19th April, 2012 by iGirlZoe
Technique 1: Custom Foam Stamps
Studio L3 has kicked off the new Compendium of Curiosities 2 Challenge, generously sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.
I had looked at the different techniques in my (signed copy) of the book and wondered what the first one would be. I thought, “as long as it’s not page 66” (I don’t have any foam)! 😉
As the first weeks challenge fell on Friday 13th, I decided to go with a darker theme.
Whilst cutting an assortment of foam stamps I came up with the idea of using my Sizzix Movers and Shapers Keyhole and Cabinet Dies to make a door and have the image lurking behind the keyhole. I chose the Stampotique stamp because it’s just so creepy. The question mark stamp, from Tim Holtz’s World Traveller set, reminds me of Batman’s ‘The Riddler’, and also has quite a creepy look to it.
I made up a small assortment of custom foam stamps using my Sizzix BIGZ and Movers & Shapers Dies. I’m pleased with the piece I made, however, I’ve realised that I’m not a fan of foam stamps and doubt I will use this technique again, although I’m pleased I tried it.
As I am unlikely to reuse my foam stamps, I’ve decided to give them away. Comment on my blog during the next week and I will pick a winner at random and send the stamps to you.
Category Craft Challenges | Tags: | 11 Comments | Views: 4,603
3rd April, 2012 by iGirlZoe
Day 2 – Distress Ink Intro
Distress inks spritzed with water
Spritz and Flick / Brushless Watercolor / Wrinkle-Free Distress
The spritz and flick technique has become a firm favorite with me, followed closely by the brushless watercolor, which I had never done before. I am really excited about what you can do with a little H2O.
Category Creative Chemistry 101 | Tags: | 2 Comments | Views: 2,682
2nd April, 2012 by iGirlZoe
Day 1 – Discovery & Understanding (and CAKE)
My Husband surprised me with these miniature cupcakes for my first day of class
I can’t believe it’s been nearly a month between blog posts! BAD ZOE!
In my defense, I’ve been getting inky with Tim Holtz via his online Creative Chemistry 101 classes which concluded today. You can still sign up as there is lifetime access to the class content. The forums and galleries will remain open until April 9th, so there is still time to ask Tim questions, chat in the forum and share your creations.
Day one was about discovering the different characteristics and properties of the products in our craft stash and understanding how to use them.
Two thumbs up.
Category Creative Chemistry 101 | Tags: | 1 Comment | Views: 2,706
9th March, 2012 by iGirlZoe
290 days (yes I’m counting)! I wanted to share an altered project that I made for a swap in the Tim Holtz Addicts group.
I started with this naked snowflake that I picked up in the January sales.
I covered the snowflake with Gesso and put face down on to a dictionary page, smoothed out the wrinkles and left to dry and harden. I used distress stains and inks to give an aged effect and gold adirondack paint on the edge of an old credit card to create gold streaks, (a technique from Kate Crane’s Art Journaling DVDs).
I used sandpaper, distress inks and stains to age the edges and attached a chain and some other idea-ology pieces to decorate.
‘The word ‘snow’ is grungeboard covered with distress ink and distress stickles. I made the snowflake embellishment by cutting grungepaper with a Tim Holtz movers and shapers snowflake die, covering with distress ink and pearl adirondack paint. I made a snowflake wax seal, trimmed and attached to the center of the grungepaper with glossy accents and added a small pearl accent to finish it off.
Category Miscellaneous | Tags: | 10 Comments | Views: 5,134
8th March, 2012 by iGirlZoe
It’s here! My signed copy of Tim Holtz’s A Compendium of Curiosities volume 2 has arrived and I’m delighted! *doing the happy dance*
I am going to spend the weekend pouring over the pages and getting inky. It should keep me out of trouble until the Creative Chemistry 101 classes start on Monday 19th. Tim has just posted a video teaser and details about the class on his blog.
Category Craft Supplies | Tags: | 3 Comments | Views: 3,869
5th March, 2012 by iGirlZoe
I’ve excitedly waited all day for the Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 SUPPLY LIST, and here it is…
SUGGESTED SUPPLIES:
Craft Sheet
Ink Blending Tool
Ink Blending Foam
Mister
Mini Mister
Heat Tool
Stamps/Rubber or Clear
Distress Ink
Distress Reinker
Distress Stains
Distress Markers
Distress Crackle Paint
Distress Embossing Powder
Distress Stickles
Clear Embossing Powder
Perfect Pearls Powder
Archival Ink
Ink Palette
Waterbrush/Detailed
Waterbrush/Flat
Vagabond Machine
Texture Fades
SUGGESTED SURFACES:
Tags/Manila
Tags/Kraft
Specialty Stamping Paper
Sticky Back Canvas/Natural
Watercolor Paper
Grungeboard or Chipboard
Kraft Resist
I have most items on the list or a variation of, so my Husband’s credit card remains safe (for now)!
I’ll need to pick up a couple of Distress Markers when they become available. I’m going to order Fired Brick and Vintage Photo first, to see if I likey. I think they’ll be really useful for inking detailed areas of stamps. I may have to add Black Soot to my list, to ink up individual words on a quote stamp.
Oh it never ends! Today a couple of Distress Markers, tomorrow 37 varieties and a new storage conundrum! 😉
Category Creative Chemistry 101 | Tags: | 4 Comments | Views: 2,928
2nd March, 2012 by iGirlZoe
Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101 online class starts on March 19th. I’ve just signed up and eagerly await the supply list to see how hard this is going to hit my Husbands credit card!
Tim Holtz promises to guide us through the science behind Rangers many mediums. Through online workshops we will learn techniques as well as ways to use all the creative mediums in our stash, creating tag swatches with instruction labels for future reference.
Cannot wait! 🙂
Category Creative Chemistry 101 | Tags: | 1 Comment | Views: 2,568
25th February, 2012 by iGirlZoe
***WINNERS ANNOUNCED…WINNERS ANNOUNCED***
As promised in my last post, I have some vintage Timmy Treasure to giveaway. For your chance to win this lovely loot, just write a caption for the following photo of Tim Holtz and leave it in the comments below.
I’ll pick a winner at random on Wednesday 29th February at (GMT 21:00). There will be an extra prize for the person who comes up with the funniest caption.
And the random winner for the Ye Olde Tim Holtz Giveaway is…
And the winner for the funniest captions is…
“Yes, this is just my carry on luggage!” by lcjustme
Thank you all for your your funny captions! This made me laugh the most.
Congratulations Rhea and lcjustme. I hope you really enjoy your vintage Tim Holtz goodies.
Category Craft Giveaway | Tags: | 24 Comments | Views: 11,399
19th February, 2012 by iGirlZoe
Finally my hoarding has paid off and I have a nice little collection of what I like to call ‘Vintage Tim Holtz‘.
Tim’s fabulous Distressables books are jam packed with techniques, projects and inspiration. The easy to follow step-by-step instructions are illustrated beautifully in colour photographs.
My mini avalanche of Distressables 9×9 cardstock.
A snapshot of the Distressables 9×9 cardstock.
Distressables Doo-Dads are seriously awesome! The miniature images are perfect for sanding, distressing and using for collaging on dominos, bottle caps, slide mounts and other tiny altered projects… also great for ransom notes!
As these are rarer than an orderly queue at a craft clearance sale, I propose to share! I’m putting together a little bundle of vintage Timmy love to give away in my next blog post.
Category Craft Supplies | Tags: | 13 Comments | Views: 5,207
14th February, 2012 by iGirlZoe
My ongoing craft de-stash is proving very fruitful. I found some Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley stamp sets at the back of an over stuffed basket and felt a sudden surge of creativity.
In the spirit of change, I stepped outside of my vintage brown comfort zone and dabbled with a little more colour. I used Tim Holtz Bitty Grunge stamps (one of my favourite sets), to keep it grungy.
My Mum bought me some Dylusions Mica Ink Sprays which I absolutely love! I’ve become an overnight ink spraying maniac, frantically filling Mini Misters with ink ready to spray anything that moves!
Finding all these long forgotten craft supplies has given me a renewed sense of creative excitement. BUT, the naughty shopaholic inside of me is whispering suggestively about all of the delicious crafty delights I could fill the space that I am fast clearing with.
Category Craft Creations, Craft Storage | Tags: | 15 Comments | Views: 6,867
