Use Your Favourite Tool...

Hi Everyone...welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog...thank you for joining us for last week's "Young At Heart" challenge...we hope you can join us this week too because...

and the theme for this week is...

USE YOUR FAVOURITE TOOL

and of all the tools and gadgets I've collected over the years

the one that never leaves my side...the one that I can't craft without...is my trusty Craft Pick or Pokey Tool as I call it...useful for picking up 3D Foam Pads...lifting the carrier layer from Redline tape...picking up self adhesive stickers etc etc but for today's project I'm using it for the purpose it was intended...to make holes to create a stitched background for a notebook cover.

I started off by trimming papers from Tim Holtz Correspondence Paper Stash Pad to fit the front of the notebook...

I created pencil lines from corner to corner using Tim's Design Ruler and then marked the rest using the width of the ruler as a guide.

I used the Craft Pick to prick every second hole on the ruler to create evenly spaced stitching holes

and then it was time to get stitching...an enjoyable hour or two with a cuppa and daytime TV for company but I'm sharing a little "don't do as I do....do as I say" handy tip...remember to erase your pencil lines before stitching...

all done and finished off with a little bit of White Gesso splattering...

I die cut the Thinlits Doily and Plush Blooming Heart from white cardstock and the flowers from white felt and used  the Craft Pick to remove the odd bit that my Sizzix Clean Up Brush missed. I stamped Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Plaid inked with Aged Mahogany on to the heart and stitched the ready-made holes with one of the light Eclectic Elements threads and stitched the flowers with the Burgundy Electic Elements thread to match the background.

I cut out some postcard images from the Correspondence Stash Pad...added one of the cards from the new Idea-ology Botanical Layers and scuffed them up a bit using the Idea-ology Sanding Block.

I coloured Idea-ology Tissue Wrap with the Aged Mahogany Distress Marker and die cut 9 flowers using the Sizzix/Tim Holtz Thinlits Small Tattered Florals...scrunched three together for each flower and added a white stamen in the centre...

I added an Idea-ology Quotation and an Alpha Transparent Tile...

I created a double bow using Eclectic Elements Thread and added the butterflies from the Idea-ology Botanical Layers pack...

and die cut the word "LOVE" using Sizzix/Tim Holtz Thinlits Alphanumeric...

You can find all the products I used over at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp online store...just click on the links below...

Why don't you pop over to the Monday Challenge Blog and check out the amazing creations from my very talented Design Team mates and our fabulous Guest Designer Nicola. As always you all have the chance to win a $50 gift voucher to spend at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time...1pm UK time...2 pm CET to join in...

You can also follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

and if you use Instagram...

please add #sssmchallenge to your entry uploads so we can see them on there too

I look forward to seeing what you create this week...

Have Fun and Happy Crafting

Hugs Kath xxx

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