Challenge: Anything goes!

A new month, new possibilities, and a week of “anything goes” here at Simon Says Stamp and Show! That's right - you get to pick what inspires you this week and run wild. No rules, no set theme. It just has to be a new project (see rules in side-bar) that you'd like to enter for a chance to win. Want some inspiration? We've got it!

To kick things off, Trace Metcalf is joining us as a special guest designer!

A bit about Trace:
I love all things vintage and and steampunk is also a firm favourite. I also love working in monochrome, with browns and neutrals being my favourites. My huge inspiration is Tim Holtz and I don't know how I would create without distress! I love starting with a blank piece of card or board, or alterable piece and using products to create something from scratch.
and her fabulous project...

I went for one of my real loves to create a steampunk hanging, using lots of my favourite Tim Holtz and distress products, lots of yummy idea-ology and fab gear die cuts to create this piece. I love mixed media crafting and nothing makes me happier than playing with all the yummy distress products, from inks and stains to paints and stamps and of course lots of idea-ology and found treasures. 

Thank you for playing along this week Trace! Her project is so full of textures and detail it really is incredible. Anything truly goes this week here at Simon Says Stamp & Show - let's see what our design team came up with!

 

Ashli was inspired by a product she hadn't yet had the opportunity to play with this week.

While browsing the Simon Says Shop recently, I stumbled across an adorable product - a product that had it's heyday before I was a scrapbooker... Puffies by KI Memories! They are SO cute! I have never really played with them before and since there was such a wonderful selection in the Simon Shop, and anything goes this week, I decided to give them a go. Using lots of Mint Julep goodness from Basic Grey, I layered up photos of my girls driving through "the forest." A bit of Alison Kreft washi along with those adorable Butterfly Puffies finished off this fun and whimsical page documenting something cute my girls always say.

 

 

Meihsia just let her imagination fly with this birdhouse this week.

I love an anything goes challenge and let my imagination fly. I've imagined a birdhouse with wings would fly to wherever the bird family goes. This birdhouse was covered with Crackle Paint and decorated with die cuts using Tim Holtz dies and Tim Holtz metal embellishments. All the die cuts were also covered with different colors of Crackle Paint. I can't just pick one sentiment from Cosmo Cricket LIFE Tiny Text Stickers because they are all so awesome.

 

 

"Anything Goes" is always Anita's favorite kind of challenge because she loves to see all the creative minds really open up for those who enter the challenge.

If there is one thing I love about being on the DT here at Simon Says Stamp & Show, it's that I have learned so much about different stamps that I might not have gotten the chance to before. With all the stamps they have in stock, it's been a playground for me, and I have used so many here on these 9x12 inch wooden panels, like Tim Holtz's Numeric and Worn Text Sets, as well as Paper Artsy's Mini Numbers 22 Set.  Yes, I had to do two...one in metallics and one in bright colors using lots of Ranger Paint Dabbers and Dylusions Ink Sprays.

 

For her "Anything Goes" challenge piece, Candy decided to play with a new technique she had never experimented with before to create a nostalgic piece of home decor.

I love experimenting with new techniques and different ways to use products.  This week, I have taken Matte Multi Medium, White Gesso, Wendy Vecchi's White Embossing Paste and a plain paper mache book and transformed it into a vintage, nostalgic piece of home décor.  The lovely girl in the portrait is my paternal grandmother.  She is given life in this black and white photo through a colorizing method using Tattered Rose Distress Ink and my Tim Holtz Detailer Water Brush and a final coat of Antique Linen Distress Ink.  Prima has such gorgeous Roses and Butterflies.  I took full advantage of them on the cover of this book. 

 

I (May) went wild with color this week.

What could be more fun on an anything goes week than to get wacky and layer loads of Dylusions ink sprays? I had a blast making the background for this page, and I love how the Claudine Hellmuth flower stencil is perfect as a finishing accent, or as the base for my own custom designed background as I used it here.

 

Sandra Mouwen made this album for her close friend of her bachelorette party.

My close friend Ellen is getting married in a few days, so very exciting. I made this album of her bachelorette party as a gift. She likes bright happy colors, so I went all out. This chunky album is 8x8 inches, the exact size of the Glitz Love You Madly Paperpad. I used the We R Memory Keepers 8x8 Chipboard as covers. The big letters are cut out with the Word Play die and painted in Neon Pink. With the Pool Paint Dabber I colored the Modeling Paste and used the Prima Marketing Sunrise Sunset Stencil to make those little blue flowers.

 

 Suzz  was feeling shabby chic this week and decided to use the Assemblage Clock as a base for a pretty accessory for the home. 

I have seen so many different beautiful projects using this clock. I decided to create a shabby chic effect and use the soft pastels on the inside and out with lots of white.  The Fractured Dolls remind me of an old china doll my mother had and I wanted to include on inside my clock.  I gave her wings by stamping the Stampendous Butterfly using Versamark on tissue paper.  I embossed her wings with the soft pink embossing powder..  This will add a lovely soft and feminine touch to my nightstand.

 

Dan took advantage of the "anything goes" theme to work on some bookmarks for a swap he's taking part in.

You learn something new every week - bookmarks are as much fun to work on as tags.  I will be laminating these before I give them out but I thought I'd photograph them before that stage so that there was no glare from the plastic.  Not only are these the first bookmarks I've made, it's also the first time I've used my GelliArts printing plate, and it's so much fun!  One thing I didn't count on was just how quickly it wipes clean between prints, maximising the time you get to spend on the fun parts.  I used Claudine Hellmuth paints for my backgrounds, combining them with a stencil and a stamp from the Classics #6 collection.  Other stamps used included the Time Travelers set and Stampers Anonymous Phrenology Head and Skull.

Tracy simply enjoyed the freedom of just playing this week and stumbled upon a frame and inspiration struck to create a sewing themed piece.

Typical we have an anything goes challenge and I am stuck for ideas so I decided to scan my room and whatever grabbed my attention I would use; in this case it was the Tim Holtz Alterations Sewing Room Die and a frame.  I had no idea where I was going with this piece but I decided to give myself some freedom and just play and see where it took me!
The Mini Blueprints 3 stamp set was an obvious choice and the scissors seemed a perfect fit. The Martha Stewart Crafter's Clay Garden Molds were also lying around so I thought I would bring them into my piece using in conjunction with clay to add a further texture to my piece. I have really enjoyed the experience of just allowing my creativity to just go in whatever direction I like.

This week Anna-Karin made a double-page layout with lots of dry embossing and die-cutting:

Anything goes challenges are sometimes hard for me, with so many options. I was inspired by my project from last week, wanting to scrap more of my dad's childhood photos. I used twelve different Tim Holtz Sizzix texture fades to emboss plain cardstock, inked and distressed all the pieces and covered the background with them. Papers from the Collage Mini 8 x 8 paper pad were die cut with various Tim Holtz dies and I also used Elements Remnant rubs and tissue tape. The frames were die cut with the Postage Stamp Frame and open to reveal more photos and journaling. The finishing touches were done with a few Idea-ology pieces.

 

Now here's a special surprise - this week we'll be revealing the newest members to our team who will begin sharing with us later this month! Anything goes - so we'll be letting you in on the exciting news. In the meantime - it's now your turn to create for the challenge!
 

For more inspiration click on our design team's blog links so you can see more photos (and full supply lists) for their projects.

 

As always, Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $50 gift voucher that will go to a random entry chosen by Random Generator. To qualify all you need to do is create a new project that ties in (in any way!) with our theme and post it, along with a link back to this challenge, and add a link here. This challenge will end at 11:59pm on Sunday  July 7th Eastern time.

We will also be choosing some of our entries to put in the spotlight - a special honor where we talk about why we loved that entry in particular and award a special badge too!

For the full rules, read the "challenge rules" posted in the side-bar here on our blog.