My Version of the May 12 Tags of 2012

Tim Holtz has done a 12 Tags of Christmas for the last 3 or 4 years.  So much fun…he whips out 12 tags in 12 days during December, then he expects all of us to whip out tags using his inspiration.  If we managed to make them, photograph them, edit them AND get them posted... we can win things.  Right…who has time during Christmas to make complicated tags using lots of techniques and specific Tim products? I never did.  I enjoyed watching his tutorials and videos...but I was purely spectator.   This year, Tim switched it up to a tag a month.  Now that makes more sense.  Rather than having ONE super busy month to make all the tags, we have a month to make EACH tag.  

I haven't made any of the tags….until now.   

Here is Tim's Tag for May:

Source Tim Holtz Blog

Here is my tag:

I LOVE the little dress form with the Pattern Tissue skirt.  Swoon.

The faux Porcelain flowers are an interesting technique.  Tim used Prima Paper flowers dipped in UTEE.  I used vintage paper roses that arrived in my box of vintage goodies from the Gilded Stash Society that arrived this week.  Lucky me.  
I have to say I had a great time with this challenge.  Of course I love me some Tim Holtz so it is fun to post something on his blog that he might actually see….fingers crossed.

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Laters Baby….

Compendium of Curiosity Challenge Week 6

This is already week 6 of Linda's Compendium Challenge.  This week is Tissue Wrap Collage which is on page 38 of Compendium of Curiosity Vol 2 by Tim Holtz.  As I have stated each week, I will not describe the technique on this blog out of respect for Tim's intellectual property.  If you want to get your own copy of this fantastic book you can get yourself an autographed copy here.  To see my tags for week 1-5 click on the Compendium tab above.

Terminology 

Before we begin, let me just say that on a scale of 1-10, I give this tag a "Meh".  Why is my design is just a "Meh" you ask?  Well, partially because I didn't fully comprehend or understand how the end product would look and partially because it just IS.  Because I didn't know what I was doing, I over designed the background.  In hindsight, I used too many GrungeBoard shapes and stamped too many images on the BACKGROUND leaving no room for a primary design.  Can I submit a background as a completed tag?  Do I want to submit a background and call it complete?  How do I find a way to add embellishments to this over-done background and still actually have a design that I'm proud of?  A Challenge!

***If you don't know GrungeBoard, let me introduce you.  Grunge is another product that began in the deep, dark recesses of Tim Holtz's slightly genius mind.  Tim has a knack for inventing products that we never knew we needed yet we quickly learn that we cannot live without them.  What exactly Grunge is remains a deeply guarded secret.  Regardless of WHAT it is, it is easy to see WHY it is so great.  Grunge is a dingy (their words), funky smelling (my words), compressed material that looks like chipboard but has very different properties.  What it is made from? I have no idea.  Is "dingy" a material? What makes it so fun is that it can be used in place of chipboard in most projects, yet unlike chipboard, it remains flexible meaning it can be used in projects that bend or are round.  Chipboard has a tendency to split apart, get mushy on the edges, and dog-eared on the corners if it is overworked or gets even slightly wet from glues or paints.  Grunge keeps itself together even when it is overworked or slighlty wet so you can color it with just about anything without worry of it disinterating.  Grunge lets you do just about anything to it while it keeps its cool.  Seriously, you can paint, ink, stain, sand, bend, sew, punch, stamp, or die cut it.  Currently, Grunge is available as GrungeBoard and GrungePaper.   While plain GrungeBoard die cuts like a dream, it is available in a variety of manufactured die cut shapes and alphabets and also comes in different textures: plain, striped, harlequin, dots, and swirls.  If you are interested in seeing all of this, I found the best selection of Grunge products at Blockhead Stamps. ***

Composer

This week's technique, Tissue Wrap Collage uses Tim Holtz District Market Tissue Wrap.  This isn't your mother's tissue, oh no...this is tissue on steroids…it is an AWESOME tissue with a texture unlike any tissue I have ever seen.  District Market Tissue Wrap falls somewhere between tissue paper and waxed paper.  Waxed Tissue?   Perfect Tissue!

The District Market Tissue comes in two designs; Terminology and Composer.  They are widely available online.   Simon Says Stamp is one online retailer that I buy from.  They sell it for $15.95/roll.  Each roll contains almost 9 yards of the 12-inch wide wrap …pricey but worth it because it is so spectacular and a little goes a long way on an art project.  It probably should not be your Go-To tissue for wrapping Legos and Barbies, but for art projects, it is certainly worth the price.

Back to my tag.  I over-designed the background which limited what I could do with the top design.  In the end I am happy with it.  It was hard not using any glitter at all but I stayed strong and managed.

I used the Terminology Tissue Wrap over stamps from Pink Paislee Spring Junque and MyMind's Eye Follow My Heart.  I die cut the heart using Sizzix Alternations Movers and Shapers Hearts on Stripe GrungeBoard.   The red paint is Red Pepper Paint Dabber which I added to the entire background as well as the Idea-ology Wings.  The edges were inked with Black Soot Distress Ink. 

The hearts were stamped with American Crafts White Pigment Ink using a handwriting background stamp and I edged the hearts with American Crafts Silver Pigment Ink using a direct-to-paper technique.  "Kiss" is written with Idea-ology Ransom Alpha Parts which I painted with Silver Paint Dabber to mimic the metal in the wings.  Finally, I dabbed my Black Soot Distress Ink pad on to the red seam binding to grunge it up a little and bring it together with the red and black background. 

I actually did a tag for Tim's May 12 Tags of 2012.  It turned out great so look for that post tomorrow.

Laters Baby….

Compendium of Curuiosoitys Vol 2 Challenge Week 5

 Vol 

My first attempt at Shattered Stains

It is Week 5 of the Compendium of Curiosity Vol 2 Challenge over on Linda's Blog Studio L3.   This week's challenge comes from page 48 -Shattered Stains.  Out of respect for Tim's intellectual property we are not giving directions on our blogs.  I have posted all of my previous tags for the challenge above under the Compendium of Curiosity tab above.    If you are interested in this or any of the other techniques, I highly recommend you purchase the book.   Tim Holtz's book Compendium of Curiosity Vol 2. is widely available or you can order it from his blog and receive an autographed copy.

This week's challenge is being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.  Simon will be offering a $25 gift certificate in a randomly drawing of all participants.

I will begin my post by stating that during the Creative Chemistry 101 class I HATED this technique.  In hindsight, it was my fault in that I didn't use enough of the Rock Candy Crackle paint.  Or I tried to dry it too fast.  Either way, I decided to go back and really take my time on this part of the technique and I am much happier with the results.

I did have one stumbling block.  I actually made 3 butterflies and taped them on using 3-D tape.  I hated the way they were taped- I liked the 3D effect but the tape I used wasn't working- so I pulled it off and tried again with Pop Dots.  Somewhere in the middle of it all, I lost the 3rd butterfly.  No, like I seriously lost it.  I looked everywhere including the trash, the back of the ink pads, the back of the Pop Dots….I think it flew away.  Losing the 3rd butterfly meant I had a big hole in the design that I had not planned for.  I couldn't simply make another one because it takes several hours to dry and the clock was ticking.  Rub-ons to the rescue.  In the end, I really love the way it looks.  I think we call that SERENDIPITY.

For those of you who LOVE coloring seam binding, here is a different technique.   I used Distress Stains topped off with  a few sprays of Glimmer Mist-for the sparkle.  To stain the seam binding, I simply laid the ribbon down on my craft sheet and ran the Distress Stain along the length, pressing down slightly to keep the fluid flowing.  I went about half-way down the length with Broken China and then finished up with Dusty Concord. I overlapped them slightly where they met in the middle.  After the entire length was colored, I crumpled the seam binding into a small pile and sprayed lightly with 5 or 6 squirts of a teal colored Glimmer Mist.  I squeezed it all together a few times to distribute the Mist and hit it with the heat tool. I love to keep the seam binding squashed in a ball while drying so the wrinkles stay.

I used the Distress Stains rather than my normal technique of using Glimmer Mist because I wanted the ribbon, the Shattered Stain butterflies, and the background to match.  I used the same colors of Distress on all 3.  Of course they are different products-and different  formulas- but the colors are as similar as they can be considering they are different products.  So what are those colors?  Broken China and Dusty Concord Stains on the ribbon with a hint of teal Glimmer Mist (I can't remember exactly which color); Broken China, Faded Denim, and Dusty Concord Distress Stain on the Shattered Stains; and Broken China, Faded Denim, Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink on the background.

The tag began with the Blended Background technique using, as I said, Broken China, Faded Denim, Tumbled Glass, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.  Then I stamped with a background script and Silver Pigment ink.  The letters that spell "fly away" are Idea-ology Newsprint Alpha Parts.  I usually hit the tops with Silver Paint Dabbers which give the letters a very authentic metallic look, but I was getting a tad too "Matchy Matchy" with all the silver and purple so I kept them black.  The "5" is from the new Idea-ology Mini Numerals attached with a piece of foam tape.  The crystal below the word "fly" (I know it is hard to tell what it is in this picture) is a Joleé Gem Sticker.  Finally, the rub-ons are all 7 Gypsies Steampunk Collection Numbers which is a favorite of mine.

In the end, I like the way this tag turned out even without the mysterious disappearing butterfly. Have you ever lost an embellishment?  Did it turn up later?  Where did you find it?  It certainly is a huge improvement over my last attempt at Shattered Stains.

Laters Baby….