The end of February roared in like an Indiana March, here on the Florida Panhandle. And with it, came warmer air than we've had yet. My palms are reblooming fronds and the Azaelas are full of pink blooms. I say this just for those up north to take heart; Spring IS coming soon! We're staying busy these last weeks here, enjoying the time before we head back up and face the work of opening up the Indiana house and all the spring yardwork there is sure to be waiting for us. Plus, there's four little Blessings up north who are waiting for us to spend time together with them, I love the photos the kids send, and the stories that go along with. There're always shenanigans that go on, such as older Son explained how he was on his phone only 5 minutes and he found Peanut jumping on the trampoline... in his au naturel shell. Jumping along with him was Princess Pistachio- obviously shelled. Pecan learned to cook breakfast, and Princess Rose learned how to blow *raspberries*. (Great Grandpa Rush would be so very proud, lol!) Older Daughter had her 2nd shoulder surgery- after months of extreme pain from a failed 1st surgery. This time, while it's a long healing process, she seems to be finally making some progress. I'm immensely thankful, yet, still praying that she'll be pain free and able to at least not have it keep her from living daily life the way it has been. It's been quite a past year for our girls, as 2022 had some rough times for both of them. Younger Daughter not only went through pregnancy and birth, but they all moved to an entirely new community in a new state, with a new house and job to go with that move. Replacements happen more often with a new house, and they've had their share of those also. Little Pecan seemed to just bloom during all of it, taking everything in stride, and making new friends so easily. The addition of Princess Judith Rose has been the icing on the came as far as that goes; she is a sweet, very happy surprise! There's always the good, the bad, and the ugly in life... just today (of this typing) their younger pup, Penny, was taken to the vet and they were told if she makes it through tonight, they say she'll likely be alright. The older kids went through the loss of their Golden, Macie pup, just last spring at this very time from just about the same thing (suspected Addison's Disease). I'm praying for our Grandpup Penny to be ok, and not have them go through loss. It's the worst part of being a furryparent; having to choose what we wish we didn't have to. Storms blow through our lives, not to test us or torment us, but to help us grow, or bring us what we wouldn't have had otherwise. As mere humans, it's hard for us to see the big picture. Yet, The LORD knows what is best for every living thing, and we need to trust His answer- no matter what it will be. By the time of this posting, we'll likely have one. All I can do is keep asking!
It's time for a "Spring Frolic" at Inspiration Ave, and The Funkie Junkie Boutique has Tim Holtz IdeaOlogy that fits the theme perfectly! I couldn't wait to get my hands on a few things that are in stock and get started on this Etcetera Mini Tag which I used as my 'vehicle' to carry some Easter goodies!
Hop on & hang on; it's a scroll down this crafty rabbit hole to see how I made it!
I started with some Tim Holtz Etcetera items,
and some TH IdeaOlogy items- new just for Easter!
Here's a list of product links to help get you started:
I wanted to incorporate some of that *retired* TH paper stack...
and I found a set of unused flowers in my stash
(probably a dollar store find at some point).
Tim's new products still go very well with any of his past products!
I did my favorite technique of Glossy Accents glue and
burnish the paperie to the Etcetera pieces with my TH Grip Sander.
The shelf is made wider by putting 2 pieces together as one
while using a third for the normal bottom shelf holder piece.
I like to do both sides of my tags, so I made another 'enforcer' for the backside
by tracing the included one made from Etcetera.
I then sanded all the front and side- gently and sparingly;
just enough to have the words show up, but enough to look aged,
After wiping all the sanded bits and dust away with a dry cloth,
I used Walnut Stain Distress Crayon on all the edges and rubbed it
into the sides with my finger. Then heat dried everything.
I scribbled some of the Crayon onto my craft sheet,
sprayed a bit of water onto it, and used a Water Brush Detailer
to get into the areas my fingers couldn't reach into.
Again: heat dried everything.
The Etcetera Cathedral Window pack has 6 cuts inside:
four this smaller size and 2 large sized. I took this pair of smaller,
to stack together making one frame with a plastic (cut piece of trash)
to go in between.
I gave both (laser cut- very clean and crisp cuts) a coat of
Distress Paint in Picket Fence and allowed that to dry.
I heat dried both frames just to make sure the paint was dry
before I sculped on some TH Opaque Crackle Texture Paste.
This, I let dry completely on its own.
After the crackling appeared once dry, I used a Blending Tool
to rub a bit of TH Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the front bottom edges
for a bit of an aged look.
Then heat dried for the last time (to dry the Distress Ink).
*NOTE: Distressing needs to be done BEFORE adding any plastic
to keep from melting the plastic!
For the clear plastic, I simply dropped a lot of the 2 Alcohol Inks onto the plastic,
and moved it back and forth- allowing the inks to "fight" for their places.
I stood the plastic up onto the bottom end to let the excess inks drop off to the paper toweling.
Then I set the widow down to let it finish drying on its own,
Once the Alcohol Ink was dry, I used Glossy Accents to put the plastic
in between the two Etcetera Cathedral Windows, let it dry,
then shaped the wire stems on these,,, felt??...roses,
and glued them onto the sides.
Now that the entire background was finished, it was time for the cute stuff!
Those TH Tiny Eggs really ARE tiny!
They're so cute and since the package has 50 pieces,
I used 18 for this project and still have plenty leftover!
My own tip for Alcohol Inking these: rub the ink gently with
the correct felt applicator/Alcohol Ink Tool.
I didn't have mine here with me and paper towels/napkins were
used in a pinch, but not as effective in moho.
After the AI was dry, I used my trusty old toothbrush
to flick TH Distress Paints onto the eggs: Black Soot onto the blues
and Picket Fence onto the pinks.
I heat dried them all very gently- just to keep the paint on.
I did do all sides of the eggs. It was a quick job since they're so tiny!
Next: those silly wabbits of Tim's!
These Salvaged Rabbits are the cutest things he's made yet!!
I wanted "chocolate" bunnies but did wonder about making white paws.
I stuck with my original intent: milk chocolate bunnies with nothing but
Distress Paint Walnut Stain.
This time, I decided to try out the tip on painting IdeaOlogy figurines:
I used my tape runner to add just a tiny strip of tape to a lid (of anything, really),
then topped the Salvaged Rabbits on and it really WAS easier to paint them!!
I didn't need to do anything else to them (other than rip up some
included-in-your-order-freebie-ribbon from The Funkie Junkie Boutique
to use as little scarves to identify each bunny: as each of my Grandbabies)!
For the TH Chip Quote: A bit of color around the sides and
a little "aging"...and that's that.
Check out this adorable hanging display Tag!
Front
This bit of old stash ribbon made the perfect hanger!
This is Princess Chloe and Big Bubby Peanut!
I did get a bit of glue stuck onto the egg here:
I used my hot glue gun for this since it held fast better.
I hate the glue strings that I always forget to get off before the photos.
A bit of moss from my walks below the Spanish Moss trees;
dried out and then stuffed into the TH IdeaOlogy Barrel,
gave the Tiny Eggs a bit of a lift.
I used some Walnut Stain Distress Crayon rubbed hard into
the grooves then heat dried it. Gave it some more depth.
And here's Princess Rose with Big Bubby Pecan!
Back
The color changed from better lighting,
but you can see how the wording all applies to SPRING!
Thanks so much for joining me on this Spring Frolic!
As always: be sure to pop back in over at
Inspiration Ave
for more great projects & tips from the rest of the awesome Design Team from
Until next time...
Stay Safe &
HAPPY BLOGGING!!
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