November Tag - Pop it Ups Style!

Hi all! I hope all my readers in the US had a fantastic Thanksgiving! Mine was great - family, food, and fun. Can't beat that! I didn't spend any time at all in my studio, which was nice, but it left me itching to create after my company left. I decided to hustle up and make Tim Holtz's November tag this afternoon, and I'm so glad I did! I love the combination of techniques he used on this month's tag. No matter how experienced I feel I am as a stamper, I always learn something new from Tim!

Since fall is fading away, I decided to make mine a Christmas theme. After cutting a folded tag (pop-up alert!) from manila cardstock using Elizabeth Craft Designs' Tags and More 1 die, I stamped the front of the tag using the same linen stamp that Tim used. I spritzed it with a mixture of Cracked Pistachio and Peeled Paint Distress Spray Stain. The word 'Merry' is from Karen Burniston's Merry and Bright die set and worked perfectly for the cut out word. I didn't have any cork, so I cut it from lightweight cardstock (a cereal box to be exact) and sponged on the texture using a crumpled tissue and Ground Espresso ink. It actually ended up looking a lot like leather!

Here's my fun little pop-up! I used Karen's Lucy Label die to cut the pop-up portion from a folded piece of paper. After trimming away anything that would hang out over the tag edge, I adhered it to the inside of the tag. I added a border cut from kraft paper using Karen's Outdoor Edges die and a stamped greeting. Whew - done! After I had my pics taken and my post 90% done I realized I forgot the gold foiling - rats! I really wanted to use that. Maybe I'll have to do another one. :)

The Tags and More die from ECD is a new one for me and I absolutely love it! I can't wait to play around with it more. The dies and sentiment stamp can be found at ECD via the links below. If you hurry, you can take advantage of ECD's Cyber Monday sales! Get 25% OFF ALL ITEMS on their website by entering the code BF15 when you get to the checkout. This offer ends at midnight MST tonight (the 30th). All the other supplies I used can be found at Simon Says Stamp.

Karen Burniston Lucy Label Pop Up Die Set Elizabeth Craft Designs Tags and More 1 Karen Burniston Merry Christmas Pop Up Die Set Karen Burniston Merry and Bright Stamps Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps CHRISTMAS BLUEPRINTS 4 CMS201 Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps 2015 MESH AND LINEN CMS221 Tim Holtz Distress Paint PICKET FENCE Ranger TDD36425 Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain PEELED PAINT Ranger TSS42389 Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain CRACKED PISTACHIO Ranger TSS44109 Tim Holtz Distress Markers BARN DOOR Ranger TDM32441 Tim Holtz Distress Markers VINTAGE PHOTO Ranger TDM32731 Tim Holtz Distress Markers WILD HONEY Ranger TDM32762 *Tim Holtz Distress Markers SQUEEZED LEMONADE Ranger TDM38290 *Tim Holtz Distress Markers FESTIVE BERRIES Ranger TDM38191 Tim Holtz Distress Marker SPRITZER TOOL Ranger TDA39730 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WILD HONEY Ranger TIM27201 Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad GROUND ESPRESSO Ranger TIM43270 Tsukineko Stazon JET BLACK INK PAD SZ-31 Tim Holtz Idea-ology 2015 YULETIDE Paper Stash 8 x 8 Cardstock Pack TH93240 Ranger Inkssentials 8.5 X 11 MANILA CARDSTOCK Surfaces ISM28246 *Tim Holtz Idea-ology MINI FASTENERS Brads Screws Hardware Tim Holtz Idea-ology LINEN RIBBON TH93102

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Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Frilly and Funkie - An Altered State

Hi everyone! Today I have a cute Christmas project that's perfect for all you fellow hoarders out there. It's time again for the Frilly and Funkie challenge and our hostess, Cec, has picked a really fun theme for us - An Altered State. Cec says, "It is time to transform something you have sitting around or can pick up for a song and make it one of your works of art. It could be a frame, a bottle, an old cigar box, a discarded CD - the list is endless. Just make sure your final transformation is vintage or shabby chic." I just happen to have a box of junk that I add bits and pieces to, knowing that someday they might be transformed into something cool - it was time to dig in and see what I could find.

I came across this box that I'd been saving for awhile. It's a sturdy box that held candy and had a lid with a magnetic closure. My first thought was to turn it into a box to hold a set of handmade cards. After I'd covered it wither paper, I turned it on its side and was like - oh no, this is a shadowbox!

I cut off the magnetic closure part and covered the inside of the lid with Tim Holtz's Yuletide paper. I embellished it with a frame from the dollar section of Michaels, stamped images from Tim's Mini Holidays 5 set, plus die cut greenery and a little pine cone. So cute and easy!

For the shadowbox section. I added a dyed Woodlands tree and a die cut deer. The paper covering the box is all from the Yuletide stash. To trim the opening prettily, I added Tim's new Lace Trimmings. Gorgeous!

All the supplies I used can be found at The Funkie Junkie Boutique via the links below. Make sure you check out their Black Friday sale, starting Thursday at 9 pm Eastern time!

Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Prancing Deer Bigz Die	Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Holiday Greens	DIY Miniature Craft Natural Pine Cones	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Stash - Yuletide	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trimmings, Lace
Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Woodlands Tree Lot	Tim Holtz Idea-ology - Mirrored Stars	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Peeled Paint	Rayon Seam Binding	Tiny Bronze Jingle Bells - Set of 15
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Mini Holidays 5

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I do hope you'll join us for this fantastic challenge. You can see the rest of the team's projects, plus read all the challenge details in this post. Good luck!

Eileen Hull Art with Heart Challenge - A Stitch in Time

Hi all! Hope your week is off to a great start. Today I'm sharing my project for Eileen Hull's Art with Heart challenge. The theme this month is A Stitch in Time - celebrating the release of Eileen's new Stitchlits line of dies from Sizzix. One of my favorites dies from the release is the Embroidery Hoop. It's one of those dies that has endless possibilites!

For this project, I decided to stack several cuts to make a thicker hoop that would look like a real wooden embroidery hoop. After I cut the hoops from chipboard, I glued them together with a strong adhesive and, when dry, painted them green.

I really wanted the fabric to be stretched inside the hoop like a real one, so I experimented with using the smaller ring that the die cuts. After gluing two together, I stretched the fabric across the back of the main hoop and carefully pressed the inner ring around the edge. As you can see, it's a bit too large, but if you let it bunch up as shown in the photo above, it will fit perfectly! You could also make a small cut and fit it that way too.

After you've decorated the front, just trim the fabric and add a layer of glue to the inner ring, then fold the fabric over to keep it in place.

It's hard to believe this isn't a real wooden hoop! I decided to keep my design very simple and added a cardinal cut from felt and burlap using Tim Holtz's Christmas Cardinal die. I added a stamp from Oxford Impressions and a Christmas Word Band to complete my panel. The fabric was so taut that I actually sewed the Word Band on while the fabric was stretched in the ring - I can't wait to try some embroidery next!

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial and are as inspired by Eileen's dies as I am! I'm imagining a whole series of these ornaments for my tree this year.

The supplies I used can be found at Simon Says Stamp and Amazon via the links below.

Sizzix EMBROIDERY HOOP Bigz Die 660766 *Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz Die CHRISTMAS CARDINAL 658260 *Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metal Word Bands CHRISTMAS TH93085 *Tim Holtz Idea-ology Naturals RED AND CREAM Trimmings TH93104 Tim Holtz Idea-ology JUTE STRING TH93139 Tim Holtz Distress Paint PEELED PAINT Ranger TDD36401 *Tim Holtz Distress Paint TARNISHED BRASS Ranger Metallic TDD36487 Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK AIP31468 Grafix Medium Weight Chipboard Sheets, 12-Inch by 12-Inch, Natural, 25-Pack

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Thanks so much for stopping by today! We'd love to have you join us for our Stitch in Time challenge. You can find all the details here. Have a great week!