2021 Grow, Create Tag

Have you been following along with Tim Holtz's demos?  I've just recently started tuning in to the Live's on Sundays.  So much to take in.  This week I went back to an older demo called Spritz, Sparkle + Smudge and followed along with a couple techniques.  This is my finished Spritzed Tag.  

Here you can see the tag before I decorated it, along with The Professor Smudge tag.

Before adding colour, I spritzed Distress Resist Spray through a stencil on the upper and lower portions of the tag and let that dry.  Next I used several distress inks smudged on my glass mat and spritzed with water to create the colourful background.  I dried between layers then added a few droplets of water and patted ry with a paper towel.  Then I took a couple of the distress inks and blended a little more where the tag wasn't completely covered in colour.  Of course the Resist Spray did exactly that, created a barrier to resist the inks.

At this point the tag was done from a technique perspective.  It was bold and bright and I wasn't quite sure what I would do with it.  I used the script stamp and Archival ink to create some flow and ten began looking through my stash.

I found a piece of ephemera that went well with the colours but it needed something behind it to ground it so it wouldn't get lost.  I had a piece of white corrugated paper that I tore to size and then added some Grit-Paste.  Once that was dry I added some Vintage Photo crayon and smudged with my finger.  

The only thing left to do was to add the token which I coloured with white paint, rubbed it off then added Broken China crayon and rubbed it into the word.  I used a small paperclip to attach it to the paper.

Supplies:

Distress Inks:  Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry, Broken China, Milled Lavender, Spiced Marmalade

Distress Oxide:  Mustard Seed

Distress Paint:  Picket Fence

Distress Resist Spray

Decho Arches Stencil

Distress Crayons:  Broken China, Vintage Photo

Archival Ink:  Potting Soil

Ideaology:  Botanical Layers, Label Letters, Mini Paper Clips, Typed Tokens, Big Chat Stickers

SA Stamp:  Dearly Departed (for the script)

Distress Collage Medium, Grit-Paste opaque

2021 - Art Journal Page

I had an idea for a New Years Page for my disc journal.  And with some inspiration I came up with this :). I absolutely love it!!!  Loved branching out with the dies.  I was inspired by Emma William's card  for the cityscape and Kath Stewart's card for the colours silver and gold together.  

I wanted a night scene so the background was created using Distress Oxide Sprays in Faded Jeans and Chipped Sapphire.  I also mixed a bit of Brushed Pewter Spray Stain in there.  I love that it added to the dimension of the night scene.  The edges were inked with Black Soot Oxide Ink.  Once everything was dry I covered the page in a layer of Micro Glaze since I wanted the white and silver droplets to not react with the background.  Keeps everything more vibrant.  The platters where Picket Fence paint and Brushed Pewter Stain.

Next I went to work on the cityscape.  I cut the 2 images four times, 2x from black card and 2x from silver Kraft paper so I could layer them.  The silver metallic Kraft was toned down a bit with dabs of Mushroom Alcohol Ink.  I sponged the edges of the black card with Brushed Pewter paint and then applied Picket Fence paint splatters.  They were layered on top of each other and then I glued one set of two scenes down and another set over top with foam stickers.  Lots of dimension!  The 2021 was cut from the shadow dies and I did the same toning down with the silver.

It took me a while to figure out how I was going to add fireworks to the page and then realized I had this 3D Impresslit called Radiant - it embosses and cuts!!  The best tip I found was to spritz the cardstock with water prior to cutting and run it through three times.  I cut them in gold metallic Kraft paper and it worked like a charm.  The only thing I found to be difficult was adhering it.  I added craft glue to the centre and edges of the small ones and put a pop up sticker in the middle of the larger two and added craft glue to the edges.  They're not completely adhered around the points but the centres are secure so I'm good with that.  Maybe someone has some tips for me?

I thought the sentiment was perfect for the start of this year.  Love how it turned out and it looks great on display in my craft room :)

Supplies:

Distress Oxide Spray:  Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire

Distress Stain Spray:  Brushed Pewter

Distress Oxide Ink:  Black Soot

Distress Paint:  Brushed Pewter, Picket Fence

Alcohol Ink:  Mushroom

Distress Micro Glaze

Gold and Silver Metallic Kraft cardstock

Cityscape Die

Radiant Impresslit

Alphanuemeric Shadow Numbers Die

Small Talk Stickers

Merry Christmas Gift Bag and Tag Set

I mentioned in my last post how I wanted to decorate some Kraft gift bags and tags.  This is the second set I made.

For these I used the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holt Christmastime 3 stamp set.  I love the different fonts in this set :). I stamped the bag in Fired Brick distress ink and Simon Says Stamp White Pigment Ink.  Super easy!!

For the tag I stamped the sentiment with Gina K. Designs embossing ink and heat set with Simon Says Stamp white embossing powder.  I stamped the snowflakes with the white pigment ink again and the holly leaves were stamped in Archival ink and coloured with Mowed Lawn distress ink and water brush.  The little berries are covered with drops of Autumn Red Nuvo Crystal Drops and match perfectly.  To finish I inked the tag edges with Fried Brick distress ink.  

I'll leave you with another of my favourite Christmas decorations:  Blue Mountain Mouse House :)

Seasons Greetings Gift Bag & Tag Set

Merry Christmas!!  So this year I really wanted to decorate a couple Kraft bags and I decided to make matching Kraft tags as well!!  I love how they turned out!  This is the first set. 

I used the cabin scene and the snowman from the new Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz stamp set Winterscape.  The sentiments are from the Tiny Text Christmas stamp set.  On the bag, I used Forest Moss distress ink and I used the splatter brush to apply picket fence paint to create a snowy scene.  

I stamped the snowman in Archival Ink and coloured them in with Forest Moss and Fired Brick Distress Markers and a water brush.  The white on the snowman is actually Distress spray stain.  There is a tiny snow stamp that I used for the snow on the tag.  To finish I sponged around the tag in Forest Most distress Ink again and then just around the edge in Black Soot.  

To finish I'd like to share a pic of Remi with his stocking and some of my favourite Christmas decorations:  

'tis the season - Christmas Card

I've had this Merry Moose die since sometime last year and I finally used him!  I love how Merry he looks trotting along.  He has gone to my step-son and his girlfriend to their first home.  I combined several techniques from ideas I found online.  

The background sky is Blueprint Sketch distress ink with a touch of Black Soot to the edges.  I sprinkled water on the background and then applied texture paste through the Speckles Stencil to create snow and interest.  

The trees were cut out of Classic Kraft paper and inked to darken.  I applied texture paste for snow on the branches and then applied some Sharpie white paint pen since the texture paste reacted the ink a bit on the boughs.  

The star of the show - Merry Moose!!  He was also cut from Classic Kraft paper, sanded for some more distress then I added some black soot to his hooves to darken them up a bit.  His antlers were super fun - I used the smooshing technique with oxide inks and then once dry I added some darker distress ink to the tips.  I love the little cut areas for his eyes and nostril.  

For the snow I die cut some hills and applied texture paste with a spatula so I could get a realistic look.  Love how that looks!!  After I adhered everything to the background I mounted it on a paper from the Yuletide paper pack.  To finish I added a few stars and a quote chip.  The inside sentiment is stamped in Vintage Photo distress ink using a stamp from the new Christmas release set Bold Tidings 3.  

Supplies:

Tim Holtz Produts:

Merry Moose Thinlits 663103

Speckles Stencil THS021

Bold Tidings 3 Stamp CMS420

Christmas Quote Chips TH93655

Distress Inks, Oxide Inks

Yuletide Paper TH93240

Classic Kraft Paper TH93585

Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste

Simon Says Stamp Stitched Slopes and Hills Die

Wonderful Moments - Art Journal Page

I'm not quite ready to let go of fall just yet so I made this page for a new 8 x 8 album I’m starting.

The background is spiced marmalade spray stain and spiced marmalade, vintage photo and iced spruce oxide inks. I used crackling campfire through the gingham stencil and added some gold foil and speckles stencil to finish the background.

Dies used are skeleton leaves, handwritten journey and friendship words. I also used some vellum ephemera and an enamel tag coloured with alcohol inks and then finished off with rub-ons.

The leaves are coloured with speckled egg, iced spruce, spiced marmalade and vintage photo oxide inks and vintage photo distress ink on the edges.

These leaves were tough for me. I managed to salvage the ones used using less saturated paper and adding more colour after die cutting. The original leaves I cut would not cut properly, possibly because the paper wasn’t completely dry from the oxide sprays? Not sure. That's the first time that’s happened to me.

In the Dead of the Night - Art Journal Page

Since I was late to the game (Halloween crafting that is) and had so much fun with the page I did yesterday I decided to get one more page done for my disc bound journal while still in the spirit!!

This was really fun, I took my time and it turned out just as I imagined!!  

I started with a distress oxide ink background using Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon.  This time I smooshed all three inks on my mat, spritzed and dragged my card through all three a few times, drying between layers until I was happy with the background.  I used the Halloween Script stencil with Ripe Persimmon oxide ink and added a few droplets of Black Soot and distressed the edges of the page with Black Soot oxide ink as well and I was done.

Since the images from the Sketch Manor stamp set are mostly just outlined images and I didn't want to have to stamp them separately, colour them and then adhere them I decided to try this technique by Jenny Marples and it turned out perfectly!! 

To start, using my stamp platform I stamped the haunted house with Antique Linen oxide ink and let that dry.  Now that I had the outlined image, using Antique Linen paint and a small brush I filled in the stamped area.  Because I was painting over the oxide inks they did react a bit, but I was okay with that.  I applied a second coat and once that was dry, I added some Hickory Smoke crayon to grunge it up a bit.  And because my stamp was on the platform, all I had to do was stamp again over the painted image with archival ink and I had a perfectly aligned haunted house!!  I repeated the same steps for the cloud and the moon.  I added a bit of Squeezed Lemon crayon to the left edge of the moon.

I added some Clippings Stickers and since they were an off white I applied some Antique Linen Distress Ink to the Quote Chip so the words weren't so stark white and matched everything else.  I added some black cardstock to the bottom for a base for the house and stamped the fence and bats and I was done!!

Supplies:

Stamp Set:  Sketch Manor

Stencil:  Script

Inks and Mediums:  Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade, Squeezed Lemonade, Antique Linen and Black Soot Distress Oxide Inks, Antique Linen distress ink, Hickory Smoke and Squeezed Lemonade distress crayons

Extras:  Tim Holtz Halloween Quote Chips, Clippings Stickers

Canson XL 110lb watercolor paper

Jobbles discs

Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Craft Glue

Tonic Studios Tim Holtz Stamp Platform

She Was Peculiar - Art Journal Page

A little Hocus Pocus today with some Tim Holtz goodies and inspiration from @vickyp_gr and @redfernanne 💜🧡🖤 This was one of funnest projects I've done in a long time!!

I was excited to start this new 6 x 6 inch disc bound journal after watching several of Vicky's videos.  So many possibilities with different coloured discs and I can size the journals up to 8 x 8 inches.  I can work on the pages before adding to the journal and work to the edge of the page with no bleeding :)

First I created the background by smooshing distress oxide inks on my matt, spritzing with water and dragging my page through, drying between colours.  I used the Spiced Marmalade first, then the Wilted Violet on the two sides and finally Iced Spruce.  I finished with some water droplets and some splats of watered down Black Soot ink.

I stamped the branches from the Sketch Manor stamp set in Black Soot using Tim's stamp platform along the edges and then blended some Black Soot along the edges to frame the page.  

I die cut the witch and cat on black cardstock and then blended a bit of Wilted Violet and Black Soot onto each piece.  I then spritzed both generously with the Distress Resist Spray for a really cool finish.

Lastly I added some washi tape and inked black card stock to the bottom of the page to to ground my witch and to the side of the page before adding the Quote Chips.  It was a perfect perch for the kitty!

Supplies:

Inks and Mediums:  Wilted Violet, Spiced Marmalade, Iced Spruce and Black Soot Distress Oxide Inks, Distress Resist Spray

Stamps:  Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Sketch Manor (for the branches)

Dies:  Sizzix Tim Holtz Witchcraft

Extras:  Tim Holtz Halloween Quote Chips, Clippings Stickers and Washi Tape

Canson XL 110lb watercolor paper

Joggles discs

The Happy Planner punch

Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Craft Glue