Fabulous Frosted Film

Here we are at Challenge Number 32, just two more to go!  I confess I had not used this product before, but I love it now!  You may find this challenge on Page 59 of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities III book which still can be purchased here.  This challenge is once again sponsored by the generous Tim and Mario who are providing a fabulous prize package to the winner of this challenge! Head on over to Linda Ledbetter's site for all the details and enter!

One randomly chosen winner will also win a $25.00 shopping spree to The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Good luck to all!

Now for the technique.  Here is my latest challenge project:

I decided to use a canvas this time which features beautiful die cut flowers and frosted film butterflies.  I used a sentiment from Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous Life Quotes that I felt would blend well with the "dreamy quality" created as a result of blending the die cut butterflies with the  frosted film.

I started off by creating my butterflies. I used Tim Holtz's Sizzix Butterfly Duo die set.  (I obviously didn't use the included texture fade).  You will have to go to Page 59 to see how I accomplished this technique.  Here are the finished butterflies:

I then decided I wanted some texture to my canvas, so I started with a coat of white gesso on the canvas.  When it was dry, I added Wendy Vecchi's white embossing paste through Tim's Flourish Stencil.   Finally, I added some watered down Tumbled Glass Distress Paint to the background and then some white Picket Fence Distress paint to the raised surfaces.  This is how the prepared canvas looked:

Now I was quite unhappy with myself when I first created this texture pattern.  I originally had a "white on white" pattern, but decided that it was too "white" for my butterflies to really show up well.  I tossed around the idea of starting all over and painting the canvas with Tumbled Glass Distress paint first and then adding the white paste, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.  One of my mottos is "there is a way to fix anything" so I was determined to fix it.  It ended up being easier than I thought to use white Picket Fence Distress Paint to highlight the raised surface.  The Tumbled Glass background was watered down a bit so that the background wasn't too dark.

I then cut a number of flowers from my absolute favorite Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Tattered Floral Garland as well as some greenery from the Alterations Spring Greenery die.  I colored the flowers by blending Picked Raspberry and Squeezed Lemonade Distress inks.  When dry, I assembled them and added Buttercup and Petal Pink Liquid Pearls to the flower centers.  The greenery was colored with Peeled Paint and Gathered Twigs Distress inks.

I laid out the flowers and greenery on the canvas until I was happy with the layout.

Unfortunately, even though I lightened the background a tad, the colors seemed to vary each time of the day I photographed the piece.  It is actually a little lighter in color.

Now I wondered how I was going to stamp my sentiment on the canvas.   I certainly couldn't do it the traditional way due to the texture.  Then I remembered the technique I learned from Cheryl (who learned it from Candy), etc. of stamping on white tissue paper, tearing around the sentiment and using Matte Medium to adhere it to the background with a paint brush.  Worked like a charm!  The tissue blends right into the background!

Finally, I adhered all the flowers and greenery as well as the butterflies to the canvas using Matte  Medium.  Once again here is the finished project:

See what I mean about the variation in background color!

Here it is on a darker background and different light (even though it is really a slightly lighter blue):

You may have noticed I added antennae to the butterflies before I adhered them to the canvas.  I achieved this by cutting two small pieces of black linen thread and creating a knot on either end.  I then folded each in half and adhered them to the back of the butterflies' bodies.

All of us here at the CC3 Challenge are looking forward to seeing your submissions!  You all are such talented artists who have blown us away with  your creativity!  Let's see more of it!

Susan

Fabulous Frameworks!

Drumroll please!  We have officially arrived at the 25th, yes 25th Challenge for the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge using Tim Holtz's fabulous frameworks dies!  I honestly don't know where the time has gone as I have been having so much fun with these challenges!  Linda Ledbetter  has been doing an awesome job hosting them too!  If you haven't played along with us, it's never too late.  Head on over to her website for all the rules and information. You won't regret it!

I have been so happy enjoying our beautiful Springtime in the Rockies - the trees are in bloom as well as the daffodils and grape hyacinth. Therefore I knew my project had to be inspired by the beauty around me.  Here is the tag I created using the Lattice Framework Die:

Now here  is the irony.  This is what I woke up to this morning!

Somehow this just isn't right!  However, as they say here in Colorado, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes".  It will change back to Spring again - our local meteorologist has assured us that it will in a few days.

Tim has multiple, and all wonderful, Frameworks dies by Sizzix.   I envisioned flowers and leaves on a trellis so I used his Lattice die to create the base for this project.  I began by cutting out two lattices from chipboard.  I then painted both of them with his new January release color - Cracked Pistachio.  Love this color!  Once dry, I added some Pumice Stone Distress Paint over the top.  I forgot to take a picture of both pieces before I adhere them to the tag.  However, I have a small piece leftover which hopefully will show the color.

I stamped the tag with Tim's Stamper's Anonymous Wood Grain background from the Wallpaper and Wood stamp set using a combination of Vintage and Antique Linen Distress Inks.  I then stamped the sentiment from Tim's new Life Quotes set in black over the background.

I used one of my favorite techniques, Paint Marbling, to create some flowers to add to my trellis.  I used Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade and  Festive Berries Paints.  Once dry, I used Tim's Sizzix Alterations Tattered Florals Garland die to cut out the flowers.  Here is what it looked like once I cut out the flowers along with a sample flower:

I then used Tim's Sizzix Alterations Spring Greenery die to cut out a variety of greens to creep up my trellis.  I cut them out of cream card stock and added color with Peeled Paint and Forest Green Distress Inks.

I stamped some tiny flowers from Tim's Stamper's Anonymous Watercolor set randomly over the background on the left side of the tag.  I used one entire trellis and parts of a second one to add over the top.   I wove some of the greenery through the trellises before I adhered everything to the tag.

Flowers were added to the greenery and trellis as well as butterflies from Tim's new Watercolor stamp set (one of my favorites!)  Here is a close up of the flowers and butterflies:

I finished the tag off by dying Tim's Crinkle Ribbon with Festive Berries Distress ink and Spice Marmalade and creating a bow which was adhered to the top.  I then adhered one more watercolor butterfly to the center of the bow.

Okay now, get out your Compendium of Curiosities III book and turn to page 64.  Still don't have the book?  Don't worry, it's still available here.  Come join the fun!  This challenge is generously sponsored by The Inspiration Emporium who will provide a $50.00 shopping spree at their online store for a randomly chosen winner.  Tim and Mario are also providing a fabulous prize package for the Curiosity Crew Choice as well!

Good luck to all!

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