Scraps and Ink

Tim Tags complete!

I have had so much fun completing my version of the tags from the "12 Tags Of Christmas" featured on Tim Holtz's blog. The boy is crazy talented and I just loved following along with his step-by-step tutorials. His examples are so beautiful- Tim really has gift and I appreciate him sharing his talents with us. So here are MY tags: 

Day 12:

  
 

So much bling on this tag that I can hardly stand it!!! Ya know, with just the background and roses on this, it could be used for just about anything, but with the addition of the holly leaves and glitter that looks like a fine dusting of snow, it just takes it to a whole new level of vintage Christmas goodness!

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Day 11:

 

 
I love this tag! The background green in just so vibrant. It really makes the reindeer and flowers pop right off the tag! Instead of making my own covered buttons and pulling my hair out getting them wrong, I used these fabulous pre-made covered buttons from KaiserCraft. I also love the look of the white flowers, rather than the more traditional poinsettias for this tag.

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Day 10:

 

 

Is this METAL tag crazy or what? When I first saw Tim's version on his blog, I thought the boy was off his rocker. But then I decided to follow along and...WOW!!! This thing just shines IRL!! Just like an old fashioned vintage mercury glass ornament! Just brings back so many memories of decorating the tree as a little girl. Believe it or not, this turned out to be my all time FAVE tag! The technique is just insane, I never would have thought this up on my own in a million years! LOVE it!

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Day 8:

 

 

You can't have Christmas without music, so the tag above is a tribute to those favorite carols, old and new. Which, by the way, I have been listening to all day long! Really gets me in the Christmas spirit. So much, in fact, that I have decided to cave to my children's demands and put up the Christmas tree tomorrow.

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Day 7:

 

 

So what do you do when you mess up while embossing a sentiment on an otherwise completed tag? You cover it with cardstock and try again! I originally stamped the "Joy and Peace" sentiment directly onto the tag front, but it got lost in the background of swirly white flourishes. So i tried again on solid green cardstock cut into a label shape. Much better, no?

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So that's it. Tags are done!!! But did you notice anything? You DID? You noticed that tag 6 is missing? Very observant of you! Yes, I did NOT do tag 6, but I will! Alas, I tried to do my best and use what I had in my stash, but when I saw the filmstrip ribbon that Tim used on Tag 6, well, I just HAD to have it! And those metal numbers? Simply MUST use those as well. So now here I sit waiting for an online purchase to show up on my doorstep! But never fear my friends, when the box of goodies shows up, you can be sure I will be busy creating something wonderful to share with you all!

Thanks sooooo much for all of your sweet comments and kind words! You are the reason why I do what I do.

later,

nancy

KaiserCraft goodness and BIG news!

As promised, I have KaiserCraft goodness to share and also some big news!!! But I will be mean and save the news for the end. So in the meantime, here are some fun KaiserCraft pages I did recently to inspire you. Actually, I do lots of work for the various DT's and publications waaaay before I post anything here on the blog, but I need to give the co's the chance to look over my work first and pull anything they may want to use for their own purposes. Then I get to share my work with the rest of the world! My other personal stuff I create, like the Tim Holtz tags, I can share right away. ;)

So here is some KaiserCraft I have been dying to share:

 
The above page is of my nephew, Kelsey, playing his guitar. He is super talented- maybe he will be a rock star some day!

Below is a card I created using the same paper collection as above. It is always a nice change to see something not quite so girly as my usual work, right? Thank goodness for the Rewind paper collection!!! They have the best brads and fasteners too! 

 
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So another not-so-girly collection by KaiserCraft is the Pack Your Bags collection. But of course, when I use photos of my beautiful girls on any page, I have to "doll it up" a little bit! These paper flowers, also by KaiserCraft, are perfect for doing just that:

 

And here is a card using the same collection- NOT girly at all!

 

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More KaiserCraft you say? But of course! How 'bout some Lilac Avenue:

 The above page is my best friend Becca and her perfect little family- sooooo beautiful! She is the best mom in the world to those little munchkins! Love you Ichabod!!!!!!

Below is a pretty card using the Lilac Avenue collection. And yes, in typical "Nancy Style"- VERY girly! love it! But I do fear it may need more glitter. :)

 

Next week I get to share all of my Christmas projects using the THREE Christmas collections by KaiserCraft! They are all so lovely!
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!!!!!!!ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!

So do you want to hear the big news? Huh? Do you? Well DO YOU?

Okay, so I have been asked to be on the Design Team for Scrap Within Reach! I am soooooo excited!!! I was honored when they called and asked me to be a guest designer for the month of August and be featured on their blog. I just loved working with the products they so generously sent me. And then when I got the e-mail a month ago telling me that they wanted me to be on their upcoming Design Team for 2010, well I was beyond thrilled to say the least!!! A month is a looooooong time for me to keep any secret, esecially one this FAB and exciting! Here is the official announcement on their blog: SWR blog 

Here is the list of the other talented ladies on the DT:

Angella Peardon
Claude Campeau
Renee Dowling
Elisa Kammerdiener
Cathy Schellenberg
Jenny Svensson
Julie Bonner
Jamie Lane
Tracey Taylor
Delaina Burns

(As soon as I get all their info, I will add a link to each one of them and their amazing work on the right hand side column.)

 I love this company- it is not one of the giants (YET) and is still growing, but they are turning out really great products that I know consumers will just fall in love with as much as I have! They have an UBER talented Graphic Designer for their products and I am really excited to see where their creative concept takes us next! But the even bigger news? Yes, bigger than being invited to join their fabulous team? They have asked me to work in their booth at CHA in Anaheim, CA this coming January 2010, to do demos and "make-&-takes". How cool is THAT?! I just LOVE attending CHA- I have not missed a year in the past eight years and love any opportunity to share my passion for creating. I am a Designer Member of the organization and often go on my own under my own business name, but it is always nice to have a manufacturer where I can "land" while I am there and hang out with new people and make new friends!   

So onward I go in this crafty little adventure of mine!

Thanks so much to everyone for your constant love and support!

later,

nancy

More Tim Tags!

So today I did tags #5 and #6. I wish you all could see these in person!!! I really love tag #5 and the little ornaments on it using Tim's fragment charms (small clear acrylic tags). They are attached to the tag with copper wire onto the "branch" so they each swing from side to side. Such a cool little detail! I wish I could have come up with this stuff on my own, but I didn't, so thank goodness for Tim's creative genuis!!! Actually, the faux "branch" on my tag was my idea since Tim used a branch stamp that I do not have. I have been really happy with how my tags have been turning out, but they are nothing compared to Tim's original tags found here: Tim's Tags. This guy just rocks my creative world! Don't forget to click on any of the photos for really close-up pics! 

Day 5:

 

Day 5 detail:

 

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Day 6:

I will not go into detail as to why the tag below just about did me in. But I will say that I did not have any of the four stamps that Tim used on the original tag. So instead, I did a bit of free-hand stuff, and some editing in PSE, and then did some detail embossing with a small embossing pen and tried to come as close to the original tag as I could. Note to self: just buy the damn stamps next time!

Anywho, here is my version, complete with torn out dictionary page from a dictionary that my family had while I was growing up. I latched onto that dictionary in grade school and have always packed it with me everywhere I have moved to. That thing helped me win countless spelling b's, and got me thru AP English my senior year in highschool. it is an old leatherbound book and the copyright date is 1962, severely outdated, and the pages are all worn and yellowing with age, but I just still love it so! At least it is still serving a purpose as interesting background art for my alltered projects!

 

Day 6 detail:

 
 

So that's it for this weekend's projects, but I will have more tomorrow. I have some KaiserCraft projects that need posting and also some exciting news to share!

Thanks for looking!

later,

nancy    

 
 
  

Time for Tim's Tags!

So several of my friends and I have been playing along with the "Twelve Tags of Christmas" that Tim Holtz is doing over on his blog: Tim's Blog

You can play along too if you just follow his "easy" (yeah, WHAT-everrrrr) instructions. Oh BTW, he fails to mention on his blog that you have to spend a crap load of money and drive all over God's creation to find and buy everything he is using. Obviously, I am NOT using exactly the same products he is using. Rather, I am using what I have in my stash and doing my best to come close to his original tags. 

I must admit, I do have some of Tim's products, and I did go out and buy a FEW new things this year specifically for making the tags, but most of what I have of his product has been stuff I have accumulated over the years or brought back from one of his classes at CHA. But I could spend hundreds more and not even come close to having all of his products. Don't get me wrong, I would really LIKE to have all of his products, but seriously, much of it I would only use for these tags. One more thing to mention: This is the third year Tim has done the tags (different every year), but this is the first time I am attempting any of them. 

Since this is day four and I have not posted any of these, they will be listed in reverse order below, so if you stop by tomorrow, I will have the one done he is revealing tomorrow, or my best version of it!

Day 4: 

 

Tim's version of this tag used a little "memory capsule" thing as a shaker filled with glitter. I did not have a memory capsule, so above you can see I used a watch crystal filled with glitter and stuck it to a metal frame. The stamp in the middle of the watch crystal is a stamp from KaiserCraft's Dear Santa Collection. 
 

 

Another view of the watch crystal. 

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Day 4 BONUS Tag:

 
This is my version of one of the tags that he did last year. I will have to add the pearly bead trim at the bottom when I find it.

On the close-up photo above, you can see a bit more of the embossed black on the background of the tag as well as the reindeer. This was a difficult tag to do. Glad it is done cuz I think it turned out pretty! The flourish stamp I used at the bottom is from KaiserCraft.

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 Day 3:

 

So above you can see that my alcohol ink plaid technique did not turn out as good as Tim's original, but at least it is done. This is DH's favorite of all the tags I have done so far. Probably because it is a little more manly with the mashed silver metal brads and washers in the corners. It's MY least favorite. Go figure.

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Day 2:

 

This one did not photo well, but it is my FAVE!!!!!! The frame thing in the middle is embossed with a cream/gold/pearly finish and it just sparkles!

 
You can see the detail a bit better in the photo above.

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Day 1:

 

It is fairly complicated how I ended up with the snowman above looking much like Tim's without actually using the stamp he used, so I will spare you. But I will say it involved alot of free-hand cutting and swearing (especially when i accidentally cut off the snowman's arm). My mother would be so proud (not)!!!

 

You can see the glitter and crackle finish much better in the photo above if you just click on it for a larger view.

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Thanks for looking!

later,

nancy

It's Christmas time!!!!

So Turkey day is over and the Christmas festivities are in full swing!!! Going to the Festival Of Trees tomorrow, and I can't wait to see all the beautiful greenery all decked out with ornament of all kinds! I love all the glitz and glam of a tree covered in sparking lights and dripping with beautiful ornaments!

This month at the Graphic 45 Community I am in charge of the monthly challenge! So of course, I chose a challenge about ornaments using the ever-so-festive Christmas Past line of papers! Challenge participants must make an ornamant using papers from this fabulous collection. I am sooooo excited to see what everyone creates, and then I get to pick the winner of the challenge. The winner will be awarded a special prize of Graphic 45 goodies! The challenge will be up on the site tomorrow so get out those fun Christmas Past papers and get to work!!! 

Thanks for stopping by!

later,

nancy