmas stuff) behind the heart and glued the heart to the gathered crepe paper.   I went around the outer edge of the crepe paper with Xmas Red Stickles to give it that extra pop.  I stuck the little stick through the back of the adorable little vintage boy and girl and pop dotted them on to the board to give it more dimension and depth.

I added a piece of scrap lace to the bottom of the board and then added gathered crepe paper to another heart.  This time, I edged the heart with Platinum Stickles.  Then I highlighted both of the hearts with Platinum Stickles.  Debbie had bent the red pipe cleaner into the shape of a heart with little curly tails.  I decided to stick that behind yet another heart with a vintage Bingo "14" marker pop dotted on top.

I'm so thankful that I have such wonderful friends to craft with!  Creating is so much fun ... even if you are by yourself.  But, I love how crafting also brings people together.  So, enjoy your weekend.  Grab a crafting buddy and create something really fun together!

SIMON SAYS ANYTHING BUT A CARD

I love SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE this week because it is so open...any subject, any medium, just NOT A CARD!  Check out the blog to see the wonderful ideas that my Design Team buddies have come up with for you.  What a wide range of fantastic!!

I wanted to just be simply artsy this week, so I did something that is easy to do but I think the results are pretty cool. If you're snowbound this week or just wanting to take little time for yourself to "play", try out this simple background technique.  I think you'll like it. 

I used a #8 Manila Tag to create this fun piece.  I love Distress Inks!  I also love the Ink Blending Tools for applying the Distress Inks.  Usually I use a circular motion and "walk" the color onto my project.  But, for this tag, I wanted to create an entirely different background.  So, instead of using the Ink Blending Tool to blend the inks, I used it essentially as a stamp.

I inked up the pad and then pressed it down on to the tag in a random pattern.  The Distress Ink colors I used were:  Wild Honey, Evergreen Bough, Festive Berries, Mustard Seed and Black Soot (around the edges).  When I finished stamping the entire tag with color, I lightly spritzed it with water from my Mister Bottle and let the colors blur just a bit.  That gave it more of a watercolor look rather than clear, deliberate edges.  Then I heat set the colors using my Ranger Heat It Craft Tool.  

This tag features one of my favorite stamp sets from the very talented Wendy Vecchi.  All of the eyes are from Wendy's appropriately named An Eye For Art stamp set.  All are stamped using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I started at the top right then the bottom left then the center.  I loved the eyes in the circular and square "frames" as well but they wouldn't all fit on the tag.  So, I decided to stamp those two eyes on a separate piece of manila cardstock that was also colorized using the Distress Inks.  Then I cut them out leaving just a little of an edge around the stamp.  I ran a black cats eye ink pad around the edge and it really finished out the circle or square images.  I later pop dotted them on top of the tag.  I really liked the extra dimension they added.

Next I stamped the sentiment, "Art Begins With A Vision".  Boy, isn't that the truth?  Finally I found some little flourishes that would work perfectly on the tag to fill up those blank areas.  They are from Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts stamp set.  I didn't attach them to a block.  I just inked them up and partially stamped them onto the tag, rolling them off of my fingers.

 

Then I did something I've never done before.  I used a White Opaque Pen to add highlights to the tag.  I highlighted the eyes, filled in circles, drew in circles, shadowed letters, added short lines, followed the curves of the flourishes and even added in a zig zag pattern around the square frame.  It was really fun and I can't believe the difference just that little bit of white made!  Finally, I distressed the edge of the tag with just a bit of Black Soot to really bring out the vibrant color and pop the black eyes even more.

I'm anxious to see what you come up with for this week's challenge.  The sky is the limit, as long as it's NOT A CARD!  So, create your piece and add it to the SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE.  You could be the lucky winner of our random weekly drawing 

for a ...

$50.00 gift voucher to our fabulous store!  And...if your design is picked as one of the TOP THREE, you will receive our BLINKE to proudly display on your blog!  So...have fun with this challenge!  Make your project and enter today.  GOOD LUCK!!!

FAUX TIN TYPE TUTORIAL

I have had several people ask me to do a tutorial on the faux tin type photographs that I have used on a couple of my recent Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge pieces.  They are basically a transfer on to metal technique.  These faux tin types are very simple to make and a lot of fun...and what a difference they can make on a vintage piece!  So...here we go....

This is a technique taught by Ranger Designer, Claudine Hellmuth.  A video of this technique is on Ranger's blog.  My twist is that I am using Ranger's Metal Foil Sheet instead of a piece of metal flashing or a more substantial metal surface.

You will need the following supplies for this:  a Non Stick Craft Sheet, about an inch wide paint brush, a jar of Matte Multi Medium, a piece of Ranger's Metal Foil Tape Sheet, a Bone Folder (for burnishing), and a photograph.

I have the best results when using a black and white photograph that is printed on an ink jet printer using inexpensive copy paper.  If you want to use a color picture, I would suggest that you use one that has already muted colors, not bright vivid ones.  It just doesn't look as "vintage".  Take a color photograph and photo edit it to black and white.  Another thing to remember is that when you are doing a transfer technique, the image will be REVERSED on the metal.  So, if you are using an image that has text or writing on it, you will need to reverse the picture BEFORE you print it out.  That way, the text will be correct on your transferred image.  Size the photograph to whatever size you need.  Cut out the picture, leaving a little area around the picture to hold on to while you're adding the Matte Multi Medium.

Work on a Non Stick Craft Sheet or a piece of wax paper to coat your picture with Matte Multi Medium.  Be sure that the surface of your metal foil sheet and the surface of your picture are clean.  Dip the paint brush into a jar of Matte Multi Medium and brush the medium onto the picture surface.  Be sure that all of the picture is completely covered, including all of the edges, with a layer of Matte Multi Medium that is about the consistency of spreading mayonnaise on a piece of bread. 

When you've finished that, put your brush back into the Matte Multi Medium or into a bowl of water to keep the brush from beginning to harden.  Next, pick the printed photograph up by the excess paper you left around the edges and lay it face down onto the shiny side of the metal foil sheet.  Carefully run your fingers over the back side of the photograph to make sure that it is completely making contact with the metal foil sheet.  Use the bone folder to LIGHTLY burnish the photograph on to the metal foil sheet.

Now you wait....until the Matte Multi Medium is completely dry.  This might take a few hours.  You can also leave the picture dried on the metal foil sheet indefinitely.  That doesn't hurt it at all.  You just need to be sure that the paper is dry before you do the next step. ( I like to make up several of these at at time for future use.)

When the paper is completely dry, begin spritzing it with water from a Mister Bottle.  Lay the picture on a flat surface so you won't wrinkle or damage the metal foil sheet as you are working to remove the paper.

Begin GENTLY rubbing the center of the paper in a circular motion.  Then the magic begins to happen!  You will begin peeling away the pulp of the paper to reveal the image that has now been transferred to the metal foil sheet.

 

Continue spritzing with water and gently rubbing the paper off of the metal foil surface.  I like to have my paper fairly wet when working with it....not soaking wet, but wet enough that the paper peels up fairly easily.  This step takes quite a while to do but the results are so worth it.

 

Even after you think you have all of the paper rubbed off, there will still be little fuzzies of pulp that sometimes are not visible until the metal foil sheet is dry.  Spritz the image again and gently wipe over all of it with your fingers to remove those pesky little hanger oners.  I also like to spritz the picture with water and use a Cut N Dry Pen Nib to GENTLY rub over the surface of the photgraph to remove more of the little fuzzies.  Then let the image dry.  I have even used my heat tool to lightly help along the drying process...but remember...the back side of the metal foil sheet is adhesive.  Don't do extensive drying with the heat tool because you could damage the adhesive side of the sheet.

Sometimes part of the original photograph will also come up with your paper peeling.  As you can see in this picture, there are a couple of little areas where the shiny tin is showing through.  This usually happens when you get too aggressive with rubbing off the paper but sometimes it just happens.  If you don't mind the shiny showing through, just leave it.  But, you can also add a darker ink to those areas and feather them out to resemble an old tin type photograph that has dark spots from age.

Now that your faux tin type is ready, you can finish it out however you choose.  Sometimes I like to lightly brush over my tin types (especially around the perimeter of the metal) with Distress Inks to age them even more.  I particularly like Gathered Twig.  It adds such a rich, warm sepia tone to the picture.  Add a touch of Black Soot around the edges and it really begins to take on an aged look.  Then peel off the paper backing of the adhesive sheet and affix it to whatever surface you choose.  Use them as is or showcase them in a frame made from Tim's Vintage Cabinet Card die cut and the Mini Cabinet Card Die Cut used together to create a frame.  They look amazing!

I have also attached the foil metal sheet to a piece of Grungeboard or chipboard and Die Cut it (example: Tim Holtz' Mini Cabinet Card Die Cut) prior to starting the transferring process.  It works fine that way as well.  If you get the Grungeboard or the chipboard wet, it will eventually dry out or you can use a heat tool to help the drying process.

If you've got some time this weekend, try this technique.  I promise you...you will love the results!

A RED LETTER DAY

Happy Monday everybody!  I hope this first week of the New Year has been good to you!

This week, SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW'S challenge theme is "A RED LETTER DAY".  A red letter day is a date that is important either to you personally or globally.  It is a day that made a significant difference in the course of your life or in the course of history.  I chose a red letter day that impacted the world.  September 2nd, 1945 better known as "VJ Day" is the day that Japan formally signed surrender documents, ending World War II.  My challenge piece depicts that time.

I started with a 6x6 piece of chipboard.  The background is a 6x6 piece of Metal Foil Tape Sheet.  It is adhesive backed already, which makes it even that much easier to use!  I AM IN LOVE WITH THIS STUFF!!  It is so versatile.  I used Claudine Hellmuth's transfer to metal technique to transfer vintage picture of the celebrating soldiers onto the Metal Foil Tape Sheet.  Then I lightly distressed it with Gathered Twig Distress Ink.  Love the rich, vintage feel that the Gathered Twig adds.  I sliced the background behind part of the soldiers so that I could later insert that famous picture of the sailor kissing the nurse in Times Square at the announcement that the war had ended.  I had all of my elements made and ready to lay down BEFORE I adhered the Metal Foil Sheet to the chipboard.  That way, as I was laying the adhesive metal piece down, I could insert my picture underneath part of the soldiers.  I liked that look.

Here are all of my elements and how I made them:

I found the vintage pictures on the Internet and sized them to fit my project.  I printed them out, used a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink to age the pictures and then a little Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges to age them even more.

The bunting at the top is cut from blue and light tan cardstock with a vintage red cardstock center.  I used Tim Holtz' medium size rosette from his Mini Paper Rosettes Strip.  I laid the tan strip on top of the blue strip and taped them together before folding them.  Then I made the rosettes the way you normally make them and glued them together using hot glue.  When dry, I distressed the edges of the rosettes with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and cut the rosettes in half.  I used the halves to make the bunting.  The middle rosette is pop dotted high enough to clear the two side rosettes and then hot glued in place to overlap.  I left the bunting in this state until all of the other elements had been added.  The last thing I did was to finish out the bunting with the more elaborate cardstock and ribbon finishing touches.  I'll go into more detail about that later ....

See the little film reel above the newpaper?  That is two of the larger gears in Tim Holtz' Mini Gears set cut out of Grungeboard with the little gear ends cut off.  Then I heat embossed them with Silver Embossing Powder.  Then I rubbed over them with Black Soot Distress Ink to make it look more vintage.  The center piece that holds the Film Strip Ribbon is a little piece of dowel rod that I cut and distressed with Black Soot then hot glued to the centers of the Mini Gears.  I hot glued the Film Strip Ribbon to the dowel rod and rolled the "film reel" to completely cover it in the Film Strip Ribbon.  The I hot glued the film reel in place and carried the other end of the ribbon behind the pocket watch.  But before I did the pocket watch, I used a piece of 1/4" Wonder Double Sided Tape to adhere the bottom of the newspaper in front of the film reel and added just a dot of hot glue on the back of the newspaper where it is touching the reel (to hold it in place).

Tim Holtz' Pocket Watch features "1945" from his Newsprint Alpha Parts.  I used Glossy Accents on top of the numbers to give them even more dimension.  While they were drying, I chose a little map of the Pacific Rim from Tim Holtz' Crowded Attic Paper Stash.  Tim is such a smart guy!  One of the pages in his paper stash is sized in 2 inch squares.  These are PERFECT for using on the interior of his Pocket Watch!  Then I added a little waving American Flag image I found on the Internet.  When "1945" was dry, I glued it on top of the map and flag using Glossy Accents.  I added a few red and blue little confetti stars, sealed up the Pocket Watch and hot glued it into place.

The little "September 2nd" banner across the bottom is the medium size banner from Tim Holtz' Tattered Banners.  It is cut out of manila cardstock and distressed with Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Inks. 

Going up the left side is more of the Film Strip Ribbon that is attached to the chipboard base with Tim Holtz' Tiny Attacher.  I have to admit, I didn't think of adding that until everything else was already glued on.  So, the tiny attacher was perfect for adding the filmstrip without showing hot glue.  The little gadget has really come in handy for me!

The Mini Gadget Heart attached to the famous picture was cut from Grungeboard and painted with Fired Brick Distress Crackle Paint.  Once dry, I stamped "V J Day" in the center and embossed the heart with Clear Embossing Powder and hot glued it in place.  



Finally, I finished out the elaborate bunting by adding a piece of the vintage red cardstock (edges distressed with Faded Jeans Distress Ink) along the top edge of the 6x6 chipboard and to hide the rough edges of the cut in half rosettes. I took some white Hug Snug Seam Binding and sprayed it with my own concoctions of Fired Brick Reinker/Perfect Pearl/Water in a Mini Mister and Faded Jeans Reinker/Blue Patina Perfect Pearls/Water in a Mini Mister.  I loved the vintage red and blue ribbon those sprays created.  Next, I added a piece of Wonder Tape to the top of the cardstock and loosely ruffled the ribbon onto the top of the cardstock.  The edges were gently swept to the back of the chipboard and hot glued.  Finally, I tied double knots in the left over ribbon and cut the loose ends to resemble little bows.  I hot glued them in place between the rosettes and the elaborate bunting was complete.

Why don't you join us at Simon Says Stamp and Show's Challenge?  It's so simple!  Just create a Red Letter Day piece and include it on our blog.  You could be the winner of our random drawing for a .....

Your entry could also be voted on by our Design Team as one of the Top 3 entries.  This is quite an honor and you will receive our TOP THREE BLINKIE to proudly display on your blog! 


Speaking of the Design Team...check out their Red Letter Day pieces on the blog this week!!  I am so proud to be a part of this team!  Their work is always so good and this week is no different!  Check out the wonderful artistic pieces that are there just for you!


Thanks for stopping by and remember to take time out to PLAY!!  It's SOUL FOOD!!