Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-November

Just a short post to share my version of Tim's November tag.  You can see his tutorial here. I am so glad that I was able to break away from life to play with this month's tag.  The embossing technique and foiling was so much fun!

Finally, I can add my pics to this post. Blogger was not working last night, so I upload my tag to Tim's site using Google +...not sure if that worked.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday :) Kim

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-October

I love the Fall, especially October.  Things have been so hectic that the month has just flown by.  I made time this weekend to make my October tag.  You can see how Tim created his tag here.  Unfortunately, I do not own any of Tim's new dimensional dies from Sizzix.  So...I modified the Skull die, using my bone folder  to create some dimension.

 I used Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy,  and Frayed Burlap Distress Inks to create my skull, Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain Distress Inks to create his teeth, and Fired Brick and  Aged Mahogany to create the background.

I assembled the skull adding some dimension by scoring 3 points and cutting the background slightly smaller than the die.  I added an Ideaology spider in his eye for good measure.

I finished off the tag with additional Ideaology goodies including "beware" coin from Oddities Adornments, "Frightful" from Wicked Alpha Parts enhanced with Fired Brick Distress Paint, a spider and chain border from Gothic Industrious Stickers, and finally a piece form the Frightful Ephemera Pack.  I tied a piece of black tulle from my stash to the top of the tag. 

I had so much fun playing with this tag.  I certainly put me in the Halloween spirit (good thing...Halloween is only 3 days away!)  I would also like to enter my tag in the following challenges:

Frilly and Funkie-Something Wicked

Our Creative Corner-Halloween Horror

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-September

What a busy September...it just flew by!  Work is crazy and my Mom has sold her house and is moving in my direction.  A lot of memories have been made in that house over the past 37 years along with a lot of stuff to be reckoned with.  I did take time this weekend to play with Tim's September tag technique. You can find all his tag and step by step instructions here.

 I have grown very fond of Alcohol Inks and was excited to try something new.  I don't own any the metallic mixatives, only snowcap...so I used that along with poppyfield, pitch black and slate to create my background.  I used Dylusions Doodled Circles stamp set for my images and  Frosted film on Clearly for Art to give the doodles some movement.  I love the transparent gloss texture paste.  It went on so smooth through the Zigzag stencil...I had to keep peaking while the magic happened :)  I chose the CURIOSITIES wordband and finished off the tag with black Tinsel Twine.  Here are a couple of close ups...

That's all for now...have a great rest of the week!:) Kim

Wish

My Mom's birthday crept up on me, and in order for her gift to reach her in time, it had to be mailed yesterday due to the Labor Day Holiday in the States.  You can probably guess that her favorite color is blue.

I started with  a piece of Anna Griffin paper and finally had the opportunity to  play with Wendy Vecchi"s crackle paste.  I added a drop of Watering Can Archival Re-inker to the paste before spreading it through Tim's Flourish stencil.  Unfortunately, the color was not distinct enough and I attempted to add Weathered Wood Distress Ink without using the stencil.  It created a shadow around the crackled flourishes, so I grabbed the gesso from  my stash and applied it to mute the background.  Then I added Weathered Wood to the flourishes while the stencil was in place.  I inked the edges with Chipped Sapphire.  The tulle was dyed with Chipped Sapphire, Weathered Wood and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks.  A golden "Wish" charm was distressed with Weathered Wood Distress Paint and is offset by a blue Tiny Tattered Floral rose and a Heirloom Rose.  Here are a couple of  close ups.

 I would like to enter my card in Frilly and Funky's A Touch of Gold Challenge.  

Thanks for stopping by :) Kim

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-August

Just a quick post to display my August tag.  You can find the step by step instructions by Tim Holtz here.  Although I used  my Cricut to cut the words...I followed the remaining instructions for the background closely.  My tag celebrates events in my daughter's senior year of high school.  One of  the Bird Crazy gang is all decked out in football gear during Spirit Week.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by :) Kim

"Crazy" Birds Go Back to School

I, like everyone else,  have fallen in love Tim Holtz Bird Crazy stamps and dies.  I have chosen to make them my daughter's senior year mascots.  Today was her last 1st  day of  school...a thought that made her Mom a little melancholy :(

 So to brighten up the day, I made her and my "stepdaughter" tags to kick off the new year starring the Bird Crazy gang.

I made the background using Sunshine Yellow and Botanical Alcohol Inks to make a splatter effect as described in Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities Vol I on page 52.  I 'll bet you can't guess my daughter's school colors ;)  I stamped a school bus and ruler as well as members of the Bird Crazy family in Jet Black Archival Ink.  I also stamped the date using a date stamper.  I used springs to make the bird's eyes pop...

I finished off the tags by mounting the glossy cardstock on black cardstock and tying a bow from black/white striped paper string.  My husband and I added a note on the back with wishes for a great day!  I wish to enter my tags in Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Back to School,

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day :) Kim

CC3C #34 Layering Stencil: Monoprint

Hard to believe that we have worked all the way through Tim's book, Compendium of Curiosities Volume III.  I have enjoyed trying all the new techniques, and I am thankful not only to the Curiosity Crew, but also to all the participants for their inspiration and encouragement.  Linda Ledbetter our talented and gracious hostess has led us through all 34 challenges over the past 16 months...thanks to her for all her hard work and talent.

Now on to my entry...you can find instruction on the technique on page 48 of Tim's aforementioned book and all the rules and inspiration over at Linda's blog.  Tim and Mario have donated a terrific prize pack and Linda Coughlin over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique is the generous sponsor for this challenge.

I have been waiting for just the right occasion to use Dyan Reaveley's Skull stencil.  I bought the stencil with my eldest daughter in mind.  We have spent the evening packing her up to go back to college in the morning and I always like to make an inspirational card or tag to send along.  You may think that the skull stencil is inappropriate for an inspirational anything...but it works if the person you are making it for is studying to be a Forensic Anthropologist :)  What a great technique to make a background.  My bottles are cut from Wendy Vecchi's Clearly for Art using Tim's Apothecary Bottles.  I tinted them with Mermaid and Indigo Alcohol Ink and used a heating tool to give them some shape.  I love the way the background is visible through the bottles...a happy surprise.

I finished off the tag with a stamp from Tim to get her through the year and added some jute and a skull from my stash.

I have truly enjoyed playing along these past 16 months and look forward to Volume IV and perhaps another Challenge series.  Have a great weekend! :)

Summer Flowers

What would summer be without flowers?  I find it hard to believe that any plant life can survive in the hot weather conditions we have had in North Carolina...but somehow they persevere.  Recently three of my co-workers have moved on  to new adventures.  I fashioned three cards using Tim Holtz's Flower Garden stamp set to wish them well on their journey. I used a technique from Tim's Compendium of Curiosities Volume I, Dabber Resist, to create the cards.  Each background is shaded with various  Distress Ink colors and finished off with water drops to give it some additional interest.

For the first card I used Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo initially...Yuk!  Then I added Mermaid Lagoon to create this interesting shade of green.

 On the second card I used Victorian Velvet, Pickled Raspberry, Frayed Burlap and Aged Mahogany.

 

Finally, the third card background was inked with Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans, and Frayed Burlap.

Hope you like my summer flowers.  I am so looking forward to the coolness of fall and the colors of the changing leaves.  :)

I would like to enter my cards in the Country View Challenges-Summertime

CC3C #33 Altered Surfaces and Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-July

I can't believe it is the last day of July and the second to last Compendium of Curiosities III challenge.  Time is flying!  Of course the Compendium of Curiosities challenge is hosted by the talented Linda Ledbetter and you can visit her site here to read all about the fun .  This challenge is generously sponsored by Inspiration Emporium and non other than Tim himself along with Mario Rossi  Challenge #33, Altered Surfaces can be found on page 45 of Tim's book, Compendium of Curiosities Volume III.  I used the technique on my July Tag inspired by Tim Holtz.  His step by step can be found here.  I did not have the stamp set that he used but the Distress Micro Glaze is amazing! We are planning a family trip to Europe next summer before the kids fly from the nest.  I enjoyed using the mini blueprint journey stamps to make a tag for our trip.  I used the Altered Surfaces technique on the 2016. Here are a couple of pics.

Gotta run...have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by :)

CC3C #32 Frosted Film

Back to post another project that I would like to enter in the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. If you haven't heart about it, head over to Linda Ledbetter"s blog...she serves as the amazing hostess. \\ The challenge is based on Tim Holtz's book, Compendium of Curiosities Vol. III, and it is not too late to grab a copy of his book here.  Tim and Mario have generously donated a prize pack for the winner of the challenge and Linda Coughlin over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique has donated a $25 spending spree at her store.  We have made it all the way to Challenge # 32, Frosted Film found on page 59 of Tim's book.

I told you I could not get enough of the last technique, Layering Stencil-Paint Resist.  I used the technique on my piece today with blues to create my ocean background.  I used the Frosted Film technique on my coral and sea grasses.  Here are a couple of close ups.

This challenge was great fun...gotta run.  Sorry for the short post.  We are getting ready for a yard sale at my Mom's house.  Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by :) Kim

CC3C #31 Layering Stencil: Paint Resist

Every challenge I think..."This is my new favorite technique", and it has happened again.  I am of course referring to the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge hosted by the lovely and talented Linda Ledbetter.  You can find out more about the challenge here on her blog.  There are fabulous prizes generously supplied by none other than Tim and Mario and for this week's challenge by The Inspiration Emporium.  To play along, you must have your very own copy of Tim's Book, A Compendium of Curiosities Volume III.  Don't have one?  Click here to order your copy now.

I can't tell you how I made my background but I used Weathered Wood Distress Paint along with Victorian Velvet, Frayed Burlap, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, and Antique Linen Distress.  Here are a couple of pics before I added any embellishments.  All total I used 5 stencils: Honeycomb, Dot Fade, Harlequin, Latticework and Flourish.  What fun!

I made a trellis from the Mixed Media Thinlit Die and distressed it with Picket Fence Distress Paint. I made flowers from the Tiny Tattered Florals Die form Kraft Core paper and placed them on leaves cut from the Spring Greenery Decorative Strip.  I finished it with a single word...love, cut with a die in my stash.  Here are a couple more pics.

I just love this technique...can't wait to try it with different combinations of colors and stencils.  That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by :)

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-June

Hard to believe that June is almost over.  Even though the summer months are my least favorite, I treasure each hot and humid moment of them.  Tim's June tag was so much fun to make.  You can see his step by step tutorial here.

Unfortunately I did not have the DIY Distress Ink pad and the Distress Re-inkers so I used the Distress Ink pads I had available for the technique.  I decided to mix it up a bit using Cracked Pistachio, Abandon Coral, and Peacock Feathers and I can't wait to try it with other color combinations. I loved how the Abandoned Coral and Peacock Feathers combined to create some purple accents.  I have to thank Tim for giving me an excuse to purchase the Fresh Brewed Die,,,,so many possibilities! I pretty much followed the rest of Tim's instructions, substituting as needed.  I chose the word "create" because I love how Tim's tag tutorial gives step by step instructions but allows and even encourages each participant to make their tag their own.

See the purple...

Thanks for stopping by :)

A New Beginning

Good evening all...this is my second post today.  I have been crazy busy at work and I am trying to get some crafting and posting in this weekend.  I also need to sit down and comment on several blogs that I have peeked at, but haven't had time to let the artists know how inspiring their work is to me.  This week over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog they are featuring Stamp + Mist.  Head over there and visit all the inspiration posted by the Design Team...they are awesome.  

I made a card for my niece's college graduation using Dyan Reaveley's Dylusion Sprays...they are so bright and rich.  I used London Blue and After Midnight with a few mists of water to allow the colors to blend...I could not get a photo to reflect the richness of the colors.  I chose two of Dyan's stamp sets...Which Way is Up and Quote Medley, and embossed them in silver.  The arrow is pointed toward a Tim Holtz Mirrored Star and I colored several other stars in Indigo Alcohol Ink.  I mounted the card on silver card stock.  I finished the card with a few flicks of Brushed Pewter Distress Paint.  Here are a couple of additional pics.

 Thanks so much for stopping by...have a great week :)

It's Summer

I have to admit that summer is probably my least favorite of the seasons.  I am not a fan of heat and humidity...something we have seen a lot of this summer in the Sandhills of North Carolina.  For me, the rich blues and greens are the most refreshing colors that cool the hot summer sun.  I would like to share a tag I made for my daughter during exam week.

 She, unlike me, loves the summer and the heat and aspires to work in the marine biology field. The background was made with Mermaid Lagoon and Broken China Distress Ink and I sprinkled water to add some sea like bubbles in my ocean.  The turtle is die cut from green cardstock and his shell is patterned using Mowed Lawn Distress Ink and then crackled with Rock Candy Crackle paint.  The sentiment is a  Dyan Reaveley's Dylusions stamp and fit the occasion perfectly!  I colored some cheesecloth and used some blue string and charms from my stash to make the bottom border. I tied Paper String Stripes in green and blue in a bow to finish the tag.

 I would like to enter my tag in Frilly and Funkie: It's Summer Challenge

Thank for stopping by...stay cool:)  Kim

CC3C #30 Faux Cracked Glass

Good Evening to all.   I'm here to post my entry to the Compendium of Curiosities Volume III Challenge hosted by the talented Linda Ledbetter.  If you don't have a copy of Tim Holtz's book, you can purchase your very own here  and play along.  Just turn to page 54, Faux Crackled Glass to master a cool technique.  Did I mention that this challenge is not only sponsored by Tim and Mario, but also by Linda Coughlin at The Funkie Junkie Boutique...pssst, they are having a FLASH sale over there right now.

 I chose to use the technique to alter a bottle for my daughter's birthday. She is in love with unique bottles and blue is one of her favorite colors along with purple and black. I followed Tim's technique and used Mermaid Alcohol Ink along with Snow Cap Alcohol Ink to accent the bottom of the bottle to give a milk-glass appearance.  I applies Snow Cap Alcohol Ink to a typed token and tied it around the neck of the bottle with Jute String.  I have included a few more pics...hope you like it.

 Looking forward to using this technique again soon...the Curiosity Crew really rocked this challenge with tips and inspiration.  That's all for now...thanks for stopping by :)