BACK TO GRUNGE!! SHOW SOME METAL!!

Simon Says Show "SOME METAL".  Oh boy!!  I LOVE metal!  It makes me think of Tim Holtz.  That alone makes me happy!  But then I think of all of his wonderful products; especially his Ideaology line and all of the METAL in those pieces!

I recently got my Tim Holtz "Artful Dwellings" die cut and saw this as the perfect opportunity to make some metal row houses.  Here is my piece for this week's challenge.

There are lots of Tim Holtz elements and products used on this piece.  I am a HUGE Tim Holtz fan.  I love his Ideaology line because it allows you to really cut loose with your creative thinking and find new ways to use all of the pieces.  I also love to mix metals.  I think it adds a lot of interest and makes things look a bit "hodge podge"...not so perfect and planned out. 

I started with a 6" x 12" stretch canvas.  I sprayed it with Stream and Butterscotch Color Wash Sprays and the spritzed a little water to let the colors run even more.  I wanted to create a splotchy background so I sprayed Color Wash onto a paper towel and dabbed it onto the canvas, creating irregular color splotches and intense colors in areas.  Then I stamped the text background using Versafine Vintage Sepia Permanent Ink and Tim's Papillon Stamp Set.  The two ends are cut out of Ranger's Silver Foil Tape Sheets using Tim's Iron Gate On the Edge die cut.  I then embossed them with Tim's Bricked Texture Fade.  I tapped the shiny silver with Vintage Sepia to dull the shine and it worked perfectly.  

 

The Artful Dwellings is a great die cut!  It has all four of the shapes for my "row houses" on one die.  I also used the Mini Openings Die Cut Set to create the windows on the houses.  I wanted to add vintage children to this piece; thus the windows.  I cut the houses out of black chipboard followed by the various metal sheets.  The first house was covered with a thin piece of aluminum that I embossed.  I also made a mini butterfly using Tim's Mini Butterflies Die Cut Set. I cut the butterfly using two pieces of thin gold sheet metal (for the front and back of the butterfly) and a piece of cardstock in between.  I embossed the butterfly with Tim's ATC sized Bingo card from the Playing Games Texture Trades Set.  I made sure that "FREE" was centered on the butterfly's body because I intended to "chain" it up.  I attached a Plaquette to this house and then chained the butterfly to the house using a Swivel Clasp.  There are flowers in front of this house.  That was done using Tim's Foliage Ideaology set.  Notice the little face peeking out of the window?

  

The second of the row houses is the largest in the set.  It was embossed with Tim's Notebook Texture Trade.  It looks like siding, doesn't it?  This house was made using thin copper sheet metal.  I then swiped  a Juniper Paint Dabber over it and wiped away the excess to create a patina look.  I added one of Tim's Corners to the roof and the smallest Timepiece to the house.  Behind the timepiece is a larger copper decorative piece I found at Hobby Lobby.  The hands on the clock are from ScrapFX.  Love their die cuts!  There is a little vintage boy standing in the door way that is created from an antique silver Ornate Plate.

The third house is my favorite.  This house was made from a thin gold piece of sheet metal and embossed with a portion of Tim's Patchwork Texture Trade.  I added the silver "4" from Tim's Numerals Ideaology set.  Does the little girl look familiar?  It's Shirley Temple!  She's leaning out of the arched window, folding her arms and waving her magic wand.  A roof line is formed above the window using a pair of the smaller wings from Tim's Regal Adornments Ideaology set.  There is a Fleur De Li (from Tim's Adornments Ideaology set) at the very top of this house.

The fourth and final of the row houses is made from a piece of thin copper sheet metal and embossed with Tim's Checkerboard Texture Fade.  I lightly rubbed over some of the raised area and around the edges of this house with a Pitch Paint Dabber.  The covering over the window is curled back to reveal yet another vintage little girl peeking out of the window.  An antique silver "DREAM" key from the Word Keys Ideaology set lays across this little house.  It is adorned with an antique gold tassle from Tim's Chain Tassles Ideaology set.  A picket fence made out of Idealogy Pen Nibs and silver wire guards this house and key.  The "crowning glory" of this house is the large antique silver crown from Tim's Regal set that sits atop the roof.

I centered the row houses and hot glued them all into place.  Then I added the two iron gate sides and added the large antique gold brad heads to the sides.  Little gold round "stars" are the finishing touch above the houses.  This piece was a lot of fun to make and surprisingly went together pretty quickly.  But then, it's easy when you're working with all of these Tim elements and pieces!  They all just make sense and work together so perfectly!

Now it's YOUR turn to show "SOME METAL".  The design team at Simon Says Stamp and Show have some AMAZING designs for you on our blog.  Head on over to SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE and check them out!  Then, link your creation to our blog.  You could be the weekly random winner of our generous sponsor's $50.00 credit voucher to shop at Simon Says!!!

 

If you're chosen by our design team as one of the TOP THREE artistic entries for the week, you will be awarded our coveted BLINKIE AWARD to be proudly displayed on your blog.  So what are you waiting for??? SHOW SOME METAL!!!

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!!