Add Some Texture - Simon Says Stamp Guest Designer

This may be my favourite theme of all the October posts for which I've been in the Designer Spotlight at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this month... let's Add Some Texture.  And with Halloween fast approaching, my texture definitely has a spooky quality to it!

As always, it's been a delight to be part of the inspiration team at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this month, even as a temporary member!  

I'm so grateful to the team for inviting me, and it's been a joy playing alongside the fabulous creatives and crafters on the regular Design Team, especially this week as we Add Some Texture!

As ever, Simon Says Stamp are sponsoring the challenge, with a lucky prize draw to win a voucher for a shopping spree in their fabulous online store.

I love adding texture to journal pages, especially when I'm working in one of my altered hardback books. 

There aren't really any making-of photos in this post - though of course I'll talk you through what I did with some close-ups... but you'll be able to watch the whole process over on my YouTube channel from Wednesday.  (I'll come back and add a link here when it's live.)

So make a note in your diary, and you'll be able to see the layers of texture building on this page spread in all the detail you could possibly want!

For now, let me share some of the steps and the products I used to achieve them.

It all started with a layer of gesso to soften the book text and prepare the pages for the wet media to come.  I glued in some scraps of my PaperArtsy Printed Tissue PT08, leaving plenty of wrinkles, plus bits hanging over the edges of the page... lots of texture already.

Next, I used the Tim Holtz Shatter stencil to ink some cobwebs into the corners using Pumice Stone Distress Ink.  The little spider comes from the Mini Halloween 3 stamp set - though he had migrated onto my Apothecary set!  And the little bits of script detail are the text stamp from Apothecary, one of my all-time favourite script stamps.

I glued down some frayed linen ribbon and strips of Idea-ology Mummy Cloth next to Shakespeare (!), and used a spatula to add Ranger Distress Opaque Crackle Paste in various places.

Obviously, you need to leave that to crackle and do its thing.  Once it was dry, I added Pumice Stone DI and Distress Crayon over it to highlight the cracks.

Time for some collaging...  I had some snippets left over from the Add Some Text project in week two... typewriter letters made with the large Typewriter Embossing Folder and Black Kraft Stock.  I thought they would be great elements within the collaging, and also add some more dimension and texture.

Otherwise, I grabbed bits and bobs from various packets of Idea-ology Halloween ephemera that I've collected over the years - both paper and metal ephemera.  

I can't say for certain what came from which edition, but you can find this year's collection here (and of course you can also buy the packs individually).

And there's one of the Halloween Paper Dolls too, of course.  (Again, she's from a while back.)

She's the fortune teller who might take a hand in how your fate unfolds by using one of her poisonous potions on you.  You'll hear more about all that in the video when it comes out on Wednesday.

Once again, there are a few of the Curator Snippets labels in the mix... I don't know where I would be without them!

I think that's about your lot!  It's certainly my lot for this month in the Designer Spotlight for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  Head over there to see what the Design Team have got in store for you - it's bound to be inspiring.

They'll pick out a few favourite projects at the end of the week, and one randomly-drawn winner will go shopping at Simon Says Stamp with a prize voucher.  All you need to do is Add Some Texture!

I hope you've enjoyed this spooky little detour into the pages of my altered book journal.  And don't forget to pop back on Wednesday to get the direct link for the process video.  Of course, if you already follow my Words and Pictures YouTube channel, then you'll spot it when it pops up anyway!!

Thank you so much for stopping by, and I hope you'll have a wonderful week adding texture to whatever you are making.  Happy crafting, all!

There are poisons that blind you, and poisons that open your eyes.
August Strindberg

BELLADONNA, n. In Italian a beautiful lady; in English a deadly poison. A striking example of the essential identity of the two tongues.
Ambrose Bierce, from The Unabridged Devil's Dictionary

Think Pink - Simon Says Stamp Guest Designer

Hello all - I'm thrilled to be back in the Designer Spotlight over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for October, and we're starting the month with Think Pink.

It's always a huge honour to be invited to be part of the fun over on Simon Says Stamp (though I probably need to look at my calendar more carefully next time before saying yes... it's a busy month ahead!).

As always, you'll find oodles of inspiration from the amazing Design Team over on the Monday Challenge blog, and there's the usual generous prize on offer from Simon Says Stamp. 

This week's theme of Think Pink is in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Pink used to be a rare colour here at Words and Pictures, but lately it's been getting more common.  It started with a lot of wintry sunrises and sunsets in my work last winter, but lately it's definitely happening because of some of the floral stamps I've created for PaperArtsy in recent months.  So when I was asked to "Think Pink", my thoughts went immediately to my PaperArtsy EAB49 Coneflowers.  

I thought they'd look great with Tim Holtz's lovely daisy from the French Garden set, so I stamped lots of blooms in Olive Archival Ink onto some watercolour paper.

I used a combination of PaperArtsy Mattints and Dylusions sprays to tint my flowers.  Dylusions are the featured product this week.  I don't have many of the sprays - as you'll know, I have tended to prefer my colour palettes muted rather than in the vivid, vibrant Dylusions tones - but I have a few browns and greens and blues in most mediums (to try out), and Dylusions are no exception.

I put dots of Mattint and tiny spritzes of the sprays onto my craft mat to use as a palette, and layered them together to create fabulous variations and depth of colour.  As you can see from the photos, I used Mattints in Glow, Ladybug Squeezed and The Pink, and Dylusions Chopped Pesto, Dirty Martini and Melted Chocolate.  A touch of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic in Snowflake allowed me to create more opaque layers and pastels.  Any white acrylic will do for that.  I'm very happy with how they turned out... the Dylusions might be coming out more often from now on!  

I altered a cheap and simple wooden frame with a coat of white chalk paint and some Distress Opaque Crackle Paste.

And for my background, I used one of the wood effect Tim Holtz 3D Texture Fades.  I think this particular one has been discontinued now, but there are plenty of others to choose from, including the amazing new large size versions.

Once the crackle had done its thing, I grunged it up with some Pumice Stone Distress Crayon and Pumice Stone Distress Spray Stain, brushed on to highlight those fabulous cracks and crevices.

I chose one of the fabulous Idea-ology Photobooth snapshots to go at the heart of my garden of dancing flowers.  I love the energy and joy emanating from this woman.

And then it was simply a question of arranging the flowers around the edge of the frame and gluing them into position.

A few of my much-loved Curator Snippets labels add extra detailing, and it wouldn't be a Words and Pictures project without some words.

These are from the Coneflowers plate - the large word is one of three, especially selected by me to suit the mood of the stamp set, and the phrase is a poetry fragment from a poem by Lope de Vega.

If that isn't enough to inspire you to Think Pink this week, then do head over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for lots more glorious pink creativity from the Design Team there.

The team will be selecting projects to spotlight at the end of the week, and one lucky randomly-drawn winner will be going on a shopping spree at Simon Says Stamp.  

So dig out all your pink materials and have a play.  If I can go pink, you definitely can!!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and happy crafting all!

Pink is the colour of strength, a colour of conviction, a colour of decision making.
Angad Bedi

In a world that often lacks compassion, pink stands as a reminder to be kind.
Matthew Green

Halloween Storytelling

Hello all, and happy Halloween!  I hope you've got a spooky night ahead on 31st October if that's your thing.  And if so, I just wanted to drop in to let you know that I've got a couple of helpings of Halloween Storytelling for you over on my YouTube channel, Words and Pictures.

The videos are flip throughs of a couple of Halloween journals I've made in previous years, each of which is packed with unnerving tales of the dark side of human nature.

Halloween Storytelling Part 1 - click here!

If creepy stories are one of your Halloween pleasures, then I invite you along for the fireside (or at least candlelit) storytelling.

Halloween Storytelling Part 2 - click here!

If you're of a nervous disposition, then maybe steer clear... you have been warned!!  (Or just come and watch with the sound turned down and enjoy all the Tim Holtz Idea-ology goodies layered up in the pages and pockets and tabs.)

I hope you'll all enjoy celebrating this All Hallow's Eve in whatever ways you choose.  And I'll be back soon with some more autumnal creativity and some more samples from my latest stamp launch too.  Happy Halloween, all!

October was always the least dependable of months … full of ghosts and shadows.

Joy Fielding

Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve.

Ray Bradbury

There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.

From Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Patterned Paper - Guest Designing for Simon Says Stamp

I'm thrilled to be back in the Designer Spotlight for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this month. It's always an honour to be invited, and to create alongside the amazing design team.  I had a wonderful time creating this collage quartet with Patterned Paper.

Yes, for this week's challenge, my first in the spotlight, the theme is Patterned Paper, with a focus on Stamperia products.  As always, the designers in the regular team have created wonders, so do check out their work.

I had a glorious time creating this quartet of panels with Stamperia rice papers in the background and lots of Tim Holtz goodies layered over the top.

The colours in the rice papers - which come from Stamperia's Around the World A6 Rice Paper Pack - really dictated everything that came afterwards, but since blues and browns are probably my favourite place to play that was fine by me!  I love the vintage style and distressed detailing on the rice papers. 

I glued them onto a piece of A4 card (all four papers fitted on one sheet), cut them into their individual panels and added a bit more distressing around the edges with the blade of my scissors.

I can never resist Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Paper Dolls when I'm collaging - they have such character and so many stories to tell.  And combined with the maps imagery in the rice papers, the gentlemen who started to gather on my desk turned out to be a determined and adventurous lot.

Each of the chaps has a photographic frame to perch or lean on - they're from the Idea-ology Photo Studio collection of frames and panels - and some Paper Strips provide additional structure or architecture for the rest of the collage elements. I love how they spill over the edges of the panels, creating a dynamic energy of expansion and exploration.

I've always loved the Gauge Dials - whether you put them in the metal frames designed for them or keep them just as they are, as I've done here.  There are compasses and speedometers and altimeters... all perfect to measure distance, direction, speed, height, and fuel reserves throughout the journeys these adventurers are going to be undertaking.

And of course the Postmarked postage stamps reflect the letters and telegrams they will be sending back to their nearest and dearest to assure them they are still alive and well, and enjoying their travels.

The other ephemera include some of my much loved Snippets Number Strips (always on my desk along with the Curator labels, as I have to have them near at hand!).

There are additional elements from the Memoir Ephemera Pack on a couple of the panels.  And where would I be without the wonderful Small Talk word stickers to let my Paper Dolls speak for themselves?!

Do hop over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge post to see the fabulous Patterned Paper offerings from the team, and for all the details about how to enter your own Patterned Paper projects.

Remember, as always, there's a randomly drawn $25 voucher to be won so that you can go shopping at Simon Says Stamp, as well as the honour of potentially being spotlit by one of the design team, with the special badge to go along with that spotlight moment.

I hope my adventurous gentlemen will inspire you to have a play.  We can't wait to see what you create... have a fabulous papery patterned week, everyone!

I look forward to seeing you next Monday for some more Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge fun. Thanks so much for stopping by today and happy crafting, all!

I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.
Susan Sontag

A good traveller has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving.
Lao Tzu

It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves, in finding themselves.
André Gide