Me and You

I think I must be starting to think of Valentine’s day with a title like this.

My tag uses stormy sky and brushed corduroy distress inks with the spritz and flick technique to make the background. Over that I used Tim’s dot fade mask and blended through more of the same colours.

Here is the collection of pieces I gathered together to make up the design I had in my head.

The photos are from the Tim Holtz paper stash 8 x 8 Collage. The moth is from another of his set but can’t remember which one. Notice I didn't use the key in the end, although it looked ok in my head it didn't have the space it needed when I put it all together.

I used scraps for the photo mounts and other little embellishments.

The little pieces made up a small banner across the centre.

Are you beginning to think of Valentine's projects? We no sooner finish one festival and we are off on another.

What do you think of all the goodies Tim has been showing on his blog that will be showcasing at CHA? Oh my gosh, I am so pleased I got some craft vouchers for Christmas so I can buy some when they arrive. I just love the new butterfly and bee sizzix dies, made specially for me!!!! (I wish!).

Be inspired and creative.

hugs {brenda} x0x

The Funkie Junkie Bonus Tag #2

Before I show my tag(s) I want to say a huge thank you to Linda from the Funkie Junkie for organising this great seasonal challenge and for providing us with such fabulous inspirational tags to work with. I seem to have lost the ‘need’ to join in general challenges but I really enjoy looking at a project  (like Linda and Tim Holtz provide), reading how it is made taking it apart in my head and then using it as a creative starting point to make my own piece of art. Sometimes I ‘case’ the ideas and design, other times I go completely off at a tangent but whatever the outcome I have enjoyed the process and learnt something about the art or myself.

I love the snow flurries on the edge die, I only bought mine this year, so when Linda used it on her last tag I knew I wanted to use it too. I started with that as my main inspiration but also her larger tag, making mine into a match book thank you card. Like Linda I used some embossing paste through a stencil and the marbling technique using distress stains.

This project also gave me another opportunity to use the clearly for art and frosted film combination and I heated the snow flurries border after I had blended distress paint over it to create some fabulous wintry dimension.

Like Linda I also used some small snowflake stamps and embossed them in silver both on the outside …..

……. and on the inside.

I also used Tim’s simple sayings, stamping two of them in pine needles DI and covering them with silver EP which created this fabulous look.

I cut up a size 8 tag to create the mini one to sit in the pocket.......

...... and am keeping the card closed with a couple of TH mini paper clips.

Linda has the full details of this challenge on her tag 1 post but in essence make a tag or card etc. and take something as inspiration from Linda’s tag for your own make, link this up to her post and originally you had to enter all 12 challenges by December 22nd to be eligible for the draw, but Linda is extended this with two bonus round tags on the 21st and 28th December and everything now needs to be completed by the 8th January. Linda is very generous with her prizes so you could win a $50 or $25 voucher to her on-line store ‘The Funkie Junkie Boutique’ and even get a 15% discount over January 2014.

That's it I have now completed all 14 and have loved the whole experience. Thanks again Linda you have  given me lots of inspiration and it's been such a pleasure joining you on this journey.

I shall be away from my work desk now for nearly two weeks, but I hope to be creating and making as I am staying with my sister. AS long as the lap top allows me to do what I need I shall be around.

Dream your artistic dream.

hugs {brenda} xox

Tag for Country View Updates

Silly me, post-Christmas and New Year clear up and getting decorations away I forgot to post over at the Country View Updates blog today, but I am there now with a tag.

This was me playing with masking techniques again and having fun creating layers.

Thanks for looking and if you have time maybe you will pop over to the Country View Crafts blog to see the full thing.

Hope your week has started well.

hugs {brenda} x0x

InLinkz.com

Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas #12

Yay I’ve made all 12 of the Funkie Junkie tags this year and made myself a card for each one. All the other 11 have been given out so this constitutes my first Christmas card for 2014 (never been known before lol).
Please pop over to Linda's post to see her fabulous inspirational tag.

I have used all of Linda’s techniques and her design but my stamps and some embellishments are different. I just loved the gold and white look and this became the main inspiration for making this card. I got stuck trying to put it together and had to walk away from it but I am quite pleased with the final outcome now it is finished.

My starting point was with this fabulous Tim Holtz blueprint snowflake, embossed with gold EP.

I then stamped the sentiment and added the gold stars and had the same problem Linda had with heating the gold EP on the wet modelling paste, only mine bubbled far too much and looked really ugly. So in the bin it went and started again only this time I sprinkled the gold EP on the paste and then let it dry for a couple of hours, this time I was happy with it. This was the point when I got stuck and couldn’t see where I was going, so I left it overnight.

The next morning I started by making the shabby bow and finding something textural to go underneath it. I don’t have the snowflake strip die so I punched some small snowflakes out of gold paper and stated to place them on.

What next I thought? So I turned my attention to the edges and blended antique linen DI and then added some Stampendous aged gold embossing enamel around the edges, starting by heating it from underneath and then just finishing it off from the top once it had started to melt.

So far, so good, but what to put in the top right hand corner? I remembered some wooden hearts I’ve got in my Christmas box, so I continued to develop the heart and snowflake theme and added  Stampendous shabby white embossing enamel to it. The photos really don’t pick up the gorgeous sparkle it has. I found a gold bell to add to the bow and eh voila it’s done.

Well I’ve only got one more to make now. Don’t forget Linda has the full details of this challenge on her tag 1 post but in essence make a tag or card etc. and take something as inspiration from Linda’s tag for your own make, link this up to her post and originally you had to enter all 12 challenges by December 22nd to be eligible for the draw, but Linda has extended this with two bonus round tags on the 21st and 28th December and everything now needs to be completed by the 8th January. Linda is very generous with her prizes so you could win a $50 or $25 voucher to her on-line store ‘The Funkie Junkie Boutique’ and even get a 15% discount over January 2014.

Hope you are having a fabulous weekend.

hugs {brenda} x0x

The Funkie Junkie Bonus Tag #1

I loved Linda’s Thank You tag when I saw it and had it open on the computer when I started making this tag card. I shall be very specific in how Linda’s fabulous creation inspired me because this went off at a completely different tangent, I was just so keen to experiment again with Wendy Vecchi’s ‘clearly for art’ and Tim’s frosted film combination (as shown on Tim’s tag for December 2013), that this ended up nothing like Linda's BUT it is not only the frosted film that I like, it is also the distress stains, one of Tim’s stencils for the background; making this a thank you card, using the industrious sticker borders and the ‘hello friend’ stamp - quite a few of the things that came from Linda's original.

The background was made with tarnished brass and bundled sage by dipping the tag into them on the craft mat, then I used scattered straw DI with the cargo stencil and bundled sage DI with the harlequin stencil and finished off with some flicks and bottle top stamping with walnut stain DI. Later I added the stamped pen nibs in iced spruce but mow when I look at the card I think I over did it a bit.

The border sticker has treasure gold blended over it.

I love this feather, I used the writing desk die and cut it using the frosted film/clearly for art mix.

You can see the dimension of it here and the way it curls after it had been heated and shaped.

I again used my little trick of scratching into the film to achieve the texture I was looking for and I blended over watering can and coffee archival inks. I also added some antique linen distress paint to create some additional feathered looks and a sharpie pen drawn on and wiped off quickly down the spine to create the more used and aged look.

The ink bottle was cut from back corrugated card and when I went to split it the top piece came off in one piece so I decided to use it on its own. I painted on some antique linen distress paint to try and show some light shining on the glass, I added one of Tim’s vial labels and wrote ‘Thank You’ with a calligraphy pen. I then covered the bottle with glossy accents - in hindsight I should have covered the whole thing before I added the label, but you know what they say – hindsight is a wonderful thing.

The nibs were cut from some off cuts of the film left from the feather, covered with treasure gold and edged with coffee archival, the sharpie pen again achieves a little of that aged look.

Here is the Friend label made exactly as Linda did but I used gold embossing powder.

I used the tag to make a tall card, I added some tattered seam binding dyed with iced spruce DI and I think one of my aims for 2014 has to be to use up more of the large number of 12 x 12 paper pads I have.

Linda has the full details of this challenge on her tag 1 post but in essence make a tag or card etc. and take something as inspiration from Linda’s tag for your own make, link this up to her post and originally you had to enter all 12 challenges by December 22nd to be eligible for the draw, but Linda is extended this with two bonus round tags on the 21st and 28th December and everything now needs to be completed by the 8th January. Linda is very generous with her prizes so you could win a $50 or $25 voucher to her on-line store ‘The Funkie Junkie Boutique’ and even get a 15% discount over January 2014.

I’ve still got tag #12 and one more bonus tag to do and I will have completed the course, nearly there.

hugs {brenda} x0x

Happy New Year at Country View Crafts

A brand new year and a brand new challenge at Country View Crafts – welcome to 2014 and I hope it is a wonderful year packed with inky fun  and lots of joy and happiness.

The theme for the next month is ‘Monochromatic’ and I have used a very vintage palette using various shades of browns and a little treasure copper.

The background effects were achieved by using brushed corduroy and vintage photo DIs and the wrinkle free technique then the same inks blended through the Tim Holtz clockwork mask with my favourite text stamped through using walnut stain.

The bells were die-cut, covered with vintage photo distress paint and then covered with embossing ink and pepper EP, when cool I added some treasure copper. When I put the tag together I added some little rusted bells too.

The bookplate was cut from corrugated cardboard, painted over with distress paints and some of the treasure copper blended round the edges.

The spinner is pointing to the 1st and to the 12 to see in the new year, I hope it’s a good one for you and your family

Thank you for being part of my creative journey and visiting me. Thank you also to all my lovely friends who leave me comments, who give me continual encouragement and love in this amazing blogging community. I feel truly blessed to be in the company and family of such wonderful artists such as yourselves, it is a privilege to visit you when I can and to see what you create too. If you have left me a comment and I haven’t visited you it is probably because Blogger hasn’t given me a link to your blog. If I have not visited you and left a comment please leave me a link to your blog when you leave a comment for me so that I know where you are.

Another fresh new year is here . . .
Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
To live each day with zest . . .
To daily grow and try to be
My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity
Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
And sing more joyful songs!

- William Arthur Ward

big hugs {brenda} x0x

Supplies used -

Tin Holtz dies –  mini bells, tag and bookplate, typeset strip dye

stamps – TH purely random, simple sayings, classics 4

DIs – brushed corduroy, vintage photo, walnut stain

DPs – vintage photo, walnut stain, antique linen

small bells given the rusting treatment

Tim’s Tags for 2013 – December

I am just managing to squeeze in the last tag for 2013 inspired by the amazing Tim Holtz. What a year of inspiration he has given us again and lots more fabulous products, techniques and ideas, don’t you just luv him?

I have used frosted film a couple of times on my Christmas creations – the frosted rustic lantern was one of them so it was great to see it appear on Tim's tag being used with Wendy Vecchi’s ‘clearly for art’ and what a marriage they have made, I just love my frosted flower.

I have followed Tim’s techniques but used different colours, dies and stamp.

The background was made using iced spruce and dusty concord distress stains with shaded lilac DI blended through the harlequin mask.

The sentiment stamp was stamped in embossing ink and covered with fine black EP.

The flower was made using the tattered florals die and I also cut a couple of petals and the leaves from the tattered flower garland strip die and also used some of the flourishes in Bazill cardstock from the same die.

I covered the flower petals with blue violet, watering can and plum archival inks and used watering can with olive on the leaves.

Can you see my special little touch on the leaves? So easy to create a bit of texture on the film when it has the harder base behind it, all I did was run my scalpel over it to create the veins before I heated them and then rubbed them over with the inks, neat eh?

A pretty brad and some scrumpled ribbon finish it off.

Thanks Tim for sharing your wonderful unique ideas and for your continual encouragement and inspiration. I am looking forward to seeing what you create for us in 2014.

New Year's Eve on Tuesday and we are hosting a small party as usual, but this year I wanted to do something different. I trawled the internet for a NYE Murder Mystery game but to no avail, so what have I been doing the past 10 days inbetween family, presents and meals? Yes I have written my own and produced all the invites, character profiles, instruction sheets and the secret booklet to play from on the night. I just hope it works!!!

Don't forget there’s a new challenge over at Country View Crafts on Wednesday with a new theme for you to join in with – oh and by the way my workshop class is filling up, if you want to come and have a fun filled inky day with me don't miss out, book soon. It will be a day inspired by Tim’s fabulous products, lots of idea-ology and creating a fabulous mini tag book. I live near Camberley in Surrey and I can get to the venue in just over the hour, so take a look and see if you can make it too. I would love to see you there.

Have a great week.

“For last year's words belong to last year's language 

And next year's words await another voice.” 

― T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets

hugs {brenda} x0x