My Cards and Tags: STAMPtember 2017 Tim Holtz Exclusive Stamp Set

SooOOoOOo much exciting stuff going on during Simon Says Stamps' STAMPtember celebration!  This week's theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is, "It's written in the stars."  What better way to celebrate than a star-topped Christmas tree tag featuring the STAMPtember 2017 exclusive stamp and stencil set by Tim Holtz?

To start my tag, I cut a tag shape out of Strathmore Mixed Media paper and stamped on some images.  Then I splattered on some Distress Stain and colored some areas with Distress Ink.

I smeared some acrylic paint onto my tag next.

I wanted a more pastel look for the holidays, so I added more white paint and added a layer of stenciled white star bursts.  I love this stencil!  I also stenciled a candy-cane stripe on another piece of white paper, which I cut out and added to my tag and blended in with white paint.

I had a lot of fun with the tree ring stamp.  I cut the rings apart, using the largest outer ring as part of my tag's central image.  Then I stamped one of the trees, fussy-cut it and added it in front of the ring with a star on top.  This set has great sentiments, so I added "Peace on Earth."  I used the inside parts of the ring stamp along the edge of my tag.  I cut them in half and used them as scallop designs.

I added a 25 to the bottom of the tag and it was done!  This stamp set has so much potential and I can't wait to see what else STAMPtember brings our way!

Here's a close-up of Tim's exclusive set:

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

Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag Collection	Neat and Tangled Seeing Stars die	Sizzix Big Shot	Strathmore Mixed Media Paper	Idea-ology Ruler Ribbon
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley LIME Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Tim Holtz Distress Stain In Picked Raspberry	Salty Ocean Distress Stain
Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers Distress Ink	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink	Festive Berries - Distress Ink
Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad LUCKY CLOVER Ranger

I can't wait to see your rendition of "written in the stars"!  Be sure to 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!

My Cards and Tags: Simon Says Stamp Stamptember 2017 Picture Book Labrador- Die Diversity!

Ah, STAMPtember!  My favorite time of the year at Simon Says Stamp.  This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme is about as easy as it gets: use a stamp!  And in celebration of some of the 2017 STAMPtember products, I made a tag using the fabulous new Picture Book Labrador die.

I know, I know.  Where's the dog, right?  When I got this die, I couldn't help but notice how cute and scallop-shaped the Labrador's torso was.  I wanted to experiment to see just how diverse this die could be.  I cut several dog shapes and trimmed down both the negative and positive shapes into some abstract designs to use on my tag.

With these shapes in mind as my focal point, I started on the background of my tag.  I dabbed some Distress Ink over Simon's Irregular Dots stencil.  Before the ink was dry, I smeared white paint down the tag, which picked up some lighter shades of the ink.

I added some streaks of teal, green and orange paint.

Next I colored around the edges of my framed u-shapes with a black Sharpie and stamped some of my favorite Simon images on the scallop shapes (I never get sick of the retro font from the "One With Nature" set)!

Next I glued on my pieces, added some black paint, then white paint on top of the black. 

I added some pink and teal drips of paint and also made a white scallop shape at the top of the tag out of some more of my die pieces.  I colored some Tim Holtz crinkle ribbon with Distress Stain to tie to the top of my tag and it was done.

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

Simon Says Stamp Picture Book Labrador die	Tim Holtz Sizzix Tag Collection	Sizzix Big Shot	Simon Says Stamp Irregular Dots Stencil	Simon Says Stamp One With Nature Clear Stamps
Simon Says Clear Stamps GAME TILE LETTERS sss101518 The Color of Fun	Simon Says Stamp Hand Lettered Encouragement Clear Stamps	Strathmore Mixed Media Paper	Dina Wakley Lime Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley TANGERINE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley Black Heavy Body Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Ripe Persimmon - Distress Ink	Festive Berries - Distress Ink
Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon	Salty Ocean Distress Stain	Wilted Violet Distress Stain
Shaded Lilac Distress Stain

I can't wait to see all of your stamped creations this week and be sure to keep your eyes peeled for exclusive Simon products this month!  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!