Inspired by a Song

Hello all!  I'm delighted to be in the Spotlight for my third guest designer spot this month at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

And how about this as a coincidence?  The new theme this week is Inspired by a Song.  I could hardly believe my luck.

As you probably already know, we're hosting a Words and Music theme at A Vintage Journey this month, looking for you to get inspired by some song lyrics.  So why not do the double and join in with both challenges?!

As always, the regular team at Simon Says have created wonders to inspire you, and here's my jumbo layered tag to get you singing along.

My inspiration is the bitter-sweet ballad, I Won't Send Roses, from the musical, Mack and Mabel.  It's not the first time this song has inspired me in creating tags.

I've known and loved it for years, ever since it formed part of Torvill and Dean's gold medal-winning ice dance routine in 1982.

They used the whole Mack & Mabel overture for the competition, but did a beautiful, sad, sweet exhibition dance to this song once the competition was over.

Last time around I ended up with two tags to tell the story.  This time it's also produced two tags but they're combined into one jumbo panel.

Grab yourself some coffee ready for a trademark long post here at Words and Pictures!













The standard #8 tag was made all the way back in NYC when I was playing with the new Oxide colours, but failing to get very much further than a background ever, though this one did get as far as some stamping, mainly because I wanted to try the new Archival ink colour, Peat Moss.














I stamped the beautiful PaperArtsy Lin Brown grasses with the Peat Moss - a beautiful dusky grey-green, perfect with the soft, muted colours of the inky background.

I'd never have thought that Shaded Violet would please me this much, but its gentle softness when combined with Hickory Smoke and Weathered Wood makes me very happy.













There's some tiny script stamping also done in Shaded Violet Oxide - I think this is the script from Tim's new Entomology set.















The second tag is one of the Dylusions giant #12 journalling tags, backed onto packing cardboard (waste not, want not) to create a sturdy panel of weathered crackle.













The crackle is done with the PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze, layered in between French Roast and Chalk Fresco Finish Paints.

I stamped the new Tim Holtz Botanical Background, using the Peat Moss again... it's so deliciously distressed, like old wallpaper - I love it.














I inked the edges of my crackled tag with various browns and added some clear embossing powder for a touch of dewy shine.














The Idea-ology Metal Mini Fasteners give the impression of screws in a wooden panel.  I burnished them with a sweep of Sepia Archival ink.

There are more touches of metal in amongst the flower clusters.

Alongside the paper flowers (various sources - it's possible some of them are Prima?) are nestled some Idea-ology Foliage leaves, also burnished with Sepia Archival ink.

And also a little typed token down in one cluster, again altered with Sepia Archival ink and a touch of splatter.

The words of the song may be bitter-sweet and hard to hear, but at least he's telling her the truth.















The leafy die-cuts are done with Tim Holtz's Garden Greens Thinlits.
















They were cut from some card which I'd wrinkle-free-distress-inked with Bundled Sage...













... and once they were cut I added touches of Peeled Paint and a little of the Peat Moss around the edges to make sure they echoed the other leafy elements in the tags.












I couldn't resist adding some of my much loved tiny dried flower buds to the mix too.















There's fine twine in the top of the smaller tag, twirling into the flowers there.















And some more of the same twine as the topping for the whole piece.















Now on to those song lyrics...  I typed them and printed them out.














I had to try a couple of font sizes before I found the one that worked.















There's a slight cut to the lyrics, but I think it works.  (The full lyrics are down below if you haven't already listened to the Youtube clip.)













And who's the target of the warning?  Well, this Paper Doll with the slightly sad expression in her eyes seemed ideal for the role of Mabel - and her dress is the right sort of period for Mabel Normand too.














There's a slightly forced casual calmness about her body language, and a haunted look in her eyes as she braces herself to listen to the uncomfortable truth.  Those lips are firmly held to prevent them quivering.













She needed something to stand on, so I broke off a bit of coffee stirrer and dyed it with some brown ink before positioning it under her feet.















Final touches include some lid-stamping over that crackled background.















The white circles are little bubbles of hoping against hope that Mack Sennett might change his ways.













And once I had those I decided to go even further and get myself some dew drops to go with those bubbles.













Clearly, she's up at dawn, pacing restlessly in the garden.  If he won't send her roses, she'll go and find her own...

These dew drops are done with the DecoArt Liquid Glass, but you can get a similar effect with Glossy Accents.













I love how they catch the sunlight as you move the tag.















I added some extra green shading to the edges of the crackled tag, so that the garden in which she's standing became a little more verdant. 














And there's a tiny bit of padded tape to support the words extended from the layered tag, just to keep them from flapping around!







I hope you like the wild rose garden I've created around these song lyrics, and I hope you'll be inspired to come and play along at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this week (and A Vintage Journey too while you're at it!).

If you need more inspiration, do check out what the Simon Design Team have created.  As always there's a $50 prize voucher on offer.

Who wouldn't want to win a shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp?  That should be enough to get anyone singing along!  Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you all have a lovely week.





I won't send roses or hold the door
I won't remember which dress you wore
My heart is too much in control
The lack of romance in my soul
Will turn you gray, kid, so stay away, kid

Forget my shoulder when you're in need
Forgetting birthdays is guaranteed
And should I love you, you would be the last to know
I won't send roses and roses suit you so

My pace is frantic, my temper's cross
With words romantic, I'm at a loss
I'd be the first one to agree
That I'm preoccupied with me
And it's inbred, kid, so keep your head, kid

In me you'll find things like guts and nerve
But not the kind of things that you deserve
And so while there's a fighting chance, just turn and go
I won't send roses and roses suit you so
From Mack and Mabel, music and lyrics by Jerry Herman




Find these products at Simon Says Stamp

Tim Holtz Garden Greens Thinlits
Tim Holtz Botanical & Batik
Tim Holtz Entomology
Idea-ology Paper Dolls
PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze
PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Chalk Paints - French Roast, Chalk, Hey Pesto, Zucchini
Distress Inks and Oxides - Hickory Smoke, Shaded Violet, Weathered Wood
Archival Ink - Peat Moss, Sepia, Coffee
Idea-ology Mini Metal Fasteners
Idea-ology Foliage
Ranger Clear Embossing Powder
Ranger Manila Tags #8
Ranger Journalling Tags #12