12 Tags of 2014 - July version

I can't believe it!  July is almost a thing of the past.  Good thing I checked my blog, because I totally forgot to submit this tag.  I created it about three weeks ago, and I'm not sure why I didn't do it.  Oh, well.

Tim Holtz has an awesome series on his blog for 12 Tags of 2014.  Each tag showcases new techniques as well as new (and tried-and-true) products.  Sometimes I don't have everything that he uses, but I do my best to recreate using what I do have. Anyhow, I like to "make it my own" instead of making an exact duplicate of his.  What would I learn if I did that?

This time, though, I was really out of luck.  I had very few of the materials he used on his tag, so I got all sad and figured I couldn't participate. Imagine what it was like when I was playing with my Cricut and found a seahorse on one of the cartridges.  Suddenly I could cut out the seahorse!

 

So then I went to my stash of embossing folders and found the bubble stencil; even though it's not the same as the one Professor Tim used, it provides similar results. And I didn't have any of the embossing powder in the color he used, so I used some Spanish moss instead.  Looks a bit like seaweed, right?  I also didn't have the spring greenery die, so once again, necessity was the mother of invention, and I improvised with another one of my dies that looks like the fingers of seaweed that float under the water's surface.

 

Oh, and I didn't have the sand dollar die, so I used distress ink to gussy up some of the seashells that came right out of the Gulf of Mexico!  Isn't that key to die for?  I used the eroded metallic technique that I learned in Creative Chemistry 102.

 

Love love love this bow!  The colors are so beautiful.

 

 

When the tag was finished, I tried to figure out what to do with it.  Once again I called upon a valuable lesson learned in Creative Chemistry 102, Tim gives ideas for using the tags after they are created.  So, I distressed and stamped some cardstock and mounted it onto a small canvas.  I added one of Tim's stamps (instead of the word band) that has a saying that speaks to my heart. I also used the eroded metallic technique on a clock face and mounted it on a hitch fastener.  Now, this pretty creation sits on the window ledge where I can see it every morning when I'm enjoying my coffee.

 

Thanks, Tim, for your creative genius! 

  

Happy Birthday to My Sister!

I created this mini album for my sister's birthday.  I don't think she has ever received a mini album ... she only makes them.  I am entering this into Cheery Lynn Design's Challenge 143 Silver and/or Gold.  I've listed the dies I used along with the photo.

In addition, I am entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge titled Simon Says ... Emboss It; my project has several embossings, including dry embossing on the flowers using some of Tim Holtz's Texture Fades embossing folders and heat embossing using stamps and some gold embossing powder.

Below:  check out the cool Cheery Lynn Design Lace Corner Deco I.  It is in a pack of three that I can see myself using a LOT!

I also used my Cricut Expression 2 to make the beautiful flowers.  I am so happy that I purchased the Flower Shoppe cartridge.  It has come in handy many times, as is evident from this album.

Below:  don't you just love the flower?  I used Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals die along with grungeboard and a lot of doodads.

Below:  the English Tea Party Doily was cut and fan folded to make a little design under the flower.  Don't you love that flower?  My sister made it ... is it okay to regift something back to the person who gave it to you?

Below:  I just love this butterfly!  It's another Cheery Lynn Designs die from a set of three titled Small Exotic Butterflies #1 with Angel Wings. Check out the deco corner, too!

 Below:  it was fun to just free-form cut the flower and then add stickles to give it the bling.  The silver blue leaf is from a Christmas flower pick.  I used some Adirondack Alcohol Ink to give it a blue tint.  The bling in the corner is a package of gold holographic glitter that was in my stash; I stamped a Tim Holtz design and then added the glitter to the top. Unfortunately, there's no label, so I don't know who to credit for this gorgeous flash of golden shine!

Below:  the letter press is a grunge block that is a Tim Holtz creation. Check out his post with a video tutorial to see how to make one for yourself!

Below:  this is how the mini album looks when it's fanned out from the front and back.

Below:  don't you just love all of the goodies that I used on the ring?

Finally, I would be remiss not to mention the paper that I used.  It's K&Company's Julianne 12x12 paper pack.  I couldn't find it online anywhere ... waaaahhhh ... I love this paper, and my stash of it is rapidly being depleted.

Congratulations!

A friend recently retired, and this card is offering her our congratulations.

I am entering this into the Mojo Monday 353 contest, Cheery Lynn Design's blog challenge #140 In Stitches, and Sparkle 'n Sprinkle's July Challenge.

I am smitten with this butterfly die that I purchased a few weeks ago from Cheery Lynn Designs; it's one of the three in the Small Exotic Butterflies #2 with Angel Wings die set.  It is beautiful by itself, but adding Sparkle 'n Sprinkle's Midnight Madness embossing powder makes it absolutely gorgeous.  I only wish that I could have better captured the embossing powder's iridescent shimmer in the photo; you must try it yourself ... you will become so enamored with it!

Happy Birthday!

I just love how this card turned out. I used an embossing folder to create the background using plastic from a package.  Cool beans!