Inspiring Bird Tag

Hello friends! Happy New Year again, in case you missed my 2016 favorite post of yesterday. Today is the first Monday of the year, and of course it is time for a new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Our theme is Start Afresh - and the challenge is to use something fresh out of the packaging.

Since this is the first Monday of the month, the design team is featuring products from a specific company or designer and today it is Carabelle Studio. I really enjoyed using the stamps of this, to me, new company. They have a great variety of stamps, and you can see them all here. I particularly liked the nature themed sets. It is fun if you use their stamps in the challenge, but you don't have to.

I made a tag this week and worked on a background I found in my scrap box. It's from a session when I experimented with watercolours together with cling wrap and salt to create texture, and you might recognise it from my Textured Watercolour art journal page.

I used three stamp sets from Carabelle Studios: Every Bird, Herbier 2, and Nature Sauvage.

I stamped the Nature Sauvage with Black Soot in the foreground for a silhouette effect. Sequins, pearls and buttons from 28 Lilac Lane were added to the foreground, for some bling and more colour.

The bird was stamped with Hickory Smoke, Blueprint Sketch and a bit of Black Soot Distress Ink, misting the stamp with water before stamping. I added some more colour afterwards, to give it even more of a watercolour look. The grasses in the background were watercolour stamped with Blueprint Sketch and then also white embossed.

The title was die cut with the SSS Inspire die from watercolour paper and coloured with Cracked Pistachio. I die cut it one more time from black cardstock to give it a shadow and make it stand out better. The 'i's are seed beads. I also used a part of the Sketch Frame to underline the title.

I used Small Talk stickers for my sentiment.

Here you can see the cool effect of the salt in the watercolour paint.

The crinkle ribbon was dyed with Cracked Pistachio.

I really hope you will join us in our first challenge of the year, Start Afresh. As every week, you have a chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

If you want to, follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram, they post great stuff daily. 

Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Happy Christmas crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

Carabelle Studio EVERY BIRD	Carabelle Studio HERBIER 2	Carabelle Studio NATURE SAUVAGE Edge	Simon Says Stamp INSPIRE	Simon Says Stamp SKETCH FRAME
Winsor Newton COTMAN WATERCOLORS PLUS 12 Tube Set With Palette	Tim Holtz Distress Ink HICKORY SMOKE	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad CRACKED PISTACHIO	Tim Holtz Distress Ink BLUEPRINT SKETCH	Tim Holtz DISTRESS INK BLACK SOOT
Tim Holtz Distress Ink GROUND ESPRESSO	Ranger WATERCOLOR PAPER	Simon Says Stamp EMBOSSING POWDER WHITE	Tsukineko Versamark EMBOSS INK	28 Lilac Lane BLUES Sequin Tin
Tim Holtz Idea-ology SMALL TALK Stickers	Neenah Classic Crest 80 LB SUPER SMOOTH SOLAR WHITE	Tim Holtz Sizzix Die TAG & BOOKPLATES	Tim Holtz Idea-ology CRINKLE RIBBON	Darice 6 WELL PAINT PALETTE Plastic Tray
Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE Gray And White	Sizzix MINT Standard Cutting Pads	Tim Holtz DISTRESS SPRAYER Ranger	Hero Arts CLEAR ACRYLIC BLOCK 4 x 4.5	Ranger Inkssentials US HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL
Ranger Inkssentials EUROPEAN HEAT IT CRAFT TOOL	Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET	Ranger Inkssentials GLOSSY ACCENTS	Tim Holtz Tonic Craft SCISSORS

InLinkz.com

Favourite Projects of 2016

Hello friends! Another year has passed and I can hardly believe it is already New Year's Day again. Thank you so much for all your visits, comments and support during 2016. I really appreciate it. Aren't the global nature and connections that come from arts and crafts fantastic? It can also be a force for peace and understanding and every little thing counts.

I am terrible at picking favourites, but below you will find some of my favourite posts from 2016. If you click on the photo, you'll get to the post.

I had such fun making the collage on this Distress Crayon Canvas, and the main sentiment is a favourite of mine and fits well on a post at the start of a new year.

This Recycled Time Tag was one of my favourite tags from last year, I particularly like the stamped packaging overlay.

I made this Pirate Zombie panel to Anton, and he loves it and keeps it above his bed. It is also an example showing that seasonal dies can often be used year around.

I also made a Mini Pocket Watch Necklace, with a sweet photo of my Mom and Grandmother, and I got to use some glass beads that I bought years ago.

Leo has grown so much since this photo was taken. The layout is about his Christening, in the same dress that I was Christened in.

As you might know, I love birds, and these Scribbly Small Birds by Dina Wakley are some of my favourite stamps. I also like the colours of this Because You Have a Song canvas.

I made to of these sewing boxes last year, using Eileen Hull's Cantilever Sewing Box die. This Alphabet Sewing Box is filled with letters and numbers, and the second one, the Vintage Sewing Box is based on an old sewing box I have had since I was a child.

I picked the Pistachio Wall Hanger because of the colours, fun techniques, great message and wonderful Tim Holtz focal stamp.

Sometimes I include photos in my art journal, and I like the mix of older and a more recent photo on this Capture Life page. And the texture background technique was a fun discovery too. 

My Home Loom project is a little different from the others, and brought back memories of childhood weaving. It also inspired Anton to weave on my old loom and he completed a woven project that I had started as a child. 

I really like this photo of the baby feet together with the larger well-used big brother shoe, in my Make a Wish layout. The photo was taken by Alet Groenewald. 

The Tropical Beach Tag just screams summer, and I had fun making the glittery sand. 

I used a photo of an unknown relative on this Hidden Book Box, with a mini-book inside meant to be used to document info about family members of the past.

As you know, I enjoy 3-D projects and these three Old Town Houses are inspired by the Old Town in Stockholm.

The You Matter layout has an important message, and I also like the wood grain background and all the stamped word strips.

This Halloween Passport Book was my favourite Halloween project from last year. It was made with a die by Eileen Hull. Another favourite Halloween project, was the Halloween Manor House.

I love trees, and birch trees are one of my favourite kinds of trees. I really enjoyed creating this wintery Birch Tree Mixed Media Panel, with a childhood photo of my dad.

I had a hard time picking a favorite Christmas project, but apart from my December Daily journal, I think it is this Frosty Deer Clip Board. I am planning to display it all through winter.

I am happy that I have really started getting into making videos, both for my YouTube channel, and for my classes on Skillshare. There are two classes so far, this one with Quick Watercolor Gift Tags, and the first one called Versatile Watercolor Stamping. More to come this year.

Let's finish this long post with a happy art journaling page, and a perfect reminder for the new year of some important things.

Thank you so much again for visiting my blog during 2016. I have lots of fun plans and ideas for 2017 and I hope I can make at least some of them come true.

Happy Crafting!

Anna-Karin