A fave Tim technique...or two...or more

This week on the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog the theme is to use a fave technique of Tim Holtz.  Perfect timing since he's shared a few new ones during the 12 Tags of Christmas.  Hmmm, so many to choose from.  What shall I do????  I really like his Shabby Chic technique (pg. 49 from The Compendium of Curiosities book) so that was the base for my theme.  But I didn't stop there.  The ornaments are one of his techniques and the tree trunk is yet another technique (from the video on Day 6), but it may be harder to see.

This project was so much fun to create!  I started by using the Shabby Chic technique on the oak leaves (Tattered Leaves die).  Tim's evergreen branch was clear embossed on black cardstock then I painted over the entire sheet with the Bottle Acrylic Paint Dabber.  Cut out 10 leaves then tipped the edges in Gold APD.  The small flower is from Tattered Florals and shaped with a craft pick and an embossing ball tool on a dense foam mat. They also had their edges tipped with GAPD.  Gold flat-backed jewels were added to the centers.

Preparing the 8x10 canvas was a trip and a half!  First I smeared Claudine's (watered down) acrylic paint all over it...Traditional Tan, Dab of Yellow, Altered Orange and Sable Brown.  In Black Archival Ink I stamped Tim's musical score and his bare branch tree (this can look like veined marble if you stamp it just right).  In Coffee Arch I stamped his holiday text and 2 of his smaller snowflakes.  More small snowflakes were stamped in Sepia Arch.  Okay, these images are way too stark.  A wash of CH's gesso and water were applied over all, leaving some areas lighter, others darker.  Hmmm, this isn't what I wanted.  A wash of Trad Tan and water.  Let sit then pat off.  Better but still not the look I was hoping to achieve.  Okay, another round of Trad Tan and water.  Now, that's what I'm talking about!  A bit of Gold APD to the edges of the canvas and I'm a happy camper.

The tag is yellow, orange, red, brown and blue distress inks, edged with the Gold APD.  Yes, all those colors!  I stamped Tim's 'Merry Christmas' in Black Arch and wanted to shadow it with gold embossed text.  Thought the black was dry so applied the embossing powder.  Oops!  Nearly the entire tag was covered in powder.  Blast!  Quickly brushed off as much as I could, being careful around the sentiment...maybe I can still save some of my idea.  Heat embossed and was tickled with the results...the embossing was somewhat there, somewhat not.

Holiday tissue tape was left over from one of the earlier tags; it's been colored with archival inks and some copper alcohol ink.  There's a strip of grungepaper behind it to keep the bowed shape.  Tim's corners finish off the piece.  Yup, I'm happy with the results!