Inspiration and a Goodbye

Happy Monday morning to you!  As I start my weekly Simon Says post, sadly this week we are saying goodbye to three team members who I started with a year ago:  Kim Costello, Nancy Crissinger and Lori Hassler.  It's been such a privilege to be on a design team with these talented artisans and I have learned so much working with them.  So I want to express my thanks for all they have shared with me and to wish them all the best as they move forward in their art.  They will definitely be missed!

This week our Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge to you is wide open - that's right, anything goes!  Should be easy peasy, right?  Although sometimes I think that sort of challenge is harder - no guidelines so then I'm all over the place - too many options!  But actually it turned out pretty easy for me to settle on an idea.  I've been yearning to do a piece like this ever since I saw Sarah's lovely piece that she made for her first My Mojo Monthly.  So I took her inspiration and ran with it Funkie Junkie style.

I started my piece by cutting 12 squares of chipboard with the postage stamp die that came with my older model Cuttlebug.  Then I die cut six squares of Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash and 6 squares of Kraft Glassine paper.  The glassine paper was embossed with the Tim Holtz Bingo Texture Fade and some of the Vintage Shabby Paper squares were stamped with images from the Mini Classic and Haberdashery stamp sets.  The squares were mounted on a piece of a vintage songbook page which was in turn mounted on a piece of white corrugated cardboard.  I swiped a rose colored stamp pad across the cardboard and then sponged the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink.

This simple piece was topped off with a shabby seam binding bow in my signature rose pink and a hand made crinoline flower (made using  Tattered Florals die and dyed with the same rose pink dye).  I cut a flourish out of white chipboard, splotched it up with some of the same dye and then sponged it with Vintage Photo distress ink.

That's it for this week's piece.  I love the colors and textures.  I guess it will be a wall hanging, although I haven't set it up that way at this point.  I hope you will stop by Simon Says Stamp and Show to see what the other designers have for your inspiration this week.  And please do play along with us.  This week, as always, our very generous sponsor Simon Says Stamp has a $50 shopping spree for a random player. You definitely want to get in on that action!

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I sincerely appreciate any comment you care to leave!