Do You Want to Make a Snowman

Continuing on my Christmas card journey with Tim Holt's 12 Tags of Christmas... 

2007 - Day 2 

The technique I used from his tag was using paint to stamp and emboss. I really do not think that I have ever done this, but I really like how it turned out. Also, to do the background, I used the tried and true techniques of Distress Ink rubbed on your craft mat and mist with water, then run your paper through it. You can see these techniques in detail HERE on Tim Holt's blog. 

For this card, I started with watercolor paper because I knew I would be using water with my Distress Inks and I wanted to make sure that my paper would hold up... sometimes I am quite the heavy mister! 

Once I got the background complete, I finished my card with my own flair from being inspired from the whole process. 

The photo above shows the Distress Inks and stamps I used. Below, you can see how the background turned out. 

The snowman was a lot of fun to make. I cut him out using silver paper and the Tim Holtz snowman die. Then I ran him through my Sizzix Texture Boutique to emboss him. Next, I inked him up, did a little embossing, and dusted him with Distress glitter. 

Once I adhered the Snowman to the background, using pop dots, I inked up the edges to make them darker. 

I am off to spend the day in my studio. I cannot wait to make more Christmas cards, I have canvas I am working on, and I am part of a traveling Art Bible group, so I will be working on Bible Art Journaling today too! 

Until next time... Happy Creating! 

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas Cards! I have been wanting to make Christmas cards for quite a while. Every year I buy more stamps and Christmas Paper in hopes to make Christmas Cards and to scrapbook that Christmas. Well... my collection is quite big now! 

So the other night I was thinking about how much joy I had sitting down every night following Tim Holtz as he did the 12 Tags of Christmas. Oh! I was one happy scrapper! Learning the new techniques, connecting with scrappers all over the world, and pushing myself to use what was in my stash. More than not, my tag turned out completely different, but that time I spent in my studio is something I will always remember. 

2009 is the year that I truly discovered Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink. I had Distress Inks, but weren't they just regular stamp pads? I remember buying my very first Distress Ink Pad. Worn Lipstick. What a pretty color. What a cool name. ...little did I know. 

I cannot believe I am sharing this photo, but here I am, 2009, sitting at my desk doing the 12 Tags of Christmas for the very first time. I was married at this time and he snuck in to take a photo, knowing how excited I was to be following along... 

A lot has happened since then. But here I am, still absolutely in love with creating. While sitting in my brand new studio I designed and renovated this past year, I was thinking about that first year and the following years of doing the 12 Tags of Christmas, and I thought, why not start at the beginning and do it all over again. I was so incredibly sad when Tim Holtz announced he would no longer be doing the 12 Tags of Christmas. It wasn't about having to run out and buy new product or make the exact tag. It was a creative and magical time to kick off the Christmas Season. A time to learn new techniques and connect with the crafting community. I still miss it all these years later. 

That is probably what inspired the "12 Tags of Christmas, revisited" idea. So, the other night, I came into my studio, went to Tim Holtz's Blog, back to December 2007, and started with Day 1. (Click Day 1 to be taken to his blog post of the first day of 2007) 

...and here is what Day 1 inspired for me: 

I wish I would of taken a selfie to show how big my smile was. The Christmas music was playing and I just got lost in creating. The inspiration I took from his tag was Distress Crackle Paint. And that is where I started: 

From there, I used various green and red Distress Inks, Distress Mica Stain in Tree Lot & Peppermint Stick. The stamps are from The Poinsettia stamp set. 

I hope you follow along to see what each tag inspires and I so hope you play along as well. If you have any questions leave in the comments and I will make sure to answer them. My hope is to continue to have fun and get lost in Christmas creating as well as inspire you to jump in and see where it takes you! 

Until next time.... HAPPY CREATING! 

Back to the Basics... Playing with Paper.

Happy Friday! The past few weeks I have been in my studio more than I have in a long time. Most of what I have been doing has been scrapbooking. Scrapbooking is such a passion. Recording my memories using my love for creating. Reliving the moments that were captured in a photograph. 

Today I have one of those layouts to share with you... 

I created this using the brand new paper line from Blank Page Muse: Cyan Consortium, designed by Pam Bray. 

I started by picking four of my favorite patterns from the paper pack. Then, after going through my paper stash... (You know the thousands of sheets of paper we have collected over the years), I chose papers by GCD Studios. I remember buying these papers. Picking them out to coordinate to go together for a layout. ...like 10 years ago! 

Once I gathered my papers, it was time to play. If you imagine the layout as a sketch, it is a fairly simple one. But dressing it up with the beautiful papers from Blank Page Muse and, of course, the most precious picture of my puppy in her winter coat, the layout comes together looking elegant and, "snow cute!" 

EMBELLISHMENTS: 

The flourish was unfinished chipboard that I painted with Distress Paint and then embossed with Distress Glaze. (I LOVE the Distress Glaze Embossing Powders!) 

Some metal embellishments mixed with some scraps of paper and fabric, some alphabet stickers and embellishing was complete. 

The title was something I had a lot of fun creating. I used a new program and was able to draw my title and then import it into my Silhouette Design Studio and cut it out on my Cameo. I was so so excited about learning how to do this!!! 

Once the title was adhered the layout was complete. 

I hope you have been inspired to play with paper this weekend and record some of your own special memories.

Until next time... 

Happy Creating!