Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015 - December

I just posted Tim's November tag a few days ago (JUST made the Nov 30th deadline!)  -  and here I am with my version of his December tag - an early bird!  Here is Tim's tag and link to his tutorial.

 For my tag, I used a piece of green burlap and the Festive Stencil that I sprayed with Iced Spruce Spray stain - LOVE how this came out!

I don't have Tim's bow die - so I used my Bow Die Small from Lil' Inker Designs.  I also don't have his foliage punches but I have some very similar ones from Martha Stewart - so I used those, punching sanded pieces of 3 colors of green Kraft Core paper from the Nostalgic Collection. I added 3 Jingle Brads to the wreath and used my brandy new Distress Splatter Brush to flick some Picket Fence Distress Paint over bow and wreath (what a fun tool! I've always had trouble 'splattering' and this tool works wonderfully!)   I rubbed my Crinkle Ribbon into Scattered Straw Distress ink spritzed with water on my craft mat, dryed it and looped it through the hole of my tag.

I sewed around the edges of my tag with black thread, varying straight and zig zag stitching.  I added 3 Small Talk Occasions sentiments and a Mirrored Star - colored as Tim did, with Mushroom Alcohol Ink

I love the green burlap and wreath with the red bow - what a fun technique - stenciling with Spray Stains over burlap!  I always learn something new doing Tim's monthly tags!

I'm also linking my tag to:

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - Silver and Gold (my bells)

I hope that your holiday preperations are going well so you're not too stressed!

Tim Holtz Twelve Tags of 2015 - November

Wow - I've had all the supplies out on my work table to make Tim's November tag for weeks and just haven't had time to get to it!  But there are just a few days left in November so it was now or never!   Here is Tim's tag and the link to see his tutorial.

And here is my version.  I had a lot of the supplies Tim used but I used a different grid stamp for the background, I used some gold metal leaf  that I had in my stash from years ago (and never used!) on the edges.

I used a wishbone instead of an arrow at the top.  I also stamped and cut out the word 'pumpkin' from the blueprint stamp because it didn't show up on the background with the dark colors.

I used a thin piece of real cork to cut out the AUTUMN and also stamped the 'optional shading' from the blueprint stamp on a piece of kraft and added it here beneath the pumpkin, since my stamped one didn't show up on the background.

Here you can see the layered stem.

I just love the background on this tag.  As per Tim's tutorial -  you use a brayer to roll Ranger Distress Paint (I used Picket Fence) over the stamp and press it onto the tag (wash your stamp and brayer immediately!)  - let the tag dry - spritz water over the tag - then spray 2 colors of Spray Stain (I used Ground Espresso and Iced Spruce) over the tag and dry with your heat tool. L-O-V-E it!

So I've got the November tag done - just in time to find out what the December tag will be next Tues! (I really can't believe it's Dec already??!!!)  This will, no doubt, be my last fall project of the season - I'll be moving on to Christmas and winter now!

Tim's 12 tags of 2015 - October

I was so excited when I saw Tim's October Tag that I got to it right away!  He used the new Zombie Thinlit -  I don't have the Zombie........

But I did purchase the MONSTER!   and here is my version of Tim's Oct Tag.

I followed Tim's instructions pretty much - but used the different colors, different paper and ribbon.  Here are the colors I used to make my monster.  Chipped Sapphire, Iced Spruce and Hickory Smoke.  Tim's technique was to rub the ink on the craft mat - spritz with water - and pull the tag panel through it until you get the color and spottiness you want.

I used Linen Ribbon that I inked with Hickory Smoke and a Fright Oddities Adornment attached with a Loop Pin.  I rubbed the circle with Picket Fence Distress Paint - let it dry a bit and then rubbed most of it off.

I used these colors for my monster - since if we are considering this is Frankenstein - he was just pretty much black/gray but I wanted to have a little contrast on his different pieces!

I used the Splatters stencil on the background sponging it with Hickory Smoke ink.  I rubbed Picket Fence Distress paint on the Word band - then rubbed most of it off  so the word would show - and adhering it to the tag with Long Fasteners.

The piece of paper I used from Regions Beyond Paper Stash is an old page of newsprint showing births, deaths and marriages -  I thought it was a good choice to have behind my monster given his colors,  look at the name right next to his left eye in the photo below -   ASTON - that's my name (well, it's my married name anyway)  Apparently on the 27th  of Sept 1904 Paul Meredith Aston of Waveland Brevard Co., FL died of pneumonia, only son of the late Rev. M. M. L. Aston, Vicar of King's Norton.   I had to place the monster's head off-center on my tag so the name would show!

This was a quick tag to make - the hardest thing was to decide what colors I wanted for the monster!  The die goes together really quickly - Tim has a great video on his tag post with a few helpful hints.

I absolutely love this great MONSTER die - the 3 dimensional look is just awesome! 

My father was a professional artist and one of his specialties was paper sculpture -  he would have loved seeing this die!  He actually made a Frankenstein mask when he was in his early twenties (he scared someone right over a bridge into the stream wearing it as a camp counselor in New Hampshire one summer evening!) - and he had it on the wall of his work room in our house growing up - that room was right next to our one bathroom - for the longest time I was scared to go to the bathroom at night if the door to his work room was open!

Are you ready to be scared?   Here is my dad's Frankenstein Mask -  the mask is about 80 years old - he has a few chips and cracks and he lost one of his 'bolts'!

But he's in pretty good shape considering he's been in the attic for most of the past 50 years - I'm pretty sure my dad used real human hair on this.  It's paper mache with a skim of  maybe Plaster of Paris or Gesso and then painted.  And it's human size!  This pic below shows his green color better.  Can you imagine walking down the street at night and seeing someone with this face???!

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015 - September

I missed Tim's August Tag -I just couldn't get the techniques he used to work for me - so I was really happy to see his September tag.  I liked each step and technique and so I knew I could get something done!  You will find all the details of Tim's tag here and here it is below:

Mine looks quite different from his because I did a Halloween theme and so used orange, black and brown inks - but most of the techniques are there!  I used stamps from Half Tone Halloween instead of butterflies and I added some Curiosities Remnant Rubs. 

The back of my tag is a mix of Black Soot, Tea Dye and Wild Honey Distress Stain Sprays.  It came out really cool but most of it gets hidden by the front panel :(

 I didn't have the Alcohol Ink paper Tim used (I don't know if I've ever even seen that sold??!) so I used a specialty paper I had that I thought might work for the technique  - I swiped the panel through the following colors of Alcohol inks I put on my craft mat -  Butterscotch, Espresso, Ginger, Citrus and Silver Mixative Alcohol Ink as well as alcohol blending solution.  After it dried - I used Tim's Shatter Stencil along with Wendy Vecchi Translucent embossing paste over the panel.  Then you stamp the images on the panel and stamp them again on Acetate, cut them out and layer them over the stamped images.  Tim used Frosted and I just used clear acetate.  He also heated the butterflies and bent them  but I couldn't do that with the images I used so mine are flat.

I dropped Butterscotch Alcohol ink over the Exhibit A word band and the little jacko-lantern from Oddities/Adornments.  The greetings was cut with Holiday Words/Script.  The colored ribbon was a free gift with an order from Linda at Funkie Junkie Boutique!

So, I'm happy and relieved that I had success with Tim's September tag!

I hope everyone has a great weekend.  The town I live in is celebrating Founder's Day on Saturday with the center of town blocked off to traffic and lots of people selling things at booths and the school's run games and there's lots of great food!  Then on Sunday there is going to be a special Honoring the Military parade that's going to be about 2 hours long - with high school bands, Fife and drums, bagpipes, soldiers marching and lots of military vehicles - part of the town's 200th year celebration -  and I just have to walk to the end of my street to see the parade go by!

Happy 4th! Tim's Tag - July 2015

Tim's July Tag perfectly coincides with the United States celebration of July 4th - our independence day.  So today I share my version of Tim's tag

and also wish all my fellow US Citizens - a Happy 4th of July!

You will find Tim's tag and his detailed instructions here.

I used the same stamps - but have the large set, Americana Blueprint,  not the smaller version - so I decided to use the Statue of Liberty and the USA stamps.

I used the larger 7 3/8" x 3 5/8" manilla tag in order to fit the larger stamps.  I used a piece of Paper Stash Motif for the background.  These papers each have a clear design on them - I used the one with circles, and sponged over the paper with Distress Vintage Photo to allow the circles to show.  I colored the U with Fired Brick Distress Marker and A with Faded Jeans - going over them with a waterbrush.   For the background I rubbed Iced Spruce on my craft mat and used my waterbrush to 'paint' around the letters for a subtle shadow.    I colored the ribbon with Distress Markers and my water spritzer the way Tim did.  I added Mirrored Stars to my tab as well as some Remnant Rubs from Botanical and Numbers.

I colored Miss Liberty with Bundled Sage and Broken China Distress Markers to give it the weathered patina that the actual statue has - going over the coloring with a waterbrush. 

  I rubbed Salty Ocean Distress Ink on my craft mat and waterbrushed the color around the statue.  I added the Vial Label with a Big Chat sticker and Remnant Rubs, and added two more Mirrored Stars. 

I'm sure you noticed my sweet patriotic trees -  Tim showed us how to make them on his post here.  As soon as I saw them I knew I had to make some!   They are SO easy to make!  I used Salty Ocean and Barn Door Distress Spray Stains, blocking off the white part on the Woodlands Trees with painters tape.  

LOVE, LOVE how they came out!!

 The technique for coloring the Letterpress Blocks is also on Tim's Patriotic Post.  Basically, you dab some Distress Paints onto your craft mat - then dip the letters into them - let them dry then sand off the color until it looks like you want it, and then glue the letters together.  I added a Mirrored Star to mine.

Happy 4th of July everyone!!

Tag:

Stamps:  Americana Blueprint - Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous

Paper:  Manilla tag and Paper Stash Motif - Ranger, watercolor cardstock.

Ink:  Archival Jet Black, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Salty Ocean and Iced Spruce

Accessories:  Ranger Distress Markers Bundled Sage, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Fired Brick; Idea-ology Vial Labels, Remnant Rubs Botanical and Numbers, Crinkle Ribbon, Mirrored Stars, sewing machine.

Patriotic Trees

Accessories:  Woodlands Tree Lot - Ranger, Ranger Distress Spray Stains Salty Ocean and Barn Door, blue painters tape.

USA  
Accessories:  Letterpress Blocks and Mirrored Star - Idea-ology, Ranger Distress Paints - Picket Fence, Chipped Sapphire, Fired Brick; sandpaper, Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive,

 

Tim's 12 Tags of 2015 - June tag

I was SO excited when I saw Tim's June tag because I have almost everything that he used on it - whoo hoo (which definitely means I'm buying WAY too much STUFF!! AND I said the same thing last month!!?)  So, anyway, here's Tim's tag!

You will find ALL the details of how Tim put his together here so I won't go into ALL of the details.  I actually made my plaid background differently than Tim did his (I know, I'm such a renegade!) - and I used shades of blues rather than greens.

I made my plaid background by spraying 3 colors of Distress Spray Stains first vertically, then horizontally over the Stripes stencil, dabbing the tag with paper towels after each spraying - I used Faded Jeans, Salty Ocean and Peacock Feathers.  I  substituted an Enameled Tag pinned onto the Linen Ribbon, rubbing the edges with Weathered Wood Distress Paint and adding Remnant Rubs/Words to it.  You can just barely see my Coredinations blue straw sticking up through the 'whipped cream' cover - it really blends in with the blue plaid in my photo!  I rubbed Picket Fence Distress Paint over the back of the acetate cover to make the whipped cream!

I used a blue piece of burlap from Die Cuts with a View that I sponged with Vintage Photo and a Big Chat sticker on my banner.  I added another Remnant Rub/Special Delivery to the bottom corner.  I made myself do the stitching over the burlap since I do have a craft sewing machine - I don't know why I shy away from using it!!??!

The fun surprise with Tim's design - is that you can slip a gift card behind the drink cup!  The cup is attached to the tag with two thin strips of foam tape along the top edge (near the cover) and along the bottom edge - so, as you see here, the card can slip right through!  I colored my Mirrored Star with two Alcohol Inks - Sail Boat Blue and Espresso.

I always layer my tags to a slightly larger piece of black cardstock - mostly to hide all the mess that gets on the back (like the back side of staples, inks from working on the craft mat and stitching!)  So I added a Journaling Ticket as well in case I wanted to write a message.

I love my tag in blue!  and all the fun techniques we used on it this month (even though I revised a few things!)

I'll be back tomorrow with the new Fusion Challenge!  Hope to see you then -  it's the last Fusion Challenge until September (we're taking a little summer break)!

Paper:  #8 Manilla tag - Ranger, True Black, Kraft, white - PTI, clear acetate, blue - Coredinations/Tim Holtz, corregated cardbord (recycled Starbucks sleeve)

Ink:  Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Peacock Feathers

Accessories:  Ranger Distress Stains - Faded Jeans, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers; Stripes Stencil - Tim Holtz, Ranger Distress Paints - Weathered Wood, Picket Fence; Idea-ology - Mirrored Stars, Linen Ribbon, Jute String, Enameled Tags, Remnant Rubs/Words, Remnant Rubs/Special Delivery, Loop Inks, Journaling Ticket, Big Chat Stickers; sewing machine, Adirondack Alcohol Inks - Sailboat Blue, Espresso.

Tim's 12 Tags of 2015 - May

I've been home with Bronchitis and the flu (of all things!) and I'm finally starting to feel a little better - so I was able to sit at my craft table and make Tim's May Tag.   Here is his:

and below is my version.  I didn't have his real burlap adhesive sheet so I just used a piece of burlap patterned paper! (it looks pretty much the same!!)   I used a different stencil (cargo) different pieces of ephemera (Thrift Shop), I used a File Tab under the Photo Booth photo (instead of a Typed Token) and I used a Flash Card on the bottom with Chit Chat Stickers - but it's all of Tim's techniques!  The stenciling with white embossing paste then inking when dry, sponging the edges, using Distress Spray Stains (Antique Linen and Cracked Pistachio) on the Crinkle Ribbon

I colored bits of the Photo Booth photo with Distress Markers and added Remnant Rubs/Special Delivery.

I recently purchased the Tiny Tattered Floral dies so I was excited to try them out!  Aren't they cute?!  And I loved using the Loop Pin with a couple of tiny buttons from my stash.

You'll find Tim's wonderful tutorial for this tag and the link up here.

And if you're looking to shop this weekend - Funky Junkie Boutique is having 10% off practically everything through Monday!  Linda has great prices ALL the time - and this weekend the prices are even lower!!

We're coming up on Memorial Day Weekend here in the US -  For all those serving or retired from any Military Service thank you SO MUCH for your service, bravery and dedication to keeping us safe!