Happy Anniversary, Kathy!

Hello everyone!  I will preface this post with an apology for any typo errors that you may see!  I'm changing my name to the Frantic Crafter today, because we are having an icy day with freezing rain, despite the fact that it is 28 degrees!  Ice here always means loss of power, and who knows when it will come back on!  So I'm trying to use my power while I have it!

I made this card for my friend, Kathy, who is coming up on her one year anniversary of opening her art store here in town.  It's been a rough, but exciting year for her, full of firsts and ups and downs.  I wanted to make her a wall hanging to celebrate getting through that first year.  I was inspired by a few of my favorite challenge blogs in making this-- the uber-talented Brenda over at A Vintage Journey  is hosting a "Special Numbers" challenge this fortnight, so in addition to the obvious "one" for the anniversary, I've tried to incorporate a few more of Tim's numeral products.  And he has quite an arsenal!  If you need to mark a special occasion, Tim has you covered!

The Alphabet Soup challenge over at Artist Trading Post is to use letters (or numbers as an option) when you create your mixed media masterpiece. I might not have gone to the degree that they are looking for, but it seems like a fun challenge anyway!

One of my favorite challenge blogs is Linda Ledbetter's  Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge where she guides us to page 62 of our Hymnals-- I mean,  Tim's book A Compendium of Curiosities Vol. 3.  There we find that Tim has produced yet another amazing tool--the Dimensional Cutting pad, and he gives us tips on how to use it!  My, I did not realized how versatile this cutting pad is!  I must have tried it with every one of my Tim dies that it looked like it would work with, and some that didn't!  My recycle pile is growing quite high!  If you want to join in the fun, make sure to visit each of the Crew's inspiring blogs and leave them some love, because they certainly deserve it!  And if you are into winning some goodies supplied by Tim and Mario, or would like to be a lucky winner of a very generous $25 shopping spree to the Funkie Junkie Boutique donated by the fabulous and really nice owner Linda Coughlin, be sure to link up your entry. You will be rewarded with an awesome assortment  of Tim's goodies  if you are picked as the Curiosity Crew's Choice or if you are the lucky draw, you will get to go shopping compliments of Linda! This is a win-win challenge any way you go, because even if you don't bring home the goodies, you will get to try something NEW and fun!  That's what it's really all about, anyway, right? You will need to have your own copy of  Tim's book to work from, and you can get it  here, signed by the craftmaster himself.

So let's get started, before we run out of time!  I used my favorite Tim Bigz die that comes with it's companion Texture Fade and the Dimension cutting pad, following Tim's instructions.  Lots of Distress inks, stains and paint to color the background, spritz and flick with water, my one and only Distress ink spray, some stamping with Tim's stamps (more numbers!), texture paste and stencils (TCW and Dylusions) and more stamping (see the dots with the tiny numbers?) ink and paint to tie it all together.

 I cut an extra butterfly, and finagled that in there, too. I used Tim's clockwork Texture Fade on that one, some ink and spritz and flick, and tucked it behind the top layer. I chose to use clocks to represent the time that, for me, has flown by since Kathy first hung her shingle.

I used some watercolor paper,  the numbers stamp from the new Perspective set, and more ink for what's under the wings. Notice the colors go from dark to light, signifying there are better days ahead for my friend's business, peeling away the dark layers to reveal  bright days ahead.

I used some glue dots to keep the wings lifted, and yes, I inked the back of the wings, too!

These numbers are repeated several times around the background, but I forgot to get a shot of them.

 My only embellishments are Tim's Framed Alpha Parts altered using his  Altered Surfaces technique from the same book.  The arrow makes a fine butterfly body and points up, because I want Kathy to know that things are looking up.  The "one" embellishment was tied on with vintage string.

That's it for now! Thank you for stopping by and leaving your wonderful comments.  They make me smile! I read and appreciate every single one of them, and eventually respond to every one. Hugs!

Sara Emily

I would like to enter this in the following inspirational challenges:

Linda Ledbetter's Studios L3 Compendium of Curiosities 3 Challenge #22 "Another Dimension--Dimensional Cutting Pad"

A Vintage Journey "Special Numbers" I'm inspired by Tim's techniques from his book and in all his different products used here.

Artist Trading Post Exchange "Alphabet Soup"

Inspiration Journal "Love is in the Air" I love my butterflies, and they are usually found in the air!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge "No Rules!" I'm not going to pass up an opportunity to create without rules!

Craft Stamper Take It, Make It February Challenge "Stencilling" I've used 3 stencils on this with paste, then ink and stamping through the stencil.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge "Add a Little Texture"

Open Minded Crafting Challenge #30 "Up In the Air"