Simon Says Stamp and Show .... a word

My choice of word for this week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge is Spring. It had to be - as the sun is shining and the first daffs are out, and leaves are sprouting on the shrubs and hedges. Mother Nature is warning us not to get too carried away as it's not as warm outdoors as the bright sunshine would have you believe when you're looking out the window.

For this challenge my first thought was to get out my Elusive Images daffodil stamps, and I just had to have a serious play with my new Distress Stains. I'd read that they give you more control of the colour, but I have to say that I wasn't sure what they would do that re-inker and a paintbrush can already do. However, at the Stitch and Craft show at Olympia on Saturday I saw the new Stains at a very good price (£3.99), and of course I just had to try them out as Distress Inks are my absolute favourite of all the colour mediums I use (and I have quite a few !) On first playing with them on scrap paper I did find that they seemed to be rather uncontrollable, and that the colour came out a bit too quickly. This time I was a bit more tentative with the ink flow, and really enjoyed using them, and am looking forward to experimenting further.

I stamped the tag with the daffie stamp in Versamark and embossed with clear detail powder. Then I rubbed on the stain in Antique Linen, Broken China and Peeled Paint, spritzed with water and dried with the heat gun. I'd covered the daffs with Antique Linen and they looked quite pale, so I squirted some Daffodil Glimmer Mist on them. I added some more Peeled Paint on top of the stalks. My 'ribbon' is some white cotton tape coloured with Mustard Seed re-inker, smudged with Antique Linen Stain and stamped with Black Archival.

So I have to say, I loved playing with the Stains, and am off try try to see what other tricks they can do. Perhaps some interesting splosh effects !