She Who Stamps & Scraps

Grungy Monday meets Wendy Vecchi

 

It's Week 20 over at Linda Ledbetter's Studio L3 blog, and she's chosen Ranger's Distress Stickles as this week's key ingredient.  Linda hosts new Grungy Monday challenges each week. They're creative prompts centered on using products or techniques developed by Tim Holtz.  Here's a link to a post Tim made a few years back about distress stickles.   As you'll see there are a lot of ways to use them.  I opted for a dot border along the top border strip on this card, using Shabby Shutters distress stickles, and also added a light coating of it to the word 'remember.'

This week's challenge at the Everything Wendy Vecchi yahoo group is to use at least one Studio 490 stamp, at least one scalloped edge, and two different border strips.  I used lots of Wendy's stamps on the blue background panel inked in a variety of orange distress inks by Ranger.  I used a Sizzix scalloped edge die for my  sentiment and tied a little string around the pointing finger.... I figure that sentiment really is a good one to remember!

I want to thank Lori (our hostess on the Wendy yahoo group) for this week's challenge... it took some thought and I am really liking the way the different edges play together and add interest.  So thanks for the prompt, Lori!

The flower stamped on green paper is a Studio 490 stamp and the little blue one is a paper punch. The top and bottom strips are paper punches, and the blue and green papers are Little Yellow Bicycle.   

Thanks so much for visiting... I appreciate your stopping by and hope you have a wonderful day.

Grungy Monday #19

This week Linda Ledbetter brings us to GM#19 at her blog, StudioL3.com, featuring weekly challenges based on  Tim Holtz's techniques. Here's a link to Tim Holtz showing the technique for this week.  The embossed acrylic top component to this challenge makes for a shiny picture, but I couldn't find a way around that.

I hemmed and hawed over which shape of grunge I would use under my packaging and finally decided on a time-theme for a birthday card.  The clock frame is Tim's Sizzix die and I've used a very old sticker as the center.  I colored the whole thing in black soot distress stain, and I have to say... that is the FASTEST way to color something I've ever seen.  Fantastic!

I stamped some random clocks (Stampers Anonymous, Inkadinkadoo and B-Line Designs) and cut a Teresa Collins chipboard clock with my tonic scissors.  I used the clock hands from Tim's Sizzix die on the Teresa Collins clock.  

I embossed the acrylic piece with Tim's Distressed Frame emobssing folder (Sizzix).  It has only got marks around the edges, which I liked for this project so you can see the clocks better.  I adhered it with 4 brads and called it a day.  

Oh, and to make it a birthday card I added the "make a wish" sentiment which brings it in line also for Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stampers, Week 166 challenge this week.  The inside says "Time Flies. Happy Birthday!"

Hope you have a great TIME today.  Thanks for the visit!

Grungy Monday #18

Today's the deadline for Grungy Monday #18 over at Linda Ledbetter's StudioL3 blog.... and what a neat technique she's featured that Tim Holtz showed on his blog here during the 12 Tags of Christmas in 2009. Yep, he's been doing those tags for a long time, and every year there's more to see.

For my take on it, I started by inking a tag with fired brick and faded burlap distress inks by Ranger.  Then I stamped Tim's giant flowerly flourish from the FairyTale Frenzy set a few times. I inked a Hero Arts script stamp onto vellum and colored it with a bit of antique linen DI before edging the sides with a mix of brushed corduroy and black soot.  I curled the edges and adhered that over the center of the tag.

Tim's heart die by Sizzix was the source for the embossed grungeboard. This is a scrap of the harlequin GB which I inked with the same colors from the tag and then heat embossed with clear powder.  

The mini tag is inked the same way then stamped in black archival with an Ali Edwards love stamp.  Also the scrip 'love you' at the bottom is Ali's.  

I needed something to go with the rule of threes, so I added a little punched heart to finish it up, which I coated with glossy accents.  A button and a bit of fiber, and it's all good.  

Thanks Linda for these challenges!

OCC Meets Grungy Monday + News!

Our Creative Corner has a detailed challenge this week - to use four different components - the theme is 4B's. We are to use Black, Bling, Buttons, and Bows (at least one of each).  I've made an anniversary card using a scrap of Scenic Route paper and some thick textured black paper that I cut into hearts using Tim Holtz's Sizzix dies.  The bling is from a Recollections roll and I used copper fiber to tie my bow.  I added two thin ribbons across the bottom to ground the hearts and three small buttons at the top to complete the challenge requirements.  

My hearts are coated in Rock Candy Distress Stickles to get in on Grungy Monday #17 over at Linda Ledbetter's blog.   Linda's the hostess with the mostess who brings us weekly challenges relating to Tim Holtz's products and techniques.  You can see Tim demo the Rock Candy in a video here.

Now for the news.... I'm very excited to share that I'm one of the new design team members for  Our Creative Corner.    OCC has a really talented group of women designing creative paper crafting challenges each week.  I'm very flattered to be working with them and thankful for the opportunity.  

If you aren't a regular visitor already, don't hesitate to pop by and see what's happening. New challenges are posted every Saturday, and I hope you'll join us.

 

Grungy Monday 14

This week Linda Ledbetter brings us the fourteenth Grungy Monday challenge... I know I'm not the only one who loves these weekly challenges featuring the use of Tim Holtz's techniques and products.  Every week dozens of people upload images that will spark your creativity in all things tim-ish.

Be sure to visit Linda's blog and see the great artwork submitted each week based on her challenges.  You can see this week's step-by-step tutorial by Tim himself right here on his blog. 

Here's my tag. I used three different pearl/re-inker mists and two colors of paint.  It's hard to get a non-glare photo with all the perfect pearls used on this, but in person it looks sparkly/shimmery and pretty darn cool.  

Hard to believe it started out the way it looks below.  You can barely the see those stamped flowers/vines in the photo of the finished tag, but in person there's a hint of them and it adds a very interesting layer of color to the tag.


 Thanks for the visit.  Hope you have a wonderful day!

Spots, Dots and Circles

It's time for Grungy Monday #13 at Linda Ledbetter's StudioL3 blog... this week we're playing with Ranger's Alcohol Inks.  You can see Tim Holtz demo these inks here.  

I used a clear acrylic flower for the project and inked with a combo of caramel, watermelon, and sunset orange alcohol inks.  I stamped a large alpha stamp (Hampton Arts) on top with black archival ink.  

I pulled out my Chatterbox brad maker and a Hero Arts definition stamp to make the brad in the center of the flower.  I love it when I use just a part of a stamp!  That part will qualify for the "Show us a Word" theme at Simon Says Stamp & Show this week.  It was very hard to decide what word to choose and when I thought of that for the flower, I was glad to be able to check it off my list.

Why all those circles, you might ask?  They are for my Aussie friends at Inkurable Stampers. Their theme for the month of June is "Spots, Dots and Circles."  I pulled out a pack of Bazzill circle chips and embossed several using Tim Holtz's dot matrix texture fade folder.  I went over the raised parts with different color distress inks and stamped the rest in a combo of Tim Holtz stamps and Paul Best face stamps.   Loads of distress inks.  The tag itself is colored with a vintage photo distress stain. Even the brad holder has dots, which made me smile.

Thank you as always for visiting.  There's still time to enter both of these challenges.  Just click the links above!

 

Grungy Monday 12 - Live Life Well!

This week Linda Ledbetter has challenged us to a resist technique for Grungy Monday #12.  We're inspired by a technique Tim Holtz showed us a few years ago on his blog.  It's one of those classics that can be replayed over and over and always gives you a unique outcome.

I started out with green patterned paper that I cut into a tag using Tim's Sizzix die.  Following Tim's technique I wound up with a pretty cool background.   Some parts didn't want to play along, so I covered them with black mesh ribbon placed along the lines of the diamond stamp.  

I added some metal to accommodate the current challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show.  My dragonfly had a bright shiny gold finish to start (yuck) so I toned him down with pitch black alcohol ink.  I also colored the 'dream' washer with the same AI, then swiped some green paint into the word and quickly wiped the whole thing off, leaving only the word highlighted.

Mounted my black panel with sentiment on foam tape as  a pocket.  I'd intended to have flowers popping out of it but decided to just go with one offset on the left.  

Sentiment (Studio 490) was stamped in black archival and heat embossed with clear powder. Used some black rhinestones that come in a tape roll from Michaels, as well as a pre-made (green) flower and a punched (black) one.  Brads and ribbon died with distress stains top it off.

As always, thanks for visiting.  Have a wonderful day!

Remember to comment on the post at the top of the page for a chance to win the Tim Holtz Prize Package.  

Grungy Monday 11: A Twist on Embossing

This week's Grungy Monday challenge at Studio L3 offers a neat twist on embossing.  Grungy Monday is a weekly challenge hosted  by Linda Ledbetter and focused on using the techniques and products of Tim Holtz.

GM#11 is based on a technique found here on Tim's blog. It's a real eye opener on something you can do with embossing.

I used Tim's Papillon stamp set and several of Ranger's distress inks (dried marigold, rusty hinge, fired brick, walnut stain and black soot.) I stamped the butterflies (Tim) and flourishes (Hero & Hampton Arts) in jet black archival.

I really love the way you can see through the butterflies to the technique below.   I used Tim's distressor on the edges and then covered them with black soot.  Last, I spritzed the dried tag with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls and called it  a day.  

 

I'll be using this one as a bookmark.  Simon Says Stamp & Show has a distressed edges challenge going on this week, so I'll throw my tag into that one as well.

Thanks for visiting.  Please also take a moment to pop by my blogging buddy, Gerri Herbst, who is having a very generous give-away indeed!  Hope you have a great day.

 

Grungy Monday 10: Dream Triptych

It's my privilege to be a guest designer for Linda Ledbetter's Grungy Monday Challenge #10!   I share the honor with Karen Mathews in Ireland.... don't miss Karen's work here.  The theme this week is Distress Ink Free-for-All... make anything you want using Distress Inks or Reinkers as the main component.   

Surely you know that Grungy Monday celebrates Tim Holtz and really... don't we all?  You can see Tim's amazing work on his blog here.  For this challenge I altered a plain triptych from A Stamp in the Hand.   I went heavy on the Distress Inks, and also used a few Distress Stains and loads of Tim Holtz stamps and masks.

I started by staining the triptych with a few coats of Distress Stains (wild honey on each panel + fired brick on the edges.)  Then I used five different Distress Inks (wild honey, spiced marmalade, aged mahogany, walnut stain, and vintage photo) to stamp the panels and in several cases, worked around masks and stencils.  

I used a ton of Tim Holtz stamps from eight different sets:  Bitty Grunge, Stuff to Say, Creative Muse, Papillon, School Desk, Going Somewhere, Just Thoughts, and Purely Random.  Also a few of my older wood-mounted Stampers Anonymous stamps and a Hero Arts script stamp, plus some misc dream-theme and collage-y ones from my stash.  Basically, a whole lot of stamps!

The stenciled words (Dream and Imagine) are Stampers Anonymous stencils and the masks (fence, compass, barbed wire, flourishes) are Tim's. I used some of Ranger's Coffee Archival on the word stencils as well.  Also used a bit of  Ideology hardware from Tim - a  sprocket, game spinners, word charms and an ornate plate.

If you're a fan of Tim's and not yet a member of the All Things Tim yahoo group, please consider this your official invitation.  It's a great group led my list mom, Gloria, and you will be thrilled with all the ideas, inspiration, and creative support you find there.  Check out the Grungy Monday photo album there as well, and be sure to upload your creation too.  There just may be a prize drawing... you never know, but you've gotta be in it to win it!

I can't thank Linda enough for this opportunity.  It was a little daunting that it was a Free-for-All instead of a specific technique, but that ended up being a good thing because it definitely opened up my imagination.   Remember to check Karen's blog too!  

C'mon along and join us this week on Grungy Monday #10!

 

Grungy Monday 9

Linda Ledbetter is hosting another challenge at her blog in celebration of Grungy Monday. This week we're up to #9 and the challenge is taking us back to a technique Tim Holtz demoed on his blog in 2007.  You can see all the details of the technique here:  Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, 2007, Day 10.

I painted my tag black and used two of Tim's stamps from his Nature's Discovery set. Splodged on lots of inks with Ranger paint dabbers.  A spool of wire was still on my table from yesterday's red post so I used that with some cool brads I've been meaning to use for ages.  (The brads have slits in the metal to hold thread, wire, string, etc. and I am thrilled to have finally put them to use.)

Added one of Tim's word sticks and roughed up the edges with his distresser.  Inked up the edges with Black Soot distress ink and had a dip into my ribbon/fiber stash.

I can see a lot of possibilities with this technique... even the way you put the paint on has an effect.  I liked this one with the woodgrain like brush marks, but another attempt with a sponge brush yielded a quite different look.  

Happy Stamping!