Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Halloween Featuring Memory Box Products

Hi Friends! I hope you had a wonderful weekend and ready for a new challenge on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week our theme is Halloween and we're featuring Memory Box products. You don't have to use Memory Box products on your project but if you have them that would be great!

Also, new this month, we have the talented Nikki Acton as our guest designer. Pop over to her blog to show her some love and see her amazing creations.

 I created a mixed media panel to display on Halloween and included instructions for several elements of my project. I hope you find them helpful and give some of the techniques a try.

I begin by cutting a 5" x 7" piece of Neenah Solar White 110 lb. cardstock.

My panel will be purple, orange and green and I'm using the brayer technique to paint my panel.

I use a small brayer to roll Crushed Grape Dylusions Paint onto my panel in random areas. It is VERY IMPORTANT to allow each layer of paint to completely dry before moving on to the next color. You may speed up the drying process by using a heat tool. If you don't allow the paint to completely dry, it will mix with the other colors and turn a muddy brown color.

Now that my first layer of paint is completely dry, I apply Squeezed Orange Dylusions Paint in random areas and allow that to completely dry.

After the second layer of paint is completely dry, I apply Fresh Lime Dylusions Paint in random areas and allow that layer to completely dry.

I want to add some texture to the panel so I add the Memory Box Shimmer stencil with Ranger Texture Paste.

Here, you can see the random areas where I applied the stencil. I allow that to completely dry.

Next, I want to darken the bright colors a little and make my panel more spooky. I color over the stenciled areas with a Distress Black Soot Crayon and dry rub it in with my finger tips.

Next, I ink on some images to my background from the Tim Holtz Mini Halloween stamp set with Jet Black Archival Ink.

I want to add a border to the middle of my panel and tear a piece of corrugated paper in a strip the width of my panel. (You can use the inner corrugated paper from cardboard boxes also. Just peel away the top layer from the box to expose the corrugated layer underneath.)

I go over the edges of the corrugated piece with the Black Soot Distress Crayon.

Next, I rub the pigment in with my finger tips along the edges.

I add some Memory Box Skeleton Hands in random areas leaving spaces for some elements and the focal point of my panel.

Next, I carefully add Black Soot Distress Crayon pigment between the fingers and around the hands to add shading. (Be very careful not to get the pigment on the white part of the hand as you can see I did to the bottom right corner hand. I fixed this later by layering another hand over the one I messed up.) I set this panel aside and begin working on the bottom panel.

I cut a piece of 6" x 8" piece of black card stock and smeared Paper Artsy Snowflake paint onto the panel in random areas with my fingers. I let that completely dry using my heat tool to speed up the drying process.

When the first layer of paint was completely dry, I splattered on Black Soot Distress Paint mixed with water using a Ranger Splatter brush. ( Apply the paint onto your craft mat and spray on some water and mix it with the splatter brush.) The small splatters are created by flicking the bristles of the brush over the panel and the large splatters are created by whipping the entire brush in a downward motion over the panel.

I add more corrugated cardboard pieces to my panel coloring them the same way I did on my first panel. I adhere them in random areas.

I want to add some flowers and other elements to my panel. I created my flowers using Spellbinders Rose Creations and cut them out of white crinoline fabric. I died each piece with Twisted Citron Distress Spray Stain mixed with water. (Spray a few spritzes of spray stain on your craft sheet and a few spritzes of water over top of the stain, dip the flower pieces into the diluted stain mixture allowing the color to be darker in some areas than others. Set them aside and allow them to dry.

For the center of my flowers, I use 5 stamen pieces and fold them in half.

Wrap the base of the stamens with floral tape.

Place all your flower petals together and push the stamen base through the center hole of your petals.

Here, you can see the flower with the stamens before the petals are fluffed and offset.

Next, turn the petals so they are offset, fluff the petals and ink the edges lightly with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I created two other flowers for my project in orange and purple using the same process.

For my bow, I died some crinkle ribbon with Wilted Violet Distress Spray Stain diluted with water. I spray a small amount of the stain and water into a plastic bowl and swish the ribbon through the ink. Allow some areas on the ribbon to soak up more ink than others. This will give your ribbon a variegated appearance.

Cut a small piece of ribbon off one end. This piece will be used to tie your bow together after it is formed.

Hold one end of the ribbon on your fingers with your thumb.

Weave the ribbon around the index finger, middle finger and pinky.

Continue the same weaving around your fingers and pinky until all the ribbon is woven to the opposite end.

Use the thumb and pointer finger of your free hand and pinch the ribbon in the middle carefully removing it from your ribbon wound hand and secure the center with precision tip tweezers. Using this type of tweezer is like having a third hand.

Tie the smaller piece of ribbon around the center of your bow and remove the tweezers.

My bow is completed and ready for my project.

I add the corrugated border, Memory Box Sketchy Rings die cut and metal pieces to my top panel.

I added a piece of ephemera from the Tim Holtz Curiosities ephemera collection and adhered the top panel onto the bottom panel.

Here again, is my completed Halloween mixed media panel.

I hoped you enjoyed seeing the process I used to create my Halloween panel. Please join us in all the fun and add your project to Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 gift voucher to their amazing store.

For more inspiration, tips and tricks for all types of papercraft creations, follow Simon Says Stamp on:

          

You can find all the following supplies I used to create this project at Simon Says Stamp:

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