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