Tim Holtz Addicts (THA on Facebook)...#THA_May : Remnant Rub Resist... All I Can See is MUSHROOMS!

 May; the name of this month is synonymous with the word "RAIN"- at least for year 2019.  And while my #THA_May Tag was begun on the first days of the month, it was put off by three things: aggravation, inclination, and the usual procrastination. The teaser photo on the left shows basically what my aggravation was from (rain, rain, and more rain), while the right side photo shows where I was inclined to spend more time. I took the first photo of ALL our Grandbabies...the youngest-Baby Pecan-still in utero...together! (Mommy of Peanut and Pistachio, Older Daughter Ashley, was at home catching up on things while Chloe went with Daddy to our campsite to pick up Big Bro, Cole, who spent two days there with us.) We will be together for Mackinac Island,

Michigan, vacation coming up, so I will have opportunity for all of us in one photo! And with trying to fit in all the get-ready-for-summer things to do; the rain just didn't want to time itself to MY schedule. Grrrr! Not to mention having to mow muddy grass where there is actually more MUD than grass. Pro: the pool got filled up quickly. Con: the weather held us back from opening on our usual May 1st all the way to nearly JUNE 1st. Pool Momma not too happy about that. On the other hand....all that rain brought us the very inspiration for this month's THA Tag!

                           

 The chosen THA Tim Technique challenged...

Tim's Original May 2013 Tag with the Remnant Rub Resist...

...and my own take on May 2013 Tag- one for myself and one for a Bestie.

And where I got my idea from for this May THA Tag...

Can you find FOUR Morel Mushrooms?

It takes practice, but once you find just ONE, it's usually easier... and addicting!

Here they are...

most commonly called Morels or Shrooms, here.

These are "greys" and others look "black" or "yellow sponges".

PS: I have extra long fingers.

Oops, almost tripped over this one!

That was the largest morel I found and only a few out of the 54 total, only a handful

were under 4 inches. That's a pretty good year. Not the BEST- where I found over 200-

but pretty good!

The biggest batch find all at once.

It usually takes more than one trip to hunt out here in our area, and

they usually grow after and before certain dates of April (end of) and May (beginning of).

By mid-May, the season is over in our area and moves northward toward Michigan.

That one large shroom made a meal for two- with a nice ribeye steak- both 

well done just perfect in MY opinion!

After soaking the shrooms in salt water, each is cut in half and dredged first in 

beaten egg and then flour (I add salt and pepper to mine), then fast frozen onto

cookie sheets for bagging up.....

… or pan fried till golden brown in Butter Flavor Crisco, and eaten right away.

After seeing SHROOMS in my dreams...

I pretty much had a good idea what my Tag was going to look like.

Especially after counting mushrooms day in and day out during the almost-3-week season.

(NOTE: Instead of adding a list of items at the end- I am showing

them in the two photos which will make listing them easier on the THA posting.)

I chose randomly from four sets of TH Remnant Rubs I had,

and chose every 1, 2, and 3 numbers I could find.

After cutting each into a rain/teardrop shape, I used my TH Remnant Rub Tool

to adhere each to my plain white cardstock Tag front.

Then I chose a TH Baseboard Doll that most looked like ME after a

2 mile trek through (mostly) rainy day hiking over hills and through gullies,

and chose some TH Distress Inks, Markers, and Crayons

that fit my Doll and Remnant-Rubbed Tag.

Using some of the TH Transparent Wings- I chose two of the same tiny ones

and poked a hole in the very middle of both- to fit a TH IdeaOlogy Spinner in between...

...and using more TH IdeaOlogy; a Long Fastener and a Jump Ring;

I was able to attach my butterfly to the ribbon (from my general stash)

making it look like the butterfly was pointing out the hidden SHROOMS to me!

And here's the result:

The rain and storms DID help the Shrooms grow,

but it's about time for Indiana to finally get a break after 2 full months of 

rain, rain, and more rain- brought by waaaay too many mega-storms!

Last night was about my last straw; FIVE HOURS of continued heavy storm front

that brought my backyard at least 3 inches of sitting water.

And here I thought my MUD was getting a bit dehydrated by the one sunny afternoon.

Some Closeup Pics:

The Butterfly

I added some Glossy Accents to the TH Word Band- more rain everywhere, ya know.

She DOES just about match the look of MY mood after all this. *sigh*

Some more Glossy Accents made the perfect look of the dew that covers the Shrooms-

which are composed of mostly water. The TH Spritzer gave them the right look as well!

Believe it or not- a plain backside!

Because I want to add some of the above photos in tiny print outs to this side!

You know me and my photos by now. lol

The perspective view- so you can see the buildup of matboard used to pile higher than the

TH Baseboard Doll. I can't help it if I am in LOVE with LAYERING!!!

And those TH Baseboard Dolls are just right for more dimension on just about anything!

And now, I must close here- not only so that I won't miss the THA deadline,

but also so that I can get my mudders on and slop through to the barns to get out

all my yard tools and mower, and try to make some headway into all the damage 

left by last night's storms. Again. This kinda life is getting reeeeeally OLD.

And worst complaint of all: with the power going out all the time, it

doesn't leave one with much time in her Craft Studio to play 

with all those TH Dolls...much less any time to create on the computer!

My ragging is done as I am sooooo over this. Actually, I wanna shout "DO OVER!"

to that season called Spring! But that's not going to happen, and

our Creator GOD has His reasons for all the weather in all places.

We just do like each Challenge or project...and MOVE ON.

A huge THANKS! for checking in once again!

Be Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!

Frilly and Funkie Challenge #11 I Love It Because... Memories

  Memorial Day is almost upon us; the year of 2019 is fast becoming halfway done, already! As if time was not short enough these days. But, even while I sit and complain under my breath about all the things I have to get done, I am always reminded that these are things I CHOOSE to do. Here in America, Land of the Free...it's all because of The BRAVE who gave the ultimate sacrifice of their lives: for ME. For me to be able to choose to have "so much to do and so little time". Amazing thought, huh? But how often do we go about honoring those Soldiers who gave all with more than just flowers, parades, the US Flag posted on tidied-up graves? (Not to say we should lax on any of that; of course not!) What I am asking is; how do we LIVE EACH DAY thinking of all those men and women (and way, way too many innocents in the middle of it all)? In this country, WE ARE SO BLESSED!!! But, do we LIVE like we are? 
           That's what was on my mind when this theme ("I Love It Because...") the Lead Designers came up with on The Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog . How on Earth was I going to choose from all the Tim Holtz things I LOVE so much to use?!? And, better yet; how was I going to incorporate all those things into ONE project?? Then it hit me that time was really running short; Memorial Day was coming up and the weather has NOT been exactly 'cooperative' here in Indiana. Let's just say that each more period of rain that comes down is helping my mud stay hydrated. NOT fun. At all. And because of the rain... it comes from clouds. Clouds, as we all know, block out the sun. No sun; no warmth. So everything has been delayed by 2 or 3 weeks this year- planting flowers, opening the pool, etc. The only thing NOT delayed is the need to mow all the higher-than-usual grass! *Using my Laurel &Hardy voice* "Stanley, that's another FINE MESS you've gotten me into!" literally. 
              Soooooo….all griping aside... we are finally catching up. But it all dug deeply into my Craft Room time. (Which is presently all a mess since we had to remove everything from that closet to get into the crawl under the house in case the water holding tank was bad. Thankfully; no, it turned out to be the outside faucet stuck on. We weren't able to get a shower, but the pool got totally filled unbeknownst by us!) Everything will work out. GOD always has a Plan and thanks to HIM, we are not in control! And, I was able to at least make my take for this project challenge!! No "How To" pics are in here, but I was able to at least add a couple of start pics of stuff I used, and I'm just glad for that. As for some hot glue strings you may see...well... just EMBRACE IMPERFECTIONS with me!

         The first couple is my Maternal Grandparents, Odus Gordon and Isabelle Louise (Dowdy) Raymer. These are the only Grandparents I knew until I met my ChiefHubby. I was named for my Grandma with the same middle name. Yeah, go ahead; laugh. I was born Lyla Louise Daugherty and married to a guy with a last name beginning with L. To make matters worse, I was born in Logansport, Indiana. So giving all that info with all those Ls makes people think I have a LISP. My Dad had a heyday over it. (He was really my Dad from the time I was 7 yrs old and finished raising me after my parents divorced when I was 15, so his name was Rush, which I wasn't able to take on even though he tried to make possible.) This couple was young when I was born-  both 45 years old, with Grandma just a few months older than Grandpa. They were married in 1939, and were married 63 years at Grandma's death in 2003. I was close to both as I basically lived with them from birth until I was in school, since my Mother was single, young (23) and had 3 older kids besides myself.

"The Farm"- one of several they bought, fixed up, and moved on, held all my earliest memories. Grandpa farmed 40 acres, worked a full time job at a local factory- designing machines and tools- and was a carpenter. He and Grandma were the reason I am a Christian, and they were the ones who made sure I got to church with them as early as I can remember. And...they were very musically talented- BOTH. Grandma could really rock her piano and organ (Grandpa always provided very well for Grandma just like my ChiefHubby does for me now), and she had at least 2 accordions that I LOVED watching her dance along with her playing when it was just Grandma and me at home! Grandpa played the guitar, banjo, and ukulele. A favorite song (aside from plenty of 'rockin' Gospel and some Country) Grandpa loved: "The Animal Fair". And it was asked for by all. So I guess you could say I got my love of music from them also- the beat is what gets me, and especially since I began going deaf at age 11. I can feel the beat to 50s, 60s, and 70s, and some fave 80s. But toss a new song my way and I am lost without the ChiefHubby or my kids helping me with it. 

       The couple on the upper right side became my Grandparents almost from the very day I met them. I was 16 and David was 19 the summer of '82 when we began dating June 16th. I had just started dating 6 months before and he was home from his first year at Purdue University and starting as a Manager back to work at McDonald's his 5th year- where I'd just gotten hired. (Yes, we still have our McD's 1 year class rings and both our kids had a blast showing them off in Elementary School! David's Dad had worked there for a 2nd job as a Manager, on his days off of the Fire Dept, and during summers off from Purdue...our Younger Nuke Engineer Son worked at McD's! lol!)

So here I was meeting his Grandparents over at their Lake Shaffer home on the Isle of Homes, just outside of Monticello, Indiana. I walked up to the door and just about had a heart attack: the welcome mat said "The DOUGHERTYS" which was MY NAME (spelled with an A instead of O). It was another one of those "you didn't ASK" answers when I whispered "WHY didn't you TELL ME?!" to my future ChiefHubby. And meeting them was eating a full several-course meal from Grandma Dougherty- complete with cake- and Grandpa Dougherty's homebaked cookies...in the middle of JULY..."for David's Girlfriend". Pressure, much? Nope. I asked what I should call them and their answer was "I'm GRANDMA and he's GRANDPA". So there you go; fast in love, just like with their Grandson. Now, David is the first of his generation, like Grandma Dougherty was, like his Aunt Pat was. And our Older Son is the first of his also. So, talking to Gr&Gr D was not only easy, but over the years I shared many of my deepest secrets- as with my Gr&Gr Raymer. And the parallels were pretty cool: Margarette Marie (Groff) married James Albert Dougherty Sr. in 1939. Grandma was born in December- just a few months older than Grandpa born in February. And most uncanny: they were married for 63 years until Grandpa died in 2002. Grandma followed him in 2004.

And the most precious thing: my Grandpa Raymer came to Grandma Dougherty's funeral for us- because he said they had been MY Grandparents as much as he had been, and he know how much of my life had been with them as well. He'd finally gotten to see the things we did for fun at "The Lake" on most weekends of every summer.  

                                         Here's what I have...
                                  making a 2-sided large Tag:

                                  

Things I gathered together items that I knew I'd use- most are VERY faves of mine!

The cuts and embossing done- I moved on to TH Distress Products...

The TH Distress Inks and Oxides are the ones I use the most- 

again, faves of mine that get a lot of use!

The DOUGHERTYS !!!

Now you can see why I have been in LOVE with just how these frames are- as is!!

Grandpa Dougherty was a Railroad Yardmaster. So things that are TH IdeaOlogy 

clockwork, gears, etc, are a HUGE FAVE of mine!

So also, is the TH Alterations Die Tattered Evergreen; taking the die cut backwards 

makes a very cute tattered rose. BOTH Grandmas stayed home and raised kids.

And I got my love of flowers from BOTH Grandmas and Grandpas!

The cards are from the Alice in Wonderland Challenge- for all the Eucre games

we played at the Lake. In fact: that's where I learned to play and it definitely

pleased my Dad that I finally learned. He and I won a couple Rush family tournaments together!

The Red, White, and Blue: THANKFUL!!!

The TH paperie chosen here is a nod to my Mother- Daughter of Gr & Gr Raymer.

She has spent her life -from her teen years- designing and sewing, and is very sought out for her talents,not to mention winning many awards for her one-of-a-kind detailed work.

The pink rose is for the shared name we have:

Grandma Raymer always got me pink things, for my favorite color.

And I began my very first kitchen- which is still in the same décor here-

with strawberries. Because that was Grandma Raymer's kitchen!

We even helped each other buy the set of dishes that came out one year,

and the next couple of years, added to each other's matching pots and pans in the same design.

There's my fave die: TH Alterations Old Jalopy-

for my Grandpa's 1931 Durant which he bought the year I was born.

It took years to get it back to original shape, but the parades and car shows

I rode to with him; it continued after marriage; the ChiefHubby would run me to them

if we had the chance to go see him in one.

He added a red Ford Convertible (1967 or 69? I have to look it up now- AGE!!)

and a 1956 Packard. On a visit during his work on that, I asked why he was 

changing the original greenish to a blue when he'd always kept original colors?

He went over to get a paint sample card and put it up to my eyes and said

"because it matches the color of YOUR EYES"... and it DID. 

And it wasn't until my Grandpa Raymer had his Durant in the Classic Car Magazine,

I'd had to READ it that he was in the US Service during WWII afterall!

He was finally drafted, and ended up in the US Navy...for all of 4 days.

The war was over, and they were already shipping Draftees back home from Training.

When I drove over to the house to give him the 'what for' that I'd never heard of it before,

he replied "you never ASKED me before". My response to that was the same it was to

my Dad after my Sister and I listened to him telling my young Son all about

riding the Trolleys up and down the old downtown while sitting on his Grandpa's lap.

My Sister and I both looked at each other with open jaws as he'd never told US that,

and we said so. Dad said "you never ASKED".

We both gave him what he'd taught us to do very well: *raspberries*!!!

My Grandpa laughed over the ones I gave him, too. *hmph*

This was a very special project for me- as if you couldn't already tell. lol

And I am shouting out a THANK YOU! to the Lead Design Team as well as

The Funkie Junkie Boutique

for sponsoring the Frilly and Funkie Challenges.

Another shout of TANX! goes out to The THA Group on Facebook;

where my #THA_Apr Tag won the April Tim Tag Challenge;

the prizes that came in the box really SURPISED me: so many Tim GOODIES!!

One of them was a package of these IdeaOlogy Baseboard Frames!!

I was blown away by their generosity- truly!! When they first contacted me about 

'the prize', I was thinking it would be one small item and I contacted back that if I already had 

the same; it could pass to another person who didn't have it.

But it was a BUNCH of things I DIDN'T have; I was saving the one TH Frame

that said "Dougherty Bros" and... you must really KNOW us THA ppl... we DO hoard!!

And so, here it is and I still have another to save just for , well, SAVING !!!

And, THANK YOU! for so many lovely comments,

and all the check-ins to see my takes on project challenges!

You guys and gals are TOPS!!!

You make my day!!

Until next time...

Stay Safe over this Memorial Day, 

HAPPY BLOGGING, &

A HUGE SHOUTOUT TO

ALL OUR

VETERANS

and

their FAMILIES:

THANK YOU, &

GOD BLESS YOU!!!

Frilly and Funkie Challenge #10; Spring Is In Bloom...Bloom Where You are Planted!

   May Day! It seems like it was so far off just a while ago, and it's here! The month of "shrooming", grass growing & mowing (in earnest), & the very 2nd Day of May is when our Older Son, Brian, was born...THIRTY years ago!
It was just one of the first of THE best days of my life; holding that 4 weeks preemie baby boy and wondering at how GOD can do such perfect Creating. I felt like I was born to be a Mom, and he was such a good baby, child, and now a Dad twice over himself- as well as bringing us a wonderful Daughter. But....30?? Time flies.
      If that's not enough of a milestone; the Younger Couple Kids chose to announce their secret on that same day: we're going to be Grandparents again this year- November! At the moment, I can't imagine 3 Grandbabies at Christmas this year, but if it's anything like the first Christmas with Wittle Peanut Cole...I think it will be AWESOME with him, the Princess Pistachio, Chloe Madison, and Baby Larimore!! No gender as of yet for the Baby-of-the-family's Baby, but like the first two Grandbabies: as long as it's healthy and everything goes well for both Baby and Momma- we'll be happy! Watching the Younger Son try to open and close a new stroller while we were up there over Easter (did the photo shoot then), was nothing short of hilarious. It was like a replay of when we were expecting Cole just 2 short years ago. (Frankly, I think those new strollers are made to be ADULT PROOF when it comes to opening and closing the suckers.)
           All the above has me feeling like this current Frilly and Funkie Challenge is just right for me- it's as if things really ARE "blooming", and coming up roses as well.  But what made me think of my take on this, was that each of these Grandbabies is going to be just as different from each other, as they are similar. Each will be blessed with their own personality and their own talents. Since David's late Mom was known as "Grandma Larimore", I decided not to take that name. I go by MeeMaw (MeeMaw Larimore); which Cole just said the other day for the first time, much to my extreme excitement! As a Grandma, I will have no favorites. We raised our boys that way, and we love them each differently but the same. And we love both our Daughters the same as well. Each child is a GIFT and there is just no way for one to shine over another. While no child can choose who they are born to, likewise, they cannot choose where or when they will be born- that's all up to GOD who is the Creator. And there are so many times- especially in these days- when we look out at the news both locally and around the world and it brings sadness to us that awful things happen. I used to rant and rave at the injustices of this world, and watching the news made that worse. I have one Sister who absolutely refuses to watch any news at all because of this feeling. It can make ANY of us feel helpless to be able to do anything to help when and where there is hurt in the world. Yes- we can PRAY. And YES- that DOES work! But, I learned long ago, that the peace we can feel comes easier if we learn to do what we can...right where we are! Even the simplest help can go a long way! Of maybe you have a way to travel and help, or send help (we have done both of these also). Anyone can be an important part of "the big picture". Everyone has a talent. Everyone is important. And most of all: EVERYONE IS LOVED.
        The bottom line of all the aforementioned: BLOOM WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED! 

                 And this is where my inspiration took me...

I started out with a couple of larger-sized rotary-cut Tags.

Each would make a side of one Tag put together.

TH Memoranda Paper was calling my name with "Hey, you; USE ME!", lol.

I treated them with TH Oxide Inks in Antique Linen and Old Paper.

I started with some basic cuts from TH Alterations Dies;

Bigz Tattered Evergreen

and Thinlits Set, Wildflowers #2

I had a Sizzix basket embossing folder, so I fussy cut that out.

The Evergreen Die makes pinecones, but a long time back; Tim showed how to 

make a tattered rose with the same die. This was my intent for it here.

I started with the Front Side Tag- making the twisted stem out of a Stampin'Up stamp,

embossing it and then cutting it out TWICE- each twist as one length, and then twisting them together again for some added dimension popped up with popdots.

A Friskars Christmas Light punch made leaves just the right size:

I stacked up the punched-out leaves into four layers and took a snip off one side

with my TH Scissors. I loved the effect I got!

Here comes that TH Faceted Hearts Thinlits Set again!

I absolutely LOVE this die set !!!

(Can't you tell?!)

Again: this little trick keeps the hearts from getting smashed in.

I tear up tiny pieces of Kleenex Tissue and shoved them into an almost-closed heart

glued together with Glossy Accents. Another dab or two will close the hearts up completely.

I made 4 out of one small sheet of pastel cardstock, but only needed three.

Here's where the TH Distress Inks and Oxide Inks come in:

giving each piece or layer of cardstock/paperie some dimension before adding it to the Tag.

Lastly, I made the saying on my computer and printed it out.

TH Strip Die Tattered Ribbons made a nice cut for them.

This was how it came out...

FRONT SIDE

You can see the pop dots added (in 4 layers) to build up the planter to a rounded up shape.

Every planter has some kind of stick or fun item in it!

So the TH Story Stick worked here- out of IdeaOlogy.

BACK SIDE

This ribbon was given pop dots in an uneven layer across the back-

I wanted it to look like it was waving out in a field.

Three cuts of the bloom itself gave this flower some "oomph"!

Pop dots to the rescue for that.

And a bit of TH Distress Crayon in Spiced Marmalade gave a bit of color to the tips.

THANKS;

once again, for stopping by!!

And even MORE SO; for all the comments!!

I am truly honored to have so many people taking a look at my makes!

If you get the chance...

stop by The Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog

to look at the other entries for this Challenge,

And better still: JOIN US!!

I've had several of my projects get into the Top 3 Picks,

chosen as a Top Pick (to be a Guest Designer)

and I've had the pleasure of winning the Drawing from the Sponsor;

The Funkie Junkie Boutique ,

and YOU have those chances as well!!

But you'll never know till you TRY!

Here's to a BLOOMIN' SPRING for all!

Be Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!