This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme is "home decor." I ended up making a garland using banner and pennant dies. I put our family motto on it: Do Good Anyway. Life gets busy and crazy and while we have good intentions, it can be difficult to follow through on those good intentions for whatever reason. So that's why I landed on Do Good Anyway as our family motto instead of just "do good." The "anyway" means we still try to do good even when it's intimidating or we're tired or it's inconvenient or someone isn't appreciative or, in our minds, deserving of our goodness. We don't let life or people sway us from trying to do good in any circumstance. I'm not perfect at this AT ALL, but that is the goal.
I cut the paper into banner shapes, but the sketchbook paper is flimsy, so I cut another set of banner shapes out of Strathmore Mixed Media paper and glued the sketchbook paper banners onto the sturdier Strathmore Mixed Media banner backgrounds. I added some white paint and cut scallops out of Dina Wakley's ledger paper and glued it to the top. I did some outlining with pencil, Distress watercolor pencils, then outlined the entire banners with a black Sharpie. I also finger painted some dots on there.
I wanted a different shape on my garland, so next I cut out some Pinkfresh Studio ornate banner shapes and started painting and scribbling on them. I used Tim Holtz's dotted stencil to add some polka dots in the background.
I added some more color and scribbled around the edges, added some white paint to tone it down a bit, then outlined them with a black Sharpie.
I decided I wanted a bigger panel for the middle of my garland, so I repeated the process described earlier. I wanted to add a sentiment, so I cut out "do good" letters from Tim Holtz's Cutout die sets (uppers and lowers). I painted them and outlined them with a Sharpie. The "anyway" that is added to the final product was typed with a typewriter.
Once all of my panels were made, I added a few more scribbles and finishing touches, including splattering everything with Dina Wakley's black gloss media spray. Then I took strips of fabric and sewed them together into a long patchwork ribbon and sewed the banners and pennants onto the ribbon.
I am lucky enough to have a whole room for my crafty chaos and it has some angular sections. There is one little alcove that is just wide enough to fit a desk. Behind the desk is one of my favorite finds: an old weathered pink door with a window section that unlatches and can swing open. I bought it at the most magical little hole-in-the-wall artsy store that used to exist on the main street of my town. The store is long gone (the owner moved away, which was a huge bummer for me personally, though I wished the owner the best, of course), but I was able to buy that door when the shop was closing down. Now I use it as the backdrop behind my desk. I added some baskets to hold some of my finished projects and tags, etc., and I love how the door reminds me of that shop that always made forgotten dusty things look beautiful. I thought the garland was a perfect fit for the top of the door.
Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:
- Pinkfresh Studio Ornate Banner Die Set
- Honey Bee Stacking Banners Die Set
- Tim Holtz Cutout Alphabet: Upper Case and Lower Case
- Tim Holtz Dotted Stencil
- Tim Holtz Watercolor Pencils, Set 2
- Sizzix Big Shot
- Dina Wakley Ledger Paper, Set 1
- Dina Wakley Black Gloss Media Spray
- Dina Wakley Paint: Sky, Olive, Blush, Tangerine, Rouge, White, Turquoise, Marine, Lapis
- Dylusions Paint: Polished Jade, Tropical Sangria, Cherry Pie
- Black Sharpie
What home decor item will you make this week? Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win $25 to the Simon Says Stamp store.
