12 Tags of 2012-November

Happy Friday Everyone!  I hope you are all looking forward to the weekend like I am.  Today I have my November tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2012.  I didn't follow the November-Thankful theme.  I tried, really I did. My first attempt at Tim's tag resulted in the tag sticking to the iron, instead of just the embossing material-FAIL :( -so that one went into the trash.  On the second attempt I used too much stain or water, or both, and the stain/water leeched under the embossed area so when I finally got the ironing technique to work you couldn't really tell what the image was supposed to be-FAIL AGAIN.  Ugh.  This was at about 8:45pm last night, too.  My punishment for waiting until the last minute to do something!!

So after ruining two tags I decided to move on to a different technique and theme.  I switched gears and used the Paint Dabber Resist technique from the Compendium of Curiosities, Volume 1.  I also decided to make a Wintry tag instead of a Thankful tag since I'm in Christmas mode now.  Don't be fooled though...my tree is up and has lights on it (because it's a pre-lit one, LOL!) but no ornaments.  The boxes with my decorations have been sitting in my dining room since last weekend.  I just keep stepping over them.  And I haven't even begun making my Christmas cards for this year yet.  Meh...it will all get done eventually.  I hope.  :)

Well, enough of that, here's my tag...

 

I started off by stamping the trees from the Reindeer Flight set with the Ranger Snow Cap paint dabber.  I applied heat to dry it and then inked the tag with Distress Inks in Faded Jeans and Weathered Wood.  Then I lightly rubbed the trees with a damp paper towel to remove the ink.  I distressed the edges of the tag and then inked them with Walnut Stain DI.  Then did the Spritz and Flick technique.  Once the tag was dry I stamped the sentiment from the Seasons Silhouettes stamp set using the masking tape technique that Tim demonstrated. Great technique!  I added Picket Fence stickles to the trees to give them the icy-snowy look and then randomly stamped the small snowflake from the Winter Sketchbook stamp set using the Snow Cap paint dabber.

 

The die cuts are Core'dinations paper cut with the TH Alterations Festive Greenery strip and they were sanded and distressed as well.  The ribbon was dyed using Distress Stain in Faded Jeans, Iced Spruce (new!) and Brushed Pewter.  I added the decorative corners (Michael's Recollections) as an afterthought. Maybe I should have stamped my sentiment a little higher I guess.  Lastly, I added the Idea-ology Trinket Pin and Muse Token.

 

Well, that's about it!  All-in-all I'm happy with how this turned out.  I wish it had come out a little brighter.  Since it didn't I've decided that it's a wintry nighttime scene!  Yeah, that works!

 

In addition to entering this at Tim's 12 Tags of 2012 , I'm also entering it at Simon Says Stamp Challenge Blog where the theme is Anything Goes.

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go make something!

Christmas Reflections

Hi Everyone! I hope you are all having a wonderful week.  It's difficult to not get caught up in the holiday rush, isn't it?  I should be focusing on holiday shopping, and decorating, but instead I decided to work on my weekly compendium challenge entry!  Much more fun I think!

 

The technique chosen this week by Linda at Studio L3 is Reflective Imagery.  The instructions for the technique can be found on page 55 of Tim Holtz's book A Compendium of Curiosities Volume 2.  If you don't already have the book you can buy a copy, autographed by Tim, right here.  I 've been patiently waiting for this technique to come around!  I saw it in the book and thought it looked so cool but decided to wait until the challenge to give it a try.

 

I always like to have a little handmade gift to give to friends and family.  So I decided to make ornaments from my pieces.  Can you see the shimmery background the technique adds to the images?  I just love how they turned out!

 

 

 

 

The images are from Artchix Studios. I attached the TH Idea-ology Fragments to Swivel Clasp chains and then added beads, bells and mini-ornaments from Michael's! Easy peasy! I plan to make a bunch more of these between now and Christmas!  That is, after I make my Christmas cards!

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Now go make something!

A New Tradition

Hi Everyone!  I'm here to share a Thanksgiving project that I've been working on.  Yes, I know it's past Thanksgiving but this has been a work in progress and still is!  I decided to start a new tradition this year by making a Thanksgiving memory book.  I started by making a small folder for everyone in my family.  I used the Sizzix Bigz XL Envelope/Pocket die and embossed it with the new Tim Holtz Sizzix Texture Fades Textured Leaves folder.  The pockets were distressed using TH Ranger Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy.  The embossed area was colored using TH Distress Ink in Fired Brick, Forest Moss, and Spiced Marmalade.  Then the pockets were sprayed with Ranger Perfect Pearls in Sunflower Sparkle.  I embellished each folder with leaves, acorns and a flourish cut with the TH Sizzix Movers & Shapers Mini Tattered Leaves, Mini Acorn and Mini Flourish.  Inside each pocket I tucked a tag and a stamped index card.

The pockets were handed out and I asked each person to do two things: 1) on the tag they had to write what they were thankful for; 2) on the index card they were to write down their Christmas wish list!  Here's what I ended up with...

Everyone was very excited to do this!  Adding the card for the Christmas wish list was a last minute idea.  I figured I better get those while I had everyone together!  A couple of them weren't complete.  My mom wrote "Whatever!" and my dad wrote "Lots of Hugs" which I thought was so cute!

So this past weekend I created the memory book to hold everyone's "Thankful" tags.

The book is an Accu-cut design cut from chipboard.  I used Bo-Bunny Apple Cider and Double Dots papers along with matching stickers and chipboard die cuts.  I added die cut TH Sizzix Mini Tattered Leaves and an Idea-ology Muse token to the cover.  The stamps are Unity.  The tags were put into TH Idea-ology Kraft Glassine pockets. I cut off the top flap and punched a half-circle notch using a circle punch.  I still have to add the pictures but I'm really pleased with how it turned out!  Everyone was interested to see what we were all thankful for.  I promised to bring the finished book to our next get together.  That will be week after next since all of our birthdays are between October and December!

I'm entering this at Frilly and Funkie where the challenge is Chipboard and Metal.  I'm also entering this at Simon Says Stamp and Show where the challenge is Thank You.

Melissa Frances DIY Houses



I've been busy these last couple of weeks working on the these two Melissa Frances DIY Houses for Whim So Doodle.  These were time consuming but really fun to put together and decorate.  

  

This first one is the Large Queen Anne.  I covered it with MF 5th Avenue papers in Hattie and Essie.  The base is covered with MF Countdown to Christmas-Salutations.  After covering each piece with paper I ran the pieces face down through my Xyron 850 and applied adhesive to the front side. Then I applied Martha Stewart Crystal Fine glitter.  Adding the glitter with the Xyron was super easy and the results are fabulous! The glitter is evenly distributed and it really does stay on!  The credit for that step belongs to this blog, Ain't She Crafty.  I'll definitely be using this method in the future when I want to add some bling to something!

 

I used Zip-Dry glue both for covering the pieces with paper and for assembling the house.  The trees and wreath were dyed using TH Ranger Distress Ink reinker in Picked Raspberry combined with water in a Ranger Mini-Mister. The pearls are from Michael's Recollections line. The fence was painted with a Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in Snow Cap and then glitter was pressed into the paint while it was wet.  

 

 

This second house is the Large Chapel.  I followed the same steps as shown above for covering and assembling the house.  The trees and wreath were dyed using TH Ranger Distress Ink reinker in Pine Needles combined with water in a Ranger Mini-Mister. The pearls are from Micheal's Recollections line. The fence was painted with a Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber in Snow Cap and then glitter was pressed into the paint while it was wet.  The tinsel is TH Rope Tinsel.  The snow accents were added using a DecoArt Snow Writer.

 





I really like how they both turned out and I think they're charming Christmas decorations reminiscent of a bygone era.

Ornamental

Hi Everyone!  I hope your having a splendid week.  Today I have my entry for the weekly Compendium of Curiosities 2 challenge over at Studio L3.   The challenge this week is Alcohol Ink Palette and it can be found on page 52 of the fabulous book by Tim Holtz titled A Compendium of Curiosities Vol 2.  Of course, I can't explain the details of the technique.  For that you need to get your hands on a copy of the book which you can do here.

I followed the steps for the technique, as outlined in the book, and created my ink palette.  Using the ink palette I decorated two plastic ornaments that I purchased at Michael's.

 

In the center of the round ornament is the larger snowflake from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Mini Snowflake Rosettes Decorative Strip die.  The snowflake was inked with Distress Ink in Salty Ocean and the embellished with Ranger Stickles in Stardust.  I tinted the rhinestones to match using my alcohol ink palette.  The Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon was dyed with Distress Stains in Faded Jeans and Broken China.

The square ornament was designed to look like a present and is decorated with pearls and rhinestones in varying colors.  The Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon was dyed with Distress Stain in Fired Brick and Worn Lipstick.

I love that I was able to create pearls and rhinestones in such a variety of different colors using only plain clear rhinestones and plain white pearls!  It certainly would have been more costly to purchase all of the different colors individually.  I'll definitely be looking for other ways to use this ink palette!

Thanks so much for stopping by!  Now go make something!

Joy to the World

I'm back with my make for the weekly Compendium of Curiosities 2 challenge hosted by Linda at Studio L3.  This is week 26 and we're making Crumpled Kraft Suede!  The technique can be found on page 40 in A Compendium of Curiosities, Volume 2 by Tim Holtz.  I can't divulge the steps of the technique because if I did then we wouldn't buy Tim's book, now would we??!!  So you should grab a copy of the book for yourself right here!  This week's challenge is sponsored by Linda at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Linda is generously offering a $25 gift certificate, to her web store, to one lucky participant!  Linda has a great selection of merchandise so you should check out her store! 

I recently purchased some of the new Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations dies and wanted to use them for this challenge.  So I chose the Tattered Poinsettia die and the Stacked Christmas Words decorative strip.

The poinsettia flowers were created using the technique described in Tim's book.  The background paper is from the Idea-ology Seasonal Paper Stash.  I distressed the edges of the tag with Brushed Corduroy distress ink and then spritzed the tag with Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold.  The decorative strip along the bottom is from the TH Sizzix Alterations Vintage Lace decorative strip.  I added Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Stickles in Aged Mahogany and Peeled Paint to the sentiment.

I'm also entering this at Simon Says Stamp and Show where the challenge is Just Add Pearl.  I've included Ranger Perfect Pearls and added pearls to the center of the flowers.

Thank so much for stopping by! Now go make something!