Something Spooky (and Purple!) - Guest Designing for Simon Says Stamp

What a wonderful time I had with this week's challenge theme for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  It's such a thrill to be featured in the Designer Spotlight for the month of October, but to have this much fun into the bargain is a real treat.  Later this week, you can watch a whole YouTube episode on how these eerie moonlit tags came to life, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy these photos and a few details about the ingredients.

As always, the brilliant Monday Challenge team have created some amazing projects to kickstart your creative imagination, so do make sure you hop over to the challenge website to drink it all in.  The theme this week is Spooky/Add Some Purple... I ended up doing both!

I love adding a touch of purple to autumnal projects... for me it has that wonderful echo of both dawn and twilight in it.  Autumn has some of the best sunrises and sunsets, I think - certainly where I live in rural South Bohemia, right in the heart of Europe. 

And those crepuscular times of day have their own inbuilt eerieness, I think - so as soon as the Tim Holtz Moon Masks came out to play, the creepy element became inevitable in the gathering dusk.

My darkening sky is a combination of Shaded Violet and Villainous Potion Distress Inks, with Hickory Smoke, Lost Shadow, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Scorched Timber to provide the neutrals in the landscape, as well as extra shadows.

I added subtle layers of meadow stamping with the grasses from Tim Holtz's Nature Discovery stamps, as well as some of my own PaperArtsy Umbellifer Edition stamps. 

The background layers are stamped in Pebble Beach Ranger Archival Ink, so as to stay put if I'm adding any moisture later.  The Umbellifers are stamped in a secondary imprint of Scorched Timber Distress Ink (oh, how I would love to have Scorched Timber in an Archival formulation!)

(You can see the full process from Saturday onwards, when the A Few (More) Minutes of Fun episode goes live on YouTube - I'll add links here when that happens.)

But hidden away amongst the grasses and wildflower stems are some slightly unnerving objects... the gleaming white bones from the Tim Holtz Anatomy Chart stamp set, embossed in Wow Bright White embossing powder.

As if that weren't creepy enough, there are colonies of bats silhouetted against the moon(s)... courtesy of Tim's The Scarecrow stamp set...

... and more spooky winged things to brush against your face as you cross the meadow... the Idea-ology Halloween Moth Transparencies.  Beautiful, but definitely not pleasant when they're caught in your hair!

My word stickers are from an older edition of the Halloween Clippings Stickers...

... but you'll find similar ones in this year's Idea-ology Halloween Sticker Book.

I love how you always seem to find the exact right phrases (if you look hard enough and don't give up on a compromise option too soon!).

I mounted the tags on some white card, just to give them a bit of framing - and it helps the moon to pop... with slightly raggedy edges done with the blade of my scissors for extra texture.  And some fine twine finishes things off as usual.

Hopefully, that gives you some inspiration to start you off with this week's Something Spooky/Add Some Purple theme... If you still feel the need for a bit more, do hop over to see what the regular team at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge have been creating.  I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

As always, there will be a randomly drawn prize voucher so that one lucky winner can go shopping at Simon Says Stamp... and the Design Team will be featuring projects that catch their eye(s) (how's that for spooky?!) in the spotlight at the end of the week, so do come and play along.

I hope you'll have a grand time getting spooky and/or purple - I certainly did.  Have a great week, and happy crafting, all!

Moonlight is sculpture.

Nathaniel Hawthorne

A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.

Oscar Wilde

Between our birth and our death we may touch understanding, 

As a moth brushes a window with its wing.

Christopher Fry

New YouTube videos at Words and Pictures

Hello all, I hope you're not enduring too many April showers this weekend... though if you are, that's the perfect weather to stay in and do some crafting!  There's some more inspiration available for that over on my YouTube channel, Words and Pictures, so I just thought I'd drop in to share the video links for the latest episodes of A Few Minutes of Fun.

In this episode, I'm playing with my newest PaperArtsy stamp sets on a gel plate, using some of my favourite Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic colours.

A Few Minutes of Fun using PaperArtsy stamps on a gel plate

And in this one, the Tim Holtz Perspective Moth Thinlits Die by Sizzix becomes a perfect mask to use with Distress Sprays... with Ink, Oxide and Mica sprays in action.

A Few Minutes of Fun with Distress Sprays and Moth Mask

I hope you'll have time to take a look, and that you'll be inspired to enjoy a few minutes of fun of your own.  Happy crafting all!

Many eyes go through the meadow, but few see the flowers in it.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Between our birth and death we may touch understanding, 
As a moth brushes a window with its wing.
Christopher Fry

Monarchs of the Ice

Hello all!  I'd like to invite you to go hopping over to the PaperArtsy blog where I've been busy playing with the current Stamp Mash Up theme.  This fortnight we've all been combining stamps by Lynne Perrella, Ellen Vargo, Gwen Lafleur and me, Alison Bomber!  Here's a sneak peek of what I came up with... may I introduce you to the Monarchs of the Ice?

You can see stamps from all the designers in the mash-up except me in this sneak peek... To find the words, you'll just have to hop over to PaperArtsy.

Of course, there are also lots more photos and plenty of information about the making-of process - it wasn't all smooth skating! - as well as some more close-up angles.  And it's really worth having a scroll around while you're there to see the different projects this combination of designers' stamps has inspired.  There are even a couple more to come after this one.  

In any case, I hope you enjoy your visit to the sparkling kingdom of ice shards and snowflakes, and that it inspires you to combine your stamps in new ways too.

Thanks so much for stopping (and for hopping), and I'll see you again soon... or not, given that my laptop may be about to die on me as I write this - which is a week before you're reading it.  Please keep your fingers crossed for me!!  Either way, happy crafting all!

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it.
John Burroughs

Winter Journal X

Hello all!  Welcome back to another snowy day here at Words and Pictures.  If I can't have snow in real life, then I'll have it in the pages of my Winter Journal!  Unfortunately, thanks to the stinking cold I've caught, there's been a slight slowdown on the crafting front.  Rather than "almost every day", we're down to "most days", but I've made it to page number ten.

What with all the other Christmas things to do, I'm not going to pressure myself too much.  And when my cold goes away, I may well get right back into the swing and keep going right through the winter... we'll see.







For now though, these two independent, original women are ready to deal with anything which comes their way.  (Though in my current state of shiveriness, I do wish they'd put on some nice warm scarves.)

Talking of being ready, this was another page which started itself "the day before". 














Having cut the treeline for my babes in the wood in Winter Journal IX, I suddenly thought that the offcut from the die would make a good stencil, so out came the texture paste...












I'd already scraped the spare texture paste from the star stencil onto the page, and spritzed and "printed" the very last of it too, so in the morning, when I came to the craft table, lots of the work was already done.











Since they were just scrapings, the stars were pretty rough and ready, so I added some stamping to the background with one of my favourite TH festive stamps.

I love that with the Oxide (in Chipped Sapphire) you get to keep your lovely blue ink colour even over a kraft background.











I smeared some Oxide from the ink pad onto the craft mat and used a paintbrush to apply it around my snowy treeline.  This really helps the trees pop, as well as giving me another lovely night sky effect.













I also applied it around and between the intricate design of the Thinlits Snowflake which sets these two women apart from those around them.














They are ready to take on the world, and make the most of any opportunities which come their way.












You probably don't get to sit around at home if you want to make the most of your chances, so there are journeys of all sorts ahead of them...

I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.
From Persuasion by Jane Austen

The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.
Coco Chanel





There we are, page ten.  We're within sight of twelve - which is a nice Christmassy sort of number - so I'm sure I'll get that far, at least.  Beyond that, let's just see what turns up on the craft table, eh?  I hope you're all avoiding the winter snuffles, and keeping warm... or else adventuring outside to see what possibilities await!  See you again soon.

I'm playing along again at Art Journal Journey for Bleubeard and Elizabeth's themes of My Favourite Season/Tis the Season
It's Anything Goes at That's Crafty Challenges so I'm joining in over there too
And with those snowy trees and billowing snowdrifts, I have to join in with Anything Goes with an Optional Twist of White over at More Mixed Media

Tis the Season

Hello all!  It's the start of a brand new week, and I've made it to half way through my self-imposed challenge to get all of the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas done in just over 12 days (rather than the generous 12 weeks which Linda Coughlin - the Funkie Junkie herself - allows us all).

This is my sixth tag but since I'm now running out of order, it's actually Linda's eighth.  If you take a look at her original, you'll see mine is pretty much a direct CASEing of her design, but transferred into my preferred colours.

Once again - as I did for Tag 4 Let it Snow - I've exchanged the poinsettia/red combination for snowflakes/blue.

I don't have the poinsettia-making equipment nor, as regulars will know, do I go much for red around here.  It just never really feels like "me" when I use it, so I'm sticking to what I know!










I absolutely adored Linda's crackled light in her lamppost, so I followed her example for that.  I actually made the lamppost first of all, as I knew the Crackle Accents would need time to dry.













I've used the PaperArtsy White Fire paint for my silvery lamplight and I love the soft glow of it.  I left it overnight to get on with crackling.













The next morning (ie. a couple of hours ago!) I cut some snowflake masks using the Thinlits, and then spritzed Stormy Sky Distress Spray over them.  One of them flapped a bit in the draft of the spray so there's some leakage, but I'm pretty happy with the result overall.













Since I'd used White Fire in the lamp, I decided to stamp my sentiment in my favourite metallic embossing powder, Liquid Platinum.













I had a feeling it would tone in with the White Fire pretty well... it's no accident that I love both of them.

Having done the sentiment, I wanted more Liquid Platinum, so I brushed around the edges of the tag with the Versamark pad to add a textured metallic frame to echo Linda's gilded edging.












Then I thought I should probably also echo her gilded splatter so for that I used the White Fire again - very happy altogether with the wintry shimmer of it all.

I googled for a vintage winter photograph and came up with a couple of options.  I know I've seen this girl before - is she one of Tim's Found Relatives too?












Anyway, I printed out both her and the little boy, but when I tried them next to my lamppost, it was clear that I needed the bolder shapes and contrasts of the girl's photo.  Don't worry, that little chap will be stored away for future use...

I mounted her on card and inked the photo with Antique Linen and a hint of Vintage Photo (but of course).  I'm all about the holiday greenery, so this photo appeals to me no end.













And since she's gathering greenery, I wanted plenty of greenery around her.  I used my mop-up inky papers left over after Tag 9 Pine Cones Galore! to cut some fir, holly and mistletoe.











To create some more colour variation, I blended some Forest Moss onto some of them - it's a lovely earthy green which I haven't really made the most of in the past.













A couple of sparkly berries top the pile of gathered branches.  Oops, I notice the glue's still wet... well, there you go, you're practically at the craft table with me!









I've used music manuscript again on this tag (it put in appearances on Tag 1 Bare Branches and Tag 3 The Silent Night).

This time, rather than forming the background, I've used it to cut a few additional snowflakes dotted around the place.

You may notice another Tag 3 echo in the black embossing I chose to do on my lamppost to get a nice shiny wrought iron look.  It must be brand new!















Of course, I added some shadowy ground for the lamppost to stand on - Paynes Grey DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic, applied with a water brush.













So that's my version of Tag 8.  I hope you like it.  I do - I think it's joining the Pine Cones Galore! as one of my favourites this year.  It feels pretty good to have made it to half way, plus I have a couple more already done and waiting to make their appearance here at Words and Pictures.

But after such a quiet year on the blog, it feels like overload to go for multiple posts in a day... so you'll just have to be patient, I'm afraid.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll be back tomorrow to share another tag.






A few days before Christmas Tom Garland and Dan took a bill-hook and knife and went into the woods to cut branches of scarlet-berried holly.  They tied them together with ropes and dragged them down over the fields, to the barn.  Tom cut a bough of mistletoe from the ancient hollow hawthorn which leaned over the wall by the orchard, and thick clumps of dark-berried ivy from the walls.
From The Country Child by Alison Uttley

I'd like to share this as Tag 8 in the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas, sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique
I'd also like to enter it in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is Let There Be Snow