"To Sir, With Love"

This was a project I didn't think I'd have time for, but have been wanting to do since getting that Tim Holtz Alterations Die "Writing Desk" last summer! So as soon as I logged off after posting a note onto the Compendium of Curiosities Volume III Challenge #21 page on Linda Ledbetter's blog (called L3 as in 'L to the Third Power' which is really cute since my own name is also 3 Ls...to find the Challenges, look for "CC3C" ), my mind began doing the *clickety-clickety-click* of what I could make with that technique. Of course. Go figure, fellow CraftGurls ! lol  And... since Valentines Day is the day after the deadline,.. and I was hoping to send a couple of cards to my no-longer-living-nearby kids; it seemed TERRIBLE to let this opportunity pass me by. :D  Anyone can join in on this, but you have to have your OWN copy of the book as there is no sharing of the details that are needed to complete each project as it is taught. COOL prizes are sponsored by  The Inspiration Emporium ; Tim Holtz and his (BTS) helper, Mario Rossi; and The Funkie Junkie Boutique .

In fact, I just found out earlier this morning, that I won the Random Drawing Prize from my project entry for CC3C #20 !! YAY!!! So I have a $25 Shopping Spree from The Funkie Junkie Boutique coming !!! More cash for this CraftGurl's stash! That sure made my day after being pretty beat up by all the Dr appts when I only have 15 more to go this month out of 18 total. Yay. *sigh*

So, getting on with this... My studio desk as been as messy as my computer desk this month. I wanted to make two of whatever I ended up with- one for me to keep and one for the ChiefHubby. I've made a kind of tradition out of making him a tag for Valentine's Day the last few years. Back when I did The 12 Tags of 2013, my February Tag was chosen as one of the 12 winners, and I'd given the ChiefHubby his own copy of it that time, but this year, I only made three (two to send to the kid-couples) and kept the third for my own collection. So this was a chance to make something only he and I would have. As always- I did the both sides to these, having some fun with the backsides, which poke a wee bit of fun at each of us in our "Morning Person" and "Night Owl" modes. (Do you really need to guess which one I am??)

 It gave me a little leeway to do something not-so-normal for this very UNsparkly girl. I cut a couple of hearts out with the TH Movers&Shapers die set, used some Spun Sugar Distress Paint, and.....got some Rock Candy Distress Glitter.....all over my studio. And THAT'S why I am NOT such a glittery girl. I think the Chief will be surprised to see me use glitter at all since I am always turning my nose at it. I am a horsey, love-bein-outside, shorts&T, gimme-the-ocean,sand&sun kinda girl. So using glitter was going well outside of my comfort zone. WAY well outside.



BACKSIDES: On the left- my "Night Owl" shows the time I am at my best- at least alive and moving well. And on the right, is the ChiefHubby's usual- he's the "Morning Person" as he leaves for work at 5am every weekday morning for 25 years at SIA. His morning best time usually also holds over for the weekends as well. When it's Sunday, I tend to try to grab for the COFFEE at Church. ;)

 

 

 The photos above show a bit of detailing on the frontsides. It's really hard to get the right lighting for the technique to show up and I was hard put to see it on some of the other projects as well when I checked in last night for the Winners of CC3C #20. There are some AWSOME entries for this Challenge #21 !!! I still need to finish looking back to the Challenges I missed. I am a late finder/starter in this, but have been VERY warmly welcomed by everyone! :D

                 I am also sending this same project in for the Monthly Contest for February on The Inspiration Emporium 's blog, 'Inspiration Journal'. Again, there are some AWESOME prizes for the winners! And, even if you don't choose to enter anything....you'll get a ton of inspiration if you're looking for something to craft, but not sure how to do it. You'll love the tiny stoves made by Lisa Hoel just for an idea-starter! The project photos can lead you to the crafter's blog where you'll find more than enough talent to help you along. 

         Thanks for checking back in, and I hope to see YOUR project on IE, if you want to give it a try!

                                                             Happy Blogging!

FEBRUARY TAG; The 12 Tags of 2015

February is usually thought of as the "Love" month, and I admit to such thinking myself. But I also see February as a c-c-c-cooooold, snowy, wind-blown month also. Living here in Indiana, I can't help but feel the pain of Old Man Winter making his last greatest, chilliest strikes of the year. I also am pretty strict about Valentine's Day being an important celebration of a chance to do something small to say "I love you" to your Sweetheart. AND....it's also the last day I give for having the snowmen, or any other winter decor or lights. I've always put those away no later than Feb. 14th. Or risk more freezing snow?? lol

Tim played his February Tag very well, and I really LOVED the idea of cutting, pasting, pasting, and pasting again. :D  Those are the very basics of crafting! And the thing about ephemera is that you can use store-bought (I absolutely LOVE Tim's choices he has out on the racks), cut some from stash paper (Tim also has already done the work for you in his paper stacks into smaller or larger cuts- which I have almost all the stacks), or even make your own (my fave choice of all). I love using my printer and usually am printing something just about every single day, and so does my ChiefHubby. For this reason, I have two setups going for us. Now that he is retired from GVFD, his actual printing is going to be cut in half; much like mine was when our kids both were graduated from high school. So I actually have much less wear/tear on both setups and they will likely last more than the 1 year each they used to do! So saving more of my own finds online, or scanned, is really nice!

Saving my own files of finds for ephemera allows me to change them into personalized items. It helps cut down on the work if you find something that closely resembles what you're looking for. For instance, I wanted to add photos to the backsides of my tag, but I also wanted to make it look older. So I googled through 'vintage cabinet cards, Indiana' and up came hundreds of images to choose from that people share for free to download. I always keep an original and work from a copy. Then change the copy as I would like it to look, and save it to my files.

 

           Then, when it comes to IdeaOlogy, I try to always have enough to use for each copy of Tag I am making, and in this case, I was wanting to make three tags total, so I would have one for each couple in our family- my ChiefHubby and I, our older son, Brian, & his girl, Ashley and younger son, Brett, & his wife, Holli. But I didn't have any of the Industrial Stickers for the intended Valentine tags. So I turned to my drawers of stashed items and found two 'photo' bottle caps in bronz, a gold laurel wreath with a heart and bow, and some Word Sticks, an 'Observations' Word Band, plus the Arrows Adornments. To make the bottle caps work, I pounded them down with my hammer, then used a few drops of Silver Mix Alcohol Ink onto the caps and also the gold laurel wreath...and presto: perfect items to use in place of the small oval Industrial Stickers!

 

 

    I had to take a little more care during sewing because I couldn't sew right through the metal objects like you can with the Industrial Stickers (made of firmer cardstock items), but it worked quite well. And I was also able to add some of the same edging from Grandma's sheet set to not only give the 'soft' look, but another vivid memory as well handed down to our kids. I chose not to sew any of it onto the front side, but I chose to sew some along the bottom of the photos onto the 'cabinet card' for the backsides of the tags.  I may not be crafty when it comes to making clothing items, (I can do doll clothes, though,) but I really LOVE getting that machine out for PAPER crafting !! ;)



Frontsides: (LtoR) Brett & Holli, Me-n-theChiefHubby, Brian & Ashley

 



Backsides of each: (LtoR) Brett & Holli, all of us for Me-n-theChiefHubby, Brian & Ashley.



         Thanks for all the sweet comments and encouragement from lots of mega-talented folks out there!
I want to wish everyone a wonderfully Happy Valentine's Day! And know that you are LOVED not only by others in this world, but by our Lord and Saviour, JESUS CHRIST ! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you'll take a look at the next post, made for the COC3 Challenge #21.
                                          Be safe and, as always; Happy Blogging !!