My Other Creations: Fat Little Notebook

For the first time EVER in my crafting career, I did a Tic Tac Toe-based challenge.  That's right!  The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme this week is to pick any 3-in-a-row combos (or blackout if you're feeling ambitious) from the lovely Bingo board that our Design Team friend Maura created.  I went with stamping, cardboard and Washi tape and made a fat little notebook:

 I'm of the opinion that you can't have too much Almond Roca or too many notebooks.  This one is 3" x 4" and I started by stamping on white cardstock with Ranger Jet Black Archival and some great stamp sets by Tim Holtz.

Next up I colored some of the areas with Distress Inks and sponges, then smeared white acrylic paint over the top of what I'd just colored.  And yes- I do smear paint with my fingers, which I find therapeutic and probably because I'm too lazy to find the right brush.

I  added some Washi tape here and there.

When that was done, I painted a piece of corrugated cardboard with white acrylic paint, cut a hole in the center to make a frame, then let that dry.  In the meantime, I added some black stitching to my cardstock collage.  When my cardboard was dry, I stamped it and added some acrylic paint to it.  I added a paperclip to my cardboard frame, then glued it to my collage.  I added the "Notebook"stamped sentiment and I was ready to bind it all together with my lovely Cinch tool.

For the pages, I decided to use some 3" x 4" Project Life cards since you get like 80 million in a core kit.  Here's a peek inside at the pages.  I used cards from the new Prismatic and Picturesque sets.

A notebook wouldn't be a notebook without some fun tabs at the top!  I made some traditional-looking tabs as well as a flower tab and some house tabs using a Tim Holtz die.

This notebook ended up being just over an inch thick, so I've got lots of good space to write whatever comes to mind!

My English lit nerd side will always adore notebooks and this one is no exception.  Maybe I should've called it the "anything but the kitchen sink notebook," as you'll see from this lengthy list of supplies I used that you can get at Simon Says Stamp:

Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2016 HALFTONE AND RINGS CMS260	Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2016 SIDESHOW	Hero Arts Clear Stamps My Words set	Hero Arts Herbs and Honey Background Stamp	Idea-ology Tissue Tape In Symphony	Doodlebug Deck The Halls Washi Tape	Doodlebug Christmas Candy Stripe Washi
American Crafts Multi-color Hall Pass Paperclips	Project Life Prismatic Core Kit	Project Life Picturesque Core Kit	File Tab Punch-We R Memory Keepers	Tim Holtz Sizzix Die TOWNSCAPE On The Edge Alterations	Project Life Craft Die Set	Sizzix Big Shot
Cinch - We R Memory Keepers	Bo Bunny Believe 6x6 Paper	Prima Documented Beauty Flowers	Black Sharpie Fine Point Pen	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad LUCKY CLOVER Ranger	Ripe Persimmon - Distress Ink	Festive Berries - Distress Ink	Salty Ocean - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
Dina Wakley LEMON Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley MAGENTA Heavy Body Acrylic Paints

Are you ready to get your bingo on?  Can't wait to see what you think up with Maura's clever bingo board!  Upload your creations to our Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to earn a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

    

My Other Creations: Metal Tart Tin Medals

When I saw that this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme was Patterned Paper, I decided to make some medals with colorful paper "ribbons":

 The metal portion of my medals started out as mini tart tins that I found at a thrift store.  I smashed them flat (which did pain me a smidge, I will admit) and used that as my starting point.

The paper centers of my medals were punched with a 2" circle punch.  The bird is from patterned paper (the Painted Passport collection), while the typewriter is from a vintage kid's book and the travel girl is from Bo Bunny's Calendar Girl collection.

  
I made the ribbons on my medals from all sorts of different patterned paper, which I cut and outlined with a black Sharpie pen.  I used my Crop-A-Dile tool to cut holes in my paper, then set eyelets within the holes.  I threaded wire through the eyelets.

  
I stuck the wires to the backs of my medals with strong glue, then I connected more wire to the top and looped it around safety pins to mimic the pin element of traditional medals.

  
Lastly, I added the medal titles (Bird Babe, Writer and Adventurer), which I printed in Word.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy, as my cute little niece would say!

These medals were a lot of fun to make and were a great way to use up some of my patterned paper scraps.  Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Webster′s Pages Painted Passport 12x12 Paper	Bo Bunny Believe 6x6 Paper	Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid 6x6 Paper	Tim Holtz Lost and Found 12 x 12 Paper Stack	American Crafts Shimelle 12 x 12 Starshine Paper	American Crafts Dear Lizzy 12 x 12 Paper	C′est La Vie 6x6 Paper
PhotoPlay Family Ties 12 x 12 Paper Pack	Calendar Girl Pocket Squares	WeRMemory Keepers Cropadile	We R Memories Eyelets	Black Sharpie Fine Point Pen	Tim Holtz Idea-ology RULER RIBBON Fabric Canvas Measure	Fiskars Extra Large 2" Circle Punch

I know we all have tons o' patterned paper, so I can't wait to see how you use it this week for our challenge!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!