THE RANGER U EXPERIENCE - DAY TWO

Day Two of Ranger U...I made these Ranger U shirts for Hels, Linda and I to wear on our first day.  But my luggage was lost and I didn't receive it until late the first night of Ranger U.  So, we decided to wear them the next morning.

Here are Hels, myself and Linda wearing our Ranger U shirts.  Tim was sweet enough to jump in the picture with us!  The shirts were fun to wear and now we have one more memento from this incredible experience.  It is amazing the bonds you develop so quickly with your Ranger U peers.  These girls are like my sisters.

Day two of Ranger U began like a breath of Spring.  Claudine Hellmuth was pretty in pink as she began our morning session working with her line of Studio line of paints, mediums, gesso, brushes, Sticky Back Canvas and her new Creative Layers Foam and Clear Stamps.  She is adorable!  She has been painting since she was 14 and has always had a fascination with paint.  Lucky for all of us....her paints are awesome!

We did 10 techniques using her amazing Studio Products.  I was one of those people Claudine talked about who thought an acrylic paint is an acrylic paint is an acrylic paint.  After using her product, I now realize that there is a HUGE difference between her product and the other lines I've used in the past.  Her paints are so smooth.  They have a real creamy consistency.  They glide on and the colors are really fun!  I LOVE Claudine's Matte Multi Medium.  It is so versatile!  I use it as a sealer, a glue and for transferring.  Speaking of transferring, we played around with a couple of different transfer techniques using Gesso, one using Matte Multi Medium and one using the sticky side of Sticky Back Canvas and a piece of patterned scrapbook paper burnished together.  

Very fun techniques and they worked every time!  We did some resist techniques using Matte Multi Medium and a Watermark Resist pad. We stamped with her new foam stamps and paint followed by her clear stamps and Archival black ink.  Her new stamps are so signature Claudine!  They are retro-"ish" fun that intentionally don't line up perfectly when you put them together.  It's like you flunked kindergarten coloring...close but not quite in the lines.  Really fun stamps!!!  After our session, we had a little allotted to work on techniques or make a mini project.

Claudine had a display of her work set up when we entered our second day of Ranger U. Isn't it lovely?  Her stuff is so fun!  Check out her faux batik bag.  It was awesome!  She has flowers made out of Sticky Back Canvas and notice all of the things she's made using her Creative Layers Foam and Clear Stamps.  Her style is very unique and recognizable!  I love it!

TECHNIQUE TIME...FAUX BATIK!!!

1.  Brush a thin layer of Matte Multi Medium onto a craft sheet.

2.  Stamp a foam stamp (works better than regular stamps) into the Matte Multi Medium and stamp it onto Sticky Back Canvas.  Create your pattern however you want to.  I used one of Claudine's new Creative Layers foam stamps and imprinted a house design reverse of each other.

3.  Dry the Matte Multi Medium with a heat tool or let it air dry.

4.  Use a small craft stick and put a little bit of Studio Paint on the craft sheet.  Spray water from a Mister a couple of times on the paint. 

5.  Use a paint brush to mix the water and paint together, making a thinner paint mixture.

6.  Spread the paint mixture on top of the Sticky Back Canvas; including over the Matte Multi Medium images.  

7.  Blot the paint with a paper towel to remove the excess.  The Matte Multi Medium will resist the paint and reveal the stamped image.

Isn't that cool?  Indulge me on this...it's not every day that you get to have your picture taken with someone as pretty or as talented as Claudine Hellmuth!

How about a BONUS TECHNIQUE??? (yay!)

GESSO TRANSFER!!!

 1.  Paint your tag with any color of Studio Paint you choose and either dry it with a heat tool or let it air dry.

2.  Spread some Gesso on to the tag using a paint brush.  Don't make it thick but put enough on for good coverage where you are going to do your transfer.  Feather out the edges.

3.  Press your photocopy face down into the wet Gesso and lightly burnish it with your fingers to make sure there is good contact between the Gesso and the photocopy.  (An inkjet photo copy works best.  Just print on regular paper.)

4.  Allow the photocopy to air dry.  Usually around 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how much Gesso you use.

5.  When dry, spray the photocopy paper completely with water from a Mister.  Completely saturate the paper so that it will be easier to peel.

6.  Begin gently rubbing off the paper to get the image below to appear.  Keep lightly wetting and rubbing if you need to so that you can remove all of the paper.  Keep rubbing until all of the white paper is gone.  Some of the transfer may flake off or pull up; so don't freak out if that happens.  It is supposed to.  Notice the bottom of my transfer - part of the ground pulled away.

7.  Once you have removed all of the paper, take a little Gloss Multi Medium on your finger and lightly rub it all over the transferred image.  That will get rid of any little remaining fuzzies from the white paper.

**  WARNING!!!  This is a fun technique but you may not want to attempt this technique using faces or something that you would mind if part of the image lifted during the transfer process.  I like the imperfection because I think it adds interest and character to a piece...but you may not.

The afternoon session was very DISTRESSING!  But, not in a bad way!  

It was ALL ABOUT DISTRESS!  

 Tim took over and we were immersed in Distress:  Embossing Powders, Crackle Paint, Distress Inks and Stickles.  We covered so much about the products and learned 19 techniques in that afternoon!  I was in heaven!!!  Again, I thought I knew a lot about Distress Inks.  But, Tim put a whole new spin on some things.  So now, it's like my Distress Inks are, in many ways, BRAND NEW to me! 

Here are all the techniques we learned.  These are just techniques, not projects but I think the tags are really cool looking!  Don't you LOVE the Distress Ink colors?

TECHNIQUE TIME....DISTRESS INK PHOTO TINTING!!!

You are going to LOVE this technique!

1.  Print a black and white photo on glossy inkjet or laser photo paper.

2.  Tone the background area of the photo by using either Antique Linen or Old Paper Distress Inks.  Only those two colors will work.  Antique Linen gives more of a sepia tone. Old Paper gives more of a greenish cast.  You tone the background by using a piece of Cut 'N Dry foam or a blending tool with one of those two colors on it.  Gently tap the foam pad on the photo and add the color.  Don't swipe it across the picture.  Just tap it add the color.

3.  To tint the photo, decide what object you want to tint.  Just pick one or two objects to tint; not the whole picture.  Swipe a Cut N' Dry nib across the color of Distress Ink you choose to use.  On this photo, I used Antique Linen to tone my background and Barn Door to tint the little girl's dress and bow.)  After you'd swiped the nib across the pad, gently use a small circular motion to add the color to the photo.  It's that simple!

4.  You may want to stamp some text (or other images) for added interest.  If you do, be sure it is Archival ink.  In this case, I used black Archival to add a portion of text to the picture.

I love this technique because it gives so much character to pictures.  I almost feel like I'm bringing the subjects to life as I'm coloring them.  Try this technique and see if you don't agree.

And so ends Day Two of Ranger U.  Several of the girls piled into two cars and we took a mini trip (about 20 minutes) over to the Jersey Shore.  It was getting dark so we didn't spend any time at the ocean but we did see it.  We found a neat little retail area with nice outdoor shopping and restaurants.  We pushed some tables together at Stewart's and enjoyed hot dogs, hamburgers, french fries, Stewart's Orange and Cream and Root Beer.  Right next door was a Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  Of course, NONE of us stopped in there!  R-r-r-r-i-g-h-t!!

Day Three ... Our Last Day of Ranger U ... Tomorrow.

THE RANGER U EXPERIENCE - DAY ONE

Whew...isn't it amazing what a good night's sleep can do?  As promised, here are some of my highlights (and techniques) from Day 1 of Ranger U.

 This is a very unassuming door...but don't let that fool you.  It was our Ranger U door every morning...but it is also the doorway to a crafter's paradise!  RANGER INDUSTRIES is incredible!

  From the time I walked through this door, a real sense of "family" ensued.  Not just our motley crew but the Ranger Company.  It is a family owned business and their employees may not be related by blood but they are still very much "family".  They care about their company, the quality of their products, and good customer service.

Many of you may already know Patti Behan from the technique tutorials she posts online.  She is a very talented artist and was instrumental in coordinating Ranger U.  There were lots of behind the scenes Ranger folks who made Ranger U happen.  A huge shout out of THANK YOU to them!  Your hard work made our experience PERFECT.

This is Sheila.  She is such a sweetheart!  If you've ever called Ranger for customer service, chances are you've talked to Sheila...another of the Ranger "family".  I would liken her to "the  gatekeeper". Very dear lady.

Every morning....waiting for us was fresh coffee, soft drinks, water, juices, snacks and ....

Dunkin' Donuts!  This was just one box.

Our first morning, we were given a tour of Ranger Industries by the co-owners of the company, Alain and Justin ... and yes, they are family.  We did not take pictures inside the manufacturing portion of Ranger for obvious reasons but I can tell you that I was totally amazed at the facility.  You talk about an efficient, product control, attention to every detail company...Ranger U is it!  To see some their wonderful products actually being made from start to finish certainly gave me a whole new understanding of the essence of Ranger...the company and the products.  

Then, onto our work room.  There was inspiration everywhere!!!

This alphabet wall was made by various Ranger Designers and Employees.

 I had these two beautiful smiling faces sitting across from me every day at Ranger U...Linda Ledbetter and Yvonne Blair...simply the best!  We all got situated and then....

The magic began.

 Tim Holtz began to teach!

 He told us to grab some stamps to work with.  They were all wood mounted, lots of vintage, well used and any design you could want!  Oh my gosh...that stamp wall was like crack to an addict!  We were all drawn to it.  We had free access to it.  We just had to touch them, feel them, look at them and yes... USE them we did!

See what I mean.....CRACK!

We started with Perfect Pearls.  Honestly, I thought I knew quite a bit about Perfect Pearls.  Good thing I went to Ranger U because what I found out that first morning was "you ain't see nuthin' yet!"  I was blown away with the technique tags we made and the many uses for Perfect Pearls.  This is the first technique tag I did at Ranger U...using one technique of Perfect Pearls.  Just a tag...not a project.  But, I fell in love with Perfect Pearls all over again.

 We attached every technique we learned on a tag so that we could have a wonderful reference tool.  It by itself is art....even though we were focusing on technique, not a project.

Here are the Perfect Pearls tags and techniques.  All simple and just amazing fun! My picture doesn't really do justice to the vibrancy of the iridescent color.  Just yummy!  In this first session, one product in particular started making us feel all warm and fuzzy inside!!  SERIOUSLY!!  Just wait until you try this technique....you'll get it, too!  It is not a Perfect Pearl.  But, when you use it and THEN put Perfect Pearls with it........MAGIC!
I know...you love hearing all about Ranger U and seeing pictures from it.  But you want..... 


TECHNIQUE TIME....This is called Faux Suede!

And this is Ink Refresher in a WHOLE NEW LIGHT!

1.  Take a piece of plain black cardstock.

2.  Spray it with Ink Refresher...YES, INK REFRESHER... until it is completely shiny and wet on top.  Don't saturate the paper...just get it completely shiny wet on the top.

3.  Wrinkle the cardstock up in your hands and massage the Ink Refresher into the paper.  The paper will begin to change its properties from a paper feel to a fabric feel.  It is amazing.  This process make take about 30 seconds-"ish", depending on your technique.  

4.  Then smooth your paper out but leave those cool high and low ridges because THAT, after adding the Perfect Pearls is what makes it look and feel like suede.

5.  Dust the cardstock (using the larger of the Perfect Pearls brushes) in various places with the Perfect Pearls colors that will create that luminous faux suede look.  I used Perfect Copper and Perfect Gold and probably some Perfect Bronze as well.  

6.  Heat set it using your Ranger Heat it Craft Tool or let it air dry.  

Just imagine the card background you could create with this when you are struggling with a background for a masculine card.  And Steampunkers......Mwaaaaah!!!!!!!!

TRUST ME....IT IS MAGIC...I'M JUST SAYIN'!!!

After the morning session of Perfect Pearls, we moved into the afternoon session of Melt Art.  

It was a lot of fun as we learned ways to use a Melting Pot and UTEE to create all sorts of shapes, colors and textures.  We made 10 different things using Melt Art.

TECHNIQUE TIME....FAUX PORCELAIN FLOWERS

  1.  Turn the Melting Pot to the UTEE setting and cover the pot to preheat it BEFORE pouring clear UTEE into it.

2.  Pour clear UTEE powder into the pot.  You don't need a ton, but enough to be able to dip into.  Put the lid back on the Melting Pot and let the UTEE completely melt.  Don't stir it as that creates bubbles.  Just be patient!!  It doesn't take that long to melt.

3.  Attach a thin wire to a paper flower.  The ones we used were from Prima.

4.  Dip the flower into the melted UTEE by holding the wire.  Completely coat the flower.

5.  Lift the flower out of the pot and allow the excess UTEE to drip off of it and then rotate the flower.  If you get any little "hairs" of thin UTEE, you can gently brush it on the side of the hot metal pan and it will instantly melt.  The color of the flower becomes much more vibrant.  And the gold you see on the tips of the flower....they just appear because it was in the paper...just not evident until you coat it with UTEE. 

And here is the beauty of UTEE.  If you lift your flower out and it's all funky and gunky or you just don't like your result for some reason, just dip it back into the hot UTEE and let it melt off and then try the whole technique again.  How's that for an easy and mistake free technique?

You should see this flower in person....AMAZING color and the various gold tips...MAGIC!!!

(Linda, Candy Rosenberg, Suze Weinberg, Claudine Hellmuth, Michelle) 

At the end of the first day, Alain and Justin hosted a wonderful barbeque for us on the property.  We had hamburgers, hot dogs, salads, chips and a lot of fun getting to know each other a little better.  Suze Weinberg and her adorable husband, Lenny and Claudine Hellmuth joined the fun as well. 

 (Thanks to Linda Ledbetter for the use of a couple of pictures from the day).

Then it was back to the hotel for a good night's rest and get ready for Day 2!  Claudine Hellmuth and DISTRESS!!!!!

RANGER U IS HISTORY...IT WENT WAY TO FAST!

Hi everybody!!!  I'm baaaaack! I am still on my euphoric "Ranger U High" but after traveling all day, I am starting to "come down".  haha  I wanted to share a few things with you tonight and then I will share more tomorrow as I am able to download pictures and get more than two brain cells to work efficiently.

Ranger U was one of THE MOST incredible experiences of my life! In an artistic sense, it is THE most incredible experience!

But, before I ever got to Ranger U, I was shown the INTEGRITY and CHARACTER of some of my fellow Ranger U buddies.  I have GOT to share this story with you before I can chronicle the Ranger U experience itself.

Most of the Ranger U attendees traveled to get to Ranger Industries on Thursday, April 28th.  That was also the day that Mother Nature unleashed her nasty side...a VERY nasty side.  There were horrible tornadoes in Alabama and storms up the eastern coast.  Flights were delayed and cancelled all across the country.  It was total chaos at the airports.

Hels Sheridan, Cheryl Grigsby, Yvonne Blair, Linda Ledbetter and I immediately struck up a friendship upon the announcement of the Ranger U attendees.  We had agreed to meet at the Newark Airport and shuttle together to our hotel.  The last to arrive was supposed to be Linda at around 6:30.  Hels was coming in from the UK at 1pm.  The rest of us were staggered arrival times up until Linda's arrival at 6:30.  Hels came in on time.  The rest of us were EXTREMELY DELAYED.  Everyone but me finally got to the Newark Airport by around 8:30.  I was hung up in Chicago (imagine that) and would not arrive in Newark until around midnight. 
To make an incredibly long story short....these four beautiful ladies...inside and out, would NOT go ahead and keep the shuttle scheduled to pick us up earlier in the evening.  They insisted on waiting for my plane to land; knowing full well it was not due in until MIDNIGHT! For Hels, that amounted to an eleven hour day sitting in the Newark Airport after getting off of a long plane ride from the UK!!  For the rest of these dear dear friends, it meant at least 4 additional hours of sitting in an airport; waiting for me.

So, here we are..."The Airport Girls" as we dubbed ourselves....Hels, Cheryl, Yvonne, Me and Linda.  I will NEVER forget that!  That spoke VOLUMES to me about the heart of these ladies.  Aren't they great?  Part of the magic of Ranger U was getting to know the people.  Let me tell you, there were quality people in that room! 

Tomorrow....day one of Ranger U.  Tonight...going to catch a few zzzzzzzzz's!  

TURNING BACK THE "HANDS" OF TIME

Hello!  Time for a new SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE ...  "Show Something With Hands".  The first thing I thought of was a clock.  I love clocks.  They always remind me of time and when I think of time, I get nostalgic.  So, my creation for this week is very nostalgic for me....it's a celebration of Four Generations of women in my family.

I chose a 7 Gypsies Librarie Drawer to make a very special memory box for my wall.  The photos used are family photos of my Great Grandmother, my maternal and paternal Grandmothers and my Mother.  They are all gone now but colorizing their photos makes them feel very "alive" to me.  I colorized the photos using  Distress Inks and Cut-N-Dry Pen Nibs.  There is also a picture of me as a toddler in a bluish dress.  I am the 4th Generation.  I remember that dress and it really was that color!

On the top left of the box, you will see "4 Generations".  The "4" is one of Tim Holtz' Ideaology Metal Numerals.  I made it look like chipped porcelain.  Then I added "Generations" to one of Tim's Ornate Plates.  I thought the sentiment I added across the top very appropriately tied together the "hands" challenge piece and the nostalgic theme of my memory box.

The clock face is from ScrapFX. I saw their line at Winter CHA and immediately was drawn to it.  I love their ornate clock face and array of hands.  I heat embossed the chipboard-ish clock face with a mix of Queens Gold, Copper and Antiquities Teal embossing powders.  The hands are heat embossed with Queens Gold and Copper.  The hands on the hands of the clock are from Tim Holtz' new Steampunk Stamp Set.  I stamped and reduced the size of them on my computer so that they would fit the clock hands.  Hands on hands, get it?  They are distressed with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.  The center of the clock is a metal flower from Graphic 45's Metal Staples.  I heat embossed more Copper and Antiquities Teal on the antique gold petals.  Then I bent them to add more interest.  I also added the smallest flower from Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die cut and the smallest of the flowers from Tim Holtz' Foliage Ideaology to the clock's center.

The pocket watch is being held in place by a Santos Hand.  The watch is one of Tim Holtz' new Ideaology Pocket Watches.  I am IN LOVE with his pocket watch!  I made my own little collage to put inside.  It is a picture of my brother and I and I added the sentiment "A Brother Is A Friend Given By Nature".  There are small watch parts encapsulated in the pocket watch.  There are also small watch parts enclosed in the Tim Holtz Vial laying on it's side next to the pocket watch.  I wired some old watch parts to the top of the pocket watch and a piece of Tim Holt Link Chain runs from the top of the watch to an antique hook hanging on the side of the drawer by a Tim Holtz Curio Knob.

There are other little fun elements that are included in this very special memory box....doilies peeking out from behind pictures, a tattered flower with a small watch face as it's center, another old antique watch face up by the clock and the letters "FAMILY" nestled in front of the clock face.

I hope this inspires you to possibly pull out some old family photos and create a special memory box of your own!

Now, I encourage you to hop on over to SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE BLOG!  Our amazing Design Team has some wonderfully creative and inspiring samples of "Something With Hands" to share with you!  Surely they will get your artistic juices flowing!  Then link your creation to our blog!  You could be the winner of our wonderful sponsor's very generous gift of ... 

  to be used at SIMON SAYS STAMP!  How COOL is that?!  If your entry is chosen as one of the TOP 3, you will receive our coveted TOP 3 BLINKIE for you to proudly display on your blog!  Join us today!!!  And remember...take time to PLAY!! It's SOUL FOOD!!

MY LAST DAY AT RANGER U ALREADY!!!

I am getting ready for my last day at Ranger U. The time has flown by! I will share so much more with you when I get back. It is hard to blog and share lots of pictures and experiences from an IPhone! But...I do feel so compelled to say this..,
I cannot begin to tell you what this once in a lifetime experience is meaning to me. I am one of the luckiest people in the world! Literally! There are people here from the UK, Spain, Australia, South Korea and from all over the US. These are QUALITY people. I will share a story about the character of some of these people after I get home.
I cannot begin to tell you how many things I have learned. And for all that I know...I have discovered there is so much more I don't know. But, that is a good thing! I am less fearful of experimenting and stepping outside of my comfort zone. Whatever comes out of it may not always be "the best thing I have ever done" ... and that is okay! it's all about the license to try and create.
This experience is hard to put into words. It is almost like a spiritual rebirth for me. A creative spiritual rebirth for sure! It is a new appreciation for the raw materials and what they are capable of doing with a little inspiration from me. I just want to go with it now, try new things and explore the possibilities.
I hope that you all are having a wonderful weekend. I have one more day to completely immerse myself in this amazing experience. Then home tomorrow with a real desire to share, teach and grow.

LEAVIN' ON A JET PLANE!!

It's finally HERE ... the day I get to go to Ranger U!!!

Today is also my birthday ... so I think it's safe to say that THIS is one of the best birthday presents I've ever gotten; thanks to Tim Holtz and the wonderful people at Ranger!

When the list was announced, I immediately started getting emails from people I could never believe were writing to me!!  People who's work I follow and admire so much....like Linda Cain, Tammy Tutterow, Nancy Wethington, Linda Elbourne ... the list goes on....  
They congratulated me and welcomed me to the "Certified Ranger Educator" family.  They told me how I was in for one of the most memorable and amazing experiences of my life!

I am still pinching myself to make sure I'm not dreaming!  

The list of Ranger U attendees is such an amazing "Who's Who" in the art world.  I a humbled to be among them....and as some of us have jokingly emailed to each other, just waiting for an email from Tim saying ..."Ooops....made a mistake!" haha

I have already made some amazing friendships with such insanely creative people like Hels Sheridan and Linda Ledbetter.  I soooo admire their work....and now I know that they are not only incredibly TALENTED people, they are incredibly GOOD people as well!

I hope that Cheryl Grigsby, another fellow April 2011 Ranger U attendee, doesn't mind my sharing a thought she emailed to all of us.  I about peed my pants when I read it!  But, it soooo appropriately captured the way many of us are feeling!  She said, "I feel like a weinnie in a steakhouse!"  Isn't that hysterical?

Since I won't have a laptop or Ipad2 (haven't evolved to that techno level yet) with me, I probably won't do a lot of Ranger U blogging until I return.  But, rest assured, I WILL be posting about this once in a lifetime experience upon my return!

I can't even BEGIN to tell you how excited I am!  I KNOW the wonderful opportunity that has been given to me and I plan to soak up every single drop of the creative genius in that Ranger U room...the entire time I am there!  And then...I can come back and do what I love to do...teach and share all of this wealth of knowledge with you!  I can't wait to be able to add "Certified Ranger Educator" under my name!

WISH ME LUCK and prayers for safe travel!!!

WOYWW

It's Wednesday again already?!  I have a couple of pictures I want to share with you that were taken yesterday morning; when we enjoyed a brief break from all the rain we've been getting.

I have dogwood trees off of our bedroom and they are just glorious right now.

 And right off of our patio, we have the most gorgeous azalea bushes that are popping out all over.

You can even see the raindrops still resting on this lovely bloom.

Don't you just love Spring?!

Okay...now on to what's on my work desk this morning.  I am actually not going to start any new projects today as I am packing and getting ready for my exciting adventure to RANGER U in the morning!  I can't wait!!!

I went to a flea market this past Saturday and while I didn't hit "the mother load", I did find a few wonderful little treasures and I laid them out on my work desk for you.

I found a couple of pieces of lace that I just had to have.  I LOVE laces!  I also found some zinc lids that will make great vintage Christmas ornaments.  I found a few vintage baby shoes that I have big plans for....one was already altered a little bit.  Check out the little Santa doll.  Would he not be cool in a Configuration Box?! The little bag of spools for $1.00!  Gotta love them!!!  And ... the vintage doll head!  I know...some people might be creeped out by a doll head...but I think she's lovely.  Her eyes still move and everything!  I'll figure out some really neat way to display her.

I hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday!!

GRUNGY MONDAY

It's a soggy Monday afternoon here today....a GREAT day for playing in my studio!

 I just finished my newest creation for Grungy Monday Challenge hosted by Linda Ledbetter over at STUDIO L3!  This week, Grungy Monday is all about Tim Holtz' DIMENSIONAL ART TECHNIQUE he featured on his blog on May 8, 2008.  Check it out by clicking on either one of the links above.

So, here is my Dimensional Art piece.  The background paper on the left tag is from Tim's newest paper collection, "Crowded Attic".  The paper on the right tag is from Graphic 45's Steampunk collection.  The two tags are wired together.  

The tag on the left is supposed to represent a hot air balloon with the gear being the balloon tethered to a basket holding two of Tim Holtz' steampunk stamped images.  The balloon is embedded into the tag using Tim's Dimensional Art technique.  The basket is one of Tim Holtz' texture fades trimmed at the top using one of Tim Holtz' On The Edge die cuts. 

The tag on the right features two more embedded objects; one of Tim's keyholes and the Fractured Doll that is embellished with a small metal gear, a washer and some wire wrapping.  Above the compartment holding the Fractured Doll is a Tim Holtz crown.  "STEAMPUNK" are letters taken from Tim Holtz' Salvage Stickers and reduced to fit the tag.  The top right of the tag features one of Tim's gears from his die cut and other smaller gears from his Ideaology line.

Check out the Grungy Monday Challenge!  It's fun and for those of us who love Tim Holtz' techniques and products, this is the PERFECT challenge for you!

SIMON SAYS SHOW SOME BUTTONS

It's Monday!! You know what THAT means!  Time for another Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge!  This week, our theme is "SHOW SOME BUTTONS".  I chose to do a vintage theme using a 9" clipboard that I recently bought at Staples.

I covered the chipboard in a very soft pink paper.  I sanded the edges and distressed them with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks.  I have been dying to try Tim's new Kraft Glassine Paper Stash.  So, I took a sheet of it and heat embossed the larger of Tim's two new Book Covers Stamps.  I heat embossed it with a mixture of Queens Gold and Copper Embossing Powders.  I love the vintage look it gave to the clipboard.  Here is a better picture of the detail of the book cover behind my precious little vintage girl.

The little girl is an image I had on my computer.  I was drawn to her for this project.  When I see pictures like this, it makes me wonder about those unknown people.  What was her name and where is she from?  Did she have a good life?  I hope so because she is a beautiful child; so full of innocence and sweetness in this picture.  I colorized her just a bit using Victorian Velvet Distress Ink on her cheeks, the bow in her hair and a little on her dress.

Next, I added some vintage laces that I had and some soft pink pearls to the piece bordering on the right side of the clipboard.

I again used Tim's Kraft Glassine paper to mix in with some flowers I cut using crinoline and Tim's Tattered Flowers Die.  I sprayed the crinoline with Pink Bubblegum and then oversprayed with Vanilla Breeze Glimmer Mists.  Perfect color!  I mixed in a few of my vintage laces and one of Tim's Accoutrement Fanciful Buttons is the center of my vintage flower. I made some ribbons dangling from the large flower out of old organza (sprayed with Pink Bubblegum) and attached some smaller buttons to the ribbon.  After all...Simon Says "Show Some Buttons!"

Finally, I heat embossed a butterfly using Copper Embossing powder on a piece of soft pink paper.  I made it's antenna out of copper wire and attached "Butterfly Wishes" with two little pink buttons to the butterfly.  I added a couple more buttons in those little spots that "needed something" and it's all done!

Now...head on over to SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE and check out the incredible samples that the Design Team has made just for you!  Then, go dig up some buttons and see what you can create!  Link it to our blog and YOU might be the lucky winner of our generous sponsor SIMON SAYS STAMP's ...

$50.00 credit voucher to use in their store!  We also choose the TOP 3 entries to receive our coveted TOP 3 BLINKIE to be proudly displayed on your blog!  So, what are you waiting for?  Show Us Some Buttons!!!

WOYWW...Update!

Hello again everybody!  Here it is...Wednesday evening.  I finished the "vintage" Santa postcards I started for my Mother In Law this morning.  If you saw my WOYWW post earlier today, you saw them in their "raw" form. 

I had to let the Stickles dry before I put them together.  They are all done now!  I love the Hug Snug "Brique" ribbon I used so that my Mother In law can actually tie them onto the branches of her wreath and have some left over for decoration if she chooses to do that.  The Hug Snug actually just arrived in the mail today!  Perfect timing!

The back side of the postcards have this post card stamp on them.  They were made out of kraft paper and distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.
Hope you all had a nice Wednesday!  Doesn't it feel good to get something accomplished?!  That's all for now... 

WOYWW

I can't believe it's WEDNESDAY already!!  But, it's just that much quicker until I get to be winging my way off to RANGER U!!!  I am counting down the days...no...the MINUTES until I get to go!!

In the meantime, here is what is on my work table today.  I just finished my next challenge piece for Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge and cleared it off.  No sneak peeks!  You'll see it posted on Simon Says' and also my blog on Monday morning!  I have so much fun doing their challenges!!

Today, I am meeting a friend for lunch and then I'm setting aside time to work on something my Mother In Law asked me to do for her.  She's making a Christmas wreath to be entered in some sort of fair where she lives.  The theme of the wreath is to be something vintage.  I am going to make some "vintage" Christmas postcards for her to include in her wreath.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday and are able to find some "ME" time to play.

GRUNGY MONDAY CHALLENGE

Hello again! Here is my GRUNGY MONDAY CHALLENGE tag for this week's challenge....Texture Fades and Distress!!

This started out to be a Steampunk dress form but when I cut out the bird cage die, it was bigger than I wanted it to be.  (I'm still waiting for my mini birdcage die to come!)  

 So, I switched gears from Steampunk to Debutante!

The background is done using Fired Brick and the brick texture fade.  Then I distressed the bricks with Vintage Photo.  I used the cardboard "stencil" that was created when I cut out the dress form and stenciled a "shadow" behind the dress form with Black Soot.  Then I inked around the edges of the tag with Black Soot.

The dress form bodice is made from canvas that is distressed with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain.  The "metal" base if a mixture of Pewter and Silver embossing powders. 

I gathered two strips of bright gold tulle and tied around the dress form.  I cut out 7 roses from my Maya Road Organza Rose Ribbon and sprayed them with Fired Brick and Sunflower Sparkle spray.  Then I hot glued the roses onto the tulle skirt.  I finished off the dress with a Fired Brick sash made from spraying some white Hug Snug.  The scarf around the neck is a piece of Hug Snug that was sprayed with bright yellow Glimmer Mists and then I attached another rose.

 The button card is a stamp is a Red Lead stamp.  I distressed it in Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Black Soot.  I colored a button with a red colored pencil and added Glossy Accents to all of the buttons on the card so that they would have some dimension.

The Spool Labels are from Tim Holtz' new Haberdashery stamp set. I distressed them with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain.  The one label looked torn on the stamp, so I tore it in those areas as I was cutting it out.  I mounted the labels on chipboard that I distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Stain.  I thought it really made them look more like labels that were still attached to a spool.

Hope you guys are having a wonderful day!  I've been playing all morning...so it's been a GOOD DAY!

FUNKY "ART" FUN

This week's Simon Says "SHOW A TIM HOLTZ TECHNIQUE!"  For those of you who are HUGE Tim Holtz fans like I am, you KNOW that you have TONS of techniques to choose from!  Betcha can't choose just ONE!!

So come with me on this journey...I'm going to wave my magic paint brush (made from a toothpick, copper tape and Fantasy Fiber and Wha-lah....

We're transported into the land of TIM and his amazing techniques!  How do you like my little version of me?  I'm standing on a 5x5 stretched canvas that is covered in Molding Paste textured with a palette knife and some sequin relief. It is painted with a bluish acrylic paint and then highlighted with various Perfect Pearl colors including Berry Twist, Interference Green and Copper.  

I love Tim's "Grungeblock Technique".  You know the one...where you put his Alphabet Soup letters on Grungeboard, sand them, paint them, distress ink the letters and edges and they look like printer blocks?!  Well, I did my own twist on that and instead of using Grungeboard as my base, I used Wendy Vecchi's Residential Art Parts.  I didn't want them to look like printer blocks.  I wanted them to look like funky little fun houses!

 I made my own sides and back on the "R" house so it would be 3D.  I did Tim's Grungeboard Blocks technique to create the basic houses. Then I added some designs either thruogh the sequin relief or Tim's mini checkerboard and brick stamps. Then I stamped or drew in designs on the roofs.  Before gluing them together, I did Tim's Rusted Enamel technique found on page 41 of his wonderful Compendium of Curiosities book.  This gave my houses a nice shiny, durable rusted enamel finish. I glued the roofs onto the houses and embellished them.

The butterfly features Tim's new Pen Nib for the body. The butterfly wings are heat embossed with Copper Embossing Powder over a blue card stock.  They are then brushed with Distress Rock Candy Crackle for that fine cracked porcelain look.

The little light bulb on the "R's" roof is from Tim's new Light Bulbs Ideaology.  The crown on the"A" house was made by pouring hot Bronze UTEE into a mold.  When it hardened, I added a bit of Antique Gold Rub 'N Buff to highlight the detail.  I added the little trinkets hanging from the roof of the "A" house and the Maya Road Cream Organza Roses Ribbon sprayed with a concoction of another Tim Holtz idea; mixing Fired Brick Refill Distress Ink and Perfect Bronze in a Mini Mister with water.  Then I put all the houses in place.

The round medallion featuring the lovely vintage lady is also made using hot UTEE.  I stuck a distressed doily behind her and she's peeking out from behind a metal patina butterfly with a little Vintaj clock hanging on a chain.  The other end of the chain attaches to another Tim technique.  I metal stamped "CREATE" onto a piece of thin copper metal.  Then I ran a little bluish paint over the metal with my finger, wiping off the excess and leaving a patina look.

The back side of my little ART village features a Tim saying that I love and yet another Tim technique...one that I dearly love...COLORIZING vintage photos!!!

 This is such an easy and  FUN technique with dramatic results!  You simply print out a vintage image (preferably black and white or sepia tone) on either glossy or semi glossy photo paper.  Then, taking a Cut 'N Dry Pen Nib, rub it onto the surface of a Distress Ink pad and begin colorizing your photo.  Use this technique to highlight elements in your picture!  In this case, I used Broken China for the head band and Victorian Velvet to lightly colorize her cheeks, the rose in her hair and the tulle she's wrapped in.  After you finish coloring the areas of interest, lightly go over the entire photo and the edges with Vintage Photo.  I LOVE this technique!

Thanks for coming on this little Tim technique journey with me!  Now...hop on over to SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE and drool over the wonderfully creative and informative Tim Techniques that my design teammates have waiting for you!

Then use YOUR imagination to create something using a Tim Technique and enter it in our challenge!

Our wonderful sponsor, SIMON SAYS STAMP is awarding one lucky person with a very generous prize of .... (drum roll) ....

If you are chosen as one of the TOP 3 artists for the week, you will receive our coveted TOP 3 Blinkie for your site!  So, what are you waiting for?  Get your Tim on and get inky!!!