Two for the Price of One -- Alcohol Lift-Ink!

Oh I have been waiting to try this all summer!!   I am so excited to experiment with Tim Holtz's Alcohol Lift-Ink.  If you are interested in playing with this ink yourself, check on out Tim's Alcohol Lift Ink and Yupo YouTube video.  Such a great resource for making backgrounds, understanding properties of the alcohol lift-ink, and how it reacts with different paper.  While experimenting with these new products,  I used some Avery Removable ID Labels and my take on Jennifer McGuire's Framed Stamping technique to create a stamped collage (Check out Jennifer's blogpost and video here to see how you can make amazing one-layer cards!) .  I created a couple of cards for some friends who just returned from their first cruise.  Ooooooo!  So much crafty fun!

I used Tim's Stamp Platform to make both stamped versions of the card.  Wow!  It really makes duplicate stamping a breeze.   The alcohol ink background version is on Yupo Cardstock.  I really like this paper better than just the regular Yupo paper.  I found that regular paper rolled up or bowed up on me at times.  The Distress Ink and Distress Marker colored background is on watercolor paper.

So ... in my first attempt at a stamped collage with alcohol lift-ink, I really thought the alcohol ink background was a little too light.  So, for this version, I went for a darker one.  Some of my alcohol ink was a little too thick in places.  For example, when I lifted the cruise ship off in the bottom right-hand corner, I had some alcohol ink remnants where the ink sort of puddled.  I actually like it.  As Tim says ... embrace your imperfections.  It really gave the ship hull more of a grungy look.  Cool.  

I didn't do a step by step on this version.  I just keep forgetting when I get caught up in creating something new.  Anyway, you can see my first efforts at a stamped collage below and see the lighter version of the alcohol ink background.  You can also see the mask that I made with the Avery Removable ID Label. I also included a picture of my finished collage.

At the same time that I lifted the alcohol ink off of the alcohol ink background, I stamped it on the watercolor paper.  After I finished the stamping, I used Distress Ink and Distress Markers to color the background images (making them sort of fade away).  Tim's Time Traveler was colored with Distress Markers and a waterbrush.  The cabin class stateroom and cruise ship stamped images were colored with Distress Markers and outlined with a Ground Espresso Distress Marker to really bring those images to the foreground.

I embellished both cards with some of Tim's Ideaology stickers and tape.  I think they turned out pretty well.  I can't wait to keep playing with these products.  Seriously, they seem to just unleash your creativity. 

I think these cards are a perfect way to celebrate Stamptember!  I am entering them in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge -- Stamp It On.  Hope you are stamping your way through the month as well :).

Mary Elizabeth

Birthday Wishes for a Nephew

Hi all!  I am back with a quick birthday tag for one of my nephews.  I must confess that I am late with his birthday present.  Sigh...  Hopefully, he will like the tag enough to forgive me for the belated gift. 

I started with a manila tag that I colored with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink (applied with a blending tool).  I spritzed the background tag with water to give it that great bleached look.  I added some Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edges.  My nephew is going back to school and so I thought I would use some of Tim Holtz's School Desk stamps for this tag.  You can see some of the great columns of numbers on the background tag (stamped with Coffee Archival Ink) and the alphabet stamp (stamped with Back Soot Archival Ink) used on the bow tie embellishment (Tim Holtz Bow Tied Sizzlet on Distress Cardstock edged with Black Soot Distress Ink). 

On top of the background tag, I layered one of Tim's Salvaged Baseboards with one of his Frame Baseboards.  In the frame, I put some printed scrapbook paper that I stamped the word "celebrate" and embellished with a small star and a couple of buttons.  I wanted it to look like a vintage print shirt with the bow tie on top.   I added my nephew's initial (grunged Tim Holtz letter ... sorry can't remember exactly what these letters were called) to the frame.

Some of Tim's Ideaology Design Tape (from the Travel set, Elementary set, and Dapper set) can be found on the frame and background image.  The final embellishment is Tim's "moments" die cut (from his Handwritten Journey thinlits set).  I die cut it on black cardstock and coated it with Glossy Accents.

 I used a "leather" cord tag tie to finish the tag and now I can mail off my nephew's birthday present this week.  Whew! 

I am entering this in

Allsorts Challenge Blog From Boys to Men Challenge

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge:  Tape It Up

Love to Scrap Old School Challenge

This was so much fun to make.  Hope you are finding joy in crafting this week as well. -- Mary Elizabeth

Christmas in July

This is one of those projects that sort of took on a life of its own.  I was thinking, "Hey, I should make a Christmas card for Simon Says Stamp Monday Christmas in July Blog Hop Challenge", and I ended up with a Christmas canvas.   Hmmmmmmmm.  Ever had one of those kinds of projects?

The SSS DT featured Tim Holtz products in their projects.  Of course, that was right down my alley.  I will tell you in advance that there are several pictures.  Some of the pictures were taken outside in the sunshine and some inside my house (due to the fact that the metal parts of my canvas reflected in the sunshine and left me with less-than-desirable outdoor images).  So here is my Christmas in July canvas using Tim Holtz products.

I started with a canvas board.   I gave it a coat of gesso.  Then I grabbed my Ranger Texture Paste.  It was almost dried up.  I had to rehydrate it with some water.  I ended up having to get a new canister anyway to cover the entire board.  I wanted more texture, so I grabbed some Wendy Vecchi Crackle Texture Paste and applied it around the edges.  Once this was all dry, I applied a coat of Antique Linen Distress Paint.  I gave everything a wash of watered-down Frayed Burlap Distress Stain.   I then gave the background a coat of Vintage Distress Collage Medium.  Now I grabbed my Walnut Stain and Frayed Burlap Distress Crayons to get in all those lovely nooks and crannies.  Oh the grungy goodness!

Oh, before I forget, while the Texture Paste was still wet, I used a Tim Holtz Laurel 3D Impresslits die cut to make an impression at the top right corner of the background.  I knew I was going to use some of these Laurel die cuts to embellish this canvas and wanted to see if I could use one in a different way.  Not bad!

Let's talk about embellishments.  I used a Black Soot and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and blending tool to color a Distress Mixed Media Heavy Cardstock tag.  I used a piece of Tim's Ideaology paper to stamp the wreath and "Merry Christmas" (from Tim's Mini Holiday 5 stamp set).  I used Peeled Paint Distress Ink for the wreath and Aged Mahogany Distress Ink for the Merry Christmas (embossed with clear embossing powder and a gold glitter pen was used to create a drop shadow).  This was edged with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. I colored a Joyful Christmas Muse Token with Rusty Hinge and Salty Ocean Distress Paint and Latte Alcohol Ink.  I tied it with a bit of grunge twine.  Layered on top of this tag a piece of stripe printed paper (that I stamped with various stamps in brown inks and edged with a bit of lace) and a copy of "Joy to the World" from Tim's paper stash.  This layer was raised a bit with some foam adhesive squares.  A distressed paper doily and an ephemera advertisement from Tim's paper stash peek out from under this layer.

As for the two 3D Laurel die cuts, I cut them out of gold foil cardstock.  I colored them with Latte, Caramel, Ginger and Rust alcohol inks.  Then I used Black Soot, Rusty Hinge and Salty Ocean Distress Paints (spritzed with some water) and dried with a heat tool to create the rusty patina finish on the die cuts.  I used the same treatment on the key hole and keys on the canvas.

I added several Tim Holtz die cuts.  In the pic of the key above you will find holly (from Tim's Holiday Greens Thinlits set) that I adhered to the background, covered with a thin layer of texture paste and Matte Collage Medium, and colored with Walnut Stain and Peeled Paint Distress Crayons.  these lovely leaves were highlighted with a little DecoArt Orange Flicker Metallic Lustre.   In the picture below you will find more holly die cuts (from Tim's Mixed Media Christmas Thinlits set).  This time I colored the leaves with Peeled Paint Distress Paint and Walnut Stain Distress Crayons and sanded the edges.  I then colored the stems with Walnut Stain Distress Crayons.  Just the leaves and stems were given a layer of Matte Collage Medium and splattered with Antique Linen Distress Paint.   The berries were colored with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink and a water brush.  I covered the berries with glossy accents.  Love them!

One of my favorite parts of this canvas are the roses.  I used Tim's pine cone die to make these.  (see a YouTube video on how to use this die to make roses and other flowers) This why I love Tim Holtz products.  They are so versatile! All you have to do is follow the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Christmas in July Blog Hop to see how versatile they are.  A shout out to the amazingly creative DT team there.  They are true artists.  His products really fit my grungy aesthetic. And ... if you follow Tim's demo videos (he has several on his Tim Holtz YouTube channel), his products work as advertised.  Not all crafting products are like that.

Anyway, back to the roses.  I die cut the roses from Distress Mixed Media Heavy Cardstock.  I then used one of Tim's new products, Distress Resist Spray, and spritzed on the die cut and let it dry.  I then applied Aged Mahogany and Walnut Stain Distress Ink on the die cut with a blending tool.  I misted this with a little water to activate the ink.  Next I used dry paper towel and wiped off the excess ink off of the Resist area.  I sanded to "petal edges" and assembled the die cut as directed for a rose nd voila ... it looks like a snow covered rose!

That's it for now.  Thanks for dropping by.  Maybe I'll get into the craft room today and actually make that Christmas card!  Hope you get your hands inky too.

Hugs to you all.

Mary Elizabeth

Trying Something New

Hi all.  I've been playing around with some stamping this week and wanted to share with you the results.

This experiment started with me clearing off my crafting table from my last project.  Like everything else I do, I am a very messy crafter.  Paper, paints, stamps, dies, die cuts, inks, brushes, fibers, and all things crafty just end up everywhere and anywhere.  As I was picking everything up and sorting, I saw a clear plastic cover piece for a clear stamp set lying on top of one of my stamped tags.  The plastic cover had the images of the stamps printed on it.  It was such a neat overlay for my stamped tag.  I wondered if I could simulate that clear transparency overlay look with stamps.  I think I came up with something close to the look that I wanted.  Here is how I  made it work:

I started with a piece of Tim Holtz's Mixed Media Heavyweight Cardstock.  I used several of Tim's stamps (ok ... too many sets to remember -- you can see a Tiny Things 2 butterfly, a Fabulous Flourish, Floral Border, Floral Swirl, and I'm sure you will find others in there) and Texture - Iron Orchid Designs from Prima in Sepia and Jet Black archival ink to create my background.  I then muted all of those images by given them a wash of watered down gesso.

 Next I used Heidi Swapp's Butterfly Stencil set to create my "transparent overlay".  (This stencil was really important because it has a lot of "open space" to do my next stamping layer.  I tried this technique with other less open stencils and the end result looked really chaotic and indecipherable.  Another nice thing about this stencil set is that you get the butterfly stencil and its corresponding butterfly mask in the same package.  Cool ... right?).  I applied Ranger's Transparent Gloss Texture Paste through the butterfly stencil with one of my local hardware store's putty knifes.  The putty knife really was the tool that gave me the smoothest (but not perfect) finish.  After it completely dried, (it took awhile) I put the mask over the stenciled butterfly and inked the paper with Distress Oxide Inks (Peeled Paint, Fossilized Amber, Walnut Stain).  Some of these inks were applied with a water brush and some were applied with a blending tool and then spritzed.   I used a Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to create drop shadows for my butterfly.

Next came my second stamping layer on top of the dried transparent paste.  I removed the mask that I had over my stenciled butterfly and put the stencil back over it (to protect my background as I added this next layer of stamping).  To further differentiate the stamped layers, I went for stamping on the transparent butterfly in some bright colors.  The ones used here are from Ranger Inks' Archival Mini Ink Pad Kits-Kit 3 (love these mini archival inks ... perfect for when I travel).  Again, more Tim Holtz stamps (another tiny things butterfly, some stars, a Flourish stamp, the "Out of Limitation Comes Creativity" sentiment stamp, and some from his Floral Tattoo set) were used for this second layer.  I absolutely *love*❤️ 💕 💗 💖 the effect!  I think its one of my favorite stamping experiments to date.

I had a little more space on the left side of the paper, so I added some crackle paste through Tim's Numeric Layering Stencil.  I gave the crackled paste a wash of Antique Linen Distress Ink with a water brush.  I then used the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to add more drop shadows.

I used Tim's Paper Distresser around the edges of the cardtock.  I backed it with a layer of Distress Stain and Inked (Rusty Hinge and Walnut Stain) recycled corrugated cardboard and a canvas board.  The canvas board was given a Distress Paint treatment (Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen) then covered with Tissue Tape.  I used finger to really burnish the tissue tape so that we can still see the canvas underneath.  I even gave it a bit of sanding with sandpaper.  Then I mixed a little Walnut Stain Distress Ink with Matte Distress Collage Medium and covered all of the Tissue tape.  Tim Holtz Ideaology Corners were covered in a layer of Black Soot Distress Paint.  I sanded the edges of these metal corners and took off some of the black paint.  then I used Rust Alcohol Ink to cover the exposed metal.

I found some awesome Ideaology Chit Chat sentiments to put on my canvas board background to celebrate the way that creating this lovely winged beauty made me feel.  I gotta say, the "out of limitations comes creativity" sentiment also was perfect for this experiment as well.   On the right side, I embellished with a few Remnant Rubs, Design Tape, a Little Yellow Bicycle "happy" (so true) die cut (topped with Glossy Accents).  .  But I needed something to balance the left side.

I die cut some Distress card stock with Tim's Trellis die and sanded the edges.  I then applied Rusty Hinge Distress Ink to the sanded edges.  I added some inked Tattered Garland die cuts and flourishes from Tim's Festive Garland Strip die.  I alcohol inked some pearls and a metal bumble bee embellishment (no idea where this guy came from, but he's awesome!) for the finishing touches!

 Thanks for letting me share this creative experiment with you.  I am going to enter it in

Frilly and Funkie's "B" Happy Challenge
Craft Stamper's Take It Make It July Challenge: Inspiration
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Summer Fun! and
A Vintage Journey's Get Sentimental Challenge.

Hope you all have a great week!  Mary Elizabeth

Wow! Time has flown

I cannot believe how many months I have been away from my blog.  It's amazing how many activities I can find to fill the hours when I'm feeling well.  Fortunately, crafting is still one of those things.  However, being an active member in the crafty blogiverse has had to take a backseat to a bunch of projects from work.  Sigh. Just know that I have missed you all so very much.  Well, I am back right now while I have some time over the summer.  I am looking forward to catching up on all of your amazing creations and posting a little of my work as well.  Let's get started ...

As usual, I was very inspired by our Independence Day celebration.  This week I wanted to try to create something with paper that evoked the feeling of a vintage quilt while also adding some embellishments with different textures.  I started cutting some patterned paper with Tim Holtz's Petal Drop die.  I used some red, white and blue paper from DCWV's Nantucket Stack.  I arranged the petals in a pinwheel around a central point.  The red petal drops were mounted on cardboard to give a little dimensional difference between the red and blue layers.  I used Matte Distress Collage Medium to adhere the petals to one of Tim Holtz's Destinations Ideaology papers.  

I added a sale price and merchandise embellishment Tim's Ephemera Snippets.  I then gave the entire project a topcoat of Matte Distress Collage Medium and grunged around the petals and ephemera with a Walnut Stain Distress Crayon and water brush.

To add a little texture to the piece.  I grabbed Tim's Regal Crest die and die cut the pieces out of a Diet Coke box that I was going to recycle.  Below you can see the "laurel" die cut.  I covered the bare cardboard with Deco Art One Step Crackle.   When it dried, I used a Walnut Stain Distress Marker to go over the top of the crackles and rubbed in the marker with my finger.  Wow!  The effect turned out pretty great!  I used some tiny foam dots to adhere the laurel to a couple of the petal drops.  I used Ranger's Matte Multi Medium to adhere one of Tim's large Ideaology Adornment Stars right in the middle of the "laurel" die cut.  

I took the "shield" part of the Regal Crest pieces and backed it with a thin piece of cork board for added heft.  I  brushed on some Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint.  When it dried, I covered the whole shield (painted and unpainted sections) with a watered down version of Walnut Stain Distress Stain.  It soaked into the cracks.  I wiped the excess stain mixture off of the paint.  Loved it.  I added some Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edges of the shield to give it a little more grunginess (of course).  For the piece-de-resistance, I colored one of Tim's Ideaology Mirrored Stars with Indigo (great color!) Alcohol Ink and used Glossy Accents to adhere it to center of my shield.  I used foam squares to mount the shield on the petal drops.

Finally, I took the "banner" piece from the Regal Crest die cuts and covered it in Range Perfect Medium.  I then coated it in Iced Enamels Relique in German Silver.  When you apply the heat tool, you get an oxidized metal look.  I used a Black Soot Distress Marker to go around the edges and add a little more "oxidization".  One of Tim's Ideology "FEARLESS" Quotations Metallic Paperie Stickers was adhered to the banner and it was ready for prime time on the project.  The project was finished off with a couple of Tim's medium Star Adornments and I called it a day!

I absolutely fell in love with the finished project!  The background paper started to curl on me a little at the end.  (I don't blame with it.  I would too if I had that much glue  on me.) I'm going to mount the whole thing on plywood and hang it in my den.  

Well that was fun!  I am going to enter my red, white and blue vintage decor piece in

Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: Red,White and/or Blue

Lets Craft and Create's Challenge #139 - ANYTHING GOES + option RED, WHITE & BLUE

Scrapy Land {Challenge #93}Anything Goes

DL.ART Thankful Thursday Challenge #231 "Red, White & Blue"

LTCCB #24 - July Anything Goes

I hope you are enjoying your summer.  I certainly am now that I have had a moment to stop and breathe.  Hope to visit you all soon.  Hugs -- Mary Elizabeth