A Haunting We Will Go Swap Book

I took part in a Halloween Swap on the All Things Tim Yahoo list. We had to make postcard sized pages (4"x6") any orientation. Here is my contribution front and back. The ghost body is a stamp from Graphic 45, Steampunk debutante on vellum and embossed with silver and highlighted with Stickles glitter.  The borders are TH Sizzi as are the tree branches on the back and the pumpkins that were embossed on paper backed newsprint and then cut out.  The faces are from my French ladies Ghostie dolls. The tickets are TH stamps and die cuts and have clear printed labels with all the swap and my info.

I created a book to place the cards in.  The covers are chipboard base with embossed, inked, gilded and pieced paper brackground.  The corner medalions are also paper.  The borders inbetween are a Tim Holtz sizzix on the edge die embossed with Gold, Black and Bronze UTEE.  The center plaque is chipboard with metal tape then embossed and inked.  The title is computer generated then stamped with a cross-hatch stamp multiple times so it loks woven.  The spine is black leather that was sanded, inked and gilded.  Since the pages (16 of them) were variuos orientations (half landscape, half portrait) I needed a unique way to hold them in the book.  I couldn't punch holes in the pages so I attached them with paper clips threaded on ribbon.

There are 4 ribbons placed so I can center the pages.  One set is for the portrait oriented pages, the center two are for the landscape pages.  there are 8 clips on each piece of ribbon which is threaded through the reinforced spine then the medallions which were cut with a new jewelry die from sizzix from matte board covered with meal foil.  The fleur-de-lis back is done with a Cuttlebug embossing folder and black paper.  I used Ranger Quartz ink pad to highlight the raised parts, then Ranger Gold paint dabber, varius shades of distress inks and gold and bronze gilders paste.

Here is the inside front cover with a list of the contributors.  You can see how the pages are mounted and arranged.  The first one is my own of course!  The names were computer printed and stamped with the cross hatch stamp to look like old textured paper. The background is from a Halloween stack that I no longer have the cover for.  not sure I like it - may change it to be more like the back inside cover.

Here is the inside back cover.  The plaque (as are all of them) are Tim Holtz sizzix.  Only change I would make is to get black paperclips - which I couldn't find.  I thought I could change the color of these, but they are too slick.  If I want to add more pages, I just need to loosen the ribbons which are just knotted .  Really pleased at how this turned out.  The pages that I received were all great and really needed someplace special to reside and be shared.  Thanks to all who contributed!

2012 Hoffman Challenge Fabric Annouced!

Went to the Hoffman Challenge site to check on the traveling schedules and was very surprised to see the 2012 fabric posted.  Like many of the coordinates.  It is very feminine and very purple and pink.  Now the thought process starts.

Great Mail Day!!!

Friday I received a wonderful package and I am just getting time to post a pic!  It was from Hoffman Fabrics and contained my Fabric prize - 10 yards of beautiful designer (McKenna Ryan) fabrics - and my colors too!  Can't wait to start using them.  AWESOME!!!!  Thanks sooo much Hoffman fabrics and Julie Breidt, the curator.

Winding Down

After Day With Dolls, I started to clean up my studio and found these sheets of holes left from punching out letters using my Cuttlebug http://www.provocraft.com/products/detail.php?cl=cuttlebug&scl=&cat=&item=20-00252 I decided I had to do something with them so I did!  I took some of the letters and re-embossed them with different patterns.  So out came the Journal.  I had a couple pages I had gessoed and decided to use them and create backgrounds so here are the befores and after

Colored with DI pastel colors then I drew on the background with a black Perfect Pearls pen and went over the whole thing with various colors of Perfect Pearls.  Wasn't really that happy with it, but when I added the overlay, it looked really good.  The overlay was white and I rubbed it with Black Soot DI.  Love how it turned out.  I left the background of the inserts white and used the bright colors of the Distress inks to highlight the  embossing.  Left some of the background exposed.

This page I used almost all the browns/tans of the DIs to color the background.  Then I stamped with Staz-on Timber brown then embossed with clear.  Should have dried the DI's first as the whole page embossed and not just the stamping, but still looks very cool.  The cream overlay was colored with Copper Pearl-ex and Corduroy DI.  The cream inserts were embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflakes folder to look like suns/flowers then some were embossed with Gold, Copper, some Glitter embossing powders all by Ranger.  I colored some with Guilder's paste, and the Gold Paint Dabber.  Went back on both and added Glossy accents on some of the circles.



Been Busy

I took some time between family obligations and projects for Day With Doll to make a new purse.  I had this fabric set aside - upolstery samples.  I modified the pattern I created for the fish purse and narrowed the sides and added a front flap.  I also made the strap as wide as the side but it decreases in width torward the center.  I was just going to add a small medallion in beads on the flap but got carried away.  Can't wait to use it.

I also took some time to experiment with the jewelry dies by Sizzix (purchased these online from Absolutely Everything and they are having a sale on Sizzix!!).  The image is from a Graphics 45 paper stack Steampunk Debutante that I purchased from Frantic Stamper (another great on-line vendor).  The image is under a Fragment by Tim Holtz.  I cut the piece from matte board, painted it gold with a Ranger Gold paint dabber, embossed it with Ranger Gold EP then added some Distress Ink along the edges.

This pin is also cut from matte board, this time black core, grey top.  I inked it with distress inks, added the graphic again from Steampunk Debutante and a Tim Holtz Fragment.  The leaves were cut from the Sizzix die used in the brooch above then enameled with Ranger Verdigris EP.  I added the silver highlights with Silver Guilders paste.

This one was the most fun to make!  I covered matte board with aluminum tape and cut out Gears from the Tim Holtz dies.  I ran them through the texture folder by Tim also (put the folder only on the top of the gears then ran it through so the back remains flat).  Added Distress inks and embossing powders.  The images were again from Graphic 45 and covered with Ranger Glossy Accents.  This pin is a little larger than the others.  Would make a good clasp on a purse mounted on a piece of distressed leather.