Monday 15 August 2016

Summer Fun at Simon Says Stamp!

This is my third time in the Spotlight at Simon Says Stamp Blog - Monday Challenge! - I can't believe how quickly the month is whizzing by!
At last here in the North West of England we now have some sunny warm weather!  
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The new challenge is Summer Fun and I have used Tim Holtz's set -Crazy Birds to make something for my grandchildren to use (or rather give me a few minutes break!)

I had some lolly(popsicle)sticks, some already coloured, and I used Distress Inks to colour some more so that each one was a different colour. 
You can choose any number of hot colours for outdoor activities or cool colours for those wet or cool days when it's best to stay indoors! 

The chosen birds were stamped and embossed with Ranger Embossing Powder

I then used my Derwent Inktense Pencils to colour them and intensified the colour by using a Sakura water brush

I added Distress Crayons to them too. They blend well together as they are both so rich in pigment. They were then fussy cut.

One this was done I matched them up with a backing card and cut around again before mounting onto a stick using super strong Ranger Glossy Accents
I needed something to stand them up in and after trying several options decided to use the old coffee jar that holds some of my smaller buttons - I decorated it by making a Gelli Print.
I use old cellophane packaging to run my Speedball brayer onto...
I used Paper Artsy Fresco Finish paints and added some Drying Retarder to keep the paint wetter for a while longer
I used Tim's Harlequin Layering Stencil onto plain old copy paper.
I got so into using my Gelli Plate that I forgot to take any more photos so here is the jar..
As you can see I used some stamps from the SSS Cone Building stamp set(I used this set here too) 
The idea behind these birds is that the bottom of their sticks will be hidden so that during the holidays they can choose an activity - some for cool wet days some for sunny warm days(hence the colour difference)

You can put your own ideas on to your sticks - these work for me - and are computer generated. If you don't have ideas of your own there are plenty on Pinterest. Just remember to have the resources you need at hand!!

We used the scavenger hunt one last week while away with my grandsons. I made a list for each of them to take out with us on a walk - that had some fun trying to get the best specimens! 



Of course I haven't just stopped there - I sometimes need a bit of motivation myself so I used Tim's Chit Chat Word stickers and Seasonal words stickers on the back of the birds to give me some ideas for my own art - mainly art journalling!

So as well as being a bit of Summer Fun these birds will be with me all year round!




Don't forget when you enter the challenge you are in with the chance of winning a 50$ voucher to spend in the Simon Says Stamp shop! 





I do hope you will join with the new challenge and have a little bit of Summer Fun!

Thanks for looking, Chris 


22 comments:

  1. What a fabulous idea for summer fun activities for the grandchildren! I am sure they love to come and stay at Grandma's house! I love the crazy birds and this is a brilliant idea! LOVE it :-)

    luv
    Lols x x x

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  2. Chris,
    I love the way you colored these fun birds!!!! Fun project!!!
    Well done xx
    Zoey

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  3. Love your funny pieces today. Have fun at SSS. We had nice weather here too today. Hugs, Valerie

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  4. Multi purpose fabulous and fun - love these Chris.
    Such a lovely and useful idea and the birds just make me smile.
    Great instructions and info too.
    Gill x

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  5. Chris, what a brilliant idea of an activity! I love the crazy birds and you have colored them beautifully! Awesome idea with the activity hidden at the bottom! hugs, Maura

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  6. What a fun idea, Chris! Love the fun bright colors you used for this project!

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

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  7. what a great idea! and so much more colourful than just a jar of ideas on a slip of paper. Clever Chris!!

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  8. What a wonderful idea Chris, I love that you used the crazy birds, they look fabulous in the bright colours! Hugs, Anne xx

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  9. Its a fantastic fun idea, I imagine that this would be great for wet rainy days. Your project is awesome.
    Yvonne xx

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  10. This is so cool, Chris! What a wonderful way to keep your grandchildren busy. I would love to pick a stick and see what's on it and play along. How fun!!

    Cathie ♥

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  11. This project is very creative and so fun, Chris! The crazy birds look fabulous!!! Hugs, Mar

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  12. Popped over from Simon to say this is brilliant! I already love those crazy birds and this project gives me all kinds of ideas....

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  13. what a fun idea to keep the grandkiddies occupied during the summer...me I'm thinking cocktail stirrers for a BBQ party...have a great weekend...hugs kath xxx

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  14. This is such a lovely and fun creation, Chris. Great inspiration! :)

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  15. Fun project! Crazy birds are fantastic, I like so much your coloring and love the words on the back! They are so cute! Barbara

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  16. What a creative idea! I love the way you thought about something to play with by your grandchildren. I love the birds with their strong colors! So happy to have you with us this month. Hugs, Marzena

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  17. Such a cute and creative project and a really wonderful idea! I'm sure your grandchildren will love these and have so much fun with them ~ they're fabulous! Hugs, Emma

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  18. This is such a good idea and your grandchildren will love them! Stunning colours and colouring. My son would love getting something like this.

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  19. What a fabulous idea! Love that! The crazy birds are so cool! Amazing! Hugs, Sandra

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  20. What a brilliant make - I love your Crazy Birds full of ideas for things to do and inspiration words for crafting too. Fab intense colours too - just right for summer.
    Alison x

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  21. Wonderful - I have gotten myself quite behind and am trying desperately to catch up!!
    Sandy xx

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