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Sunday, August 30, 2015

An Early Christmas with Tim ... Holtz August Tag for 2015

First, I would like to say thank you for all of the wonderful comments and support I received on my last post, Time Mends Broken Hearts.  Art, indeed, is therapy :) And I'm so grateful that my crafty friends are here to walk the journey with me. Now ... I hope you all have had a great weekend.  I have!!  I managed to carve a little time to create my version(s) of Tim Holtz's August Tag for 2015.  Wow!! Tim seriously outdid himself this time.  I've been checking out everyone else's take on Tim's tag and they are really spectacular.  I won't go into all the details because Tim's tutorial is so great.  I sincerely suggest that you drop by and try to follow his step by step process.  His tutorial is an awesome way to utilize a variety of tools you may already have in your stash.

Since I am so terrible at getting Christmas cards and tags made, I decided to start early and Tim's August techniques really lend themselves well to holiday wishes.  I actually ended up making two tags again this time.  I thought the first one was a little too busy, so I create a second one and I really like it.  Above you can see my second tag.  I followed Tim's steps exactly with the exception of splattering with paint at the end.  I love the holiday "found relatives" too much to splatter them :). 
 

 The background is some of Tim's Christmas Ideology paper (with Christmas carol sheet music).  I used his Block Holiday Words Thinlits.  To color the die cut layer, I used Walnut Stain, Wild Honey and Peeled Paint.  I used a heavier bristled paint brush to apply the gesso and matte multi medium.  This gave me a little more texture to work with when I "grunged up" my tag at the end.





I grabbed a small clothespin adorened with a Christmas tree that I found in the dollar bins at Michaels for my "tag tie".  I decorated it with a remnant rub and used it to attach an Ideology charm and one of Tim's Holiday Greens die cuts to the tag.














 I had to end with a close-up of this little boy with Santa.  I was always afraid of going to see Santa at Christmas.  (Hence the "brave" charm on the tag!)  However, when I saw this found relative, I got the feeling that Santa had just told him that he had better straighten up his act and be good or else he may get coal in his stocking!

Here are a couple of other details to note. I used Tim's musical score stamp from  his Joyful Song set on the left of the tag.  I also fussy cut the "holiday lights" box front from some of Tim's Ideology holiday papers.

















I decided to include the first version of this tag.   I do like it, but I found the stamping and remnant rubs on the front were just a little too busy for me.  I loved using Tim's snowflake Movers and Shapers die to add the snowflake to the die cut overlay.  Snowflake pattern paper  was used as the background layer.  I went a bit lighter with the inks and "grunging" because it is a snow-themed tag.  I did use some silver acrylic paint for the "splatters here.  I didn't add any charms because it was so busy. 






 I will end this post with a pic of both tags side by side for comparison.  As usual, it was such a blast to create these.  Thanks Tim for a wonderful August inspiration tag and the time you took to share your creativity with us!  -- Mary Elizabeth



17 comments:

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Gorgeous tags, I love your take on the original, the imagery is fabulous set against the background. Lovely pieces. Tracy x x

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Look at you making two!!! love that they are Christmas!!! Love the images you used, and love the backgrounds! Fabulous takes!!!

Paula Cheney said...

I cannot even decide which one I like better. These are stunning Mary Elizabeth. Whatever you are doing, keep at it! I think you have a secret formula that we all want.

Words and Pictures said...

I love your wintry versions, Mary Elizabeth. The extra snowflake amongst the die-cut words is a lovely touch, and I love the musical background in the lettering of the first one - Christmas is all about the music as far as I'm concerned! Great image choices and I love the over-stamping too. Brilliant!
Alison xx

Sandy said...

Beautiful tags!!! Now I believe without question that is really Santa Claus!
Sandy xx

Ana K. said...

Mary Elizabeth both tags are awesome, cannot choose one! Love your creative mind!
Best wishes from Slovenia

Words and Pictures said...

Oh yes, and tissue paper… it's not the flimsy wrapping tissue paper I'm using (though I have used that too with no trouble), but a slightly firmer, slightly crunchier craft version, which does make life considerably easier when stamping and sticking. I get mine from PaperArtsy but it's made in the USA by a company called tissuestock http://shop.paperartsy.co.uk/waxed-tissue---cream-4866-p.asp - similar to deli paper, but not quite that heavyweight. With the regular stuff, you just have to be careful - tearing seems to be more of an issue than wrinkling, but either way you can embrace imperfection!
Alison xx

SewPaperPaint said...

First of all, I could totally kick myself for not buying the mini clothespins I saw on sale at AC Moore this week... :( WHAT a fantastic idea for a topper!!! Oh my, I just love them both! The layout is perfect, the stamping is perfect, these images are fantastic. I think these are treasure! Definitely makes me want to up my game! ;0 TFS!

Brenda Brown said...

I love both of your versions Mary Elizabeth, they are beautifully made and creatively designed. I couldn't splatter mine either lol. Xxx

Candy C said...

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!! Mary Elizabeth...I LOVE these tags! I am such a crazy freak about vintage Christmas things. These are so so perfect! I love everything about them! The one with Santa....gorgeous and so endearing! The one with the little boy skier.....LOVE the snowflakes and the box of snowflakes you've added. The backgrounds are gorgeous. Your little touches of Tim's ephemera are just perfection! LOVE LOVE LOVE them! I also wanted to thank you for the sweet things you left on my blog regarding my art journal pages. You always make me smile with your comments. <3 Candy

Jenny Marples said...

Utterly IN LOVE with both of these versions Mary Elizabeth!!! Jenny x

Gio said...

Both versions are lovely, the first one is so bold, and I love the tree on the top!

Meihsia Liu said...

Both tags are gorgeous, Mary Elizabeth. The colors and textures you created are amazing. :)

Terry said...

Oh these two tags are wonderful! I love the Santa and little boy and the young skier! You really were busy with these two! Happy Weekend!

Sylwia-eR said...

Amazing tags.Ilove them both: )

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful tags, both of them, really great work! Hugs, Valerie

Barbara said...

Sorry for delay, my friend! Your tags are both stunning! great work !!! Barbarayaya