Monday, January 9, 2012

Grungy Monday 32 (and some news!)

I LOVE the latest Grungy Monday challenge! All you have to do is pick your favorite Tim Holtz technique from the 2011 12 Tags of Christmas, and create a non-Christmas project with that technique! And ... one very lucky person from this challenge will receive a $25 gift certificate from Simon Says Stamps! Woo hoo!

The 2011 tag challenge was my first try at Tim's annual 12 Tags of Christmas. Taking part in the challenge really pushed me and made me feel more confident in using Tim's products. Like Linda said on her blog, Tim shared sooo many new and amazing techniques!

It was so hard to pick just one favorite. So before I reveal my little project, I wanted to share some of my favorite techniques from the 12 Tags:

Double embossing from tag #9. I never realized that you can emboss with Tim's Distress Inks, and on top of that, double emboss with clear powder to create texture. Amazing!

Creating a drop shadow with die cuts from tag #12. Usually when you want to add depth or dimension to a project, you reach for some foam dots or squares. Well, Tim showed us how you can create depth by simply cutting out two sets of dies and using the darker color dies as your drop shadow. So simple, but so genius!

Picket Fence Distress Stain as a background element from tag #2. The milky glaze that this stain creates is sooo cool. It really makes for an antique look, I love it!

Creating a crackled/weathered look with Rock Candy Crackle Paint from tag #4. When I saw Tim's icy snowman tag, I totally fell in love ... the colors, the crackly weathered look ... It's amazing how much some Crackle Paint can do for your project! So, I decided to try this technique from Tim on an artist trading card.


The background was creating using Fired Brick and Picket Fence Distress Stains. I distressed the edges with an emery board (still need the little distresser!) and inked with Walnut Stain. My sentiment is a Stampers Anonymous stamp, and the lovely crochet ribbon and liquid pearls are some recent finds from Paper Mermaids. Have you ever played with these before? If not, you must! It takes some practice and quite a bit of patience, but in no time you'll be making perfect little pearls. :)


Now, for the crackle paint technique. Instead of the snowman Tim used, I used my Movers & Shapers Mini Hearts die. I don't have Snow Cap so I covered my grungepaper hearts with Picket Fence Distress Stain. After the stain dried, I covered my grungepaper with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. Very important: Per Tim, you MUST apply a medium/thick coating of the crackle paint. If you do not, you will NOT get the deep cracks that this technique is all about. (See the dark red hearts underneath my white ones? Those were my original grungepaper hearts. I didn't apply enough crackle paint to them so I decided to use them as dimensional pieces instead.) When my hearts dried, I filled them in with Fired Brick, versus the Weathered Wood and Tumbled Glass colors that Tim used for his tag.


I made a button for this tag using my Sewing Room die. I applied some Gold Dabber on top then threaded some tulle through it, ala tag #4! I also darkened the gold by applying some Black Soot around the edges. I like applying this color to gold and other metal-y colors; it gives your embellishment a more antique look.


There you have it, a Valentine's artist trading card using Tim's crackled/weathered technique.

Before I type out my supplies list, I wanted to share some exciting news! My husband got promoted!! Here's the catch: We'll be moving 5.5 hours north to the greater Seattle area ... and we need to be all settled in by January 23rd!! Since most of my family lives there, and my sister relocated to the Queen Anne area just last month, I know Scott and I will have plenty of watchful eyes over us. That, and I've found a scrapbook store or two, so I'm all set. :)

With that said, this may be my last project for the next couple of weeks, as I've got lots of planning, phone calling, packing, and moving to do!! So thank you for your patience and while I'll fall behind on a couple Grungy Mondays, I'll still have time to peek at your creations!

Thank you all for looking and have a great rest of your week!

Supplies:

Grungepaper
Movers & Shapers - Mini Hearts die
Gold Paint Dabber
Distress Ink - Walnut Stain & Black Soot
Distress Stain - Picket Fence & Fired Brick
TH Alterations - Sewing Room die
Liquid Pearls - Petal Pink

14 comments:

Sandra said...

OM gosh! What a gorgeous ATC. Love the big crackly hearts for the valentine theme! And what great news about your husbands promotion! Good luck with all the moving and arranging. I'll keep an eye out for your return! hihi

Janna said...

Love your trading card!!! Moving to Seattle, how exciting!! There are so many cool paper arts stores in that area Maria, you are going to have a blast!!!! Maybe I will see you at the Heirloom Productions Stamp Convention in Puyallup later this spring! :) You would love it! It's at the fairgrounds. Wishing you all the best! Janna

Suzanne said...

:O Love this Maria! Huge congrats on the move...it can be stressful girl so take care of you and hurry back to scrapping! hugs..and many thanks for your kind comments...they mean tons to me!

fairy thoughts said...

this is a lovely piece very pretty and feminine. love the hearts.
thanks for sharing janet

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

This ATC is gorgeous!!! I love the crackle effect on the heart and the tulle up top...gorgeous! Congrats on the promotion and good luck on the move!

Maria said...

You are all so sweet and encouraging, thank you sooo much!! There are all these crafty projects I want to do but I gotta focus now on finding a new home and moving ... so much to do, so little time! But it will be sooo good though to finally have my own place again, and maybe my own craft room!! Stay tuned!!

Paper Nurse said...

You will be so missed here in Newport and at Paper Mermaids. Over this past year I have watched your love for this form of art grow and grow... it has been such a joy for me! I wish you and Scott nothing but the best and look forward to following your blog and other pages and seeing you when you come down to visit the folks! Many blessings! Oh the ATC looks great too!

Shelly Hickox said...

Beautiful!! Love your crackle paint technique - that stuff is awesome. Congrats on your move, too. You must live somewhere in Oregon? That's where I'm originally from. I miss it so much!

Terry said...

Beautiful creations and great use of crackle!!! Love it! Congratulations on your husband's promotion and how exciting to start a new adventure! Best of luck!

Sue said...

This is beautiful, Maria. Love all of the crackle and sparkle on it!

Congrats on dh's promotion. Hope the move goes without any big bumps in the road!

Crafty Chick Designs said...

Your tag is beautiful! Isn't that crackle technique just great.

Alison said...

Your ATC is simply stunning Maria! Great technique! x

fairy thoughts said...

great ATC, soooo pretty, the crackle looks lovely and the net just adds the perfect finishing touch
janet #9

anna christensen crafts said...

Hi Maria, Fab ATC, love those hearts! Hoping you are getting your move all sorted out and sending you lots of hugs x