Make it Work!

Earlier this year, I shared a layout with pictures I took at 1:11:11 on 1-11-11.  Of course, I couldn't resist taking pictures at 11:11:11 on 11-11-11!  Because it was Veteran's Day, Trevor was home from school.  We were leaving for Disneyland the next morning, so I was busy packing while Trevor was getting started on the work from his Independent Study.  I made sure the camera was nearby and set a timer so that I wouldn't miss 11:11.  I love this quick little glance at our life when the date and time were nothing but ones.

From Flamingo Scraps: Fancy Pants patterned paper (brown), Crate Paper patterned paper (red), Prima patterned paper (cream), Pink Paislee canvas border

Other: My Sentiments Exactly stamp, Rubber Stampede stamp, Staz-On ink, ColorBox ink, Stampin' Up pen, Sketch by Rebecca Peck

I wanted a casual, effortless look for this layout.  I decided to stamp the title, starting with a 1 and leaving spaces for the dashes and colons.  Only problem- I went through every single stamp I own and not a single dash or colon.  Definitely a 'make it work' moment.  The dash was easy- I found a smaller alphabet and turned an "i" on its side.  I didn't have a single stamp that would function as a colon.  I finally thought of something- I used my Crop-a-Dile to punch two tiny holes next to each other, then stenciled the colons. 

 

 I had another 'make it work' moment when it came to the banner.  Here's how it looked originally:

The "Old School Notebook" message seems really weird to me and not at all what I wanted on my page.  But there wasn't a good way to cut off just the alphabet that I wanted.  So I ended up using a pen to color the entire top brown, then laid a thin strip of the brown patterned paper over the center to cover the words.  The scan doesn't show it well, but I stamped some detail stitching on the brown. 

11:11:11 at 11-11-11 captured!

12 Tags of Christmas - Part 2

Last week's post I shared with you my versions of the first 6 days of Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. This week I would like to share the last 6 tags. It was a lot of fun playing along this year. I learned some new techniques, and it was fun trying to think of ways to improvise when the products he used were not available.

December 6, 2011

Today I didn't have the embossing folder. So I did the embossing the Old fashion way - with a stylus.

December 7, 2011
Well, on this tag I was missing all the stamps and the Kraft Glassine. I used a wax kraft bag that is often used to line trashcans. I will admit it was thinner and not as waxy as the Glassine that Tim sells, and but it worked in a pinch!

December 8, 2011

I was excited I had about 90% of the things Tim used in this tag. There were a lot of steps to this one, but it was a lot of fun, and I also loved the "steampunk" theme too!

I hand drew the architectural drawing in the white to match the one on the stamp, I substituted a ticket that Tim had given me in a class for the one on the original (I didn't have the stamp), and No red stickles so I used a red bling instead, and I used Lost & Found's Hand.

December 9, 2011
Today I was excited to share my journey with my 4 yr old nephew Cooper. He said "Aunt Tonya you have the coolest toys." And I believe he is right!

I used a stamp from Anna Griffin for the background and did the technique that Tim demonstrated. It is really cool because it has a nice orange peel texture to it. I didn't have the candlestick so I decided to use the lamp post and I think I really like that better.

December 10, 2011

Today's tag was fairly easy. I didn't have the plastic letters, banner die, or the stamps. But I think this one turned out pretty good!

December 11, 2011
I wish I had the glossy paper for this tag. I improvised and used "photo paper". Photo Paper is not the same as the Ranger Glossy paper. Photopaper is designed to absorb ink while Rangers is designed to repel it. So there were different reactions, but I wanted the "glossy" finish. I also added Glossy Accents to my "Merry Christmas". It was fun working with this tag because I never in a million years would have thought to use my melting pot with the shrink plastic - I loved the effect, and will definately be trying this again in future projects.

December 12, 2011
It is sad to see this series come to an end. But wow - it was fun. I learned some new technqiues and enjoyed the challenge of Not having 'everything' needed. On today's tag - I didn't have the 12" tissue tape - so I stamped my image on tissue paper and applied it to the surface of the tag. I love this look, and again you will see me using this technique again. Thank you guys for following me along on my creative journey with Tim this year.

Thank you for stopping in today,

12 Tags of Christmas - Part 1

This is my first year of following along with Tim Holtz on his journey through the 12 tags of Christmas. WOW - it is a lot of fun. I have placed a personal challenge on myself - to NOT buy anything to do these tags. It really has forced me out of my box, and jumped started the brain into thinking creatively. Some days I may have cheated a bit with Photoshop - but I really wanted my tags to look like his. To follow Tim please visit his blog at http://timholtz.typepad.com

December 1, 2011

Today's tag was a killer for me. I only had the bobbles, seam binding, and pinecone die. I really had to think creatively to make this tag resemble Tim's version. Tim suggested that we use what we have on hand. Don't spend additional money if possible. I think this really helps to expand the creative process.



In my version - I mounted a blue cardstock to chipboard, then embossed it with a cuttlebug jacket that had flowers and swirls on it. I then cut Tim's snowflake dies from the colored cardstock, then embossed it with a clear halographic glitter, and placed them ontop of the flowers that were on the embossed design. I created the Noel using the Blackletter Cartridge and my Gypsy. I cut the word from chipboard then embossed it with silver and covered that with fine clear glitter. (I didn't have silver glitter, because I don't care for the look of glitter. I thought this was a great compromise. I also didn't have the holiday flourish spray die that Tim used for the flower swag. So I used the holly branch, and the holly from the lamp post die. I didn't have the banner either so I took a strip of music scrap paper, and tore the ends to resemble the banner, and distressed all the edges.

I know mine doesn't have the same "dirty distressed look" that Tim's has, but I'm super proud that I was able to achieve a similar tag without spending any money. I can't wait to see what tomorrow's tag looks like.

December 2, 2011
Today's tag was even harder than yesterdays. I spent the entire day thinking "oh no - he used his kraft resist holiday paper - I don't have it". Well I improvised using my Photoshop skills. Also - I didn't have the charm for the top so I used the imagine token instead. I hope you enjoy...



December 3, 2011

Today, I was challenged to find a way to create the embossed look without the embossing folder. I decided to emboss my design with the embossing powders like yesterday's tag. Also - again no I didn't have the die or coordinations paper, but I found a way to duplicate the look of the coordinations paper. I show how to do this technique on my YouTube channel.



December 4, 2011

Today, I was challenged to find a way to create the 25 in the center of the snowman and the Snowflake on the edge die. Also - I was missing the weathered wood distress ink and stain, and the stamps that Tim used. I had stamps that were similar so I used them. For the 25 I die cut the snowman, then added him to my Cricut Cutting mat, and cut the 25 from the Basecamp Cartride. I create the snowflake on the ege die using my cricut and the George and Christmas cartridge.



December 5, 2011

Today, was easy peasy.



December 6, 2011

Today I didn't have the embossing folder. So I did the embossing the Old fashion way - with a stylus.



Next week I will share with you the tags 7 - 12.

Thanks for stopping in today,

Wax-resist vs. Enamel Accents

Last week I shared my Snowman Gift Tags.  As you'll recall, I used black Enamel Accents for the face (a success) and initially used white Enamel Accents on the hats (definite failure).  For the final product, I switched to Decorative Snow for the hats.

This led me thinking- how can I use white Enamel Accents?  How about as snow?  Worth a try!  

I took a plain white tag and put little dots of white Enamel Accents all over it, then set it aside to dry.  Once the tag was dry, I rubbed blue ink over the top, then used sandpaper to reveal the white dots.  Cute!  I handcut an itty-bitty snow drift and snowman and glued them on.  The finished tag:

From Flamingo Scraps: Ranger Ink
Other: Bazzill cardstock, Enamel Accents, American Crafts pens

I love everything about it except for the long drying time.  I thought I might be able to achieve the same look using wax resist, which would have no drying time.  I took a white crayon and put little dots all over a plain white tag.  I covered it with blue ink and then scratched off the wax to reveal the white snow.  I cut out another snowman and added it to the tag.  Here's the wax-resist version:

Still cute, but not nearly as nice as the Enamel Accents.  The 'snow' is quite irregular and I missed a bunch of spots.  While it was easy to see the little dots of Enamel Accents while I was working, it was very difficult to see where I'd dotted the crayon.  And it was impossible to make consistently round dots.
 
If I were in a hurry, I'd definitely use the crayon version, but I think the Enamel Accents is the winner!

Christmas Cards

I thought I would share with you a card that I created using Graphic 45's Christmas Emporium, and Spellbinder's Poinsettia die.



I rounded the corners of the wreath patterned paper from the collection, and sewed around the edges for a clean looking backdrop. The Santa Clause photo was a panel on the paper and I thought the stamp was a nice touch. The stamp is from Studio G.

I have a YouTube video on how I made the Poinsettias. To me they look so realistic.

I love making Holiday cards for those extra special gifts.

Thanks for stoppping in today.