12 Tags of 2012 - November

Hi all!  Don't have a lot to say on this one.  I used the tissue paper idea from last month's tag as my background and the focal image is based on Tim's work for November.  As we don't do Thanksgiving in Australia, I went for a Christmas theme.  Thanks for looking!

12 Tags of 2012 - October

It's that time again - Timmy time!  No, not Shaun the Sheep Timmy but one of my favourite crafters - Tim Holtz. His tag for this month is a fabulous tribute to Halloween - which all of the US crafters have been showing off but which just doesn't fly here yet (see what I did there, wink wink).

So, I decided that since it is Spring here (well, I think it is although the weather doesn't seem to agree), that should be my theme.  Here is the finished tag:

I don't often use my own hand writing because like most of us, I don't like it!  But, I had a photo that I needed for Fat Mum Slim's October Photo a Day and I know that you should try to capture your own writing as often as possible, so I did.  I combined some Dyan Reaveley techniques here too and I am very happy with the out come.  So, how did I do it?

First, please make sure you go and show T!m some love.  His tutorials are always so well done and informative and I wouldn't be able to do half the stuff I do without watching his videos and following his blog.  My challenge this time was to create the tissue paper that he has in his line because I haven't gotten around to purchasing any (although as usual, I want to)!  I used two sheets of regular tissue paper that I stamped on with Archival Ink in Jet Black and glued together and this is the result:

I ended up choosing the script paper as I just wasn't happy with the memories stamped one.  So I adhered it to the tag as per T!m's instructions.

I glued it down with the wrinkles then painted it with acrylic paints in a pale green, yellow and blue, wiping with a baby wipe as I went along.  

Then I added the black acrylic paint around the edges, wiping with a baby wipe.  I did find here that the tissue paper was getting very fragile so I needed to be VERY gentle.

I added Tumbled Glass, Scattered Straw and Bundled Sage Distress Inks over the top.

Next, I stamped using Archival Ink in Jet Black.  The bottom stamp is a KaiserCraft Stamp and the stamp at the top is a Hero Arts.

To finish the background, I sprayed it with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist - I love that shimmer!

I die cut the bird (Caged Bird Bigz Die) from grunge paper using my Vagabond and painted it with Snow Cap paint dabber before I added glitter (see how to make your own coloured glitter with Ranger's Dry Glitter on T!m's blog - using my other favourite - Alcohol Ink!).

Here's the glittered bird.  I added the wing later (using the Alcohol Ink Gold Mixative to colour the glitter) and inked the branch and legs with Gathering Twigs Distress Ink.

Finally, I die cut some leaves using the Mini Branch and Leaf Movers and Shapers set and the sentiments shape from the Mini Labels Movers and Shapers.  I inked them with Distress Ink and wrote out the quote and adhered it with foam tape.  I traced around both the die cut and stamped leaves with and Inkssentials Opaque Pen in white too.  The bird was glued directly to the tag using Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive.  My ribbon was a piece of cord from some clothes I bought the boys for summer!

And that folks, is my October Tag.  Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoyed the process!

xoxo

Kim

Hmmmm, That Didn't Go to Plan!

Truly.  This project was meant to be done yesterday - Saturday even!  But, I was enjoying family and friend time more.  All of this is a good thing.

Then, I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do with my butterfly!  So after struggling with my eCraft to cut three of them, I had to play.  These are what I came up with:

 The black one has been cut from glitter paper (although hard to see that in the photo) and I have edged it with Viva Pearl Pen in Ice White.  I don't know if I'm done with it yet but I kind of like it like this.  The bottom one was white card stock that had the wing pattern cut from blue mirror paper with the eCraft and glued on.  I sprayed it with water and then coloured with Distress Stain (Spiced Marmalade, Broken China and Spun Sugar).  I dried it with the heat tool and added Distress Ink (Vintage Photo) around the edges and then spritzed it with water again.  Once dried, I added Diamond Stickles to it.  I should have left it alone - because I like what it looks like in this picture.  But I have continued to play...more to come on that later.

This butterfly is a little larger and was cut from green glitter paper.  The wing decoration was then cut from red and blue mirror paper and gold glitter paper.  All of the cutting was done with the eCraft.  I glued some ball chain in the middle to make the body.  At this point, I'm not happy with it.  It's out of balance - it's the blue...I don't like it.  I may take it off and replace it with the gold.  Again, work in progress!

I am hoping to share a finished project using at least one of these soon.  I started all of this to join in on the final Simon Says Stamp Stamptember challenge but I just didn't get it done!  So now, it will just be a labour of love!

Thanks for looking and I hope to get lots of blogging done this month!

xoxo

Kim

Tape It Up Challenge

Right, so today's creation started from the Simon Says Stamp Challenge of Tape It Up!  I created my own tissue tape using the tutorial from Let's Scrap by Sue Dawn.  I changed it up a little by using Distress Stain to colour the tape ad then colouring some of the images with Smooch Ink.  This was the result:

It's a little hard to see the colour as it's on a brown background but I think you get the idea :0)

Then, I had to decide how to use this tape I had created.  It took me a while to decide to make it into a "framed" piece of art.  I cut a frame shape using my eCraft Fundamentals card and framed a 3 1/2" square of tape.  Then began the odyssey of finding the "right" paper.  You see, I'm one of those "Oooo, that looks nice!  What about that one?  I wonder what these would look like together?" people.  It took me a fair while to choose.  In the end, I went with some Webster's Pages from a 6x6 paper collection.  I cut two of the pieces in half and attached them together to make a 5 inch panel, hiding the join under some Webster's Pages trim.  I adhered the framed art and began the search for a sentiment.

It didn't take long - a Tim Holtz Philosophy Stick took my fancy and I altered it with a Snow Cap Paint Dabber.  I added some jewels to the corner and I thought I was done, but I was wrong!  The whole piece needed a frame.  So I found a piece of Tim Holtz Kraft Resist (with butterflies, of course).  I cut it to 5 1/2 inches and began colouring.  I started with Picket Fence Distress Stain and then added some Broken China and Peeled Paint.  I finished it off with some Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist and a bit of Walnut Stain Distress Ink on the edges.  I stuck it behind the panel and I knew I had nearly finished. I adhered my pieces to a 6 inch card base and voila!

My tissue tape card!

Here are a few close ups AND a picture of the back which has just the Kraft Resist on it.

 The tape framed art.

 The philosophy stick.

 You can see that the panels are elevated here with foam tape.

 Oooooo!  Look at that shine!  I love the Perfect Pearls Mist!!

The finished panel on the reverse of the card.  You can see the colour and resist pattern here.

It was a good exploration today.  Thanks for looking and I hope to see you here again soon!

xoxo

Kim

Compendium of Curiosities 2, Challenge 20

Today's work is my first chance to participate in the Compendium of Curiosities 2 challenge being hosted by Studio L3.  I've wanted to join in but life got in the way so I've been enjoying all the other participant's entries.

This week is Enameled Stamping and can be found on page 44 of Tim Holtz's book, Compendium of Curiosities 2.  If you want to know how to do the technique, you'll have to buy the book!

So here is my take on the technique:

Now, for a self confessed addict like myself, you'll be surprised to know that I don't own any background stamps!  So I improvised with a large one I had.  I also chose to ink with 3 colours - Spiced Marmalade, Stormy Sky and Shabby Shutters and then finished off with Vintage Photo.  To add a little extra sheen, I put on a few spritzes of Perfect Pearl Mist in Pearl.  The embellishment at the top is a Pink Paislee Artisan Element that I inked with alcohol inks and then misted with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Iridescent Gold.  I've also included to Word Sticks that were altered with black acrylic paint.  The final element is a die cut made with the eCraft machine that is FINALLY sitting on my desk!  It's a layered flower from the Fundamentals cartridge that comes with the machine.  I cut it out of white card stock and then inked each layer with the same distress inks used in the background.  I curled the edges and popped it up on foam tape to give it a bit of height.  I added a few small paper flowers under it with small beads as the centres.

Here are some close ups of the detail:

I had fun with this although it was one of those projects where I had to stop and step away to like what I had come up with.  I hope you have enjoyed looking and that you too make some time for your hobby of choice!

xoxo
Kim

12 Tags of 2012 - September and My New Craft Space

Yay!!! I'm back on line and in our new house.  I can't tell you how much I detest moving but at least it is done for the next to last time.  Which means, I have a new crafting space!  It's fabulous for me as it is right in the middle of everything but still all mine so no need to clean up if I need to leave what I am working on.  It's right next to the windows so it has great light and it has been Kiminated - overly organised for those of you who know me.

Here's what it looks like:

Of course with a new space, I had to give it a try.  Oooooooohhhhhh....heaven!  The right amount of space with everything close at hand and just a few steps from the cabinet of goodness that protects all my stash from 3 year old hands.  And being that I am inflicted with "Tim Holtzitis", my first project in the new space had to be a Tim challenge.

This month is an industrial look (see Tim's tag here) and it required me to improvise a lot, which was fantastic.  I have been watching videos and listening to podcasts while waiting to get back into it and the one saying that has really stuck with me was "What If I...".  I heard it on the Paperclipping Roundtable podcast that Tim was recently on and it was from an amazing crafter, Laura Denison.  Do yourself a favour, check her blog out.  You will be blown away.

So, with "What If..." in hand, I began my tag!  I didn't have foil tape or the right colour alcohol inks or steel wool or even any of the embellishments that were used on Tim's tag but I wasn't going to let that stop me!  Here is what I came up with:

I used aluminium foil to replace the foil tape and instead of alcohol inking it, I used black acrylic paint. I  found an old scratchy dish cloth under the sink and used that to rub the paint off and scratch up the surface a bit.  I used the pen technique from Tim to create the rivet look and my pick for the holes.  The "stitching" was created using my bone folder.

When it was time to embellish, I had to think hard because my Vagabond hasn't been replaced yet and I have no die cutting machine (so many dies and no way to use them!).  I don't have any really industrial stamps but for some reason iron scrollwork popped into my head and I remembered some Kaisercraft stamps I had.  I had actually picked out a bird but in the end, the dragonfly spoke to me more.

I stamped it using Staz-On ink onto silver foil card and embossed it with a glitter embossing powder.  Then I used the ginger alcohol ink to colour it in.  

I had a message in mind when I pulled out the word band and key.  But where to find the words "the" and "is"?  As I rummaged through my stickers, I came across the DCWV Once Upon a Time chipboard stickers and there was my "the".  Still looking for the "is"... and then it hit me!  I have had the grunge blocks for ages and barely used them.  I could try a modified version of rusted grunge as I have no Distress Embossing powders!

So, it's not exactly what I was in my head but it is close and I like it.  The blocks were inked with Black Soot Distress Ink and then I dusted silver embossing powder over the top.  There's a lot more black showing that this picture suggest.  The letters were inked with Vintage Photo and then embossed with clear powder.  Before I heated though, I ran my fingers over the letters to remove patches of powder.  Then I inked the top with Black Soot.  I got a pretty decent speckled look.

Overall, I am extremely please with my improvisation!  I hope you had fun looking and that you too will think with "What If I..."!

xoxo

Kim

12 Tags of 2012 - July

Tim challenged us to play with our alcohol inks in this month's 12 Tags and I finally have time to join in!

As we don't celebrate 4th of July in Australia, I chose some bright colours that would help me feel warm in all this cold.  Also, I didn't have any canned air so I had to improvise there too.   I chose to use a straw to blow the ink around.  I am happy with the way it turned out.  I turned the tag each time applied ink to ensure that I was blowing in the direction I wanted it to splatter.  This is such a quick way to make a cool, colourful background!

Finally, I applied my stamps using Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black, added my embellishments and tied on my ribbon.  Easy and fun!

Some of the close up details:  As you can see here, I inked the edges of the glossy card stock with some Tea Dye Distress Ink

This addition of a chunky embellishment like a key is new to me.  I have tried it a couple of times now and have determined that I need more of this style of embellishment with new ways to attach them!  Watch out wallet :0)

I hope you liked my take on Tim Holtz's July tag.  Thank you for looking and I will get back into posting after we have moved!

xoxo

Kim

June Card Class Project - A Photo Wallet

Hey everyone! Hope this frosty morning finds you all well.

I've posted this project before but I wanted to share again - including what we are making for the class. This project was sourced from Splitcoaststampers. It's a really simple way to share a few photos with friends and family.

So here are the two different versions we are making this month.









The second version:






The flower on the front came from Paper Loves Glue. It's super easy and soooo effective! Here is a side on photo to give you an idea of the dimension:



You will also notice I chose to go with a Velcro fastener and not a belly band. I found that the band kind of takes over if you are using patterned paper.

The projects are made using KaiserCraft and Prima papers. I used Stampin' Up and Distress ink to ink the edges of the paper and stamp the sentiments. Stamps are from Hero Arts, Bo Bunny and KaiserCraft.

xoxo

- Kim

The Book Card

So, my one of my besties had a Finally Forty party last week and I wanted to make her something special because it was a big birthday! I wish I could say I invented this card but, alas, such is not the case. I found it at Gramma's House of Cards. It's called a book card.




As you can see, it sort of looks like a book. It looks really intricate but the hardest part is the accordion frame inside. Before I make this again, I'll be buying a scoring board! So here is the front:



I used Bo Bunny Country Garden paper and embellishments plus a little Stickles and a few rhinestones. The inside is more of the same:



I printed the poem and greeting onto cardstock and inked the edges of the patterned paper. I also added ribbon and corner fasteners to the top of the "shadow box". Here are some close ups and different angles:









In this part of the card, I placed the different items at different levels of the accordion folds to give a 3D effect.

It's a fabulous card that is sure to get lots of admiration if you are keen to give it a try!

- Kim

Where Does the Time Go? And Giving the Gift of Cards

We have been so busy around here! What with regular daily activities, visitors and card classes, I just haven't had time to post. I'm not complaining, just making note :)

Today, I had friends come to visit with their new baby. It was wonderful to cuddle a newly born little guy again, but equally as nice to give him back. It made me realise that my "little baby" will be 3 in a few months and I am wondering where all that time went! It all just goes by so quick - I mean the oldest will be double digits next year. Sheesh!

As I like to do, I picked up a gift for the baby to give to my friends when they arrived. And, as I also like to do, I added something for Mum. After all, she had a lot of work to do (and much more to come) and deserves a little treat too! This time I decided on a gift of cards.

So, I found this awesome little thing called a One Sheet Wonder. It's different patterns you can cut up one sheet of paper into to make bulk lots of cards. I found the one I used at Mae's Cachet. If you search her site for One Sheet Wonder, you'll find a few different templates for both A4 and 12x12. There are tons if you search on Google too.

I also made the envelopes (I may never buy envelopes again) using the Any Size Envelope tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. The box is the A2 Card Box tutorial from the same site.

So here are the results:
















All cardstock, embellishments, ribbon and stamps are from Stampin' Up (What! No Bo Bunny or Tim Holtz I hear you say!). As I have often said, it's much easier to create cards and other projects when you use a coordinating line of products. I made all of this in about 3 hours (including envelopes and the research). I hope you give it a try!

I have sent out the email for the June card class. We are making photo wallets! Let me known if you want to join in and I'll send you the details.

xoxo

- Kim

The Never Ending Card

Much like the Never Ending Story, this card just keeps on going! It's almost mesmerising. You just want to keep turning it.

The main thing to remember with this card is not to put bulky embellishments on it as it needs to be able to fold through all the faces without getting stuck. I found an excellent set of instructions here (remember, no point reinventing the wheel).

So here is an example I made while at MUFOG:


This is the front of the card - the start if you like.


This is position 2 - the first set of fold backs.


This is position 3 - the second set of folds


And position 4 - the last set of folds before you get back to the beginning!

I again recommend that you use one line of paper so that all the panels match and a 6 x 6 paper pad works beautifully here. If you get a single line of product, you can use the matching stickers, rub ons and other flat embellishments to dress it up.

Have fun!

xoxo

- Kim