Mixing it up!

Hi all,

Some of you may have noticed that I don't enter challenges very often any more. In fact, I think there may have been 2 or maybe 3 projects I have entered for something so far this year!
My reasons for that are simple. I don't like entering a challenge unless I have made something specifically for it. I don't have the patience to try and fit my already completed projects to as many different challenges as I can find after the fact, so simply don't bother. I know many people do, and that's fine, but it doesn't work for me.

Having said that, sometimes I am inspired by a challenge, and want to make something. And other times, while I'm thinking of what to make, I come across another challenge that inspires, and the ideas start to mingle.

This is what happened to me the other day. I realised that it was once again time for Darnell's NBUS challenge, and it being my favourite challenge in Blogland, I really wanted to play along. So I ruminated on what Never-Before-Used-Schtuff I was going to finally get around to using. While I was doing so, I followed a link posted by a friend, to find the latest challenge over at Rubber Dance Art Stamps. I was immediately drawn by the gorgeous February colours, so threw them into the mix. As the colours made me think of Ground Espresso, Aged Mahogany and Broken China Distress inks, I made the link to tags, and then I had my NBUS! You see, I had a pack of size 10 tags sitting in my Tim Holtz box that I'd never managed to get around to using - normally preferring the size 8's. Perfect.

Tag decided upon, I figured a quick trip to Tag Along was required for more inspiration, and their Think Outside the Tag challenge sounded like a lot of fun, so off that went into the creative stew in my head (less tasty than it sounds, lol)

And finally? I promised Di that I'd be coming to play at the Playground again, so snippets of some sort were going to be needed!

WOW! I didn't actually intend to write this much, but I thought I'd include my haphazard thought-process here for a giggle. Well done if you haven't fallen asleep yet!

On to my tag:

Now, I can very definitely tell you why said size 10 tags were NBUS... They're HUGE! It didn't seem like it at first, but once I started working on it, I realised I didn't have any stamps big enough, lol. So a combination of TH stamps came to the rescue.
My snippets are the two small pieces of Hessian/burlap. All that was left of my 1m square... I really hope the habby gets it back in stock, as I do so love working with it.

The acorn got a treatment of both glossy accents and sparkly spray ink, and the leaves were covered with Crackle paint (also all gone now!)

to finish it off, I added some ink-stained ribbon and twine, a couple of mini pine cones, and some of TH's remnant rubs and small talk, edged with my Sakura Clear star pen.

And now I think I have waffled at you all long enough!

Have a fantastic day!

Sammy-x