Saturday, February 28, 2015

Collection Folio Challenge!

Here it is - the 23rd challenge for the Compendium of Curiosities III - the Collection Folio found on Page 34 of Tim's third book!  I will confess I was a bit nervous about taking on this challenge on as it looked like quite the task!  However, it has turned out to be one of the most rewarding challenges I have done!

I decided I would use my maternal grandmother, Eunice Blanch Wood, as my inspiration as she was truly one of the strongest people I have ever known.  She was also kind, loving, faithful and patient, attributes that I will always remember.  I was also blessed to be the granddaughter she wanted to have her photos, so I have lots of wonderful photos to work with.  It was hard to fit them all in!

Here is the cover of the folio:


I originally resisted using Tim's Wallflower Stash as I use it quite frequently, however, it is truly my all-time favorite paper and I couldn't bear not to use it for this project!  Don't ever discontinue it, Tim!  I removed the elastic closure and covered the entire folio with the paper with the exception of a few of the "fold-over" areas.



I then cut out my favorite picture of my grandmother with an oval die and oval scalloped die and mounted it on green and brown card stock.  I used Tim's Alterations Typeset die to cut the letters for her name.  After this was done, I reattached the elastic closure through the designated holes, adding a Word Band to the top before threading it through the last hole.

Now it's time for another confession!  I tend to generally "play it safe" with colors and textures.  However, I finally decided I needed to step out of my comfort zone and go crazy!  I did this with the inside piece of the folio that the photos and ephemera are attached to.  Here is what it looked like when I started:


I used Tim's Frameworks Trellis Die as well as the Latticework stencil along with Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Forest Moss and Gathered Twigs Paint.

The fun then began!  I have to admit that it took me two full days to put this together, however, I wanted it to be extra special.  I also had lots of photos I wanted to incorporate.  You certainly don't have to put as much as I did into this project - just select a theme you like and go for it!

For the inside cover of the folio I used one of Tim's Mini Cabinet Cards and placed my grandmothers baby's picture in it!  I always laugh when I see it as she looks so startled.  I used this photo for the first challenge and turned the photo into a birthday card.  I die cut a banner from Tim's Sizzix Alterations Tattered Banners strip and hand wrote her birthdate.  To finish this cover I added two photos of the farm where she was born in Alva, Oklahoma.

On the right side I sandwiched two new Elementary Flashcards, one that said "family" and the other "story" over the first cascading flap.  These Flashcards have such wonderful words on them!  Love them!


On the right hand side of the second cascading flap I attached two photos of my grandmother's family.  I used an Industrious Frame from the new Gallery set to frame her parents' wedding picture.  Some photo corners from the same set were used in all four corners of the family photo.  I used the Alpha Parts: Newsprint letters to spell out the word "Family" at the top of the photo.

For the back of the second cascading flap I added two more photos which I adhered to not only the flap, but also the reverse side of the photos on the opposite side.  I used the Life Quotes Remnant              Rubs to add some words.

The right side of the third flap features my Great-Grandmother Mamie.  I used a library pocket I had in my stash.  I laid it on its side and covered part of it with paper from the Wallflower Stash.  After placing the photo on a brown mat, I adhered it over the paper and added some Alpha Tiles to spell out her name.  I tucked in a tag I colored with Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks and stamped with a B-Line Designs Gorgeous Fabric background.  I added another Elementary Flash Card and then a Remnant Rub from the Botanical set to the card.  I finished the front of the flap die by cutting and adding a Tim Alterations Distressed Doily die cut and  fussy cutting a rose image from the Wallflower Stash paper (one of my favorite things to do).  The last touch was the addition of an ephemera piece from the Emporium Ephemera Pack.


Close up of the tag:


I used the reverse side of the third flap for one photo plus another Flash Card and some fussy cut images from the Wallflower Stash paper to create a nature collage. 


I also stamped the tag on the reverse side with a stamp from Wendy Vecchi's The Beauty of Art stamp set.  Here's a close up of the reverse side of the tag:


On the right side of the fourth flap I used two large #10 tags.  I adhered a reduced size copy of my grandmother's graduation certificate to the top tag.  I used two B Line Designs stamps for the bottom tag, Women are like Buttons and Button Collage that I stamped lightly with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  Another photo was placed on this tag along with a Life Quotes Remnant Rub, Stencil Mark and Chit-Chat sticker.   Both tags were finished with a strip from the Industrious Gallery Stickers, two bows made from Crinkled Ribbon, a Ring Fastener and a Graphic 45 Shabby Chic key.  Another                      Flash Card with an image from the Botanical Remnant Rubs can be found in the center of the flap.



The left side of the fourth flap features two #8 tags to which have been added Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress inks and adhered to the larger #10 tags on the opposite side.   I decorated the tags with another photo, my grandmother's wedding announcement, a flower from the new  Emporium Ephemera pack, two bows made from burgundy seam binding that was crinkled, an photo is an oval frame from the Industrious Gallery Stickers with a photo, a Flash Card with a Botanical Remnant Rub and a metal key (sorry - not sure where this is from) and a floral stem from Nature Adornments.




The left side of the fifth flap was adorned with photos of my mother and uncle in Industrious Gallery Frames and finished with words from Chit-Chat stickers.  The back of the library pocket on the opposite side was decorated with another photo and Label Letters spelling my mother's name.  I also attached a gingham ribbon bow by Creative Impressions to the tag front.  Here's a close up of the tag front:


 Finally the back of the tag was stamped with a border from Wendy Vecchi's The Beauty of Art set and a stamp from Wendy's new Art and You set.




Close up of the reverse side of the tag:


Finally, the last flap was adhered to the back of the folio and a large photo of my grandparents on their honeymoon was placed on top.  A later photo of my grandmother was adhered to the top inside flap and a photo with me in it was adhered to the inside bottom flap and a fussy cut image from the Paper Stash was glued over the photo and onto the paper. 


I had to move from my small studio to the dining room table to spread everything out for this project. Here is what it looked like (I'm embarrassed to say):  I would bet that many of you can confess to the same thing!  Am I right?



Wow, that was a much longer post than I had intended, however, there are so many details I wanted to share with  you.  Now it's your turn to create something beautiful with this wonderful Collection Folio and share it with us.  As usual, head on over to the lovely Linda Ledbetter's site, read the rules for the challenge and start creating!  For this 23rd Challenge,  Inspiration Emporium is sponsoring a shopping spree in the amount of $50.00 for one randomly chosen winner.  Tim and Mario have a fabulous prize package for the winner of the Curiosity Crew Choice.

Good luck to everyone and have fun!

Susan







Saturday, February 14, 2015

Dimensional Cutting Pad Fun!

Hello Everyone!  I have a new technique (to me anyway) to share with all of you for this 22nd Challenge for the Compendium of Curiosities III!

Has anyone used Tim's Sizzix Dimensional Cutting Pad before  If not, you might want to take the time to order one for yourself and start playing!  I will confess, when I first saw this product, I thought it would be good for nothing more that cutting out butterfly wings, however, when I started to experiment with it, I discovered that I could create so much more!

Here is my finished project using Tim's large pocket watch and the dimensional plate:


Here is a view of the dimension created by using the plate:


Isn't that cool?  It really make the watch come to life, doesn't it?  This technique for using the pad can be found on Page 62 of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities III book.  It's never too late to order here.

My husband loves trains and requested a train theme for the card, so I happily obliged!

I first created a fun background using Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap Distress Inks.  I thought it might be fun to use the round blending tool to create circle on the background to mimic the  shape of the pocket watch.  I used Frayed Burlap for this background technique.  After following the technique on Page 62, this is what I started out with:


I added some black around the edges of the pocket watch and then cut a dial from Tim's Eclectic Elements Fabric and adhered it to the center of the watch.  Finally, I cut another pocket watch from a piece of scrap card stock and added Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.  I finished with a coat of Tarnished Brass Distress Paint that I dabbed over the Frayed Burlap to give that old metal look.



As  you can see, I added some Idea-ology Game Spinners for the clock hands.  I then went on to decorating the rest of the card.


I first stamped railroad tracks on the top and bottom of the card and added Tim's rick rack over the top.  I stamped and cut out a train on an extra piece of card stock that I had colored with the Distress inks as before and added a little tarnished brass Distress Paint to parts of the train.  I then adhered the train over the rick rack at the bottom right of the card.

I added a strip of Tim's Tissue Tape to both the right and left hand sides of the card.  Then I got busy with the Idea-ology Gears (I just can't get enough of them!) and glued them to several areas of the card, including on the pocket watch itself.

I used an Idea-ology Swivel Clasp and attached a Philosophy Tag to the end.  The clip was threaded through the top of the watch and a drop of Glossy Accents here and there to adhere the token to the card.

Finally, I had fun with Tim's Remnant Rubs, adding them here and there to the background for some fun detail.  I finished the whole card off by backing it with a black mat and adding two Idea-ology          Corners painted lightly with Tarnished Brass Distress Paint .

This 22nd challenge is generously sponsored this time by the Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Linda is providing a wonderful $25.00 shopping spree in her online store to a randomly chosen winner.  As always Tim and Mario have another great prize package waiting for the Curiosity Choice winner of this challenge.  Good luck.  Head on over to Linda Ledbetter's site to refresh your memory on the rules and play along!

Hope you enjoy this project!  Now let's see what you create.