My First Video Post!

Hey Doll!

 

How are you today? I'm only asking to be

polite. I know we only talked a few days ago

so I know you're fine.

 

I promised on the last post that I would try

to make a video of my Runner's Journal, and tonight

I did. (it only took about three days! I thought it
would be easier to download - ha - so not. My son
had to be my producer to help me)

But it is up, woohoo. It's very exciting! I know,
small feats amaze small minds!

 

 

Man, I sound like a geek! Does everyone

dislike their own voice when it's recorded. In my

head I sound much sexier.

 

Anyway, I hope you like the vid. Let me know if

it works for everyone.

 

Tootles for now,

 

Christine

 

 

 

 



November's Tim Holtz Tag - look at me so early!

Hey Doll!

 

How've you been? Good I hope.

I'm okay, I'm good.

 

So I have a quick post today (I know what

you're thinking, me quick . . . not!)

 

I finished my November Tim Holtz

12 Tags of 2013 really early this month.

Probably because I had not one supply he used

in his tag.

But he did put a nice link to Richele

Christensen's card using his stamp/framelit

set, and since I used something similar in

my Kate Crane Calendar Challenge for

November, I decided to go with that design.

I really like the way it came out.

 

 

So, what do you think?

I used the Tattered Leaves die and cut one from

book page covered grungeboard, and one from another

book page. Before I glued one page to the grunge, I

rubbed both of them with Distress Inks. Sent them

through my Vagabond, and added the vein lines.

 

The tag itself is Distress Ink and water droplets, the

red paper is Distress Cardstock, and then another tag

is distressed very light with lots of water drops.

 

 

Then I just layered the papers and added the little

brads, glued the grunge leaf down and then glued the

second leaf but only down the center. Can you see

it's layered?

 

Stamped "Autumn Leaves" and added the printed

"Grateful". Added to the ribbon is one of the Tim

letter charms "T" for Thanks.

Would you have guessed that?

 

So, that's it for now.

Told ya' it was short.

 

See you soon with hopefully a video of a

small journal I made about my running. Did I ever

tell you I was training for a half-marathon?

Be on the lookout for that!

 

Thanks for stopping by and reading my silliness!

 

Christine

 

 

 



"Trick or Treat" I'll take the Tim Holtz tag treat, please!

Hey Dolls!

 

Have your kids come home with the loot yet? Mine did!

Mwahaha, candy, I love candy!!

 

So before I go into a sugar induced coma, I wanted to show

you my October Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013. As usual I didn't have

all the supplies he used. Don'tcha just hate when that happens. I did find

the owl and moon die, so I was happy about that. But I had to go into

the storage unit to get my Vagabond and plate to cut the shapes.

(our house is for sale and the realtor said "declutter"! so most of my

toys are in storage)

 

Anyway, here it is.

 

 



 

If ya'll have not been to Disney (what planet are you from?) you might not

recognize the headstone. If you have, you know it stands in the graveyard of the

Haunted Mansion. Now I chose that particular one because my grandfather, my

father, and my brother are all Fernando, FRED for short. So it had to be this

headstone to put on my tag. And if you know how clumsy my father is,

with all his fix-it projects, you understand why "a rock fell on his head".

 

 

I hope you can see the Glimmer Mist I sprayed on the moon. It looks yellow in

the photo, but it's really an orange/yellow.

 

 

My owl is covered in Glossy Accents sitting on the headstone. Owls

hang out in graveyards, don't they?

 

 

And I wanted some dead grass around the bottom. It does look pretty

sickly, if you ask me!

 

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Talk to ya soon.

 

Christine

 

 

 

Dina Wakley at ESS was AWESOME!

Hey Dolls!

What's new with you?

 

I have the latest scoop on Dina Wakley's classes

from the weekend of October 4 - 6 at

 Everything Scrapbook and Stamps in Lake Worth, Florida.

 

In a word,

AAWWWESSOOOMMMMME!

(you need to sing this word, or it doesn't sound right)

 

 

Dina was an amazing teacher and, oh yeah, a really nice person!

Who knew!! She told stories of her three boys, made sure everyone could

see what she was demonstrating as we sat around the "teacher"

desk, and called us her little "Padawans"! (you need to have seen

the movie Star Wars to understand anything she said)

 

 

I took three classes out of the five she offered and am sorry I missed the

other two. The first one I attended was Friday night "Beyond the Stamp Pad"

But somehow I didn't take any pictures from that class. She taught us to use

other mediums than just a pad with our stamps. And, of course, any item

she suggested, our number paddles went up to say we wanted one.

(I did get 'paddle elbow' from raising mine so much)

 

I did take this picture of my finished page. I used the Pam Carriker stamp.



 

Saturday morning's class was "Listening and Layering" and that was really

cool. How many layers can you put down on a piece of watercolor paper.

Dina can do 25! and so did we. It was great! You would never think

the paper could hold that much paint and ink. Every mark you make on the

page counts as a layer.

 

Here's I think about 7 - 10 layers

 

I don't even know how many she has here. We were trying to

keep track, but lost count.

 

Oh, by the way, we weren't allowed to like the finished layered page.

You might ask why, well, because we cut it up later in class! sob, I kinda

liked mine too. But it would up in my journal on a page we started earlier in

the class.

 

Here's how mine started out. I think there's only two or three layers.

And, yes, I'm a looser and forgot to take a picture of the finished page.

Don't judge me!

 

 

Three large circles found their way onto this page during class.

 

 

And a semi-circle ended up here on a page I did at home. Those little

trees are Dina's stamps with Gelatos smushed on them.

 

We also used acrylics on butcher paper that had to have at least three layers.

We started a  page and then had to find a focal point and do something with

the butcher paper on that page.

 

Dina said the page would 'speak to you' what it wanted to be.

Mine didn't say a damn word! But I liked the leaf stencil in the background,

so I went from there. And since I'm originally from New York and

won't be seeing any leaves change color, I went with the orange/

yellow/green butcher paper I made earlier in class and tried to cut the

shape of the stencil leaves.(notice I said 'tried')

 

Saturday afternoon the class was "Graffiti of My Life", but I couldn't

stay for that one. I was actually staying with my daughter in her dorm

and wanted to spend some time with her. We went to an Indie Craft Fair.

It was small, but nice.

 

Oh yeah, she made me sleep on the couch in their living room,

the little brat. Have you ever slept in the middle of a party? That's what it was

like trying to sleep with all these brats . . . I mean students in the halls.

 

Anyway, the next class on Sunday was "Faces".

All I can say is OMG!

 

It was the most amazing class. The first thing we had to do was draw

a face. What? Wait! I thought you were going to show us how?!

Nope. We had to draw a face all by ourselves. I wish I would have

taken pictures of all the ladies in shock. But we each did and then got the

lesson on how you're really supposed to draw a face. The difference between

the face on our own and the face we did with Dina leading us was, was, I

can't even think of a word to describe it!

(and those of you who know me, I'm never at a loss for words)

Hey, I can hear you, you know.

 

So, I did not save the 'by myself face' but here are my first two faces

we did in class.

 

This is actually #3 because I painted the wrong face. This is using a

Stabilo All pencil and then painting some of the lines with water. The background

was done first and then we just drew using Dina's method and viola!

 

 

This is face #2 which I painted in class with Dina's instructions. She

taught us everything we needed to know, and then told us to forget it

all and just draw!

 

 

I even painted my phone case!!

 

So, I think you get the idea that I really loved these classes. The last class

she taught was "Mark Making" but again, I couldn't stay.

I can safely say that everyone had a great time, and learned a lot in

Dina's classes.

 

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed your read! Come see

me again real soon now, ya here!

 

Christine

 

Oh my gosh! What day is it?

Hello everyone.

I say that like there are millions of you reading this.

I hope there are at least five!

Anyway, I've been really busy lately and I'm sorry I 

haven't posted anything in a long time.

But tonight, I am once again making it right under the wire

for Tim's September tag. 

*ok, so technically I didn't make it "under the wire"
I'm so over the wire it's pathetic. I lost half
my page at 11:55, no joke. Had to switch to my son's
laptop and that had to recover from some such or
another @$&*% thing. So that put me into
October 1st. Oh well, I made the tag and that's all
that matters, right? Ha!

 I totally missed the deadline for August,

but I did make the travel theme tag.

So this is what I made from the Air Travel set I 

bought the minute I received the prize from Tim and

Mario. I love the background stamp and the 

technique to mask it.

Now here is September's tag (almost late)

and in all it's glory!

Can you see the shimmery-ness (just made that word up)

from the Tarnished Brass Distress Stain?

 

Here it is a little darker. you can see the colors a little better.

 

I'm totally a layerer, so I loved this technique.

 

And can you see the stamp I used?

It's the set I won for my July tag. I know right!

So cool, and apropos! The light, the spark, get it!

 

Here's more close ups.

 

So that's my tag for September. I really enjoyed making this one.

 

Thanks for stopping by. Leave me a comment.

 

Christine

A big Thank You to Tim and Mario

Hey everyone! I hope all have been well

since my last post.

 

 

So, I don't know if you heard, but I was one of

the winners of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013!

Yes, indeedie. My July tag was chosen.

I didn't even know at first, because I hadn't checked

Tim's blog that day. But my views on this blog

were going through the roof, and I didn't

know why.

 

 

 

Then, like sunrays through the clouds,

(insert angels singing here) 

I remembered the August tag should be posted

and that means the winners of the July tag

would be announced.

So, as I scrolled down the instructions for

August's tag I held my breathe.

By the way, did you happen to notice how long that bad boy was! I almost passed out!

 

Okay, so you probably know the rest, I saw my name,

screamed so loud my off-to-college-next-week daughter actually came out of her room to see what was going

on. I immediately emailed Mario (just in case my name

was on the list by mistake) my information

and thanked him profusely.

 

 

 

Now the story gets really good.

A few days later my husband brought

in a manila envelope and

asked me, "What did you buy now?"

Oh no, I got caught again, but wait, I hadn't

ordered anything (recently).

 

 

 

I now held in my possession the most secret,

most coveted of all happy mail any artist could

hope for . . . . a Tim Holtz prize!

 

I will now reveal to you the contents of that

manila envelope.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So, as you can see, I was sent a

Tim Holtz Idea-ology apron, Industrial Blueprint

stamp set, and of course, I'm keeping the bit of

music tissue paper.

 

Well, I'm still very excited about this whole

adventure, and would like to THANK everyone

who sent me congratulatory comments and nice

words on my tag! Thank you so much. I hope you

come back often to see what's going on here!

 

And last, but not least, THANK YOU to Tim

and Mario for doing all they do for us! 

I truly appreciate you both!

 

Christine 

 

P.S.  About five seconds after opening this package, I ordered the Air Travel

stamp set!  Shhh, don't tell my husband.

 

 

 

Extremely late June tag and just under the wire July tag!

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in so long, 

I was out of town

I was volunteering in Ethiopia

I was invited to dance with the Russian ballet

Okay, okay you got me. 

I was just sick and 

was too tired most of the time to do

anything.

But I am happy to say I feel better

and have some art to show you.

First are the June and July 

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2013

Here's the way overdue June tag

This turned out better than I thought.
I didn't have a lot of the supplies
Tim used so I had to improvise on some parts.

And here is the totally "right under the wire"
July tag

I totally love the background on this one!

It was fun using a new technique

And it came out pretty nice!

And of course adding distress always

Makes everything better!

And I used a past idea from Tim 

making the rosette. 

I was really surprised on this one too. 

Well, that's all for now.

I'll be back soon with more journal

pages and my July calendar.

Hope to see you soon!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Christine

June Calendar Challenge

Hello everyone!

How have you been? Good, I hope.

 

I have been working feverishly on my

Kate Crane Calendar Challenge,

ummm since probably June 5th.

I know, I know, I'm late! But it is finally

finished, and I thought I would show you

some "stages" photos of my calendar.

 

As you will see, it's an Under The Sea theme.

Not on purpose, it just happened. My

Dylusions stamps were on the table and I

thought turquoise would be a good

background and voila!

(no Little Mermaid included)

 

So here we go.

This is the page sprayed with Dylusions

Vibrant Turquoise, Calypso Teal, and

Fresh Lime.

 

This is a little closer look.

 

I sprayed the Fresh Lime first, but it didn't

really come through at all. I usually spray water

on top of the color, but not this time because it

made a nice mottled look all by itself.

 

After it was dry, I stamped my Dylusions

"Ocean Backgrounds" images and

painted them with Dylusions ink in the Tim

Holtz waterbrushes. I love them!

 

On white Bristol paper I stamped Dylusions

"Under the Sea" fish images with Archival Ink and

painted those also. Cutting those bad boys out was,

shall we say, not easy, to be polite! But if you take

breaks and do something else, it's not so bad.

 

Here's a couple of the guys that tried to swim away.

The areas that were too small to cut out, I painted in with

Vibrant Turquoise so it would blend with the background.

I also got my days of the week printed, and my 1 1/2"

squares ready.

 

Here's the gluing in progress. For some of the fish and

coral/kelp images I used foam squares so they would give

the background some depth.

 

And here is the finished calendar! I really like how

it turned out. Not what I expected at all.

 

 

And here are some close ups of the details of the fish.

 

 

 

"June" is supposed to be in bubbles. Does it

look like bubbles? Hope so.

 

Well, that's it. I hope you liked it. Now I just have

to fill in all the days that have passed already!

Uh-oh

What have I been doing for the last eight days?

Maybe the kids remember!

 

Thanks for stopping by, and as always leave me

a comment!

 

christine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



My Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013

Hello everyone!

Hope you all had a nice

Memorial Day weekend.

I'd like to thank all the veterans

and active duty soldiers who serve our

country, thank you!

 

 

So I finally got to my Tim Holtz

12 Tags of 2013

May tag. Hey, technically I have one

day left before I'm late.

 

I have been on time so far all year, and thought I

would show you all my past tags.

 

Most of the time I don't have all the

exact supplies Tim uses, so they will look a

little different than his.

 

okay, maybe we should go in

chronological order

(whoa, look at me with the big word!)

 

Here's January

I didn't have the stamp for the saying

so I just printed it from my

computer. And the background

embossing folder is different.

 

February

Most of this one is my own, which I like. I don't

really want to make exactly the same, but use

his techniques.

 

March

Okay, so only the grass idea is the same!

 

April

Love the clear overlay cutout.

 

May



This picture came out so light. The colors are

really much darker, and I love how they blend.

That's a Daniel Torrente stamp in the center, and

rub ons here and there.

 

So far I have loved how they all turned out.

I have them hanging on a piece of burlap held on with

a clothespin. I love being able to turn around from

my table and see all the colors.

 

They make me Happy!

Do what makes you happy, and have a great day.

 

Thanks for stopping by, leave me a comment. I

promise I will say hello back!!

 

christine

Journal pages!

Hello everyone!

 

I have two pages that I finished from the

Dyan Reaveley class last weekend.

 

This first one is from the Imagery class. I really

didn't know where to go with it, but

after I added some more background "marks"

and thought of a quote, I was good to go.

 

 

I don't know how she ended up underwater.

I think it was the waving hair! And since I bought

Dyan's "Ocean Background" stamp set at ESS,

I figured I would use it.

 

I added the fish after by stamping them on a

separate piece of cardstock, colored them, cut them out,

and glued them in place. They definitely added

some needed interest.

 

The second page is the Flossy stencil we started in

class. I added some more color to the background to

liven it up a bit.

And she looked like she was dancing,

and that KC & the Sunshine Band song got stuck

in my head!

 

 

Dancing with leaves is kind of silly, but

isn't journaling supposed to be fun.

 

I hope you like these pages. I still have lots

more to go. We started so many in class.

 

Thanks for stopping by, and have a good week!

 

Christine