My Funny Valentine

Big announcement from Tim yesterday.....no more 12 Tags of Christmas (sigh....), but instead, the launch of the 12 Tags of 2012.  A new tag, chock full of techniques and step by step directions each month.  Starting with February, a Valentine's tag.

Not that I'm cynical about love, but whether I've been in or out of a relationship come February 14, it has just never been one of my favorite holidays.  But I couldn't resist the challenge, not to mention I had an idea to put a less than serious spin on things.

Tim's main technique involved the use of a specialty paper that results in a honeycomb (and very dimensional) image.  You have to click on the 12 Tags link above to see it.  Now, as much as I own in the way of supplies, this paper is not in my stash.  Somewhere in the back of my mind, however, was a vague memory of making homemade honeycomb paper with my kids way back when I was an elementary school teacher.  I did a quick google search and found this totally easy tutorial which is just the way I remember doing it.  Does it result in the exact same perfect honeycomb effect as the Inky Antics paper?  Of course not, but if you want to give it a try and are too impatient to wait until you can find the real thing, I don't think you'll be disappointed.  I'm not trying to take business away from Inky Antics, but not everyone has the means to buy every cool product, and besides, it's always nice to know your alternatives.

Before I go into details, this tag will be my entry for two challenges besides Tim's.

Grungy Monday #36 :  V-Day, Tim Holtz style.

Simon Says Stamp and Show :  anything goes

And by the way, both of the above challenges will have prizes sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.

I used Tim's paint resist technique with his Rock Star stamp, then used just about every shade of red distress ink over the entire tag.  The embossing you see on the top and right side was done with one of those skinny embossing folders from Sizzix.  Instead of the lace die for the bottom (which I don't have....and why is that?  Something else for the wish list), I used two Martha Steward border punches on Core'dinations whitewash paper.  I followed Tim's directions to make the heart with the tissue tape ruffled edge, and made the honeycomb heart following the tutorial directions I mentioned above.

When I saw cupid on Tim's blog, believe it or not, I was instantly reminded of the running man from Wendy Vecchi's Gentleman's Art stamp set (similar pose, no?), so I had him holding onto the heart,  and instead of covering him with red stickles, I used black diamond.

I used a plain old office date stamp for the one-day-too-late-for Valentine's-Day date, and right below it, the "oops" is from Wendy's Destination Art set.  The "I'm Late! I'm Late!" is from a Stamping Ground Alice in Wonderland set.

And I'm thinking this tag will go out in the mail to a friend who I know is also no great fan of V-Day, and won't mind a bit it's being late.



The Big Apple and The Big E

Yep, got myself signed up for another page swap.  Just can't resist them, and even though they cause me some brief anxiety as deadlines approach, I'm always so happy once the books are assembled.  As I've said before, collaborative pieces are my favorites.

This one was started by Denise at ATT, and I just know it's going to be special.  It's called Journey Around The World, and everyone is doing a page reflective of where they live. (Hence the Big Apple reference in my title).  If I have time, I may add an appropriate charm, but other than that, the pages are finished!

What I did:   the background is a NYC street map, so each page has a different section.  On the bottom I used two stamps to create the skyline; on the left, one from The Stamping Ground and on the right, a Tim Holtz stamp.  The yellow cab (popped up with foam dots)  and the faux postage stamp are also from The Stamping Ground.  I wanted a little Big Apple Attitude, and chose the impatient woman silhouette (high heels and all) from Wendy Vecchi.  Talk about your time consuming fussy cutting!  My craft knife got quite the work out.

Inside the film strip (a Tim Holtz die) are a very reduced in size NYC subway map and a Broadway show playbill....not all the pages have the same one. The tiny attacher adheres the strip to the page.  The very large letters that spell out the abbreviation of my home town were done with my very very favorite alphabet stamp set....vintage Tim from his days with Junkitz. 

Last of all, each page has a bit of an old NY subway car destination in the upper left corner, all from one of the pages in Tim's Lost and Found paper stack.

The back is finished as well, but that will remain a surprise for now.

What about the Big E?????  No, not one of my nicknames (I don't think).  My pal Marita is re-doing her studio and bought these 8" letters to hang on a wall.  I forget what they'll eventually spell out, but she sent one to a few of her art friends to decorate however we wanted.  I of course got an E, and have been staring at it for a few weeks now.  Yesterday, the first day of May, was a gorgeous spring day, and when I got home I was inspired to create this:

Not really my usual thing, but outdoors there was an explosion of daffodils, tulips and other flowers I can't name, so I got out paper flowers, fabric flowers, metal flowers, all sorts of paints and sprays and went at it.

The letter itself was covered with old text, which you can't even see any more, then painted with various soft and sparkly colors of mica watercolor paint.  I wrapped some pastel eyelash yarn randomly around, then started to glue on the flowers.  Then a couple of butterflies decided to join the party.  Here's a close up of one, cut from grungeboard with a Tim Holtz die, then covered with Beadazzles.

                                                                              
The final touch, was to add some black rub-ons (Jenni Bowlin), because I'm a firm believer that when you're working with pastels, a touch of black is important to keep the piece from fading away.

The Big E is packed and should head out to Oregon very soon.  Hope Marita likes it!



A Tag and A Necklace

I really do love NY, which is a good thing, since I live there.  Here's a NYC-themed tag I just finished:

The background is part of a NYC subway map (I live in the upper left hand corner. The blue on the edge...the blue that is part of the map, not the chipped sapphire distress ink blue I used there...is the Hudson River, and I can see it from my windows).

Anyway....the NYC skyline is a Tim stamp and it looks grungy, purposely, of course, because it was inked and embossed with black distress ink/EP.

The Statue of Liberty surrounded by scaffolding is a Stamping Ground stamp inked with olive pigment ink.

The banner is one of the elements on Tim's Regal Crest die.  I found those faux typewriter keys in a dollar store and scooped up every package they had.  I made the heart disc by gluing a tiny blue paper heart to the back of a black bingo piece, edging it with a gold pen, and covering the top with Glossy Accents.

I recently admired the fabulous charms my friend Val makes and uses to create gorgeous necklaces.  Next thing I know, she's asking me what colors I'd like my necklace to be.  Val's enormous talent is exceeded only by her generous heart.  I asked for black and white with only a little pop of color (hey, I'm a New Yorker, and to steal a line I heard once in a movie -- and no, I can't remember which one-- "in NY we wear black, and will continue to do so until they invent a darker color.")

Check this beauty out.  Click on it and admire the charms.  Each different, unique, and fabulous.

Well, that's all I've got for today.   Go make something!