Eclectic Vintage Gentlemen

The title refers to the theme of Stephen's book in the Kindred Souls round robin.  NOT to my social life.  The book was waiting for me when I returned home from Key Largo, and in between posting about the retreat, I worked on my page for him.

The pages that were already done were so interesting and different (eclectic is the right word!).  I had an idea of what I wanted to do, and for a change it didn't take me too long to figure out how to accomplish it.  I wanted a steampunk feel and a bit of humor.  Oh, and it had to be easy to look at too.

So, here are the brothers Boeing, imaginary founders of Boeing aircraft, in the early days of air travel.

The background started with paper from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante line.  I liked all the hot air balloons on it, but the paper was very dark.  I lightened it up by scraping some Ranger picket fence distress paint over it with an old credit  card.  It was then light enough to add some stamping, stenciling, paint splattering, embossing, and so on.

The three gents are from a Tim Holtz stamp (embossed with walnut stain distress embossing powder). I did have to cut them apart and squish them together again to fit them into the basket.  Also from Tim is the compass (embossed with black powder), as well as the small images on the bottom right and the two balloons on the upper left. (All from the new Tiny Things stamp set).
The balloon carrying the brothers off is from Oxford Impressions, stamped on glossy paper, embossed with black powder, and colored with a variety of alcohol inks.  There are also some other balloons from Oxford Impressions, but I'm not sure if you can see them.  Both the balloon and basket are raised up off the page; the basket with pop dots and the balloon with a wiggly springy thingy.  It bobbles when you touch it!



The metal scallop border is by 7 Gypsies.  The balloon's basket is from me.  I just cut a shape, covered it with some scraps from my gelli plate print pile, and added some gold embossing.  The ticket on the top is also one of Tim's stamps.  Oh, and there is a tiny compass glued to the center of the compass stamp.  There are also two air travel related charms dangling from the page that you can't see much of in the photo.

The back of the page in this round robin is supposed to be finished, not highly decorated, and contain our information.  On the page Stephen did, he put Laurel and Hardy on the back, and everyone who followed did the same.  Who am I to argue with success?  I found an image from a film in which the funny men flew a plane.  Perfect!  And you can still see most of the Graphic 45 paper I used underneath.

 

 

 

If Stephen likes this even half as much as I enjoyed making it, I'll be satisfied.





Grungy Monday 31 -- Happy Birthday Tim!

Linda Ledbetter, the brains behind Grungy Monday came up with a real winner this week....this Saturday is Tim's birthday, so Linda's challenge is for us to use whatever Tim products/techniques we'd like and create a birthday card for Tim.  I actually did mine on Monday, even popped it in the mail for Tim yesterday morning, but today is the first chance I've had to post about it.

While I was at it, I noticed that the challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show is "something old, something new," and my card (and envelope) fit this challenge as well, so here we go with another twofer.

It's an easel card, and what you see peeking from beneath it is the envelope I made for it....which is what constitutes the "something old" part of the Simon Says challenge.  It was made from a sheet of vintage advertising, attached to some sturdy cardstock.  And it was part of a package of goodies sent to me by my good pal Nancy in Arizona.  (BTW, the "something new" is the distressed doily on the edge die I used to keep the easel open.....it was the very first time I used that die).

Here are some more shots of the card and some of the supplies I used.



The background paper, as well as the paper used on the triangles is from Tim's Lost and Found paper stack.  The letters that spell out FUN are Jenni Bowlin stickers, and they are attached to cardstock, placed inside blank brads (an old Stampin' Up product), and the whole thing covered with a layer of glossy accents.  I edged the triangles with some white paint so they'd show up better against the background, and they're glued to the string with glossy accents.



The filmstrip was cut from the filmstrip frames die.  Where did I get a stamp that says "Tim?"  Haha, I didn't.  It is actually a stamp from an Oxford Impressions set that says "Time."  I just covered the e with tape before inking, and voila!  A Tim stamp.   (As I take a bow for my cleverness, LOL).

And here is a better look at the envelope.  Although I used s a strong adhesive to seal everything, just to be on the safe side (and to add a bit of decoration) I used tissue tape around all the edges. 



Oh, and my message to Tim is above the doily where it can remain unseen while the easel card is displayed; one of the great benefits of this style of card. 

Only one last thing to say:  HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TIM!!!



The 12 Tags of Christmas -- Day 9

Tim's tag today so inspired me, I did two versions!  The main feature is a beautiful background technique that involves double heat embossing.  Tim used traditional Christmas colors and the result is really striking.  I went in an entirely different direction.  First, tag #1:

I used a Hero Arts background stamp that I fell in love with during Jennifer McGuire's Inspiration Showcase class a  few months ago.  The inks I chose were old paper and evergreen bough, which gives a more subtle look than the vivid one Tim achieved with the green and red.

Tim's focal image was a candle and candle holder, cut from grungeboard, inked and highlighted with glossy accents.  I used one of the guys from reindeer flight instead.  I got the spots by using that technique where you flick drops of water from your fingers to the inked surface.  The deer is covered with vintage photo and gathered twigs, then glossy accents over everything.

The third element I took from Tim's tag was the use of lots of foliage, cut from varying shades of green.

The idea for my second tag came to me while I was still working on the first one, and I couldn't wait to get going.  It may not look a bit like Tim's, but it does incorporate the three techniques:  the double embossed background, the highlighting grungeboard shapes with glossy accents, and the use of lots of greenery.

The background is a Cornish Heritage Farms stamp of license plates.  I had a somewhat different idea in my head when I stamped it (an idea that didn't work), which is why the license plates are sideways.  I still liked the way the background looked, so I went with it. The sentiment is a Wendy Vecchi stamp.  The old car carrying home a Christmas tree was done with movers and shapers; after inking the car with vintage photo and black soot, I highlighted the tires and headlight with markers, then gave the car the glossy accents treatment.  When it was completely dry I attached the tree to the car with twine.

The house was put together with chipboard shapes I've had lying around forever.  The square was embossed with Tim's bricked folder and then inked with fired brick, aged mahogany, and vintage photo.  On this tag, the greenery took the form of trees behind the house.

There are lots of ways to do snow.  This is what I did here.....I applied some glossy accents (since it was already right in front of me) to wherever I wanted a bit of snow, then covered it with white embossing powder.  When heating it, the still wet glue underneath bubbled up a bit as the powder melted, creating some texture and dimension.  I like the way it looks.

Is tag 9 now my favorite?  Could be......

And now, pardon me, but I have to get on a soap box for a moment and explain one of the many reasons I adore and respect Tim Holtz.  He featured a Hero Arts stamp on his tag and is participating in a blog hop celebrating their new catalog.  Even though he has a signature stamp line with Stampers Anonymous.  Some stamp designers act as though their stamps exist in a universe with no others.  Some stamp companies do the same.  I have always felt there's room for excellence from many sources, and I so appreciate Tim's collegial attitude and willingness to showcase the talents of his peers.....and think of them as peers, not competition.  OK, soap box is put away.













The 12 Tags of Christmas -- Day 8

Ah, be still my happy heart.....today Tim went all steampunk on us, and I love it!  Not for everyone's taste to be sure, but I have always been drawn to those industrial/sci fi images, and using them on a Christmas tag is just plain fun.

I have a lot of steampunk stamps, dies, embossing folders, and even some stickers and rub-ons.  I have gears, watch parts, all sizes of small light bulbs, springs, and other assorted industrial type metal bits.  Lots to choose from.  So, while I followed the general layout of Tim's tag, and did use his background techniques on the tag, I pretty much went off and used what I had.  And had a blast doing so.

Instead of using the gadget gears die, I chose the steampunk on the edge die and attached it to the right side of the tag.  It was cut from grungeboard, pounced with gold and copper paint, then distressed and sanded and covered with both walnut stain and black soot distress inks.  Some of Tim's idea-ol-ogy pieces were attached to the top.



Tim's steampunk set includes a stamp of three men.  Since I don't have it, I used the stamps I do have, from Oxford Impressions.  I added a little something to one of the guys to put him in the right holiday spirit.

The santa hat was cut freehand from a scrap of grungeboard and covered with.....are you ready?.....flock.  Yep, good old flock.  I'm sure I haven't used any in years, but when it came out and was all the rage, I must have bought it in every color.  The other fella's hat was covered with glossy accents and he has some holly (mini movers and shapers die) and berries (stickles) on it.  Both gents have stickled bowties.  As for what's on the bottom.....I raided my steampunk box (yes, I have one) and came up with some springs and an odd looking piece (in between the two springs) and attached them all together with brads.

Tim's tag has a ticket with a pointing hand, letters made shiny with glossy accents, and one of his miniature lightbulbs as an accent.  Here's how I put some of those elements together:

I used the Merry Christmas ticket stamp from Tim's odds and ends set.  It doesn't show up very well, but the number 25 got the glossy accents treatment.  The bit of chain is held onto the ticket with staples (Tim's tiny attacher), and a miniature (decorative only) light swings from the end of the chain along with one of Tim's lightbulbs.  I used a pointing hand stamp (one of Wendy Vecchi's) a bit differently too.  It is on a memo pin, which was stuck behind the santa hat.

I love Tim's tag, and I'm thrilled with my version.  But if you don't love steampunk you probably won't much like either.  Me, I'm as happy as can be.







More Steampunk And A Gift

I have two more steampunk tags to share with you; one came out of an Inspiration Showcase technique, the other was just me messing around.

This one used Jennifer's stamping on canvas technique for the background.  The man with the birdcage hat is from Tim's Pen and Pencil set, and he was heat embossed with black powder.  The tiny lightbulb was in my stash and I can't remember where I got it, but it's a size that has come in handy for several projects, so I hope I can recall the source and get some more.  The gears on the right are from Tim's on the edge die.  After cutting them from grungepaper, I ran them through the Cracked embossing folder, then inked them with several brown distress inks (but mostly walnut stain).  The words are rub-ons, found some time ago in Michael's dollar bin.

I admit, I love this one.  I used one of Ranger's new tags....the black one, and it is a great addition to their tag collection.  It went through Tim's Pocketwatch embossing folder, and the raised areas were highlighted with some copper paint.  The bird, standing on an idea-ology timepiece is from Oxford Impressions, as is the hat he's wearing.  Both were stamped with black archival ink, then colored slightly with old paper distress ink.  The bird was completely covered with glossy accents and the hat got the rock candy distress crackle paint treatment.  The words on the bottom are also from Oxford Impressions.  The tiny clocks are 7 Gypsys rub-ons.

As for the gift referred to in the title.  I'm in a yahoo group that has a monthly lottery, and the way it works, the winner (picked from those who participated in the prior month's lottery) gets to choose the theme for the gifts she'll receive.  My friend Angie was the winner for September, and being Angie, all she wanted was for us to "make art."  So, I did a small (5x7) altered canvas, using all of the layering techniques I love so much, and came up with this.

Lots of layers, lots of texture from tissue paper, paint, modeling paste, stencils, and random bits from my scrap pile.  The one really recognizable image, the woman on the right is from Graphic45's Steampunk Debutante set.  The piece on the left is one of Pink Paislee's artisan elements, white rubbery ornamental designs that can be altered in many ways, with ink, paint, stain, etc.  The canvas is already on its way to Angie and I do hope she likes it.

I don't know if I'll have any more blog posts until I return from the cruise.....and then I'll have plenty.  My plan for today is to clean up the studio and put everything away and begin the packing process.  We'll see how that works out.  Yesterday I received the three new limited edition seasonal distress inks, and I'm itching to play with them.  

More Inspiration Showcase AND Another Wendified Steampunk Tag

Another early morning with Jennifer McGuire's wonderful Inspiration Showcase online class.  The last time I was so eager to see the new project and get going was during Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, 2010.  Yep, I'm liking this THAT much.

Today Jennifer focused on stamping with other than ink and/or stamping on other than paper.  Here are my samples.

 stamping with markers

 stamping on canvas and stamping on vellum (wing)

 stamping with paint and paint texture (wing)

 painting with markers (my favorite, I think)

stamping on acetate and bonus rolled canvas rose technique

Meanwhile, I'm not neglecting my other favorite places to hang out online.  Over at the EWV (Everything Wendy Vecchi) yahoo group, list mom Lori announced the latest Making Art! challenge.  Well, she announced it last week, but I completed my piece yesterday.  The challenge is based on the project on page 27 of Wendy's second book, but if you don't have it, all you need to know is that you should include a face and polka dots.  Since I'm in the steampunk tag swap over at ATT, I fulfilled this challenge with just that.  I think it's a fun piece.

They're subtle, but there are polka dots in the background, achieved with one of the techniques from the Inspiration Showcase classes. And the dots came from a Wendy stamp.   The gears on the left are on an Oxford Impressions stamp, and (mostly hidden) is a very cool stamp I bought at Absolutely Everything last year, but sadly, I have no idea who makes it.  The gears are both grungepaper, cut with Tim's mini mover and shaper dies and from the idea-ology line.  More polka dots made with glaze pens.

But the star of this show has got to be art chick from Wendy's Art Rules set.  I did alter her up a bit.  First of all I gave her a big hat, which is often seen in steampunk images.  I just cut it freehand from some scrapbook paper, my intention being to use it as is.  It is a great paper with embossed gears from DCWV, but it didn't pop with the background, so I covered it with clear embossing ink and black embossing powder and that did the trick.  I also enhanced parts of her face with glaze pens.    More polka dots on the hat, and another of those birds I did yesterday when following along with Tim's technique on the Inspiration Showcase class.

Hats Off To Grungy Monday

After three very long days spent in overheated rooms, I have been officially released from jury duty.  I'm all for doing my civic duty, but do they really need to have the courtroom thermostats set to 90?

But, more to the point, I once again have the time to indulge in my favorite passtime....getting my hands good and inky.  Like many of you, I participated in all 35 weeks of Linda's Compendium of Curiosities challenge, and was saddened by it's end.  Fortunately, Linda anticipated that and has begun another set of challenges, called Grungy Monday.  Each week Linda will give us a link to one of Tim's videos or blog tutorials, and challenge us to use his techniques to make a piece that is uniquely our own.  Can you see me smiling?  And there even will be guest designers!

For our first project, we're going back to one of Tim's 2008 12 Tags of Christmas.  A great one (weren't they all?) with very doable techniques.  Click on the link to get all the details.  Of course, given the title, Tim's tag is all red and green and features a lovely reindeer.....not what I have in mind as March comes to an end.  This is what I came up with......and coincidentally enough, as it prominently features a hat, I'm also submitting it to Simon Says Stamp and Show.......a hat!

I had GREAT FUN doing this one......I love steampunk and I got to use products from many of my favorites.  The background technique, straight from Tim's tutorial used both his own gears masks plus some I made myself from his Gadget Gears die.  I made the spray with vintage photo reinker and green patina perfect pearls.  I added quite a bit of stamping over that, all from Oxford Impressions.  The torn paper down the middle is from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante line.  The bird's body is also an Oxford Impressions stamp, and for the technique I covered the black embossing with a mixture of both blue and green patina perfect pearls and water.  I replaced the bird head with the steampunk man from Wendy Vecchi's Seriously Art set, and he got the same treatment as the bird.

The hat was cut so that a bunch of watch parts (real ones, from my stash) could come pouring out.  I added a bowtie with a little watch part embellishment.   There are some additional touches (the pointing hand, the arrow and the two parentheses) that are actually stickers from Heartwarming Vintage.

I'm sure looking forward to the next set of challenges, and still have one to do for Everything Wendy Vecchi.  I've said it before, but......so many stamps, so little time.....