Tim Holtz August Tag

I can't believe I've missed making both the June and July tags -  I didn't want to miss the August one -  and finally sat down at my craft table tonight after work to get it done - one day shy of the deadline!

Here is Tim's tag and you can see all his instructions here.

I am getting into full Halloween mode already - I just got Tim's new Lost Zombie die -  so he is featured, front and (off) center!

I followed Tim's instructions for my stained background - using a mini brayer and Carved Pumpkin Distress Spray Stain.  I sponged the edges with Distress Ground Espresso Ink.  I used the Honeycomb die with pieces of Paper Stash/Regions Beyond and adhered it to the side of the tag. 

I added Remnant Rubs - Curiosities and Small Talk/Occasion stickers.  I messy stitched a few lengths on the left side.  I cut the Lost Zombie out of black card, rubbed some Distress Picket Fence Paint over him and adhered him to the tag with foam dots.  I rubbed Picket Fence paint on the Haunt charm from Adornments/Oddities, added a Jump Ring and looped it through a Wire Pin.  I pinned it to a piece of Linen Ribbon that I looped through the hole on the tag.

I slipped a Drive In Theater ticket into one hand of Lost Zombie and a Jack O'Lantern in the other - both from Ephemera/Frightful.  To finish off my tag - I added 3 black enamel dots and then splattered watered down black acrylic paint over the tag using a toothbrush.

If you, like me,  wanted to make Tim's August tag - you still have one day to get it done!  

Paper:  #8 Manilla Tag - Ranger,  True Black Card - PTI
Ink:  Ranger Distress Ground Espresso
Accessories:  Carved Pumpkin Distress Spray Stain - Ranger, Picket Fence Distress Paint - Ranger, mini brayer - Ranger, Honeycomb die and Lost Zombie Die - Alterations/Sizzix, Idea-ology - Adornments/Oddities, Remnant Rubs/Curiosities, Wire Pins, Ephemera - Frightful, Jump Rings, Linen Ribbon,  Multi Medium Matte - Ranger, water, enamel dots - My Minds Eye, Black Acrylic Paint, toothbrush, sewing machine, black thread.

August Papertrey Ink Blog Hop

Today I'm excited to be joining in the August Papertrey Ink Blog Hop.  We had this lovely photo for inspiration.  It makes you want to get your paints out doesn't it?

I was inspired by the pale colors, the splotchiness of the paints as well as the touches of black.

To create my background I rubbed 3 PTI inks over one of my square acrylic blocks - Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush and Classic Kraft - then I spritzed water on a square of Arches Watercolor Paper and pressed the acrylic block - inked side down - onto it.  I lifted the block off and dried the watercolor paper with my heat tool.  You never get the same result twice!

My stash of cards was low in the sympathy section - so I made two cards just changing the color of the button dragonfly.  I added 3 black Tiny Twinkles beneath the sympathy sentiment which is from Beyond Basic Borders, the grass and water circle are from Pond Life. 

 (Both older sets now in the PTI Vault!)

Now I'm heading over to Nicole's blog to see all the other inspired cards people have created for the hop!

Stamps:  Pond Life, Beyond Basic Borders - PTI
Paper:  Vintage Cream - PTI, Arches Watercolor Paper
Ink:  True Black, Berry Sorbet, Sweet Blush, Classic Kraft - PTI
Accessories:  Water mister - Ranger, dragonfly button - Joann, Tiny Twinkles - Taylored Expressions, acrylic block for clear stamps.

Beautiful Girl

My sweet little grandniece, Mila, turned 4 on Tuesday - and today we are going to her birthday party.  I always make personalized cards for my grandnieces and nephews - using a recent photo of them that inspires me.  

 This is the photo, taken by her mum, Katie, at home with her new dance clothes on, the first day at her new ballet class recently.

And here's the card I made using it.  It's actually a stand up frame card that I made using Eileen Hull's Mailable Frame die from Sizzix.  I added Idea-ology Big Chat stickers, Small Talk Stickers and Label Letters for her name.  The 4 is a By The Numbers die from PTI.  I added pink enamel dots and tied a piece of light pink wrinkled seam tape.  I also added Tiny Twinkles to her waistband

Here is a view from the side, showing how it stands up.  The bottom piece folds up behind the back piece and can go right into an A2 envelope to mail!

Here's  how it looks inside - Since the pink area shows through the opening on the front and needs to be left blank - I added a white panel to the back of the frame so I could write a birthday message to the birthday girl.

Mila truly is a beautiful little girl - inside and out - and I am so blessed to be able to spend time with her!

ETA:  here are a few photos from Mila's party!

She asked me "can I keep this card Aunt Julia??!"  I said 'Yes, I made it just for you!" and she was so happy!

Mila's a ballerina even just reaching for the baseball bat to hit the pinata!  She's wearing a cute princes towel robe that her grandma gave her. 

 (her grandma was my sister Marcia, who sadly, passed away suddenly this past April)

First hit on the Pinata.

Scooping up the goodies that fell from the Pinata

Princess cupcakes with cousin Madelyn, and brother Landon

I'm also linking my card to:

Happy Little Stampers

Paper:  White, Sweet Blush - PTI, Black Little Sizzles Matboard - Sizzix

Accessories:  Mailable Frame Die - Eileen Hull/Sizzix, By the Numbers dies - PTI, wrinkled seam tape - Prairie Bird Boutique Etsy Shop, Idea-ology Label Letters, Small Talk, Big Chat, Tiny Twinkles - Taylored Expressions, fine tip glue pen - SU, foam dots, enamel dots - Michaels, photo.

Wired Blooms Wall Hanging

Today, as a member of Eileen Hull's Sizzix Inspiration Team - I have a second project to share using her new Twist and Style tool.

  The Twist and Style Tool will be available soon so check your local stores and the Eileen Hull Sizzix Page for updates.

Last Tuesday - I posted a Halloween decoration (see it here if you missed it!)  

This week I made some wire blooms and adhered them to a slice of  barked wood I had in my stash to create a wall hanging..

This time I used a dark green floral 24 gauge wire.

And I just free form bent the twisted wire to look like flowers with a little loop on the bottom end that could be a root or a leaf!  I glued them to the wood at spots where the wire touched the wood.

I stenciled the piece of wood using WV Archival Leaf Green ink on the bottom half of the wood with Tim Holtz Burlap stencil, and WV Archival Sky Blue Ink on the top half.  Then I used WV Archival Buttercup ink through Tim's Rays stencil on the top half.  I stuck an Idea-ology Memo Pin into the top of the piece so I could hang it on the wall.

I laid the Rays stencil over the inking again and brushed Crazing Distress Collage Medium over it so the rays had a little texture and shine - I think you can see it a little on the photo above.

This is a photo of the back of the wood piece - so you can see the wood center and bark edge - The stamp says MADE IN PORTUGAL  you can also see where I practiced stenciling with the green ink to see if it would show!

To finish off my little wall hanging (this measures ~4" x 6 1/2") I added bird, bumblebee, mushroom and sentiment  Idea-ology Remnant Rubs/Botanical, two Big Chat Stickers and one Small Talk sticker.  I stuck an enamel dot in the center of each bloom.

Please be sure to check over at Eileen's blog for more inspiration using this fun Twist and Style tool!

I'm also linking my project to:

Stamps and Stencils - Time to Take Flight

 Ink:  Wendy Vecchi Archival Leaf Green, Sky Blue and Buttercup.
Accessories:  slice of barked wood from my stash, 24 gauge green floral wire, Twist and Style Tool - Eileen Hull/Sizzix, Crazing Distress Collage Medium - Ranger, Burlap and Rays Stencils - Tim Holtz, Idea-ology Small Talk stickers, Big Chat Stickers, Remnant Rubs/Botanical, Memo Pin,  enamel dots - Michaels, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive.

Intersecting Brick Circles

I finally found a day to spend in my craft room - and one of the things I wanted to get done was a card for the August CAS Mix Up Challenge!

I used water for my 'spray' - inking my Intersecting Brick Circles from Stencil Girls with Distress Mermaid Lagoon Ink, spritzing the stencil with water - and laying it over a white panel.  I pressed over the stencil with a paper towel - and then removed the stencil.

I cut my panel in half and made two cards!  One is a 'Well Wishes' card for a friend recovering from a recent surgery.

and I made the 2nd a Birthday card.  I think using this stencil in blue - the card would work for a guy or a girl.

I used Loll's technique of white embossing the sentiment on a black sentiment strip - it really gives a punch on the mostly white card.  I layered my stenciled panels to a slightly larger black panel as well - and adhered it to the card base with foam dots. 

I'm also linking my card to:

 Seize the Birthday

Happy Little Stampers

 It was in the 90's here yesterday - so I was more than happy to stay inside in the airconditioning and play in my craft room!

Stamps:  Better Get Better/Pure Innocence - MFT, Keep It Simple Birthday II - PTI

Ink:  Ranger Distress Mermaid Lagoon, Versamark

Paper:  White, True Black - PTI

Accessories:  Sentiment Strip Dies - MFT, Intersecting Brick Circles - Stencil Girls, white embossing powder, Mini Mister - Ranger, foam dots.

Don't Grow Up Too Quickly

A co-worker asked me to make a 1st Birthday card for her daughter Alanna who LOVES the beach - and she supplied me with this photo of her to use on the card.

I went to the internet to get some beach inspiration and found this photo that I thought would work well as a background.

Here is the card I created -  It's actually a little stand up frame that I made using Eileen Hull's Mailable Frame die from Sizzix.

Here's how I created this Birthday Frame Card.  I die cut the frame out of Little Sizzles Matboard from Sizzix.  Then I laid the beach photo over the die in the frame opening area so I could use a piece of the photo on the frame as well as the inside.  I fussy cut Alanna's photo as well as her beach toys.

Since the beach photo didn't cover the whole frame, I masked at the folds with some Post It Notes, sponged the frame and the inside of the frame with Distress Mermaid Lagoon.  Then I flicked water over the inking to make water spots to add to the watery feel of the card.

I added her name using Idea-ology Label Letters.  I stamped a sand dollar on a piece of white card stock using Distress Brushed Corduroy, stamped the sentiment over it in Archival Jet Black and sponged the edges with Distress Antique Linen.
 (The stamps are from a set called Gifts from the Sea from Gina K Designs - but it seems this set is no longer available - they have similar set here but it doesn't have this sentiment in it)
I adhered it to the frame with foam dots.  I stamped the 3 little seagulls in the sky.

I adhered the photo of Alanna and her beach toys with foam dots.  You can see how the frame stands up in the photo below - it can be folded right up and mailed in an envelope just like a regular card!

Here's a close up of the inside -  I glued the piece of the photo over the matboard piece, sponged the edges with Distress Mermaid Lagoon and adhered it on the inside of the frame being sure it matched the opening in the front.  I added Big Chat, Chit Chat and Small Talk/Occasions stickers for this sentiment.  I stamped the date of her birthday in the corner using some Karen Foster number stamps (no longer available)

My card design was inspired by the Featured Stamper Challenge over on Splitcoast today - I saw this card by Amy and the window on her card immediately made me think of using my frame die! 

The design part is often the most difficult when creating a special card - I had all the pieces but wasn't quite sure how to put them all together - so seeing Amy's card was SO helpful!

I'm also linking my card to:
Seize the Birthday

 

Stamps: Gifts From the Sea - Gina K Designs
Paper: Little Sizzles White Matboard - Sizzix

Ink: Archival Jet Black, Ranger Distress Mermaid Lagoon, Brushed Corduroy, Antique Linen
Accessories: Mailable frame Die - Eileen Hull/Sizzix, beach photo from internet, baby photo, water for flicking, Idea-ology Label Letters, Big Chat, Chit Chat, Small Talk/Occasions, foam dots.

Twisted Wire for Halloween

Hello everyone, for the month of August, Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team will be introducing you to her new Twist and Style Tool.  This new tool allows you to add a creative twist to any of your projects.  If you're tired of sore fingers from hand twisting wire, ribbon and the like this is the tool for you!  Eileen's new Twist and Style tool allows you to create a perfectly even twist with just a few turns.  

If you are wondering how the Twist and Style Tool can help you create beautiful projects the Inspiration Team is here to show you all the wonderful ways you can use her new tool for your creative endeavors.  The Twist and Style Tool will be available soon so check your local stores and the Eileen Hull Sizzix Page for updates. 

For my very first project using Eileen's Twist and Style tool I've jumped right out of summer into one of my favorite seasons for decorating -  Halloween!  

I used the tool to twist a long piece of 22 gauge silver wire, adding the skeleton hand charm before I twisted the wire - and gluing the bat on the other end after twisting the wire around the bottle of 'brew'!

Here are a few photos of the process.  I folded my length of wire in half, slipped the charm on and moved it to the center fold (this one is a camera charm) and placed the loop over the Twist and Style base which is suctioned to my Corian countertop nice and snug!

You twist the two wires at the other end together and loop it through the hook on the double handle (shown here on the right - sorry no close up of the process) and then you just wind the handles (holding one still and the other rotates) and you get a wonderfully twisted wire - you can see 3 I made below.

Here's a close up of the pieces I made with 3 different charms.  I'll be using the bird and camera ones for other projects!

I started with this little 4 1/2" high corked bottle that I got at my local Christmas Tree Shop for $1.00 last year.  I added some Haunted Rub Ons from Cosmo Cricket that I've had for years.

(so glad to finally use

It says "something's brewing"

I twisted the wire around the bottle neck so the skeleton hand from Funkie Junkie would hang half way down.

I embossed the cork on the top and a little bit down on the sides with Frantage Aged Gold Embossing Powder from Stampendous. I had these sparkly foam bat stickers in my stash and glued two together (front and back) over the end of the twisted wire - adding rhinestone eyes!

I dropped some Latte Adirondack Alcohol Ink onto the Idea-ology Crossbones adding tiny rhinestones to his eye sockets and glued him to the top of the cork.

The wire is loosely wrapped around the jar and can be lifted right off if desired.  The twisted wire holds it's shape pretty well - so Mr. Bat just keeps flying above the jar! 

Oh, and I filled the bottle with water mixed with red food coloring in case you were wondering!

I hope you have enjoyed my 'wired' Halloween project - and please remember to check over at Eileen Hull's blog for more inspiration using this fun new tool - Twist and Style - it should be available for purchase soon from Sizzix!  I'll be back next Tuesday with another project.

Ink:  Versamark

Accessories:  corked jar - The Christmas Tree Shops, Haunted Rub Ons - Cosmo Cricket, foam bats - Michaels, Twist and Style Tool - Eileen Hull/Sizzix,22 gauge floral wire - Joanns,  skeleton hand charm - Funkie Junkie Boutique, Idea-ology Adornments/Cross Bones, Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Latte, Frantage Aged Gold Embossing Powder - Stampendous, water and red food coloring.