COMPENDIUM OF CURIOSITIES III ~ FAUX TEA ROSES

Welcome blogging friends!

It's time for a new technique/product and challenge at 

Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge.  This week, turn to page 65 in your Compendium of Curiosities III book and check out Faux Tea Roses.  If you don't already have your copy of Tims' book, you can click HERE and be taken directly to his blog where you can order your very own autographed copy.

Made from Tim Holtz' Tattered Pinecone die cut, these little tea roses add so much dimension, femininity and softness to your vintage and shabby chic pieces. 

Here is my 5x7 canvas that I have created especially for this challenge. The beautiful maiden from Tim's Classics #5 Stamp Set was my inspiration for this piece.  When I saw the theme of this challenge, I immediately thought of a spring day, a beautiful maiden running through a meadow with a halo of tea roses and ribbon in her long flowing hair.  

I used the following supplies to create this canvas:

5x7 stretched canvas, Gesso, Matte Multi Medium, Kraft Core Nostalgics Collection (paper), Classics #5 and Urban Chic Stamp Sets, Specialty Stamping Paper, Jet Black Archival Ink, Picked Raspberry and Antique Linen Distress Paint, Gathered Twigs Distress Ink (distressing the canvas), Detailer Water Brush, Scattered Straw, Tattered Rose, Salty Ocean, Worn Lipstick Distress Inks (face), Stickles: Waterfall (eyes), Mercury Glass (eyelids, edging on roses), Stardust (lips), Sanding Block, Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks, Miscellaneous Scraps of Fabric, Doll Hair, White Tissue Paper, Paint Brush, Tim's Grid Blocks, Renaissance Treasure Gold Guilding Wax, Antique Bronze Filigree Corners from the Funkie Junkie Boutique

I began by painting the canvas with Gesso and letting it dry.  Then I added some color by mixing Picked Raspberry and Antique Linen Distress Paints with water and brushing them on.  

After I heat set them dry, I began adding some torn strips of cotton fabric that was given to me by a very sweet blogging friend known for the magic that she does with fabric in her art pieces, Andrea Ockey Parr. If you want some very cool inspiration, check out her blog. 

Anyway, I brushed on some Matte Multi Medium ... wonderful stuff that dries clear and can be used as a glue or a sealer.  In this case, I used it for both.  I brushed the canvas where I wanted my strips to go, arranged them and glued them in place.  Then I lightly brushed over the tops of them to lightly seal them.

Next I added a little more Gesso over the top to soften the colors of the painted background and also the fabric and make them sort of mesh into each other a little better.

I stamped the girl's face onto Specialty Stamping Paper using Jet Black Archival Ink and heat set it.  Then I colorized her face using my Tim Holtz Detailer Water Brush and several Distress Inks.  Scattered Straw and Tattered Rose when mixed make a very nice fleshy skin color.  Then I added just some Tattered Rose for her blushing cheeks.  I gave her blue eyes with Salty Ocean and pink lips with Worn Lipstick Distress Inks.  Finally I added a touch of Gathered Twigs on her eye lids and to create subtle shadows at the edges of her face.

When she was dry, I cut around her face, added some more Matte Multi Medium to my canvas and glued her in place.  I lightly brushed over her face to seal it.

She looked really weird with the top of her head and left side of her face so sharply cut off.  I decided to soften the look with long flowing ringlets of hair...doll hair that is.  I brushed Matte Multi Medium where I wanted to add the individual ringlets of hair then pressed the hair in place and let it dry.  I added more hair as needed.  

Now I could FINALLY get to the faux tea roses ... the reason for the whole challenge.  I created them out of some paper from Tim Holtz' Kraft-Core Nostalgics Collection paper.  These paper have a kraft base so that you can sand off part of the color of the paper to reveal the kraft core.  I used some mauve, teal and goldish papers for my faux tea roses.  Check out the exact technique for creating these in Compendium of Curiosities III.  I will share with you that I created more of some rose buds, or smaller roses by tearing the die cut in half as I was working with it.  That way, not all of your roses are the same size...which I think is very nice.  

Once my roses were ready, I hot glued little strands of the metallic gold ribbon in her hair and then placed (hot glued) the roses to create the look of a garland of halo of roses in her hair.  To highlight them even further, I lightly added Mercury Glass Stickles along the edges of the roses.  I also very lightly added some Mercury Glass Stickles to her eye lids, Waterfall Stickles her eyes and Stardust Stickles to her lips.

Next I added some beautiful antique bronze filigree corners that I recently purchased from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  This is such a fabulous store that has all sorts of out of the ordinary metal findings (which I love) and beautiful laces along with lots of other paper crafting products, including lots of Tim Holtz items.  Frilly and Funkie is also one of our very generous sponsors! I think these filigree corners add a lot of character to this piece.

I added a very sweet sentiment from Tim Holtz' Urban Chic Stamp Set.  I stamped it onto plain white tissue paper and then brushed Matte Multi Medium onto the canvas, where I wanted it to go.  Then I brushed more Matte Multi Medium over the sentiment to seal it in place. (Tear the edges of the tissue instead of cutting them when using this technique.  The torn edges seem to disappear into the background when gluing them in place where a cut edge remains more visible). Why did I pick this sentiment?  



Well, I love it's positive message and I think there are times when we all need to remember that no matter what life throws at us, we will survive and come out even stronger. 

Finally, to warm up the edges, I distressed them with Gathered Twigs again and added some Renaissance Treasure Gold Guilding Wax.  It gives a soft, subtle shimmer to the edges when the light hits the canvas just right.  It's very pretty and seems to blend the colors of the canvas and the fabric together even more.

I also added some shadowing around the girl's face and hair using a black Stabilo pencil and then blending it out using Tim's Detailer Water Brush.  You could achieve the same effect with a charcoal pencil, chalk or anything that you can manipulate with the water brush.

Now it is YOUR turn to create something wonderful using Tim's Faux Tea Rose technique.  Be sure to tell us what inspired your work and what Tim products you used in your piece.  Also be sure to link your project up to The Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge and include a link to our challenge in your blog post to be eligible for our wonderful prizes from  Tim Holtz himself and also our alternating sponsors Inspiration Emporium and The Funkie Junkie Boutique! 

This challenge's prizes are  ...

and ...

amazing prize packages full of grungey vintage goodness from Tim and Mario!!!  Talk about MOTIVATION to play along!

We have had such wonderful response to our challenges and the art that is being shared is nothing short of amazing!  Truly....your art really does show us how much you love and understand Tim's products in order to produce such beautiful work! 

Good luck! Enjoy your weekend!

THANK YOU AND MY JUNKIN' FIND

Hello Everybody! 

It's the weekend.  I hope you have some wonderful springtime plans to get outside and enjoy the sunshine.

Before I share my junkin' find with you, I just wanted to say "THANK YOU" to so many people who have left the sweet comments on my blog posts recently.  You have overwhelmed me with your compliments and kindness.  I always try to reply to every comment that I receive because I really DO appreciate your thoughts.  However, this past couple of weeks, I've met myself coming and going with life getting in the way of my creative fun.  So, I hope that this blanket THANK YOU on my blog will let you know how much your comments mean to me.

And now ... on with my junkin find.  Last week, my wonderful friends and crafting buddies took me to Spring Creek Antiques and Tea Room in Ozark, Missouri for a belated birthday lunch and day of junkin'. We had so much fun and while we were out hitting the flea markets, I found this adorable rusted tricycle.  I immediately fell in love with it and just had to bring it home with me.

 Other than there being no rubber tires (which endears it to me even more), it was in great shape.  I love the old rusted, pitted metal and the patina that has already started.  So, I sprayed it with a matte finished outdoor sealer in hopes of preserving it in this condition. 

This morning, I picked up a couple of terra cotta pots and some pretty little spring flowers and planted them up.  Now they adorn my sweet little vintage trike.  

I wonder who's tricycle this was.  Was it originally bright red with streamers on the handlebars?  Did a child receive it as a Christmas gift?  I guess I will never know but I do know that I will give it a good home and a good repurposed life! 

Enjoy your weekend! 

TRY SOME GLITTER ... IT CAN BE VERY DISTRESSING!

Hello all of your Tim Holtz lovers!  It's time for a new Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge! How about Distress Glitter?  Do you have any?  Have you ever used it?  I love it because it reminds me of vintage glass glitter.

The colors of Distress Glitter come from Tim's Distress Lines, so if you use any of his Distress inks or paints or markers ... you get the idea ... then you are already familiar with all of the colors.  My favorite glitter ... Antique Linen.  I love the rich neutrality of it.  It compliments any color that you put with it.

Here is my creation emphasizing Tim's Distress Glitter.  To see how it is applied, check his Compendium of Curiosities Volume III on page 56.  There is a bit of a technique to it.

Here is the list of supplies that I used on this very vintage tag:

Large #10 Manila Tag, Distress Inks:  Stormy Sky, Scattered Straw, Gathered Twigs, Black Soot, Distress Glitter:  Antique Linen, Distress Paint:  Scattered Straw, Die Cuts:  Dream, Crescent Moon and Stars, Tattered Pinecone, Chalks:  Pink and Blue (eye shadow applicator), Plain Grungeboard, Ideaology: Found Relatives, Large Jump Ring, Heart Charms, Journaling Ticket, 1/4" and 1/8" Scor Tape, CropADile, CropADile Chomper using 1/4" and 1/2" rounded corner, Nostalgic Kraft Core Paper, Glossy Accents, Mercury Glass Stickles, Cardstock: Manila, Dark Brown, Misc. Ribbon, Book Text, Grommet, Pop Dots

 Begin the tag by making the background.  I created a cloudy sky effect on some Manila Cardstock by using a couple of cloud templates that I made and some Stormy Sky Distress Ink. Completely cover the cardstock with the clouds. To warm up the background, I added some highlights of Scattered Straw on top of the visible Manila cardstock that were actually the clouds. 

Then lay a #10 tag down on top of your background paper, trace around it and cut out the tag.  Punch a hole in the top of the tag as well.  Edge the tag with Gathered Twigs and a touch of Black Soot to further warm it up and define the edges of the tag.  I also then used Tim's spritz and flick method on the tag to add some more mottling to the background.  

Die cut the moon and stars (I decided not to use the ornate frame) out of Plain Grungeboard. Do Tim's technique to glitter them ... again, refer to page 56 in Compendium of Curiosities III.  I also lightly sprayed the moon and stars with Workable Fixative, a clear drying sealer, to stop any excess glitter from falling off.

Reduce the size of the Found Relatives card by cutting across the top and bottom of the portrait and round the corners using the CropADile Chomper. Edge the portrait with a Black Cats Eye Ink Pad or Black Soot to remove the white edges. Mat the photograph first with a Manila Cardstock backing (distressed with brown) adn then a dark Brown Cardstock.  I also added a hint of color to the dresses and bows with chalk and an eye shadow applicator using pink and blue and then I lightly sprayed over the photograph with Workable Fixative. I love colorized old black and white photographs. They seem to give the people in them "life".

Attach a Journaling Ticket to the right side of the photograph with a piece of 1/4" Scor Tape. Punch a hole with a CropADile, add an antique gold Grommet and the Heart Charm to dangle. I distressed some beautiful old book text sent to me by Gaby Bieberle, a very dear art friend I've met through blogging, and added it to the back of the photograph using 1/4" Scor Tape. Pop the photograph in place.

 

 Die cut "DREAM" at the bottom of the large tag. Go around the letters with Mercury Glass Stickles. 

Create little sweetheart roses using Tim's Nostalgic Kraft-Core Paper and his Tattered Pinecone die cut. Lightly sand and distress (using Gathered Twigs) the "roses" and greenery while they are still intact in the paper.  Create the roses with the help of a toothpick and Glossy Accents.  Here is a video from Tim showing how to create the pinecone which can also double as these little sweetheart roses simply by releasing the tension on the paper as you wrap it onto the toothpick.  Don't be afraid to try this....it's very simple.  It just takes a little practice. 

When the roses are dry, glue them in place using Glossy Accents and add a touch of Mercury Glass highlights randomly on some of the petals to help pick up the glittery look of the moon and stars.  

Glue the glitter stars and moon in place using Glossy Accents. Pop dot the bottom large star on the bottom left.  

Add a piece of dark brown corrugated paper that has been highlighted with White Fire Treasure Gold behind "DREAM".  Do this with a piece of 1/8" Scor Tape at the tom and bottom of the corrugated paper strip. 

Add some pink-ish and dark brown ribbon to the top of the tag. 

That's all there is to it and the Distress Glitter just oozes that beautiful vintage glitter glass appearance.  I love it!

Be sure to check out all of the Curiosity Crew's beautiful projects using Distress Glitter over at Linda Ledbetter's Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge.  Then join us with your own glittered creation.  You could win a wonderful prize from The Master of Distress Himself, Tim Holtz or our most generous sponsor for this challenge, The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

I

 

FOND MEMORIES VINTAGE ATB

Hello vintage lovers and welcome to my blog!

My fellow Creative Guide, Terry is hosting this bi-weekly challenge at A Vintage Journey.  The theme she chose is "Fond Memories".  Ahh ..... don't you just love the sound of that?  It conjures up so many memories of my childhood and family. So I decided to capture some of my "fond memories", those precious moments in time, on this very vintage ATB block.

Appropriately titled "Where I Come From," every side of my block focuses on my precious parents and grandparents.  They truly are where I come from and I am so proud of how they lived their lives and were such a huge part of who I am today.

Let me share my memories with you as I guide you through how this ATB came to be. 
I'm not sure if there is a "correct" format for an ATB or not. I guess it really doesn't matter ... as long as it's a cube, right?  So, strap on your seat belts and let the creative journey begin!

 Since I didn't have an Eileen Hull 3 D Blocks/Cubes die cut, (has three sizes of blocks included in the die cut), I used my We R Memories Gift Box Punch Board and kraft cardstock to create a 3 1/4" box. It went together so easily!

 Then I reinforced all of the seams with structure strips. You've seen me use these before.  They are 1" strips of paper, scored down the center at the 1/2" point.  Double sided 1/4" Scor Tape is added to either side of the strip and these are used to reinforce joints, seams or corners. I distressed all of my edges with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot Distress Inks to create an even more vintage look.

 The next step is to decide on my background papers for all of the sides of my block.  I have chosen these gorgeous images from Tim Holtz' new Wallflower Paper Stash.  I cut them from the 6" squares section from the stash.  I inked around all of the edges with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot to give them a more worn, old look as well.

 I decided that each side of my block was going to pay tribute to my beloved parents and grandparents.  I went through family photos saved on my computer.  I sized them to fit my blocks and the little special features I wanted to do on each side.  In some instances, I cut around the people instead of using an entire photograph.

 

 A perfect example of this is on the top of the block.  This is a photograph of myself at age 2. I still have this little dress that I was wearing! I I decided to cut out my picture and pop it onto the top because I loved the background paper and thought that the photograph and the paper worked well together. "Where I Come From" is computer generated, distressed and glued onto the top. "Collector of Memories" across the bottom of my photograph is from Tim Holtz' Words Remnant Rubs and I thought it perfect for this block as I am a collector of memories and proudly display them here.

The photograph is printed out on semi-gloss photo paper.  I colorized the little dress with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and my hair is lightly tinted with Scattered Straw Distress Ink.  I will remind you how to colorize black and white photographs later in this journey. I edged the photograph (and all of my paper and photographs) with Gathered Twigs followed by a touch of Black Soot.

Moving away from the top, let's start with the side dedicated to Roy and Maeme, my paternal grandparents.

He was in the Army during World War I and her family immigrated to the US from Sweden before she was born. They were simple people who lived their lives for their family. Possessing very little money but having a strong faith, they loved and nurtured two growing boys ... the youngest being my father. Sadly, they both passed away while I was very young but I still have wonderful memories of walking with my Grandpa to get a Popsicle from the store on the corner every Saturday.  Grandma always had on a apron and I loved having delicious family meals in their sunlit breakfast room that Grandpa had added on to the back of their modest home.

The photos above are the beginning stages of what would end up being a gate fold presentation.

I added the two side panels with Tim's Tissue Tape and two Ring Fasteners that would serve as pulls to open up the gate fold. The back of this center piece would glue directly onto my ATB. 

I loved the florals of the background of the center portion so I decided to cut out the images of my Grandpa, Grandma and myself. I also wanted to have a little pocket where I could store some of my memories of them. So, I picked a small clear glassine envelope that I had and cut off most of the backside of the envelope, leaving tabs that after adding 1/4" Scor Tape, created a pocket I could attach to the background. I colorized my little dress and Grandpa's shirt to bring more warmth and "life" to this very special picture of me with my Grandparents.

And here is the finished interior of my gate fold page.  I added Tim Holtz' Borders Industrious Stickers (arrow and stars) to my Grandpa's side and sweet little German scrap flowers and metallic Dresden trim to my Grandma's side.  In the center, you can see the glassine pocket behind my Grandpa in his Tumbled Glass colorized shirt, me in my Tattered Rose colorized dress and my Grandma. 

** To colorize these images, I simply used a Cut N' Dry Craft Nib with a chosen Distress Ink color and lightly colored in the item that I wanted to highlight.  When finished, I used my Ink Blending Tool and Antique Linen Distress Ink and gently pressed over the images.  Antique Linen softens the look and "sets" the colors.

 Here is the front of the gate fold section.  I added more of Tim's Tissue Tape to the outside edges and a piece of ribbon through the Ring Fasteners to serve as a pretty closure. I added another piece of Picket Fence washed Tissue Tape to the front and heat embossed "family" using Black Embossing Powder. To the left is a small Mirrored Star.  Isn't that paper just beautiful?  Very vintage looking!

Moving to the front of my block is a flip out section featuring my maternal Grandparents.

The whole idea for this section came from this ... I loved this "Received of" image that was a part of one of the 6x6 Wallflower paper sections.  This piece actually measures about 2 1/2" across ... not quite wide enough for what I wanted to do with it.  So I added some kraft paper behind it, distressed the edges using a Tonic Paper Distresser and Gathered Twigs and Black Soot. I also left a 1/4"  tab on the right that I could use to create a little binding for a mini album that I could then glue to the block background. 

 Here is the backside of my "Received of" cover. This is a photograph of Claude and Edna, my maternal Grandparents.  They married very young and had two daughters by the time my Grandma was 18.  They divorced when my mother (the youngest of the girls) was very young but my mother always remained very close to both of her parents. Grandpa was one of the smartest men I ever knew; which was quite an accomplishment considering he had to quit school in the 8th grade to help with his family. He was a veracious reader and I think he knew something about everything.  Grandma was a sweet young girl who modeled and always loved fashion.  I remember my mother telling me how she used to sit and watch her mother get ready for work or a date.  She thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world.  Unfortunately, my Grandmother passed away when I was only three and I really don't have a lot of memories of her.  But I do remember her laugh and her big brown eyes.  That is something that she passed down to my mother and my mother passed on to me. 

I added a piece of Tim's Tissue Tape to the left and a "together" Chit Chat onto the photograph. The little "2" is a Number Brad and behind the photograph is a piece of vintage lace.

Here are the photographs that I used to create the other "pages" for my little photo album.  All were mounted on kraft cardstock and all have a tab on the right.  This is where I double side taped the photos together to create the album. (The back of the center photograph has another photo of my Grandfather using a metallic oval frame that you will see in a future photograph). 

 Here is the album put together.  The photo on the left was taken of my Grandma and Grandpa in 1926, probably not long before they separated.  It is sort of a sad story because my Mother showed me letters that her Father had sent her over the years telling her that he would love her Mother until his last breath but that they just were not good together.  When Grandma passed away at the young age of 51; my Grandfather was heart broken.  Such a sad love story.  Flipping the page ...

The photo of my Grandfather is framed by a Tim Holtz metallic Industrious Frame. I love the vintage quality they add. I also added a cream pearl flourish to the left of my Grandmother's cabinet card photograph. The background of her picture is what I glued to the block. 

  

To provide a pretty closure to my album, I added a Mini Paper Clip and a Heart Charm. It works perfectly!

And here is the finished side celebrating my maternal Grandparents. I added a "tell your story" from Tim's Words Remanent Rubs and a metallic "C" from Tim's Cirque Industrious Stickers. I slightly altered the pewter looking metallic "C" with some touches of a Gold Paint Dabber.

Now it was time to move to the side reserved for my Mom and Dad.

For this section, I wanted to use several photographs. So I decided to create my own "accordion folder" that could store the additional photographs I wanted to include.  I created the folder from a 3 3/4" x 3 1/4" piece of Wallflower paper.  This allowed me to have 1/4" tabs along the bottom and sides that would fold under.  I also created two 2 1/2" x 3" accordion sides out of kraft cardstock.  I scored the two sides every 1/4" to create the accordion folds. I distressed all of the edges with Gathered Twigs and Black Soot.

Next, working on the backside of the folder, I attached my two accordion sides using a piece of double sided 1/4" Scor Tape. 

With the one end of the accordion side attached to the front of the folder, I simply lined up the bottom of the paper that would be background paper glued onto the block to the bottom of my folder front. I made sure the outside edges also lined up and then pressed the back tab of the accordion side in place on the back of the paper.

I chose this photograph of my parents on their wedding day for the front of my folder.  Calvin and Loretto were married on October 19th, 1946. Little did they know when they started playing tennis together in high school that they would fall in love and marry, have two children, five grandchildren and so far, seven great grandchildren!  After the end of World War II, Daddy came home from being a radio man and gunner in the Navy.  Mom had an office job but always loved "artsy" things.  Their love deepened while he was away and upon his return, they decided that they wanted to live out the rest of their days together. Daddy graduated from the Kansas City Art Institute but knew he would not be able to provide for a family as a "starving artist".  So, he worked as an advertising manager his whole life. I still have some of his art from his art institute days and I am amazed at how gifted he truly was. Mom never met a stranger.  She was so full of life and loved every second of it. They are both gone now but I cherish everything they taught me, all of the purely selfless love they gave me and I will thank God for the rest of my days that he blessed me with my parents. 

Here are the photographs of my parents that I included in my folder.  I colorized the first photograph with Tumbled Glass and Tattered Rose. I have added photo corners to the photos and mounted them on either torn black cardstock (reminiscent of photos being torn out of old scrapbooks) or kraft cardstock. They are "filed" into the mini folder and can easily be removed.

Here is a photograph of the finished side.  I ended up clipping off the paper tab I'd left at the top of the folder and I added a File Tab with the caption "dreams".  I thought this was so appropriate for this wedding picture and all of their fulfilled dreams that lie ahead.

And finally ... the last side of my block.  One that I dedicated to some of the very strong women in my life and a photograph that means the world to me ...

Four generations ... my maternal Great Grandmother, Emma (far right), my maternal Grandmother Edna (far left), my Mother Loretto (center) and me sitting on her lap.

I colorized this photograph with Mustard Seed, Tattered Rose, Tumbled Glass and Shabby Shutters and went over it with Antique Linen. 

I added photo corners and wrapped the photograph with twine and a Word Band. I colored the letters by running Salty Ocean Distress Paint over the band and then wiping off the surface, leaving the blue paint in the letters. "Capture life's moments".  Yes, we should all do that by photograph but especially in our memories!  I then added Tim's "4" Numeral that was covered with Tissue Tape, lightly colored with a Worn Lipstick Distress Paint. When dry, I distressed the edges with Black Soot and coated the number with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  Underneath the "4" I added "GEN" (to represent "generations") using Tim's Label Letters. 

Thank you for sharing my fond memories with me as we journeyed through the construction of this vintage ATB.  I hope that I've inspired you to share your own fond memories with all of us at A Vintage Journey by entering our challenge. Please tell us what of Tim's products or techniques strongly inspired you to create your piece.  At the end of our two week challenge, all of your Creative Guides will choose the project that speaks to us the most to receive our most generous sponsor's £10 gift voucher to 

Thanks for sharing a bit of your day with me!  I can't wait to read about your fond memories!