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