Smell the Rain

It is time for the next challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and this time Maggi is our hostess.  She is calling it April Showers Bring May Flowers and here is how she describes it:

Design a vintage or shabby chic project that incorporates a wet "something" with flowers. Examples: Stenciled or doodled raindrops, water distressed or crumpled paper, Tim Holtz's Umbrella Man, you get the idea, just have something that represents wet. Then, add some flowers to your project.

I used the big flower from the Funky Flower Art set from Wendy Vecchi and made this funky and really gaudy tag. The tag that was originally in my head did not look like this but I got a lot carried away and this is the result. It is busy but the colours are pretty happy and we need happy right now.

I started with a 3 1/2" x 7" tag that was cut from mat board by my husband but I will link the tag section in Linda's store because there are many types and sizes to choose from.

I added a variety of Distress Oxides (Tim Holtz) to the tag making sure to dry between each colour.

Next I coated it with some Distress Collage Medium - Crazing (Tim Holtz) to try to provide a bit of a barrier before I did the next step.  Unfortunately my medium had gotten hard so I attempted to recover it by adding a bit of water and putting it in the microwave for a minute.  This helped but not enough so while it added some interesting texture, it did not provide a resist and removed some of the colour I had already laid down - disappointing but not the end of the world since it was actually lighter than I was going for anyway.

I added Translucent Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi) through a Raindrops Stencil I had picked up in England last year.  Mermaid Lagoon and Tumbled Glass Distress Spray Stains were added next to beef up the colour - and boy did I.

The floral was stamped twice on Watercolour Paper using Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger) and then fussy cut.

Both images were coloured with Cheddar, Tangerine, Olive and Evergreen Scribble Sticks (Dina Wakley)

Distress Oxides were used to dye a piece of lace and Distress Collage Medium - Vintage (Tim Holtz) was used to coat a torn piece of old book paper and a piece of burlap to age and stiffen them.

To assemble the tag, I adhered the old book paper, the lace topped with the burlap to which I added a strip of ribbon from my stash.  The floral was added with dimensional foam between the layers followed by a punched butterfly and a computer-generated sentiment.  Finally I added some buttons and a ribbon topper.

I hope you use some of your time at home to create and join us for the challenge.  It runs through 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, April 14th.  The Design Team will choose their top picks and the overall winner will receive an opportunity to be a Guest Designer at a future date.  In addition, one randomly chosen entry will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Supplies list with links to The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Tags
Stampers Anonymous Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Stamp Set - Funky Flower Art SCS173
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxides (Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw, Fossilized Amber, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Wild Honey, Dried Marigold
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo TIM19527
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Spray Stain - Mermaid Lagoon TSS44147
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Tumbled Glass TSS42570
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black AIP31468
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Crazing TDA47957
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Vintage TDA47940
Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste - Translucent WVPASTETRN
Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks MDA54733
Dina Wakley Media Scribble Sticks 2
White Jute Mesh (Burlap)
Buttons
Grograin Ribbon
Martha Stewart Butterfly Punch
Venise Lace
Clear Plastic Dew Drops
Creative Expressions Raindrops Stencil