Welcome 2020-Monthly Book Award Reading Challenge

It has been almost two years since I have posted on this blog.  Previously, I have only used the blog to share my creative endeavors. This year I am going to share other activities that I do in my "Own Little Korner." In addition to making a commitment to be more dedicated to my creative side, I also would like to expand my horizons through the written word.

I happened across The Monthly Book Award Reading Challenge. I liked the idea of reading award winning books from a variety of genre  I have chosen Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine by Gail Honeyman for my January entry.  It was the the winner of the 2017 Costa Debut Novel Award awarded January 2, 2018.  In addition, it was Reece's Book Club choice and I understand it may even hit the silver screen.  I can't wait to get started!

Love You to the Bone

Here is my second post today...a tag for my first born.   I created a tag with her passion in mind....bones.  I would like to enter this tag in Frilly and Funkie's latest challenge All You Need is Love! sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique. 

I embossed Kraft-core paper with Tim Holtz's Roses folder and lightly distressed the surface to reveal the kraft core.  I used ephemera from  Frightful and cut a heart from Mini Love Struck and two roses from the Tiny Tattered Florals die.  I indicated the special day with a Countdown Brad tinted  with alcohol ink.

Happy Valentines Day....Thanks for stopping by. Kim ;)

Love and Licks

The year is just speeding by...Valentine's Day already.  I made this tag for my daughter's Valentines Day box.  When she comes home from college I am not sure if she is more happy to see us or our German Shepherd, Cinnamon.  I found this sentiment while scrolling through Pinterest and it was PERFECT!  I would like to enter my tag in the challenge over at Frilly and Funkie,  All You Need is LOVE! sponsored by the The Funkie Junkie Boutique. 

I created the background with two colors of Kraft core card stock and fancied up the bottom with the Scallops die.  I used VersaMark through the Stripes stencil  and then stamped three hearts from Dina Wakley  with VersaMark as well.   The heart is cut from Paper Stash Metallic Kraft using the Scribbles and Splat die. I printed the sentament on brown paper and tied it off with an inked Crinkled Ribbon bow.  This is a picture of Cinnamon...the inspiration for my sentiment!

Thanks for stopping by...Happy Valentines Day!   Kim ;)

Focus

I love the current challenge over at Frilly and Funkie:  2018-The Year of... sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique  What a great challenge for a new year!  I am not very good with resolutions...I often break them within the first 24 hours of a new year.  I gave a lot of thought as to what my word for 2018 should be...Focus.  Focus on what is important in all aspects of my life:  family, job, and me!

 I started with  a small Dina Wakely Media Board and  created the background with layers of Distress Oxide Black Soot and Fired Brick and stamps in Ranger Wendy Vecchi Watering Can Archival Ink.  I used stamps that emphasized "focus".  I finished off the board with the word focus and a monocle to emphasize the eye stamp.  I plan to place this in a strategic spot in my office to keep me...what else but focused.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week! ;) Kim

Three Roses

Three is the perfect number.  My Mom always told me to plant in 3's or in an odd number at any rate.  Groupings of candles or  knick knacks can often  be found placed strategically in 3's at my house. I loved  the idea of Frilly and Funkie's most recent challenge Three Is Not A Crowd.  I found that something was missing from a birthday card I was working on for a co-worker.  Three roses placed on a piece of crinkle ribbon was the perfect accent.

 

The card was made with a piece of Motif Resist Paper Stash inked with Distress Oxide Cracked Pistachio, Salty Ocean, and Broken China. I used the Mini Scallop On the Edge Die for the border  and stamped the Mini Cupcake Blueprint stamp in Versa Mark embossed with clear embossing powder.

We are preparing for a wintery night here in North Carolina. Thanks for stopping by. :) Kim

A Few Cards

Unfortunately, time did not allow me to complete Linda's 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style but I did want to share the cards I did complete.  I enjoyed giving these cards to family and friends. Linda is such an inspiration...I look forward to playing along next year!

Based on Week 1:

Based on Week 4:

Based on Week 7:

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.  We are well into the New Year full of possibilities and opportunities!  :) Kim

Halloween Pearls

Over at the Paper Artsy Blog the subject is Pearlescent.  I love the gentle pearl sheen that was highlighted, especially the pearlized paper used in the wedding card in the introduction post.  I used this as a basis to make the background of a halloween tag using pearlized paste through a stencil.  I loved the effect on my spooky tag (however...it is very difficult to capture on a photo).

Here's hoping your Halloween is SPOOKY! :) Kim

Red + Glitter=Christmas

Although my house is all decked out for Halloween. and we have just had one of the hottest weeks in October on record, my thoughts turn to Christmas.  I have been following Linda's 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style for several years but I have never played along.  This year I am determined to complete all 12, but have chosen to participate with cards instead of tags!

I am stating with Week #3 of The 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  Linda has gone all out with RED for a very festive eye catching tag.   I loved the red inked through Tim Holtz's Peppermint stencil and this was the source of inspiration for my card.  I used red/kraft striped paper in my stash that I placed on the diagonal for the base of my card.  The red didn't stop there...I cut out a poinsettia using Tim Holtz's Tattered Poinsettia die and made it pop with Festive Berries Distress Glitter. 

I was also inspired by  PaperArtsy's 2017 Topic 14: Glitter and I would like enter my card in this challenge as well.  So many fun ways to use glitter! 

Thanks for stopping by :) Kim

A New Journey

It has been almost over 18 months since I have posted...so happy to have inky fingers again!  I was inspired by Julia Alston's card over at CAS Mix Up Card Challenge and a featured video by tjaniga featuring stamping, tissue paper, and alcohol ink.  A co-worker is headed off on a new adventure and I made this card to wish him well.  I love the vibrant colors of alcohol ink and the pairing of tissue paper with an embossed stamped imaged.

 I embossed the compass stamp from Tim Holtz's Classics #1 on acetate in gold as instructed in Tjaniga's video.  I used Botanical, Mariner, and Indigo alcohol inks for the tissue paper background. The sentiment from Tim Holtz's Classics #16 was stamped in Ranger Forget Me Not ink and again in Ranger Cobalt in to make it pop.

 I would like to enter my card in the CAS Mix Up Card Challenge.

That's all for now...thanks for stopping by :) Kim

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-November

Just a short post to share my version of Tim's November tag.  You can see his tutorial here. I am so glad that I was able to break away from life to play with this month's tag.  The embossing technique and foiling was so much fun!

Finally, I can add my pics to this post. Blogger was not working last night, so I upload my tag to Tim's site using Google +...not sure if that worked.  Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday :) Kim

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-October

I love the Fall, especially October.  Things have been so hectic that the month has just flown by.  I made time this weekend to make my October tag.  You can see how Tim created his tag here.  Unfortunately, I do not own any of Tim's new dimensional dies from Sizzix.  So...I modified the Skull die, using my bone folder  to create some dimension.

 I used Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy,  and Frayed Burlap Distress Inks to create my skull, Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain Distress Inks to create his teeth, and Fired Brick and  Aged Mahogany to create the background.

I assembled the skull adding some dimension by scoring 3 points and cutting the background slightly smaller than the die.  I added an Ideaology spider in his eye for good measure.

I finished off the tag with additional Ideaology goodies including "beware" coin from Oddities Adornments, "Frightful" from Wicked Alpha Parts enhanced with Fired Brick Distress Paint, a spider and chain border from Gothic Industrious Stickers, and finally a piece form the Frightful Ephemera Pack.  I tied a piece of black tulle from my stash to the top of the tag. 

I had so much fun playing with this tag.  I certainly put me in the Halloween spirit (good thing...Halloween is only 3 days away!)  I would also like to enter my tag in the following challenges:

Frilly and Funkie-Something Wicked

Our Creative Corner-Halloween Horror

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-September

What a busy September...it just flew by!  Work is crazy and my Mom has sold her house and is moving in my direction.  A lot of memories have been made in that house over the past 37 years along with a lot of stuff to be reckoned with.  I did take time this weekend to play with Tim's September tag technique. You can find all his tag and step by step instructions here.

 I have grown very fond of Alcohol Inks and was excited to try something new.  I don't own any the metallic mixatives, only snowcap...so I used that along with poppyfield, pitch black and slate to create my background.  I used Dylusions Doodled Circles stamp set for my images and  Frosted film on Clearly for Art to give the doodles some movement.  I love the transparent gloss texture paste.  It went on so smooth through the Zigzag stencil...I had to keep peaking while the magic happened :)  I chose the CURIOSITIES wordband and finished off the tag with black Tinsel Twine.  Here are a couple of close ups...

That's all for now...have a great rest of the week!:) Kim

Wish

My Mom's birthday crept up on me, and in order for her gift to reach her in time, it had to be mailed yesterday due to the Labor Day Holiday in the States.  You can probably guess that her favorite color is blue.

I started with  a piece of Anna Griffin paper and finally had the opportunity to  play with Wendy Vecchi"s crackle paste.  I added a drop of Watering Can Archival Re-inker to the paste before spreading it through Tim's Flourish stencil.  Unfortunately, the color was not distinct enough and I attempted to add Weathered Wood Distress Ink without using the stencil.  It created a shadow around the crackled flourishes, so I grabbed the gesso from  my stash and applied it to mute the background.  Then I added Weathered Wood to the flourishes while the stencil was in place.  I inked the edges with Chipped Sapphire.  The tulle was dyed with Chipped Sapphire, Weathered Wood and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks.  A golden "Wish" charm was distressed with Weathered Wood Distress Paint and is offset by a blue Tiny Tattered Floral rose and a Heirloom Rose.  Here are a couple of  close ups.

 I would like to enter my card in Frilly and Funky's A Touch of Gold Challenge.  

Thanks for stopping by :) Kim

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-August

Just a quick post to display my August tag.  You can find the step by step instructions by Tim Holtz here.  Although I used  my Cricut to cut the words...I followed the remaining instructions for the background closely.  My tag celebrates events in my daughter's senior year of high school.  One of  the Bird Crazy gang is all decked out in football gear during Spirit Week.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by :) Kim

"Crazy" Birds Go Back to School

I, like everyone else,  have fallen in love Tim Holtz Bird Crazy stamps and dies.  I have chosen to make them my daughter's senior year mascots.  Today was her last 1st  day of  school...a thought that made her Mom a little melancholy :(

 So to brighten up the day, I made her and my "stepdaughter" tags to kick off the new year starring the Bird Crazy gang.

I made the background using Sunshine Yellow and Botanical Alcohol Inks to make a splatter effect as described in Tim Holtz's Compendium of Curiosities Vol I on page 52.  I 'll bet you can't guess my daughter's school colors ;)  I stamped a school bus and ruler as well as members of the Bird Crazy family in Jet Black Archival Ink.  I also stamped the date using a date stamper.  I used springs to make the bird's eyes pop...

I finished off the tags by mounting the glossy cardstock on black cardstock and tying a bow from black/white striped paper string.  My husband and I added a note on the back with wishes for a great day!  I wish to enter my tags in Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Back to School,

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day :) Kim

CC3C #34 Layering Stencil: Monoprint

Hard to believe that we have worked all the way through Tim's book, Compendium of Curiosities Volume III.  I have enjoyed trying all the new techniques, and I am thankful not only to the Curiosity Crew, but also to all the participants for their inspiration and encouragement.  Linda Ledbetter our talented and gracious hostess has led us through all 34 challenges over the past 16 months...thanks to her for all her hard work and talent.

Now on to my entry...you can find instruction on the technique on page 48 of Tim's aforementioned book and all the rules and inspiration over at Linda's blog.  Tim and Mario have donated a terrific prize pack and Linda Coughlin over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique is the generous sponsor for this challenge.

I have been waiting for just the right occasion to use Dyan Reaveley's Skull stencil.  I bought the stencil with my eldest daughter in mind.  We have spent the evening packing her up to go back to college in the morning and I always like to make an inspirational card or tag to send along.  You may think that the skull stencil is inappropriate for an inspirational anything...but it works if the person you are making it for is studying to be a Forensic Anthropologist :)  What a great technique to make a background.  My bottles are cut from Wendy Vecchi's Clearly for Art using Tim's Apothecary Bottles.  I tinted them with Mermaid and Indigo Alcohol Ink and used a heating tool to give them some shape.  I love the way the background is visible through the bottles...a happy surprise.

I finished off the tag with a stamp from Tim to get her through the year and added some jute and a skull from my stash.

I have truly enjoyed playing along these past 16 months and look forward to Volume IV and perhaps another Challenge series.  Have a great weekend! :)

Summer Flowers

What would summer be without flowers?  I find it hard to believe that any plant life can survive in the hot weather conditions we have had in North Carolina...but somehow they persevere.  Recently three of my co-workers have moved on  to new adventures.  I fashioned three cards using Tim Holtz's Flower Garden stamp set to wish them well on their journey. I used a technique from Tim's Compendium of Curiosities Volume I, Dabber Resist, to create the cards.  Each background is shaded with various  Distress Ink colors and finished off with water drops to give it some additional interest.

For the first card I used Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo initially...Yuk!  Then I added Mermaid Lagoon to create this interesting shade of green.

 On the second card I used Victorian Velvet, Pickled Raspberry, Frayed Burlap and Aged Mahogany.

 

Finally, the third card background was inked with Dusty Concord, Faded Jeans, and Frayed Burlap.

Hope you like my summer flowers.  I am so looking forward to the coolness of fall and the colors of the changing leaves.  :)

I would like to enter my cards in the Country View Challenges-Summertime

CC3C #33 Altered Surfaces and Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2015-July

I can't believe it is the last day of July and the second to last Compendium of Curiosities III challenge.  Time is flying!  Of course the Compendium of Curiosities challenge is hosted by the talented Linda Ledbetter and you can visit her site here to read all about the fun .  This challenge is generously sponsored by Inspiration Emporium and non other than Tim himself along with Mario Rossi  Challenge #33, Altered Surfaces can be found on page 45 of Tim's book, Compendium of Curiosities Volume III.  I used the technique on my July Tag inspired by Tim Holtz.  His step by step can be found here.  I did not have the stamp set that he used but the Distress Micro Glaze is amazing! We are planning a family trip to Europe next summer before the kids fly from the nest.  I enjoyed using the mini blueprint journey stamps to make a tag for our trip.  I used the Altered Surfaces technique on the 2016. Here are a couple of pics.

Gotta run...have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by :)

CC3C #32 Frosted Film

Back to post another project that I would like to enter in the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. If you haven't heart about it, head over to Linda Ledbetter"s blog...she serves as the amazing hostess. \\ The challenge is based on Tim Holtz's book, Compendium of Curiosities Vol. III, and it is not too late to grab a copy of his book here.  Tim and Mario have generously donated a prize pack for the winner of the challenge and Linda Coughlin over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique has donated a $25 spending spree at her store.  We have made it all the way to Challenge # 32, Frosted Film found on page 59 of Tim's book.

I told you I could not get enough of the last technique, Layering Stencil-Paint Resist.  I used the technique on my piece today with blues to create my ocean background.  I used the Frosted Film technique on my coral and sea grasses.  Here are a couple of close ups.

This challenge was great fun...gotta run.  Sorry for the short post.  We are getting ready for a yard sale at my Mom's house.  Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by :) Kim

CC3C #31 Layering Stencil: Paint Resist

Every challenge I think..."This is my new favorite technique", and it has happened again.  I am of course referring to the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge hosted by the lovely and talented Linda Ledbetter.  You can find out more about the challenge here on her blog.  There are fabulous prizes generously supplied by none other than Tim and Mario and for this week's challenge by The Inspiration Emporium.  To play along, you must have your very own copy of Tim's Book, A Compendium of Curiosities Volume III.  Don't have one?  Click here to order your copy now.

I can't tell you how I made my background but I used Weathered Wood Distress Paint along with Victorian Velvet, Frayed Burlap, Faded Jeans, Dusty Concord, and Antique Linen Distress.  Here are a couple of pics before I added any embellishments.  All total I used 5 stencils: Honeycomb, Dot Fade, Harlequin, Latticework and Flourish.  What fun!

I made a trellis from the Mixed Media Thinlit Die and distressed it with Picket Fence Distress Paint. I made flowers from the Tiny Tattered Florals Die form Kraft Core paper and placed them on leaves cut from the Spring Greenery Decorative Strip.  I finished it with a single word...love, cut with a die in my stash.  Here are a couple more pics.

I just love this technique...can't wait to try it with different combinations of colors and stencils.  That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by :)