There's no place like home!

It's been a long 8 days (3-5 days post surgery stay is the norm) but my husband was discharged from the hospital this afternoon and is now home resting in his own bed.  Slowly but surely he's making progress, despite all the little setbacks that popped up along the way. 

And the bookmark came through with flying colors.  Can't begin to tell you how many times it was used and abused, shoved into my book bag, between pages of 9 books, etc.  The layers aren't coming apart, the charms didn't break and the hinge clip held up being tugged and caught in a zipper.  I'll definitely be using the idea for future projects now that I know the sturdiness of the products used.

Thank you for your support!

Traveling companion

When I saw the theme of 'travel' on the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog this morning I had so many thoughts come into my head.  Unfortunately too many of them were too similar to those of the Design Team so I put my thinking cap on and came up with this bookmark.  You see, I'll be spending much of the rest of this week in the hospital where my husband will be recuperating from leg bypass surgery.  I'll definitely have plenty of time to catch up on my reading so why not have a fun bookmark to note where I left off?


Side 1





Side 2




Charms

 I cut a piece of Tim's license plate cardstock 2.5" x 7.5".  Using Tim's Air Travel stamps I chose the 3 background images and stamped them in Jet Black Archival on the reverse side.  Walnut Stain Distress Ink was smeared on both sides around the edges. 

I also cut 2 pieces (same measurements) from some scrap packaging (probably from one of Tim's dies).  Using Ranger's Glue N' Seal I applied the adhesive to both sides of the cardstock using the acrylic pieces as the bread of the sandwich.  I brayered it to make sure there were no air bubbles and that the edges were stuck good.  My Crop-a-dile punched the hole like a knife going through hot butter.

On shrink plastic I stamped the bicycle (Purely Random), sentiment (Lost & Found), and car and truck (The Journey) in archival inks (Saffron, Olive, Vermillion, Jet Black).  I stamped the plane (Air Travel) using Adirondack Slate.  Won't do that again as it didn't dry well and smeared.  The images were cut out, had holes punched in them, then shrunk using a Heat-It tool.  They were attached to the bookmark using a hinge clip and jump rings.

Let me tell you, this is one s-t-u-r-d-y bookmark!  So much better than heat laminated ones like I've made in the past.  This should survive all the use and abuse it will get this week without any problems.

99 bottles of beer on the wall...

nah, just kidding!  But it does seem that bottles are playing a big part in my art this week.  Over on the EWV Yahoo group our latest challenge is to feature a bottle (or more) in our art.  Lori chose this theme based on the project Wendy did in Book 2, Page 30.

Using Art Parts, Clearly for Art and Wendy's stamps, along with Ranger's inks makes creating art so easy!  I did stamp Wendy's Art Market truck on shrink plastic so it would fit inside the bottle...like having a ship in a bottle.

Studio 490 stamps:  Destination Art (truck), A Form of Art (both text images), Art Gone Postal (cancelled stamp background)

Art Parts: rectangle frame and base

Clearly For Art

Ranger:  Adirondack markers; Vermillion, Olive, Coffee Archival Inks; Wild Honey, Picket Fence Distress Stains; Frayed Burlap Distress Ink

Miscellaneous:  key, wire, metal, cancelled postage stamp, computer chip, wood sliver

There just is no way I could keep the glare out of this picture.  Sorry!

Clearly, it's time...

to make art!  Went with another two-fer, could have been a three-fer.  Maybe another time.  Linda decided that we should play with Distress Stickles this week over on the Grungy Monday challenge, week 20.  And on Simon Says Stamp & Show it's all about the bling! 


'time' in a bottle





#8 tag

 The tag was run through the Big Shot using Tim's Pocket Watches embossing folder.  Lots of yellow, orange, red and browns distress inks were used to make the embossed portions pop.  Tarnished Bronze, Tarnished Brass and Barn Door Distress Stickles were used lavishly across the tag.

Tim's Weathered Clock die was cut out of brown cardstock; more Barn Door DS was smeared over the clock and hands then covered with Glossy Accents.  Red gems accent the numbers on the clock as well as the center of the clock.  Clearsnap's Gold Smoosh outlines the embossed numbers.  Tiny pop dots elevate the clock.

Black Enamel Accents note the marks on the embossed clocks as well as the hands.  A strip of plaid paper and a black zig-zag strip of paper were also covered with Barn Door DS.

Wendy's bottle was stamped on Clearly for Art in Jet Black Archival ink; the cap was colored using Red Pepper Paint Dabber.  I heated the CFA around a cylinder to form the bottle shape and added a sliver of a circle of scrap clear packaging at the bottom to hold the Glossy Accents in the bottle.  Tim's Typeset Alterations die was used to cut brown letters spelling 'time'.  They were also smeared with Barn Door DS.  With the bottle laying down I added a layer of Glossy Accents.   Once it had set I added the 't'.  Dry.  Another layer of GA, let set, another letter, add another layer; dry.  Etc. until done.  The letters look like they're suspended in the bottle (in real life).  Once dry (takes a long time, depending on how thick the GA layers are) add a bit more GA to the edges of the bottle and adhere it to the tag.

Hope you can find time to create art soon!

Double-duty

What luck!  I was able to combine the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog challenge (use a Tim Holtz technique) with the Grungy Monday 19 challenge (Christmas tag 2010, Day 10) and create a holiday tag for my collection.

The Grungy Monday portion you can figure out when you've read all about it in Tim's tutorial.  The technique I chose was Dabber Resist from the Compendium of Curiosities, page 37; it was used on the skeleton.

TH/Sizzix:  Pumpkin Patch embossing folder, Tag & Bookplates die

TH stamps:  Trick-or-Treat, Mini Halloween

Ranger:  all distress ink colors except blue, Jet Black and Sienna Archival Inks, Black Soot Distress Stickles

Misc:  EK Success spider punch, rusty safety pin, stained gauze, fibers, recylcled old packaging

This was a great combination of techniques and I can see myself using it over and over in the future.

An artist is a person who...

uses her new Wendy Vecchi stamp set on this week's challenge for the Yahoo group!  Yup, I won 'Speaking of Art' on Wendy's blog a few weeks ago.  The challenge comes from Wendy's project in Book 1, Page 30.  Specifically we're to use 2 border strips and have a scallop edge on the project.

First I played with the Pigment Ink resist technique on the tag.  Tumbled Glass DI was smeared all over it to bring out the background pattern (Well Worn Art).  The scallop edge was stamped using 'Just Sew Artsy'; I cut around the scallop so you could see the Dried Marigold edge underneath.  I created 2 border strips (also from 'Just Sew Artsy') and smeared Dried Marigold DI all over them, Frayed Burlap DI was used along the edges.  Before adhering them to the tag I elevated them with additional cardstock.  Three orange buttons were glued onto the buttonhole border.  Frayed Burlap DI was added to the edges of the tag.  Martha Stewart ribbons were smeared with Antique Linen Distress Stain (love this stuff!!!!!), misted with water, wadded up then allowed to dry.  Doncha love that pencil?  It's also from 'Speaking of Art' and was stamped on Clearly for Art in Jet Black Archival Ink.  I did heat set the ink before applying Adirondack markers to the reverse side (Stonewashed, Ginger, and Red Pepper) and also Saffron Archival Ink.  Heat set again...this can take awhile...don't panic.  I also work in front of a fan and I think this helps.  To soften the colors and fill in any missed spots I plopped Snow Cap paint dabber all over the colors.  Heat set to dry thoroughly.  Cut out and position over an orange stick (or small dowel) to form (want it to look like a real pencil).  Claudine Hellmuth's Matte Medium holds it down on the tag.

Who?

Do you see what I see?  Cindy Lou Who, of course!  You know, that cute little toddler from Whoville?  In the pink nightgown?

My paper was on the thin side so I folded it then ran it through Tim's Elegant Flourishes die.  When I removed the flourishes the paper unfolded and fell to the floor.  The first thing that came to mind was Cindy Lou Who!  Okay, so maybe you don't see what I see.  Want my glasses?  lol

I'm thinking this would also make a neat mask for Halloween. 

Another page for my garden journal

I'm quite proud of myself this year.  So far I've managed to keep an accurate log and layout of all my new plants and have made notes about which annuals work where, and which perennials need to be moved or removed due to a change in daylight exposure.  Now I need to transpose that info to one place...this page will do for a start.  In past posts you can see the pages I've already created for my 6"x6" journal.

Over on the EWV Yahoo group the current challenge is to use Wendy's pigment ink resist technique.  Not only does she share the idea in her first book on page 15 but on her blog as well.  One example is here:

http://studio490art.blogspot.com/2009/04/pigment-and-distress-inks.html 

Studio 490 stamp sets: Speaking of Art (Field Notes) - brand new set I won recently on Wendy's blog (thank you!!!), Life and Art (flower at bottom of page), Botanical Art (weed and spider at top of page), Art Parts (numbers at bottom of page)

Ranger:  Snow Cap Pigment Ink; Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Weathered Wood, Broken China, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire, Frayed Burlap Distress Inks; Jet Black, Olive Archival Inks; Orange Peel Stickles

The inventions of man

Have you had a chance to join in the challenges hosted by Linda Ledbetter over at StudioL3?  She's working on some neat Grungy Monday themes using Tim Holtz's blog as inspiration.  This week she chose to go back in time to his 2009 Christmas tags, Day 8.  It's all about a neato vellum technique.  I've never done anything like steampunk before and not sure it's my cup of tea but thought I'd try it this week.

I started out looking at a blank canvas, not even a coat of gesso on it.  It's only 4"x4" so I opted for no gesso and slapped on some Claudine Hellmuth paints...Traditional Tan, Dab of Yellow, Altered Orange and Landscape Green paints.

From another day in time I had adhered some sticky metal sheets to grungeboard.  In my efforts to use up scraps and small pieces I tore the metal sheet off and inked up the rough side of it with Willow, Meadow and Clover alcohol inks.  Love the texture this added to the formerly smooth silver finish.  Ran this piece (a 4x4...gasp...made for this project????) through Tim's Steampunk On The Edge Sizzix die and glued it down to the canvas edge.

Using Jet Black Archival Ink I stamped the men from  Tim's Steampunk set on to a scrap of white cardstock.  I carefully smudged my ink blending tool (with whatever red it had on it) onto the faces; the edges were touched with yellow and brown distress inks.  A piece of 28 gauge floral wire was wrapped around them.  Tim's vellum technique came into play on the plan that is behind the men.

I found a green paint chip, smeared some Gold paint dabber on it with my fingertips then cut out Tim's mini gears.  The green brads were sanded and topped with Butterscotch Alcohol Ink.  A gold clipola and a key had Clover paint dabber smushed on them and wiped off.  I thought the piece on the plan looked kind of like a piece from a lightning rod so I glued it onto cardstock then added a bit of twisted wire to the tip.

Keeping up with the metal theme, I took Wendy's paper fastener stamp (from Just Sew Artsy) and stamped it in Jet Black Archival Ink on shrink plastic.  Once it was shrunk and cooled I ran the Gold paint dabber around the edge.  I also ran the Gold paint dabber around the edges of the canvas.

So, here's to a little of this and a little bit of that!

Think cool thoughts

8/10/11...a new challenge for GM and this tag looks very, very similar to the one from Day 10, 2010.  Must have made such an impression that it stuck with me.  Certainly wasn't my intention to look like I was copying his idea.

Another 3H (hazy, hot and humid) day in east central Illinois.  I'll do most anything to keep cool so my artwork will reflect this today.  Simon Says...make a tag!  Oh, yeah, give me a real challenge!  lol  Tags are a great size for exploring mediums and ideas.  You can make them the whole project or have them be a part of a larger one.  Love 'em!

This #8 tag's background was created using the Popped Embossing tutorial that is featured in this month's TechniqueJunkies newsletter.  I cut 2 grungeboard snowmen, only using the arms, hat and nose from the 2nd one (great opportunity to use small scraps).  After coloring all the pieces I glued them together, sanded some of the edges then used Vintage Photo Distress Ink over those edges.

Ranger:  Weathered Wood, Pumice Stone, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress Inks; Pitch Black, Espresso, Snow Cap, Sunset Orange paint dabbers; Rock Candy Distress Stickles

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Snow Flurries embossing folder, Winter Wonder die

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Festive Sounds (music), Odds and Ends (ticket)

Tim Holtz/Advantus Idea-ology:  trinket pin, philosophy tag (both had Snow Cap dabber rubbed onto them then wiped off)

Miscellaneous:  ribbon, holly punch, 1/8" circle hand punch
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PS - I've enlarged the tag so all the background details can be seen.