Simon Says - Fall Mood Board Inspiration

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

and the theme for this week is...

FALL MOOD BOARD INSPIRATION

I created a set of FRIENDSHIP notecards with an Autumn theme using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Leaf Fragments Thinlits, Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Leaf Prints, Field Notes, Idea-ology Design Tape to add interest to the background and Simon Says So Talkative stamp set for the sentiments on the front and inside.

In January 2020 I ordered a load of ready made card blanks and envelopes to help my grandson Brodie fundraise for his trip to Machu Picchu which, of course, was cancelled because of the pandemic and I'm now on a mission to make sure they don't go to waste. I decided to have a couple of days batch making packs of note cards to donate to a local charity.

And batch making gave me the opportunity to hit the "Tim Holtz design tape" drawer and make a little dent in my mega design tape obsession collection.

I began by trimming Distress Watercolor card with my Tim Holtz Deckle Edge Trimmer to measure 3.1/2" x 5.1/4" which would leave a 1/4" edge border when fixed to the kraft card blanks. I added strips of Tim Holtz Rose Design Tape which sadly is now a retired item but still available to purchase at Simon Says and hey perhaps it's just as well Tim has decided to not bring out more because I suspect I already have more than I will be able to use in my lifetime. I stamped one of the images from Tim Holtz/Stampers Leaf Prints, inked with Aged Mahogany Distress Oxide ink randomly on each panel. In my usual, making it up as I go along, style, at this stage I thought the background was too white, so I added some ink blending using Antique Linen Distress Oxide ink and added more interest to the background by stamping images from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Field Notes, inked with Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Archival inks.

Then it was time to concentrate on the focal point of the cards, the gorgeous Tim Holtz/Sizzix Leaf Fragments Thinlits. I spritzed Peeled Paint, Frayed Burlap, Rusty Hinge, Crackling Campfire and Fossilized Amber Distress Spray Stains on to the craft mat on my Glass Media Mat and spritzed with water. I laid a panel of Distress White HeavyStock on to the inks, dried and then tapped back in to pick up the remaining droplets. I repeated tapping back into the inks until I was happy with the colours, always drying between layers. I die-cut the whole panel using the Leaf Fragments Thinlits and stored the extras in the back of the die storage envelope to use on another project.

I spritzed Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide Spray on to my craft mat, spritzed with water and added splatters to the backgrounds. I inked around the edges of the panels using Ground Espresso Distress ink and a mini round blending tool.

I fixed the leaves in place with foam adhesive and added Eclectic Elements thread bows

and matted the panels on to the kraft card blanks

I stamped the Hi Friend sentiment from Simon Says So Talkative stamp set on the front of the cards, inked with Ground Espresso Distress Archival. I created inserts for the cards on Distress Watercolor card to match the front panels and stamped different sentiments from So Talkative on the insert panels.

It's amazing how many cards you can make in one day if you break it down into stages rather than making each card from start to finish.

You can find all the products I used over at Simon Says Stamp, 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 as always you have until Monday 8am Ohio time...1pm UK time...2pm CET to join in with the chance to win a $25 voucher to spend online at Simon Says Stamp

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