MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES CHALLENGE BLOG DESIGN TEAM MEMBER

I'm delighted to be on another Challenge Blog as Design Team Member under the brilliant supervision of Helen Nile - welcome to Moving Along with the Times which Helen has recently taken charge of.  Our theme for this month of September is Butterflies and/or Dragonflies.  

My Tag started off on the gel press with a print taken from a fern taken from my garden.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Paint on the press to get a faint impression. I then added extra stamping in the background.  The butterflies are all from Tim Holtz Scribbly Butterflies dies which were cut from another gel press playtime using Tim Holtz inks.

I added various stamping and ephemera and added some to some linen which was affixed with some brass brads - remember those?  I finished off the tag by scribbling around the edge as I can't sew.

I'm adding this into the following:

Tag Along - things with wings 

Dragonfly Dreams - Lots of Layers 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE #490

Back to our Diecuts/or Stencils challenge this week and I've used another favourite of mine which is the bird die cut from Tim Holtz.  He does seem to feature a lot in my tags as he's such a perfect size.    The feather and eggs are just perfect to use with the bird  and they are part of Tim Holtz Funky Nature set.  

I used Distress Oxides in Speckled Egg and Crushed Olive with a touch of Salvaged Patina by directly adding the inks to the card stock.  I then used some Texture Paste in Delicate Blue by Cosmic Shimmer.  I have another one of these pastes but it's all gone hard so I'm hoping some hot water may just revive it.  

I layered the bird onto some lace and a real stick to give a bit of dimension and interest with the eggs just behind. I added some background stamping in an old script stamp and some pen doodling around the edges.  

I'm adding this into the following:

We love 2 Create - Mixed Media 

Outlawz - Not A Card 

Creative Inspiration - AG 

Mix it up - Layers AG 

Stamping Sensations - Birds 

Paper Funday - Beginning with B 

Ellibelle's Corner - Dawn of Spring -birds, nests and their eggs 

Unicorn Challenge - use Dies 

Hearts Quest - TAG 

A cut Above - Dies 

Tic Tac Toe - Birds, Free, Pastel Colours - free is my lace 

TIM HOLTZ BIRD TAG

I have a new purchase of some Tim Holtz dies Funky Nature and wanted to have a play as soon as I got them.   I hadn't even spotted the lovely feather die when I bought them and this was definitely the one I wanted to use first. 

I used a Tim Holtz tag die for my tag and used some good paper that could cope with the inks I was going to throw at it.  I used some Distress Oxides in Speckled Egg and Crushed Olive with a touch of Salvaged Patina for the background.  I added some Texture Paste through a stencil in Delicate Blue by Cosmic Shimmer.   I used the same colours for the die cuts - adding a touch of Vintage Photo into the mix.

The bird is another of Tim Holt dies and I just added a touch of script stamping to give him a bit more interest.   I added some Tim Holtz Washi fabric tape, some lace and a twig for the bird to stand on.  The sentiments are from Tim Holtz Ideaology.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

I Spy - something with wings 

NBUS - new dies 

Triple B - Bird 

My Time to Craft - Die cuts 

Inspire Create - something new - new dies 

Alphabet Challenge - Birds 

The Male Room #185 Embossing

Our challenge this month at The Male Room is embossing. I used an old embossing folder I have and inked it in Distress Ink and used Distress Metallic crayons for the raised part of the leaves.  I added some Tim Holtz die cuts and a die cut Happy Birthday sentiment from my stash.  This card actually became my card for my son's 30th Birthday and for that I added an extra heart and a 30 but left it blank on this one.  

I love how the embossing turned out and will be trying that again. 

 

ONCE UPON A TIME - BEAUTIFUL OOPS

Welcome back to another challenge here at Once  Upon a Time.  We have this great book cover to inspire you this month.  

My card uses one of the great sets by Anita Jeram called Paint Town.  I thought that little guinea pig was just perfect for my card. I used Tim Holtz Wild Honey Distress Oxide for my background leaving a white edge around the stamped image.

 I added lots of water colours to show the ink oozing out of the paint pot.  The oops words were Tim Holtz word die cuts and the sentiments came from Colorado Craft Company stamp set.  Now all I need to do to use this card is forget someone's special day lol! 

THE MALE ROOM CHALLENGE - SHAKER CARDS

Welcome back to another month's challenge at The Male Room and this month we are all about shaker cards.  I'm not sure if you are like me but I see the words Shaker Card and normally come out in a cold sweat lol!  I just never seem to have the right foam or use enough of it.  So imagine my delight when I found this tip on youtube ages ago to make a shaker card out of recyling the plastic that stamps come in.  It's a win win.

I started my background with a gel press to create the blues and browns of the background and added some stamping from Tracy Evans stamp set Pen and Ink. I used some of Tim Holtz letter dies for my shaker pieces and added a real feather behind for extra interest. 

ONCE UPON A TIME - MARCH 2023

How fun is this book cover for our challenge this month at Once Upon A Time.  I loved all those squiggles and they reminded me of a Tim Holtz Embossing folder I  had in my stash.  Once it was embossed I went over it with a Stampin Up pastel chalk to bring up the purple.  The stamp set is from Anita Jeram called Paint Town and I added the word Purple to the end of the stamp with some Tim Holtz letter dies. 

INSPIRED BY.....

I was inspired by the new challenges over at Inspired By and thought I'd try and have a go at the Christmas one.  It feels like winter here in the UK anyway with dark skies and rain and I even had to put the heating on yesterday!

I realised that I really don't have very many Christmas foliage type cards or dies so had a hunt in my stash - most of it is in boxes ready for moving but I managed to come up with something which I think fits their sketch and the Christmas image.

I started off by using a Sunny Studio stamp from their Holiday Style set which is the lovely fir branch - I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Iced Spruce and Evergreen Bough and stamped it in a circle.  I used the Tim Holtz Wreath Die and some Holly dies from Mixed Media Christmas to create the holly wreath and the foliage behind.  The candy canes came from another Sunny Studio set called Mug Hugs which I cut out and tucked behind the bow, which I covered in Dazzling Diamonds. I added jewels as holly berries.

I added a Tim Holtz stencil with the Christmas Foliage in Peeled Paint and added an old sentiment stamp from my stash.  I layered it onto some kraft cardstock, 

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas - AG 

Addicted to stamps #142 - Christmas 

The sisterhood of crafters - use leaves 

Watercooler Challenges - Occasion

The Holly & Ivy Xmas - AG 

christmas Kickstart - Photo Inspiration

SirStampALot - Celebrate Christmas 

Excited to say my card was chosen as a Top Sister for The Sisterhood of Crafters 

My card was chosen in the top 3 at Addicted to Stamps

SWEET STAMPIN' - SOMETHING NOT NORMALLY USED FOR CRAFTING

What a challenge this one was for us all this month over at Sweet Stampin - you should have seen me hunting round the house looking for something that little bit different.  Eventually in my kitchen drawer I found a scone cutter/cookie cutter and thought aha!

I started off by using some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wilted Violet to add a coloured background.  I then took the cutter and dipped it into some Liquitex Acrylic Ink in Turqoise Deep.  Some of the images came out as the outline and some came out filled in and I thought both looked great.

I used the same colours on some extra paper and used a Tim Holtz butterfly die to cut it out.  I added this to some black card stock and added some Liquitex Ink in Iridescent Bright Gold around the edge with a fine paint brush.

I added the sentiment with some Gold Embossing powder.  I used a deckle scissors to cut out both panels.  I love how this turned out and look forward to seeing what you use for your piece.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Make the Cards Challenge #12 - Butterflies 

Here is a place to start - Elegant 

Get Creative - AG 

Use Your Stuff - Spring 

International Art & Soul - Winged Creatures

We love Chocolate Baroque - Spring 

Dragonfly Dreams - add a creature

Allsorts - Butterflies

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday - Birthdays 

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - SNOWMEN

Our theme this month at Sparkles Christmas Challenge is snowmen.  We don't often get a lot of snow in the UK but we did get a flurry a few weeks after Christmas but it didn't last long. We also had one day's snow in January followed by a lovely clear blue sky which often doesn't happen in January.

I had this die set from Tim Holtz called Cool Yule that I hadn't used the snowman from yet - I started by inking a piece of cardstock with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Weathered Wood and Chipped Sapphire.  I then used a TH stencil for the stars using Chipped Sapphire distress ink.  The Snowman was cut out in various coloured cardstocks and papers and I added some Tri-Spectrum Glitter pen in orange for his nose and his hat.

I used TH shadow alphabet dies for the letters keeping the snowman as the O.  Gesso at the bottom provided the snow. 

I'm also adding this into the following challenge

Craftygals Corner - Snow

 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS SC350

Welcome to another Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge and our sketch for you this week 

I used a Tim Holtz stencil for my background plaid - inking it in Distress Inks in Speckled Egg and Shabby Shutters. I cut my circle out of a stitched circle die and stamped it with a TH Stampers Anonymous Christmas stamp and edged it in Speckled Egg.  Before cutting out the reindeer with TH dies I prepared the paper by stamping and inking to give a design to the deer rather than just plain paper.  I added some sparkle to her bow and her glasses.  

I used some TH Holiday Green thinlets for the foliage and kept it in white with some sparkle - the sentiment is from Visible Image called Sentimental Christmas. 

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT478

Here's our sketch for you this week at Try Stampin on Tuesday - with the added challenge of making something spooky!  I don't really have many Hallowe'en stamps as it's not celebrated in the UK as much as in the USA, especially in terms of sending cards. So I had a little think and came up with this.  I started off with that lovely green cardstock and used a Sizzix embossing folder for the background.

I then took some old SU DSP which was black and white and coloured it with Tim Holtz Crackling Campfire.  The BOO letters are Tim Holtz shadow letters and they were stamped in Black Soot and SU Lemon and Lime Twist, adhered onto a stiched circle and then added to an SU doily also coloured in the same inks.  I added a few old SU sequins to finish off the card.