Second Tag repeat -

Oh my.  I have uploaded my tags to Tim's website, day by day.  BUT,  i learned that if you mis-type your email address, you can't delete your entry, AND, therefore will not be considered for the big prize.  So, I am having to create a new post, with a new link in order to upload day 2.  Ugh,  Hope this works.

Final Day - The marathon is complete

Day 12 - This was an amazing 2 day journey through everything Tim Holtz - He truly is the Due of Distress.  Todays tag was to use his new tissue paper - I didn't have that - but I did have some tissue tape.  Great stuff.  I've had a blast - I hope someone stops by to check out my tags.  Leave a comment and share your thoughts.

Happy New Year to ALL!

The completed set of 12.

Eleventh Tag - Making colors POP

Day 11 - Today is probably my least favorite tag.  I improvised on most of the stamps and leaves - but must admit, I do love the tag colors using all those amazing blue distress inks - broken china, faded blue jeans, dark sapphire.  The whole tag was based on glossy paper and distress inks - showing how they really pop on that texture of cardstock.  The santa really does look alot like white plastic.

Tenth Tag - Trinkets

Day 10 - It's days like this when you realize just how MUCH Tim Holtz stuff you have in your stash!  Today we made our own trinkets to decorate the card.  Check out the link above for all the details on how to transfer the image from paper to plain old packing tape.  The card again has that beautiful Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist to make it really pop with sine.

Ninth Tag - Enamel technique

Day 9 - Someone asked me the other day what I do with all these tags.  Hmm,  had to think on that one.  I actually save them from year to year as inspiration.  Each tag represents new color combos, techniques, or tools/stamps/etc that I can use throughout the year.  Whenever I get stuck or am looking for something new to try, I dig through my big box of tags, and get inspired.  How about you?

Todays tag used double embossing, which makes the tag end result look like enamel.  First the leaves are embossed, then distress ink is rubbed all over the tag, covered with yet more clear embossing powder and embossed.  We added glossy accents to the letters for extra depth and shine.

Eighth Tag - Steampunk Christmas

Day 8-  Don't you just love these 3 guys?  It was fun to pull out all the gears, and get all steampunky with them.  The new seasonal distress colors for Christmas are so beautiful.  The Holly Berry Red really stands out.  No real new technique today - but we did get to grunge up the gears after they were die cut, and used a few inks to make them look a little more rusted.  Well,  I'm on the downward slope - only 4 more to post.

Seventh Tag - Gold and Glorious

Day 7   - Don't you just love these colors?  Nothing beats Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist, over a tag distressed with all the browns in the distress family.  The other technique today was to play with glassine paper.  I have done a few things with this before, but never alcohol inks.  Too Cool!  After you pounce all over this great paper with the alcohol inks, you heat it to get it set in, then scrunch it up into a ball, over and over again until you like the amount of wrinkles.  The cool thing is that the more you wrinkle it, the softer it becomes.  Way too beautiful.  I didn't have the holly die cut, but think the tattered leaves worked for a close second.

Sixth Tag - Foiled again

Day 6  took some thinking.  It turned out kinda goofy -  since I improvised.  I tried to make it look like the jalopy was driving into the woods, but adding that embossed piece turned out to be more tricky than I thought - and since I didin't get the logic gene - I didn't realize how it was going to affect the trees I embossed first.  Oh well.  The technique was fun, loved the effect of painting on the foil, and then adding the high gloss of clear embossing powder.

Fifth Tag - Merry Christmas

Day 5 - Never ever throw away the plastic packaging all those fun embellishments come in.  That is what I used to cut out todays tag.  The technique today is really fun. It's like 'magic'. I used all the red colors of alcohol inks I had to make this gorgeous colored tag.  THEN - you stamp on the ink with black archival ink.  I used the trio of trees.  After you stamp, while the ink is still wet - you blot it off.  Amazing the way it takes the color away and leaves you with a clear image.  Pretty cool right?

Fourth Tag - Frosty the Snowman

Day 4 was my favorite so far.  The colors, the techniques,  all very fun.  There are so many layers of color and texture, you have to really look closely.  You start by painting the grunge board white.  After cutting out the snowflake and snowman (I used some pieces from the old holiday grungeboard cutout packs), you paint them with rock candy crackle paint - real thick so it gets great crackles in it.  After the pieces dry - i used two different colors of  distress stains (weathered wood and tumbled glass) to get that gorgeous blue color.  The tag was created using the same blue stains along with the new white picket fence distress stain.  Don't you just love that color!  I also stamped some snowflakes on the tag, and attached an 'on the side' snowflake border I cut out of old packaging materials.  I had not tried using the movers and shapers to cut out a design in a die cut yet - so that was fun to play with.  I really like the way it turned out.  It is backed with old music paper from my piano books, and topped with glossy accents to make it shine.  This tag reminds me of a cold winter day in Minnesota!

Third Tag - Holiday Greetings

Day 3 was a bit of a challenge.  I didn't have the 2 main items - the stamp and embossing folder.  SO - I pulled out all the holiday saying stamps I had, and built a collage.  I don't know if you can see the shimmer or not - but I used biscotti perfect pearls.  One of my favorite ways to add a little pizazz to a project.  I love all the different pieces in the festive greenery die.  It's one of the 12" long ones and has holly, ferns, flourish, and other 2 other types of greenery.  Very fun to put together.

2nd Tag - Leaping Reindeer

Day 2 provided a few challenges.  I didn't have a few of the items, but was able to improvise.  I really liked the way the Picket Fence Distress Stain muted the kraft resist paper and created a perfect background for the reindeer as he flies through the skies.  I didn't have the die cut, but was able to use a mask I had leftover from an old grunge board seasons set of cutouts to trace the reindeer.  I found some fabulous tinsel made by Webster Pages. I tried dying it green with alcohol inks, but it didn't work quite as well as I had hoped.  I must admit - this is really fun.  I haven't participated in the challenges the last few months due to other commitments and it is really fun using some of the items that have been sorely neglected in my collection of Tim Holtz/Ranger Products.

First Tag - Pine cones and foliage

Day 1 was packed with ideas and new techniques.  I love love love flowers, foliage, and all things outdoors - so was thrilled to have already picked up the 2 new dies that Tim used in todays tag.  I was however intimidated by the complexity of the pine cone.  How cool that he included a video to show us all the tips and tricks to success.

I used the new kraft Coordinations paper, it is colored on the outside, kraft color on the inside.  After I used the sizzix snowflake embossing folder, I sanded off the the tops of the snowflakes, exposing the craft color.  Really nice effect.  A fun technique to use with the embossing folder, is to use embossing ink on the inside of the folder before you emboss.  It embeds the ink on the indented parts, allowing you to emboss just the background, not the raised pattern.  WAY too cool!  Check out the link above for more details.

12 Tags of Christmas Marathon

Wow,  2 days in my wonderful craft room, creating the 12 tags of Christmas!  It was a blast!!  Here is a photo of all of them...then I'll post the details one by one.  If you have no idea what I'm talking about...Check this out - Tim Holtz 12 tags of Christmas.

This was an amazing 2 days.  I didn't have all the tools, stamps, embellishments, colors, etc.  BUT - I did have all that I needed to make the tags as close to the original as possible.  I know some folks like to mix it up, and make their tags very different - not me.  I follow everything as close as possible, learning the technique so I can use these tags as reference all year long to spark creativity, and generate new ideas.

I challenge all of you to check out the Duke of Distress, and his magical talent.  Also,  feel free to check out my blog entries detailing each tag.  let me know what you think!