Hello and welcome! I am back with my week 2 make as Guest Designer for the month of January for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This weeks Monday challenge is ‘ Recycle Something’

This week we would like you to recycle something! Maybe use some ribbon or twine from a gift you received or decorate a carton or jar, there is so much ‘rubbish’ that we can alter into something beautiful and help to save the planet at the same time!

The lovely folks over at Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a FABULOUS $50 voucher to shop at the  Simon Says Stamp Store! All you have to do is take out your crafty supplies, make something following this week’s prompt, and enter over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Blog Challenge. You can join 5 times so you could have 5 chances to win! How AWESOME is that!! All winners are chosen randomly, so everyone has an equal chance to win! Woo Hoo!! Good Luck to everyone! The Design Team is looking forward to seeing your crafty packages and will pop around to visit you ASAP!

 

One of my favorite places to display my makes is on the window pane above my kitchen sink and have wanted to add a sun catcher there for the longest time. So when I received the list of challenges, I knew immediately what I was going to do for this week 🙂

I’ve had this 5″ dia wooden embroidery hoop in my stash for awhile now, knowing I would use it for some sort of home decor project. I sandwiched Tim Holtz Botanical Collage Paper  between the hoops, keeping the paper to the backside.

I then realized that I needed a coat of color on the inside of the hoop so I used Distress Pumice Stone and painted the visible sides of the embroidery hoops. Then re-sandwich the paper as described above. After that was dry, I mixed up some EasyCast Resin (follow directions on package as it is vital to get this medium to react properly) and applied front and back to the collage paper with a craft sponge. Set aside for 24 hours to dry, undisturbed. There are many kinds of resin on the market, I just happen to have this one on hand due to my son using it to make fishing lures.

Isn’t this just so cool! The resin caused the collage paper to go completely clear and looks like vintage glass. The next step was to add some color to the flowers. I chose to use Alcohol Inks due to the transparency (wanting a sun catcher look, this was vital). But you could also use acrylic paints, just keep in mind the opacity of your paint. I am also painting on the backside of the collage paper so when viewed through the front the lines of the print are the first layer. Also keep in mind, that your layers are first-last viewed so any shading/highlight colors should be applied first. Alcohol Ink colors I used Red Pepper  Sunshine Yellow SnowCap ~ this is a mixative and therefor is opaque.

After applying a layer of Ranger Crackle Paste I then worked Distress Spray Vintage Photo into the texture with a brush, concentrating on the areas of exposed wood. I was going for a chippy look, so I also scratched off a little of the paste, also. I loved how it turned out and did not end up applying any other colors to the hoop frame.

 For the accent paper piece behind the floral spray, I also applied the crackle paste to a piece of Mixed Media Cardstock randomly, which I allowed to air dry naturally. I applied water and Distress Spray Vintage Photo, letting it pool in areas. After this dried, I then die cut it using the Tim Holtz Mixed Media Thinlit set.

For the flower spray I started with Tim Holtz Bouquet Findings colored them using Barn Door, Peeled Paint and Fossilized Amber but to dull down these bold colors, I also spritzed them with Picket Fence and a touch of Pumice Stone. I also added dies cuts from Funky Floral #3 and a little dried grass from my yard.

I didn’t do step by steps for this focal point because it really can be anything that you have in your stash but for this one I layered the bouquet sprig onto a Ruler Piece and added Adornment Butterfly

Ready for more close ups ….

I do hope I have inspired you to “Recycle Something” and submit it for the Monday Challenge. While there, be sure to check out all the Design Team makes, they are always so inspirational and often has me in complete awe of all their talent.

Thank you for joining me and as always, have a blessed day! xo xo