For the Birds

Hello Everyone!

Today I'm sharing a little house that I made using a Tim Holtz Vignette box and a lot of Tim Holtz Distress, Idea-ology, Ranger and Sizzix products.  I love these little boxes to create a scene.  This one is "For the Birds".  The little bird has taken over this little house!

I started by spraying the box with Distress Spray Stain with Walnut Stain.  I then layered the Speckled Egg Stain on top. I forgot that the first stain would be reactivated by the second one, but I like the outcome.  It look like aged barn wood.  

I cut two pieces of the Worn Wallpaper from Ranger Idea-ology and inked the edges with Vintage Photo.  I glued them in the bottom and the top of the box.   I used the smallest of the Baseboard Frames to frame the ephemera piece from the Field Notes Collection.  Before gluing the bird to the frame I rubbed the frame with a little bit of Vintage Photo one the frame.  

I sprayed a piece of cheesecloth (from the paint department of the hardware store) with Speckled Egg and Vintage photo spray stain and set that aside to dry.  Meanwhile, I covered one of the small corked vials from Idea-ology with texture paste.  Because I used the crazed texture I allowed it to dry naturally.  I sprayed some of the flowers from Idea-ology Bouquet with Speckled Egg Spray Stain.  I sat those aside to dry.  Then I used various alcohol inks to color some of the baubles and heirloom roses (also from Idea-ology).  

While my small pieces were drying, I misted some mixed media heavy stock from Ranger lightly with water and then used my Sizzix Impresslit folder (Sizzix 662768) to cut three pieces.  The folder is called mini-provincial.   I then dried them with the heat tool.  I used an embossing dauber to cover the pieces with Distress Antique Linen embossing glaze (I love this stuff). Next I rubbed some of my walnut stain crayon across the top.  It was a bit dark so I wet my finder to move it around a bit and push it into the crevices.  Next I used my finger to rub a little bit of Distress paint in Speckled Egg across the embossed pieces.  I cut them to fit and glued them on the box. The scale of this impresslit folder is perfect for these vignette boxes.

I went back to my corked vial and rubbed it some Vintage photo pain and let that dry.  I didn't really think it looked like I hoped, so I put some Distress Paint in Speckled egg on top of that.  I used a file to pull sand off some of it so the white would poke through.  Then I glued the flowers into the vial and added a piece of string around the top of the bottle.    

I placed excelsior in the top of shelf with a little bird and a nest from my stash.  I wanted it to look a little messy so I let it hang out a bit.  I added a bit of moss under the bird too (here is a little close up)

Moving to the lower level I glued the frame into the back wall of the house.  I placed  the colored cheesecloth into the corner and glued that into place. I pulled a gear from my stash and laid that in front of it and glued it in place.  It reminds me of a wagon wheel.  I placed moss in the bottom of the box and secured it in place.  I prefer to use different colors to give it some texture.  I put my corked vial in the corner and put a little more moss around it.  Next I took one of the Tim Holtz thimbles and turned it upside down.  I didn't want to use a bunch of baubles to stack inside so I cut a circle wide enough to cover the opening and glued that on top.  I then glued the baubles on top  I then placed the heirloom roses in the grass. 

I colored the paper dolls using Distress Crayons in Dusty Concord and Picked Raspberry.  I colored their cheeks with aged mahogany.  I learned this technique from Paula Cheney and her blog One Lucky Day.  She is fantastic at working with the paper dolls (oneluckyday.net).

I used a typed tag and a nail head both from Idea-ology and glued that to the side.  Finally, I added two butterflies to the top of the house in the moss.   

I really enjoyed watching my little house come together.  I think my bird will be very cozy.  Thanks for looking - I hope you have time to get some ink on your fingers today! Pamela 

Distress Crayon Tag

I hope all of you are having a great weekend.  Today I'm sharing a tag I made after watching the Q&A on Distress Crayons with Tim Holtz on 6 June 2020.  I have to admit---I had the crayons but didn't use them very often.  However, after watching this tutorial I'm sure I'll get a lot more use out of them. 

So I started with a tag covered in  Collage medium.  While the tag was still wet I added ephemera from the Idea-ology Field Notes collection and some words from the Big Chat pad from Idea-ology.  I covered those with collage medium as well. I didn't need a thick covering, just enough to keep the edges down.  Then I added crayons to the card in the negative spaces.  I used Distress Crayons in Weathered Wood, Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, and Fossilized Amber.  I blended them with my finger until I was happy.  Next, I used the stencil TH143 to add some ink in a couple of places.  I used Worn Lipstick Oxide Ink.  I heat set it to be sure it had set before I moved on..  It is very faint.   Next, using Tim Holtz Stencil TH130 I removed some of the crayon using a damp paper towel.  This stencil resembles splotches...I really like it.  I still felt like I needed something else so I pulled out CMS396 (Field Notes) stamp set from Stamper's Anonymous and added the label and figure numbers with Ranger Black Archival ink.  

I splattered drops using my Ranger Splatter brush and Ground Expresso Spray Stain and dried it with my heat tool.

Finally, I inked the edges with some Black Soot Distress Ink just to finish it off.  I added a piece of velvet ribbon just to dress it up. 

I really enjoyed the tutorial and I look forward to making more projects using my Distress Crayons.  You can view the entire tutorial here: https://tim.holtz.com/blog  look for the Q&A Demo: Distress Crayons. 

I hope you have a chance to get a little ink on your fingers today.  Stay Well!  Pamela 

Taylored Expressions Cards from Dog Lover's Release

Happy Friday, I'm sharing two cards I made using the Taylored Expressions latest release for 2020. This release has a dog them something that appeals to everyone. The release includes stamp sets, coordinating dies and a stencil. The stencil is where I put my focus for these two cards.

This first card I used a texture crackle paste from Ranger through the stencil.  I didn't put it on two thick and then I let  it air dry.  You can't really tell in this photo but the little crackles in the paw prints really add some texture to the card.  Then I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink from Tim Holtz to add color.  I purposely left some places lighter than others.  Then I die cut the little dogs out of brown card stock.  Finally, I stamped the saying with Black Ranger Archival Ink.  These are strip sentiments and there is a coordinating die as well.  I really like how quick it is to stamp a bunch of sayings and then die cut them. There are a variety of sentiments for different occasions. I layered the card on a patterened paper and then another layer of medium brown before putting it on the dark brown card.  The finished side is 5 1/2 X  5 1/2.  

The second card I used modeling paste in the stencil.  Again, I didn't use too much and I let it air dry.  Then I used Distress Inks in Pickled Raspberry to color the back ground.  I also used Festive Berries along the edges just to give it some depth.  Then I die cut the dogs twice, one in black and one in pink. There is also a die with larger dog breeds, but because I am Mom to a Sassy little Shih-Tzu I was drawn to the smaller breeds.  I layered my pink piece on some patterned paper from JilliBean.  I used foam dots to raise the pink puppies on the first row.  Next I  took one of the sentiments from the Sentiment strip and layered that on a piece of paper that I cut to resemble a pennant.  I think any lady young or old would love to get this card.  

You can find all of the stamps and dies I used here: 

https://www.tayloredexpressions.com/whats-new/may-2020-fathers-day-dog-lovers-release/

If you have questions just leave me a comment below! I hope you find time to get some ink on your fingers today!  Pamela 

Resist Technique using Distress Paint

Today I'm  presenting a project recently demonstrated by the fabulous Mr. Tim Holtz.   I would highly encourage you to watch this video.  Here is the link:  https://timholtz.com/qa-demo-distress-paint/?fbclid=IwAR2HURxqBerwFkRtgUvVxK2_D-cyKZxVUoVOlg-M_Yv4_UszUbYhAXEcDaM

This was my process for this tag.  I started with a mixed media heavy stock tag from Ranger. I find the heavy stock stands up well to water.  If you don't have a tag or mixed media heavy stock you can use thicker card stock. You can use watercolor paper as well, but you will get a slightly different outcome 

I used Stampers Anonymous CMS106 to stamp the text background on the tag using paint-- not ink!  You can put the paint on the stamp using a brayer or a sponge. If you don't have that stamp any text or graphic background would do.  I dried the paint with my heat tool.  Next I layered different colors of ink and blended them.  Normally I choose three inks...this time I was brave and used Distress Ink in Vintage Photo, Shabby Shutters, Fossilized Amber, Tumbled Glass, Broken China , Abandoned Coral and Peeled paint.  Just use what you have and what you like and go for it. 

Once I was pleased with the ink I put some water droplets on there and then dried it. Notice I didn't say "mist"  I wanted big droplets so I used my fingers in some water.  You can use a paper towel if you get too much.  You can also use the Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer which does both mist and droplets. Confession- I couldn't find mine so I stuck my fingers in a glass of water on my table- it got the job done.

Next using  Tim Holtz Stencils THS090 and THS004, I used some picket fence paint through the stencil using a sponge.  A sponge dauber can be used and rinsed and used again.  I like a makeup sponge. You could also use a stencil brush, whichever you prefer.   Don't use too much paint so it doesn't seep underneath.  Then I dried the paint.  You can always let it air dry too, it dries fairly quickly.  If I were doing several backgrounds I probably would not dry it with heat. 

For my next step, I inked up the balloon and the gears from Stamper's Anonymous  CMS 130 in black Archival ink and stamped the tag.  Then vibrancy of the Archival ink really stands out against the background.   Then I used  Stamper's Anonymous CMS 397 and put just bits of text randomly on the tag. You don't wan the entire stamp.  

I went over the edges with my vintage photo ink pad just to darken them up a bit.  Finally, I used my splatter brush to splatter some speckled egg paint on the tag.  

I hope you take some time today to get a little ink on your fingers! 

Pamela