Tickets, tickets please

We're on our 11th challenge over on the EWV Yahoo group.  This time we're to use a ticket (or ticket-like item) as shown in Wendy's second book on  page 19.  My #8 tag has the following stamps on it:  hand from Art Fit For A Queen and the rest are from Well Worn Art.  Archival inks used:  Olive, Jet Black, Sepia and Coffee.  Distress Inks:  Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, and Forest Moss.  Distress Stickles:  Forest Moss, Old Paper, Rock Candy.  The flower was cut from Tim's Tattered Florals die and sprayed with Kiwi Perfect Pearls & water.  A snippet of ribbon and the button finish off my entry.

I've never been to an opera house but have seen "Phantom of the "Opera"....would that count?

Happy Mother's Day!

Whether you're a mom to a 2-legged human or a 2+ legged, finned, feathered, or furry critter, enjoy your day!

Here's the card I made my mom...it accompanied the decorated frame and photo from my blog post of 'Grungy Grandma'.  She thought the card was a painting and the frame brought tears to her eyes.

The stamp set (grasses, flowers, sentiment) are by Stampin' Up.  All Ranger inks and embossing powder.

None of us kids will be with mom today but 3 of the 4 were together yesterday for a nephew's graduation from college.  You have to take the time when you can get it. 

Motherhood...a lot of sacrifices, love, hugs, kisses, mishaps, learning, smiles...make the most of it!

I know why the caged bird sings

No, I don't really but I know why the 2 are singing and perhaps the other 3 aren't...they're outside the cage!

The fab LindaE is hosting another Grungy Monday challenge.  This time she's chosen an older technique from Tim's blog...back in May of 2008.  It's all about creating a new dimension. 

I cut out 3 tags using Tim's trusty Tag & Bookplate die.  Two tags were from cardstock found in the Lost & Found Paper Stash and the 3rd was from thick chipboard.  I adhered the top tag and the chipboard using Claudine Hellmuth's Multi Medium.  That stuff is da bomb!  I carefully positioned the tag on the Caged Bird die and ran it through my Big Shot.  Not only do I have a birdcage niche on my tag but a birdcage to use for a future project!  I glued the 3rd tag on the back, this time the patterned side of the paper is showing.  The tag is a bit large so a small bit was taken out of the side (part of the bird) so I covered it up with a slightly altered Adage ticket.

Using shrink plastic I cut out the bird and colored it with blue, orange and brown distress inks.  A pain in the patoot to shrink and I ended up cutting off the branch.  Like the twist in the tail feathers?  Poor birdy is probably saying 'ouch'!  The other birds are Martha Stewart punches that I used on some canvas-y type of ribbon.  Square toothpicks were cut to fit the cage so the birds would have a perch...or two.  The perches were stained with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and glued in place. 

The cage is hanging from Tim's new Mini Leaf & Branch set.  The branch was cut from chipboard then I smeared Walnut Stain Distress Crackle Paint over it to make it look more like wood.  The leaves were cut from some green scraps before I drew in some veins and ran more Walnut Stain over the leaves for dimension.

I didn't need the tag reinforcements so I used them at the bottom of the tag so I wouldn't thrown them out and be considered wasteful.  :) 

Plenty of birds are singing outside my window so I guess I should go out and join them but I'll be working in my gardens...weeding, planting, and installing rabbit fencing to keep out critters.  Hope your day will be filled with lots of productivity!  We seem to have 1 dry day then 3-4 wet ones so I need to take advantage of the situation and 'make hay while the sun shines'...or at least it isn't raining!

Let's see your hands!

Raise your hand if you're participating in the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog this week.  Super!  The more, the merrier!

I had all sorts of ideas run through my head but this is the one that worked best (remember see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil?).  I think the hardest part was creating the background and waiting for all the inks and adhesives to dry!  My tryptych (first ever!) uses 3 #8 tags that I hinged with gold wire.  Note to self:  use a larger dowel to coil the wire! 

The background's first layer is Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade) and water.  Layer 2 is a smear of Snow Cap Pigment Ink.  For Layer 3 I smushed Broken China & Pine Needles DI onto my craft sheet, lightly misted with water but picked up the color with a dampened sea sponge.  Love the mottled effect!  Tim's sentiment (Stuff to Say) was stamped in Sepia Archival Ink.  Around the edges with Vintage Photo and Black Soot DI then around again with the Gold Paint Dabber.  The tags were then misted with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls.

The face (Wendy's Art Rules) was stamped on white sticky backed canvas in Jet Black Archival Ink and colored with a light watery wash of Tattered Rose DI; cheeks and lips got a touch (okay, a heavy handed one!) with Fired Brick and a nib.  All the hands (Wendy's Art Fit For A Queen) were stamped on grungepaper and embossed with Antique Gold EP by Ranger.  No, she doesn't have stamps of both the left and right hand, I just turned the grungepaper over.

The scrolls and letters (Maya Road Jonathan Mini) were coated with Watermelon Pigment Ink, edged with Walnut Stain DI (a bit heavier on the lower left side for depth/shadow), then edged the same area with the Gold Paint Dabber.

The flowers are Table Confetti (bridal aisle at Michaels) that have been colored with Bottle and Stream Alcohol Inks.  The centers are Hero Arts Metallic Decor gold dots.  The trim was sent from a friend.

So, you can have hands across America, offer a friendly hand, play the hand you're dealt, hand-to-hand combat, Second Hand Rose, and so many more but my fave is 'Where the spirit does not work with the hand, there is no art.'  Thank you, Leonardo da Vinci!

Button, button, who's got the button?

Remember that childhood game?  No matter, but you can still trot on over to the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog where they're challenging participants to use buttons in their art.  I've had this idea brewing in my head for awhile and now seemed the perfect time to try it out. 

Using Wendy Vecchi's new Clearly For Art (clear) I created a bracelet cuff.  I stamped Wendy's floral stamp (Make Mine Mini Art) in Sepia and Olive Archival Inks.  I heat set the inks before punching holes for the buttons and forming the cuff. 

I created a plaid pattern on manilla cardstock (Fired Brick, Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo) then overstamped with Wendy's alphabet background stamp (Art-fully Said) in Sepia Archival Ink.  A bit of Glossy Accents between the Hero Arts button blanks and the cardstock held the 2 layers together.  Let dry; punch the button holes and sand off the cardstock using an emery board.  The buttons are sewn to the cuff with gold cord.  The final touch was the Gold Paint Dabber applied to the edges of the cuff. 

Since I'm not a big jewelry wearer this lightweight bracelet cuff is just my style.  With 3 college graduations and 1 8th grade promotion this month, I'm sure this will be seen on my wrist at least once!

Art tries to hang on

As you know, all of Wendy Vecchi's stamp sets have the word 'art' in the title.  So, I've decided to name this guy from one of her latest sets 'Art'.  If you love Wendy's stamps as much as I do I sure hope you're a member of the EWV Yahoo Group.  Group mom, Lori, has established weekly (most of the time) challenges.  This week, #10, is based on Wendy's card from book one, page 36.  We're supposed to feature stitching around the edge of the project and a butterfly from patterned paper.

I haven't made a tag in a while so I thought I would use this opportunity to play with Wendy's Tissue Tape & Color Wash plaid technique.

Not feeling like getting really messy, I created my plaid using Distress Inks (Broken China,Faded Jeans, Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo) and the sponge applicator.  The 'grass' was stamped in Olive Archival Ink (scalloped stitching from Just Sew Artsy).  The flower (Life & Art) was colored with dye-based markers.  The butterfly (Make Mine Mini Art) was stamped in Cobalt Archival Ink on some Bingo paper from Tim's Lost & Found stack.  It was also covered with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  The clouds are part of the lace doily (In Love with Art) and were stamped in Broken China DI.  Art (Gentleman's Art) was stamped on grungepaper in Sepia AI then overstamped with a slight shift in Black AI so I could have a shadow effect.  He was colored with more DI (pinks, blues, browns).  He has twine attached to the butterfly and appears to be desperately hanging on as the butterfly flits off the page.  The sentiment (A Form of Art) was stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink.

Another day of high winds and plenty of rain, t-storms, etc. so hope Art has a firm hold on that twine!

My bag is packed...I'm ready to go...

leavin' on a jet plane....  Oh you so don't want me to sing this out loud.  I won't even sing in the shower - lol!

With a few hours to spare I finally got my  TH Technique entry finished for the Simon Says Stamp & Show blog - whew!  Tim has so many really cool techniques it was hard to choose just one so I opted for two.  The first is Shabby Chic (grungeboard map)which can be found on pg. 49 of the Compendium of Curiosities book.  The second (suitcase) is from his video using the Texture Fades and Distress Inks.

I started off with a chipboard purse and wrapped kitchen twine around the handle to resemble a vintage suitcase.  Using a Provo Craft Mesh embossing folder I created the suitcase covering...looks (kind of) like leather. 

Ingredients:  Tim Holtz 'Art Travel' stamps, Adage ticket, word token, Film Strip Ribbon, photos from 'Lost & Found' paper stash; Wendy Vecchi 'Gentleman's Art' stamp set - grungepaper belt; Ranger Distress Inks (Weathered Wood, browns & blacke embossing), Lake Mist, Pebble Paint Dabbers, clear embossing powder

Handy tip:  if you don't have a brushed silver brad from Tim, you can take a shiny silver one, scratch the surface with his sanding grip, then smoosh the brad into Jet Black Archival Ink and quickly wipe it off.  The black will remain in the grooves from the sanding block.    IRL it's a perfect match!  I haven't tried it on a gold or copper brad but guessing they'll work the same. 

I really don't like the verticalness of the filmstrip ribbon but once you put it down with Glossy Accents on the back...you're done.  Sigh.