Sizzix Tim Holtz Colorize "Arthur" Halloween Card

Hello Everybody!

Today I'm sharing a card made using the Sizzix Die #664730 Arthur.  Arthur is a colorize die meaning there are layers to cut from different colors to give the project more dimension.  This die has a lot of pieces, but the outcome is worth it. 

First I would suggest you watch the Sizzix video here: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Sizzix+Arthur+die+video&docid=608041646859880493&mid=530CF20DDE1EBA5967D9530CF20DDE1EBA5967D9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

The video really shows you all of the pieces , where they go and how they layer. It is very helpful and short- so you can get right to work on your version of Arthur. 

For this project I used purples from my scrap bin.  I save my scraps and then cut them into sizes, 2X2, 3X3, 3X4, 3X5, 4X4, 4X5 and 6x6.  I keep them by size so when I have small pieces to cut I can go right to that size of paper and see if I have something I can use. I will say if I end up with a larger piece of more expensive paper like glitter, foil or vellum, I just trim those neatly and keep them in a page protector separately.  I'm also a huge fan of the 4X5 pads you can get of solids so you don't have to cut an 8.5X11 or 12X12 piece of paper for something like Arthurs beak. 

I first layered a piece of patterened paper from Abandoned.  This was a Tim Holtz release last year, but it is still available.  Although this was I think originally marketed for Halloween, it really can be use for a lot of projects.  Next, I cut a piece of Worn Wallpaper -Halloween and distressed the edges.  I inked the edges with carved pumpkin distress ink.  Next I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder with Tim Holtz black cardstock and then I sanded it lightly.  I also distressed the edges and tore a corner.  

Once all of the layers were on the card, I used Candy Apple Red distress paint and the Tim Holtz splatter brush to give some color and spookiness to my background.  Now I'm ready to add Arthur.  I did ink the edges of the branches with Black Soot and Gathered Twigs distress ink  I placed that and Arthur on the front of the card.  Next I punched some bats out of the left over from my abandon paper and popped those in the corner.  I added a sticker from the Curiosities sticker pack. 

Halloween is one of my favorite events to make cards for and now Arthur is ready to fly off and wish someone a fun day.  I hope you have time to get some ink on your fingers today.  

Until next time,

Pamela 

Time to Get Organized - Swatching my Distress Ink Products

Hello and welcome to a stay inside and stay cool summertime project. 

It's over 94 here today and promises to get hotter and muggier as the week goes on.  Why not make the most of my time inside to get my Distress Ink products sampled and organized? I had already made swatches for my glazes on a tag.  But that was just one product. 

I had the print outs from Ranger Ink for my ink pads- how could I get swatches of all of my products?

l was certain that this would help me keep track of my inks and allow me to compare colors before I put them on a future project.  Creating swatches was something Tim Holtz reiterated over and over again during his Spring 2020 videos, so I decided to give it a try. 

My predicament was first, what kind of paper I wanted to use? Second, how to make it cost effective? I use mixed media heavy stock most frequently for my project, but it isn't readily available in my area.  Most importantly , this would not have been a cost effective method to swatch all of the distress inks, sprays , crayons, glazes and paints.  I also use Dyan Reavley's journals (I often cut the paper our of the journals to use) so when I found the creative flip journals on sale a light bulb came on!  Why not use the pages from those journals and put all of my products on one page?  I have to say the results were better than expected.  Now I can see the sprays, inks, crayons, paint and glazes all on one page. 

I am pleased with the outcome.   I used the printed labels from Ranger's website to label each page.  Then I decided to put the Spray Stain at the top.  A stencil made from chipboard gave me the rectangle  so it didn't just go all over the page. I used my splatter box.  I cut a piece of chipboard the slightly larger than the page so I didn't have to cover other parts every time.  Then I used a circle punch to create two circles for the oxide inks.  I used one of the stamps to stamp the Distress and Oxide inks as well.  I think that many of the inks look different when stamped rather than on a blending tool.  On the third row I placed a scribble of crayon twice.  The first, on the left side is straight crayon to paper, the second one I smudged with my finger which had a little water on it.  I wanted to see how the crayon would look if I used it as a watercolor.  Next I dabbed a little paint and finally on that row the glaze (if available).  Finally at the bottom I used my second rectangle stencil for the Oxide spray. It was easier to make a second template that fit the bottom than reusing the top one.  

A couple of tips if anyone decides to mimic this approach.  First, make sure one medium is dry before you place the second one so you don't smudge.  Second, when I sprayed I made a concerted effort to spray from the same height and angle and the same number of pumps.  I purposely did NOT remove any of the splotches from the sprays.  Sometimes I want those so I thought it was good to see how they would look.  Finally, make sure that your inks are dry before you use your glaze unless you want some of your ink embossed.  Later I thought I probably should have done a few water drops on the oxide ink to see it oxidize but I think I can imagine what that outcome might be.  

This was a great way for me to rediscover colors and really look at how the intensity varied between the two sprays and the inks.  It also gave me a really good inventory of what I was missing.  Now, I will remove the pages from the journals and put them on rings.  I considered leaving them in the journals but I want to be able to compare colors side by side. I wrote what each item was with my Pitt Pen. 

Now, before someone asks...why aren't the markers on here? Well I have the markers, but I don't use them very often and they are being phased out.  I could always add them later but for now I'll leave them off. 

Here is the link on the Ranger page for the labels https://rangerink.com/pages/organize-your-ranger-products.  

I think this will become a valuable tool for me.  It is expandable as colors are added and gives me a true picture of how the mediums differ on the same paper.  By the way, the Picket Fence will be on black.  Later I may add all of them on black, for now I'm happy. 

I hope you have time today to get some ink on your fingers! Take care - Pamela 

A Celebration of Independence and Freedom

Today I wanted to share with you a vignette box I made to celebrate the 4th of July. 

The idea behind this scene is the man on the suitcase has just arrived to town and is waiting on his cab.  He is sitting on his trunk in front of a building that has been painted for the 4th of July. A parade has gone by and the remnants of the parade are still hanging on and all over the street.  The others are watching that last of the parade go by. 

Here is how I created my scene; a list of the supplies is at the end of this post. 

First I painted the box with Distress Paint in Weathered wood.  Even though you can't see the sides and the back I like to have it finished.  Next I covered the back of the box with Typeset tissue paper using Collage medium. I sat that aside to dry.

While I waited I pulled out some old idea-ology paper and cut the word America.  I inked the edges with black soot and put some small white marks to highlight the letters with a pen.  Then I cut the Old Jalopy BIGZ die 4 times   I cut one each from brown, metallic silver, black and the section of the doors in woodgrain paper.  I inked the car with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress ink.  I layered the pieces to create the cab.  I had to freehand the woodgrain paper to create the doors and the silver for the headlight.  You can't really see it but I also used some clear plastic on the windows.  

Then I colored the paper dolls.  I used distress crayons and also speckled blue embossing glaze.  

I die cut the suitcase from cracked leather cardstock and metallic for the buckles.  I inked the cases with Shabby Shutters distress ink and then embossed it with the glaze in the same color.  Inked the straps with Vintage photo Distress Ink.  I used a black soot crayon to outline the suit case just a bit.  

Next, I used the Impresslits folder Star Trim to create my frame.  I cut it from silver metallic paper and then I used alcohol ink to tint the trim and give it a little age.  While those were drying I went back to my background.  I applied crackle modeling paste through the stencil on the left. I dried it partially with the heat tool and then I let it sit overnight.  I find that with crackle paste a long natural dry time works best for me. Then I died some mica flakes with Poppy Red and Monsoon alcohol inks.  Those dried overnight as well.

When I returned the next evening, I used my Distress crayon in Faded Jeans to create the blue over and around the stars.  Next using the Barn Door Distress crayon I created a border around my edges and then faux stripes using a ruler.  I smudged the crayon with my finger which was damp.  Then I took a permanent pen and wrote the words to part of the Pledge of Allegiance between the stripes (I covered it up later but I know it is there and it peeks out in places) . 

I painted the pole for my flag and the star with Brushed Pewter Distress paint.  When that was dry I glued the flag to the left edge of the box.  I manipulated the flag to create the folds and secured that with some glue dots.   

Then I coated the bottom of the box with collage medium and sprinkled the mica flakes on there.  I added some that I had not died to create red , white and blue confetti, like a ticker tape parade.  I also used some collage medium in spots to sprinkle some of the confetti so it looked like it was caught as it rained down from the buildings above.  

I used score tape to adhere the Impresslits star trim.  Then I layered in my scene using collage medium and foam tape to create the depth for the scene. 

I hope you get time to enjoy some time to celebrate this wonderful country this weekend with your friends and family and perhaps find some time to get some ink on your fingers.

Until next time- Happy 4th - Pamela 

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Supplies:

 Paper- Tim Holtz Metallic 3, Classic , Woodgrain and Cracked Leather cardstock

Tissue Paper- Typeset

Distress Inks:  Peeled Pain, Vintage Photo Black Soot, Antique Linen, Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint.

Sizzix BigZ die Baggage Claim  # 664439; Impresslits folder- Star Trim # 663297 and Old Jalopy

Tim Holtz Distress Mica Flakes

Ranger Alcohol Inks : Poppy Red, Monsoon, and Mushroom 

Distress Crayons- Bard door, Faded Jeans, Worn Lipstick, Aged Mahgony, Fossilized Amber

Distress Paint- Weathered Wood and Brushed Pewter

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls 

Adhesives: Scor-tape, Distress Collage Medium, Golden crackle paste

Idea-ology Adornments - Star

Flag- Hobby Lobby

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 

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 

Distress Crayons on Tissue

  Etcetera Tag with Tissue   

I was inspired by the Facebook Live with Tim Holtz on 30 May 2020, discussing Distress Paints. I hope you enjoy this brief tutorial. 

First I painted the tag with Distress Speckled Egg Paint and allowed it to dry.  Then I applied Collage Medium and put the tissue paper from Idea ology (this print is called Botanical) on top.  Once the medium was dry I colored the flowers using Distress Crayons in Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Shabby Shutters.  Then I stamped the insect from Stampers Anonymous Stamp Set CMS 328-Entemology.  I cut the insect out using Sizzix 663068.  I colored the wings of the insect using the watercolor technique with Distress Markers in Wild Honey and the body in Black Soot.  I dried it with my heat tool and then I added some collage medium and distress glitter in rock candy.  I didn't use enough glitter--It's very hard to see!  Next,  I used went to the Field Notes Snippets and selected a small Field Label.  I inked it with Distress ink in Frayed Burlap and Speckled Egg.  I placed that down.  I punched some small leaves from the Kraft Stock and some dictionary pages.  I inked the dictionary pages with Vintage photo.  I put the label down and glued in the leaves.  I used a foam dot to raise my insect up for dimension.  I inked the edges of the tag with Vintage photo.  There was a small space at the top where the collage paper didn't cover; so I used Sizzix Die 664178 and cut one from the Kraft stock.  The other piece I inked some mixed media paper with Speckled Egg Oxide Ink and Frayed Burlap Oxide Ink.  I lightly misted the paper to get some oxidation.  Then I cut the smaller lace out and positioned it over the other one. I added one of the Idea ology Antiqued Gems to the leaves just to give it a little sparkle.  I really like the effect of the paint showing through the tissue paper and the coloring of the flowers using the Distress Crayons.