Creative Chemistry 102: Layering Stencil Challenge 1

Tim Holtz is rerunning Creative Chemistry 102 this summer as a lead up to his new class Creative Chemistry 103.  Creative Chemistry 101 and 102 profoundly changed the way I use inks and paint when I took them several years ago. I highly recommend the classes- they are inexpensive and you have lifetime access..

For this go-around Tim has added new weekly challenges using whatever combinations of the techniques from the class that he deems worthy. This week's challenge was to use two techniques from the class using his Layering Stencils.

I decided to play around with the Stencil Stamping Technique and Embossing Through Stencils.  I ended up playing around quite a bit with the Stencil Stamping Technique and I am thrilled with the results. Actually, I also made quite a few really fun background tags using Embossing Through Stencils as well.  I will admit that melding the two techniques was a challenge, but I love what I ended up with.

This first tag is truly for coffee lovers.  Coffee lovers and all those of you who realized that Victorian Velvet Distress Ink is PERFECTION.  Why didn't you tell me? I mean how could you let me go all these many years without realizing this?  I am honestly so confused. I know that I have blended, stained and sprayed that color many times but somehow I didn't understand the majestic perfection of this color before yesterday....I feel stupid.

I started by spraying the background with said Victorian Velvet Distress Stain Spray. After it was all nice and dry, I inked the coffee splatter from the Splatters Layering Stencil then using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I added Black Soot Distress Ink and one of the stamps from the weird and wild script on one of the stamps from the Stamper's Anonymous Ledger set.  Using Tim's "Spritz and Flick" technique, I added water droplets all over everything on my tag and table. That was all dried using a heat tool and finally I added Ground Espresso Distress Ink around the edges

The second technique I used was the Embossed Layers Technique using the Honeycomb Layering Stencil, Spun Sugar and Walnut Stain Distress Inks and Ranger Clear Embossing Powder.  Using the Alterations Tea Time die, I cut the cup and saucer from that tag and 2 plain cups- one from plain Walnut Stain Core'dinations cardstock and one from a piece of cardstock that had been run through a laser printer giving me a page of plain toner which I then foiled using my Heidi Swapp Minc and Heidi Swapp Rose Gold Foil.   I inked the edges of the non-foiled cups and attached them to the tag using foam tape.

A simple book-page band was added cross the lower part of the tag for contrast. I used a glue pen to apply a thin line of glue on the top and bottom of the book page which I then foiled using a scrap of foil-simply press the foil, shiny-side up, on to the glue. The word "friends" from  the Alterations Handwritten Love die set was cut using a piece of copy paper  that had been foiled using the same technique as the cardstock.

The top of the tag was embellished with a Core'dinations Walnut Stain scrap cut into a simple flag and stapled into place using the Tiny Attacher. The word "good" was die cut from the foiled copy paper using individual Alterations Alphanumeric letter dies. The die cut words and letters were attached using Ranger Multi-medium Matte. 

Studio Calico wooden stars billow on the steam from the coffee cups and the tag is topped by a seam binding bow colored using both Victorian Velvet and Ground Espresso Distress Sprays.

I have 3 more completed tags and a bunch of fun backgrounds to share over the next several days so come back or follow me on Instagram (DaneePKaps).

Laters....

July 12 Tags of 2016

Ugh, this summer is flying by and as someone how hates the school year-I don't sleep well so early mornings are painful-I live for summer. But time marches forward.

Tim Holtz's July Tag was so fun to make. I actually made a few versions but today I will post my favorite.  I guess it all goes down from here?

As always I will show you Tim's tag:

This tag was so hard for me and then I ended up making so many. My biggest problem was lack of direction following skills. I started by watercoloring painting a bunch of imagines and not realizing that I had to cover the image with Tim's Distress Glaze and then cover the entire tag with a watered down Distress Ink wash. I will show you a version later that is a complete mess up because I ended up splattering lots of colors in the background and couldn't Glaze over it. 

This tag started out shaky, but ended so beautifully.  I painted the butterfly using Tim's Distress Inks and  let it dry, used the Distress Glaze.  I used a gold watercolor wash over the entire card then a layer or watered down Broken China Distress Ink.  I inked the entire tag and the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and I love the effect the three colors gave-gold, blue, brown.  The Vintage Photo was applied using a Mini Blending Tool.  I dripped water on to the Distress Ink to get that perfect mottled look I can't live without.

The tag was finished with sentiments made using Tim's Alterations individual AlphaNurmeric dies to spell out "FLY FREE" and "forever" from the Handmade Love die set.  "forever" was cut from a piece of cardstock I printed completely black on a Laser Printer and then foiled using Heidi Swapp Minc, rose gold foil.  I adore the Minc and cannot live without foiling everything in site.  I have a lot of fun things to photograph and get on here and my Instagram.

I finished off the butterfly by adding a Idea-ology Pen Nib covered in copper metallic embroidery floss. 

If you aren't following me on Instagram why not? I post a lot of my projects there so come find me DaneePKaps. 

Laters.....

12 Tags of 2016 June

Tim Holtz's June tag is adorable and I was very worried. You see, I don't have the particular Sizzix die (the Bigz Dapper) that Tim used and frankly that die is pretty much what makes the entire design so incredible.  I played around with a few of my dies and in the end I really like what I made.

Here is Tim's tag:

and MY Tag:

I used a preprinted Tissue Wrap design because I didn't have the plain Tissue Wrap though I do prefer the less busy design that Tim made for his tag over the busy preprinted design I used.

Laters....