Distress Watercolor - Part 2

I know I say this every time, but I really can't believe we have arrived at Number 20 for the Compendium of Curiosities III Challenge!  I hope all of you are having as much fun as we are creating these projects!

I finished this piece just before I was lucky enough to go to the Craft and Hobby Trade Show in Anaheim, California with most of my dear friends and fellow members of the Curiosity Crew, including the lovely Linda Ledbetter (unfortunately several members could not attend this year).  We have returned with lots of new ideas and inspiration which we hope to share with all of you.

Here is the card I created using this wonderful Distress Watercolor Part 2 technique:

I have wanted to use this fabulous Tim Holtz dragonfly stamp by Stampers Anonymous for such a long time!  Even though we are still in the midst of Winter, I must say that, after being in California and returning to snow and cold, I am ready for some warmer weather and dragonflies!

Have you used Ranger's watercolor paper yet?   I love it! There is so much detail on the paper and the ink colors stand out so beautifully!  

I apologize I don't have a lot of step by step photos.  However, here are a few close-ups of the card details:

After following the technique found on Page 40 of Tim's Compendium of Curiosities III book which can still be purchased here, I added some more detail to the card.  This is a silver dragonfly brad from Creative Impressions to which I added some Seedless Preserves Distress Paint (my favorite color) and placed it inside the "dragonfly" circle which is part of the stamp.

I took a scrap piece of the watercolor paper and stamped Happy Birthday from Tim's Simple Sayings.  I cut the paper to the same width as my dragonfly piece and adhered pieces of aqua card stock to the backs to create two mats.

Next I had some beautiful Birdsong Cherry Blossoms paper from Graphic 45 which I thought would make a lovely background. I adhered both stamped and matted pieces to the G45 paper.   I also wanted to add a few extra flowers, so I fussy cut several of the flowers from the paper and layered them to some foliage cut from Tim's Sizzix Alterations Spring Greenery die using green card stock accented with some Peeled Paint Distress ink.  I then adhered more foliage to the base of the card underneath the Happy Birthday sentiment from Tim's Simple Sayings stamp set.

The watercolored dragonfly image and the Happy Birthday sentiments were both layered onto aqua card stock and adhered to Cherry Blossoms background paper.  To finish this piece I used Tim's crinkle ribbon which was dyed with Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar Distress Paint, tied into a bow and adhered to the bottom of the card.

This 20th challenge is being sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  A $25.00 shopping spree will be awarded to one lucky randomly chosen winner.  I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely owner, Linda, at the trade show.  What a wonderful and sweet person she is!

Tim and Mario have another prize package awaiting the winner of the Curiosity Crew choice for this challenge.  Head on over to Linda Ledbetter's site for all the rules on how to participate and possibly win this terrific prize package.

Come join us!  We would love to see your creations!

Susan

Pocket Pages

Remember when we were challenged to decorate Tim's Worn Covers?  Did you ever wonder when we were going to decorate pages to include in our journals, tag holders, recipe books, etc.?  Well, the time has finally arrived for Challenge No 18!  Even if you have already created your pages, there are more techniques to learn and more pages to add!  Here are my pages:

I previously created a Quote Book to store inspirational quotes along with my art tags.  I was SO ready to incorporate them into my book!  The techniques can be found on Page 36 of Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities III book.  If you don't have it, you can purchase it at Tim's site here.

While I can't tell you exactly how I used/altered these pages as you have to work from your own copy of the book, I can show you close ups of some of the things I did.  I'll start with the tags:

I used Tim's door die, thrift shop ephemera (flower), Tim's woodgrain stamp from the Wallpaper and Wood set and  "The Impossible is Often Untried"  from the clear stamp set Thoughts and Phrases                    along with crinkle ribbon died with scattered straw and Vintage Photo Distress Stains.

This tag is already shown in the pocket page - a perfect fit!  I used an old ready made library pocket and a number 8 tag.  The pocket was decorated with paper from Tim's French Industrial Paper Stash and the quote from Tim's Stampers Anonymous set  Way with Words stamped over the top of the paper.  The paper I adhered to the tag is from Tim's Wallflower Paper Stash.  I ran the paper through the  Gears Texture Fade, blended color using Peeled Paint,  Black Soot and Vintage Photo Distress inks and then added Idea-ology pieces - the arrow, chit-chat stickers, gears and the swivel clasp to the tag.  The finishing touch came from the bow from Tim's Bow-tied die.

The final tag uses the Paint Marbling technique for the background.  I added stamps from the Typography stamp set as well as an Idea-ology pen nib, a mini gear and a remnant rub from the Numbers set.

I had some some tags I wanted to incorporate into the 3 Pocket Page.  I really wanted them to stick out the side edge, so I carefully cut the side edge and sealed the top edge so that I could achieve this look.

Again, I used the Wallflower Stash paper on all of the tags (I absolutely can't get enough of that paper!).  The quotes are from Tim's  clear set Thoughts and Phrases with the exception of the Mother Teresa quote on the bottom tag.  She was and is such an inspiration to me!  The stamps are from Stampers Anonymous Nature Walk and Butterflies and the bird on the bottom is cut from the Thrift Shop Ephemera.

Here is another set of pages I created:

These are fold-out pages.  Check out Page 44 for more details.  The paper is from the Wallflower Stash.  I added a painted Idea-ology piece from the Nature Adornments set and a chit-chat sticker on the bottom right piece that says dreams.  The "Cross your heart and fly" quote is from B Line Designs and "The quieter you become, the more you came hear" quote is from Inky Antics.  I created the piece at the top left using the technique on page 44 as well.

Here is the back of this fold-out page:

More Wallpaper Stash goodness along with a quote on the upper right hand piece from B Line Designs ands the words "Live with Purpose" cut from part of the large stamp in the Stampers Anonymous Way with Words set.                    .

There you have it!  I can't wait to create more pages like these for my Quote book:

Now it's your turn!  Show us your magnificent pocket pages!  For all the rules, go to Linda Ledbetter's site and read up!  You could win a wonderful prize package from Tim and Mario if your work is chosen by the Curiosity Crew!  This 18th challenge is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique who is generously providing a $25.00 shopping spree in their store.  Remember, you can't win if you don't play along!  Come join us!

Best Wishes
Susan