Compendium of Curiosity 2 Challenge Week 3

Yikes, I need to kick it in to gear to get my Compendium of Curiosity 2 Challenge (CC2) Week 3 Tag up…like now….in a few short hours it will be midnight and therefore Friday…if you aren't following the challenge, the new challenges are issues on Fridays.  That means I have to get #3 in soon or #4 will be posted.

Luckly I got one done.  For awhile I wasn't so sure it was going to happen. Chase was so sick but after visiting the ER Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, he is much better. The week just slipped by in a haze of a  moaning, clinging, sad kid who was really the most pathetic I have seen him in a long time.  Needless to say, time got away from me.

I almost forgot…I found my autographed copy of the Compendium of Curiosity 2 yesterday!!!!!!!  Thank you! There is nothing more frustrating than looking for something you just saw…a few days ago…..you can't find it…..but, you know it is here…in a pile somewhere?….but you just read it a few weeks ago….. how far can it possibly be?  Ryann and I went on a determined search and……after looking in far too many piles of magazines and books…. we found it.  I won't humiliate myself by sharing with you where it was.  Suffice to say that a grown woman should not misplace important things like this.

Obviously, if my child wasn't feeling better I would have just skipped this week's challenge, but yesterday the universe aligned perfectly for my creativity... I found my book AND Chase felt well enough that I didn't have to spend the entire day snuggling in bed with him.  While I certainly don't like it when my children are ill, there are worse things than spending the day snuggling with my little one.  After Chase got up and was actually playing a game with Ryann, I headed to my studio.  I had plans for sooooooo many things that I wanted to get done.  I had to start with my CC2 Challenge piece since Friday was quickly slamming down on me.  After I finished my challenge piece, I planned to maybe do some work on the Creative Chemistry lessons or maybe start a project that I have been planning for about a month which I am super excited about.   If it turns out as planned it will be an epic decorating project.  It is not a traditional interior design project, instead it will be similar to how I decorate for a holiday…but it is a non-holiday theme.  Perfect for a party…..

Ah, but, I digress….Let me set the scene… I sit down with my Compendium of Curiosity 2 BOOK and a turn to page 46 Marbled Stains and set out to make a tag or two.  Reminder: out of respect for Tim and his intellectual property, and to follow the rules of the challenge, I will not post the instructions for this technique.  If you are curious, you can purchase the book (it's widely available, including through this weeks sponsor Eclectic Paperie) or enroll in Creative Chemistry 101.  Eclectic Paperie will be awarding a $25 Gift Certificate to one participant this week.

Back to my scene:  I sit down to make a tag or 2… grab my stains and other supplies, a few #8 manilla tags and I get going.  My hands are quickly covered in all sorts of colors, there are dirty paper towels and baby wipes everywhere and I am in the zone.  What a F.U.N. technique!  What stunning results!  I ended up making a lot of tags…like 20 or so….of several sizes.  Unfortuantley for my "to-do list", I never got to anything else.

I made a ton of background tags but I didn't actually complete the tag for the challenge until I realized at about 8 pm tonight that it was indeed THURSDAY and I had to get it posted TONIGHT.   I ran downstairs and set out to make a fast fabulous tag.  I may have even added a little glitter.  What?  Shhhhh, do NOT tell Tim.

Without further verbiage I present my tag….

This is the tag I will be submitting to the challenge.  

*****UPDATE: I missed the cut off by 23 minutes.  I thought I had until midnight but the cutoff was 11 pm.  Bummer.  Oh, well... on to the week 4*****

I love this technique but thought when the ink dried it was a little flat.   The Picket Fence Distress Stain makes the other colors opaque -which I love- but it also takes away the sheen... like flat wall paint versus eggshell.  Most of the time I am an eggshell girl.  I needed to remedy this so I sprayed this tag with Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist.  It didn't photograph well but in person it is stunning.  Add a few floral rub ons, some purple rhinestones, and red-distressed seam binding and I had a tag. 

I actually finished this tag first before I remembered that I had stamped the tulip tag the night before.   I ADORE this stamp, which I've had forever (it's from Stampington).  When everything dried I thought it wasn't bright enough and the tulips blurred together.  I added Martha Stewart Fine Glitter to define them better.  Yeah... that is the only reason….I mean I HAD to add the glitter.  The tulips are in a vase or bag or something which was looking a little wonky.  I added purple Twinkling H2O's to make it pop.  

Purple and green together always make me swoon...maybe because they remind me of hydrangeas, my favorite flowers.  I played up the purple and green on the card by adding Martha Stewart Vintage Leaf Glitter in stripes.  This technique is super easy.  Simply put down strips of redline tape, pull off red plastic, and sprinkle on the glitter.  I get the best results with this chunky glittery when I press it into the tape before I shake the extra off.   I finished the tag with light-green pearls and a pretty half-bow.     

I am so thankful that Mr. Tim Holtz has reawakened my love of rubber stamping while teaching me new techniques that have inspired me.  Mixed media art is such a fun category because it limitless.  The methods that I am learning from Tim's book and class will become the foundation of my mixed media pieces.  I see so much potential for developing my own spin on these techniques.  

Marbled Stain makes such a stunning background, with a lot of depth, and it is really easy to do…messy….but easy.

Laters Baby….

I submitted this card to the following challenges:
365 Cards: Boy's (NOT BLUE) Birthday Card
Bloggers Challenge: Create Your Own Background
Coffee, Chocolate and Card Challenges: Bingo (No Pattern Paper, Bling, Ribbon)
The Corrosive Challenge (Corrosive 148): Tim Holtz
That Craft Place: One For The Boys
Wags 'n Whiskers: Distress
Sweet Stampin' Challenge: Anything But A Square