My Cards and Tags: Flying Books Tag

"Take Flight" is this week's intriguing theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  You know I'm a literature nerd of the highest order, so I made a little fleet of flying books to represent how reading can take us anywhere.

I started with Strathmore Mixed Media paper cut into a tag shape.  I glued on some text paper then stenciled white paint through a polka dot stencil.

I colored the tag with some white and lavender acrylic paint.  Next I went to town with Infusions!  This is colored powder stuff that you spray with water for all sorts of cool speckly-effects.  I also added Distress Stain around the edges so the whole tag surface was colored with the Infusions and the Distress Stain.

While that was drying, I cut and folded some "books."  I sewed down the middle of them with my trusty sewing machine.

I wanted to add some black into my tag, so I did some scribbling with a black Prima Oil Pastel crayon, then smudged it with my finger and a bit of water.

I found a "by the book" sentiment and glued it to a piece of diagonally-stripped paper, then added a plus sign (also cut from patterned paper).  I glued it onto my tag and surrounded it with my flying books.  I used Dina Wakley's Ultra Thick Gel, which does a great job of adhering things to a paper surface.

Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Strathmore Mixed Media Paper	Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag Collection	Sizzix Big Shot	Scrapberry′s Dotted Pattern Stencil	Paper Artsy SLIME Infusions Colored Stain
Paper Artsy VIOLET STORMS Infusions Colored Stain	Paper Artsy RUSTY CAR Infusions Colored Stain CS17	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Ranger ULTRA THICK GEL MEDIUM mdm62349	Prima Impasto paint, Lavender
Shabby Shutters - Distress Stains	Salty Ocean Distress Stain	Distress Stains - Gathered Twigs	Prima Flowers ARTIST QUALITY OIL PASTEL CRAYONS	Echo Park, I′d Rather be Crafting 12x12 paper
Jane Davenport Happy Little Unicorn die	Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET

I'm excited to see what your interpretation of our theme is!  Upload your masterpiece to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to a win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

My Cards and Tags: Halloween Tags using Tim Holtz's Halloween Hangouts

Time is flying and I can't believe that Halloween is right around the corner!  That means that this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme is Spooky/Halloween.  I went with a couple of tags that utilize some of my favorite dies.

Interestingly enough, I was inspired by some Christmas patterned paper when I was making these tags.  I decided to go with that and glued some scraps of it to my two tags cut out of Strathmore Mixed Media paper.

I added acrylic paint in white, pink, blue, teal and green.

To spook-i-fy it, I added gray paint and lots of black smudges and lines made with Prima Oil pastel crayons.  Then I stamped on some images from Dina Wakley using Ranger Jet Black archival ink.

What to add next?  I cut some circular shapes out of black paper using Seth Apter dies.  I filled in the circles with some scrap collage pieces I had.

I glued these onto my tags and embellished each.  For the bigger tag, I added bats (folded in and out for a dimensional effect) made from Tim Holtz's Halloween Hangouts die.

I looped a piece of black embroidery thread through the tag hole at the top.

On the smaller tag, I added an "October 31" sentiment.

I really love the "smudge-a-bility" factor of the Prima Oil Pastels!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Seth Apter Spellbinders Splatter Proof dies	Seth Apter Coffee Break die	Tim-Holtz-Sizzix-HALLOWEEN-HANGOUTS-Thinlits-Die-Set-663088	Sizzix Big Shot	My Favorite Things Candy Land 6x6 Paper Pack
Dina Wakley Splatter Girl Stamp Set	Dina Wakley Text and Scribbles Cling Stamps	Inky Antics Andrea Ockey Parr Happy Haunting	Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag Collection	Strathmore Mixed Media Paper
Prima Flowers ARTIST QUALITY OIL PASTEL CRAYONS	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Olive Acrylic paint	Dina Wakley OCEAN heavy body acrylic paints
Prima Impasto paint, Crimson	Ranger Dylusions Paint FRESH LIME	Ranger Dylusions Paint LEMON ZEST	Jane Davenport Acrylic Paint

I'm excited to see all of your spooky Halloween creations!  Upload your projects to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to Simon Says Stamp!