Tim Holtz December 2012 Tag

Wow, I can't believe I actually did all 12 tags (even if I was late on a few).  This last one was a bit of a struggle.  My Cuttlebug had a difficult time cutting through the adhesive backed mirror.  This could have been a combination of factors.  The Cuttlebug not being sufficient to cut the mirror.  The dies I was using not being "sharp" enough or the need for more shims.  After running the dies through, I ended up cutting the letters out by hand.  It might be time to consider upgrading my Cuttlebug.

Materials used:  Bazzill cardstock, Bead Landing gears, Tim Holtz tissue tape and mirror, Distress ink and stains, Archival ink, Pier One gift tag.

I went with the snowman theme for this card -- mostly due to all the snow that we have been getting.  It seemed appropriate.  We have had a number of snow storms during the month of December.  Nothing like Montreal had but still enough that I am ready for a break from shovelling.

 

December turned out to be a month where there was not much in the line of crafting being done.  I even ended up buying my Christmas cards this year.  My New Year's resolution for 2013 is to carve out more time to play with my pretty paper.  Mojo was hard to come by in 2012 and I need time to rejuvenate and play.  I have decided that I am going to take a break from LCOM Design Team for the next little while.  Although I have thoroughly enjoyed my time there, I am a bit burned out.  I have volunteered to provide sketches if they find that they need them; but otherwise, I am going to craft for myself to see if I can jump start that Mojo again.

Have a crafty Sunday.

A Thank-you and a New Card Sketch

Firstly, I must extend my gratitude to Tim Holtz and Mario for selecting my tag for November.  That is just so cool especially since I had taken a 3 month break on the tags.  My husband must think I was a little nuts doing a happy dance in the dining room yesterday.  The prize is a $25 voucher to Simon Says Stamps so I want to expend my gratitude to Heidi as well.  I must admit that I haven't ordered from her store before but I am looking forward to checking it out.  Just looking at the shipping rates for Canada has me asking myself why I haven't ordered from them before.

Secondly, I want to mention that there is a new sketch up over at the LCOM Sketch blog.  It is the last of our November sketches with a Twist. 

The twist for this week is to use polka dots.  When I saw the sketch, pendants were the first thing that popped into my mind.  The second thing was that I wanted to do some kind of take on Santa's suit.  I liked the idea of using the red for the pendants with the black across to give a feeling of his belt.  Instead of doing a gold belt buckle, I decided that I wanted to use holly leaves.  The new Dee's Distinctively Wreath Builder dies have two different sizes of holly leaves that were perfect for what I wanted to do.

Materials used:  Bazzill cardstock, BoBunny pattern paper, Dee's Distinctively dies, and Kaiser Craft bling.

This card only took 10 minutes from start to finish and it still has pop.  With Christmas so close, quick and easy Christmas cards have a certain appeal.

Have a happy Sunday.  I am off to help my son with his school project which is due tomorrow.  He almost has it completed.  He just needs to dig into my craft supplies to finish off his poster and to get his rough draft on to cue cards.  If I don't tear him away from Mindcraft, nothing will get done.

A Long Week

Last week was a long week.  A nasty stomach bug roared through our house and managed to bring everyone down.  I had forgotten what it was like to deal with a stomach bug since we have been very lucky the last few years.  I don't think I want to go through that again for a long, long while.  Thankfully, the bug was pretty much over and done with in 24 to 48 hours.  Everyone is once again healthy...fingers crossed.

I am afraid to say that due to this bug, I am late posting last weeks card for the LCOM Sketch blog and it was even one of mine.  Shame on me.  Even though it is late, I hope that you will head on over and check it out.  The Design Team made some lovely cards with the sketch and you still have time to play along.

The twist for last week's sketch was to use something with "wings".  My little wooden butterfly is my wings.  I made a nice simple every day card.

Have a happy Tuesday.

Getting Caught Up

When I started the Tim Tags, I had every intention of keeping up and playing along.  How hard could it be to do a tag a month.  Little did I realize how easy it was to fall behind.  When the end of August came about and I still had not completed my August tag, I thought "Oh well, I will just get caught up next month".   Low and behold, it is now November and I just finished the last 4 tags.

Tim's tag for November featured a "Thankful" theme that was fitting for the US Thanksgiving.  Since our Thanksgiving was last month, I decided to apply the technique to a snow theme to celebrate the first snowfall.

One thing to note, when ironing out the embossing powder make sure to lift the paper up when it was hot.  This was my second attempt.  My first attempt I ended up pulling up a good portion of the surface of the paper when I removed it after ironing.

With the October tag, I decided to go with a more vintage girly style instead of doing a Halloween theme.  I loved colouring the glass glitter with alcohol ink.  I mixed several blues, yellows and greens to get the colour I was looking for.  I just kept adding a drop or two until I finally achieved the right colour.

September's tag is my favourite.  I loved the faux metal work.  I did not have any steel wool to burnish the metal after applying the alcohol ink.  Desperation is the mother of invention - especially at 2 am.  Mr. Clean Magic Erasers worked beautifully -- taking off just enough but leaving behind enough of the colour.

Last but not least is my version of the August tag.  The paper roses are fun and easy to make.  They give such a dramatic statement to the card.  I love making them out of the whitewashed Core-dinations cardstock.  They have a nice feminine feel.

Here is a detail of the roses:

The gold accent was created by spraying the card with the New Heidi Swap glimmer sprays.

Now that I am caught up, I am looking forward to seeing what is in store for December.

Have a good Sunday.

LCOM Card Sketch #38

Oh dear...I have been a bit negligent lately.  I haven't been posting my cards for the card sketches for the LCOM Sketch blog here.  Time has gotten away from me this last month.  I blinked and it is now November.  It is scary how quickly time speeds up as you get older.

Enough depressing thoughts...on to more interesting, creative and fun things.  This month on the LCOM Sketch blog, the card team is providing a bit of a twist with each of our card sketches.  We have added in a "challenge" that must be used with the sketch.

This weeks sketch has been posted and it is one of mine.  I really liked this sketch since it was a shaped card.  I like the look of shaped cards.  The twist is that you had to use "SNOW" in some way on your card.

Materials used:  Bazzill cardstock, misc. ribbon and Micheal's bling.

I used a Spellbinder's die to cut out the background shapes of the card.  The snowflake trim is cut with a Memory Box die and the blue snowflake is a Cherry Lynn die.  I love these intricate dies.  They are so pretty.

Please head on over to the LCOM Sketch blog to check out the sketch.  I hope that you will play along as well.  There is a linky tool provided so that you can link your creations.  There is also a prize for the month of November.

Here are the other cards that I have created for the month of October:

Card sketch #37:

Card sketch #36:

Card sketch #34:

If you are wondering about the cards for the Tim Holtz 2012 Tags, the last one that I completed and posted was in July.  I have finished August and most of the September card which I will be complete tonight.  I am hoping to have October and November completed by this weekend.  I will post all 4 together when they are done.

Have a good Wednesday.