Grungy Monday 39!

This challenge was set by Linda from Studio L3 using one of Tim Holtz's alcohol-ink techniques.  I applied a variety of different acohol inks onto a piece of felt attached to an ink applicator tool and then swiped it over some glossy card stock in two diiferent directions to create a tartan effect. I stamped the card with Tim Holtz's Collection, Stampers Anonymous "Artful Flight" and mounted the result on a pink tag with a pink ribbon.
I tried several other variations:

And with the next one I added a couple of diagonal swipes.

I hope you have as much fun as I had playing about with this technique.

Misty Flowers and Butterflies

I decided to do this as project to enter for both Sunday Stamper and also for Simon Says Stamp and Show. I started with a 5" x 7" canvas board and painted it with Dylusions Inks in the folowing colours: teal, lagoon and white. Once I had given it a base coat I got the Crafters Workshop Template "Flowers" and put white acrylic paint on it using Cut n Dry foam. To give it a misty feel I sprayed it with several shades of glimmer mist including Patina, Purple and Diamond Glaze.
To create the flower I used PaperArtsy (HP1004EZ) and stamped it out 3 times (Hel's demonstration) and printed out 2 of the leaves from the same stamp set on Tim Holtz's Kraft-Core paper. I sprayed the flowers and the leaves with "Patina" glimmer mist.

I stamped out the butterflies from Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous Papillon and srayed them with the same  Patina glimmer mist.

I stamped the sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's Sentimental Art by Stampers Anonymous and I distressed the edges with distress ink broken china. I finished the project by adding a D-ring so I can hang it up on my wall.
This was a fun project to do and I'm happy the dogs didn't eat it this time.

12 tags of 2012 - march...

This project was for Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2012 - march. As I didn't have the stamp that Tim had used for the background I decided to use Tim Holtz Alterations, Texture Fades in wood grain. I inked it up with distress ink walnet stain and this gave a lovely wood effect for the background.
I made two butterflies according to Tim Holtz's instructions from Movers & Shapers mini butterfly set,  with a sticky background. To the sticky background I added a mosaic made out of very small pieces of different coloured papers from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found paper selection. I applied some embossing powder, black sparkle, to the sticky spaces between the papers and heated it creating a stained glass window effect.

I now trimmed a Journaling Ticket by Tim Holtz and stamped it with a sentiment from Artful Things's clear stamps.

I completed the tag with a Tim Holtz Trimmings which I dyed  with distress stains in several different colours to match the multiple colours of the mosaic effect in the butterflies.

After all this wonderful effort my two miniature Schnauzers decided they could improve the tag with a bit of chewing. My husband found them in the kitchen having a right old munch.

I hope they look suitably sorry for their behaviour. They are lucky I love them both so much.

Here is the "improved" canine version of one of the butterflies and as for the rest of the tag..... mmm

Grungy Monday 38!

I wasn't sure what to do for this Grundy Monday 38! and so that is why my entry is so late. I got a new stamp set on Friday which finally gave me some much needed inspiration, Tim Holtz collection Stampers Anonymous Mixed Media. I stamped the tag with all four of the stamps from the set with Dabber snow cap as seen in Tim Holtz demonstration. I then coloured the tag using the wrinkle free distress technique with distress inks, seedless preserves, festive berries and ripe persimmon. The pattern of the stamps, in white, showed through the distress ink.
I decided to use my Bigz Die Sewing Room for the dress form which I did in Kraft-Core Tim Holtz Nostalgic Collection which I had previously sanded.
I am taken by the Honeycomb paper so I decided to use this paper to make the dress form which I had distressed the edges of with distress ink ripe persimmon.

I finished off the waist of the dress form by tieing a bow of lilac ribbon round it. I made the word "SEW" from Tim Holz "Upon a Time Alphabet" and I covered the letters and the dress form stand with glossy accents. I completed the project with a ribbon and a pair of scissors.
After having some initial difficulty finding some inspiation, it finally came to me in the form of a new stamp set. A good reason to buy more stamps!

Simon Says Stamp and Show ... Bottle it

When I first read of this challenge I immediately thought of our holidays in North Wales UK and how we went on walking holidays when I was young. The only way my parents could keep my sister and I walking was by singing songs with us. One of our favourites was "Ten Green Bottles", we have walked many a mile to this song. It starts with "Ten green bottles standing on a wall, if one green bottle should accidently fall, there will be nine green bottles standing on the wall", and so on until there are no green bottles standing on the wall. So I've got three green bottles standing on my wall with one having already fallen off.
I cut to size a mount board background and made the sky with Tim Holtz Idea-ology Vintage Shabby paper. I cut out some grungeboard and embossed it with Brick embossing folder from Tim Holtz shown in "A Compendium of Curiosities" by Tim Holtz. (the first one), page 40. I covered the grungeboard with distress inks: fired brick, aged mahogony and walnut stain and glued it onto the mount board.
I used 3 corked vials from Tim Holtz Idea-ology and coloured them in with alcohol ink in the shade Bottle.
For the flowers and leaves I used a Bigz Die Tattered Pinecone, demonstated on Jenny's blog at the Artistic Stamper. I finished it off with letters from Sizzlets Decorative Strip " Upon a Time Alphabet" covered in glossy accents, corners from Idea-ology and a D ring to hang it up.

I am pleased with the way it turned out and I had some lovely memories while crafting it.

Sunday Stamper - Week 195 - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

This week the theme of  Hel's Blog is Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. I bought a new Bigz Die (Heart Wings) last week and I thought I'd take this opportunity to use it for the first time. For the background of the tag I used Tim Holtz wrinkle free technique using distress inks, broken china, faded jeans and tumbled glass. I used Tim Holtz Texture Fades Embossing Folders Fancy and Floral Frames Set to create a pretty border along the right hand side.
I tried to do Julia's technique but I realised that it was for acetate and I had used a tag. I had to scrub my Embossing Folder since I had covered it with gold paint, however it gave a lovely effect.
Here is a link to Julia's technique.
I used gold Dabber on the edges of the tag.
I cut out all the elements of the die in grunge paper, painted the crown with a gold dabber and glued small diamonds (not real) to the points of the crown. The red card heart was backed using music paper with more small diamonds (still not real) glued in place.
The wings I painted with a white dabber (snow cap)  and when it was dry a put distress crackle paint (picket fence) over it. As this paint dries crackles appear which I covered with distress ink pumice stone.
The tag was completed with a stamp saying "You are special to me" and a butterfly from my stash and topped with a white ribbon with gold edges. 

Simon Says Stamp and Show ... An Idea-Ology Bonanza!

I wanted this project from Simon Says to look vintage so I started with a Kraft tag and embossed it with a Cuttlebug "clockworks". Next I distressed it with distress ink. The Tim Holtz Idea-ology I used were the following:
Corners
Token
Film Strip (with Lost and Found pictures behind it)
Mini Clip
Tissue Tape

I used Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Steampunk) to do the 3 men and the pointing hand, and (odds and ends) for the ticket and the saying inside it.

I enjoyed this project as I really like Steampunk.

Kate Crane's 2012 366 challenge - March

Spring is sprung, and the month of daffodils is here. Starting with a blank page and a lot of ideas I used Dylusions Acrylic Paints, green, white and yellow blended together with a brush to give a spring like feel to the page. I marked the page with bottle lids, credit cards and lego which I also did over the weeks of March to give a cohesive design.

When I thought of March I thought of the daffodils coming up in the garden and the poem by William Wordsworth.

The Daffodils

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host of golden daffodils,

Beside the lake, beneath the trees

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze

This is the first verse of the poem and I chose the 3rd and 4th lines to encorporate into my design. I had a daffodil stamp which I stamped onto yellow paper using black ink. I cut the 7 daffodils out and glued them onto the page. I made the stalks out of slivers of green paper.

I noticed that other people are putting up their completed diaries so here are my completed January and February diaries.