Welcome Grungy Monday!!

Yahoo!! With the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge finished, Linda at Studio L3 has started Grungy Monday's! Celebrating the techniques of Tim Holtz!

So, week #1: the 10th tag from Tim's "12 Tags of Christmas-2008" This is the first of these tags I have attempted--and I have to say; I have a whole new respect for all of you that have followed Tim and gotten them done-even if not daily, but by the end of December! This one didn't look as involved as some others-but it was a two-night affair! (To see the work process-visit my previous WOYWW post! LOL!)

I cut a mask of the Elegant Flourishes die (and what a mess that step was-Eclipse Masking Paper not so good w/detailed dies I guess), and used the wild honey re-inker for my mist. (the top flower was hit with the same mist mixture-funny how that was so yellow, and the tag so nice and orangey!) I edged with Barn Door DI. The butterfly (Penny Black) was hit with copper pp's (and yes Tracey--that was one cool step!) The letters are from Hampton Art, and after stamping with Rusty Hinge DI, I dusted them with copper p's-not that you can see the shimmer here. And I KNOW! I have a stamp somewhere with an english poem about the butterfly that flutters by---(and wheren't they originally called flutterbys?) but I can't find it.

So now, hop over to Linda's to see the details, and check out everyone else's Grungy Monday work-you still have time to dive right in! Have a great weekend all--and if your in the North East--buckle down for our 16 inch plus of snow coming in on the Nor'easter storm coming in for April Fools! (yea, no fools there-bummer!)

WOYWW #95

Oh Boy! You get a rare before and after look at my project for the first Grungy Monday's challenge at Studio L3. I have a whole new respect for everyone that completes Tim Holtz's "12 Tags of Christmas"-during Christmas! This is easily a 2-session affair--and this looks far less involved than some of his other tags!

This first week we were to use the technique from week 10 in 2008. I started Tues., this first picture is from Wed. morning before I left for work. I used Eclipse masking paper to do masks--has always worked great for me...I can get many uses out of one mask. See the mangled mess to the right; that was what was left of the Elegant Flourishes mask from the TH die.

And this 2nd shot?? Wed. night--even I'm a-bit shell-shocked from all of this!! LOL! It's going to take another precious session to clean up for next week! (Again--high kudos to all of you who follow Tim's "12 Tags"--I'm not even going to feel guilty when I make excuses next year!)

The Playdate Cafe #72

Ok, in real life, these colors are true..well, the pink is a bit paler on the tag, but richer on the label..in real life thank what the photo looks like to me. I don't know if the camera needs an adjustment, or eye (lol) do! (Sorry, really punchy today--every critter in this house is driving me bonkers!)

But, speaking of punchy...this is not how I envisioned this project..it was supposed to be a flowery card, but first...I just had to play with my new Tim Holtz Butterfly dies!! I quickly glued two pieces of scrap together to cover them, and OMG! How fantastic are those butterflies!!! It wasn't until I went to put them in my little "pieces-parts" drawer for future use that I realized; they were Orange and Blue..so I just had to use them!

I had also ordered Tim's new Labels stamp set...so the Florist one seemed a natural fit...and then earlier this week I used Penny Black's Brushstroke Lily, which was still on my desk, so that became the main image. It is a technique showcased by Tim Holtz on his first DVD, using Adironadack Inks and a water mister. Very cool, particularly on the Brushstroke images! The tag background and the label background are DI Spun Sugar and Victorian Velvet, with Broken China around the edges. The Adirondack Inks are Denim, Bright Orange and Terra Cotta. Not real crazy about the blue stems, but what are ya gonna do? So..Ta da..my Play Date Cafe entry for the week. Now hop on over to see what everyone else has created using the fab colors of Orange, blue and Pink! Have a great weekend everyone!

Few new Cards

A record! 4 posts this week--my heavens! LOL! Just a quickie (how do you spell quickey!? LOL) with a few of the cards I made this week, while also sweating over the final compendium challenge (see previous post for that info) . I have decided to do a craft show this fall at one of the local firehouses. So, I need to build up some creative goodies that hopefully will sell and allow me to get more goodies to play with. It's a vicious cycle!

I love this one--its a technique Tim showed on his first DVD, using the Ranger Adirondak Inks. Its a Penny Black stamp, and for the life of me, I can't remember where the verse came from! Argh!

This stamp I just had to have...and I don't know where my mind is this morning--and I've had my coffee--but I can't remember where it came from either...but I haven't used it much, 'cause it needs a really good saying, and I just don't seem to have one.

I guess I have to adjust my monitor at home, as the photos look fine there, but are coming across really dark, here..I colored this with Prismacolor Pencils, but the colors aren't showing. It's on a dark green card, with a sanded dark purple layer from Core'dinations. I love that paper!! Great colors, and so distressable!

So, that will be it for the week. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

The Detail is in the Details..or something like that

Wow, the final challenge from Tim's Compendium of Curiosities, organized by lovely Linda at Studio L3. Iwish to thank Linda for running this wonderful challenge. It started me blogging; opened my eyes to a whole new world of blog hops and challenges, and I've "met" many new friends along the way!

So, here we are at Challenge #35, Design Details. And because it is the last challenge, I didn't want to substitute, so I actually bought Tim's cool ruler. Now, the stitching put me off; I'll throw out a shirt that needs a button and replace it (really, ask my husband-who is always losing buttons!) than thread a needle! So I wasn't looking forward to this one, particularly as the last one! But, it wasn't all that bad, once done. Just don't look at the blood stains on the back! LOL!(what's really sad--my first "real" craft-leatherwork, and I had no trouble stitching wallets, purses, etc. ) I also wanted to work in as many different techniques as I could--which of course caused muse overload! I swear, the only piece I envisioned was the copper brick piece-which even then I put in the texture folder backwards! LOL! The rest literally fell in place piece by piece! I'm going to put this in a frame (total size 5" x 7") for my new wall.

Now the photo is really dark...not sure why as it was fine at home, but I have an "e" sticker for the work Journey, and there are pearl brads on the top right corner. The fragment is over the "admit one" ticket stamp from one of tim's mini sets, and I used a Glaze pen to highlight the words in the creativity quote. I also used the dabber resist under the bird, but that is all but invisible! Really too bad,as I was really surprised how cool this one was once I stepped back (no, really! I had absolutely no expectations for this one!)

I hope everyone else enjoyed this journey as much as I did, and I hope to see you all again on the next StudioL3 Challenge!

WOYWW #92

Here it is....just as I started working on the final challenge for the Compendium of Curiosites over at Studio L3. I thought I better snap this now (7:30 pm Wed. night) before I really got involved in the piece--mostly since I really didn't know where it was going, or if I was even going to get it finished in one night (in involves stitching..the only worse technique would involve an iron..oh, yea, that was Tim's book too!LOL)

I even bought Tim's design ruler for this challenge; I wanted it to be a totally Tim project for the last one...even though I have 3 really great rulers...see the one on the left side? My Fav! From C-thru; hard to find so I have 3 brand new ones ready to go if something should happen to this one! LOL!

You'll have to wait for my next post later today to see the finished piece...I will say; I did get it done in one night...and I did end up using that piece of grunge paper that I colored with the copper dabber paint. And it even sorta came out like I planned..well, that piece; I just have to learn which side is "up" on those texture fades! LOL! So hop over to Julia's Stamping Ground to see everyone else's creative space! Have a great weekend everyone!

A Splash..A Smidge...A Dollop of Color: PDCC #71

Wow! I feel like I haven't visited the Play Date Cafe in forever!! But, despite the power outage (or maybe because of it) yesterday afternoon, I was still able to get some serious crafting done. I had a ton of cards to work on (some will be posted later) and I kept looking at them with an eye on "Just a Splash" of color. For this week, the color was our choice, but just a splash of one, and only one! And, yup; failed on the first few...what can I say? I Love color! But, for St. Patrick's day, of all things, I managed to stop before things got crazy. So here is my "Splash of Green". I did add some Rock Candy Stickles to the clover, for a bit of shimmer/texture, but I think my bottle is out of the rock candy, and is only glue! LOL! I guess it's time for a new bottle, as I didn't notice any of the glitter in there at all! The clover was colored with pencils, as was the mouse, and DI's Peeled Paint and Shabby Shutters were edged around the card. This will be heading to my Mom for St. Patrick's. I hope next week is green too, so maybe I can get the rest done early as well! So Hop on over to the Play Date Cafe and see what other splashes are out there! Have a great crafty week everyone!

Fragment-ly Dimensionally Collaged! #34

Well, here we are, the 2nd to last challenge on Linda's Compendium of Curiosities Challenge at Studio L3. You'll find this on page 63 of Tim's great book. I'll admit, I wasn't looking forward to this one as much; would much rather it be at the beginning. Not because I don't like the fragments, but because I have never been good at creating a collage. And tiny didn't seem to matter. My "inner vision" was all music and birds, and well, flourishes. The only thin paper I have is from the NYS Law books, which can have some cool things in them...the line I left open in the larger fragment, but still, not very romantic or "flouish-y". And the paper lace wasn't that blue, until the glue hit it..too funny! This was the first time I used the tissue tape, and that is pretty cool! I see some of the new styles have color, and that will add a nice dimension.

Again, that hind-sight; should have colored the background page a bit before starting the collage. And of course, I wrote down the stamp credits, and then left them at home; so if you would like to know where the music and verse stamp (Verses Rubber Stamps?) came from, just email me! Now hop over to Linda's and see the true potential of this technique! Have a great crafting weekend everyone!

WOYWW #91

Errgh! This is it....this is all I brought home from the brand new Hobby Lobby that opened in the area. I had heard a lot about this store from the All Things Tim Yahoo Group, and was oh-so excited. Plus they are literally 2 doors down from an AC Moore (ok, the most decrepid one you've ever seen, but still..) and across the street from a brand spanking new Michael's. So,they must be pretty confident in getting market share. But I have to say; I'm not so impressed. Granted they had only been open 1 week, and everything was 40% off for the opening...so things may have been emptied, but the stamping aisle was pretty skimpy. Only the original 12 colors of DI's, only 3 pads from the Adirondack Line; they have some clear sets of Tim's stamps, but they are mini-sized. I did pick up one for the eye and eye chart, but very disappointing! And then, what really got me!!!! Two of the girls where walking around, one orienting the other, and I overheard her say about the Adirondack Alcohol Ink sets..."and these are the refills for these [pointing to the Distress Inks] " AGGHHHH!!! I couldn't keep my mouth shut!! After setting them straight on all the different ink types, etc., they asked if I had met Tim...because they thought he lived here..in the Adirondack's, because of the Ranger color palette; Oh boy!

So, now I need some advise: Being pretty hot from inadequate sales help ( a BIG pet peeve of mine) (as if you couldn't tell by the rant!) I marched up to the manager and pretty much told him he needed to have an instructor if not for the public to help sell stamping supplies, at least to his staff to be knowledable about their departments. And that instructor should be me! He just blinked at me, then said to call him ina few weeks when they get settled. So, has anyone worked for a big box store as a demonstrator? Do you need to bring in you own supplies? Or can you expect them to open up enough supplies for say 8-10 students?? Things I need to know now that I've cooled down and can think a bit more rationally before I give them a call next week. I've taken many stamp classes over the years at stamp stores, where everything is supplied, pre-cut, etc., but that's their business; not so sure if it would be the same; besides...only 12 Distress colors??? I'd be bringing in half my room just for variety!! LOL! Wow...better go now...guess I haven't cooled down enough...so sorry about the ranting...fingers and heart got ahead of my brain...Have a good week everyone! Oh, head over to Julia's Stamping Ground to see some happy, creative spaces! LOL!