Grungy...

Cor blimey and thrice indeedily, it is weeks since I had the chance to join in with my favourite challenge, Grungy Monday. Thought up and hosted by the lovely Linda Ledbetter, this challenge focuses on the amazing techniques and products from the one and only Tim Holtz.. or, to give him is proper title, THE Duke of Distress. This week the challenge theme is a technique on one of Tim's Tags of Christmas - the deets of which are HERE.


So... I quite clearly remember making this tag the first time around... and goofing it up a bit and not being 100% happy with it. Hang on, I am going to go and see if I can find it in the archive... brb lol Right... am back, how clever was I to do a label that says "Twelve Tags of Christmas 2009" aha, I must have known I would need it one day. Anyways.. here is the LINK to the post. A little known fact... is... I love a good "copy" crafting time. So, when Tim does the 12 Tags, I always try and copy them exactly. Tisn't easy sometimes because I might not have the stash I need... this year I have been like a squirrel storing his nuts (snort) and have been collecting loads of Christmas stashly goodies... I hope Tim gets chance to do the 12 Tags again this year.. they are the best!


My tag was made pretty much in the way the original was made... I just added one of those new Christmas Adornments (which I lurve btw) and a Christmas Muse Token too. I used my fave Santa... I call him Santa Bellamy because I think he looks like David Bellamy (for readers not of my age and not from the UK, HERE is a link to a piccie of David)




Oooh, before I forget... I have just posted over on The Stamp Attic blog... I have finally got my act together and got my class samples photographed... all the deets for the classes are HERE at The Stamp Attic shop... and... sneak peek pics and a few words about them are HERE on The Stamp Attic blog. Right... tis time for me to get a wiggle on... I have got my Christmas head on and I have a hankering for some tag-making. Thanks for looking! TTFN

Hels x

Ticket To Ride...

...no, not the Sunday Stamper a day early, although it would be a good theme... however, the reason for the title today is... I have been playing again! And... *polishes halo* I have made another card!!! I know, three in two days!!! So... I while back I mentioned that I am neglecting my "old" Tim stamps... to the point that the folder very rarely gets to see the light of day. So... after sitting myself down and giving myself a good talking to, I resolved to use my "old" stamps more often.


The new set (well, the last release) of Tim stamps called Air Travel are rather splendid and go really well with the old set that has the big map and the Old Jalopy on it (can't remember the name and I am just too bone idle to get up and go and look... but you know the ones I mean I am sure lol) Anyways... one of the 12 Tags a few years ago had the Old Jalopy stamped, embossed and cut out of Grungeboard... so I did this... and added some Mica for the windows and a bit of Idea-ology for decoration.


The big map on Air Travel was stamped in black and then I used Distress Stains to colour the land and the sea and tore the map up to make elements and something to stamp the sentiment onto. Now, I have several (ok ALL) of the Tim Masks and I admit that I don't always use them because... erm... I forget to. I am nothing if not honest about my lack of memory.... anyways, what was I saying? (ROFL) The Compass Mask just so happens to be the perfect size for the Compass stamp... which I stamped onto the compass masked bit (bear with, this is going somewhere..honest) using Black Archival, then onto scrap with Coffee Archival, which I cut out, coloured with Old Paper and then gave a slap of Rock Candy Cracklepaint... once this had dried and crackled I dobbed some Vintage Photo Stain over the top... this seeps into the crackles and the rest wipes off! Fab huh!?



Right then... I have an appointment with some more of those "old" stamps in my collection... I have yet to think of a theme for the Sunday Stamper... I have got to the stage now where I am trying to make it a bit more interesting and I came up with a plan the other night... then promptly forgot it... this memory thing again... right... I have an appointment with some of those....... *just kidding* Thanks for looking... have a very goodly Saturday! TTFN

Hels x

Grungy...

...Monday!!! Oh yes indeedily, there is a brand new challenge in Blogland and hurrah and thrice for lovely Linda Ledbetter for devising this challenge to take up where the Compendium Challenges ended. This new challenge is based on the products and techniques of the one and only Duke of Distress... yes, a challenge focusing purely on the works of Tim Holtz... well how could I not join in!!! The challenge this week is based on THIS TAG... and here is my take on it... *I actually started this tag on Tuesday morning but...erm... got a bit distracted with that news lol... ah, cannot go a single day without mentioning that news rofl*




I cheated... big stylee.. because I asked Victor Vagabond to cut me a nice piece of Grungeboard into a butterfly shape... see how clever he is...he even cut some fancy paper to go underneath it... and then he went and made me a bacon buttie... *I made the last bit up... but just think, that would be well coolio wouldn't it!!* The base of the tag has the Flourish Mask on it... which, alas, has had to go to the big Mask Heaven in the sky... because... Mrs Thicko here decided to dry the base before removing said mask... and it ...erm... shrivelled right up... oooopsie-daisies...



Now, the letters... humph, I have the stamp that Tim used... but... it isn't actually in the Room of Stash at the moment... it has had to go on a little jolly jaunt that I can't tell you about yet but all will be revealed in...erm.. about a months time ;o)) Anyways... I have got some of Tim's Chronicles Alpha Stamps which are positively ancient but still work fine... so I improvised... used these, cut them out and then added dots and swirly bits to the background.



I also want to tell you about Kat... she is the Guest Designer over on the Artistic Stamper Creative Team blog this month and her first contribution is blogged today... and... OMG... it is totally stunning... all the deets are HERE if you fancy seeing something utterly gorgeous! Right... I have a day to myself cos Grim is working til late... what to do first... make the bacon buttie that I now need because I mentioned it a few minutes ago and now I am craving one... or... make another tag??? Ahhh, decisions, decisions.... thanks for looking... have a lovely day... TTFN

Hels x

A Combo of Curiosities... Take II

...hands up who is missing the Compendium of Curiosities challenge!! I am... but I am also very excited about Grungy Monday which is starting this next Monday coming which has been devised and is hosted by Linda. Anyways, a few weeks ago I made a tag that was combining some of the elements from the Compendium challenge... and here is another one I have made!




The tag is based on Week 14 which was Basic Masks, Week 24 which was Rock Candy Stickles and finally, Week 30 which was Altered Metal with Paint. Now, as I have waffled on alarmingly in the past about how I am a bit rubbish with this masking lark... I decided to give it another go... I still can't seem to get my head around them but I am liking the letters more and more... so I let this one through and carried on and finished it...




Here are the three tags that I took my inspiration from... and, no, I still haven't done anything with all 35 of them... I am thinking I will just leave them on their book rings... they are accessible and all together there... my pie in the sky ideas about making boards for them and putting them up in the Room of Stash has erm... well... been rejected... well, thinking about it... I put 35 tags onto boards and stick them up on the walls... firstly I wouldn't be able to see them closely (on account of me being a shortarse) and secondly, think of the dust!! And I seriously do not want to have to de-cobweb my tags lol



The tag was stained with Antique Linen Distress Stains... and then I did the masky bit... and then coloured the rest of it with a combo of Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick with a smidge of Walnut Stain around the edges. The Rock Candy Stickles bit it actually all over the Rosettes... I cut strips of paper from the Lost & Found Stack and coated these with Rock Candy and heat dried it... how cool that I can heat dry glitter glue... gotta lurve Ranger for coming up with this product... anyways... I made three Rosettes, popped them all together and then did the Altered Metal with Paint bit... using a Philosophy Tag and some Trad Tan paint... I wanted the tag to have a smudgey painty look so I left some of the Trad Tan on there... and then I added a ickle Foliage flower with a Snap in the centre.




Oooh, and I nearly forgot... tis my day for the Bubbly Funk DT and this week I have made myself a little notebook using Tando Creative Chip Sheets... all the deets are HERE on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog. This is a little piccie of the front of the book... and I have just been commissioned to make another two... one for Grim and the other for his Mum... I do love making these books - they are simples :O)) Grim doesn't want ribbons on his though... so I am going to make it all manly and hunky... just like he is lol



So... guess what time I got up today? Mmmm, 5am!!! Guess what time I went to bed last night? Mmmm, 3am! I couldn't sleep... I saw the Doc yesterday and he has tweaked my pain meds and I think I am having one of those "getting used to the new meds days"... I am feeling quite perky at the moment but I reckon once I have stopped waffling on at you all I will probably fall asleep and wake up with drool on my chin and imprints of the keys from the laptop on my chops lol Right... gonna go and do something to keep busy... oooh, I can do the books... that is a plan! Thanks for looking... have a very goodly day indeedily... TTFN

Hels x

Curiously Misting...

...tis, in my opinion, the BEST challenge around... apart from the Sunday Stamper of course ROFL... seriously though, the Compendium of Curiosities is my favest challenge to play along with... not only does is feed my inky addiction, it also means that I get to make another tag for my ever growing collection. You know I originally had thought that I would pop them all onto a board and mount them onto the wall in the Room of Stash.. well, there is no way that is going to happen, I didn't think the whole thing thru before I started... but, what I have got are 27 tags with 27 different techniques on them and I think that they look rather nice :O)) Here's a pic of the first ring...




And here is a pic of the second ring... I have another big bookring sitting waiting to be filled... there's still another 8 weeks to play yet!! Anyways, if you have no idea what I am waffling on about then pop on over to Linda's blog... all the deets are on there on how to join in and the rules etc... oh and you can also see Linda's gorgeous entry for the challenge this week.




So... I shalln't go into deets on how I made the tag apart from saying I used the Distress Misting Masks technique. Now, I have said this before and I will say it again... me and masking just do not go together... I can do "normal" masking where I stamp something and cover it with a mask and then over stamp it... but using those Tim Holtz masks? Nope! I just cannot seem to get it to look right.




Anyways.. I made my own mists using Wild Honey and Crushed Olive Re-Inkers and some Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls... now, do you get this when you use a Tim mask... whenever I use one, no matter what I do, it always ends up sticking to my tag and then lifting off some of the tag with it when I remove it... even if I don't burnish it down.. I am obviously doing something wrong LOL So... I decided to do a "journey" theme for this tag... and somehow a clock crept in there too... not sure if that goes but I liked it LOL I used some images from the Lost and Found Sticker book... popping them onto paper and cutting out and distressing the edges... and then made a little ticket using Tim's 100th Collection set... you know, that set that is signed by the Duke of Distress himself!! *I may have mentioned that a few times LOL*



I have a busy day ahead of me... I am making some ATC's for a swap I am doing and then I have to sit on the doormat and wait for Postie to turn up... he is bringing something very special for me today... namely... a BluRay DVD of Goodfellas... **I just did a little squeally squeak then LOL** which is my favouritest film of all time! I first saw it about a hundred years ago when I hired it on VHS... I watched it twice, took it back and went straight out and bought my own copy... then I got it on DVD - and it is such an old DVD that it is in two parts... which means that I will be all comfy watching it and I have to get up and change discs halfway thru the film... well, the other day I was mooching around the sales and spotted it on BluRay for the princely sum of £4.99. It would have been rude not to buy it wouldn't it? So... all being well, Postie will arrive with the DVD and I can sit and watch it this afternoon... and...I am going to position myself in the recliner... Grim is at work all day so he won't even know I sat in it ROFL Ah... yes, I still haven't tidied the Room of Trash yet either... infact it is worse than ever because I have been verrrry baaaaad and not put away anything for the past three days... you should see it... actually, scrap that... you shouldn't, it would turn your hair grey!!! (that is my excuse for the silver among the gold and I am sticking to it LOL) So... going back to my anticipated arrival... what is your fave film?? Do tell!! Right, ATC's here I come... thanks for looking.. have a brill day! TTFN

Hels x

Curiously Extreme...

...oooh, I do love the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge... cos... it sometimes reallllly is a challenge for me to actually use the technique... you know sometimes something just doesn't work well no matter how many times you try it? Well, this is the case in point for this weeks theme... oh, and ... I nearly forgot to say... the CCC is hosted by the loverly and ever so clever Linda, if you click on her name you will be whizzed off on the back of a giant pumpkin to see all the deets :O)



So, it just doesn't sit right, no matter how many tags I tried to do... nope, the "extreme" part of the challenge just doesn't go right... then there was the small matter of the Grungepaper flowers and leaves I cut using Tim's Alterations... they don't look right either... however, what does look right is my inspiration for the colours on this weeks entry... the leaves which are now covering the garden - they have fallen from the Spinney behind the house and they are, without doubt, the most gorgeous colours of fallen leaves I have ever seen! Here are some I snaffled into the Room of Stash ... which I am going to rename the Room of Trash cos it is sooooo in need of a de-clutter... anyways, I digress... here are the leaves :O))




Check out the Barn Door hints on some of them... and Rusty Hinge not to mention the Crushed Olive... is it just me... or do you do this... an example, I will see a sunset and imagine it on a tag... and I think... ooooh, that is Crushed Olive blending into Wild Honey, blending into Tumbled Glass... mmm, just me then ROFL



Anyways... this is my entry for the CCC this week... I am severely disappointed with it... and know it will bug me so I will go back to it and try again... I have 19 tags now... and I need another big book ring... all together like that... they are lovely to look through and see so many different techniques and I know I will, *ahem* one day, get them all mounted and popped up onto the wall... I even have a space waiting for them!



There they all are... I really do not know what I was thinking on week 4 with that wierd, so out of place, metal birdy... that tag may have to be re-done too LOL I have spent the evening watching TV - I normally mooch about with my stash and listen to the radio... but it is Wednesday so it is Apprentice night... no comment about that one that got fired (in case you haven't seen it yet... that person so deserved it though ROFL) And then... it is The Million Pound Drop on Channel 4 - I am addicted to this programme and it is a shame it is only on for a week... I have played along online and kept my million... and no, I didn't use Google (Grim did LOL) and I guess it is easier if it is not real money that you are shifting about! Anyways... time for bed for me... thanks for looking... TTFN

Hels x