Tim's Tag Day 3

Another cool tag today with a technique I've never tried. I love this alcohol ink plaid! It is just too cool. Again, I was missing quite a few of the elements Tim used, but I found some good workarounds. First, I don't have black alcohol ink. I was ok with that though, because I knew I wanted a lighter, kind of shabby chic look and black stripes would definitely be out of place. My plaid is more of a preppy plaid than a lumberjack plaid. :-)

The other things I didn't have were the washers and philosophy tag. For the washers, I used the same technique as I did on yesterday's flower, but I used silver and white embossing powders. The circle is a 1/2" punch from Stampin' Up. For the tag, I made it similar to the one I did here, but I added ep over the top to give it the same texture as the faux washers.

Finally, I added a stamped image from Oxford Impressions' Season of Giving collection, and finished my tag with the Drywall Stitching technique from the April/May '09 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter.

Again, I can't wait for tomorrow's tag - the first thing I do each morning is check out Tim's blog and see the new tag (ok, I also look to see if I won!). If you're following along too, please leave me a link to your blog so I can come and check out your tags!

Wednesday Stamper - Santa Claus

This is a quick card I made using the Petite 4 technique from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter. I used my favorite stamps from Artistic Outpost's Snowy Woods collection, which made it perfect for the Wednesday Stamper Santa Claus theme!

Tim's Tag Day 2 + Tutorial!

Hi everyone! Today I not only made a tag - I also created a little tutorial. I don't know if any of you saw my tags last year, but there were a few times when I had what I called a 'MacGyver' moment, when I had to create something that would work in place of an item Tim used that I didn't have. I live in the boonies, 40 minutes from the nearest stamp store that carries a lot of the elements that he uses, and I am just too lazy to pop out and get something....so I've become fairly adept at adapting.

This time the element was the rose he created by cutting apart metal flowers. I had just bought a Martha Stewart hydrangea punch last week and the gears started turning......

You will need several colors of metallic embossing powder (I used gold, black, and two kinds of silver), flower punch, VersaMark, heat gun, and tweezers.

Start by punching flowers out of black cardstock and covering with VersaMark. Then sprinkle various metallic embossing powders on flowers. Tap to remove excess.

Heat until embossing powder melts. See how cool the mixed metallics look?! If you're happy, you can move to the next step. If you'd like to add more, just dab on more VersaMark and add more ep.

When you're happy with the finish, bend each petal up and curl as shown. Do this with three flowers.

Cut one flower in half and cut one petal off another. Punch holes in the center of each flower.

Assemble using a hammered brad.

I didn't have the petals Tim used, so I embossed another Marth-punched branch using silver embossing powder. Why have I not done that 'til now? It looks really cool!

Finished tag. The scanner squished my flower a little, but I think you get the general effect. I really wanted to use Grungepaper for this, but the Martha punches are a bit on the puny side. I tried to punch and it didn't want to, so I didn't push it. I think if you have a small flower die, you could use Grungepaper and it would come out even better.

Hope this helps someone else who is embellishment-poor. Oh, and I apologize for some of the blurry pics, it's dark and overcast today so my lighting stunk!

Sentiment is from Artistic Outpost's fantastic Christmas collection.

Tim's Tag Day 1

Woo hoo! It's time again for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas! I have been in a bit of a stamping slump lately and I think this is just what I needed to get myself back in the studio.

I love today's tag - what a great start! I didn't have the Rock Candy crackle stuff, so I used some old Fragile Crackle I had lying around. Not quite the same effect, but better than I thought it was going to be. I also didn't have the Distress Stickles, so I used regular Stickles and then sprinkled a bit of Martha Stewart glitter on it to make it a little more snowy looking.

Almost all my stamps are from various Oxford Impressions Christmas/Winter plates. The main image is from their latest collection - St. Nicholas. I am in love with this stamp! I would never have thought to emboss on Grungeboard and then go over it with white paint. VERY cool effect. I finished my piece with a bit of black twill tape and a snowflake charm from OI.

Hope you enjoyed my interpretation. I can't wait to see what tomorrow's tag is!

Brrrrrrr

On my way to check for eggs this morning I saw all these beautiful leaves that had been edged with frost. I grabbed my camera and took this pic. Nothing like the amazing photos my mom takes, but I try!

Technique Junkies - Sepia

I have been a bad, bad blogger. Too many things right now are keeping me from hanging out in my studio and I really miss my art time! Today I decided that I was going to stamp, no matter what!

After seeing so many wonderful cards made with this new stamp sheet from I Brake for Stamps, I HAD to have them. They are some of the prettiest holiday stamps I've seen in a long time. I thought that this one worked perfectly with the Sepia Technique from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter. Such a fantastic technique!

Hope all my readers are doing well and haven't totally forgotten me....I promise I will be posting more this month!