New Year, New Journals

New Year, New Journals, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here are my two NEW journals for 2012! I've got several others ongoing, but these are brand new, never been used!

The larger one is my Junque Journal/Smash Book thing. It's a simple composition notebook where I'll store the daily record of daily happenings. ;-) Kind of like a hybrid of K&Co's Smash Book and Tangie Baxter's Junque Journal--kind of junky, kind of journaly. ;-)

When I tried to explain this concept to my mom, she immediately started referring to it as the *Squash* Book. I think that's as good a name as any! :-)

[Oh, and did you see Michael's is FINALLY carrying all the Smash goodies?? Can you say 40% off??!!! YAY!!!]

Each page of the Squash Book has a stamped image, a journaling tag, a sticker or a bit of cardstock or ephemera. I adhered cool cardstock on the covers and distressed it with lots and lots of Distress Ink--I think that's Brushed Corduroy.

The (free!) tabs along the top and side are from Avital over on Creativity Prompt.  She has the cutest free downloads ever!

The smaller book--and it is an actual book cover--houses my (purchased) 2012 planner. I simply followed Cathe Holden's Vintage Book Planner Tutorial on Just Something I Made. Basically, you gut the book, leaving the cover in one piece. Then you cut up a piece of heavy cardstock, glue it down inside the covers, leaving the spine side open, so you can slip the covers of the planner inside. Super easy and Cathe's tutorial is really clear. The book cover can be used year after year too, because the planner isn't glued into the book!

I bought the book at our local Friends of the Library store. I love that it's French. ;-)


One of the other things I did for 2011 was the Year in the Life album. I'm not planning on doing that for 2012. My take was to do one layout for each month and I found that I really enjoyed that, but there was a lot of overlap between the Squash Book and the Year in the Life album. Plus, December got consumed by the December Daily album and there isn't much in the Year in the Life for this month.

I think I really prefer the freedom of the Squash Book: an empy (mostly) page, plenty of room, freedom to glue stuff in anywhere, no prescribed layout. And the best thing is having the ability to use many pages for one day or to skip a day, if nothing much happened.

And did I mention it's CHEAP...er, inexpensive?? Those composition notebooks are around 50 cents here. And everything I used inside I already had.

Love that.


So that's it for 2011. I hope you all have a fun, safe, Happy New Year!


~Cynthia

December Daily Recap

Dec Daily Recap, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I looked back at 2010's December Daily this morning and wow....what a difference a year makes! I did a lot more writing a year ago, but this year I have a lot more stuff glued in. :-)

[If you want to see how 2011's album looked before I started, check out July in the archives over there on the right side of this page.]

Three big lessons learned this year.

Number One: Writing on dark or busily-patterned paper is hard to see. I loved loved the paper I used this year, but I really need to watch which colors and patterns I use for 2012. I also loved that the papers were all from the same paper line and not so mismatched as 2010 looked.

Number Two: Picket Fence Distress Stain is a miracle product. The pages that were too busy or too darkly colored to write on...I just swiped with Picket Fence (which pales the colors) and the writing is totally readable. Yay.

Number 3: 2010's album was actually smaller and contained many (handmade) pockets for tucking in ephemera or journal cards. I skipped the pockets this time and used an 8x8 album. The album, from American Crafts, included 8x8 top-loading page protectors. I feel like I spent lots of time just moving pages in and out of the protectors each day. On the other hand, I really liked the other page protectors which included the little 2x3 pockets--perfect for Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas. So win some, lose some on that.

OVERALL:
I feel like this year's album looks TONS better than last year's...you know...when I didn't know what the heck I was doing. ;-) With that said, I miss the handmade look I had going on then. This year's is more professional looking. A little colder, less personal. Part of that is just how December went...it was kind of a weird year. I did buy another album--in green--for next year. I will definitely use it, I'm just not sure how to make it more handmade looking.


I love doing the December Daily . Even though is was a strange Christmas, I really do believe it's important to record the events and I think this is a perfect way to achieve that. If you don't do a Dec Daily, consider it. It's not a lot of work, but it gives you a sense of accomplishment when you're done and it serves as a great reminder of what the month entailed.



Happy New Year to all of you! Thanks so much for following along with me this year and allowing me to hang out on your blogs too!



~Cynthia

Happy Journal Page

Happy Journal Page, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's a mixed media art journal page I finished in October, but forgot to post.

Mainly I was just playing with my new Pitt Pens. They're so much fun! :-)

The left side is kinda-sorta some Zen doodling and the right side is all one continuous line--I didn't overlap, I just kept drawing and moving and making shapes. And I also added words. The colors mostly blend from cool to hot (left to right.) I think it was rainy and cold that day so I was trying to warm myself up with the oranges and yellows!

The colors were done with watercolor crayons.

On the left the quote by Sidney Lanier says, "If you want to be found, stand where the seeker seeks."


Thanks for looking today. I hope you find time to get crafty!

~Cynthia

Dec Daily, Day 26

Dec Daily, Day 26, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I had a small dilemma when working on this year's December Daily album. I ran out of room in my Junque Journal/Smash Book thing and had to make a journal for most of the month of November. I used the Dec Daily as an Advent journal so that took up the last week of November and brought me to Dec 25. That left me with the week after Christmas with no where to go.

Should I just continue the Dec Daily through the end of December?

Should I start my next Junque/Smash journal?

Or should I just made a small journal for one week?

In the end, I decided that since I had 3 extra pages in the Dec Daily, I would continue using it as my journal. It made the most sense financially (less money than making a whole journal for just six days) and logistically (I really wanted to start the next Junque/Smash journal on the first of the new year.)

Sooooo...that gives me two odd pages with "25th" emblazoned on them and one odd page with "Christmas is here" on it.

No prob. I just journaled stories from Christmas Day on the little "25th" journal tags. And I decided to put two days on each page so everything worked out and I'm happy with it.

Here on the left side I've got my weather/moon phase info, some lyrics from a song by Tenth Avenue North and part of a KGC bag--which I decided stands for Kentucky Genetically-modified Chicken. OK, not really, but it was funny to me. ;-)

On the right side I've got two tags from shirts I received on Christmas. I'll put Dec 28 and 29 on that side.

I have really loved keeping another Dec Daily. However, my poor Year in the Life album has suffered! ;-)


Thanks for stopping in today. I hope you had a wonderful Christmas!

~Cynthia

Merry CHRISTmas to all!!

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Hang in There!

Hang in There!, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Here's another card I made based on KingstonMama's card.

It's the same recipe as yesterday's card with different colors. I really love working with kraft paper so I used that as the card base. Then I die cut the labels and stamped the script background on the smaller label. I distressed the edges a bit with the same color ink that I used for the script stamp.

The branch stamp is the same one I used yesterday. That Inkadinkado Tree set is really cute and very useful!

I added the green leaf and the sentiment at the bottom.


Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank); Bazzill (green and ivory cardstock)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (Tree set and #8347 script stamp); KaiserCraft (Get Well set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint)
ETC: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Labels Nine); Glue Glider Pro


Merry Christmas, everyone!! I so appreciate your visits and comments! And if you're taking the week off...Happy New Year too! (And Happy Boxing Day!!)

~Cynthia

Get Well, Bird!

Get Well, Bird!, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

This little card is headed out to a friend of mine who is, sadly, suffering from mono. She's been sick for 3 weeks and is so embarrassed because, as she says, "Mono is a TEENAGER'S ILLNESS." I feel so bad for her!!

I've already sent her a Christmas/Feel Better card, but since she's still sick, I thought I would send another. I always think that knowing someone cares and is praying for you helps speed healing. ;-)

I got the idea from KingstonMama's blog. She used a cute music background stamp. I decided script would work fine.

I die cut both shapes, stamped the smaller one with the script stamp, then distressed it with ink.

I stamped the branch and added the bluebird. It's not very clear in the picture (sorry!) but the bluebird matches the blue cardstock of the larger die cut shape.

Finally, I stamped the sentiment and adhered everything in place.


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (ivory cardblank); Bazzill (ivory and blue cardstock)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (Tree set; Script #8347); KaiserCraft (Get Well set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Chipped Sapphire)
ETC: Spellbinders Nestabilities (Labels Nine); Glue Glider Pro


Well, here we are. Christmas Eve Eve. Are you ready??


~Cynthia ;-)

Spring in the Winter

Spring in the Winter, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I was hanging out on Carolyn's blog, A Colorful Journey, and she was talking about relearning a lesson about "not stopping too soon."

And I read her post and thought, yes, I've learned that lesson a few times myself. Sadly, I often forget to apply said lesson.

This card is a prime example.

I started out by stamping half the flower--the sentiment--and the other half of the flower in a line like that across the cardblank...a la Susan Raihala.

It came out ridiculously uneven. Hated it. Cut the front of the cardblank off. Tried again.

I stamped one flower and one stem on the leftover piece of cardblank.

It looked stupid. Then I noticed I had accidentally tapped the stem on the bottom and now I had random green lines.

Kinda looked like grass.

So since I was already unhappy with it, I just kept right on going. I stamped short stems and long stems. I stamped second generation stems. I stamped more flowers. I stamped a sentiment.

Then I cut the edges of the panel to make it smaller on all sides, matted it on blue cardstock and adhered it to another white cardblank.

And while I'm not excited that the sentiment seems to be sprouting from a stem....overall, it's not so bad. I might even go back and add a bit of Distress Ink shading along the bottom. What do you think??

Thanks, Carolyn, for sharing the lesson. Isn't it fun how we all help each other out? =D



Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblank times two); Bazzill (blue cardstock)
Stamps: Stampin Up (For All You Do set); Hero Arts (Birthday Messages set)
Inks: Tim Holtz's Distress Ink (Forest Moss, Chipped Sapphire)
ETC: Glue Glider Pro


Finally, I'm all caught up, mailed, sent, made, wrapped and done! It feels weird not to have anything Christmasy to do. ;-)


~Cynthia

Dec Daily, Day 21

Dec Daily, Day 21, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

OK, so, apologies for the horrid photo. We're in the midst of a 5-day rain and no amount of lighting made this December Daily page look good. *sigh*

Today was another exciting day. (Ha ha.) I did manage to hit up the seven different places on my errand list, so that was good. The funny thing was that the gas station was the busiest place of all my stops! I'm not sure where everyone is, but it's not out shopping! Maybe the rain kept them home.

I added a sample of my wrapping paper (the blue with the dove) and my Mom's--who has so far managed to wrap everything herself, with just her left arm mobile. (She's right-handed and still in a big sling.)

Have you stopped over at Ali Edward's blog to check out her Dec Daily pages? She has the cutest photo of her kids, leaning over Ali's big stand mixer, making cookies. One of my Mom's friends brought over those Ritz cracker/peanut butter/dipped in melted chocolate cookie things and I ate some.

I did not take a picture.

I can't compete with Ali's kids' Major Cute Factor.



~Cynthia ;-)

Santa under the Mistletoe

Santa under the Mistletoe, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

One last Christmas card for the season.

I cut a piece of Graphic 45 Santa paper (love this stuff!) and added a little border of cardstock in a color that's almost a dead ringer for the G45 paper. That never happens! ;-)

I die cut the leaves, punched a few mistletoe berries, covered them in Glossy Accents, stamped the sentiment and Bob's your uncle--card's done! =D


Supplies:
Paper: The Paper Studio (kraft cardblank); Bazzill (rust cardstock); Graphic 45 (Christmas Past Collection--Christmas Wishes)
Stamp: KaiserCraft (Christmas set)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap)
ETC: Sizzix/Stampin Up (Sizzlets Little Leaves); Fiskars (border punch); Ranger (Glossy Accents)


Tomorrow I will head out to finish some last minute errands and then I'll spend the rest of the day wrapping stuff!! I think I'll make hot cocoa and listen to Christmas music while I wrap. :-) Do you have your preparations done??


~Cynthia

Dec Daily, Day 19

Dec Daily, Day 19, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Anybody else keeping a December Daily album this year?? I got so excited doing Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas I forgot to post my Dec Daily pages! ;-)

Sooooo, here's Day 19. That's today, I know. And as you can see, I'm not finished yet. This is the 'work in progress' shot! :-)

Way back in November, I read a blog comment somewhere out there from a lady who basically said her life was too boring to make a Dec Daily album--she would have nothing to put on the pages.

How I wish I had bookmarked that page or replied back to her comment. For, as you can plainly see...no one's life is more boring than mine.

I am being serious.

I actually have part of a light bulb packaging on Day 7 because I had to change several of the bulbs in the candles in the windows. Totally a highlight of my day.

And Day 19's highlight (I am sure of it already) was a trip to Walmart this morning. I adhered my list and a few box tops--mashed potatoes and fake vanilla extract, because who can afford the real stuff??? ;-) And I bought new HP ink for my printer.

I also found a funny sticker of an ivory-billed woodpecker and I cut up the bag in which my online order from Old Navy arrived.

On the daily card on the right side, I have adhered a sun and a moon. I note each day's weather (sunny, cloudy, etc.) along with the high temperature and then the moon phase. The sun and moon are QuicKutz die cuts. The idea came from --I'm fairly certain--Michelle at Lost Coast Post, but I can't find the exact post to link to. SHE hand cut stamps for her weather icons. SHE is awesome.

The "Spirit Filled" headline is for my Advent Devotional which I'll write up later.

And I've left plenty of room for all the exciting events I just KNOW will happen this afternoon. Like lunch. And laundry. And if I'm feeling really wild...dusting.

So this is just an open letter to that lady who thought she could not do a December Daily album. Ma'am....you will never be more boring than I am. Do the album.

=D


~Cynthia

He Never Fails

He Never Fails, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

OK, just like with Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas...no laughing.

I learned a lot making this little...um...plaque?

It's based on a project over at One Lucky Day, the 2 Gypsie Girls's blog. I, of course, didn't have everything the Gypsy Girls had so I used what I had available.

I grabbed a piece of scrap wood and glued a page from an old hymnal. Lesson #1: Always get your paper straight before gluing it down. Grrrrrr. ;-)

Then I coated the piece with Picket Fence Distress Stain. (This stuff should win some kind of award, it's just that awesome!) Then I brushed brown Distress Stains and Inks along the edge.

The letters spelling Jesus are Grungeboard, covered in white paint and Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint, and then brushed with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The heart, also from Grungeboard, was distressed the same way.

I just quickly sewed (isn't that called guerrilla sewing??) the little pillow, stuffing it with a bit of quilt fluff. Then I sprayed water on my craft mat, smooshed Inks and Stains on the mat too, and dragged the pillow through it to make it look tea stained.

I glued everything on and waited for it to dry. :-)

Lesson #2 is to not use Distress Stain on the edges. The Gypsy Girls used acrylic paint and I think the more intense color would have been better.

Lesson #3 was to use the same color Stains and Inks on the wood as on the pillow. I used darker browns on the wood and warmer, yellow-toned stains on the pillow and they don't really match.

I do like how it turned out though and I think with practice I might make them for gifts.


Supplies:
Paper: Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Grungeboard Mixed Minis); Triumphant Service Songs (hymn page)
Colorants: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo); Distress Stain (Picket Fence, Frayed Burlap); Adirondack (Snow Cap Dabber paint)
ETC: Tim Holtz (Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint); muslin fabric; wood scrap


I'm off to get some outdoor work done. The sun has already hid itself behind the clouds and I know the rain is coming soon.

Have a wonderful, crafty day!


~Cynthia

Noel Postage

Noel Postage, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I'm back to Christmas cards now. Which really feels funny because I'm sitting here with doors and windows open--it's 65 degrees. Not very Christmasy, is it?? ;-)

This is a super simple card, based loosely on a card Susan Raihala made some time ago.

I punched two different sizes of daisies from red cardstock, stacked them and dotted the center with a bit of Liquid Pearls.

Then I stamped the NOEL postage, adhered the poinsettia and I was done! The only thing that took up much time was waiting for the Liquid Pearls to dry! Great for a last minute card. :-)


Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (red cardstock); Recollections (white cardblank)
Stamp: Inkadinkado (#91470, NOEL postage cancellation)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Evergreen Bough)
ETC: Punch Bunch (daisy punches); Liquid Pearls (White Opal); Zig Two-way Glue Pen


I spent most of yesterday working on crafts for Christmas gifts. Have you been to the One Lucky Day blogsite, run by two of the 7Gypsies girls? TONS of inspiration and tutorials and some super cool giveaways too! Since I didn't win one of the giveaways, I'm trying to recreate it myself. So far....very cool! It's drying right now so I'll get a photo for tomorrow's post.


Thanks for stopping in today. Have a wonderful afternoon!


~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, {Sad} Day 12

Tim's Tag, Sad Day 12, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

So here we are.

The end of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas....

Once again, I had to improvise (aka "Go MacGyver") because I didn't have *many* of the items Sir Tim used. That's OK. It's all about the inspiration and not the copying for me! ;-)

I cut another manilla tag down to the 2x4 size I've been using. (And then I forgot to cut the corners off! Ha ha!)

First I stamped script across the whole tag, then I covered it with Picket Fence Distress Stain. I found some 7Gypsies (I think) printed tissue paper and adhered that, wrinkling it as I went.

And then, yes, I got out my iron and ironing board. It took me a small amount of time to locate said iron. I never iron anything! ;-) I ironed the tissue paper/glue sandwich to speed up the drying time and flatten the wrinkles down.

Next I covered the tag with Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles. How I love Rock Candy Distress Stickles! I brushed a bit of Snow Cap Acrylic Paint on the edges of the tag, brushing it along the wrinkles and the Stickles, distressed the edges and then brushed Brushed Corduroy along the sides.

While that was drying, I die cut the dove from Grungepaper and embossed it, then painted it with Pewter acrylic paint, sanded it, brushed it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and spread more Rock Candy Distress Stickles on it. When that was dry I took a toothpick and more Walnut Stain and stained the eye.

(Stained the eye?? Ohhh, you know what I mean!)

I cut up one of the remaining Kraft Glassine leaves (from previous tags) to more of a holly leaf shape, then adhered that and the dove over it like the bird is carrying the holly leaf....instead of an olive branch.

I made Tim's Dresden paper out of: glossy cardstock, more of that cool silver metal duct tape stuff, and a border die cut. I glued that along the bottom of the tag.

And lastly I typed out "Peace on Earth" with an actual typewriter on stiff paper (woot for typewriters!) and distressed the words. I adhered those too.

After it had completely dried, I saw Tim had put some cool Stickles dots along the edge so I went back and put a few lines of dots near the top left corner.

I think this tag looks the LEAST like Tim's creation than all the other tags!! I had to keep mine more 2-D than 3-D because of the little December Daily pockets where they reside. That meant I had to skip the flowers and the fractured doll. This is just fine with me because I think my tag is more Christmasy than Tim's! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Manilla tag, Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Grungepaper and Kraft Glassine); 7Gypsies (tissue paper); Springhill (Vellum Bristol Cover paper)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (#8347 script stamp)
Inks: Stazon (Black(; Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Walnut Stain, Brushed Corduroy)
Colorants: Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Picket Fence); Jacquard Lumiere (Pewter acrylic paint); Adirondack (Snow Cap acrylic paint); Ranger (Copper Stickles); Adirondack (Alcohol Inks for the Glassine leaf)
Adhesives: Scotch Quick-dry Adhesive; Ranger (Glossy Accents)
ETC: Cuttlebug (Dove die cut); Making Memories (paper distresser); Tyco (Nashua Tape--the metal duct tape); MFT (Die-namics border die cut); Ranger (Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles)



And with that...we leave Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. I guess now I'll have to go back to getting my housework done in a more timely fashion.

Heh.


Thanks so much for all of your comments on the tags! I had fun and learned so much making them. =D


~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 11

Tim's Tag, Day 11, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I simply can't believe that Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas are over. It's just so so so sad!! ;-)

But I'm a day behind so I get to stretch out the fun for one extra day!

Here's Day 11. I think Tim was being a little easy on us after the previous days' tags. And, since I didn't have the shrinkie dink stuff, nor a melting pot for my Ultra Thick Embossing Powder, I (as Carolyn suggested on Tag Day 10) had to go all MacGyver on this tag too! (LOVE THAT, CAROLYN!!!)  =D

I cut a piece of glossy cardstock, cutting off the top corners and punching a hole. Then I brushed the tag with various blue Distress Inks. I flicked water on it to create snowflake shadows. I'm not sure you can see them in the photo, but in real life they're quite visible.

I stamped the sentiment and the Santa postage on another piece of glossy cardstock. I used more Distress Ink to color them, leaving Santa's face, fur trim and beard white.

For the holly leaves, I stamped the image onto a piece of plastic that Tim's ruler came in instead of using the shrinkie dink stuff. Then I used Alcohol Inks to color the pieces. I brushed Snow Cap Acrylic paint on the back side. As Tim had shown on his tag, putting the white paint on really causes the Alcohol Ink colors to pop instead of fading into the tag color. I cut the leaves and berries out and adhered them to the tag using Glossy Accents.

I then adhered the sentiment and postage pieces.

Very quick and easy, with a really cool retro, kind of vintage feel.

See? I told you Tim let us off easy on this one!! ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Glossy Cardstock (unknown source)
Stamps: Inkadinkado (Santa postage, #95630); We R Memory Keepers (Merry Christmas set--sentiment and holly leaves)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Iced Spruce, Faded Jeans, Stormy Sky, Fired Brick, Peeled Paint)
Colorants: Adirondack Alcohol Ink (Pesto, Cranberry); Adirondack (Snow Cap Acrylic Dabber)
ETC: Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); Fiskars (1/8-inch hole punch); Ranger (Glossy Accents); Glue Glider Pro


Wow. I think that's the shortest list of supplies I've ever used on one of Tim's Tags!! ;-) I'll be back tomorrow with Tag #12.

That hurt to type. ;-)


Thanks for stopping by today!!!

~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 10

Tim's Tag, Day 10, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Good Golly, Miss Molly, but I loved Tim's Tag for Day 10!! =D

I had such fun trying to figure out how to mimic his Tag without having any of the toys he used!!

But I prevailed! =D

I cut a tag from kraft cardstock, nipped the edges with the Ticket/Tag Punch then covered it with a page from an old hymnbook--"Hark, The Herald Angels Sing" to be exact! I slathered it with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and sprayed it with Smooch Spray in Gold Glow. I distressed the edges with a paper distresser and more Brushed Corduroy.

I stamped the pine boughs in Forest Moss Distress Ink, then covered them in clear embossing powder and heated til shiny.

I made the banner by using another page from the hymnbook, distressing it with Brushed Corduroy and brushing it with Snow Cap Dabber.

The metal JOY letters, which came out SO cool, were dabbed with various brown Alcohol Inks. (They look almost like tortoise shell.) I adhered the banner, glued on the letters and tucked a few evergreen sprigs under the banner for a bit of color.

So the ornaments, yeah? I don't have the sticky metal foil stuff Tim has. And for a previous tag (metal embossing) I had used TenSecond Studio's sheet metal, but I worried that the glue I would have to use would mess up the shiny/mercury look.

So I pondered.

And then it hit me.

I DO have sticky metal TAPE!! I stole a roll of heat duct-type reflective metal tape from my Dad. Shhhhh! Don't tell him I'm using it for craft purposes! *wink, wink*

This worked PERFECTLY. I used the packing tape transfer method Tim used for the Santa images. Then stuck them to a piece of the metal tape and then glued them to the Fragments.

I know they look pretty flat in the picture, but in real life they do have that vintage mercury glass ornament look. Pretty cool!! I threaded them with a bit of leftover twine, used Glue Dots to adhere them and poked some brads through the twine into the tag to make the twine stable.



Supplies:
Paper: Triumphant Service Songs (hymnbook page); Bazzill (kraft and green cardstock); Graphic 45 (Christmas Past Collection--Christmas Wishes)
Stamp: Heartfelt Creations (Holly Berry Fill set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Forest Moss)
Colorants: Adirondack (Snow Cap acrylic dabber); Adirondack Alcohol Inks (Caramel and Espresso); Smooch Spray (Gold Glow)
Adhesives: Tyco Adhesives (Nashua Tape--metal duct tape); Ranger (Glossy Accents); Glue Dots; Office Depot (packing tape); Zig Two-way Glue Pen; Glue Glider Pro
ETC: Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Fragments); clear embossing powder (unknown source); Making Memories (paper distresser and Alphabet Charms); Martha Stewart (evergreen bough punch); Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); The Paper Studio (brads); twine (stash)


I'll post Day 11's Tag tomorrow. I haven't looked at Tim's Day 12 Tag yet. I feel sad that this little creative adventure is almost over. They do kind of take me all day to complete because I have to find time in between taking care of my Mom. Totally helping me keep my sanity! ;-)

Thanks for all your sweet and hilarious comments...which also help in the sanity department!! ;-)


~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 9

Tim's Tag, Day 9, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Hey, Tim Holtz! Thanks for an easy Tag on Day 9!!

Well, that's what it looked like on HIS page! Ha ha!! =D

I really liked his candle/candelabra look, but I had no die cuts or stamps that came close. Sooooooo......I drew them on Grungepaper and cut them out.

If I do say so myself, my candle is da bomb. ;-)

To begin, I cut down a manilla tag to a 2x4 size and cut the corners with a punch.

I followed Tim's recipe for double embossed rusty tag um stuff. I stamped the pine branches, embossed with clear powder. Distressed the whole tag, embossed with clear powder. Jammed Distress Ink into every nook and cranny, thought it was pretty cool.

I cut out the candle and candelabra part and painted them with acrylic paint. I glopped paint heavily on the stick to mimic melted wax. I brushed Vintage Photo Distress Ink everywhere, added Clear Rock Candy Stickles to the flame and Glossy Accents to the candle stick.

I stamped the holly leaves in Black Soot on green cardstock and embossed with clear powder. Also in my humble opinion: Those leaves rock.

I added rhinestones for the berries.

I die cut JOY from Grungepaper, painted the letters black, glued them down with Glossy Accents and then covered them with more Glossy Accents. I think you can see from the photo that I got a bit carried away with the Glossy Accents. Have I used the words Glossy and Accents enough in this paragraph?

And that was IT. Because I don't have too much room for ribbons and things, I just left the berries and holly leaves as is and didn't add more stuff like Tim did. :-)


Supplies:
Paper: Tim Holtz/Idea-ology (Grungepaper); Bazzill (green cardstock); manilla tag
Stamp: Recollections (holly stamp); Heartfelt Creations (Holly Berry Filler set)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Festive Berries, Evergreen Bough, Vintage Photo, Black Soot, Walnut Stain)
Paints: Plaid/Apple Barrel (Black); ColorTraditions (Warm White); Craftsmart (Mustard Yellow)
ETC: KaiserCraft (red Rhinestones); Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); Cuttlebug (Harmony die cut letters); Ranger (Glossy Accents and Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles); clear embossing powder (source unknown)


Only three Tim Tags to go. I vow to relish every minute! =D


~Cynthia

PS: Jules...I'm putting the tags in my December Daily album which has little 2X4 pockets, like ATC or baseball card pockets.

PPS: Carolyn...Your Steampunk gnome tag idea had me rolling on the floor in laughter!!!! If you only knew what my trial Steampunk gnome experience was like.................. ;-)

Tim's Tag, Day 8

Tim's Tag, Day 8, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Oh, Tim.

What have you done to us?

Steampunk, Tim? STEAMPUNK???

So I have loved Steampunk from afar, but never created anything Steampunkish myself. I don't have much Steampunk stuff. And by that I mean: I have no Steampunk stuff.

I almost skipped Day 8's Tag.

Sooooo glad I didn't!

And, like lots of Tag makers out there, I had to improvise once again.

Here we go:

I cut down a manilla tag to my 2x4-inch size. I punched the corners for a tag shape. I loosely covered a grid stamp with Snow Cap Paint Dabber and stamped randomly.

I got out the Winter release Distress Inks (Festive Berries, Iced Spruce and Evergreen Bough) and blended them all over the tag. I rubbed the paint off the Snow Cap grid stamp areas. I distressed the edges with Walnut Stain and a paper distresser. I also did a bit of ghost stamping with some big funky numbers in Walnut Stain--you can see them in the upper left corner.

I put the tag aside to dry and got to work on all the accoutrements. I grabbed the Grungepaper and painted sections with Pewter, Metallic Gold and Metallic Bronze acrylic paints, then stamped the clock and the two "gear" things in Black Soot and hit them with black embossing powder. I cut them out carefully.

I grunged up a ticket and folded it over the edge, stapling it in place.

At that point I was a little lost. Tim used a trio of Steampunk men stamp along the bottom of the tag. The only people I have are the three Wise Men and a small garden gnome.

Don't think I didn't try to make the garden gnome work.

Garden gnomes look stupid in top hats.

Ditched the garden gnome idea.

Tim did use a porcelain-type tag on his creation.

I can do that porcelain-type tag thing.

I checked my stash of crazed porcelain tags I made previously, using Shelly Hickox's tutorial. No 25's left, but I did have an 8. Conveniently, it's DAY EIGHT.

I looked around for something to go with it, spied the extra Kraft Glassine leaves I made for Tim's Tag Day 7 and thought....hmmm.

I arranged said Glassine leaves (after cutting the lobes once again to make them look more like holly leaves) and meticulously--and I mean METICULOUSLY--placed the leaves to look like Steampunkish wings or a crest. Yes? No? Maybe??

Then I adhered everything. And called it a Steampunk Christmas Tag. It was fun to step way the heck out of my comfort zone. Waaaaaay out. ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Manilla tag; Tim Holtz/Idea-ology (Grungepaper and Kraft Glassine)
Stamps: Glitz Design (Distressing set--background images and number 8); Studio 12 (Summer Assortment--clock); Inkadinkado (Circle Graphs--the "gears")
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Festive Berries, Evergreen Bough, Iced Spruce, Walnut Stain, Black Soot)
Paints: Jacquard Lumiere (Pewter, Metallic Bronze); Plaid (Metallic Pure Gold); Ranger/Adirondack (Snow Cap Dabber)
ETC: Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); The Paper Studio (brads); EK Success (3D Dots); Ranger (Glossy Accents); Making Memories (paper distresser); black and clear embossing powder (source unknown); stash (coupon)


I was so sad yesterday when I looked at the calendar and realized...ONLY FOUR MORE TAGS. Maybe I'll go back to previous years and play along. Or maybe I'll get some housework done.

Nah.


~Cynthia

PS: Thanks so much for stopping by!!

Tim's Tag, Day 7

Tim's Tag, Day 7, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

So today's tag didn't turn out anything like Tim Holtz's Day 7 Tag, but you know what? I kinda like the vintage-y goodness going on with this one! :-)

I started with a snippet of BoBunny paper, distressed it up (Wrinkle Free Distress Technique and paper distresser), and ghost stamped it a bit to make the tag.

Then I grabbed a piece of the truly awesome Glassine Paper and added alcohol inks to make this awesome green-gilded goodness.

I made the "holly" leaves by die cutting oak leaves and trimming the lobes into little points so they looked more like holly leaves.

OK, if you kinda squint hard you can see what I'm talking about. Maybe?

I really did try to make branches, but I'm not a very good branch cutter. ;-) I cut some Grungepaper into branch shapes, painted them gold, brushed them with Snow Cap Dapper and added a bit of Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles. (Oddly, the Stickles turned a rather odd yellow immediately, but have since calmed down into a lovely off-white color. Antique snow?)

I punched the berries with a hole punch, then covered them with Rock Candy Stickles too. I dyed a bit of ribbon with Distress Stain and layered/adhered everything on the tag.

The little name plate was a stroke of genius. Sure...not MY genius, but it counts. Susan Raihala over on Simplicity didn't have a corner rounder so she used pinking shears to cut the corners off of her cards. My plate was way too small to fit into my Ticket/Tag punch, so I grabbed my pinking shears and made little cuts. And booya! I've got a ticket! Too cool, eh? (Thanks, Susan!!)

I stamped the sentiment in VersaMark and used black embossing powder, then distressed the name plate too.

And while I have been punching holes in the tops of my tags, the little December Daily album pockets they fit in don't have enough room to add ribbons and baubles and such like Tim has been doing. It's cool. I rather like the less-is-more idea on mine. :-)


Supplies:
Paper: BoBunny (Tan Dots, I think); Bazzill (red and kraft cardstock); Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Glassine Paper and Grungepaper)
Stamps: JustRite Stamps (Christmas Mini Sentiment set); Inkadinkado (#8347 script background); Rubber Stampede (Crackled background)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy); Ranger/Adirondack Alcohol Ink (Lettuce, Meadow, Pesto, Gold Mixative); Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Forest Moss); VersaMark
ETC: Adirondack (Snow Cap Dabber); Plaid (Metalic Gold acrylic paint); Ribbon (The Ribbon Boutique); Cuttlebug (Leaf die cut); Fiskars (1/8-inch hole punch, Pinking Paper Edgers); Walmart (1/4-inch hole punch); Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); Tim Holtz Distress Stickles (Clear Rock Candy); Black embossing powder (unknown source); Glossy Accents; 3D Dots; Memory Makers (paper distresser)


I can't believe that we're already half-way through with Tim's Tags! *sniff* I'm going to miss creating them! And I've really had so much fun visiting other blogs to see other crafters' creations! Have you noticed the *tons* of Russian and Ukrainian crafters playing along?? Tim's Tags are UNIVERSAL!! =D



~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 6

Tim Tag, Day 6, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

When I saw Tim Holtz's Day 6 Tag, I thought...."No way I'm doing that. It looks HARD. I don't have the supplies..." and other whiny things. ;-)

But I've been following Shelly Hickox and her take on each day's tag. Shelly is really big into making do with what you have on hand and using Tim's Tag as an inspiration, not as a model to copy. And she has created some really gorgeous tags!

So I sucked it up and put on my Big Girl Pants and made this tag.

And you know what? It's one of my favorites! =D

I glued a piece of TenSeconds Studio's craft sheet metal on a piece of glossy cardstock. When that dried, I ran it through an embossing folder. I cut the corners off to make a tag shape and punched a hole at the top.

I also glued together a smaller piece of metal and glossy cardstock then die cut the star.

I painted the tag with midnight blue acrylic paint, leaving it super streaky on purpose. I painted the star yellow. After that dried, I lightly sanded the tag to bring out the images and sanded the star to bring out a little grunge action.

I brushed everything with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, immediately dumped clear embossing powder on both pieces and heated the powder.

I'm not sure if you can see it well, but the look is partly crackled and partly I-left-a-pop-can-in-the-sun-and-now-it's-covered-with-little-droplets-of-condensation.

Seriously. Cool.

And also nothing like Tim's Tag nor Shelly's Tag! ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Glossy cardstock (unknown source)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Walnut Stain)
ETC: Glossy Accents; Cuttlebug (Winter Bundle embossing folder--Flurries); QuicKuts (Star die cut); Americana (Bright Yellow acrylic paint); Color Traditions (Midnight acrylic paint); clear embossing powder (source unknown); Fiskars (1/8-inch hole punch); Glue Dots


Have a crafty day! And thanks for visiting!! =D


~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 5

Tag Day 5, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

As promised, today's tag is much better than Tag Day 4! ;-) {But thanks so much for all your lovely comments on it!!}

When I first saw Tim Holtz's Tag for Day 5, I thought, "I'll just skip this one and do something else. I don't have ANY of those products!"

Turns out...I had many of them! :-)

I cut a piece of plastic from a product package, covered it in Alcohol Inks, and stamped the cool poinsettia all over it using Archival Ink.

Then I held my breath.

I've tried this technique before and it was....shall we say...not a pretty sight.

But this time, through the Magic of Sir Tim, it actually WORKED! WOOT WOOT. I blotted the Archival Ink off, then rubbed gently and voila! Poinsettias!!

I backed the plastic tag with white cardstock then started to work on the wreath.

Well, you know I can't complete a tag without doing ONE dumb thing, and the placement of the poinsettias was my one dumb thing. Notice how the lovely one is right smack dab in the center?? Yes, that's right. Where am I going to put the wreath if it covers up my lovely poinsettia??

So I made a swag, dang it.

Not quite the same as Tim's Tag, but I rather like it.

I punched a few evergreen boughs, glued them on, then painted a scrap piece of cardstock with Pewter Paint, punched a bow from that, added some little pearls and there's my tag!! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Gina K (Pure Luxury, white); Recollections (white cardblank from the trash pile); Bazzill (green cardstock)
Stamp: Stampabilites (Vintage Poinsettia)
Inks: Adirondack/Tim Holtz Alcohol Inks (Watermelon, Red Pepper, Cranberry); Archival Ink (Coffee--is it just me or should this ink pad not smell like coffee???)
ETC:  Jacquard Lumiere (Pewter acrylic paint) Martha Stewart (everygreen bough punch, bow punch); Recollections (white pearls); Fiskars (1/8-inch hole punch); Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); Glossy Accents



Seriously, thanks for your comments on yesterday's tag. I was kind of embarrassed to post it because I was really not happy with it, but y'all were so nice to leave such sweet comments. Thank you!! =D


Off to see what Tim's got in store for us today!


~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 4

Tim's Tag, Day 4, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

**Second post of the day. Scroll down for Tim's Tag, Day 3 post.**

Here's my mini version of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, Day 4.

I cut an actual manilla tag down to a 2x4 size for this one. I did the Wrinkle-free Distress Technique using Distress Stains and Ink (Picket Fence Stain, Broken China Stain, Weathered Wood Ink.)

I stamped a swirl in the upper right corner using Picket Fence Stain, but all the layers I added sort of washed it out. But you can see the snowflakes stamped in Weathered Wood very well.

I also brushed the edges with Iced Spruce. I love the sort of shadowy effect that gives the card, versus a vintage distressed look that a brown ink would.

I die cut the ornament from Grunge Paper, painted it with Snow Cap paint, then drowned it in Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. After that dried, I brushed Distress Stain in Broken China and Stormy Sky over it to bring out the crackles. ;-)

The numbers are die cuts, painted with gold acrylic paint and covered in Rock Candy.

The bow was punched from paper I brushed with Weathered Wood Ink and was "painted" with Glimmer Mist.

The button was punched using a 3/4-inch round punch, then dabbed with Distress Stains in Black Soot, Vintage Photo, and Frayed Burlap. I punched the holes with a 1/4-inch hole punch. I covered it in Glossy Accents and pulled a bit of ribbon through.

I dragged a bit of twine through a puddle of Weathered Wood Ink and then attached everything to the tag.


OK, this is probably my least favorite tag so far. I see many things I should have done differently...but I'm totally learning here, which is part of the process....right?? ;-)


Supplies:
Paper: Office supply tag; Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Grunge Paper)
Stamps: Autumn Leaves (Swirls V:I); StampCraft (Single Snowflake)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Weathered Wood, Iced Spruce); Distress Stain (Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Black Soot, Broken China, Stormy Sky); Distress Crackle Paint (Clear Rock Candy)
ETC: QuicKutz (Ornament die cut); Cuttlebug (Harmony die cut set); Martha Steward (ribbon punch); Marvy (3/4-inch punch); Plaid (Metallic Gold acrylic paint); Fiskars (1/16-inch hole punch); Tattered Angels (Glimmer Mist in Dazzling Diamonds); Adirondack (Snow Cap Dabber Paint); stash (twine); The Ribbon Boutique (sheer ribbon); Glossy Accents; Glue Dots; Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive



I promise tomorrow's tag will be better! =D This has been such fun for me-- a real stretch sometimes. And it's also stretching my creativity/ingenuity coming up with replacements for Tim's toys that I don't own.

It's also kinda keeping me sane here. ;-)


~Cynthia

Tim's Tag, Day 3

Tim Tag, Day 3, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

Welcome to Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas! I've been making mini versions of his tags.

This one came together a bit quicker than the others, but like other tag makers who are following along with Tim, I've had to be creative because I don't have everything Sir Tim uses on his tags. :-)

I created a tag with kraft cardstock and a Ticket/Tag Punch, along with a regular hole punch for the top hole.

Next I stamped the sentiments in two different inks (Festive Berries and Evergreen Bough.) Then I embossed it with a snowflake embossing folder. I brushed Iced Spruce over the raised snowflakes and also along the edges of the card.

I punched out some evergreen branches and a few red berries, adhering those in the corner after covering the berries with Glossy Accents. Then I sprayed the tag with Vanilla Shimmer and Gold Glow--which I hope you can see in the photo. It really shimmers in real life!

Finally I punched a snowflake, tapped it with several different Distress Stains to achieve a rusty look and adhered it to look like it was suspended from the piece of twine.

No serious mishaps on this one--I must be getting better at this. ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (kraft, green and red cardstock)
Stamps: Michael's Dollar Bin (joy stamp); Stampabilities (Christmas stamp); Inkadinkado (noel stamp, #91470)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Festive Berries, Evergreen Bough, Iced Spruce); Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Brushed Corduroy, Black Soot, Vintage Photo)
ETC: Martha Stewart (branch punch); The Paper Studio (snowflake punch); Cuttlebug (Winter Bundle--snowflake ef); Walmart (1/4 inch hole punch); Glossy Accents; Smooch Spray (Vanilla Shimmer, Gold Glow); Tonich (Ticket/Tag Punch); Glue Dots; Zig Two-way Glue Pen; stash (twine)


I finished Tag, Day 4 too so I'll post that one later today. I've got to get working on today's tag!! =D


~Cynthia

PS: Thanks so much for stopping by today! I've had such fun reading your comments!

Tim's Tag, Day 2

Tim Tag, Day 2, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

I'm back with my version of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, Day 2!

My version is smaller (2x4 inches) than Tim's tag to fit into my December Daily album pockets.

I had a lot of fun making this one. It was less stressful than yesterday's tag--haha--but it took me pretty much 8 hours to complete it. Sure, I let things dry while I got housework and other stuff done, but really. I hope Sir Tim makes things less complicated for the next tags! ;-)

Tim started with kraft resist paper. I used what I had--meaning...it wasn't the Christmas paper Tim used. No prob. I used the ticket/tag punch to make a tag shape out of it. I didn't attach it to a manilla tag because I can't put all those layers into the pocket in the album. I've already got another piece of paper on the 'other' side for the previous day.

I stamped "Rejoice" with VersaMark, then clear embossed it. I REALLY like how that turned out!

The tag then got the royal beauty treatment! Picket Fence Distress Stain all over, Iced Spruce Distress Ink on the edges, edges got distressed with a paper distresser, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink on the very edge, holly stamp on the top, and Pine Needles Distress Ink brushed casually on the holly leaves.

THEN (deep breath!) I punched out red berries, adhered them carefully and dotted Glossy Accents on them, flung drops of Vanilla Shimmer Smooch Spray, punched a tree, colored it with Pine Needles Distress Ink, added a trunk that I colored with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

(Deep breath!)

THEN I punched the border down at the bottom, (here's where I got stupid,) adhered it (big mistake,) painted it with gold acrylic paint, sanded it and then brushed more Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink on top. You know, very carefully so as not to get the paint/ink all over the tag.

THEN I poked holes through the punched edge piece through the tag, pushed brads through, hammered the tar out of them, tied a bit of cord through the hole at the top, frayed it and called it DONE.

THEN...and here's where I started to get a little emotional...I took a good look at what I had created. The border punch--to me--looks like cathedral arches. And I was reminded of a song by Chris Rice called "My Cathedral."  Part of that song goes like this:


And out here in the stillness
I found my house of worship
With column trees and canopy of stars
Here in my cathedral.



And I was a little blown away by how this tag had all come together. Tim's version has a standing reindeer, mine is a reflection of how I feel about being outside, in the forest, in my cathedral.

Cool.


Supplies:
Paper: Tim Holtz (Paper Stash--Kraft Resist); Bazzill (green, red and kraft cardstock)
Stamps: Studio 18 (holly leaves); Inkadinkado (Rejoice--#96920)
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Iced Spruce, Pine Needles, Brushed Corduroy, Black Soot); VersaMark
ETC: EK Success (arch border punch); Punch Bunch (tree punch); The Paper Studio (brads); Tim Holtz (Design Ruler); Tonic (Tim Holtz Craft Pick; Ticket/Tag Punch); Fiskars (1/16 inch hole punch); unknown clear embossing powder; stash (cording); Smooch Spray (Vanilla Shimmer); Ranger (Glossy Accents); Plaid (Metallic Gold Acrylic paint); Glue Glider Pro; Zig Two-way Glue


And if you're still reading this..bless you!

Funny story:
I punched the tree and inked it all up, setting it aside to dry while I finished the rest of the tag. When I got ready to adhere it....no tree. I looked EVERYWHERE for that tree! I mean, where could it have gone?? I looked under stuff, on top of stuff, on the floor, in my apron pockets. NOTHING. I gave up and made another. Later I went outside to get some yard work done. When I walked back in, there was the tree ON THE FLOOR, 40 FEET away from my craft desk! I guess it fell on the floor, stuck to my foot and traveled around the house!!! Oy!!! ;-)


~Cynthia

Tim's Mini Tag Day 1

Tim Mini Tag Day 1, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

OK. Don't laugh.

One of the suggestions I found whilst roaming the internet for December Daily ideas was to play along with Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas.

I've never played along because...well...Sir Tim is awesome and I'm not. BUT, I thought...why not??

And so I did.

This is my "mini" take on his December 1st tag. I will be making mini sizes because I have little 2x4 pockets in my Dec Daily album and I thought it would be cute to tuck those in every day.

And in my exuberance, I made many mistakes on this first tag.

Like...I embossed the wrong side of the cardstock. So I wasn't able to sand the raised parts to get to the colored part. Sheesh.

But I kinda like the result. I used Distress Stain on the grungeboard letters, Distress Stickles on the leaves, and Distress Ink on the music paper banner.

It's kind of like those radio stations that play All Christmas Music All the Time.

My tag is All Tim Holtz Stuff All the Time.

And I've got 11 more days to improve. Yay. ;-)



Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill (all green cardstock); Core'dinations (White Wash--Watering Can); stash music paper
Inks: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy); Distress Stain (Aged Mahogany)
ETC: Punch Bunch (Daisy punches); Sizzix (Sizzlits--Little Leaves) Cuttlebug (Winter Bundle--Snowflakes embossing folder); Unknown white embossing powder; Tim Holtz Ideology (Grungeboard mini letters); Ranger/Tim Holtz (Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles); Liquid Pearls (White Opal); Tonic (Ticket/Tag Punch); Walmart (1/4 inch hole punch--I think it's Walmart; it's old.)
Glue: Scotch Quick Dry


Whoah. I had no idea I had put that much stuff into a tiny tag. :-) I'm off to see what Sir Tim's got going on this morning.

Thanks for stopping by and for leaving comments. I appreciate them all!!


~Cynthia

PS: My mom should be home from the hospital later today. What was supposed to be a 2-hour surgery with a 23-hour stay turned into a 4-day drama-filled circus. I hope the worst is behind her and we can return to some sort of normal routine. :-)

Polar Winter

Polar Winter, a photo by HikerCynthia on Flickr.

This stamp is one of my all-time favorites. I love the swirls and the huge, powerful polar bear making his way through the blinding snow. I love that there's movement too.

I stamped him using Chipped Sapphire ink, layered it on a dark blue piece of cardstock, then layered that on a piece of a cardblank left over from a mistake I made.

Yes, well. I didn't quite get the sentiment inked up all the way. So I just cut the back of that cardblank off and used it as a layer on *this* card.

Before I adhered it to the new cardblank, I ran the edges along the Chipped Sapphire Ink pad to create a shadow effect and to make that layer stand out on the white cardblank.

And this time I really made sure I had the sentiment all inky before stamping! =D


Supplies:
Paper: Recollections (white cardblanks); Bazzill (blue cardstock)
Stamps: JustRite (Christmas Mini Sentiments set); Inkadinkado (polar bear #99434)
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
ETC: Glue Glider Pro


I see that Tim Holtz has started his 12 Tags of Christmas and Ali Edwards has started her December Daily. Christmas is coming!! The first Christmas card showed up on Friday. Guess I'd better start getting them mailed out. ;-)


~Cynthia