CARNIVAL!!!

Hello Everyone!!!  It's another Monday and time for a new challenge from Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  This week, the theme is "Carnival".

Carnivals and Circuses are about the same thing, right?  Anyway, here is my challenge piece for this week ...

I created a large, dimensional tag using vintage circus images from Tim Holtz and Bottle Caps.

What is a carnival without a "BIG TOP"?  I began with a piece of manila cardstock and Wendy Vecchi's Yike Stripes stencil to create the "BIG TOP" at the top of my tag.  I made the stripes using Fired Brick Distress Ink and then covered them with Wendy's new and AMAZING Transluscent Embossing Paste!  See the shine on the stripes?  It's glossy but not gaudy.  Perfect for distress work! Next I die cut the bottom edge with Tim Holtz' Plaque and Postage On The Edge die cut to create more of the feel of a Big Top.

I stamped the wheel from Tim Holtz' Big Top twice onto Specialty Stamping Paper with Jet Black Archival Ink.  I cut out only the center circle one one of the stamped images and divided it into equal sections.  Then I colored in each of the elongated triangles of the circle with various Distress Inks and a Detailer Water Brush.  When dry, I glued it into place, inked the top of the wheel with Versamark Embossing Ink and then poured Clear UTEE over the top of the newly altered wheel.  I heat set it and poked a hole into the center of the wheel where I would add a Tim Holtz Washer and Long Fastener.

Here is the way the original stamp looked and my altered, more "Carnival" version.

The clowns were also stamped onto Specialty Stamping Paper and colored with various Distress Inks and a Detailer Water Brush.  Primarily, the flesh faces were done with a mixture of Scattered Straw and Tattered Rose.  The bright red hair, cheeks and lips is Barn Door. The bright blue is Salty Ocean.  The other yellow-ish vintage color is Scattered Straw.  I cut around the clowns and glued them onto another piece of left over striped paper from the Big Top to create a pocket.  I also gathered a piece of distressed cream crepe paper with a needle and thread that would later become a big clown color for the center clown.  That was attached with 1/8" Scor Tape and the wavy edges of the crepe paper all accented with Waterfall Stickles.  I also accented the other clowns with Waterfall and Stardust Stickles for that extra "sparkle".

Here you can see the completed pocket, the wheel and three Bottle Caps Inc. vintage bottle caps and vintage circus images inside of each.  The cabochons on top magnify the images and give a neat vintage look of being covered in glass.

  
The basic #10 Manila Tag was distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the Big Top attached with 1/4" Scor Tape to the backside of the tag.  I then clipped off either side to conform to the shape of the tag.  I added two black pop dots stacked on each side underneath the front of the Big Top to give it more dimension and I flared out the bottom half of the tag.  The Fired Brick Tickets were originally manila cardstock that I distressed and cut out using Tim Holtz' Mini Tickets die cut strip.  I then stamped the ticket image on each ticket using Jet Black Archival Ink.  Time to put everything in place.

In this photograph, you can better see the dimension of the Big Top.

I also die cut a Tim Holtz Mini Ticket onto a piece of distressed Manila Cardstock and stamped "Life Is A Circus" on it.  I colorized some of the letters with Fired Brick Distress Ink and a Detailer Water Brush.  I then stamped three stars and circles from Tim Holtz' Bitty Grunge stamp set and colorized the stars with Salty Ocean Distress Ink and a Detailer Water Brush.  I punched out the circles and pop dotted them in place.  I then sliced either side of the tag with my Tonic Craft Knife and inserted a piece of black ribbon.  I added some tickets across the front of the Big Top and some running vertically down the tag.  Looks like a circus, doesn't it?

The center portion of the tag sports the altered wheel that will really spin.  The Wendy Vecchi hand (from her Mail Art stamp set) to the right is supposed to look like those "tickers" that point to the winning number on a wheel after it stops spinning.  It is colored with the same colors as the clowns and is pop dotted in place.

   
The clown pocket is really fun.  I love the main clown's big ruffled collar.  I also love the vintage images from Bottle Cap Inc.'s Vintage Circus bottle cap centers.  I added them to distressed Bottle Cap bottle caps and covered them with a 1" cabochon.  They really make the images pop!

I hope you've enjoyed seeing this tag and see how I made it.  And ... I hope this has inspired you to join our challenge and create something with a "Carnival" theme.  Then enter our challenge and YOU could be the lucky winner of our weekly random drawing of 



$50.00 credit voucher.  The Design Team also choose our top picks from each week and some of them are highlighted on our newer feature called ...

So, join us today and YOU may be among the select artists that we feel have really rocked the challenge.

Here are all of the products available at Simon Says Stamp that I used in creating this tag:

*Stampendous Cling Stamp LIFE IS A CIRCUS Rubber UM crh290	*Wendy Vecchi Cling Rubber Stamps MAIL ART Studio 490 lcs008	*Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps BITTY GRUNGE Stampers Anonymous	*Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps THE BIG TOP Circus Stampers Anonymous	*Bottle Cap Inc. PATINA 2 SIDED MULTI PACK 018744
*Bottle Cap Inc. VINTAGE CIRCUS IMAGES 591490	*Bottle Cap Inc. 1"" CABOCHON 590394	*Tim Holtz Sizzix Die PLAQUE & POSTAGE On The Edge Alterations 656628	*Tim Holtz Sizzix Die MINI TICKETS Movers & Shapers 657216 Alterations	*PRE-ORDER Tim Holtz Sizzix Die MINI FILMSTRIP & TICKETS Decorative Strip 658551
*Tim Holtz Rubber Stamp ADMIT ONE Ticket Stampers Anonymous	*Ranger STICKLES WATERFALL Blue Glitter Glue	*Ranger STICKLES STAR DUST Stardust White Clear Glitter Glue	*Tim Holtz Distress Ink PAD VINTAGE PHOTO Brown Ranger	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD SCATTERED STRAW Yellow Ranger
*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD FIRED BRICK Red Ranger TIM20202	*Tim Holtz Distress Ink PAD TATTERED ROSE Pink Ranger	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD SALTY OCEAN Ranger SUMMER	*Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK PAD BARN DOOR Red Ranger	*Ranger Melt Art UTEE CLEAR 8 oz Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel SUZ09283
*Ranger Inkssentials US HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL HIT00471	*Versamark WATERMARK Rubber Stamp Emboss Chalk Resist INK PAD	*Tim Holtz DETAILER WATER BRUSH Ranger Watercoloring TIP33080	*Tim Holtz Tonic CRAFT KNIFE Tool Blade Retractable w Spares	*Ranger Inkssentials 8.5 x 11 SPECIALTY STAMPING PAPER ISP32908
*Scor-Tape 1/8"" Crafting Tape	*Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK AIP31468

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