Bewildered Crazy Bird

     I've spent a fair bit of time admiring the Crazy Bird Phenom happen...hoping all the while to have a chance to try my hand at them!  You've got to hand it to Tim Holtz for finding particular niches and creating product that will allow all of us to fall into the pit of card making happiness.  Now, of course, there are several matching products that have followed after the Crazy Birds....and I intend to jump right into all of them!!
     Just in case you are wondering...this is the very first larger set.  And though I enjoy fussy cutting my images out immensely!...I definitely took advantage of the matching die-cuts that went along with the stamps.
     This is a regular A2 card - so I found a tag that was a more appropriate size then the ones on Tim's videos.  Then I proceeded to mess around with using my Alcohol Ink Applicator, the felt tip, several colors of Distress inks and some Distress Paint Dabber with the Harlequin stencil for the tag background.
     Not to mention...the cool, cool, cool, stamp borders by Dylusions!  Now I'm religiously buying all of them!...sigh...will it every end?
     I hope not!!!  HA HA!

What did I enjoy the most?

     Besides the obvious fun looking little guy up there...I would have to say the Dylusions borders!  Nothing looks right until you finish it off with just the right touches!  Now I have exploding brain about what to use them with next!

What did I learn?

    I may have colored my images with colored pencil on some good white cardstock - BUT - white cardstock did not work as well for the direct to paper inking!  Isn't that weird?  It's true.  When I spritzed my tag and background cardstock with water...the white made a leached look that did not add to the serendipity of the finish card.  Then I used a good cream smooth Cougar cardstock that totally reacted differently.  Plus - somehow the finish of the cardstock is different.
Unexplainable weirdness that I will not forget in my following endeavors!

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Supply List

Prismacolor Pencils

• PC1008 Parma Violet
• PC932 Violet
• PC918 Orange
• PC912 Apple Green
• PC909 Grass Green
• PC905 Aquamarine

Tim Holtz Distress Ink

• Mowed Lawn
• Salty Ocean
• Wild Honey
• Black Soot
• Walnut Stain

Stamps

• Tim Holtz - Bird Crazy CMS212
• Tim Holtz - Crazy Things CMS237
• Tim Holtz - Crazy Talk CMS236
• Dylusions - "Further Around the Edge" DYR34513

Other

• Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Harlequin THS016
• Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Mermaid Lagoon
• Odorless Paint Thinner
• Paper Stumps
• Glossy Accents
• White Paint Pen
• Black Paint Pen
• Penny Black Die - "Tagged" 51-007

Hangin' Out

  

Outside the snow is falling very gently and not really sticking around.  My Dad's truck is out their with a ticket on it because it wouldn't start last night after the football game...and the police never miss giving us a ticket for having a vehicle on the road at night! (during the winter nights there is a snow removal by-law). Darn...

 

Inside the house I am valiantly trying to keep my work schedule when I feel discouraged that no matter how hard I work at this...I'll make 50 cents this week!  That's an exaggeration...but anyone with a small business knows exactly what I mean!! :)  I didn't say it to make you feel sorry for me... But to remind myself that "nothing ventured is nothing gained"...and that entrepreneurs always have something else they can do to contribute to their own business!  (not one word about my website....shhhh...I know, I know....)

See how relaxed those birds look?...that's me!   Relaxed!!! ....hmmmm......

PS.  I'm late on this post (notice the reference to the football game?) because I got the flu.  I'm hoping I'm a couple pounds lighter today!

SUPPLIES:
Stamps:
Inkiadinkado / 98837 / Best Friends / Clear Stamps

Colored Pencils:

PC912 Apple Green
PC911Olive Green

PC950 Metallic Gold
PC1084 Ginger Root
PC1024 Blue Slate

Inks:

Tim Holtz Distress Ink / Old Paper
Tim Holtz Distress Ink / Stormy Sky
Tim Holtz Distress Ink / Black Soot 

Cardstock:

Good White Cardstock
Basic Grey / Cappella ~ forte / use the backside!
Bazzill Prismatics / Spring Willow Medium / 19-5431
KaiserCraft / Love Notes Collection / P605 / Love Song

Other:

"Mona Lisa" brand odorless Paint Thinner 
Paper Stumps (to use with paint thinner)
Inkadinkado Clear Stamps / 98837 / Best Friends
Tim Holtz Sizzix Die / Tattered Florale / 656640
Sizzix Textured Impressions / Birds, Flowers & Branches Set /656503

Tim Holtz @ Cambridge

What a morning! Thank you Times Herald for running such a generous and wonderful article about cardmaking! You can see one of my cards on the front page... Above the Fold! The rest of the article is in their new section called "the Mix". You cannot pay for that kind of coverage! Holy Cow! Thank you Liz Shepard (reporter) and Wendy Torello (photographer) for being such a pleasure to visit with. You made it easy!

If that wasn't enough...they also did a step by step "how to" video on their website. You can see it and listen to me drone on and on if you CLICK HERE!


The next few pictures are about my up-coming class at Destination Marysville.
I called it "Tim Holtz @ Cambridge" because all the hardware with the exception of one piece, and the stamps, are by Tim Holtz. All the patterned paper is by Bobunny and is from their "Cambridge" series. Very Cool hardware and very cool paper!

You could call it a bookbinding class...but that sounds scary and complicated. It's very straight forward and Anyone can do it! Promise! The class is only 4 hours and runs twice.

Here are the details: December 15th / 10am - 2pm / $30
or
December 18th / 10am - 2pm / $30
Please call Destination Marysville at (810) 388-0500 to sign up

I called it Memento because you could easily place a series of photographs in it to commemorate an event! Try making them Sepia!

I added some gold leafing very cautiously on the torn edges of the paper!

Strawberry Fields

Yesterday I had what felt like the first class at my Studio in forever! I loved it. The nicest bunch of ladies you'll find anywhere...so it was a great way to get back into the game! What a wonderful time we had!
I asked everyone to vote on the new Tim Holtz/Sissix Embossing folder in the background because Hubby wasn't 100% sold on it. I didn't want to do it again...so I think the ladies just said..."sure...it looks nice!" hah! Anyway...it's staying!
While I'm sitting here doing this blog, my son Tristan (14) is doing the photos and entries for the website and my oldest son Michael (17) is weedwacking outside!!! Life is good!

Products Used:

* Bazzil / Blush Red Prismatic

* Bazzill / Kraft

* Pearls by KaiserCraft / SB795 Red

* May Arts Ribbon Red Gingham KB14 

* Sissix: Tim Holtz Embossing Folder / Woodgrain #656644

* Hardware by Creative Impressions

* Unity Stamps / Berry Good Life / UK-433A

Prismacolor Pencils

PC1089 Pale Sage

PC912   Apple Green

PC1084 Ginger Root

PC925   Crimson Lake

PC926   Carmine Red

PC1094 Sandbar Brown

PC1967 Cool Grey 90%

PC1076 French Grey 90%

Tim Holtz and Hardware

I was reading over the quote by General Patton that I printed on to this card and realized that I should have emphasized the "how" on the front of the card. After reading it for the first time in a week...it was almost a little too odd to pick up what he was trying to say the first time you read it. On top of that little problem....I had worked really hard to make a beautiful but plain inside for the card and then realized afterword that I had it oriented the wrong way! In other words, you would have to turn the card sideways when you opened it, to read the rest of the quote! I was about to rip it out when hubby said "why don't you leave it? It suits the sentiment." Great idea...and voila, I was done! I do think I'll rewrite the quote a little better for class so that the meaning of the quote comes through clearly.

Tim Holtz products seem to go great with hardware don't they? I loved messing around with the clear acrylic fragment pieces that have so many applications! All I did on this was print "creative" on matching paper with my printer, center the fragment over the word, trace, cut out, distress and adhere to the acrylic. I'm sure there are many solutions to adhering the paper...but what I did was use my favorite glue...Clear Art Glitter Glue....spreading it thinly on the fragment. I let it dry a little until it almost turned clear, and while it was still tacky, I smoothed on the paper so the word could be seen just under the acrylic. The chain is one of my very favorite "ribbons" from Creative Impressions! It's very mini and comes with cute little fasteners that are a bear to attach! Totally worth it!!

Products Used:
* sentiments printed with an HP printer.  Fonts:  Atlanta - 12pt and Stonehenge - 26pt.
* Zva Rhinestones (amber color)
* Beaded Chain by Creative Impressions


Tim Holtz
* Adirondack Alchohol Ink Applicator
* Idea-ology Fragments/Charms
* Sissix Alterations Dies:  Scrollwork and Styled Labels
* Distress Walnut Ink

Paper
* Bazzill Grass Cloth Texture Cardstock / Stonehenge
* Cappella Mezzo by Basic Grey
* Cappella/Forte by Basic Grey

Imagination...find it all over again!

I was so inspired this last weekend to continue creating just for fun, because I spent some time with two really neat people. I've known Cath for a couple of years now and am amazed at how much she has grown in her craft in such a short time. I took her class at Mary Maxim's so that I could be with her and Paula ... and was infected by her love of coloring.

Paula is a 1st Class colorist who specializes in colored pencil work. I've followed her blog for quite some time and had never met her until I took a class with her too! That opened up a whole new world for me. Check this blog out...You'll keep going back!

I was working on a class for Shannon and didn't take out "play" projects with my two friends - and came to the realization that I'd forgotten how, when I was sweating two days later with a style that I didn't feel comfortable with. Shannon and I wanted to explore Tim Holtz products for her customers and for ourselves...and what should have been fun...turned into a race against time to complete my personal deadline. Crazy!

I'm pretty sure Paula just colors in the evenings and then collects so much artwork that she can pick what she wants to do for a class and also for her blog. I determined to do the same. Thanks for the pick-me-up guys!

I wanted to take away the silver look of the charm here so I colored it with a dark moss green copic.

Ink:  Distress Walnut Ink by Tim Holtz

Sizzix: Scrollwork & Styled Labels by Tim Holtz Alterations Dies

* Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fragments / Charms

* Beaded Chain by Creative Impressions

* Frost Creek Charms

Paper: Bazzill Cardstock, Cappella/Mezzo by Basic Grey, Cappella/Forte by Basic Grey

* Adirondack Alchohol Ink Applicator