Welcome To Thankful Manor!

Hello and welcome to the second Monday in November...which means it's time for a new challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge Blog. Thanks for all the lovely comments from my first Guest Designer piece last week. I appreciate it and am so thankful for you! And speaking of being thankful, Welcome to Thankful Manor! It's a place where Autumn is always the season, where smells of pumpkin spice fill the air, and where you will never go hungry!

This weeks challenge is "Giving Thanks or Being Thankful".  This is an excellent theme, as all of us have something to be thankful for. Since the American holiday of Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I decided to make this table centerpiece for the special day, and I cannot tell you how much fun I had making it...it was hard to stop adding to it! This was such a labor of LOVE! Sorry for all the photos...grab some sustenance.

I die cut all the pieces with Water Color Cardstock using several of Tim's Sizzix Village dies, and the roof pieces with Deco Sheet covered black cardstock. Notice the pieces in the center bottom. I used the leftover scrap piece from the Manor Village that comes from above the door, as a guide to make the eaves for the door and porch.

I covered all the house pieces with Grit Paste to look like mortar. I also used paper straws for the columns on the porch.

I inked over the house pieces through the Mini Bricked Stencil using Wendy Vecchi's Orange Blossom Archival Ink from Ranger, and then poured a mixture of Orange Blossom, Red Geranium, Watering Can, Tree Branch, and Frosted Crystal Embossing Powders (one of Wendy's concoctions) and heat to set them.

I cut pieces to use as cornices and a path, and then took the base and chimney pieces, and inked over them with the  Mini Crocodile Stencil with Tree Branch Archival, and poured a mixture of Watering Can, Tree Branch, and Frosted Crystal Embossing Powders on top, and heat set them. The Crocodile stencil and combination of powders makes the perfect stone look I think.

I adhered all the house pieces together, and wanted to put a light inside, but I didn't want the house to be apart from the base...so little hands don't take the house and play with it...yikes. So I used Hinges to connect the house to the base, and so it opens up for me to turn the light on and off. I also made the top wind vane with spinners and fasteners. It's one of my favorite parts of this.

You can see the metal base pedestal that serves as the estate...lol! I cut the metal detailed trim so that it would have a gate, and then covered the bottom with Cork. I also inked and embossed all the fence pieces to match the pedestal. All the other pieces...the eaves and windows...were coated with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain. I also made the door mat with burlap and Label Letters and a little Distress Ink.

I used Tim's Boxwood Twine, that I added a little Distress Paint to, and wrapped it around the columns for the porch, and I also picked a few leaves off to use in the yard. Then I adorned the rest of the yard with Petaloo flower parts to make trees, and Pumpkin Parts, as well as some green hedges that I found in the miniature house section at my local craft store. I added a leaf charm above the door and made a sign to identify the estate. Boy, I'd love to live here!

  

I had these large leaf earrings in my stash, so I decided to use them for the front gate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you play along with this challenge. Remember, you might just be the one who wins a $50 gift certificate to Simon Says Stamp!!! Good luck, and I look forward to seeing all the entries, and once again,  thank you for coming by! I am truly so thankful for all of you!

Supplies:

Tim Holtz Sizzix Village Dwelling Die	Sizzix Tim Holtz ViILLAGE MANOR	Tim Holtz Sizzix VILLAGE BROWNSTONE Bigz XL Die 661205	Tim Holtz Watercolor Cardstock	Tim Holtz Sizzix Village Rooftops Bigz Die
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Deco Sheets in Halloween	Ranger DIY Archival Ink Pad	Ranger Tim Holtz Archival Ink Reinker in Black Soot	Multi Medium Matte	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress GRit Paste
Ranger Palette Knife set	Tim Holtz mini stencil set 3	Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencil Set 16	Ranger Archival Ink Wendy Vecchi ORANGE BLOSSOM	Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink In Potting Soil
MINI ROUND INK BLENDING TOOLS	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Orange Blossom embossing powder	Wendt Vecchi Ranger embossing powder Watering can	Ranger FROSTED CRYSTAL Antiquities Embossing Powder	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Embossing Powder in Tree Branch
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Embossing Powder in Red Geranium	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Hickory Smoke	Distress Spray Antique linen	Antique Linen Distress Paint	Tim Holtz Idea-ology 2015 TEXTURED SURFACES
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Boxwood Twine	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Barn Door	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Spiced Marmalade	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Mustard Seed	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hinges
Pumpkin Pieces	Metal Game Spinners - Idea-ology	Tim Holtz Idea-ology LABEL LETTERS

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!