July- Oh my, this month went out with a big *bang!* in being very busy! We got back from Florida (as noted in my last post) and had only a few days to change out the undies in our suitcases and head back out again. But, as luck would have it; our younger Minnesota kids were making a trip down to spend time with her side of the family. I was able to get in one evening with Baby Pecan, then it was time to hit the road again. We would have one more day together - along with the ChiefHubby's Dad) when we returned, before they had to head back up again. This time, we were headed for Hillsburo, Ohio- the site of the P2P (Person 2 Person Ministries) Family Camping Retreat. This was our third time there (4- if you count how covid19 caused cancelation of the entire event last year, as most things went in 2020), and it is an awesome time to relax and enjoy the many chances to worship The LORD and serve others. A group of us from Church of Christ at Logansport go together, with one a Doctor offering services while there. He's the one who got us started going 4 years ago. Since I am deaf and have a hard time in larger groups, I attend just the evening gathering, so this gave me a chance to chill with my Guest Designer spot for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog, with "chill" being the key word there: "chill" did not happen. It actually became the hottest week of the year! And most of our group was situated on pre-reserved spots we had chosen one year in advance- in the full sun. So each of the campers had full beating sun on them, with little escape from the heat until the full cool of the evening gave us all a break. Ordinarily, this kind of weather is MY kind of stuff- I LOVE IT!! But, it wasn't actually conductive to my plan of creating, as you'll soon see.
The Plan to SHIMMER & SHINE for TFJB Challenge:
Yes, I keep a journal of plans.
Not every project is in here, though, as sometimes I just go where my ArtMuse leads.
On the left side; the backside of the project that won me this GD spot.
CLICK HERE if you missed it.
I actually set out everything I thought I might use.
As it happened, I didn't use the new TH Stencil "Circuit"
and it will have to wait in the wings, once again.
That new Crop In Style 16x16 is getting a LOT of use this year!
I like making my own cardstock-backed foil for all my projects,
I like to use heavy duty foil, but forgot to pack the box into my craft bag.
Camper foil will do.
The key for having it stick; leaving it dry flat for several days ahead.
But, me did not get that time because me forgot.
Then me didn't plan on da hot, sticky, icky weadder sticking to me bedder than da foil stuck!
In the end, it all worked out, though. ;)
And THEN, there was the TH Yupo paper experiment with the same colors...
Can you say "FAIL!"??
Ah, but let's embrace those mistakes! I did like the one on the left and saved it for another day.
So...let's try that again...
and we SUCCEED in getting just what we're after!
Now, we set that awesome FRONT background aside, and work on the BACK side.
I wanted the front side of the Tag to shine more and the back to be more aged-looking.
Getting two pieces of that TH Collage Paper Travel to layer together and be able
to cut part of the overlap off...
I taped the bottom half down to the craftsheet at the top underside edge of the tissue-
leaving the rest of it just lay there.
That kept it from moving all over while I was trying to get the other half secured to it-
again with just one row of tape on the bottom underside edge of that top half.
It was easy to match both up exact.
After this, all I needed to do was gently lift off both pieces (they were now held
together by the tape on that top half),
and easily cut off the excess piece.
And then I transfered the entire (now a one piece sheet of tissue) thing
to the TH Mini Etcetera Thickboard Tag.
Burnishing
(which is basically: glue the material to the Etcetera tag, trim the edges off as close as you can- Tim Holtz's Mini Snips scissors are great for getting close- then use your sanding tool to sand all that edging to as much or as little as you like)
is my favorite way to alter the TH Etcetera Tags and these Bracket Shelf pieces!
After that, I wanted to add a finishing touch to make it "mine" with my
favorite sprinkling of TH Black Soot Distress Paint.
Don't forget to heat dry TH Distress products.
After using what I needed for the Etcetera Tag, Bracket Shelf and Reinforcer pieces,
I cut one piece of the background to fit inside the frame.
and used Lady Liberty with Ranger Archival in Jet Black to stamp her where
the Silver Alcohol Mixative was spread the thickest.
By cutting the piece to fit FIRST, I could tell exactly where I wanted
Liberty's face to fit the frame best- I layered it all like this:
1) the TH Frame (splattered with TH Distress Black Soot Paint
2) the stamp glass
3) TH Cling Stamp Liberty
to stamp the cut background piece.
This is the SIZZIX regular Bigz barn Star. I thought I had Tim's (shown next pic), but if I did,
I wasn't able to find it before leaving. In any case, both work the same way and
you end up with the same pieces/finished piece.
Using one piece as your pattern, cut each of the rest down to the size you wish your star to be.
(Use one of the cut pieces to then cut the pattern piece in turn.)
You should have five pieces all equal size.
This die- as with Tim's- can also make a 6-sided star, but it will need to be cut to a tighter fit.
Both the regular die and Tim's die make very nice LARGE barn stars.
You'll see why I cut mine down when you view the final results.
I used the TH 3D Impresslits Folder Foundry.
while the foil stretches nicely due to those tiny wrinkles,
you'll notice I still spritzed the folder with water- just for the cardstock backing to stretch better.
Again- that TH Black Soot Distress Paint comes to aid me in making a bit of distress
on my SHINNING Star!
Now, I wanted to finish the background plan for the FRONT side of my Tag.
I told my ChiefHubby: "This is the part where I can either come out with an
awesome-looking successful idea...
or I can embrace a failure and go with my Plan B idea.
And here's where I FAILED.
The Distress Glazes just did NOT want to work during the heat and humidity for whatever reason.
I went ahead with my plan to ghost stamp a rare set of TH that had
some cursive writing on it that I wanted to resemble old 1700s type of writing.
(See me trying to hide my mistake..hehe.)
I do hate how gummy that clear set gets, though.
Tim's stamps have come a long way with the cling sets and I LOVE those red rubber stamps!
The rest of the idea for the Flag went off as planned. :)
Once I got back home, I was able to finish up a printed set of sayings to choose from.
This set my Tag in my favorite Americana Summer form!!
The FRONT SIDE
The brand new released: TH Distress Glaze in Prize Ribbon shows off its blue sheen.
on a cut of TH Grungepaper die cut with TH Stenciled Number 4 for July 4th,
my Favorite Holiday! The TH Ranger Silver Alcohol Ink Mixative helps the TH Distress Chipped Sapphire peek through just right, and it's held there with a TH Large Hinge Clip.
IdaOlogy !!!
That blue ribbon showing off up there is a FREEBIE GIFT from
that came in an order with my TH Distress Glaze in Tim's newest release.
THANK YOU, LINDA COUGHLIN!!!
Alcohol ink can make anything shine!
What better to bring a little pop of shiny color than more STARS?!
These have been sitting around for some time and I wanted to use them.
Why not use a SHINY button with a fave motif or better yet: our own USA Flag!
Lady Liberty: she SHINES her own light for all to see throughout the world.
THANK YOU, once again, for joining me on this SHIMMERING SUMMER FUN journey! And a very special THANK YOU to The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and its fabulous Design Team for allowing me to take the Guest Design spot to wherever my ArtMuse wants to lead me. I've come to realize that "shiny" and "shimmer" doesn't mean it has to involve glitter. Those of us who don't care for the glitzy, glittery, tad-too-much-glare (not to mention messy) type of projects that make us avoid taking a CHALLENGE altogether, don't need to be shunned. Seeing what we can come up with that suits our artist's desires, while stepping outside our own box can actually end up with a TREASURE that shines brighter than any amount of glitter could.
And just like that; this Shimmering Summer Fun Challenge will be over all too soon- the deadline is Tuesday; August 10th at 11:55pm. Join in on the fun and see what you can come up with. You may end up winning the $25 (randomly drawn) Gift Certificate (Sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique
THANK YOU, EVERYONE:
Yes, I am overwhelmed and humbled by the sheer number of folks
who are taking a look at my artistic creations!
Especially all the wonderfully kind comments- they lift my spirits!
Until Next Time...
Stay Safe &
HAPPY BLOGGING!!!
2 comments:
Hello
I love your star but could you please tell how you make your foil card? I saw what I thought was a bottle of modge podge but not sure, that looked really interesting to me! Thank yuo, this is the first time on your blog and I really like it. Your stories with the pictures is so interesting and feels like you are here talking to us in person. Thanks again, an also hot Michigander.
Aww…THANK YOU for the kind remarks!
Yes, the foil on regular cardstock is done with midlife glue- I like to use matte because it sticks better than gloss. I like using heavy-duty foil, but regular works fine although it allows more wrinkles since it’s not as stiff as heavy duty. I simply paintbrush modpodge onto a single sheet of cardstock & carefully lay down a gently torn off sheet of foil. Burnishing down as you go- I like using a rolling pin. I trim my excess foil off while still wet, so glue doesn’t get all over. Then lay it under a heavyweight item that is completely flat underside (plastic covered large books are great for this, but I use a primitive large dough bowl). Let sit a day or so- depending on how many you have done & stacked. Just make sure your glue is not showing anywhere, so they don’t stick together. If it starts to flake while you’re working with it after drying out, simply use little bits of glue again as needed.
(I use white 110 lbs/150 sheets found at Walmart in printing paper section- FYI: it also prints very well. About $6 pkg)
Tim Holtz has a foil sheet called “Mirrored”, but it isn’t as easy to find, so I make my own on the fly as I need it.
Hope that helps you out, & please try it out and join in on a TFJB Challenge to share what you’ve come up with- I’ll be watching for it!!!
❤️❤️❤️
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