Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Lots of Texture Tag using AALL & Create's Intricatags, Heartnook, and Frayed Frames Dies

Adding lots of texture is this week's challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  I just can't get enough of these fabulous AALL & Create jaggedy-looking dies lately, so I used three different sets of those on my tag.  I love the grungy wonky look of them.  And how did I add some texture, you ask?  I incorporated fabric and some hole-punched paper made with Simon's Stitching Panel die.  Behold the end result!

I started by cutting out the tag with AALL & Create's Intricatags die set.  I used Kraft Distress Heavystock paper, which I added some white paint to.  While that dried, I cut through some white sketch paper with Simon Says Stamp's Stitching Panel die.  I love all the tiny circular holes that come from the Stitching Panel die, but I did have to add a shim (a piece of cardstock folded in half) to my Sizzix and run it back and forth about 4 times to get the holes to cut cleanly through.  A small price to pay for a gorgeous panel of circles, but worth noting.  Once I had my hole-y paper cut, I watercolored it and added some Just Walnut Infusions color stain.

Next I sprinkled some Green Man Infusions color stain onto my tag and spritzed it with water.  I used a lot of water so that the brown would show up more than the green.  With Infusions, the more water you add, the more muddy it looks.  If you want to highlight the dark brown, add more water.  If you want more color and want the brown to be less prominent, add less water.  I also threw some fluorescent pink (Dina Wakley's Stoked) into the mix and put just a touch of dark black-purple paint (Dina Wakley's Night) around the edges of the tag.

While that was drying, I used AALL & Create's Heartnook die set to cut some rings.  I used both the ring shape and the negative shapes it left behind and painted them with acrylic paint.  I also tore my hole-y paper into scraps so it was ready to be collaged onto my tag and added some more of that fluorescent pink paint here and there.

I assembled my tag elements, then decided it needed something to go across the bottom of the tag horizontally, so I cut a strip of paper using AALL & Create's Frayed Frames die set.  I painted this thin little strip in shades of blue and black and added that across the bottom.  I'd added a lot of watery stuff to the Kraft Distress Heavystock tag and it was getting pretty warped at this point, so I ended up cutting a second tag out of sturdy Strathmore Mixed Media paper and glued the Kraft tag to the Strathmore tag so it had more stability.

I found a quote from Dina Wakley's Ledger paper (set 1) that I really liked, so I glued that onto my tag and outlined each word with a black pen.  To finish it off, I punched a hole at the top, put in an eyelet, and threaded some fabric strips through the top.  While I had fabric on my mind, I found some polka dot fabric in my stash that I glued onto the front of my tag for a final bit of textural oomph.

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

• Kraft Distress Heavystock
• AALL and Create Frayed Frames Dies
• AALL and Create Heartnook Dies
• AALL and Create Intricatags Dies
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Simon Says Stamp Stitching Panel Die
• Watercolors
• Infusions Color Stain: Just Walnut, Green Man
• Dina Wakley Ledger Paper, Set 1
• We R Makers Cool Metal Wide Eyelets
• We R Makers Crop-A-Dile
• Dina Wakley Paint: Stoked, White, Cheddar, Mustard, Night
• Strathmore Mixed Media Paper

Make something that is loaded with textural goodness this week and upload it to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Art Journal Page using Dylusions Small Creative Journal

"Let's Art Journal" is this week's theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  I reached from my Dylusions Small Creative Journal and got to work!

I started by sticking down some washi tape, which helps me at least have SOMETHING on the page so that all that blank space isn't so intimidating.  Then I shook on some Infusions color stain and spritzed that with water.

While that was drying, I made a page of random stamping and stenciling, which I would then tear up and add to my art journal page.  I used Tim Holtz's Bubble Stencil, as well as his Halftone and Rings stamp set and his Sideshow stamp set.

I did a little stamping on my art journal page, then tore up my collage paper and glued pieces of that to my art journal page.

Next I sketched out some leaf-shapes and filled them in with more paint, Distress crayons, and collage pieces.  I added in some text scraps from Dina Wakley's ledger paper.  I drew a striped vase for the bottom of my leaves and added a scallop piece to the top of the vase.  I also flicked on some Dina Wakley Gloss Media Spray in Lapis and stamped some leaves onto my stem from Tim Holtz's Media Marks 2 stamp set.  I doodled some circles, then I typed the sentiment on a typewriter, cut it out, and glued that on.

My journal page was complete!  Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Dylusions Small Creative Journal
• AALL & Create Washi Tape: Mix & Match, Momentous Morsels, and Fly Away Petal
• Infusions Color Stain: Green Man, Lemoncello, Just Walnut
• Distress Ink: Blueprint Sketch, Candied Apple
• Tim Holtz Bubble Stencil
• Dylusions Paint: Tree Bark
• Dina Wakley Paint: White, Raspberry
• Tim Holtz Distress Crayons, Set 3
• Dina Wakley Ledger Paper, Set 2
• Tim Holtz Stamp Sets: Halftone & Rings, Sideshow, Media Marks 2
• Dina Wakley Media Gloss Spray: Lapis
• Distress Watercolor Pencils, Set 4

I love to see art journaling, so please share your creations at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  You'll be entered to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Romance Tag using AALL & Create's Heartnook Die Set

Romance/weddings/anniversaries is this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme.  I made a tag using AALL & Create's Heartnook die set.

I started by cutting a tag out of Tim Holtz's Backdrops volume 4 paper.  I painted white over the tag, then added some colored acrylic paint mixed with just a bit of water that I smooshed around.

I added some white-dot stenciling, thanks to Tim Holtz's Gradient Dot stencil, and also stuck on some of Tim Holtz's floral linen tape.  I added some gray paint to the tag.  I cut a heart shape using AALL & Create's Heartnook die set and brought some pink and red paint to the party.  I cut and painted some rings and splat shapes that are also a part of the Heartnook set.

I assembled those elements together and wanted to add a scallop edge to the bottom, which I painted, cut out, then doodled on with a black pen.

Last but not least, I stamped the word "Love" inside the heart using a stamp from Simon's Printmaking Postage stamp set.

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

• AALL & Create's Heartnook Die Set
• Sizzix Tag Collection Die Set
• Tim Holtz Backdrops Paper, Set 4
• Dina Wakley Paint: White, Lemon, Mustard, Malachite, Ruby, Raspberry
• Tim Holtz Gradient Dot Stencil
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Tim Holtz Floral Linen Tape
• Dylusions Paint: Rainy Day
• Simon Says Stamp Printmaking Postage Stamp Set
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

Show us how you were inspired by this week's theme by uploading your craft creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  Not only will you inspire others, but you'll also have a chance at winning a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Pastel Tag Book using Studio Light's Mini Zig Zag Journal Dies

"Light and Airy" (use pastel colors) is the challenge of the week over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  We're also featuring products from Studio Light.  I decided to whip out the Art by Marlene/Studio Light Mini Zig Zag Journal die set and see what I could do!

This ended up as a little fabric tag holder...or something of the sort.  I started out with the die set mentioned and Simple Stories' Color Palette paper.

Next I cut some tags and tore some fabric scraps.

I added paint to the tag book and also embossed some stamped images from Tim Holtz's Mixed Media 2 stamp set onto light blue paper that I added to the tops of the tag book.  I also cut some numbers using the Tim Holtz Sidekick Starter kit and added them to the bottom.

Here it is all folded up and tied together with another fabric scrap:

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

• Studio Light/Art by Marlene Mini Zig Zag Journal Dies
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Simple Stories Color Palette Paper
• Craft Consortium Grunge Light Tones 8x8 Paper
• Distress Embossing Ink Pad
• White Embossing Powder
• Tim Holtz Media Marks 2 Stamp
• Tim Holtz Backdrops Volume 4 Paper
• Waffle Flower Nesting Tags Dies
• Dina Wakley Ledger Paper, 2
• Tim Holtz Sidekick Starter Kit
• Dina Wakley Paint: White
• Distress Ink: Tumbled Glass

We are excited to see what you come up with that's light and airy!  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!