A Chief's Wife's Heart's 'aFire: time

Showing posts with label time. Show all posts

Monday, July 12, 2021

TFJBChallenge ; Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters…SSS Monday Challenge; Fun and Quirky… TIME & AGAIN!

July 4th has come and gone once again- my favorite holiday of the year just seems to pass by all too quickly for me. At least I'm feeling much better now, and so are the rest of the members of our family. We waded through quite a bit this year, but GOD willing, we've managed to keep up with everything, and then some. GOD is so good and we are so very blessed! I keep thinking of how I grew up and how my life is now. I'm so in awe of it all! Do me a favor; go outside in your back yard, or sit on your front porch or patio for just a few quiet minutes. (If you can't get outside, just stand in the middle of your house or place of residence). Take a good look around you. Note the GOOD THINGS and take a minute to wonder how in the world did you manage to make it this far in life where you are right now? Sometimes, I think we get too caught up in all the 'bad' in this world, and we forget that we are simply and plainly HUMAN. Most of the time, we can barely keep up with our own tiny corner of responsibility, let alone solve every huge problem of the world at large. I'm not saying we should ignore it; but it's kind of 'out of our league' to try to solve every problem in one day. Just take a few minutes to look around at what you have RIGHT NOW. Just be grateful RIGHT NOW. For a few minutes, the world can wait while I stop and just be grateful to still be here: enjoying my Grandkids, laughing with my ChiefHubby, putting out the sailboat (finally!), and catching a fish (my first in years of trying, actually!). Even the raccoon family that has taken up residence underneath my back porch (yes, last month it was a litter of kittens under the front

porch....sigh) has brought me laughter: watching just one long racoon arm stretch up to search around blindly, finally hook onto the cat food dish and pull it towards the deck edge where the arm grabbed a paw-full of cat food and the arm disappeared. I think I must have a child/animal magnet inside me somewhere. The recent monsoon rains got all the hundreds of baby frogs jumping all over the backyard and I was wondering if they were...partying, or what?? It was a joy to be able to show the tiny, less-than-half-an-inch babies to the older two Grandbabies. All three simply ADORE animals. So, of course; I try going to the bathroom alone, only to find it crowded with small children and furry pets. (That's why we call it The Petting Throne.) In any case; I know how blessed I am, and I am THANKFUL!

This post's make is a bit "scattered". Blame it on my ArtMuse- she really took me all over the place with this one. I just meekly followed along. I kind of went in one direction.....generally. VERY odd for me to veer so far off the path, but I ended up being very pleased with the results. It took me a few full evenings, I will have to admit. And I am again toeing the deadline (for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge , but end up EARLY (*GASP!!!*) for TFJB Challenge #8 , and it really all just 'fell together'. So let's see what went on:

I cannot seem to get enough of those Etcetera Tim Tags !!!

I played around with some of the gears to see what I wanted to do...

And started adding a few things to see where I was going with this.

Distress...

...distress...

...and MORE DISTRESS !!!

Instead of adding more faux rust edging, I chose to just sand off the tag's outside edges.

The result made the inside items' rusting stand out more.

Since I ran out of Multi Medium Matte, I made do with Mod Podge.

The shelf covering matches with the BACK SIDE of the Tag-

kind of pulling it together more.

I really LOVE those layered ephemera items- like this target. (All Tim Holtz)

And here's what came of it...

The FRONT Side of the Tag.

Time is VERY IMPORTANT to me: it means spending it with my ChiefHubby,

our kids and our Grandbabies (the 3 Grandbabies are again represented as "Time Flyers".

Can you see: "Measuring Time"

How about: "Time Goes On"?

I was originally going to distress the gears but realized that TIME goes on like a well-oiled

machine; never stopping and never grinding to a halt. So the gears had to stay nice and new.

And behind those gears here; another "Measurement of Time".

Can you find...

"Time (Thyme) in a Bottle" ... (Thanks, Jim Croce!)

"Inside the Times" (Whatever "Times" newspaper you read)...

and

"Lost in Time",,,?

Oh, look; there lay "The Hands of Time"!

There's that Ruler for "Measure of Time" again, in the background here.

Bet a lot of you may not realize how IMPORTANT this gold rope is...

Being a Firefighter's Wife, Mom, and Daughter-in-Law for so many years,

I've learned how critical time can be:

"The Golden Hour" is a victim's first hour after the accident

(or fire, or whatever trauma has taken place),

in which they have the best chance of survival.

This is why you see Emergency Personnel hurrying to the scene.

It's not to 'get there by speeding' -or any other silly thing that often comes out of mouths

of motorists- it's to ensure that a victim has the BEST chance to live, and

also the BEST chance to return to their normal physical state after healing.

"Perishable" can mean "Wasted Time"!

The Back Side of the Tag...

...and we all know how "Time Flies"!

Now that we're retired, we are also "Free to Fly",

and while we're not exactly getting there by our backside wings;

we're headed off to our other home in Florida,

to spend our 37th Wedding Anniversary:

lazing on the sunny beaches of the Emerald Coast, come Wednesday; July 14th!

As we're heading off in just a few hours, I'd best wrap this up....

After all; I am NEVER "On Time" like this target.

But maybe the "Key to Time" is to just get a move on!! LOL!

I'm entering this crafted Tag into the following:

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog: Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters.

Sunday, January 31, 2021

The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge #2 Delicate... Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge; Let's Be On Time...Leather & Lace

January has really flown by, so far. Time always passes quickly when it's warmer- or so I think- especially when there is a lot around to keep a person busy when it's warmer. Since I have quite a few photos to this post, I'll keep the chatter down and let you enjoy the pics. I've given up on my Cannon Rebel in trade for the iPhone 12 Pro...yeah; it's really that good! The 12Pro allows you to zoom in better, without the huge loss of pixels, and while it's not exactly a 'real camera' like my Cannon...it sure is a lot easier to tote around- and definitely less parts to deal with. Getting it near the beaches is better also, since all I need to do is put on the water-proof casing I purchased for it. I've had more than one nice camera ruined by sand catching in it somewhere. It's very expensive to take care of those larger cams. I won't be tossing out my beloved Canon- nor any of my collection of vintage cameras- anytime soon, though!

This newest Challenge from The Funkie Junkie Challenge Blog; Delicate is described as "laces, fragile

flowers, fine stitching, intricate artwork, and exquisite architecture", but I would add to that "pastel or neutral colors", because I think colors play a huge part in creating something 'delicate'. I certainly am in

the right place for it, and I definitely brought all the right equipment for this! I recently added another set of Tim Holtz SA Stamps to my collection; Architecture, and brought it with so that I could use it combined with the TH Alterations Bigz Cathedral Window Die. (I am totally obsessed with the Cathedral Window, Arch Deco Stencil, and now the Architecture Stamps Set!) You'll see from the photos as you scroll down....the timing and place for inspiration is spot on!

I'm also entering this project into Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge; Let's Be on Time. Go ahead- laugh on this title while thinking of ME. I will be the first to admit finding the thought absolutely hilarious...IF I made it in time. LOL!

So let's hit the road, here...

I already knew before I left Indiana, what I wanted to bring with me.

Thanks to the purchase of an XXL Crop In Style rolling tote from the ChiefHubby,

I fit 50 dies (12 Bigz, 2 XLBigz, and 36 Thinlit Sets),

6 sets of full stamps plus a few mini sets, all my stencils, 15 shades of Distress Inks,

all my Distress Crayons, and just about all my major- and most minor- Tim tools!

I really could NOT believe how well and how MUCH I could fit into that thing!

And yes; I could lift it up myself with no trouble.

I first used my paper trimmer to cut a base Tag from white MatBoard.

I planned to have some of the MatBoard showing as the design's neutral white color tied in.

The first photo showed regular TYPING PAPER- very, very delicate paper that tears easily.

I handled that with utmost care and managed to make only ONE practice copy and this print, too!

I stamped the paper, using Black Soot DOxide, then took a candle lighter and burned all

around the edges, This takes a lot of burn-stop-burn-stop-burn-stop kind of work,

since the paper will go up in smoke (literally) if you don't go GENTLY with it.

Then, I cut one 12 x 12 Bazzill textured (tan colored), cut to just smaller than the tag base.

Then ran the tan Bazzille through my Big Shot (which was also fit into the CIStyle tote!)

using the TH Alterations Embossing Folder Flourish.

Then, using plain vanilla cardstock, I used TH Alterations Thinlits SetMixed Media #2

in cutting twice through the paper fit to the base tag; creating a flourish design that could be seen through. I simply fussy cut around the edges of it to give it even more of a floourish.

Thus, I now have several layers- both front and back.

*HOARDED GRUNGEBOARD ALERT!*

Thanks to a kind set of ladies and their annual De-Stash Sales...

I decided since it had 12 generous pages; it was time to break it out and use some!

Here, you can see I have the photos mixed up (intentionally) the one before this already has the

Crackle Paste coating on both white pieces.

And you would not believe how much IdeaOlogy I cannot leave home WITHOUT!

Yep- this fit in there, too,

I tossed into just one of my 6 containers, as much as I thought I might use.... or not. lol!

Here's where the Grungeboard came in... using the TH Alterations Bigz Die Hardware Findings.

It was time to get that out to use with the Architecture stamps.

Some Antique Linen Distress Paint and some Antique Linen Embossing Glaze: YUMMY!

If you haven't noticed: I'm going backwards from my usual.

This is the pic of all the tools used...

...and the main dies and folders used.

I tossed in whatever was left that I'd forgotten.

Results:

Perspective View; shows the MANY layers built up together.

TEN to be exact- unless you count the backside as well, then it's 12 layers.

Front View

Back View

Closeups...

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge; Let's Be On TIme REQUIREMENT

The white washed time piece and gears worked perfectly for this theme.

While the TH IdeaOlogy Story Stick is actually Christmas, and I could have

gone with a regular Story Stick (saying 7/24/365 on it), I went with the No.25...

to mean the 25th hour of the day. It's a play on golfing with the "19th Hole".

That's why there's no TH Clock Hands on this TH Time Piece!

In keeping with the distressed look, I scratched up the gears & very well done so.

That TH GLAZE.....

Front View of "Leather&Lace"

Back View of "Leather&Lace"

Backside of Tag- all the delicate layers close up.

My source of INSPIRATION...

Lake DeFuniak in DeFuniak Springs is one of only 2 natural, perfectly round lakes in the entire world!

(Click here for all the facts: Lake DeFuniak - Wikipedia)

It's surrounded by park, which has 1 mile walking distance at the bottom, and 1.5 mi walking distance on the road surrounding the park. The Annual "Christmas Reflections" lighting takes 2-3 months for workers to wrap lights on every tree, and put up all the displays- of which the Nativity is front and center as "Christ is the Reason for the Season". It takes another 2-3 months (going on now) to remove all the decorations and put the park back into summer mode.

SIGHTS ALONG THE ROADWAY: