12 Tags of Tim Holtz -September 2015

Hi Everyone 

I guess last month was a one off with my Tim tag making an appearance well before the the last 24 hours. Yet again this month I find myself cutting it fine and  just sidling my way in in the final hours - well as they say better late than never !! 
Tim's tag for September and how to create it can be found here so a I won't go into any great detail  of how I created my September tag - Tim does that way better than I instead I will highlight the things that I had to alter up  due to not having all the ingredients. 

The alcohol inks I used were Silver ,Wild Plum, Stream, Sailboat Blue, Stonewashed, Denim and I think I threw some Eggplant into the mix as well . I had created a few backgrounds before this one so the browny bits you can see in the photo are probably due to failing to clean my craft mat thoroughly -  shame on me , definitely not my usual practise .

For the tag, I used Hickory Smoke and Black Soot Distress Spray Stain in the same way Tim does in his Tutorial but when dry I picked up some of the 'dripped' spray. I like the mottled effect  doing this creates

My craft stash seems to be missing the stamp set Tim used this month so instead I used the fabulous butterfly from Tim's Fairytale Frenzy Stamp set . 

I had to use Vellum instead of Frosted too which is actually duller than the photos portray.

 

I finished my tag off following Tim's Tutorial and just as I always do I thoroughly enjoyed the creative process .

Here's my finished tag I am entering  into  

Tim Holtz 12 tags of 2015 - September 

Its the first time I have used the transparent texture paste and though I'm not  a 'glossy' girl its definitely something I will be using again, in fact  I already have but that's another post for another day ! 

So all that remains today is to thank you for stopping by  and as always your visits and comments are very much welcomed and appreciated . 

Hope you all have a good week and  hopefully see you again soon 

Take care 

Amanda xx

Believe

Hello my lovely friends, fellow bloggers, and followers

How are you all doing? Hopefully you've all had a good week so far and are getting ready for the weekend .
Though the sun has been shining in my part of the world the last few days Autumn is definitely upon us. Autumn has always been one of my favourite seasons with all the rich, warm earthy tones of the leaves as they turn before they fall and the long cosy nights in the comfort of your own home snuggled up in front of the fire .With these thoughts in mind and knowing a few challenges have current themes relative to either the home or the season I have been busy creating a wall hanging for my home to share with you today . 

A good few years ago now I pressed some leaves that had fallen from some of the fabulous Acer Trees I have in my garden (I love Acers) and remembered I'd saved them to use at some point not really knowing when 'that point' would be or what I'd use them for exactly? Well, now was 'that point' to try out my idea to create a piece of Art that would bring my beautiful Acer leaves back to life and add an autumnal warmth to my home

Here's what I have made

I created the background panels using Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Distress Sprays. I added detail to both panels using Tim Holtz stamps and Layering Stencils. A Micron pen helped highlight and lift the stencilling. The edges of the smaller panel are ragged and I caught the edges of both panels with Gold Gilding wax. I love the effect the Tarnished Brass distress sprays creates. 

 

The stamped image has to be one of my all time favourite stamps of the many I own. I LOVE striking images of faces and eyes and this particular one for me is a stunner even before any colour, detail , embellishments are added.  I added colour using watercolour pencils and Tim's Distress Inks.  I created the hair using the Acer leaves adhering them in place one by one to create the layers. It was a slow process and took a great deal of patience due to the delicacy of the leaves ( yes, I confess there were a few 'Oh flips' along the way) but it was worth it. I spritz the leaves with Perfect Pearls to add a slight shimmer to contrast with the natural leaves.  I added a drop of glossy accents in the eyes and on the lips and a bit of ideology to embellish .

I added a wrap of natural ribbon around the background panel and added two ideology hitch fasteners to embellish which I'd altered using Distress Paints and Gilding wax 

 

The Mount is created using cardboard packaging, cut to size with the top layer stripped back to reveal the corrugation before being inked with Distress Inks and the edges and corrugation lines being caught with Gold and Copper Gilding Wax. I then mounted it onto black card stock and created two holes for the hanging chain . 
After adhering the background to the mount I added a few finishing  touches - an ideology word token 'Believe' (or should that be 'Beleave'), hinge clip and some hex nuts - all of which I'd altered using Distress Paints and Gilding Wax. Oh ,and not forgetting the loop pins and hanging chain .  

And here is my finished wall hanging .

 I'd told myself  this wasn't going to be a long post but it seems I've got carried away again! Next time - I promise!! Well OK, what I mean to say is I promise I'll TRY and that's a Pinky promise!! 

I would like to enter this my wall hanging into the following challenges 

Thats Crafty Challenge Blog - Lovely Leaves Sept 11 2015 

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- Use a Stamp and Blog Hop  

Our Creative Corner- Challenge- September : Shades of Autumn  

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge- No Designer Paper

A Vintage Journey- September Challenge 'Home Sweet Home' . 

Thanks so much for stopping by today/tonight. 

Your visits and any comments you care to leave are always appreciated. 

Look forward to seeing you again soon but in the meantime 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend

Take Care

 Amanda x

A House is made of Bricks and Stone.........

Hi Everyone 

Today, I am a Guest Designer over at A Vintage Journey   and I 'm as thrilled and honoured as I was last month to have been given this wonderful opportunity again this month . Being able to share a little of my creativity on such a prestigious blog amongst so many talented crafters really is a dream come true. 
Its Jennies Challenge theme this month and Jennie can be found not only at AVJ but also here and if you haven't already be sure to pay her a visit as Jennie is super talented . The flowers she crafts are stunning and her ability to use colours subtly is second to none. 
 Jennies chosen theme is 'Home sweet Home' and here's what she has to say :

For most of us the summer holidays are over, schools are back and it is nice to be home and back in the usual routines. So for this challenge let's create a project which sums up "home" for each of us (either past or present), using Tim's fabulous array of products and techniques. Just make sure Tim's style is evident in what you make.

Thanks Jennie for yet another great theme this month! 
So what does Home mean to me ??? 

Well, I took time to think about this and many thoughts and emotions were provoked. here's a few of my musings  . When I purchased my first house I remember wanting it to be a place where both myself, friends and family would feel a warmth, a welcome, a place that was full of LOVE, a place no one felt they wanted to leave in a rush and looked forward to coming back to, a place where invites weren't always necessary, a place where you could truly be yourself and share on any level even if it brought with it heightened emotions at times both good and bad it wouldn't matter because it was a house full of LOVE - a HOME! I guess what I'm trying to convey is that for me it doesn't matter what a house is made of or how much it cost ,its location or what it looks like as long as its full of LOVE - only then do I feel I can truly call it home!
This brought to mind the quote 'A house is made of bricks and stone but only LOVE can make a HOME.'
and so my inspiration for this challenge theme was born. 
Before I share my creativity with you I  would like to apologise for the length of the post and for the quality of some of the photos especially the main one! Try as I might I just couldn't seem to condense the post nor get the perfect shots despite numerous attempts so I hope you'll forgive me on this occasion.  

I have altered a wooden box frame to depict the words of the quote

The frame is a shop bought box frame which I sanded back before applying a coat of gesso and a couple of coats of Tim Holtz Antique linen Distress Paint. Once dry I applied Coffee Archival ink and gold gilding wax with my fingers to highlight some of the wood grain and give a more aged appearance. 
I added corner decoration to the window of the box using one of the dies from Tim Holtz Mixed Media thinlit dies. I stamped the die cuts with a Tim Holtz script stamp and distressed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink  before adhering in place .

The Brick Wall 

I gave a panel of heavy grey board, cut to size, a coat of gesso and a coat of Antique Linen Acrylic  Distress paint and then I used a mix of Deco Art Textured Sand paste and Paper Artsy Grunge paste applied through Tim Holtz Brick Wall layering stencil. Due to the width of the stencil I had to create the brick wall in two halves making sure I repositioned the stencil so the bricks were aligned.

I chose to paint my brick wall using Acrylic paint and a dry brush after applying the texture paste mix, (but you could add the paint to the texture mix, personally I found the consistency too runny) Admittedly the whole process did take time and a great deal of patience as the stencil had to be repositioned often and I had to leave to dry between applications  but I think it was definitely worth the extra hours spent to get a result I was happy with. To finish  I scuffed over the wall and around the edges lightly with Tim Holtz Sanding grip. To the touch it really does have that rough, gritty feel of real bricks - Such a shame you cant reach into the screen and feel for yourself !

The hearts  
(to represent the 'Love' and home is where the heart is after all!) 

I covered both the large MDF hearts with dictionary definition pages relevant to the quote -'Home' and 'Love'. I lightened some of the text off with Antique Linen Distress Paint and stamped onto the text using Tim Holtz Speckle stamp in Coffee Archival ink. I distressed the hearts, one more than the other, with Walnut Stain DI before catching the edges lightly with gold gilding wax.

I adhered one heart on top of the other and offset them slightly. This helped to create a sense of shadow.

The crackled elements 

( every home has a crack or too whether it be in the people who live there, the people who visits or the structure - its what gives it character and makes me love it more! )

The small heart was cut out of mount board using Tim Holtz Heartfelt Bigz die, given a coat of gesso and then a very generous coat of Finnabair Platinum Texture Crackle Paste .To enhance the crackle I rubbed in a very light touch of Walnut Stain DI and Gold gilding wax. It really does have a fabulous pearlescence ( I think the camera has just about picked it up).  I added an ideology cog inked in gold Alcohol ink to embellish.

 The vial bottle
( well whats a home without a nice bottle- wine or beer of course!) 

This was given a coat of glue and seal and then a coat of Rock Candy Crackle paint and left to air dry.  Once dry I rubbed over the crackle with gold gilding wax to help highlight the cracks and add a touch of opulence.

The Quote

This is stamped using Black archival ink and individual alphabet letter stamps as well as alpha stickers to give emphasis to the words 'house', 'home' and 'love'.  I chose chit chat stickers that for me are some of the things that make a house a home, adhered them to card and distressed them using Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress inks .

With all the elements crafted all that remained was to bring them altogether. Once they were all adhered in place I then added a few extra touches -stones ( from my garden/ driveway)  to represent the words in the quote,a 'LOVE' tiny tag tied to the neck of the bottle, rusty wire to attach the chit chat stickers to,

   and a memo pin and numbered heart pendant embellished with a couple of gems.

I really have enjoyed making this piece of 'Home' art not only because of the creativity involved in the making but also because it was born out of a quote that truly resonates with me -maybe it does with you too ? 

It  you fancy joining in this months challenge theme there's still plenty of time to enter - just head over to A Vintage Journey's  blog, checkout the rules and then go create!

Huge Thank you's again to all the lovely ladies (Creative Guides) at A Vintage journey for my Guest Design spot today . I truly am grateful and incredibly humbled .  

 

I would like to enter my altered Frame into the following challenges: 

Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge- Love this Technique  

(for using some  much loved techniques - crackle, texture paste, stencilling, stamping, distressing )

Try it on Tuesday- Challenge: Add some metal

( the rusty wire and ideology)

Love to Create- Challenge 19 - Anything Mixed Media/ Creative Goes

Craft Stamper- Take It Make it Challenge- September  

Country View Crafts Challenge - September 'Numbers'

(the number heart embellishment )  

Thanks to you all too for popping by today. Your visits and comments are always welcome and appreciated and I hope that when you do pop by you feel very much at home!

 Hope you all have a great weekend 

Take care and look forward to seeing you again soon

 Amanda x