Sunday, September 14, 2014

Nuts About You

Hello!  I hope you have enjoyed a fun and restful weekend.  I'm happy you are visiting my blog.

Frilly and Funkie is challenging us to create a vintage project that has hearts as the focal image.  They will draw a random winner from the entries who will receive a wonderful $25 shopping spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Use a flourish on your project which shows a strong Tim Holtz influence is the current challenge at A Vintage Journey. The Creative Guides will choose a winner, who will receive a shopping voucher from Country View Crafts on-line shop.

So here is the project I made to include the hearts as my focal image and flourishes on a Tim Holtz inspired project. I believe I have shown a strong Tim Holtz influence on this piece through using many of his different products and techniques. Because it is made for my husband, I wanted it to be more grungy and masculine despite the hearts and flourishes.


I started with a brown wood frame from my stash, sanded it down, leaving just a hint of the brown.  I distressed it with Distress Inks and added 2 metal sentiments from my stash. I wiped some Distress paint on then wiped it off after a few minutes so it would stay in the indentations only. I used Tim's Alterations On the Edge Brackets die and paper from his Crowded Attic paper stash to make the layers at the very top and very bottom.  These were distressed with Distress Ink and layered on over the background using cardboard to separate them and give them depth.


 I painted some nuts from my husband's stash (shhhh!) with alcohol inks, and put a few in Tim's Idea-ology bottle along with a grungeboard heart. (I love these bottles, and I have an old Mason jar full of them) I glued the cork in and wrapped with some scrap fibers. A scrap of mesh ribbon backs it. More nuts added to the background layers.


The hearts and flourish are from Grungeboard Elements, which I must have had for a zillion years. I ran some pink paper through my Big Kick with a Cuttlebug embossing folder, traced the hearts and cut them out. I glued them to the Grungeboard and distressed with Distress Inks and edged in gold  paint pen. (I used a nail file to sand off any excess paper on the edges.) I did this for all four hearts.  I stamped the flourish die cut with tiny script from Tim's Urban Grunge stamp set in Archival ink, distressed with Distress Ink and edged in the gold pen.  I backed the entire piece with a vintage dictionary page, which you can see peeking out in the next photo.


The letters are from Tim's Ransom Alpha Parts.  I painted them with Copper Paint Dabber using my finger to apply, dried and covered with a generous layer of Glossy Accents. "About" is a Chit Chat sticker edged in Walnut.


 The background is Tim's Kraft Core card stock run through with his Damask Texture Fade (I couldn't find my Flourish Texture Fade, but I know it's around here somewhere--just no time to look for it now).  Sanded off the high spots.  I used various thicknesses of foam adhesive squares to give different depths to the various embellishments and in some cases I used layers of cardboard to build up the layers.

close up to show detail of distressed frame and  card stock layers
 On the back, I attached a vintage dictionary page with the definition of love--the entry "circled" with the heart stamp from Tim's Heartfelt  set . I  stamped a flowery flourish image and sentiment from the same set and added a little Distress Ink for color.  All images stamped in Archival.  I finished with a coat of Matte Mod Podge.



I think I have a head start on my Valentine's "cards" this year!  I hope I can remember I already made this for my husband!

Thank you for stopping in!  I enjoy sharing my work with you and look forward to reading all your comments! They always make me smile and inspire my creativity.

I am entering this into the following challenges:  Frilly and Funkie From the Heart Challenge and A Vintage Journey Challenge #14 With a Flourish.

16 comments:

  1. Wow Sara, you have created a wonderful frame for your hubby, the distressed edges are wonderful and all the elements you have added work so well together. I do hope you remember you made this for him, it would be a shame for him not to see this beautiful creation.

    Thanks so much for joining in our challenge at A Vintage Journey! Anne x

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    1. Anne,
      Thank you so much for your kind words and your hopes for my memory! If I had remembered our anniversary was coming up, I would have made this for that. Sometimes a bad memory is good...I end up creating more:).

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  2. Stunning Sara :-) you made me smile about stealing from your husband's stash too.
    Thank you for sharing the techniques you used and for sharing it with us at AVJ this fortnight
    Hugs Annie x

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  3. Wow this is beautiful and definitely a Tim style. Great details and I love all the textures. Great job!

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    1. Thank you for visiting, Joan! And what a lovely thing to say! I love your heart card with all if lovely layers! If you don't mind, how did you make that heart--it's gorgeous! Sara Emily

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  4. Oh wow Sara, this is just amazing!! There are so many wonderful details and they sing together in harmony!! Not to pick a favourite part, but I sure do love that little jar with the nuts in it!! Your flourish texture is just gorgeous! What a work of art, your hubby will love it! hugs :)

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    1. Thank you, Pamellia; this is a wonderful compliment from you! I adore all your work and you have been such a tremendous inspiration to me! I like those little nuts, too! I appreciate you stopping in, as I know you are a very busy young lady!

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  5. I love your piece, Sara!! Hearts AND a masculine theme-now that's an accomplishment:-)) Youve added so many special touches and distressed and aged the frame to perfection, and it's so FUN! Your husband will cherish it. Thank you so much for sharing it with us at the Frilly and Funkie!!
    Hugs,
    Nancy

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    1. Oh, Nancy, what a wonderful compliment! I really appreciate your encouraging words!

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  6. Sara this is NUTTY.... Love it all... what a cute idea and so very creatively worked out... I love it all... your work/play is wonderful... and I know it will be on display for a long long time... he will love it all...

    So I guess we have crossed paths... ??? I would love to talk on email.... bonniemclain626 at g mail dot com please put it all together and write to me... we also lived in NJ... so I guess that is where we both became NUTS.... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

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    1. Bonnie, you know I love when you visit! It means so much to me that you take the time from your busy creative life to come leave me a comment. And so encouraging coming from a true artist!

      Did I imply we've met? Or is that a metaphor:). Forgive me, when I comment it comes pretty quick, and I forget what I've done two minutes ago! I will be e-mailing you! I don't think we've ever met...I would have certainly remembered THAT! Take care, and I'll be in touch via e-mail.

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  7. Viewed from the front and back this is outstanding Sara! I love the whole way you've approached these themes in unison and still made what could be seen as feminine themes into something so masculine. And I'm so thrilled I get to say thank you so much for joining us at Frilly and Funkie and A Vintage Journey. Jenny x

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    1. And I am thrilled to receive such a wonderful, sweet comment from you! It is a pleasure to be able to create something for these two challenges. I've been checking them out for quite some time and only recently felt like I could do something worthy of entering. You have been a TREMENDOUS inspiration!

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  8. Beautifully put together piece. Wonderful layering, textures and embellishments. Love the use of the nuts and the play on words there. Great use of the dictionary paper on the back too. So glad you joined in the fun with us over at Frilly and Funkie!

    Hugs,
    Linda

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    1. Thank you, LInda! Your comment is a treasure to me! And I must say you are a HUGE inspiration to me.

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Thank you for leaving your comments...they mean so much to me.