Author Archive

  1. Let it fly away

    12th June, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    Hello Friends. We’ve been having such nice weather in Copenhagen that I’ve been out enjoying it and haven’t had much time at my desk. The sunshine took a break yesterday so I made a quick card using some of the exciting new idea-ology range from Tim Holtz.

    iGirlZoe: Let It Fly Away - Tim Holtz - Ideaology
    My obsession with the flower jar stamps and co-ordinating framelits dies hasn’t subsided and I am still using up the stash I made a few months ago. You can see those posts HERE, HERE and HERE.

    iGirlZoe: Let It Fly Away - Tim Holtz - Ideaology
    Another obsession is the idea-ology worn wallpaper. I’m still using my first pack but have 3 more on the way. Hopefully you can see the texture in this close up. Regular visitors to my blog will know I sand everything and this was no exception. Using a blending tool I added vintage photo distress ink and then spritzed heavily with water and patted dry with a towel. It creates this really cool and even more worn/washed out look. Did I mention the texture? LOVE LOVE LOVE the worn wallpaper!

    iGirlZoe: Let It Fly Away - Tim Holtz - Ideaology
    The new idea-ology baseboard frames are another favourite of mine from the new release. They come beautifully pre-weathered and even look like they have been crackle glazed. I naturally took my sanding grip to it anyway and then blended in some frayed burlap and walnut stain distress inks and wiped away the excess with a damp cloth. The ink only clings to the sanded parts as the baseboard frames have a coated finish.

    iGirlZoe: Let It Fly Away - Tim Holtz - Ideaology
    Before assembling, I ran the worn wallpaper and sticky back canvas through my sewing machine. I mounted the baseboard frame over ruler ribbon, tucked in the flowers and added a butterfly from the adornments butterflies, (all from the idea-ology range) with distress collage medium adhesive. I added a clippings sticker,  being careful not to cover any of the wonderful detail on the baseboard frame.

    iGirlZoe: Let It Fly Away - Tim Holtz - Ideaology
    I used the Tim Holtz flourish stencil and blended fossilized amber and broken china distress inks through it onto sticky back canvas. This was mounted onto black idea-ology classic kraft stock, (sanded, of course)!

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you find some time to get creative this week.
    Zoe

     


    Category Ideaology, Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 9 Comments | Views: 1,782

  2. Layers of Lace

    30th May, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    The current challenge is hosted by team member Autumn who has chosen the theme LAYERS OF LACE …Autumn says, “Lace, oh so lovely lace! Whether you add delicate layers of fine lace, or tattered and torn crocheted lace, we’d love to see you add dimension and depth to your vintage or shabby chic project with lace. Perhaps you have a favorite lace stamp or will choose to lace something up, we’d love to see your creations inspired by this topic.”

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    Lace always makes me think of fabric and sewing and this gave me the idea of creating a trinket box to store my sewing kit in. Truth be told, I’m not a huge fan of lace, or at least I thought I wasn’t when I sat down to make this challenge. Hats off to our fabulous host, Autumn, because I’ve since been doing a little online browsing for vintage lace! Oh Autumn, you’ve created a monster…

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    I painted the largest of the nest of vignette boxes by Tim Holtz with a layer of gesso inside and out and set aside to dry. Next mixed weathered wood and iced spruce distress paint and applied a layer to the vignette box, again setting aside to air dry.

    Once the paint was completely I dry sand portions of the vignette box and lightly rubbed gathered twigs distress crayon on with my finger. Taking some of the new Tim Holtz worn wallpaper, I sanded with a sanding grip, tore the edges and blended in frayed burlap distress ink and then adhered to the sides of the vignette box with distress collage medium.

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    I added some vintage lace to the bottom edge of the box, added box feet and idea-ology adornments ribbons and bows and vignette accents. In order to get all of the hardware to match, I rubbed a little german silver gilding wax over the top with my finger.

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    The trinket box lid was made using a vignette frame. I love these new vignette frames, they come in packs of 4 and perfectly match the packs of vignette boxes. I’m going to be stocking up on these for sure! I painted with the same distress paint mix as the base (iced spruce and weathered wood) and set aside to dry. I removed the sandpaper from my sanding grip and gently sanded portions of the frame exposing the wood underneath the dried distress paint. I rubbed gathered twigs distress crayon over parts of the frame.

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    For the background I created a background wash with iced spruce and hickory smoke distress oxides and frayed burlap and walnut stain distress inks. Using a travel stamp platform, I stamped the dress form from the inventor 3 stamp set (CMS342) and watercoloured parts of the dress form with the iced spruce and hickory smoke distress oxides using a water brush.

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    The card was mounted under the frame and I used Tim Holtz design tape (renmants) to cover the backside of the vignette frame.

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    I adhered a piece of worn wall paper to the inside of the vignette box and filled with my sewing kit.

    iGirlZoe: Layers of Lace
    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Zoe

     


    Category DT, Frilly & Funkie, Ideaology, Ranger Ink, Sizzix, Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 9 Comments | Views: 923

  3. Tim Holtz Ticket Booth

    26th May, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    Hello friends. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend, (a nice long one for many of you), and finding some time to create. I’ve got a SATURDAY SHOWCASE over at Frilly and Funky, showcasing the Tim Holtz Ticket Booth Stamps and accompanying Framelits dies.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Ticket Booth
    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Ticket Booth
    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Ticket Booth
    If you would like to see more, pop over to Frilly & Funkie.

    Have a great weekend.
    Zoe


    Category DT, Frilly & Funkie, Ideaology, Ranger Ink, Saturday Showcase, Sidekick, Sizzix, Stampers Anonymous, Tags, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 5 Comments | Views: 1,974

  4. Surf’s Up!

    16th May, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    The current challenge is hosted by team member Kathy who has chosen the theme SURF’S UP! …Kathy says, “Who’s ready for a little sand, a little sun and a little surf? Let’s take this challenge for a stroll beside the shore! Create a vintage or shabby chic project with a beachy theme. Use ocean colors and beach images to add a fun seaside feel to your project.”

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!One of the many things that I love about the beach is the beautiful scenery. So many different textures from the grainy and wet sand, breaking waves, bubbles in the tide, drift wood, sea shells, seaweed… I wanted to include texture in my project to convey this.

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    I took a medium etcetera tag from the Tim Holtz idea-ology range and covered it with white gesso using a palette knife. I was quite “hap-hazard” about it to create a nice random and uneven texture. Once dry I applied a layer of matte distress collage medium with a distress brush. This created more texture in the form of brush lines. It also gives a slightly slicker surface to push the distress crayons around.

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    I removed some of the distress crayon with a baby wipe to create highlights. I stamped with the newsprint stamp (CMS266). I didn’t use my Tim Holtz stamp platform this time as I wanted the stamp to misprint where the gesso was heavier.

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    With some encouragement from my friend and design team mate Jenny, I finally used a piece from the idea-ology worn wallpaper pack! It really is almost too beautiful to use! I tore the worn wallpaper into pieces and adhered to the etcetera tag with matte distress collage medium. Blending in vintage photo distress ink and distress crayon.

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    I used one of the found relatives cards, which I coloured with distress markers. I love the very subtle colour the distress markers can give on these cards, that looks as if it were once more pronounced and has faded over time. I mounted one of the new Tim Holtz idea-ology baseboard frames over the top. I didn’t alter the frame at all. Look how beautifully vintage it is straight out of the package.

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    I added a stamped and fussy cut star fish from the mini blueprints #6 stamp set (CMS196) and painted using antique linen distress ink and a water brush. I also added a die cut from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Holidays Green thinlits die set and a shell I collected from the beach.

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    This was the perfect sentiment for my tag using a sticker from the snarky small talk stickers set. This is definitely a motto I personally follow! 😉

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    This new idea-ology vignette accent was the perfect accent for the base of the baseboard frame. I’m going to need more of these, they are simply gorgeous!

    iGirlZoe: Surf's Up!
    An alternative idea would be to use one of your own holiday snaps in place of the found relatives card. I am going to hang this as a home decor piece for the summer.

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Zoe

     


    Category DT, Frilly & Funkie, Ideaology, Sizzix, Stampers Anonymous, Tags, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 7 Comments | Views: 624

  5. Neutral Point of View

    2nd May, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    The current challenge is hosted by team member Sara Emily who has chosen the theme NEUTRAL POINT OF VIEW …Sara Emily says, “We’re seeing a lot of pastel and brighter colors this time of year. For this challenge we’re inviting you to step away from all that color and play with your neutral art supplies. You can add a few pops or hints of color, but be sure we see mainly neutrals on your vintage or shabby chic design. (Think black, white, gray, brown, beige, cream, ivory; even gold and silver.)”

    iGirlZoe: Neurtral Point of ViewOkay, so this challenge was much easier for me than the last one. Neutral, (BROWN), is a colour palette I LOVE.

    iGirlZoe: Neurtral Point of View
    I used the distress crayon layered colouring technique from Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 103 online class, with the addition of distress collage crazing medium over the top. I used dapper (CMS267) and newsprint (CMS266) stamps for the background and added a remnant rub.

    iGirlZoe: Neurtral Point of View
    I am in love with the new idea-ology adornments butterflies! There are all sorts you can do to alter them but this time it needed the simplicity of being natural.

    iGirlZoe: Neurtral Point of View
    I also added a vial label with remnant rubs over the top and a die cut gear from metallic kraft stock and sanded. Both blended with walnut stain distress ink and adhered with distress collage matte medium. I added the bow end of an idea-ology adornments arrow.

    iGirlZoe: Neurtral Point of View
    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Zoe

     


    Category DT, Miscellaneous, Tags, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 13 Comments | Views: 664

  6. Elegant Jewels

    18th April, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    The current challenge is hosted by team member Cec, who has chosen the theme ELEGANT JEWELS …Cec says, “Let’s make a vintage or shabby chic project in jewel tone colours such as deep purple, emerald green, jade green, burgundy, bright turquoise to name a few AND to make your project extra special, add some sort of jewel or gem, which can be anything from a dollar store find to a piece of broken jewelry.”

    iGirlZoe: Elegant JewelsConfession, I had to message one of my design team mates to ask for an explanation of jewels tones, (in distress colour terms of course)! Horrified at the total lack of muted brown tones I went about trying to figure out ways to add brown! Ha Ha (true story)!

    iGirlZoe: Elegant Jewels
    I used mermaid lagoon distress oxide to simulate lagoon blue tourmaline gemstones. I added oxide to my glass media mat, spritzed with water and dragged a distress mixed media heavystock tag through, drying with a heat tool. I then went back and tapped parts of the tag into the beads of oxide on the mat. I blended mermaid lagoon distress oxide through a stencil with a blending tool and added walnut stain to the edges…

    There was a helpful suggestion to use walnut stain (at the edges). I decided “edge” is a relative term and could mostly cover all those hideous brights with brown! It will be no surprise to you that I wear brown tinted sunglasses, similar to rose tinted, I see the world through a beautiful brown lens. 😉

    iGirlZoe: Elegant Jewels
    I am so obsessed with the new idea-ology milk caps by Tim Holtz that I had to talk myself into covering it up with an idea-ology quote token. I added picket fence distress crayon to the quote token and a rhinestone gem to the hole, with stonewash alcohol ink added. A little rusty hinge distress paint was added to the idea-ology adornment stars, (still one of my favourites) and everything glued into place with distress collage medium.

    iGirlZoe: Elegant Jewels
    I used my sidekick to cut some foliage from classic kraft stock and sanded with a sanding grip. I added rhinestone gems to compliment the challenge theme. These were mounted over the outline of a stitched circle, coloured with rusty hinge distress ink and over a strip of design tape. I want to add that I had the stitched circle leftover from another project and wouldn’t have added the foliage if it wasn’t so easy to do so with the sidekick. I so often add die cuts where I wouldn’t if I had to get my full size die cutter out.

    iGirlZoe: Elegant Jewels
    I added a paper doll, coloured with distress markers.

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Zoe x


    Category DT, Frilly & Funkie, Sidekick, Sizzix, Tags, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 14 Comments | Views: 699

  7. Tim Holtz Flower Jar

    7th April, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    Hello friends. I hope you’re enjoying your weekend and finding some spring sunshine, as well as some time to create. I’ve got a SATURDAY SHOWCASE over at Frilly and Funky, showcasing the Tim Holtz flower jar stamps and matching framelits dies.

    iGirlZoe: Saturday Showcase Tim Holtz Flower Jar
    If you would like to see the step by step in full, pop over to Frilly & Funkie.

    Have a great weekend.
    Zoe

     


    Category DT, Frilly & Funkie, Saturday Showcase, Sidekick, Sizzix, Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 1 Comment | Views: 1,336

  8. Bloomin’ Marvellous

    4th April, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    I am hosting the current challenge and have chosen the theme BLOOMIN’ MARVELLOUS, “As spring pokes it’s head through the frozen ground, let’s celebrate the season and create a vintage or shabby chic project with flowers as the focus and in vintage muted pastel tones, (no brights).”

    iGirlZoe: Bloomin MarvellousI love it when Stampers Anonymous and Sizzix get together to create framelits die to match stamps for the Tim Holtz line! When I set the theme for this challenge, I had the “Flower Jar” sets in mind!

    iGirlZoe: Bloomin Marvellous
    I also absolutely love Tim Holtz’s design tape… well in truth, I absolutely love to collect it, but I rarely ever use it because it’s SO nice! But I finally feel ready to use a teeny weeny bit and created a background mount using scrap cardstock with design tape around the edges.

    iGirlZoe: Bloomin Marvellous
    I stitched over the design tape and created a foreground using distress oxides and a stamped image from the etcetera stamp set (CMS302). To create the scratches I used a stamp from an older set, slight alterations (CMS060), stamped in frayed burlap distress ink.

    iGirlZoe: Bloomin Marvellous
    I distressed the foreground edges with a paper distresser tool, blended in walnut stain distress ink, stitched and mounted onto the design tape edged background.

    iGirlZoe: Bloomin Marvellous
    The flowers were created using the flower jar stamp set (CMS297) and framelits flower jar die set. I used distress markers, a waterbrush and my trusty sidekick. I will be back on Saturday with a “Saturday Showcase” for Frilly & Funkie, showcasing the paired flower jar stamps and framelits, along with a step by step for this card.

    I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Thanks for stopping by.
    Zoe

     


    Category DT, Frilly & Funkie, Sidekick, Sizzix, Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 16 Comments | Views: 2,724

  9. Knock on Wood

    21st March, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    The current challenge is hosted by team member Suzz, who has chosen the theme KNOCK ON WOOD …Suzz says, “I decided to challenge everyone with adding a touch of wood to your art this challenge. For this challenge you need to dig through your crafty stash and look for some type of wood to incorporate into your art. This can be any kind of wooden object like a wood spool, a wood button, a mini ruler or even a branch.”

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Knock on WoodSo I’ve been doing quite a bit of traveling recently and have had some time to read. Whilst I’m a big fan of technology, I don’t love electronic books and prefer an actual book in my hand, so needed a bookmark…

    I also prefer a paper boarding pass as my phone is forever running out of batteries and so I decided to create a bookmark with an opening at the side where I could slip my boarding pass. I did this by stitching 2 tags together and leaving the right hand side open.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Knock on Wood
    I used the new Tim Holtz Glass Media Matt which is a total GAME CHANGER! The way the distress stain beads up on the non stick craft mat portion of the media mat is where the magic happens. I LOVE the effect when you tap a tag into the beads of ink.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Knock on Wood
    I added evergreen bough distress oxide and used the new Tim Holtz inventor 2 stamp set (CMS341), available to pre-order and shipping at the end of the month. For steam punk and industrial lovers it’s a must and possibly my favourite stamp set of this years release.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Knock on Wood
    For the knock on wood challenge, I added numbers cut from distress wood grain cardstock using the alphanumeric die set and sidekick. I blended in brushed corduroy distress ink and edged with walnut stain distress ink and adhered down the side with distress collage medium.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Knock on Wood
    I added a charm using an idea-ology swivel clasp and added a story stick and a couple of charms from the new idea-ology adornment milagros. I love the way it drapes over the top of my book.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Knock on Wood
    I and my trusty bookmark will be boarding another flight later today to go home to see my Husband after 2 weeks away. To say I am excited to get home to him is an understatement.

    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Zoe x

     


    Category Miscellaneous | Tags: | 13 Comments | Views: 943

  10. Dare to Resist

    21st February, 2018 by iGirlZoe

    It’s Wednesday and time for the funkie side of the design team to share our projects for the current challenge over at the Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog!

    The current challenge is hosted by team member Autumn, who has chosen the theme DARE TO RESIST …Autumn says, “For the next two weeks, as we break away from our Valentine creations, we’d love to see you incorporate a favorite resist technique in your vintage or shabby chic project. There are so many options, perhaps you will try something new. Whether it be gesso resist, Vaseline resist, alcohol resist, embossing resist, or watercolor resist, we dare you to resist!”

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Dare to ResistThis challenge was the perfectly timed with the arrival of the new distress resist spray by Tim Holtz. Since seeing this announced on facebook LIVE, I have been dying to get my hands on a bottle to try out and I can tell you now, it’s AMAZING!!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Dare to Resist
    Firstly it’s really important to use a box when spraying as this stuff sticks to everything. I have a collapsible spray box that I bought years ago, but you could use any cardboard box.

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Dare to Resist
    I went for a concentrated spray by squeezing the spray trigger really slowly, releasing bigger drops rather than a fine spray. I blasted with my heat tool (because I’m impatient). I then sprayed the background with frayed burlap distress spray and dried. I added a single spray of broken china distress spray to the center of the tag for a pop of colour!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Dare to Resist
    Using the stamp platform I laid out stamps from the new Merchant stamp set (CMS331). I LOVE how the puddleds of resist resist the number stamps too!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Dare to Resist
    I added a gadget gear which I grunged up using grit paste and distress crayon, a paper doll coloured with distress markers, quote chips, an adornment star altered with fire brick distress paint and several die cuts from the new Tim Holtz thinlits pocket frame!

    iGirlZoe: Tim Holtz Dare to Resist
    Thanks for stopping by. I hope you will find time to join in the challenge and pop over to Frilly and Funkie challenge blog to see the rest of the DT’s projects. All the products I used are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

    Zoe x

     


    Category Miscellaneous | Tags: ,,,,,,,,, | 14 Comments | Views: 912

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