I'm a bit creeped out

I have to admit, I’m a bit creeped out.  Probably because this is not where I thought I was going.  GM 20 this week is distress stickles.  My stock currently consists of rock candy and picket fence.  IMO distress stickles is perfectly suited for doing old fashioned post cards or scraps.  Gives the look of old glitter that’s flaked a bit over time.  Simon says stamp says show some bling, so I thought I could work both together into an old fashioned Halloween greeting.  In addition to the stickles and the bling I thought rosettes would add just the right touch.  It started glamorously enough….I cut a tag out of black card stock (TH die) and embossed a TH flourish in black.  Then I gave it a smear of silver dauber and scrubbed it off again.  The trouble started when I couldn’t find the glamour Victorian witch image that I was seeing in my head.  That’s when things started going in a different direction.  I had this old photo of someone’s progeny and started thinking about shopping some witches hats on them…..worked pretty well.  Suddenly, the fact that they were holding hands was no longer a good thing!  “If you don’t give us candy, we’re going to start chanting”. 

The rosettes (TH Mini Rosette die) were cut from a sparkly black coredination paper, layered with 2 of the Halloween TH tissue tapes and smeared with rock candy distress stickles.  Rock Candy also appears on the tag in a few spots, on the witch’s hats and along the edge of the laced.  The bling I picked up a Michaels.  It’s a really cool black/grayish iridescent color.   There’s some nasty looking feathers and the misshapen donut is picket fence distress crackle and UTEE.   If you’re here, you know what I mean by TH, but for the record, check out the awesomeness here

So, thanks for stopping by….I love your comments! 

Enough with the birds already

I know, I know, what’s up with all the birds…..I seem to be a tad bit stuck, but who cares. 

The challenge is GM 19. A fab tag from Tim’s 12 tags of Christmas from last year.  And Simon Says Stamp couldn’t make it any easier by asking for anything TH.  As you can see, I didn’t really do theGM challenge, but I was definitely inspired by it.  Lucky me, I had the package from a pair of Sizzix extended cutting pads.  It was exactly wide enough to cut a multitude of tags to play with. 

I really loved Tim’s concept of putting the snowflakes with the snowman and so I was really bent on finding embossing that “matched” the focal point of the tag.  With what I have on hand I just couldn’t find a connection that I like.   So, I started playing around with stamping.  I really like the way the TH flourish looked stamped on the packaging with Stazon.  Then I thought “what the heck” and ran the tag through again, using the bird cage die.  I tied the tags together with ribbon, then daubered silver on the back of the cage and attached it in the right spot, onto the bottom tag with a brad,  the rest of the tag is held on with the ribbon.  The bird is multi-layered heat emboss/UTTE.  First, silver dauber, sunset orange alcohol ink, UTTE, heat, a sprinkle of platinum emboss, heat.  I found the home brew glitter misted Love stamped piece just hanging out on my craft table so I put it in a multi layer embossed book plate.  Similar layering to the bird, no AI, but sprinkle of blue pearl emboss.

The background tag was a left over from creating last week’s tag.  I had a piece of manila card stock that I was using to slurp/wipe up the oversprayed glimmer mist from my craft mat.  I cut my tag from it and left it as is.  The bling was colored with more sunset AI.  I dyed the ribbon by putting it in a baggy sprtizing a few times with sunset colorwash and then squishing it around in the bag. 

So, I didn’t follow the challenge but held true to the inspiration.  I used packaging and some other recycled/repurposed  items I found hanging around and most importantly had a blast putting it together. 

Many thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! 

Bird under the wire

So here I am, getting in just under the wire.  Simon Says Stamps is doing tags and the Lovely Linda at Studio L3 has selected another wonderful technique from Tim Holtz techniques of Christmases past.

I wasn't inspired by any of my stamps to create a parchment piece, so my head was going in a bunch of different directions on this.  Then I started wondering whether or not I could print on the vellum and have it turn out ok.  Imagine my surprise!  This music piece has been a favorite of my dd (12 yo) for a few years since a summer orchestra program.  Because of her excitement over its selection for the fall concert of the youth orchestra she belongs to, I thought it would be perfect to glamorize it in a tag.  I shrunk down the first page of the music to 4 x 6, printed on my inkjet, and continued as per Tim’s instructions.  A very light hand was required on the blending, but I turned out just fine.  The tag background is silver dauber and home brewed perfect pearls mist.  The rosette is the smallest, cut from vellum, tissue taped (music staff) inked, then added spritzed paper flowers.  The die cuts and donut were multi layer embossed using embossing powder and UTEE, then they all took a ride through my Xyron sticker maker (l love that thing for sticking down embellishments).  Added a TH corner and spritzed a white organza ribbon.  Done…right under the wire.

GM 16 & SSS

Linda said Gunge Paper or Board and Simon said emboss and you really can’t get any better than that.  Now, Grunge is an awesome medium.  The best of say, leather and paper and it lends itself to major construction projects.  It’s easy to cut/pierce and extremely pliable.  I, however, was never going to be able to pull off a construction project this week and was in need of another prompt.  My favorite crafting cohort and consult said birdcage and off I went.  The TH baroque frame, cut from grunge board,  has been dry embossed with a texture fade and had various coloring items applied to it.  Home brewed glimmer mist, distress inks, stains and a schmear of silver dauber.  The bird cage, bird,  flourish and donut, all grunge board, have  been heat embossed and then Uteed.  A deliciously unpredictable embossing method that I learned from Stamptramp.  The only “construction” I did was to prop up the various levels of materials.  The bird was easy to align with the bird cage and frame, using foam tape.  The flourish was cut again from grunge board and cut and glued where needed to make the whole thing lay over the frame and cage correctly.  What fun!  The tag is super sparkly with home brew PP mist and stamped with my favorite and first TH stamp in silver.  I’ll ad more “stuff” when I can catch another minute or 2. 

Check out everyone’s fabulous creations at Linda’s Grungy Monday Challenge and Simon Says Stamps (good luck to all design team entries).  And here’s where you can check out all of Tim Holtz’ wonderfulness.

An embossed, sparkly, hot,hot, hot Flourish

Simon say Show a Flourish, Tim makes it sparkle, The Artistic Stamper is feeling hot,hot,hot and at Inspiration Emporium, it’s emboss something

For Grungy Monday 14 over at Studio L3, Linda has an awesome challenge this week.  If you are product impaired this week, definitely put the required on your wish list.  The results are absolutely amazing and the photos you’re seeing can’t do it justice.  I started the project with one of my first TH stamps, from fabulous flourishes, on manila tag with white dauber.  This dried  while I was concocting my potions.  I really wanted to go with Hel’s fabulous Ink Mirepoix of Mustard seed, spiced marmalade and fired brick.  Not sure when I saw it on her blog, but I used it first on GM 11 and LOOOOVE it.  Luckily I had those 3 reinkers.  The perfect pearls to add was a bit more challenging, since I don’t have a wide array.  I probably could have gotten away with adding gold to all three, but where’s the fun in that?  So….for the Mustard seed I used sunflower sparkle, for the marmalade I used Heirloom gold and for the Fired brick I used Berry twist.  A few spritz later and I was blown away!  I really had a hard time covering any of it up.   The TH bookplate is embossed using Stampendous, Pearlustre Sapphire, using the technique I learned from Shelly Hickox, and grunged with a tiny rub of black dauber.  Same treatment on the donut.  AI’d bling and TH stamp from Michaels in Ranger black archival.  The flower wreath on my cutie patootie was colored with above 3 reinker colors using the  DI pad and a Ranger nib.  The seam binding was inked with the 3 colors, plus one more with chipped sapphire. 

After I make several more tags with this technique (and I will – I have great ideas for Christmas!) I probably will load it up with embellishments.   For now, I just have to admire the beautiful color and sparkle. 

Thanks Linda, Simon Says Stamps, The Artistic Stamper and Inspiration Emporium for the great challenges.  As you can tell from the above, if it wasn’t for the challenges and all the artists sharing their talent, I wouldn’t know how to do anything!