The TAGS are back!! New takes on Tim Holtz's "Tags of" gets the fun rolling all over again!!

    Yep, it's true; the Tim Holtz "12 Tags of 2019" are officially back on again! In order to see them, or take part, you will need to join the Facebook Group; Tim Holtz Addicts. The group/group page focuses on projects of crafted and altered items using mainly Tim Holtz products. Since almost everything I make comes from this designer's line, I am having a lot of FUN in there! The Crafters range from the very best Designers, to those who are just starting out, so there is quite a bit of tutorial bits to help a newbie along as well as show off things made by experts. Keep in mind, though: TH products almost exclusively. So it may, or may not be your cuppa tea. It sure is MINE- and gimme seconds, please!! Starting at the first of 2019, the page's Administrators have chosen to try out a monthly challenge theme, and those most-beloved TAGS of Tim Holtz has been welcomed in a HUGE way. My own excitement has boiled over each time I take a look in on the page and see new projects and especially the Tags posted. Way back when I participated (for 5 of Tim's total 10 years), those Tags were my VERY  FAVE Challenges of all! So, it's a no-brainer that I'm all in with this- definitely!!
           Thinking of a design for the first chosen Month & Year of Tag play is not too hard for me. I even took a look back at the Tags I made for that very Monthly Tag back then. I'll post those each time I join in (to be tagged as #THA_Jan for this one) just for the added fun of seeing what I did then as compared to now. There are also so many new TH items out on the market than there were then.

                  Here's a quick look at what I posted for Tim Holtz's Blog January 2015

The rehash of TH Tag from the original posting on Tim's blog.

Oh my: I made THREE!!

These are the FRONTS (I always make a 2-sided Tag)...

...and these are the BACKSIDES.

If I remember right: the first one on the left was just to make a copy for myself

of Tim's very COOL take on the Tag- it does match up to his.

The one in the middle was my chosen Tag for entry (shown as entry Tag in the next photo below),

and that last one on the right....had to be a gift for someone. Anyone remember it??

This one was done in honor of my ChiefHubby's years from 1989 to 2015

as a Firefighter Class II, Firefighter Class I, Hazmat etc, First Responder,

and most of the last 10 years he spent as an Assistant Fire Chief or Fire Chief.

WOW! I can't believe he hasn't been called out of bed in the middle of the night for FOUR YEARS!

Now...THAT'S a LOT of changes we got used to!!

PS: Both Sons are now 'retired' as well- the older is no longer on VFD since he works

50 to 60 hours a week at his paying job (mandatory). And the younger Son no longer 

has to be a FF on his Nuclear Facility's Fire Brigade since he is one of 4 Engineers who RUN the plant and its workers. (Hello, white collar man!)

I really enjoyed posting those memories here instead of sending you back into my blogposts

with a click. My Tags generally show a part of my life. If they are simply 'quirky'...

well,.. that happens, too. But not as often. So when you see a Tag from me; you'll usually get an explanation about what was going on in my mind or in my life at the time I made that Tag.

That's what makes crafting so fun, to me, anyway; sharing!

So let's get on with the rehash of this Tag technique:

The first thing I did: make about two dozen blank dies of Tags.

I plan on being in the THA monthly Tag Challenges throughout 2019, GOD willing, of course!

I chose to make a design that was a bit different than the first take Tim did that used just basic paper

or simple IdeaOlogy items. For this: TH Alterations Movers & Shapers Pocket Watch Frame Die

and the coordinating circle cuts that fit into the space allowing creation of different sized "windows"

or a frame for the front of the Pocketwatch. Since I had some of the new TH IdeaOlogy Clock Hands,

I could make those work with my idea. 

The other items I needed: TH GlueNSeal by Ranger,

Some TH ChitChat Stickers, Wallpaper (in a baby girl color theme),

some die cut TH Tags, and some TH Tissue Paper...

said Tissue Paper is no longer made, BUT; you CAN still find it at JoAnn Fabrics,

and some Hobby Lobby stores where they still have a few rolls left.

OR, you may be like ME; and still have a roll of TH PLAIN TISSUE

that you used back when Tim was showing off the new tissue and how to make it 

your own style by stamping your choice of stamps using Archival Ink!!

I had a mix of TH Stamps that I used to make this TH Plain Tissue Paper

into a few feet of my own kind still stashed away in my odds&ends paperie drawer.

If I cut out a part where there were no "Tim Guys" in there...it was totally perfect!

Here is where I already GlueNSealed once then Tissue Paper, then another GlueNSeal coating.

It was time for some COLORS: TH Distress Paints in Spun Sugar, Salty Ocean, and Mustard Seed.

The BACKSIDE of the Pocket Watch got a coat of Spun Sugar. 

And, then it's time to add some shading for depth- using TH Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet.

"2019: It's Time for a GIRL!"

Our Older Son and Daughter are completing their family by adding a baby SISTER

for our Grandson, Cole, in March !

It's the first GIRL to be born on this side of the family in 54 years- the last was

The ChiefHubby's Sister (who is a twin with her other Brother)!!

9 boys were born in that time and not one girl until now, so we are both excited- and a bit nervous!

If I remember right...from at least 14 Neices and 7 Nephews on all my sides 

(plus our own 2 who are the only boy/boy combo out of all boy&girl or both boy/girl)

...girls can be expensive! Although...it was really COOL to get those two Daughters our Sons brought home, so I think it'll be alright. And, we still have the chance for TWINS...

(Several sets of twins run in both sides.)

that'll end up being our Younger Set of Kids, I am betting on it!

The BACKSIDE

I've added some closeups, as usual...

The TH Clockhands and Paper Doll shown here.

Both have some Distress Ink blended around the edges for some depth: 

Victorian Velvet around the Pocket Watch,

and some Distress Oxide Ink in Vintage Photo around the Paper Doll.

A TH Long Fastener and some Glossy Accents holds the Clockhands in the

1 and 2 (5 minutes and 10 minutes) positions symbolizing Child 1 (Wittle Peanut Cole)

and Child 2 (Wittle Sissy Pistachio on the way). 

There are only 2 elements to the entire Tag that are NOT Tim Holtz brand:

the Matboard used for stiff middles for the Tag itself and the Pocket Watch.

and that little camera charm shown here. I dabbled some TH Distress Paint Spun Sugar 

inside the 'lens' of the camera, and then scratched at it after it dried- to distress it a bit more.

The TH IdeaOlogy Word Stick "season" means it's time for a new season for us: we're adding

another Grandbaby to the one we have now. And I look forward to more as time passes.

This is definitely a GOOD age to be!! 

TH Chit Chat Stickers shaded with Victorian Velvet Distress Ink, 

adhered with GlueNSeal, then outlined with a TH Distress Marker in Spun Sugar...

give some 'Girly' details of what baby girls are like.

The TH Alpha Parts (Numeric) and a couple of TH Typography Numbers spell out the year 2019.

Yes, you will notice that the 1 is backwards! I thought it looked cuter that way for some reason.

When I first laid it all out to see what it would look like, the 1 seemed to act together with the

TH IdeaOlogy Rose (with a spattering of Spun Sugar Distress Paint) more than looking like it was together with the 9 to make a 19. So I turned it around and for whatever reason- it worked.

And that TH Crinkle Ribbon.... colored with Victorian Velvet & Picket Fence Distress Inks...

PLEEEEEASE, TIM, get that manufactured again!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE that ribbon!!

I would be the first to admit that this Tag is way outta the box for me. I am usually

drawn to the neutral colors- especially the tans and browns- more than bright colors. 

While pink is- and always has been- my favorite color, it's not a fave shared by our Daughters.

The Older one likes Blue best and the Younger favors shades of Purple. It's pretty much a given: 

pink girl things are likely going to stay here at Meemaw Larimore's house. 

And I'm fine with that... and I'll be as happy as a LAD Fan- as long as I can get a couple of

 GIRLY pink LA DODGER shirts made for them to match my Chase Utley jersey!! lol

Thanks for stopping by and sharing this time with me!

Please, feel free to ask to join (you must ask the Administrators for joining)

us in our Tim Holtz Addiction; CLICK HERE

Until next time: Be Safe &

HAPPY BLOGGING!!

I've DEFINTELY Been "Inspired By"... AGAIN!! This time; a Trinket Tin "Let's Just Stick Together"

   Can you tell I had way too much FUN with all those bargain finds?! Well, I ended up doing another project (actually 2 more) and hopefully, I can make up for lost deadlines- lol! The TH Trinket Tin was another of those "I MUST try that!" things and actually, it's been one of my very fave things in the past, only I used Altoid Tins. Those tins were very tiny and very thin compared to Tim Holtz's more spacious- but yet, still tiny- tins. I had friends saving me those tins but they were actually so much more LIMITED than these Tim has designed. Ever since I was a young girl, I have adored tiny things and dollhouse items! I spent hours upon hours designing and making dollhouses of my own. And adding in furniture made from blocks of wood covered by upholstery scraps from my Professional-Sewer/Designer Mother's sewing room floor. She and my Dad would bring home remnants of string, cardboard, and perm markers, as well as machine-punched stencils from my Dad's factory machine. My next-older brother (a very talented/professional pencil artist) would draw out my doll stories while I made the houses and belongings as the story lines were acted out on my part. Those stories are very fondly remembered and so are the dolls- which came from many genres: Planet of the Apes, EMERGENCY! (Roy and Johnny and their Squad 51.... which I WISH I still had!!), Starsky and Hutch (as well as all their "Tomato Car") , and of course; Barbie and Ken along with The Bionic Woman and The $6M Man.
Hey, can I help it if they were all mixed families with very dysfunctional & illusional lives??
But, hey now; they had some GREAT digs made and designed for their personal needs! lol

      So, if I were to tell you where my INSPIRATION for this SECOND PROJECT came from...

                                              Tim Holtz Christmas 2018 IdeaOlogy

                                 

You can see the Christmas Trinket Tins I found.

I also have the regular Trinket Tins also.

Guess I can't turn down a tin!

I started out by making a set of patterns to use for the future (I have 3 more tins).

If you do this:

You need to make TWO sets of patterns.

The first set is what you draw around the box onto the paper and cut out,

then lay those into the tins to trim down to fit. That finished fitted set is the SECOND, final set.

The outside of the finished tin.

(You can see a bit of tape on the bottom of the pedestal piece...

I had a bit of trouble standing it on felt, but it stands just fine on the table top.)

It was REALLY EASY to do this- the toughest part is the TH IdeaOlogy Baubles rolling off

as you try to fit them around and glue them down.

Those TH DEER !!!

I LOVE THEM as much as the resin SNOWMEN !!!

See the wood in the trash bin as it "burns" (a red jewelry bead)?

My thoughts on this little Trinket Tin:

It's a cold night, and snow is predicted to come down soon (you see it up above as it

will hit the deer family first). The only way to keep warm is to STICK TOGETHER!

Even the deer (whom most people think are 'just dumb animals') know the only

way to survive is to stick together and help each other stay warm and provide for each other.

IF ONLY... we adults could get along in the world in the same way.

That's why I chose the TH IdeaOlogy Word Stick "WONDER";

because it is a total WONDER how we survived this long thinking we don't need each other!

The new year of 2019 brings a lot more Challenges and Happenings...

Here's hoping during all that, you will:

Stay Safe and Enjoy

HAPPY BLOGGING !!!

                                               

Frilly and Funkie Challenge #1 For 2019 "Inspired By".... Inside Looking Out

     Happy 2019 ! Welcome back to my blog, once again, and I'm off and running with THREE new items to blog right now- WHEW! Guess all those Tim Holtz goodies purchased over the Christmas Break shopping really burned a hole in my studio! So, I'm not only back with the Frilly&Funkie Challenges, but I'll be adding some Tim Tags to the Tim Holtz Addicts page on Facebook, as well throughout this year.
        I got excited about this FFChallenge #1 simply because it was basically an "open" kind of theme; it's supposed to include a tutorial or some type of posting by another person who shows you how to use craft items to make whatever it is that has inspired you to make a like item. Well, with so many Tim videos, and so much inspirational projects made by his many Helpers (you really need to check out Tim's Blog for his "Blogworthy Inspiration" posts as there is so much crafty talent out there and Tim likes to pick out his faves from others to show off on his own blog. The ideas out there are so amazing and at least a few will definitely be some that you've been hoping to find and try out on your own! It's exactly where I get most of my "Ohmygosh; I MUST try that!" ideas. This post is one of those. So, let's get with it...


            We'll start with the very video that started all my "Gotta do"s; Tim put this one out just a few months ago, and at the time, I was way too busy with things I already had going on my full plate to even take notice at the time. But after all my gifts were finished and I got a good view (ok....so I looked at least 3 times at it, but who's counting??) of all the goodies that would make some really cool projects! If you're a Tim Fan, then you've probably already viewed it, but honestly; THIS is where all my inspiration came from that sent me looking for bargains over Christmas Break...

                                         Tim Holtz Christmas 2018 IdeaOlogy via YouTube

             Now, while that video doesn't show you exactly HOW to make everything, it IS where I got MY gumption to start with. Since I've been a "maker" most all my life (including my childhood), getting the idea of what to do with these items isn't too hard for me. But if you're a bit "craft-challenged", shown below this paragraph is a basic tutorial for an idea on how to go about making a vignette somewhat different than mine- which is winter-themed, but it does give you an idea that is along the same basic lines as my own. However...I did include my own "How To" photos as I usually try to do.

                                                  Simon Says Stamp Vignette Tutorial

                   
             I hope those gave you a ton of ideas and as much inspiration as they did ME! And now you've gotten the idea of how excited I was to find all of these items at BARGAIN BIN prices!!

Let's see what I chose to do first...

I picked out a few IdeaOlogy items from the bargains, and also got into a few of my older dies that I knew would add exactly the right touches I wanted to try out for this project...

My ChiefHubby's Grandma Dougherty had a set of sheets on her Guest Room bed,

they were used during the summer when we would stay over on Lake Shafer in Monticello, Indiana, on the Isle of Homes where they had lived since 1976.

When Grandpa and then Grandma both passed away within 2 years of each other, my CH's Mom

chose those sheets as part of her "keepsakes" we all chose. She used them in the summer on occasions on her own bedroom set, for the sentimentality of missing Grandma and Grandpa.

So when David's Mom passed away; I did the same ad put them on our own bed that first summer.

She and I shared a love of certain items Gr and Gr always used for others: I chose Gr&Gr's cookbook with all the fave recipes and also Grandpa's cookie and candy bakeware (Grandma made the pies and Grandpa made all the other goodies). Both of us missed their company and those visits every weekend to the Lake House. Our own Sons grew up there during the summers also.

So, while the sheets wore out, the pillowcases were still in great shape and I made

TWO "girl" Christmas Stockings out of one pillow case- for those future Grands or Great-Grands!

The rest of this pillowcase... I had another idea in mind for it: CURTAINS for this project!!

Using my TH Alterations Window/Window Box Bigz Die, I cut 2 matboard pieces and

used a Sizzix Red "Album Cover" die for cutting 2 sets of curtains.

My thought was to hang them by a curtain rod....made from TH IdeaOlogy Spinners! 

Getting the curtains to stay together (I doubled it so it couldn't be seen through the material- 

which you'll see why later in this post) by using a couple strips from my Glider Tape Roller.

Here's where the idea all began: I wanted to use the new TH IdeaOlogy Vignette Box Covers.

but this was to be for WINTER as the theme, not Christmas.

What to do??

Well, this is where that TH Wallpaper comes in handy:

I simply chose a box- the largest one fit my desire, and then used the co-ordinating fitting Boxtop Cover as a pattern to cut my own out of the Wallpaper. 

This is what I ended up with; keep in mind that I wanted to completely cover the corners,

but the TH Boxtop Covers only MEET at the corners. So I had to alter my pattern a bit.

I wasn't sure how much of the original color of the TH Vignette Box was going to show...

So I gave it all a whitewash of Distress Paint in Picket Fence.

Here's where that old package of TH IdeaOlogy Frosted comes back out: I needed

something that looked like COLD SNOW was falling.

Getting out the drill set; BE CAREFUL...

The TH boxes are GREAT little things put together with REAL WOOD,

but the type of wood that it is: it can splinter apart. Care of drilling the box 

going easy as it drills through.

Then fitting all the inside walls with FIRST:

a layer of blue that matched the Wallpaper, but looked like cold grey skies 

(which is pretty much almost all we see in the North during winter).

SECOND LAYER: the embossed cut-to-fit Frosted.

Here, I made a little cut where the wiring lights would run through from the back.

(You can see some splintering from the drill hole.)

The battery pack was hot-glue-gunned to the backside,

and the hole sealed up AFTER the lights were settled inside...

The lights all up around the top tilted toward the right top- to look like the sunlight 

coming through- with no full sun.

The TH Medium Sized Tree needed to be trimmed off the back and side to fit well-

the tree needed to be thinner so the front 'wall' with the window would be flush

 (fit evenly up against each other) with the side and back walls.

Otherwise; the front wall would bulge outward. 

Here is where I met up with a "problem"...

The little girl had to be "too short" to see outside, since I wanted to make a 'play'

on the theme with some TH IdeaOlogy (regular) Letter Dice.

(Pun intended here- you'll see why in a few minutes!)

What better way to get the most out of that set of lights;

USE FOIL to line that front wall on the inside, so it will reflect the lights and make it brighter!

Using that TH Jewelry Punch for the first time in a while. I needed the Spinners to hook together.

After using some gauze to make the snow on the bottom, and add  in all my details

(left plain with no paint or coloring as is my fave look);

this is the finished inside.

Those TH IdeaOlogy Pinecones look COOL here !!! 

Distressing some TH Crinkle Ribbon...

And making a set of girl's skates from the 

TH Alterations Movers&Shapers Mini Skate (&Toy Soldier) Die set-

Thanks to some AWESOME Crafter/Designers who held a DeStash where I was

able to catch up the rest of my Tim Collection!!!

The finished UNLIT Vignette- "On The Inside Looking Out"

And as LIGHTED !

Some CLOSE UPS...

I was thinking perhaps this girl was not able to go outside and play because it was too cold and she was getting over being sick. But she snuck up to the window to be able to watch her friend

play outside- and play enough for her to enjoy watching him from the window.

He even built her a snowman right there in front of her window so she could see his hat

through the bottom of the window while she was still in bed all day!

More TH IdeaOlogy...

You can even see the curtain tie she tossed down in her hurry to push aside to see!

Her own skates hung up on the wall wait for her to get well, so she can go out and play also!

The backside shown here.

This cute little Winter vignette is a gift for our younger Daughter up in

Red Wing, Minnesota.

I can picture the cold, and snowy day that has our younger Nuclear Engineer Son

outside either shoveling their deep snow, or taking the pups out to play for a bit,

while his HS English Teacher Wife is (happily) stuck inside grading papers. :)

The 2019 Challenges are up and going full tilt!

Check out some of the awesome projects made and shared Frilly and Funkie Challenge Blog

But, you can feel free to join in at any time!

There are prizes to be had: including a change to win a shopping trip 

at the Sponsor: The Funkie Junkie Boutique

I'll be back with another post as fast as I can type it up!

In the meantime...

Be Safe, &

HAPPY BLOGGING!!!