Blessed

Hi friends! Happy Saturday! I have a really quick post of a card I made for my sister and designed especially with Simon Says Stamp's Stitch It challenge in mind.

My card features one of the new Tim Holtz Pressed Foliage stamps and my never before used Tim Holtz Stitched Layering Stencil, as well as his Stitched Rectangles Thinlits die.

I love these leaves, and this one is so impressive, it doesn't need much else when used on a card. I inked the leaf  stamp with Ground Espresso Distress Archival and colored the image with Scattered Straw and Bundled Sage Distress Oxide inks. To make the stitching stand out on the rectangle, I applied Walnut Stain Distress marker to the stitches on the die before die cutting.

The stitches on the kraft background panel are made with the stencil and Ranger Opaque Texture Paste mixed with a drop of  Distress Antique Linen re-inker.

The sentiment is an old Chit Chat sticker applied to a scrap of waste packaging and 'sewed'  around it with a simple stitches stamp (BoBunny)  and Ground Espresso Archival.

How do you like that? 'Sew' easy! And I didn't even need to get out my sewing machine! Now I need to make one for my other sister. My sisters met up for a visit with our Mom in Florida last week, and each of them left (more than) a little surprise in our hotel room when my husband and I joined them. These cards are a token of appreciation for their thoughtfulness. And THANK YOU for your visit today; it means so much to me! Hugs! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Stitch It

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Anything Goes

Scrapy Land Challenge #122 Anything Goes  I used 1 Sizzix die.

Crafty Cardmakers #241 Autumn Colours

Halloween Treat Bags for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog

Hello, and welcome! It's time for our latest challenge at The Funkie Junkie Challenge Blog, and this time our hostess is the talented Maggi. She calls her challenge Treats Not Tricks!, and here's how she describes it:

 Choose a theme and make something that will hold a treat for someone.  It could be a Halloween treat bag, a Valentine's candy box, a birthday card for a special person that holds a treat (could be a gift card "treat" or a bite of chocolate), anything that can hold a treat.  So, for this challenge, choose a theme and make a vintage or shabby chic treat project to treat your someone special!

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.


This is my first time using my Treat Bag Thinlits die set by Tim Holtz, and I got a little carried away making little gift bags for those special little goblins that come around on October 31.  Because we decorate our home and yard, and Elvis performs on stage in front of his house down the street, we tend to draw families from all over town. I made these special bags just for our neighborhood kiddos and tucked in a little toy along with their candy treat.

Since this is such a photo heavy post, I'll keep the 'talking' to a minimum. A complete list of products follows the post, but if you have specific questions, leave them in the comments below, and I will respond as soon as possible.

(reverse side)

The first is cut from Idea-ology Halloween Collage Paper adhered with Distress Collage Medium Matte to white card. Halloween Ephemera. (I used past year's, but I've linked to the new pack.) and the new Remnant Rubs add a little detail.

For the following four treat bags, I die cut old Halloween Paper Stashes by Tim Holtz and spritzed with Distress Oxide Sprays. I love how the dries into so many different colors.

(reverse side)

This die set includes a full alphabet plus some along with the bag die--a wonderful crafty bargain in my opinion! Using the included letter dies, I cut Halloween greetings into the back of a couple bags, and spelled out Poison into the ephemera stapled onto the bag pictured above.

The next one was super easy to embellish; I had the Crackled Stacked Baroque piece left from my play with Tim's versatile Crackle 3D Texture Fade. If you want to see more ideas for using this embossing folder, you can hop over HERE. All of the bats were in the thank you gift bag Linda puts in every order from her shop. The three larger die cut bats are Bat Crazy Thinlits.

The new Mummy Cloth is fabulous! It colors up to the perfect creepy shade with Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Spray. I used this for Mr. Skelly's withered hair, on the Baroque frame and to stuff that same treat bag (pictured further down). I dyed some other colors to use in other bags. I used the hand dyed ribbon that ties up Linda's thank you gift to stuff my bag along with some cheese cloth and for Mr. Skelly's bow tie.

(reverse side)

(reverse side)

I used Abandoned Paper Stash for the last two treat bags. These papers are magical all on their own, so all I did was apply Distress Archival Black Soot ink along the edges on the first, and splashed on Black Soot paint on the second. I colored a panel to fit the front of the bag with Distress Oxide inks in Mahogany and Black Soot and cut with Stacked Baroque Thinlits to make embellishments for each. The smaller Paper Dolls are from last year's Ancestor's pack.

Not shown, I used Grime Layering stencil and Black Soot ink to add interest to the insides of some of the bags before assembling. It's an easy way to get that splattered grungy look without the mess.

(reverse side)

(reverse side)

Here's a mini tutorial to show my steps to make the frame for the baroque panel.

1. Trace around smallest die. 2. Fussy cut. 3. Mix Mini Art Stones with Collage medium and apply.

boo!

Thank you for stopping by! For even more inspiration, be sure to visit The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog where my teammates are waiting to 'treat' you to their fabulous makes. Then I hope you'll treat us with your makes for a chance to win a wonderful treat from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. Hugs and Blessings, Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Bleeding Art September Challenge - Anything Goes

Scrapy Land Challenge #122 Anything Goes  I used 3 Sizzix dies.

Creative Artiste Challenge #53 Anything Mixed Media Goes

The following products were used and are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Sizzix Thinlits Treat Bag by Tim Holtz
Sizzix Thinlits Stacked Baroque by Tim Holtz
Sizzix Chapter 3Thinlits Bat Crazy by Tim Holtz
Sizzix Chapter 3 3-D Texture Fades Crackle by Tim Holtz
Tim Holtz Cling Stamps - The Professor
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Grime
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mummy Cloth
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Remnant Rubs, Halloween
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack, Halloween
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Collage Paper 
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Paper Stash, Abandoned
Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Archival Mini Ink Pad Kit #3
Distress Ink  - Black Soot, Ground Espresso
Distress Oxide Spray  - Spiced Marmalade, Frayed Burlap, Peeled Paint
Distress Oxide Ink   Black Soot, Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Aged Mahogany,  Wilted Violet,       Hickory Smoke, Twisted Citron
Distress Crayons  - Neutrals set #3, Peeled Paint
Distress Paint  - Black Soot
Distress Collage Medium -  Matte, Crazing
Prima Art Ingredients - Mini Art Stones

Toxique

Hello, and welcome! It's time for our latest challenge at The Funkie Junkie Challenge Blog, and this time our hostess is the talented Ginny!  She titles her challenge 'Terrific Tags', and here's what she says:

Add it to a gift, label a homemade tasty treat, or display it with your favorite home decor, tags are not only fun to create they also have a million uses.  For this challenge create a tag that's big or small, mixed media or layered, or added to a project as a fabulous focal point. I can't wait to see your creations!

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.

For Ginny's challenge, I decided to make a piece of Halloween decor.  I chose a  Small Etcetera Tag and adhered Tim Holtz' new Abandoned Paper Stash with Distress Collage Medium Matte. I sanded the edges and blended with Twisted Citron Oxide.

The frame is an Ideaology Baseboard Frame, and I've linked to the new Halloween Layers & Baseboard Frames in the products list below. I mixed Prima Mini Art Stones with collage medium and smeared it randomly on the frame. I painted the frame with Black Soot Distress paint and followed this with another layer of collage medium to seal it. When it was dry to touch, I sprayed with Twisted Citron Distress Oxide Spray.

I constructed the backing to the frame from chipboard and covered it with Ideaology Halloween collage paper from last year. To tie it in with the rest of the tag, I colored with Hickory Smoke and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide.

The number plaque is colored with Black Soot paint, Twisted Citron Oxide spray and Smolder Alcohol Pearls. The Hardware Heads also got a dab of Smolder.  Halloween Quote Chips were colored with Twisted Citron crayon. These are last year's chips, but I've linked to the new ones below. The new ones have extra room to attach with brads or those wonderful Hardware Heads and there's lots of new quotes, too.

Inside the frame I colored a Heavystock panel with Hickory Smoke and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide. I colored baubles with Twisted Citron Oxide Spray and Smolder Alcohol Pearls. Skeleton Hand charms from the shop are colored with Picket Fence paint.

The Cauldron die cut is the one I made for this Saturday Showcase where I show a few ideas for using your 3D Crackle Texture Fade. You can find directions on how I made this there. I cut a second cauldron from sanded Metallic kraft stock and blended the edges with Ground Espresso. I adhered the top and sides of the textured cauldron to form a pocket to stick the hands in.  I tucked in some dyed cheesecloth I had on my work top and mixed up a little extra goo and applied it to the Quote Chip, the frame and to the skeleton hands.

Below are some close up photos to show the detail.

The photo below shows just how thick these layers ended up. I used waste cardboard to elevate the pieces off the tag.

That's all for me; now hop on over to the blog to see all the Terrific Tags my talented teammates have made to inspire you! Then it's over to you;  I can't wait to see what you will make! Hugs and blessings! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Scrapy Land Challenge #121 Anything Goes  I used 1 Sizzix die.

Crafty Cardmakers #240 Pearls and/or Gems

Creative Artiste Challenge #53 Anything Mixed Media Goes

The following products were used and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Sizzix Chapter 3 Bigz Die - Cauldron by Tim Holtz

Sizzix Chapter 3 Sizzix 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Crackle by Tim Holtz

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Paper Stash, Abandoned

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Layers & Baseboard Frames, Halloween
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips, Halloween
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hardware Heads
Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock 4.25 x 5.5
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic Kraft Stock
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Collage Paper, Halloween
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Etcetera Small Tag Thickboards
Distress Paint Black Soot, Picket Fence
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Ground Espresso
Distress Oxide Pads- Twisted Citron, Hickory Smoke
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayon - Twisted Citron
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Spray - Twisted Citron
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte
Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Pearls - Smolder
Prima Art Ingredients - Mini Art Stones
Silvertone Skeleton Hand Charms

Abandoned Storage Box For A Vintage Journey

Welcome! This is actually my second post for today. You can see my shaker Christmas card here. But for now, it's time for a new monthly challenge at A Vintage Journey. This time our hostess is the lovely Julia, who chosen theme is Box It Up! Here's what she says:

This month our theme is boxes! Perhaps you will make a trunk or suitcase, some kind of package to hold a gift, or maybe make a card or journal page showing presents. Just remember to ensure that you create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk.

I actually had numerous ideas for this challenge, but was running out of time to narrow those choices down. This morning, I visited a thrift store that was using this 10 x 7 x 4.5 inch box to hold greeting cards, and it was the perfect size for holding my Tim Holtz stamp sets. I talked them into letting it go.  The original box is pictured below, and you can see it was a work in progress already.

My organizing style is a 'flipper', meaning I like keeping things I use most frequently in upright in files that are open, so I can flip through to easily find what I need. My stamp boxes were getting so stuffed, I couldn't flip through them, and hence, I haven't been doing much stamping.

I removed and sanded the peeling butterfly paper off each of the long sides and sanded the shabby paint on each end. I cracked open my Tim Holtz Abandoned paper stash for the first time and chose a couple of patterns that would work together. Even though I have two of these 8 x8 paper packs, I couldn't use all one paper design due to the box dimensions. As it was, I had to piece the papers together as best as I could on the long sides. I could have chosen a 12 x 12 paper from my stash, but these lovely mixed media sheets were calling to me. Pictured below are the other three sides.

After adhering, then sanding the edges of the paper, I blended the edges with Ground Espresso ink and smeared it randomly with Crackle Texture Paste. When the paste was thoroughly dry, I sanded again.

I used a Tim Holtz Numbered stencil, grit paste and Bone embossing powder to emboss a few numbers on the opposite side. I sealed all the sides with Distress Collage Medium, and when just dry to touch sprayed (long sides) and splattered (short sides) with Distress Oxide spray. Although the yellow turned out as planned, sadly, the splattering on the short ends wasn't the look I was going for. Note to self: when you want a splatter look, do not seal with Collage medium first. 

I kept the embellishments to a minimum and flat on purpose for functionality. I added a few old Remnant Rubs to two of the sides and to the Stencil Chips. I used a mop up scrap to back the chips and added a couple of swipes of Chipped Sapphire paint to the chips themselves. 

Here are some close up photos to show the detail.

And here it is put to use in the Closet. Maybe you'll see more stamping going on here in the future.

That's all for me, but if you hop over to the blog, you'll find loads more 'boxed up' inspiration from the other talented Creative Guides. I hope you'll find some time to play along with us at A Vintage Journey! I can't wait to see what you'll make! Hugs and Blessings! Sara Emily

Christmas Shaker Card With Tim Holtz Christmas Ribbon Thinlits

Hello friends! This is my first of two posts today; you can see my altered storage box here. It won't be long before hurricane Dorian comes knocking on our door, so I wanted to get a card made for this week's challenge, 'Something Clear' at Simon Says Stamp. At first my mind went right to Transparent Texture Paste, but I've really been wanting to try my hand at a shaker card. So here's my first ever shaker card...

While they aren't terribly difficult to construct, you do need to have a decently sized aperture. I'm afraid mine might be too small to get the full effect one might get from a larger opening. Oh well.

 I used several of the papers from Tim Holtz' last year's Christmas paper stash, including the snowflake printed acetate. I die cut Tim's Christmas Ribbon out of white card trimmed to the size I wanted, and stamped and clear embossed three different Mini Swirly Snowflakes. I blended this panel with Tumbled Glass ink and splattered with Picket Fence paint.

I inked the Merry Christmas die cut with Black Soot Distress ink and also clear embossed. After adhering the acetate panel, I adhered the Merry Christmas die cut, inlaying it into the negative space. I assembled my shaker and backed with a red snowflake panel from the paper stash and then again on the words panel. Finally, this was adhered to a white card blank. I decided to add the bow that also is part of the Ribbons die set and cut it out of card I colored with Fired Brick paint, Oxide spray and Black Soot ink.

Here are a few close ups to show the detail. I just may make more shaker cards...they're kind of fun!

Thank you for your visit today. Sending prayers to all those folks who were in the path of the hurricane--may your recovery be swift. May you be kept out of harms way if it has not yet reached your area. Hugs and blessings, Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Something Clear
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Stamp It I stamped the snowflakes.
Scrapy Land Challenge #121 Anything Goes  I used 1 Sizzix Die set.
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #453 I went with the optional theme: something beginning with the letter S--snow, of course!
The Artistic Stamper September's Creative Challenge - Black and White This is my interpretation, some black, some white and a bit of color.