Tim Tag 2011 - Day 11

Day 11...wow...it's almost over for another year. I liked Tim's tag for today but I'm not a fan of making shrinky-dinks. I don't like how they curl. And if I have any shrink plastic right now, I have no clue where it is.

So I did my own thing today. My only inspiration was his color palette, and in the end I ditched that too!

The background is "spray & smoosh" with Broken China and 2 Glimmer Mists (Marshmallow and Turquoise Blue). Then did some stamping with found objects in white & silver. Since I ended up with a modern palette of colors I decided to go with a cute image from Whipper Snapper. Colored with Copics and glitter pens. I added some Flower Soft polar white but you can't really see it (even in real life).

So..tomorrow is the finale.

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas - tag #6

So...did you notice how much Tim's Day #6 tag looked like my Day #3 tag?

I'm just saying...trees...deer...hmmm.

Ok, there were differences but still. (GRIN)

Not wanting to repeat myself, I decided to take a different path. Tim's lesson was all about using the texture embossing plates and I had the snowman. I tired his stamping over the negative image to make it look like the snowflakes were behind the snowman. I played around with the sponging and used SNOW QUEEN Glimmer Mist for shine. I ended up putting Rock Candy Stickles on the snowman and outlining him with a white gel pen.

To add the dimension Tim had with the deer, I did one of my crystal snowflakes. The sentiment was a $1 special from Mike's.

Yesterday, I visited my local stamp/scrapbook store. They had just gotten in this new glass glitter - YUMMY stuff! It's big and chunky. And looks amazing on the snowflake!

I've never heard of this brand but I'll be looking for their stuff in the future.

Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas - tag #1

I intended to post this last night but I had technical difficulties (my camera battery was dead!!)

I love the first of December when Tim Holtz starts posting his 12 Tags of Christmas. For one thing I always learn SOMETHING new! Second, Tim posts a lot about where he's teaching but rarely posts any of his work anymore. And third...his work is just AMAZING!! If you missed Tim's #1 tag look HERE.

So here's my tag. How does it differ from Tim's? Well for one I don't have the wonky house die Tim used. But I did have the embossing folder. So I cut GrungeBoard "chunks" out in a "bird house" shape. You know - a rectangle and triangle roof. I followed most of his steps for coloring and adding "snow". I used the same glass glitter that I use on my Crystal Snowflakes. And a branch I pulled off my mom's aspen tree (sorry mom!)

The background is pure Spray and Smooth - Distress Ink on a Teflon mat, misted with water, and smooshed. For a little shine I finished by spraying Glimmer Mist SNOW QUEEN.

I didn't have Tim's fence die, but I did buy Martha's Large Halloween fence. I just cut the bats off and it's a regular fence! I stuffed a little reindeer moss (I swear that's the name on the package). I didn't use Tim's technique for creating the ticket. I just stamped with Archival Coffee and sponged color on.

I tried dyeing my ribbon the same way Tim did but I just ended up with a blue ribbon (no color variations) and blue fingers! I added a small rusty snowflake charm to the ribbon.

I will be posting my other Tim tags today - and a BIRTHDAY GREETING for my niece JESSICA. So come back thru the day!!

The Stamper's Sampler - Oct/Nov 2010

I got my issue of THE STAMPER'S SAMPLER today. Actually, I got two issues! You know what that means...I have something inside!!!! (I had only made one submission, so I was pretty sure what it was).

My entry was for the HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS challenge. In addition to the print version, you can see The Stamper's Sampler directions and all the close-up here!!! (I rated a webpage entry too)!!

I made a little gift card holder. I have to admit it was a shameless CASE of a gift card holder that Heather made for me last Christmas. In this photo it's closed.

And here's it is open...

And a close of of the Crystal snow flake detail. As a reminder - Tutorial #1 and Tutorial #2.

Oxford Impressions Christmas Card

Suzanne of Oxford Impressions had a contest on her blog before Christmas. I put a quick card together and sent it off. I was one of five winners!

I used my only Oxford Impressions "Christmas" set - WINTER SNOW. I collaged all the smaller stamps in the set as the background and used a Technique Junkies method called Burnished Backgrounds. The background color is a mix of Distressed inks. I stamped the boy on glossy white with Archival ink and heat set it. Then I tore a strip of white card stock and misted with Glimmer Mist. The Marshmallow spray gave the paper a real SPARKLE. But it also needed some Stickles along the edges (wink). Doesn't his expression say - "I just shoveled all this snow and here's another flake..." ??

Finally, I did a crystal snowflake at the embellishment.

Stamps: Oxford Impressions WINTER SNOW
Paper: white and glossy white
Ink: Distress Ink: FADED JEANS, BROKEN CHINA, WEATHERED WOOD; Archival Ink
Accessories: Clear embossing powder, Glimmer Mist: MARSHMALLOW, Stickles, and Crystal Snowflake.
Technique Junkies: Burnished Backgrounds

Tag Tuesday Challenge #26 - Pink, Brown, Burgandy Christmas

After my busy week, I mostly took the weekend off! I did bake rolls & cinnamon rolls for Thanksgiving yesterday. Today, I'll admit to procrastinating. I do needlework finishing for one of my old store customers. I've been putting off working on it. My heart isn't in needlework at the moment - not even somebody else's.

But I did put the time to some good use...I worked on the Tuesday Tag challenge (I know...I'm a bit late with that too).

This week's challenge was the start of "COLORS OF CHRISTMAS: Pink, Brown, and Burgundy".

I started with a cream tag. I stamped a corner medallion (I don't think you can see it very well) in white acrylic paint and then brushed some of the paint in the middle. After that dried I sprayed with Glimmer Mist. Blotting and drying between each color. Then stamped snowflakes and words directly on the tag. The girl is stamped on glossy paper per directions from Oxford Impressions for a "picture" like image; and then cut out. Everything was then layered.

Stamps: Oxford Impressions WINTER SNOW; Penny Black CORNER PIECE
Paper: tag, glossy paper
Ink: Distress Ink: Fired Brick & Vintage Photo
Accessories: Crystal Snowflakes; Glimmer Mist: Creme de Rouge, Creme de Cocoa, Creme de Chocolat; paper doily, rhinestone snowflakes, Martha Stewart postage square punch, Hearthwarming Vintage letters.

VSN #3 - Tonight We're Gonna Party like it's 1999

TONIGHT WE'RE GONNA PARTY LIKE IT'S 1999: Let the song titles of the top 100 hits of 1999 inspire a card!

I picked #1 BELIEVE by Cher
Who doesn't BELIEVE in Santa? I love this stamp by the Angel Company (TAC) - Vintage Santa. It's so classic. I used Technique Junkies SEPIA method on Santa. The image is stamped on Kraft paper in a brown ink. Then gently colored in whites and in this case chalks. The edges were distressed and then outlined with gold ink. A Crystal Snow flake to embellish.

Stamps: TAC Vintage Santa; Stampers Anonymous SANTA's WISH (pine bough), and Memory Box "Believe"
Paper: SU! Kraft, Bo Bunny
Ink: Distress Ink: Vintage Photo, Pine Needles, and Aged Mahogany; Stazon Timber Brown, SU! craft White
Accessories: Deb's Crystal Snowflakes, gold pen, edge distressor, sponge, giltter pen, aqua pen, chalks.
Technique Junkies: Sepia with Torn Edges

KLSNS - Crystal Snowflake Tutorial #2

Good morning! TGIF! This week I'm introducing the KLSNS blog challenge for November. You have the entire month of November to make a card with a SNOWFLAKES!!! Post the card on the KLSNS blog and you could win a $10 gift certificate and a free stamp of Kelly's choosing!

Previously, I shared my version of the Anne Wight snowflakes. In that tutorial, I used sponge daubers and ink pads to create colorful snowflakes. This time I have two different options for you.

The supplies you need to gather are:

• snowflake punches or dies
• glitter
• clear drying glue (I use Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents)
• pop-dots
• brad/button/sticker for the center
• white or patterned paper

The first snowflake option simply uses patterned papers. You can use any size pattern, but I generally keep the size small for more even color changes. For small snowflakes punch 1-2 snowflakes. Here I used some Basic Grey ESKIMO KISSES scraps.

Put a dot of glue on the outer tips of each leg of the snowflake. Then dip directly into the glitter jar. Tap off the excess glitter. The great thing about Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents is that it dries almost instantly. Don't worry about leaving glue in the pot. I haven't found that to be an issue.

Use a pop-dot between snowflake layers and off-set the legs. On these small snowflakes I used a very fine glitter (but I'll be honest and tell you that I like CHUNKY glitter better for the bigger snowflakes). In the very center add some eye-candy, in this case I added a pink rhinestone for that extra bit of bling.

Here's the finished card. I used different patterned papers for each layer of the snowflake. REMEMBER - NO TWO ARE A LIKE! The image background was watercolored first and then stamped. I re-inked the snowman after stamping and added highlights with my Souffle pen.

Stamps: Stampendous SILENT NIGHT SNOWMAN
Paper: Basic Grey ESKIMO KISSES
Ink: SU! Bermuda Bay, Rich Razzelberry, and Melon Mambo (re-inkers)
Accessories: Deb's Crystal snowflakes, EK Success border punch, glitter pen, aqua pen, glue pen, glitter, and Souffle pen.



The second snowflake is much like the original method. Starting with white paper, punch 2-3 snowflakes of differing sizes out.

In the original method, I used sponge daubers to apply color to the white paper before punching. But if you're coloring with COPIC markers, you might want to use the COPIC airbrush system to make sure the snowflakes match what you're coloring.

Spray two colors on each snowflake.

Once again put a dot of Glossy Accents on the leg of each snowflake. On the larger snowflakes, I will cover each "finger" too. The larger glitter (in this case SU! Chunky glitter) adds a bigger surface for the light to bounce off.

Add a pop-dot between each layer. Remember to off-set the legs. And in this case I put a Basic Grey brad in the center after I punched a hole. It's very easy to rip the snowflakes.

On the larger snowflakes to give even more texture, I also glue a leafy punch layer.

Stamps: High Hopes FOLLOW THE STARS, Denami swirl stamps.
Paper: Basic Grey ESKIMO KISSES
Ink: Memento Black Tuxedo
Accessories: Deb's Crystal snowflakes, SU! chunky glitter, glue pad, Copics (see below for color list), airbrush system, and glitter pens.

Remember, to post your SNOWFLAKE cards on the KLSNS blog for some blog candy!

Hope you have a great weekend! I'm going to the Air Force/Army game tomorrow. If I remember to take my camera, I'll post some pictures.

Snowflake Tutorial

A while ago, I showcased a crystal snowflake that I had made for a card with the promise of a tutorial at a later date. I first learned how to make these stunning snowflakes from Anne Wight's Sweet & Sassy blog, but I did make some changes on how I make them.

Choose 3 colors that will coordinate with your project. I always use Stampin UP! Whisper White because its a very smooth paper that allows the sponge dauber to glide easily. I do two area so I can find the perfect area to punch snowflakes from later.

I started with Bermuda Bay and Melon Mambo. Be sure to over lap the colors to blend them. I used Crushed Curry as the 3rd color and made sure to cover all the remaining white areas with some color (doesn't need to be full saturation). In fact, leaving a little less color in areas will give you a more interesting punch area.

Punch two snowflakes out. Move the punch around until you get a mix of colors you like. I use two different size snowflakes.

I also make sure that there is enough difference in colors that you will be able to see the smaller snowflake when it's placed on top of the larger snowflake.

Dab Diamond Glaze on the snowflake where you want the glass glitter to be. The Diamond Glaze is a quick drying glue that will also be clear. Dunk the Diamond Glaze areas into the glass glitter. I haven't tried other glitters for this technique because I like the sharp crystal effect you get from the glass glitter. It's a very course flake - like rock salt (vs table salt). Once both snowflakes are dry, stack with a pop dot.

Off set the arms of the snowflake and if you can, off set the colors so you get more visual interest. On this snowflake I also put glass glitter in the center but you could use a rhinestone, brad, button, or something else to "finish" the snowflake.

Attach the snowflake to your card with a pop dot or glue dot.

Stamps: Stampin UP! EXTREME SNOWBOARDER; Denami sentiment
Paper: Neenah Solar White (aka PTI White), Cosmo Cricket HOLLY BY JOLLY, SU! Whisper White
Ink: Stampin UP! Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry
Accessories: Martha Stewart snowflake punch; Marvy SUPER JUMBO snowflake punch, glass glitter, sponge daubers, Diamond Glaze, and pop dots.

Not a Halloween Card...

Ok, I know I said that I was ready to work on Halloween, but this is a card kit I'm doing for a swap. I did the "prototype" using this week's SCS - SC244.

The little nutcracker is a High Hopes stamp. He's stamped on Neenah Solar White in Memento.



The snowflake is a technique I learned on Anne Wight's SWEET & SASSY blog. I love this snowflake!! I do mine a bit differently but it's the same basic technique. Guess that might be a tutorial for another day. *wink*

Here are the Copics I used to color the Nutcracker. And one glitter pen. It's not a Spica but close.

Stamps: High Hopes NUTCRACKER
Paper: Basic Grey WASSAIL, Neenah Solar White (aka PTI white)
Ink: Memento
Accessories: Ribbon, Copics, rhinestone, glass glitter, snowflake punches, Martha Stewart border punch, and button


One Christmas card down....