Travel Album

Linda Ledbetter Studio L3 has a new challenge using Tim Holtz Pocket Pages featured on page 36 of A Compendium of Curiosities Vol. 3.  If you are not yet familiar with these challenges, they are based on Tim' book A Compendium of Curiosities Vol. 3.  Each fortnight The Curiosity Crew chooses one of Tim's techniques from his book, and challenges us to create something using that technique.  You must work from your own book, so be sure to order your autographed copy here.

The Curiosity Crew has whipped up some great inspirational pieces using the new Pocket Pages, so be sure to drop in at each of their blogs and see their amazing work, then leave them a comment.  If you link up your project, and the Crew picks you as their favorite you will win a whopping assortment of Tim's products compliments of Tim and Mario. In addition, a lucky winner receives a generous $25 shopping spree from the The Funkie Junkie, compliments of the owner, the lovely Linda Couglin. She keeps an awesome array of craft supplies in her store, and always includes a special gift in your orders.

So I rounded up some of these delightful little album pages from my local craft store to put together a couple of very special albums. I'm so happy I did!  I can't tell you how much fun these were to work with.

Front as it folds out.

And backs of these pockets.

Brenda is hosting the new challenge over at A Vintage Journey, and the theme is "Ring Out the Old and Ring in the New".  Be sure to pop in and see the myriad of ways the Creative Guides have interpreted this theme with their fabulous creations.  They would like to see a strong Tim Holtz influence on your project and see how you interpret the theme.  I am strongly influenced by Tim in my use of so many of his products and in his techniques on my album. I interpreted the theme by using old and new items on my project. Brenda found this poem to help us focus on the theme:

“Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow:

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.” Alfred Tennyson

Additionally,  the third line reminds me of the reason I made my project, but insert "Kim and Emily" in place of "year". Read on to see why. "Kim and Emily are going, let them go; Ring out the false, ring in the true."

The challenge over at Craft Hoarders Anonymous wants you to break your hoard wide open and create something travel or vacation related for the theme  "Have a Nice Trip". I have LOTS of travel and transportation related papers, rubber stamps, and ephemera, although I don't know why...I don't travel much.  But I decided to focus on Tim this time, and pulled out all my oldTim Holtz paper stash, including Destinations, dies, a travel themed Texture Fade, stencils, travel related stamps and tissue tape.  I pulled out some of my very first stamps from Inkadinkadoo, too, for good measure, and some very old transportation ephemera from K and Co. that I literally have had for about 10 years! This was a great excuse to use some of that old stuff, so I couldn't pass it up, even if I was doing a mostly-Tim project.

Album front cover.

Close up of the globe.

Stenciled sticky back canvas spine and grungeboard  antiqued hardware.

Back cover

These are going to be a couple of late (I'd call that last minute) Christmas gifts for my oldest sister, Kim and my neice (other sister's daughter), Emily. They are each going on Missions trips in January and February. Kim to Dominican Republic and Emily, to Myanmarr. ( I had to look this one up!  It is near China, for those that are curious.)  It will be Kim's first Missions trip, and Emily has visited Myanmarr before and is delighted by the people there. I thought they would like to have a little album to hold their special memories from their trips, so I made a fold out album using Tim' new Pocket Pages...well, they are new to me!  And some very old coin envelopes from my crafty hoard for the cascading pockets on the back cover. I made a similar album using just coin envelopes for my daughter several years ago. I had to purchase 500 coin envelope and only used ten! The album shown here is for Emily;  Kim's will be personalized for her and her destination after this post.  I have shown her album covers only.

What you see when you open it.  Pocket pages on left; coin envelopes on right.

Front inside cover.  Tissue tape is colored using Distress stain. Little corner pocket using Kraft Resist.

The tag I made using one of Tim's techniques (pg. 42 Vol. 3)  which sits in the little corner pocket.

The back of the tag where I will write a personal message. The spritz and flick is my all time favorite Tim technique.

Kim's incomplete album--another day!  Will not add glaze to this.

Some things I used are old...some things are very old as I mentioned above.  What is new to me are the Blueprints stamps, Little Things stamps,  Life Quotes rub-ons,  Bigz Hardware Findings die, Sticky Back Canvas, Faber Castell Glaze, the pocket pages, and my one Distress Spray in Vintage Photo. Santa was very good! I want to use up some of my "old" to make way for this "new".

 I will list the stamps I used at the end of the post, but I cannot name every product used, every technique used,  nor can I do a step by step, as this post would fill pages.  I will say I followed Tim's instructions on page 36 for how to fasten the pocket pages, and I used Distress Paint and a little smudge of bronze fabric paint on my coin envelopes and a dampened baby wipe to blend the colors.  Love this technique and those versatile paints. I cut my album covers from chipboard, gave them a coat of gesso, and colored them with Distress stains, stamped with Archival ink, and gave a thin coat of glaze over the dried-overnight stains.  I am very unhappy with the glaze results, but time was short and I had to press onward. It claims to work over all mediums, but I found it pulled up both the stain and the ink from the board.  Since I am still working on Kim's album, I will know not to use the glaze on that.  I had to use a pen to fill in the smudged title.Luckily, most of the cover is covered with the embellishments.  If you have any questions about how I did the rest, please leave a comment with your question, and I'll be sure to respond.

I painted the coin envelopes with various Distress paints, wiped with a baby wipe to blend and added a bit of bronze metallic fabric paint for shine.  These have a nice sheen in real life and have a real smooth finish thanks to the fabric paint.  Stamped and added Tim's rub-ons.

I adhered the envelope flaps and covered with tissue tape to finish it off.  The background is from one of Tim's paper stashes, inked with Distress ink, spritz and flicked, and then sprayed with my one and only Distress Spray ink-Vintage Photo.

I would like to give a big thank you to Anna Karin for her inspiration with the great quote by Henry David Thoreau "Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around". I thought this very fitting for Emily as she is going into a foreign land to spread the Good News and help those in need. Also thanks to Annette Green for her idea to use the Sticky Back Canvas for the spine (I've used card stock in the past for albums, but this stuff is great!) and more recently for her idea for a fold out album. Thanks go to Paula Cheney for her inspiration behind the mini globe on the front of my album. I know I saw the Texture Fade technique on a blog somewhere, but I cannot recall who it was, so thanks to you...you know who you are!

Tim's Blueprint globe colored with Distress markers and water pen on watercolor paper.  Quote using Chit Chat and my printing;  Tim's rub on phrases and Tim's Little Things stamped images in Archival coffee on vintage ledger paper distressed  somewhat by me.

I chose several different techniques from Tim's 3 volumes to make the inserts, using stencils, Texture Fades, Kraft resist paper stash, and water coloring with Distress Markers. I left a few of the pockets with either plain or simple backgrounds so Emily can insert a special photo or do some journaling. I left some of the ephemera free so she can remove it and replace it with photos or use it elsewhere in the album.

Front of blue tag.  Waste plastic packaging embossed and painted with Distress paint.

Back of blue tag. Front of yellow tag, Distressing I gave the tickets-my all time favorite Tim technique!

Close up of the blue tag to show text.

A few K and Co. pieces and a ticket stamped with Tim's stamps, distressed, and fussy cut. That's vintage ledger paper behind the plane and train.

Kraft resist with arrow pointing to Myanmarr and back of the yellow tag.  A date ticket so she can circle dates of her trip.

Back of the Kraft Resist with Inkadinkado Time Travelers stamps in Sepia Archival ink.  "I love adventure" in Chit Chat and Tim's rub-ons.  Traveler fussy cut from Tim's Destinations paper stash.

I truly enjoyed making this album for my niece, and thanks to Linda at Studio L3 for inspiring me to go get some of those pockets to make this album even more special. The entire album took me part of an evening and an entire day and another evening!  Coming up with how to construct it was a very time consuming part--I will be recording all my measurements (once tweaked) for future reference. I have ordered some Tim knobs with globes today, and along with some of Tim's elastic bands, these will be the perfect fasteners for this album. Once it is filled with Emily's treasures, I think it may need something to fasten it closed.  Thank you all for visiting and leaving your wonderful comments.  Happy New Year! Be safe if you are out and about!

Stamps used:  Unknown -map; Inkadinkadoo-Travel Time; Tim Holtz-The Journey, The Impossible, Good Thoughts, Grunge Cirque, Urban Grunge, Lost and Found, Boundless Flight,  Odds and Ends, Way With Words,  Blueprints 1 and 4, and  Little Things. Phew!
Dies used: Movers and Shapers Mini Globe, On the Edge Ornate and Bigz Hardware Findings--all Tim Holtz

I would like to enter this into the following inspiring challenges:
Studio L3 CC3 Challenge 18 Pocket Pages

A Vintage Journey "Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New"

Craft Hoarders Anonymous #22 "Have a Nice Trip"

Allsorts Challenge Blog290/291 Last Minute gifts

Fashionable Stamping Challenges #88 "Turn Up the Heat" I used my heat tool for drying my paint layers and for embossing sentiment and hot air balloon.
Wow! Embossing Powder Challenge "Memories" I used embossing powders for my sentiment "It's the Little Things That Make Life Big" and for the hot air balloon. I hope my niece will put lots of her memories in this album.

Artist Trading Post Exchange "Let's Celebrate!" I used many stamps on this entire project.  I am celebrating Christmas with a late gift to my niece and celebrating her Missions work!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes

The Artistic Stamper December's Creative Challenge "Anything Goes" I've stamped many things on this!  See my huge list of stamps used!