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Friday, January 16, 2015

Happy Birthday Mr. Holtz (better late than never!)

Hi everyone!  Wow!!  It has been an exhausting few weeks.  This has been my first full week back at work (as a faculty member at a local university) after my surgery.   On top of all of that, when I'm not at work, I'm in the gym for a couple of hours of physical therapy.  My trainer has the nickname "Dr. Pain".  Yeah ... it fits.  He is a former marine and he makes me work hard.


With all that going on, it is no wonder that I'm a little late with my wall hanging birthday wish for Mr. Tim Holtz (his birthday was January 7th).  Also, this project is completely outside my comfort zone.  The current Compendium of Curiosities 3 challenge (Challenge 19) over at Linda Ledbetter's blog is Frayed Fabric.   I really don't sew. Although  I have a sewing machine in my basement that my mom gave me,  I've actually never used one.  I didn't think I could learn how to use a sewing machine this week. So ... there were several times that I laid the project down and said "I quit!".  I was so afraid of making a mess.  However, I actually thought about Tim and his idea of "embracing imperfection" and carried on.  I'm pretty happy with the result. Regardless, this project was all about wishing Tim a happy birthday and thanking him for all that he has done to inspire this community to create.  I hope you had a fantastic birthday Mr. Holtz!

My project started with some of Tim's fabric "charms".  These wonderful fabric squares had some of my favorite Tim designs on them.   I wanted a substantial but pliable backing for my wall hanging.  Since I don't know how to use a sewing machine, I decided to do some hand stitching.  That got me to think about some cork squares that I had in my stash.  I could actually sew through the cork!  It worked fabulously!


I stamped "happy birthday" with Barn Door Distress Paint and added Tim's birthday with an archival ink pen directly on the fabric.  The word "TIM" was cut out of the Subway Signs fabric charm.  It was the one that had "TIMES SQUARE" on it.  I added a little stuffing to the back, used the frayed fabric technique and voila ... a personalized wall hanging for Tim's birthday.


 The fabric squares came bound with some ribbon that had Eclectic Elements and Tim's name on it.  I thought it would be fun to include this in the design and even frayed the ribbon :)


My decorative stitching was really free-form.  I didn't have a plan or pattern.  I just sat and stitched with embroidery floss.  This is what happened!  I ended up with some "half-flowers" at the bottom and  I added some buttons for the centers.

I used Tim's Weathered Clock die to create the clocks around the edges.  I wanted something that sort of looked like rusted wrought iron.  I started by die-cutting the two clocks out of grungeboard.  Black Soot Distress Paint was used to paint each clock.  I then inked up both with Distress Embossing Ink and applied a thick coat of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE).  After heating the UTEE with my heat tool, it leaves some holes in the embossed surface.  I rubbed some Rusty Hinge Distress Paint into those holes.  After the paint dried, the rust color was a little lighter than I wanted.  I went back over the Rusty Hinge paint with a Rusty Hinge Distress Marker.  Perfect.


I had fun with the other embellishments.  There is one of Tim's compasses (painted with Barn Door Distress Paint). 


The die cut butterfly and rose needed some "bendable" backing for the fabric so I ended up using some thin aluminum from Spellbinders Media Mixage.  The fabric was lightly adhered to the metal using Rangers Multi Medium.  I used Tim's butterfly and pinecone dies to die cut the fabric-covered aluminum.  I was able to fray the edges of the butterfly (above) and make a pretty amazing rose (below).


Well that's about it.  I'm so glad I didn't give up on this project.  Happy Birthday again Tim!!

I hope you can play along sometime over at Compendium of Curiosities 3 (CC3) Challenges.  There is always a great prize pack from Tim and Mario for the Curiosity Crews Choice and since this is an odd-numbered challenge, Joy from Inspiration Emporium is giving away a  FIFTY DOLLAR SHOPPING SPREE for one lucky CC3C entrant!  If you haven't shopped there, please drop by.  Fantastic online craft store!!

Thanks so much for dropping by.  I hope to get by and visit with you all soon.  Have a great weekend!!  -- Mary Elizabeth








 

12 comments:

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Hand stitching??? WOW!!! That in itself blows me away! The red thread design is fantastic, spelling his name is fantastic....everything is fantastic!!! Truly inspirational!!! Thanks so much for sewing along with us at CC3!!! And good luck with the trainer!!!

Susan said...

I absolutely LOVE this piece, Mary Elizabeth! You did an awesome job! Love all the detail with the fabric flower and other stitched fabric pieces. Tim would love it! So glad you are doing well after your surgery (even though you are being worked hard). Hope you are better soon! Thanks for playing along with us!

inreenesroom.blogspot.com said...

I loved your Birthday Wish! I had to smile when I saw how you used the Tim Holtz band. I had the same one on my material bundle but couldn't think of a way to use it. Very clever...

Hels Sheridan said...

Dr Pain sounds like a beast... but I hope that he makes you better soon! LOVE your creation for Tim... the stitching is just perfect... Thanks for playing along with the CC3C x

Candy C said...

Mary Elizabeth....this is way cool! I love how you've done the four weathered clocks to frame your frayed fabric birthday collage to Tim. That is such a brilliant idea! You've really put alot of work into this piece and it shows. Love the buttons and the metal ideaology, too. Tell "Dr. Pain" to ease up a little on the workouts. haha That might get you more pushups or something though, so never mind! Thanks for sharing your art with us at CC3C. <3 Candy

barbarayaya62 said...

So beautiful project! I hope that the DR Pain help you recover completely !!!!! It looks that you are feeling better !!! Your work is absolutely wonderful! BRAVA!!!! BArbarayaya

Cheryl Grigsby said...

How great is this?? Love everything about it, especially how you used the branded twill tape that came with the fabric. I saved it too, but I didn't use it. Clever girl! Thanks for sharing this on CC3C and for bravely hand stitching this puppy!

Andrea Ockey Parr said...

This has SOooOoOOoOo many clever elements! I enjoyed soaking up the details in each and every picture. That butterfly is so clever and I really adore those red curly swirls. You know I love any craft that involves fabric and you really nailed it here! I admire this piece so much and I'm also extremely proud of you for fighting your way back to "normal." Hang in there, my friend, and just know that there are so many of us who are sitting here cheering for you as you continue through the recovery process! I am so inspired by how you still manage to hang onto your creativity and artistry with all the trials you've been dealing with. You go, girl!

Rea' said...

You "worked it" ... this is fabulous !

Jenny Marples said...

Quite simply outstanding! LOVE this. Jenny x

Words and Pictures said...

Sounds like Dr Pain is putting you through your paces... I do hope all the pain is proving worth it and that you are feeling some progress. To be back at work must be exhausting, but also give you a sense of triumph. Take care of yourself.

As to your card - I'm sure Mr Holtz must love it! Fabulous grungy look, great work with the fabric, and all that painstaking stitching - rather you than me! - a great result.
Alison xx

Ana K. said...

Wow Mary, this is stunning, can`t stop looking at it!
Best wishes from Slovenia