Life-Admit One

Happy Thursday!  Today I have my entry for the Compendium of Curiosities 2 weekly challenge hosted by Linda on the Studio L3 blog.  The technique chosen for this week is Riveted Patchwork and it can be found on page 57 of Tim Holtz's book titled A Compendium of Curiosities Volume 2.  If you buy it through the link above you can get it autographed by Tim!  Our sponsor this week is Linda at The Funkie Junkie Boutique!  Linda has generously offered a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant.

I really love this technique but I made the tag and then stared at it...having no idea where I wanted to take it.  So I pulled out my Dylusions stamps that I haven't had a chance to use.  BTW, Dyan Reaveley is coming to my local scrapbook store, Whim So Doodle, in a few weeks and I'm lucky enough to be able to take a couple of her classes. I'm really looking forward to meeting her!

I started working with the doll parts from the Curious Corrin and Doolally Dorris sets.  I stamped them with Ranger Black Archival Ink, colored them with Distress Markers and cut them out.  The heart was cut from Idea-ology Grungeboard using one of the TH Sizzix Alterations Movers and Shapers Mini Gadget Hearts.  I glittered it up with Ranger Stickles in Xmas Red and added the Idea-ology Chit Chat sticker.  The sticker is coated with Ranger Glossy Accents to give it a little shine.  The sentiment is a TH Stampers Anonymous stamp that I've always loved and wanted to use.

As I put the pieces together it still needed something.  In my head I kept picturing the riveted background with brick so I embossed a piece of cardstock with the TH Sizzix Alterations Brick Texture Fade and distressed it with Distress Ink in Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick and Walnut Stain.  Then I tore it and glued it to the tag with Ranger Glue N Seal.  I added the graffiti with the Dylusions Letter Jumble and Number Jumble stencils and a Ranger Adirondack Snow Cap paint dabber.  Perfect!

As I dug through my embellishments looking for a metal charm to use I came across the ticket.  It was left over from the classes that I took last year when Tim came to teach classes at Whim So Doodle.  I remembered the Idea-ology Word Stick that said "Life" and it came together!

As this technique is the same one that Tim used on his September tag, in his 12 Tags of 2012 series, I'll be entering it there.  I'll also be entering it at Simon Says Stamp and Show-For the Love of Sparkle and at the Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog where the theme is Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go make something!

Holiday Configurations

I just completed my first Whim So Doodle design team project!  They liked my Configurations Crypt so I was asked to create a Christmas-themed Configurations box using the 6.75 x 8.75 box, Woodland Trees and the Mini Lantern, all from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology line.  Here's what I came up with...

I removed all of the small boxes from the upper two-thirds of the Configurations box so that I could create the woodland scene.  I covered the lid, the inside boxes and back of the box using paper from the Idea-ology Seasonal Paper Stash.  I positioned the background paper, from the Idea-ology Seasonal stash, so that Santa's face would be visible.  Unfortunately, by the time I added everything else he became a little obscured.  It still works though!  I sealed all of the edges using Symphony tissue tape and then distressed the box using Distress Ink in Iced Spruce, Broken China and Walnut Stain.

For the background snowflakes, I embossed a piece of plastic packaging with the TH Alterations Snowflurries Texture Fade.  I cut out the snowflakes and applied Ranger Stardust Stickles.  Then I glued the snowflakes inside the upper section of the box using Ranger Crystal Accents.  The header was also embossed on a piece of plastic packaging using the snowflake border from the TH Alterations Christmas Backgrounds Texture Fades. After embossing I cut out the design and decorated it with Stardust Stickles.  I attached the header to the inside of the box lid.

I dyed the Woodland tree, and wreath, using a combination of Distress Iced Spruce and Broken China reinkers. Then I added glitter snowtex to the tree.  The owl is a find from Michael's.  I die-cut the branch, as well as the background tree, using the TH Alterations Branch Tree.  I wired the branch through the side of the box base.  (This was done only after I realized that a blob of silicone wouldn't hold up for very long!)  I cut the snowbank, behind the reindeer, from a Grungeboard scrap that already had the snowflakes embossed on it. (Always save your scraps!)  I painted it with a Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in White and then applied Distress Ink in Broken China, Iced Spruce, and Walnut Stain.  I die-cut the reindeer from Grungeboard using the TH Alternations Mini Reindeer, painted it with an Adirondack Paint Dabber in Hazelnut and distressed it with Walnut Distress Ink.  The white accents were added using a white Sharpie paint pen.

The Mini Lantern is suspended from the top of the base box using an Idea-ology Screw Eye.  I cut a small opening in the back of the box for the cord and I added an elastic toggle at the bottom of the back of the box to hold the battery compartment.  The elastic toggle is hidden in the front by the "25" Grungeblock!

I filled the Corked Vial with blue glass glitter.  Behind that is a small heart ornament from my personal stash.  The "25" is an Idea-ology Grungeblock.  I used an Adirondack Paint Dabber in Cloudy Blue for the background.  I coated the numbers with Martha Stewart Glitter Glue in Sterling.  The wreath is decorated with a Grungepaper bow, from the TH Alterations Movers and Shapers Mini Bunny and Bow, and decorated with some pearls.  The bow was painted with an Adirondack Paint Dabber in Red Pepper.  The cardinal is from Michael's.

The final touches were the Christmas Adornments Wreath behind a Curio Knob, the Christmas Adornments Snowflake at the top, the "Believe" Philosophy tag and the Foundations box feet!

I'm entering this in Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge: Tape It Up for including Idea-ology Tissue Tape.

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go make something!

Happy Fall Y'all

This coming Saturday will mark the first day of Autumn for 2012.  Here in Florida that doesn't mean much since we really don't have a fall season.  It gets slightly cooler and drier...and we'll take that.  But most of us long to see some fall colors!!  So I created my own fall colors on this tag which pays homage to my favorite time of the year!

I'm entering this tag in the weekly Compendium of Curiosities Volume 2 challenge over at Linda's Studio L3.  This week's technique is Blended Stains and can be found on page 45 of Tim Holtz's A Compendium of Curiosities Volume 2.  You should check it out as it's a technique filled book to be rivaled by none other!!  The Studio L3 challenge is generously sponsored this week by Simon Says Stamp.

I'm also entering this at the Simon Says Stamp Emboss It challenge.  And also over at Frilly and Funkie where the challenge this fortnight is Fall into Fall.

This is a large size #10 tag.  I cut a piece of manila cardstock to the same size of the tag and created the background using the Blended Stains technique found in Tim's book.  The TH Ranger Distress Stains used were Tea Dye, Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick and Scattered Straw.  I then cut the cardstock so that I could emboss the top half and the bottom half using the large embossing folder from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Thankful Backgrounds & Borders Texture Fades.  Then the two pieces were glued to another #10 tag so that it appears the entire tag fit in the embossing folder!

The tag was inked with TH Ranger Distress Ink in Gathered Twigs using the Ink Blender Tool to highlight the embossed images.  The tree was cut from TH Distress Core'dinations paper using the TH Sizzix Branch Tree die.  The fence is the TH Sizzix On the Fence die.  The leaves were cut from TH Distress Core'dinations paper using the Sizzix Eclips and the Seasonal cartridge.  The pumpkins and vines were also cut using the Eclips and Core'dinations paper and the Halloween & Scaredy Cat Alphabet cartridge. All pieces were also distressed with Gathered Twigs distress ink.  The pumpkins and vines were accented with TH Distress Markers in Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge and Peeled Paint.

The sentiment is from Verses Rubber Stamps.  I also added a TH Idea-ology Trinket Pin that says "Secrets" and an Idea-ology Philosophy Token that says "Listen".  I like to think that those trees are laying all of their secrets bare when they drop those beautiful leaves!

Thanks for stopping by! Now go make something!

CC2C - Week 20

Happy Wednesday!  Below is my submission for this week's CC2C challenge, hosted by Linda at Studio L3.  The technique for week 20 of the challenge is Enameled Stamping.  The details for the technique can be found on page 44 of Tim Holtz's awesome book A Compendium of Curiosities Vol 2.  If you don't already have the book, please get it. You'll be glad you did!  I'm also submitting this to the Simon Says Stamp weekly challenge We're So Trendy for including neon color.

The base is a Ranger Inkssentials #10 manila tag.  The Halloween stamps are from TH Stampers Anonymous Trick-or-Treat and Mini Halloween 2 cling sets.  The chandelier stamp is from Stampendous.  I used Ranger Distress Ink in Black Soot, Picked Raspberry and Walnut Stain.  The trim on the bottom is from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Vintage Lace strip die.  The quote is from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Thanks for visiting!

Thank You and a Pop-Up Card

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who left comments and good wishes for me on my last post.  I am happy to say that the doctor gave me a clean bill of health at my surgery follow-up!  I am so grateful for their expertise and for the excellent care I received from them and from the hospital.

Karen Burniston, who designs pop-up dies for Sizzix, recently posted a tutorial on her blog showing how to add a spinning mechanism to her new Sizzix Pop 'N Cuts pop-up dies.  Her tutorial used the Sizzix Pop 'N Cuts XL Die set base tray which I don't have.  It has been difficult to find due to the immense popularity of these dies!  Shelly Hickox, who is on the Sizzix design team, also recently posted an anniversary card that she made using the pop-up insert for the pop 'n cuts dies without the base tray.  Sooooo...I decided to see if I could combine both techniques and make a pop-up card, with a spinner, using just the Pop 'n Cuts insert along with the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers base tray.  And it worked!  I've included pics and a quick video showing the action!  Please forgive my amateurish video.  I shot this one-handed with my iPhone while I opened the card with my other hand!

To assemble the card I cut a 6" x 12" piece of patterned paper for the inside.  I marked the center of each side of the card along the 12" edge.  I also marked the center of each side of the base tray.  I put the pop 'n cuts insert into the base tray and centered it using the marks I made on the sides.  Then I lined up the center marks on the patterned paper with the marks on the base tray and ran it through the Sizzix Big Shot Machine.  I cut another 6" x 12" piece of patterned paper for the outside of the card and glued them together.   I added the spinning platform based on Karen's specs and from there I decided what other pieces I wanted to add.  I did have to do some trimming and tweaking because the ghost's fingers kept catching on the pop-up behind the house!

I decided after the pop-up card was assembled to add the trick-or-treaters from the TH Stamper's Anonymous Halloween Cutouts stamp set.  I couldn't easily stamp it on the assembled card so I had to stamp it on a separate piece of paper and cut it out by hand.  Not fun!  Sure would have been nice to have the Stamp2Cut cartridge for this one!!

I hope you like the card!  I have an idea for another one so stay tuned!

List of products used: Karen Burniston Sizzix Pop 'N Cuts Label 3-D pop-up; Tim Holtz Sizzix Branch Tree, On the Fence, Movers & Shapers Mini Cat and Raven, Rickety House and Bewitching Hour (bat only); Sizzix Bigz Ghosts #3; Stampers Anonymous Halloween Cutouts stamp set; Boooo! from Inkadinkado Creepy Face; Paper from Teresa Collins Haunted Hollows, Authentique Glowing and Core'dinations Black Magic; Ranger Black Archival Ink; Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Black Soot and Weathered Wood;  Ranger Stickles Glitter Glue Christmas Red; Advantus Heidi Swapp Scrappy Glue.