Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Joy-Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012 December

Merry Christmas all!  Wishing you joy and peace this season and for the upcoming year.

I'm happy to be getting some crafty time in today.  Earlier this year I set a goal for  myself to create tags and projects for two monthly challenges.  The Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2012 and the Inspiration Journal monthly challenge.  It has been great fun and an opportunity to practice my newly found skills.

For December I was able to create one project that I can post on both challenges.  A joyful tag using one of my favorite inks Distress Broken China.

Using Tim's technique I created a background on a Ranger # 8 Manila tag using Distress Broken China ink and Brushed Pewter Distress Stain.  Additional distressing was achieved by spritzing some water on the tag.  I also distressed the edges and inked with Broken China.

I stamped Santa and his reindeer using the Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Christmas Time stamp set onto white cardstock.  Using Distress markers and a water pen I colored in Santa's face, coat and mittens as well as some highlights on the reindeer.  I also colored the buckle and bridle with Distress markers.  As a final touch I added some Distress Rock Candy Stickles on Santa's hat and coat.   I trimmed around the Santa image and mounted him to the tag with foam tape.
I stamped the joy in Archival Jet Black Ink and added some more of the Rock Candy stickles.  I trimmed around the stamped image and inked it with Distress Broken China.  I also created more of the background on a scrap piece of the white cardstock and punched out some snowflakes.  The snowflakes were glued to the bottom of the tag and the joy was mounted with foam tape.
I believe that Santa represents the spirit of Christmas so its fitting that I chose a Santa image for my joyful tag.

May you carry a little bit of Santa with you all year long.  Find the joy in giving.  Practice RAK's (Random Acts of Kindness).  Look for the magic.  Choose a Joyful attitude and outlook on life.  A positive spirit can be spread to all those you meet in your life.

Blessings all.  Thank You for stopping by.  Please leave a comment if the spirit moves you.  

Hugs,  Sharon

Materials Used in Joyful Tag:

Ranger # 8 Manila Tag
Broken China Distress Ink
Brushed Pewter Distress Stain
Tea Dye Distress Ink
Distress Markers - Broken China, Tattered Rose, Barn Door, Walnut Stain, Wild Honey
Archival Ink - Jet Black
Marvy Uchida Snowflake punch
Rock Candy Distress Stickles
Idealogy Crinkle Ribbon
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Christmas Time CMS 141
Joy stamp by Printworks



Sunday, December 23, 2012

Tiny Little Books Revealed - Finally!

Happy day before Christmas Eve!  Really?  Is it really almost Christmas?  I've been a bad, bad blogger!  December feels like it went by in a second, ha, ha, ha.

About a month ago (again, really?) I gave you a sneak peak on some tiny books I had been thinking about for a long time and finally got them done.  If you are still with me today is reveal day.

These books are gift tag holders.  I wanted some small books that you can keep in a drawer or with your wrapping things to have some ready made tags available to attach to gifts.




The inside of each book has pockets to hold the gift tags ready for use at a moments notice.

I die cut a bunch of gift tags using Tim Holtz Sizzix mini tabs and tags die and another Sizzix tag die.   Then "to" and "from" was stamped on each one.  Some are just plain, others have more stamping or embellishments.  Various twine and string was tied on so they would be ready to attach to a package. 

I made tags for all year round including at least one for each major holiday.  Also made sure to include both feminine and masculine styles.  

It was fun to pull papers from my stash to make the covers and tags.  The tabs that hold the book closed are made using the same Sizzix tag die from grunge board and inked with Distress Ink to match the covers. 

These made great gifts for some of my best girlfriends and were received with rave reviews.  So nice to feel the love!

I have another recent project to share after Christmas.  It is a gift and I don't want to spoil the surprise.  Shhhhhh!

I hope that you are in the Christmas spirit and are making preparations for a wonderful holiday.  I got into the spirit by baking some cookies.

Merry Christmas!  Thank You for stopping by.  I promise it won't be so long in between blog posts!  Love to get your comments and appreciate you taking the time to do so.

Hugs,  Sharon






Monday, December 3, 2012

It's the little things-storage Tim Holtz style

Hello!  Sometimes it all about the little things that make us happy.  A favorite punch or stamp.  That perfect color of ink.  A sunny day, or a rainy day if that's your thing.  Today a simple rod and some hooks are making me very happy.  I have been re-organizing my craft room and wanted to share what is making me smile.

We crafters love to see how others are organizing their stuff.  I'm a huge Tim Holtz fan and regularly check out his blog.  A few years ago (2007 to be exact) Tim did some blog posts on his studio.  He has these industrial looking wire racks to hold all his tools and supplies.  Cool!  What really caught my attention was how he stores his ribbon.  A draw rod and some S hooks and it gives him easy access to the ribbon and looks festive and colorful.  Check out Tim's studio.

So excited to finally be able to set up this storage for myself.  Metal rack.  Check.  Had some in my old craft room closet but now I have room to display them to get that industrial feel.  S hooks.  Check.    Draw rod.  Huh?  What's a draw rod?  Well I discovered it is the rod that attaches to the fancy curtains to open and close them.  After visiting three stores and not finding a draw rod I put on my thinking cap and visited one of my favorite places in the do it yourself store.  The hardware aisle!  Yes,  you read that right the aisle with all the nuts, bolts, washers, and assorted cool doo-dads.  I love to pull open those drawers and check out all the stuff and imagine what I can build with it.  It just makes me happy.  Oh, ok I'm getting side tracked here, lol.

I found some threaded rods.  I have no idea what they are actually supposed to be used for but thought they would be perfect to hold the ribbon.  Why threaded?  I wanted to put a wing nut and a fender washer at each end so if I ever need to pull off the whole rod from the hooks they would keep the rolls of ribbon from sliding off.  Plus they just look cool and industrial.  Well, check out these photos and see for yourself.

Love how Tim threaded the ribbon through the rack.
Makes it easy to roll off what you need.  I added a yard
stick on another S hook to make it easy to measure.

On the side is a Ribbon Ring for the smaller lengths of ribbon.

Close up of the rod, wing nut, fender washer and S hook.

Still have lots of room for more ribbon!

I'm not quite ready to reveal the whole room but this last photo gives you a sneak peak of my first attempt at organizing the rack.  The black boxes are 12 x 12 photo boxes that I use to hold current projects in progress.  These make it easy to clean up between working sessions while still keeping all the supplies together.  The second shelf has some reference books, my pens, a tray with my punches, and a letter holder with my trimmer, scoreboard, and cutting board I use for embossing.

As I complete more of the room I will give you some peaks.  Please let me know if you have questions about anything you see or want to see more of something.

Oh, wanted to make sure I give credit to the creator of the Ribbon Ring.  Please check out their web site here for more info.

Thanks for stopping by.  Hoped you enjoyed the little thing that makes me happy!

Sharon