Tim's 12 Tags and a catch up

Hi folks!  It's been too long since I blogged, so this is going to be a bit of a mixed bag - I thought I'd better state that right up front.

First off, my version of Tim Holtz's tag for July -

I LOVED making this one.  I've been waiting for the  seaside dies to become available since CHA, and the faux sand technique is just genius.  I live beside the sea (I can see the beach from my living room window) and this looks like the real thing.  My husband had a hard time believing it wasn't.

Speaking of my husband, he's part of the reason why I've been a bit quiet of late.  He's recently got back into cosplay (look it up on wikipedia!) and for London ComicCon he wanted to go as Dr Strange (again. wikipedia is probably your friend here).  So I've been busy with the sewing machine.  Here's the scrapbook page I created.

(I also put together a slideshow if you want to see some of the fantastic work of the cosplayers who attended. )

I have to say it was very, very hot at Earl's Court and the queue was so long that it could have had its own postcode.  I only went for the preview session on Friday evening (to carry bags, mostly, but Lady Ermintrude did get herself a rather spiffing top hat and a set of goggles for when she's gadding about the Steampunk world).

For the rest of the weekend I headed for the museums (and spotted Barbara Grey of Clarity Stamps in the V&A).

Anyway, back to Tim's tags - which is where we came in - and I'm still playing catchup, because August will be here soon and I still haven't finished June's tag (which I will do, for the sake of completeness).  So I'd better crack on.

See you soon,

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Ti'm's 12 Tags - May

May already?  (Actually, almost June by the time i'm posting this).  I'm still keeping up with Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2014.  This month's was fun to do.  I really like the letterpress word embossing folders-  I chose " Fabulous" for my tag.  

It's all a bit random, really.  Most the items are just oddments from my stash.  The little pendant in the top right is one that I made with Pebeo Vitrail and Prisme paints and I've been looking for a home for it ever since - nice to find a use for it at last.  

I've had a few technical issues lately - the latest being that my Mac sometimes refuses to talk to the wireless printer, which makes life awkward when you're on the DT for challenges that are sponsored by Digital Stamp designers - and my other half has decided to go to Comicon in London in costume,  which, of course, I have to make - so a lot of my time has been taken up in cutting and sewing, with a fair bit of swearing when setting in sleeves.  However, job is done, so I should be back to getting painty and inky again, (hooray!) and eventually scrapbooking the event.  

Anyway, thank you for stopping by  - call again sometime!  

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - April

My first non-DT-related post for some time, and it's another two-fer for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2014!

Unlike March's tag,which I really struggled with, this one was lots of fun to do, so much so that I couldn't stop and also made the cover for a mini-book, using the same techniques. I thought I'd share the first page while I was at it - I covered the die-cut card with sticky-backed canvas and then painted it before adhering a stamped tissue with beeswax (See Suze Weinberg's YouTube videos for the method) and gluing on a couple of bits of hardware.  I had to include an octopus.  It was compulsory. (

I added a couple of chit-chat stickers as well.

 I didn't have any foil handy so I used Mirri board - and then put Crackle Accents over the top, otherwise it's pretty close to the original.

When I've finished all the pages I'm going to bind it with my Cinch - I've punched the holes so it's ready to bind.

And there it is.  Hope you enjoyed your visit - would love to see you again!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - March

Time for Tim Holtz's tag for March. And after making Tim's list last month (you should have seen the happy dance I did!) and what with being in a state of shock,  I almost didn't do this one!  I really struggled with it.  The smudge stamping techniques was fun, and playing with the spritzer was cool as well, but the results weren't what I was hoping for.  I've mentioned elsewhere that I have a real phobia about birds (my husband has been known to rush home from a night out because the cat's caught a bird and I have barricaded myself in the bedroom and am sending increasingly panicky texts.)

I could have chosen another image but I couldn't think of anything spring-like enough in my stash.  I pressed on regardless and, do you know, once it was finished I quite liked it!  The photo doesn't quite do it justice - the colours are a bit more vibrant in real life.  Anyway, I'm still keeping up - now to see what April brings!

xxx

Keren

Tim's twelve tags...February

Time for the second of Tim Holtz's 12 tags of 2014.   As usual, I've tried to keep faithful to the original and I think I've done an OK job.  I love that chalkboard technique!

This month, however, I'm doing a twofer.  I don't often run out and buy EVERYTHING that Tim uses on his tags (...because I already have most of it...) but this time I had to have that stamp - I love that song and that sentiment is just beautiful!  It was just perfect for my husband's Valentine (yes, I am a big soppy old thing!)

If you've been following this blog, you've probably guessed that I painted the MDF heart gold and applied Kroma crackle, which I coloured with Dylusions sprays once it was dry, then stamped the sentiment onto tissue and dolloped on some gel medium to adhere it to the base.  The rest of the embellies are bits and bobs from around the place - the picture in the heart pendant is one of our wedding photos, covered in clear UTEE.

I do hope you liked it - thank you for visiting!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's Twelve Tags ...January

Flushed with success after managing to keep up with Tim Holtz's Twelve Tags of 2013,  here I am again, making a start on 2014. I'm not making any predictions about how well I'll keep up, though!  As it happened, I had quite a lot of the material Tim used in his January tag, so this is quite faithful to the original.

By the way...has everyone been looking at the sneak peeks Tim's been sharing of the stuff coming out in 2014?  Some seriously yummy things there...wishlist is getting longer and longer by the minute!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 tags...December

I DID it!  I did every one of Tim Holtz's Twelve Tags of 2013!  Here's my version of the December tag.

The background to this one was a one of those happy accidents...I started off with an idea in mind, used the wrong colour of ink, tried to correct it, made it worse, then decided I might as well experiment with it, sprayed it with water and blotted it with paper towel...

The frosted film is beautiful - it does look like frost, only drier and warmer!  I didn't have any of the Clearly for Art plastic so I fell back on a technique from Creative Chemistry II and used packaging material.  It would probably have been  easier with the proper stuff but worked well enough with the holly leaves and juniper sprigs.

So that's it for the 12 tags of 2013.  It's been fun, learned a few cool techniques and had a great time getting inky along the way...see you in 2014!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - November

We've reached November already - can you believe it? - and this month Tim Holtz has shared one of the techniques from his Creative Chemistry 102 course.  This is an amazing effect and so easy to do as long as you can get hold of the chalk (don't children play with it any more?  I had to get the huge lumps of pavement chalk!  After all my years as a primary school teacher carrying bits of it around in my pockets, don't you think?) and theAntiquities embossing powder, which is what makes it all work!

November is very much about remembrance for me so I've chosen a this Poppy stamp from Sheena.  It is hard to see in this picture but the flower heads are coloured with red chalk and have been layered
up on silicone glue.  I'm going to try this again using a Versamark pen to write my own messages...

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - October

Hi blog friends, thanks for visiting! 

It's October and so far I've managed to keep up with Tim Holtz's Twelve Tags of 2013 - amazing!  I'm beginning to hope that I can finish the year...I've been looking forward to this one - Halloween is always so much fun!  

As usual, I've stayed fairly close to Tim's recipe.  This is my first play with Distress Glitter and have to say, I'm pretty impressed.  It's not quite so all-pervasive as the usual kind somehow.  The cat and moon are cut using a Sizzix die, the background stamps are from Tim's range, and the message is an old All-Night Media stamp..but see what it's stamped on?  Yes, vellum, and it dried within a few minutes because I used Surfacez ink!  Impressed?

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - September

I'm still keeping up with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013 (and rather surprised, if truth be known).  And I am so pleased that this tag features the layering stencils, because I have been wanting to get my inky little paws on them since Tim gave us a sneak peek before CHA.  Happily, they are now coming onto the market and I am having such fun playing.  They also inspired me to dig out my collection of masks and stencils and play with them as well.

So this is my version of Tim's tag.  As usual, I've kept pretty close to the original method.  As well as the layering stencils and a Special Touch mask (small polka dots)  I used Sam Poole stamps (The Inventor) and some random embellishments I've been accumulating because I liked them.  I added a touch of Patina Gilders' Paste on the dragonfly and the token.  I got a bit whimsical with the sentiment - the man in the top hat looks so serious, I wanted to suggest that what you see is not always what you get.

So there we are.  So, who's looking forward to Creative Chemistry 102?  I can't wait!

Tims 12 Tags - August

Doesn't time fly?  August already and I'm still keeping up with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013.

If you've visited this blog in the past you may have noticed that I am Mrs Masking.  The technique features heavily in my projects.  So this month's tag was a doddle, right?  WRONG!  This is attempt three.  Attempts one and two met nasty mishaps and were consigned to the bin.  Masks slipped, stamps blurred, ink went everywhere but where I wanted it...

Confession time.  I had a pack of Tim's masking film in my stash and had completely forgotten about it until now.  I unearthed it and went to work.  The foreground stamp is from La Blanche - although the same image has been used by other manufacturers.  The stamp I've used in the background is also by La Blanche and the balloon is from IndigoBlu.  At this point I decided to step away from the tag before I ruined it!  So that's it.  Thanks for visiting, come again soon!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Tim's July tag - version 2

Hi blog friends and welcome!

I got in quick with my Tim Holtz tag for July by cutting the US flag with my Cameo.  However, it got me thinking about how to adapt it.  As I am Welsh, I wanted a Red Dragon flag...so after a bit of work in Photoshop and with the Silhouette software, here's my second attempt! 

I followed Tim's techniques but used green in place of blue DI's  and went even made my own Welsh text stamps for the background (it's the national anthem, which incidentally was written and composed in my home town, Pontypridd - and we're very proud of the fact!)  The words at the bottom (stamped with my bargain £1 alphabet set) are from the anthem and mean " I am faithful to my country"

I designed the Red Dragon flag and then imported it into the Silhouette software to trace and cut it, then coloured it using Tim's "Shattered Stains" method.

The three daffodils were also cut with my Cammie, coloured with Promarkers and shaped using tools from the Susan's Garden set.  (I originally made Susan's daffodil with the Sizzix dies but it was too darn big for the tag).  (The toolkit is just brilliant - definitely worth getting.)

I suppose I should have saved this until St David's Day but it's a long time to March 1st and by then I will have forgotten all about it. 

Thank you for stopping by - I hope you had a good time!

Crafty Hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - July

Good day blog friends!  I'm quick off the mark with Tim Holtz's tag for July - a combinations of (a) being on leave and (b) having most of the materials at hand. 

 

It just so happens that I studied the American War of Independence as part of the syllabus for my History "O" level.  In those days the exam was very much about events and dates so there was a LOT of studying to be done, and I have a clear memory of sitting in the garden, reading through my notes.  Unfortunately, I would get as far as Napoleon's 100 days and decide enough was enough, I'd pick up where I left off next time.  Next time, however, I wouldn't be able to remember a thing about anything I'd read so I'd go back over the first bit, get to Napoleon and fall off again...The upshot of it all was I went into the exam knowing a great deal about the American War of Independence and Napoleon and not a lot of anything else!  (I passed the exam so I must have remembered more than I thought I did).

 

The tag is also very appropriate as a way of commemorating the Prescott firefighters, who gave their lives in the course of a day's work protecting their community.  There are no words that will do them justice.

 

I try to keep close to Tim's original when making the tags, using them as an exercise in the technique.  Some I like more than others - and I really loved the background technique with the brayer - I will definitely be using it again.  I didn't have the flag die and honestly couldn't see myself getting a lot of use out of one...however, the Silhouette store has a very similar flag...and what was more, I already had it in my library.  I cut it four times out of kraft card and layered it up, and did the same with the stars.  Sentiment was printed out  and the number 4 is a die-cut.

 

Thanks for stopping by - hope you enjoyed your visit!

 

Crafty Hugs,

 

Keen

 

 

 





Tim's 12 Tags - June

Well, it's halfway through the year (where is it going?) and time for Tim Holtz's latest tag & technique  Much to my amazement, I haven't fallen off yet!  I really liked this one - although there was a slight strop with self when I couldn't find where I'd stored the watercolour paper.  (Panic was averted when it turned up in a box where I was sure it would never be.)

As luck would have it, my friendly postman had just delivered a beautiful stamp (from Inkylicious) which I wanted to use, so this was a great opportunity.  For colours I used Victorian Velvet, Spun Sugar, Bundled Sage, Dried Marigold, Aged Mahogany and Stormy Sky - when I'd finished it reminded me of the pre- First World War advertisement which suited the stamp.

I was a bit worried about using the three products (ink, stain and acrylic) on the background tag, but I had faith in Tim and, what d'ya know, it worked well.  Background stamps were from my stash.  So - on to July!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - May

Hi blog friends!  Well, it's May already and, amazingly, I'm managing to keep up with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013.  I've made a decision to try to reproduce Tim's tag as far as possible, concentrating on the technique he demonstrates each month.  This month I really, really like the way the tag turned out, although I will admit it was more by luck than judgment!

The stamps I used were from La Blanche (the lady) which, quite honestly, I made a bit of a bodge of stamping by working on an uneven surface (yes, I do know better!).  The rest were free covermounts on Creativity magazine.  I used Rusty Hinge, Squeezed Lemonade and Barn Door Distress Stains with a smidge of Faded Jeans, and the film strip I printed onto acetate.

And there it is, job done.  Thank you for visiting, you're always welcome!

Crafty hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags-April

Ok, confession time again.  I haven't bought any Distress Paints.  Everyone tells me how great they are, but I honestly can't see my way to buying in more paints.  I have a lot of paints already.  So my reproduction of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013 is another exercise in substitution.

I followed Tim's technique using paints I already have - the metallic paint is from Eco-green.  It worked pretty well - although, of course, the colours are different. 

What else?  Well, the numbers and gears are die-cut from card, the dragonfly stamp is from the Stamp Man (the blueprint in the background is a Tim Holtz one from the Steampunk set), there's a bit of tissue tape on there...

Anyway, it's April and I've kept up so far!  Will I make it to the end of the year?  Tune in next month to find out!

Ta-ta for now!

Hugs,

Keren

Tim's 12 Tags - March

OK, it's March already and so far I'm managing to keep up!  This is my version of Tim Holtz's tag for March (you can see Tim's original here).  And the ONLY thing I had on hand that was the same as the example was the Kraft Core card and the little flowers.

 I am not a bunny fan, sorry. So while I had the fancy label movers & shapers die, I didn't have the little rabbit, and don't really want to buy it.  And while I DO want to buy the fringe die, I would have to wait for it to be delivered, and I had a day off today...But, fear not!  I turned to my trusty Cameo.  The Silhouette online store had lots of bunnies and grassy border cutting files for instant download, so I chose my favourites.  I already had the banner and label files;  I added the word "Ostara"* to the banner and cut everything out using Cammie.  LOVE that machine! 

I didn't have any Tinsel Twine either, but I did have a giant tinsel chenille stem which I chopped up to back the bunny cut-out.   The background paper is from Sheena Douglass's Paint Fusion CD.  I coloured the vintage ribbon like Tim's and made the flower pins just like he did.  Then I put it all together and there it was!

* Why "Ostara"? The story goes that the goddess Ostara was challenged to demonstrate her power, which she did by transforming a bird into a rabbit. However, thereafter, the rabbit continued to lay eggs - which is why Easter eggs are brought by the Easter bunny!

Tim's 12 Tags - February

Hi everyone, and welcome to my blog!  Today's offering is my interpretation of Tim Holtz's tag for February.  Last year I failed dismally to keep up with the 12 Tags of 2012, and I'm not making any promises about this year either;  however, so far I've managed two out of two - so far, so good!

In January I kept pretty close to the original - I had most of the supplies on hand.  This month I didn't have most of the items Tim used - so I improvised.

If you've seen Tim's blog, you'll be only too well aware where I've deviated from the Master's creation.   About the only thing that's the same is the background colour.  But that's OK, Tim wants to inspire and teach us, not turn us into copycats!  I didn't have Tim's stamp so I used one I'd made with my Imagepac...the charm is a jewellery blank, the words were made on the Dymo and covered with a clear epoxy bubble, I didn't have seasonal Kraft Core'dinations paper so I die-cut and embossed some of the plain stuff...you get the picture.
 (I'm so glad that Core'dinations have brought out the Kraft Core papers in 6x4 pads - much easier to use, not to mention lower cost.  I'd hyperventilate at chopping up a 12 by 12 piece for a few small diecuts - don't know about you!)  Anyway, I'm pleased with the result, and very pleased to get it complete before Valentine's day!

Tim's 12 Tags - January

I'm not promising anything, you understand.  Last year I failed dismally at joining in with Tim Holtz's 12 tags - I think I only managed one.  But at least I've managed to complete the January tag before February arrives! 

 

 

I've kept pretty close to Tim's original, as you can see.  The only thing I've changed is to leave off the hardware - when I got the tag to this stage I decided I liked it as it was.  I hope you agree.

 

Thank you for stopping by - you'll be welcome back at any time!