Another fun year of Tim's Tags!

Ok, let me tell you a little secret - sometimes when you take a break from blogging/creating, you get out of the habit. Other things start filling the void that is left and suddenly you wonder how you can find the time to sit down and make something. At some point, you pry open the door to your studio and, as a gust of stale air whooshes out, you glance at your desk and notice the last thing you were working on was for Halloween - and it's over a month later!

Thankfully, Tim's Tags have come along to save me. I love seeing what he comes up with, but even more, I love the challenge of trying to recreate them with materials I have on hand. The first tag was particularly difficult since I had ABSOLUTELY nothing that he used, other than the Picket Fence crackle paint.

I had also been thinking about a new way to display my tags. I came up with the idea of mounting them on a block of wood - my kind hubby cut one out for me last night to try out (I drilled the hole tho!) and I love how it looks.  I had nothing like the house die Tim used, so I substituted this beautiful door stamp from Artistic Outpost's Snowy Woods collection. I remembered the wonderful coloring that Cathy Edgar did w/this stamp and tried to recreate that look. Of course, she is a master with Copic markers and I have none! Instead, I colored the image using a water pen and Distress inks. 

The picket fence is a wood one I bought ages ago. To finish my tag, I added some rusty jingle bells and a bit of glitter snow, and created a holder for my tag using a piece of wire. I love how it came out!

Here's to hoping this is just the inspiration I needed to get back in the saddle. :-)

Theme Thursday - Winter!

I just got these stamps last weekend from my friend, Robyn, and I've been dying to use them. When I saw the TT theme was Winter, I thought they would pair perfectly with the Shadowbox Card technique from the Oct/Nov '09 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. I wish I could do a better job of showing the 3-d effect of this card. It is so cool!!

The images were all colored with Distress inks and a blender pen. I added just a bit of glitter to the edges of the card and to the trees. I also wish that showed up better - it's so pretty!

Theme Thursday - Pink!

Now that I've started doing challenges again, I thought I'd see what today's theme over at the Theme Thursday challenge blog. I saw that it was Pink, to honor Breast Cancer Awareness month. I honestly couldn't think of a thing to do - I didn't think I had the right stamps, couldn't imagine what on earth I would create with that theme. I ended up deciding to play around with some techniques, instead.

While I was rooting around, looking for a scrap of paper to use for my new project, I came across a piece that I'd started months ago. I had just received Artistic Outpost's Birds of a Feather stamp collection and I was having a ball with it. My original plan was to make a banner, spelling out 'HOPE', with the full verse of the wonderful poem by Emily Dickenson.  After almost finishing the first one, though, I totally lost my train of thought and it sat on my desk for weeks. I finally put it away in the 'maybe later' bin.

It was truly serendipitous that I found it! I had kept the pink velvet ribbon with it, but never could figure out where it would go. While I was playing around with it, I was like - aha! It makes a perfect awareness ribbon, and it fits it that little empty spot, as if it was meant to go there all along.

It also gave me a chance to use some of the great products from Elmer's that I received from BzzAgent. If you haven't heard of it before, BzzAgent is a great company that sends you products to try out and share with your friends. You should sign up! To finish of my already-started piece, I used the Elmer's glue pen to adhere the dictionary paper to the background. I then added the ribbon and stamp image of the girls to the piece, using Elmer's glue dots. I have more projects to share with you using the rest of the items in my kit, so stay tuned!

Here is the full text of the poem:

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

Tag Tuesday - The Moon

When I saw the theme for this week's Tag Tuesday, I immediately thought of this photo stamp from Oxford Impressions' Trick or Treat collection. Even after using photo-realistic rubber stamps for the past few years, I am still amazed by the images they produce! The background on my tag was created using the Distress Glue technique from the latest issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. Very easy and very cool results!

The Spell Has Been Broken! + World Card Making Day

I'm sure if you follow my blog, you've noticed the total lack of posting for the past few months. I'm perfectly ok, I just seemed to have misplaced my mojo. It happens to me every summer - as an Oregon girl, I am just not meant to endure these hot, humid Mississippi summers. This summer has been particularly hot and horrible and I totally lost the urge to stamp or do any sort of art. It has finally cooled off and I'm slowly getting back to work!

Did you know today is World Card Making Day? To celebrate, I decided to try my hand at making a Swing Card. It's the online bonus technique from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter. It is so fun and easy! I wish it showed up better in my pic. The stamps are from the new Haunted Halloween collection by Artistic Outpost - I absolutely adore these stamps!  To stamp the witch and sentiment, I used the Reverse Soot Stamping technique (Ultimate Subscriber bonus tech). It is the perfect technique for spooky Halloween cards. The pretty trim is from the new Outpost Attic Finds, also from Artistic Outpost. Be sure and check these out - they are gorgeous!

Thanks so much for stopping by - I've really missed you all! :-)

PDCC Challenge - Sponsored by Artistic Outpost!

Artistic Outpost is sponsoring Challenge #38 at the Play Date Cafe. The winner of this week's challenge will receive a $14 Artistic Outpost gift certificate. How cool is that?! Check out all the details here.

My challenge card uses stamps from one of my favorite collections: Paris Exposition. Thanks so much for stopping by!