Simon Says...Christmas In July Blog Hop

Hi Everyone...welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog...thank you for joining us for last week's challenge...we hope you can join us this week too because...

This week we are getting ready for Christmas with a

and if you've arrived here from Emma's Blog, you're in the right place.

Did you know that there are only 21 weeks left to Christmas! It's time to make a start on your preparations! And for this special Blog Hop, we are showcasing the fabulous Tim Holtz Products. You don't have to use them to join in, but I think most, if not all, of us have at least one of his products in your supplies and we would love to see what you make with them.

The Christmas Elves at Simon Says Stamp have been busy packing 4 Surprise Christmas gift Boxes for 4 lucky entrants! All you have to do is hop around all the stops along the way, leave a comment on each and find where the hidden gifts are.

I decorated a Mini Etcetera Tag with lots of favourite Tim Holtz Christmas products

I applied a light coat of White Gesso to the tag, leaving the edges bare and wiped back slightly with a damp cloth

I fixed scraps of Idea-ology Christmas Paper Stash in place with Distress Collage Medium Matte using a Distress Collage Brush, stamped Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Mini Swirly Snowflakes with Versamark ink and heat embossed with Ranger White Superfine Embossing Powder.

I added a piece of Idea-ology Christmas Ephemera, applied a coat of Distress Collage Medum Matte over the whole tag and created shadows around the snowflakes and papers using a Forest Moss Distress Crayon.

I painted Distress Mixed Media Heavystock with a mix of Candied Apple/Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint/Fossilized Amber and die cut using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Tattered Poinsettia, an oldie but still one of my favourite Christmas dies.

I spritzed the petals or bracts I think is the correct term, with Distress Tarnished Brass Mica Spray, curled the edges and layered together.

I embossed the Peeled Paint/Fossilized Amber die cut using the Poinsettia Texture Fade which comes with the Tattered Poinsettia die and dagged the Forest Moss Distress Oxide over the top to accent the embossed detail.

I returned to the tag and used Tim Holtz/Stampers Anomymous Ornate Trims inked with Versamark and heat embossed as before to add more interest to the edges of the tag.

This Found Relative photo was just what I wanted as a centrepiece but was too big so I trimmed down the image from the Found Relatives packaging...don't you just love when a plan comes together.

I stamped the images from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Tattered Christmas on to Distress Watercolor card and coloured wth Distress Markers and a Distress Detailer Water Brush,

and die-cut using the matching Framelits.

I wasn't happy with the colours so it was time to bite the bullet and painted the die-cuts with a mix of the same colours I had used for the Poinsettia.

For the centre of the poinsettia, I coloured Idea-ology Baubles Findings with Alcohol inks, a fabulous tip I learned from Professor Tim Holtz himself. I added a few drops of Dandelion Alcohol ink to the bottom of the plastic cup I keep for this technique, dropped in the baubles, swirled them around until they were coated and emptied them out on to paper towel.. I repeated the process with Mushroom Alcohol Ink to give them a more vintage, not so bright and shiny look and added them to the poinsettia with Glossy Accents. I spritzed the cup with Rubbing Alcohol and wiped clean with a paper towel, ready for next time.

I added the Found Relative and highlighted around the edges with a Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen.

I added Christmas Remnant Rubs, Idea-ology Fluted Stars, painted with Picket Fence Distress Paint, Eclectic Elements White Thread as hangers for the die-cut baubles, Christmas Fasteners and a rosette of white ribbon from my stash. To create the rosette, layer up 3 ribbon bows and cut the loops on each bow.

I added an Idea-ology Christmas Quote Chip edged with Peeled Paint Distress Paint and white accents to the baubles and parcels with a Sakura White Gelly Roll Pen.

And your next stop on the hop is Lols Blog

You can find all the products I used over at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp online store...just click on the links below...

You can also follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

and if you use Instagram...

please add #sssmchallenge to your entry uploads so we can see them on there too

I look forward to seeing what you create this week...

Have Fun and Happy Crafting

Hugs Kath xxx