Just Playing Around

Good morning and thanks for stopping by at this very busy time of the year.  Only three more days 'til Christmas - oh my, so many things to do yet!  But despite all the crazy rushing here and there, I had to do a little creating.  I hadn't made a project in almost a week and this is actually the result of working an hour here, 30 minutes there, whenever I could sit a few minutes in my craft cave.  I finally finished it up before bed last night.  I've been playing around in PhotoShop Elements again, learning more about removing backgrounds and layering.  I created the vintage image with a vintage toy shop ad from The Graphics Fairy and a sweet little girls image from my LunaGirl CD.    I removed most of the background from the girls, leaving a bit of shadowing/halo effect and then digitally layered it over the toy store ad.  I printed it and distressed it with Vintage Photo DI.

The main panel of the card was made using the double distress rusted enamel technique that Tim Holtz showed on Tag #9.  On white CS, I clear embossed the snowflakes, then sponged the entire panel with Pine Needles DI.  Then I clear embossed the entire panel and finally sponged the whole thing with Vintage Photo DI for a rusted enamel effect.  It's one of my very favorite Holtz techniques.

My decorative element was created using the Carved Ornaments die and run through the Snow Flurries embossing folder.  I used Judi-Kins Egyptian Gold EP for a bit of sparkle.  The flower was made using SU Cherry Cobbler CS cut with the Sizzix Flowers and Vine #3 die, the holly leaves and tiny flourish were cut from Kraft Core'dinations using the Festive Greenery die.  The snowflake was cut with a Sizzix die.  The Merry Christmas sentiment was from Tim's Holiday Minis stamp set, stamped in Vintage Photo DI.  The little snowflake embellie in the left corner was cut with the SU Northern Flurries die.  Oh, and I almost forgot - I broke down and bought Tim's Vintage Lace die and used it to create that sweet border.  I bet I'll get tons of use out of that die - it is so me!

That's about it for this one.  I hope you are having a good week getting prepared for the holidays and that you will have the opportunity to relax and spend some quality time with your loved ones.  Thanks so much for stopping by today and for all your lovely comments.  As always, if you have any questions, just leave them in the comments section and I will update the post with the information. 

Products Used:

Vintage Photo Distress Ink	Alterations Carved Ornaments Die	Tim Holtz Snow Flurries Texture Fade	Alterations Festive Greenery Die	Tim Holtz Mini Holidays 3 Stamp Set
Alterations Vintage Lace Die	Ranger Clear Embossing Powder	Sizzix Flower and Vine #3	Sizzix Sizzlits Die - Snowflakes #15	Northern Frost Decorative Strip Die

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Show Us Your Tags

This week at Simon Says Stamp and Show the challenge is to make a Tim Holtz inspired tag.  I have to say that I have had such a wonderful time this year being inspired by Tim and playing along with his tag challenge.  This was the first year I have participated and I really didn't know what I was missing!  I was really rocking for the first 8 days.  I kept up pretty well but then life intervened and I had to put them on hold.  But I do intend to finish before the close of his challenge at the end of the month.  And I finished one more here with my Simon Says DT piece.  

The main technique demonstrated for Tim's #10 tag was a tape transfer technique.  I gave it a good try, but it didn't work for me.  I printed a vintage Santa image on my home printer since I don't have Tim's Seasonal Paper Stash.  I applied clear tape, burnished it and then put it under warm water and rubbed the paper gently - it all came off - right down to the tape.  No image whatsoever remained on the tape.  Okay, I thought, I shouldn't have used no name generic packing tape so I searched around the house and came up with a roll of clear 3M packing tape.  Ah, the good stuff, surely I would be successful on the second try...or NOT.  And yeah, it was the "or NOT" situation the next time also.  I concluded that for this technique, you need to use Tim's papers or at least a professionally printed paper.  Not to be discouraged, especially since I had  DT deadline for a tag coming up, I printed the Santa image for a third time and affixed it to my fragment charm the normal way.  

For my background, I stamped a Wendy Vecchi script stamp with Ranger Archival Jet Black ink and then sponged it with Festive Berries and Pine Bough distress inks from the new limited edition seasonal distress ink set.  Then I misted some homemade glimmer mist onto my craft sheet and smooshed the tag face down into it a few times, then dried it with my heat tool.  I cut a panel using the Styled Labels die to mount my fragment charm on.  A couple of accent pieces were made using Core'dinations Kraft Core paper and the Hardware Findings die. I also used the Core'dinations Kraft Core paper to cut a bit of greenery with the Festive Greenery die.  The sentiment panel was cut with a Spellbinders die and gold heat embossed twice.  After the second embossing while it was still hot, I stamped the Believe stamp from Holiday Minis into the gold embossing.  You need to ink your stamp with Versamark or other embossing ink first though, so it doesn't stick to the hot embossing.  I finished the piece of by rubbing a bit of gesso over the tag background and the corrugated cardboard.  

So there you have the details and the product links can be found below.  Be sure to stop by and see what the other DT members of Simon Says Samp and Show have made this week for your inspiration.  And don't forget, our ever-generous sponsor, Simon Says Stamp, has a $50 shopping spree to give to a lucky random winner.  Hope that winner is YOU!

Thanks so much for dropping by today.  I hope you have a wonderful week.  

Linked to:  Inspiration Emporium - 12 Tags of Christmas Day #10

Products Used:

Alterations Festive Greenery Die	Tim Holtz Mini Holidays Stamp Set	Alterations Tag and Bookplates Die	Idea-ology Fragments	Wendy Vecchi Life and Make Art
Claudine Hellmuth Gesso	Kraft Core Core'dinations	Ranger Gold Embossing Powder	Styled Labels	Hardware Findings
Wendy Vecchi Life and Make Art

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Christmas Confection

Good morning bloggy friends!  So glad to see you back.  It's been sort of a quiet week in blogland, with Tim's 12 finished and everyone turning their attention to preparations for Christmas.  I had hoped to finish the 12 tags, but alas, no time either!  Maybe next week.  

This week at Our Creative Corner, Anne Marie Hile is our hostess again and she has a color challenge for us.  We are to make a holiday project with these colors plus some sparkle.  I decided to make a little candy holder gift with a Starbucks bottle that reminds me of a vintage milk bottle  I really gussied it up - maybe a bit too much - you decide.  

I started with a a doily in front and one in the back as bases - one for my vintage angel image and one for my crinoline poinsettia.  I used a piece of vintage style song book paper "Hark the Herald Angels Sing".  It's a photo copy because I didn't want to use the original.  I aged it with Vintage Photo DI and clear embossing powder.

On the poinsettia side, I used the Tim Holtz Vintage Marketplace letters, layering the light pink over the blue and then glittered the letters and brushed white gesso over the twine for a rustic look.   

I created a little charm with a silver glass glittered star and some glass pearls from my jewelry making supplies.  A light blue rosette edged with silver embossing and a bit of silver tinsel adorn the cap.  I filled the bottle with silver and red wrapped Hershey's Kisses, which unfortunately you can't see through all the embellishments. 

That's it for my sweet little jar (or is it my little sweet jar?).  How about hoping over to Our Creative Corner's Saturday challenge? Lots of pretty eye candy to jump start your mojo.  Come on, what are you waiting for?   And thanks so much for stopping by today.  I so appreciate your visits and comments!

Products Used:

Alterations Mini Rosette Die	Alterations Vintage Market Die	Alterations Tattered Florals Die	Silver Glass Glitter	Vintage Photo Distress Ink
White Jute Mesh	Ranger Clear Embossing Powder	Ranger Silver Embossing Powder

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12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style - The Winner is...

My first-ever challenge, The 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie, style is over. We have been making a tag a week from early September through the end of November. I made a tag each week and the participants were invited to find at least one thing about it to inspired their art piece. It turned out to be so much fun for me and I was super inspired by all the wonderful creations of those who played along. I just want to say thank you to all those who participated and to all who stopped by for inspiration. And if you left a comment, a double thank you!

The winner of the random drawing is Jen. Congratulations Jen! Jen wins a $20 shopping spree from my Etsy shop. But Jen is not the only winner. Congratulations to everyone who completed the challenge! If you finished and submitted all 12 tags, I would like to offer a 20% discount to an order from my Etsy shop. Please use the coupon 12TAGS2011 when you check out and it will be good one time between now and June 30, 2012.

Thanks so much to everyone who played along. I hope you all enjoyed making these tags and drawing inspiration from the player as I did!

Rusted Enamel and PEACE

Hello and welcome back! I'm kicking back into gear to finish up Tim's 12 tags.  I had to take a brief stop over the weekend to attend to other things in my life, but now I'm excited to be back to work using Tim's tags as inspirations.  Tim's Tag #9 featured a technique he calls double distressed rusted enameling.  His rusted enamel technique has to be one of my all-time favorites of his techniques. His new double distressed rusted enameling looks sensational on his tag, but it doesn't really pop on mine.  I think it's all about how the rubber meets the road, so to speak.  His stamp had more rubber than the ones I used and consequently the double enameling is much more visible.  I just really love the texture of this technique and the way the distress ink soaks down in between all the minute fissures.  

I started with a vanilla tag and stamped the evergreen tree and the dove with the new seasonal distress ink color Iced Spruce and then clear embossed the images.  Then I sponged the entire tag with Old Paper distress ink and clear embossed.  The Tim Holtz distress inks are also embossing inks so I didn't have to use a special embossing ink after sponging with Old Paper.  Now the fun part - I sponged the entire tag liberally with Vintage Photo DP to give it the rusted effect.  I made a little banner sort of thingy with vintage style crepe paper to mount my star/rosette/holly element on.  I thought it looked a little plain so I added some of the filigree metal I sell in my Etsy Boutique.  The "holly berries" started life as white half pearls that I colored red with Copic marker #29 Lipstick Red.  The PEACE sentiment was cut with the Vintage Market die from Kraft Core card stock.  I coated them with Glossy Accents per Tim's tag and also offset darker letters for a first layer to give them more depth,  The larger holly is from the Festive Greenery die and the smaller one is from a Martha Stewart punch.  

That's about all I can tell you about Tag #9.  Hope you liked to.  Stop back by later this week to catch tags 10-12.  Let me know if you have any questions.

Linked to:  Inspiration Emporium/Inspiration Journal 12 Tags Challenge - Tag #9

Alterations Tag and Bookplates Die	Ranger Clear Embossing Powder	Ranger Glossy Accents	Alterations Mini Rosette Die	Alterations Festive Greenery Die
Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Pads	Alterations Vintage Market Die	Vintage Style Crepe Paper	Old Paper Distress Ink	Burlap String 10 Colors
Filigree Metal

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