Things with Wings...

... is the theme of the first ever Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp, there's also a fantastic prize on offer to one lucky entrant this week, which includes one of Tim Holtz's new stamp sets, some Distress Ink pads, a Tiny Attacher and other wonderful goodies! The whole prize is pictured below:


All you have to do for a chance to win is enter this week's challenge - make something that fits with the theme "Things with Wings"! Why not go over to the challenge blog for some inspiration and see the different ways in which the design team have interpreted the theme? Here is my entry (click on the image for a larger view):
This clown's head is one of my favourite Tim Holtz stamps, and I've had the idea for this piece kicking around in my head for some time now. Thankfully the theme of "Things with Wings" has allowed me to get it out of my system! :)

The outlines of all the body parts and wings were drawn on the computer and then cut out on the Cricut using the Sure Cuts a Lot program. Barn Door, Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord and Old Paper Distress Ink pads were used for colouring, either direct to paper or with a water brush. All stamping used a Momento Tuxedo Black ink pad, and most of the stamps were by Tim Holtz at Stampers Anonymous, particularly these sets: Tiny Textures, The Big Top and Spills and Splatters.

Comments welcomed, as ever, and don't forget to enter the challenge yourself! :)

Gingersnap Creations Challenge: Pencils

A new challenge has started on the Gingersnap Creations Blog today and the theme is Pencils.

Immediately I thought of that expression "I've seen more fat on a butcher's pencil" (I know, I know! Let's not get started on how my mind works!). Lost Coast Designs came up trumps for this piece, as both the pencils and the 3 waiters (who I turned into butchers) came from their collection. The text was computer printed, the brad was not :)

The pencils were stamped first, then masked off while I stamped the 3 butchers. The aprons were cut from white card, coloured and glued onto the tag. The pencils and background were coloured with promarkers and the tag was lightly edged with Fired Brick distress ink.

Check out the Gingersnap Creations blog to see the fun ways in which the other Design Team members have interpreted the theme! :)

Gingersnap Creations Challenge: Kraft

Another great challenge over at Gingersnap Creations today, this time a colour theme, "kraft". I used a kraft paper covered notebook as my base. I stamped and masked with Momento black ink and then used pastel shades of promarker to pick out some of the details. Why not pop over to their blog to see how the design team have interpreted the challenge? Go on, you know you want to! :)

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I thought I'd make a "just because" card today. I love "just because" cards, it's so much more freeing not to have to fit in with a particular theme or celebration, and you can just let your imagination run wild! :)

I practically threw the kitchen sink at this one - most of the elements have either been soaked, sanded or crumpled and ironed! Fun to do though :)

Most of the colouring was done with Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge distress ink pads, two of the newer recently-added colours. The calendar table at the bottom was stamped first, coloured, spritzed with water drops then dried. I then masked it off with a scrap of paper while I worked on the rest of the card. I thought it would be fun to mark it with today's date, as a reminder of when I made it. The photo is another from a sheet by Darkroom Door (not stamps, it's a sheet of vintage photos on cardstock that you cut out and use), which was crumpled, sanded and tinted. The vintage family portrait is a Tim Holtz stamp by Stampers Anonymous.

The upper section of the card was inked with the two colours of distress ink, crumpled, brushed lightly with the darker DI pad, spritzed with water and then ironed dry to flatten it out. The background was then stamped and the iron fence detail was enhanced with a white pen. After assembling the finished piece, I matted it onto a cocoa coloured panel and stuck it on the card.

As ever, click on the image if you want to see a larger view! :)