Shimmerz

Hair Up Here

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Hair Up Here

A layout featuring photos of yours truly at (almost) 11 years old! The journaling explains it all!

Me, in April 1990, attempting to get the high bangs that were in style at the time. Unfortunately (Fortunately?) I was given a head full of fine hair that has never cooperated!

This layout is for two challenges, the first being the August 1, 2017 Stuck?! Sketches challenge, using the following sketch:

The second challenge is the “Ugly Paper Challenge” over at scrapbook.com where I am the hostess. I first did the challenge back in August 2011 with the, I believe, original hostess. Then in 2012 (I think) the second hostess took over, and in March 2015 I took it over! So, as far as I know, I am the third hostess of the challenge. I haven’t done the challenge every month since I first found it (with the previous hostesses), but I have always loved the challenge! In short, two “ugly” papers and one (or more!) “ugly” embellishment(s) are mailed to another player (I give out addresses!) at the beginning of the month, and players have until the end of the month to create their layouts! The papers have to still be recognizable, and the embellishment is optional (it counts as two extra votes at the end of the month!). Now, this isn’t to say any particular papers or embellishments are “ugly,” but the combination given is! Most of the time anyhow! The challenge is receiving a combination that you may have never even considered putting together on your own, plus you are receiving papers that may not be your “style.” Anyhow, I just wanted to make it be known that “ugly” is a subjective term, and I have received (on more than one occasion) papers that were wonderful, even though the sender didn’t think so!

When I received my papers this month I immediately thought of my being a “tom-boy” growing up, but I just didn’t know what photos I had to use with them. It turns out I didn’t have the photos needed, my grandmother did, but I didn’t know that until our family has had to start sorting through her 88 years worth of possessions after she passed on August 3, 2017. And while it has been a sad time for the family, we have also discovered many items, mementos, and photos we didn’t know existed.

The papers, and embellies, I received for the August 2017 Ugly Paper Challenge

Product List:

  • Crate Paper – Chasing Dreams Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Royale
  • Ranger Glossy Accents
  • Sharpie Fine Point Writing Pens
  • Shimmerz Paints: Paste-eez “Raspberry Sherbet,” and Coloringz “Well Blue Me Down.”
  • Carta Bella Paper – 6 x 6 Stencil – Lattice
  • Pink Paislee – Paige Evans – Oh My Heart Collection – Ephemera with Foil Accents
  • American Crafts – Starshine Collection – Thickers – Glitter – Fitzgerald – Teal
  • Tim Holtz – Idea-ology Collection – Industrious Stickers – Deco Type
  • The black/grey glittery paper is DCWV, but it was in my scraps, and I couldn’t even being to guess what the stack was it came from!
  • Hip Kit Club Exclusive Enamel Dots (March 2017)
  • Unknown pink & white twine

explore

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explore layout

Whew! After fighting bronchitis for over two weeks I finally finished the last layout I (mentally) started!

It did work out though that this weeks Wednesday Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp was to “Splatter It”! It worked out because I was working on layout this morning and I was thinking of what else to add, and when I saw the challege I thought, “That’s a good idea”!!

I used some Peeled Paint Distress Oxide on the title and to highlight the cardboard a little!
I used the “packaging technique” to add Peeled Paint and Iced Spruce Distress Oxides to my background!

Product List:

  • Tim Holtz – Distress Oxide: “Peeled Paint” & “Iced Spruce”; Alcohol Ink: “Lettuce” & “Gold”; Sanding Block; “Tracks” Stencil; and “Expedition” Ephemera
  • Pink Paislee: Cedar Lane: Greenspace
  • A bit of scrap Core’dinations green cardstock
  • A piece of corrugated cardboard
  • Ranger Texture Paste
  • Bo Bunny Chunky Charms: Clear Arrows & Circles
  • American Crafts: Shimelle: Stickers
  • Bella Blvd – Ciao Chip – Self Adhesive Chipboard – Words – Adventure
  • Hip Kit Club Exclusive Puffy Stickers
  • Shimmerz Paint: Celery 
  • Flair from {A Flair For Buttons}

imagine {tag}

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imagine tag!

Ok, I have this ‘thing’ where I have decided to go back to 2007 and complete all of Tim Holtz’s “12 Tags of …” series’. I started doing the “12 Tags of 2015” with January 2015 and finish all of the tags for 2015 & 2016! I was heart-broken when it was announced that there would not be a 12 Tags of 2017! I mean really, after 10 years of tags?!?! Ok, I get it, 10. Years. Of. Tags! At the rate I’m going it may be 2027 before I am “caught-up”! Anyhow, this is my tag inspired by #5 of “12 Tags of 2007”. Basically, it was “use alcohol ink,” somehow I turned it into “use alcohol ink on Yupo, and to keep things interesting toss in some Distress Oxides & pastes!” And wait, and wait, and wait for everything to dry (can’t heat Yupo, it makes it expand … or so I read, didn’t really want to test it!). Then proced to NEVER touch the surface of the tag, because it’s Yupo, and everything “floats” on the surface. (Maybe I’ll add some sealer today…)

Black Soot Distress Oxide for “imagine,” Shimmerz Paste-eez Hold the Mustard & Raspberry Sherbet with Tim Holtz’s “Harlequin” stencil.

The clouds are stamps from Simon Says Stamp’s “Sea You Soon” set.

My Garden Friends butterfly!

 Product List:

  • Legion Paper Yupo
  • Ranger Glossy Accents, Blending Tool, Replacement Felt, Alcohol Blending Solution, and Alcohol Inks: Cranberry, Eggplant, Silver, Gold, and Pearl.
  • Tim Holtz Distress Oxide: Cracked Pistachio, Worn Lipstick, Seedless Preserves, and Black Soot. 
  • Tim Holtz “Harlequin” Stencil
  • Simon Says Stamp “Sea You Soon” set
  • Heidi Swapp “imagine” stamp
  • Shimmerz Paste-eez: Hold the Mustard & Raspberry Sherbet
  • Some homemade alcohol inks: black & blue-ish ones
  • My Garden Friends Butterfly
  • Bo Bunny Chunky Charms: Clear Arrows & Circles

Let’s Go On An Adventure

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Let’s Go On An Adventure Layout!

My oldest son in 2006, when he was 7 1/2, going exploring in my mom & dad’s backyard with his brother, using the “Explorer Kit” that my youngest had received for his birthday in 2005!

This week’s Monday Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp is “Distress It.” While I may not have a traditional “distressed” look, I did use some wonderful Distress Oxides on here!

Over at scrapbook.com I am hostess to the “Ugly Paper Challenge.” I first did the challenge back in August 2011 with the, I believe, original hostess. Then in 2012 (I think) the second hostess took over, and in March 2015 I took it over! So, as far as I know, I am the third hostess of the challenge. I haven’t done the challenge every month since I first found it (with the previous hostesses), but I have always loved the challenge! In short, two “ugly” papers and one (or more!) “ugly” embellishment(s) are mailed to another player (I give out addresses!) at the beginning of the month, and players have until the end of the month to create their layouts! The papers have to still be recognizable, and the embellishment is optional (it counts as two extra votes at the end of the month!). Now, this isn’t to say any particular papers or embellishments are “ugly,” but the combination given is! Most of the time anyhow! The challenge is receiveing a combination that you may have never even considered putting together on your own, plus you are receiving papers that may not be your “style.” Anyhow, I just wanted to make it be known that “ugly” is a subjective term, and I have received (on more than one occassion) papers that were wonderful, even though the sender didn’t think so!

Now that that’s out of the way, on to the details about the layout!

This is a picture of the papers & embellishments I received for the month of July:

The papers I received in the “Ugly Paper Challenge” over at scrapbook.com

Instantly I knew what was going to happen to that green paper! I already had a set of photos in mind I wanted to scrap when these arrived, and it was lucky for me that green paper just screamed “turn me into tropical leaves!”. The floral paper, well that was going to have to be shaped to my will!

A cut file and some Shimmerz turned my flowers into clouds!

As you can see, that floral paper became the outlines for the clouds! I used some Shimmerz: AcriTonez: 3 Sheets To The Wind and some Shimmerz: Anchor’s Away! It did a good job of hiding the flowers, which would have just look weird on this layout!

Some Peeled Paint Distress Oxide helped my green grass paper become tropical leaves!

With the green grass paper I cut out my leaves and put on a light coat of Peeled Paint Distress Oxide, and spritzed with water to “activate”!

Close-up of the embellishment cluster at the bottom.
Another shot showing more of the top of the photo embellishments!
Close-up of the title area! I love how the Distress Oxides came out on “Adventure!”

Cut Files List:

Product List:

  • Shimmerz: AcriTonez: 3 Sheets To The Wind
  • Shimmerz: Anchor’s Away
  • Silhouette Cameo
  • Distress Oxides: Peeled Paint & Faded Jeans
  • American Crafts – Starshine Collection- Cardstock Stickers – Accent and Phrase
  • Becky Higgins – Project Life – High Five Edition Collection – Chipboard Stickers
  • Bella Blvd – Ciao Chip – Self Adhesive Chipboard – Words – Adventure
  • Pink Paislee – Fancy Free Collection – 12 x 12 Double Sided Paper – Paper 06
  • Hip Kit Club Exclusives:
  • Paper: Medowbrook “Touch The Sky” (inside clouds) and “Starlit Sprinkle” (blue/white dot under photo), and The Happy Life “Ombre Sky” (background). All designed by Kim Watson.
  • All the puffy stickers
  • The teal Alphas
  • In addition to the Hip Kit products already mentioned, everything else came from Hip Kit Club Kits. I don’t know which ones, but I know they are from between March 2016 and July 2016. Not all products may be Hip Kit Club Exclusives, but I don’t have the packaging for them anymore so I can’t give specifics!

    • be your own sunshine

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    I saw a piece of paper (I’ll show that later) that inspired the coloring of this tag. Plus, Simon Says Scrap’s current Wednesday challenge is “Summer Sunshine.” Add to the mix a quote I saw that said, “Sometimes you have to be your own sunshine,” and a tag was born.

    The flowers didn’t come out exactly how I had hoped, but sometimes that just happens!

    I started out with a piece of cardboard cut to a size 12 tag (10 1/2″ x 5 1/4 I think…I have a template so I don’t always have to measure or remember!) and I coated it thickly with white acrylic paint.

    My tag base

    After that I started gathering supplies I thought I might use and picked out colors I thought could be used to try and recreate the color and design of this piece of Echo Park paper! (I received mine in the July Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp, now to make a card with it!)

    The paper that inspired it all!
    Smooshing paint into all the crevices!

    The honeycomb and riveted metal are from using Amazing Casting Resin in Tim Holtz’s embossing folders (Watch a technique video here!). The flourish’s are from a flourish circle I had cut out a few years ago with my Cameo. It was multiple layers of cardstock that didn’t get glued together quite right, and was painted a light pink. I finally decided it was time to either use it or toss it! And, all of the gears on this project came from the Silhouette store.

    Lots of ink & paint & Metallique Wax & Perfect Pearls on here!

    After I painted everything, added some “Old Silver” Prima Metallique Wax randomly then I went back over with matching/coordinating Distress Oxides. After all that was dried I used a Crafter’s Workshop 12 x 12 Template (“Sunburst”) for the rays, and a circle stencil I made a while back for the…umm, circles.

    All the shine on the gears for the “sun” is from Perfect Pearls “Perfect Pearl.” The sun rays are Delicata “White Shimmer” Pigment Ink.
    More Perfect Pearls for the circles!

    Lots of “mulberry” type flowers sprayed with a variety of colors! For the oranges I mixed “Carved Pumpkin” Distress Stain with some Perfect Pearls “Perfect Pearl” and “Pewter.” The different shades of yellows and oranges is due to the original colors of the flowers. The pink flowers are from Shimmerz Coloringz “Pink Stilettos,” and the mint is from Heidi Swapp’s Color Shine “Sweet Mint.”

    Product List:

    • Silhouette Cameo
    • Amazing Cast Resin
    • Pink Paislee: Take Me Away Collection: Thickers with Foil Accents: Phrases: “Dream”
    • Hip Kit Club Exclusive Alpha (May 2017 Main Kit)
    • Shimmerz: AcriTonez – Pinkadelic; Coloringz – Pink Stilettos
    • Perfect Pearls: Perfect Pearl & Pewter
    • Tsukineko Delicata: White Shimmer
    • White acrylic paint
    • Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Sweet Mint
    • Tim Holtz Distress Paint – Carved Pumpkin & Cracked Pistachio; Distress Spray Stain – Carved Pumpkin; Distress Oxide – Wild Honey, Cracked Pistachio, & Picked Raspberry; Embossing Folders – Riveted Metal & Honeycomb
    • Ranger Mini Mister
    • Prima Art Alchemy Metallique Wax: Old Silver
    • “Mulberry” type flowers

    Red, White, & Blue ATCs!

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    Red, White, & Blue ATCs

    Putting these ATCs together was something else! I had an original idea in mind inspired by the July Challenge over at Creative Embellishments. I really loved the way the elements in the inspiration photo overlapped each other, and I really love how “shiny” the image seemed. Creative Embellishments July Challenge fit quite nicely with Simon Says Stamp’s Monday Challenge of “Red, White, & Blue”, and I thought it would be a good idea to try and create a shiny, red, white & blue, element overlapping ATC for the challenges, and for MarciLB’s ATC Swap over at scrapbook.com. Things didn’t go quite according to plan.

    My initial background was too embossed! I didn’t want it to be quite like that! But, if nothing else, I’m persistent, so I decided to see what I could do with it!

    Initial Background. Thick watercolor paper, coated with white acrylic paint, embossed using Tim Holtz’s “Cracked,” striped with Tim Holtz’s “Stripes” stencil & Distress Oxide Fired Brick, and colored with Distress Oxide Faded Jeans for the blue.

    I decided to get Mixed Media crazy! I added Candied Apple Distress Paint stripes, I threw down a layer of Mod Podge, which “intensified” the Distress Oxides underneath, I added some Prima Snowflake Paste for those rays using Tim Holtz’s “Ray” stencil, and colored them with Shimmerz Vibez “Glorious Day.” If that wasn’t enough, for the “stars” I used Shimmerz Dazzlerz “Spun Sugar” and Echo Park’s “Beach Towel” stencil. About now I was thinking I should give up and start over! But, as I said, I’m persistent (some may say overly stubborn, but they’re wrong! LOL). Anyhow, I decided that I should cover some of my “flag” with a firework (as so originally inspired by the July Challenge at Creative Embellishments) and I dug out my glitter. (I have a great dislike for glitter, but I was getting desperate!)

    What better way to adhere that glitter than with some Transparent Gloss Texture Paste from Ranger “squished” through a temporary stencil I made with some scrap card stock and a “starburst” cut file from Silhouette? In hindsight, there probably are better ways! Oh. My. Gosh. Now I just have too much everything!

    Well, that’s just too much … EVERYTHING!

    I actually threw the ATCs in the trash at this point, I just didn’t know what else to do! But, as I was sitting there thinking about what items to keep out for the next try I saw an old Tim Holtz Mask “Flourish” just hanging around collecting dust, and I had an idea! At first I was going to use the mask, but I hadn’t worked out what I would use to cover the undesirable areas. Then, as I sat there staring at the mask over the ATC next to my pile of scrap pieces of Simple Stories “Stars & Stripes” a firework went off in my mind! And the following picture is what that firework sparked!

    Using my hot glue gun I stuck the cuts to the ATCs, used the sanding block to distress the edges, and inked them up with some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink! There was still a little too much “stuff” showing, and that’s when I decided to enlist the help of a little birdie!

    Flourish cut file from the Silhouette Store!

    Little Birdie (Tim Holtz’s Mini Bird Crazy & Things) to the rescue!
    Persistence paid off!

    Product List:

    • Silhouette Cameo: Used to cut the flourish which is from the Silhouette Store.
    • Sizzix Big Shot
    • Simple Stories: Stars & Stripes “Independence Day”
    • Tim Holtz: Mini Bird Crazy & Things Stamps & Dies
    • Tim Holtz Sanding Grip
    • Tim Holtz Distress Oxides: Faded Jeans, Broken China, Fired Brick
    • Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Frayed Burlap
    • Tim Holtz Distress Markers: Picket Fence, Ground Espresso, Candied Apple, & Carved Pumpkin
    • Tim Holtz Distress Paint: Candied Apple
    • Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Crazing
    • Tim Holtz Stencils: Rays & Stripes
    • Echo Park Stencil: “Beach Towel”
    • White Acrylic Paint
    • Shimmerz Dazzlerz: Spun Sugar
    • Shimmerz Vibez: Glorious Day
    • Mod Podge Paper: Gloss
    • Prima Snowflake Paste
    • Ranger Texture Paste: Transparent Gloss; Black Archival Ink, Water Pen, & Glossy Accents
    • Martha Stewart Glitter: Crystal, Lapis Lazuli, & Tourmaline

    Teal(ish) Flower ATCs

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    Teal(ish) Flower ATCs

    Over at scrapbook.com “MarciLB” hosts a monthly ATC swap with four categories. For July, “Flowers” was one of those categories, and these are the ATCs that popped into my little head! I’m also entering in the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday “Anything Goes” Challenge! The background is some thin, self-adhesive cork that I didn’t even remember owning until I went digging through my stash looking for inspiration! (I believe I bought it at Hobby Lobby)

    That “fishnet” ribbon got a total make-over! I’ve had it for years, and had used the majority of it previously. It was originally a dark teal and green with glitter. I changed that. I could have worked with the dark teal piece, but I didn’t have enough for all four ATCs! I slapped on some Tim Holtz Distress Grit-Paste pressed the ribbon into it and used Tim Holtz’s Tiny Attacher to hold the ends in place. After it dried I started painting the background with white acrylic paint! I used paint instead of gesso because it is thicker, and I needed coverage! (As for the origins of the ribbon, I know I received it in one of my first kits from “Birds of a Feather,” and I received kits for close to 18 months I believe. Unfortunately as of February 2016 kits were no longer offered.)

    Some old bits of fishnet “ribbon” that got a make-over!

    The flowers are made up of a combination of Prima E-line flowers and flowers from Prima’s Wildflower Pillar Pack. The gems came in the same kit as the ribbon.

    A closer look at the flower cluster!

    Those two metal filigree pieces are even older that the ribbon and gems! After I added them I painted them with the white acrylic paint as well.

    After everything was glued down and coated with some acrylic paint (The gems are the only parts I didn’t put paint on!) I started spritzing on some Heidi Swapp Color Shine in “Tinsel” and “Sweet Mint,” and some Shimmerz Vibez “Jeni B Bleu.”

    List of Products:

    • White acrylic paint
    • Tim Holtz Distress Grit-Paste
    • Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Tinsel and Sweet Mint
    • Shimmerz Vibez: Jeni B Bleu
    • Prima Flowers: white E-line mix and Wildflower Pillar Pack
    • Unknown: Filigree, ribbon, gems
    • Cork Background: Probably from Hobby Lobby

    Mermaid Tag

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    Steampunk Mermaid Tag

    I came across the June Challenge over at Creative Embellishments and decided I would play along! Of course I came across it the afternoon of the 28th, giving me about 2 1/2 days to think up a project and complete it! I made it, with about 50 minutes left! Edit: Although the challenge said it closed at 11:55pm EST, when I tried to add my link, it was already closed, at only 11:16pm EST. I wish I had some of Creative Embellishments products to add to my tag, thankfully it wasn’t a requirement! I do now have another place to go shopping, I’m sure the hubs will love that! LOL

    Background ready for color!

    I started out with a #12 tag that I made using some think chipboard and an industrial paper trimmer! (The hubs used to use it to cut aluminum for seamless eaves-troughs AKA: the gutters on your roof!) I glued down some tissue paper, my “sheet-metal,” a bit of paper, and some of my seaweed. I added my texture paste clock, then gave it all a good coat of white gesso.

    Amazing Casting Resin + Tim Holtz’s Riveted Metal Embossing Folder

    As a side note about how that riveted metal was made, go watch Mixed Media ATCs with Opal Magic Wax by Keren Tamir!

    Background misted and spritzed!

    After the gesso had dried on the background I used Distress Spray Stains: Cracked Pistachio and Mermaid Lagoon; Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Sweet Mint; Shimmerz Coloringz: Well Blue Me Down and Oh Say Can U Sea; and Shimmerz Vibez: Jeni B Bleu. I just sprayed rather randomly, drying between layers of colors, until I got what I wanted.

    My glue of choice this whole project, Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Matte

    For my mermaid’s tail I used 140# watercolor paper, ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot using Tim Holtz’s Riveted Metal Embossing Folder, then used a glue stick to randomly give adhesion points for the Foil Transfer Sheets by Ranger (Vintage pack).

    Adding Prima Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallic and Opal Magic waxes to my mermaid!

    I didn’t have any real plan going in on where I was going to add which color of wax where, and I don’t think it makes a big difference! Rarely do my crafts have an all out plan!

    The Mermaid, Hat, and Seaweed all came from cut files found on the Silhouette Store!
    The fish were fussy cut from a paper in Graphic 45’s “Steampunk Debutante” Deluxe Collector’s Edition, the seahorses and sand dollar are a Spellbinders Die D-Lites set, some of the gears are from Bead Landing, and some have no (known) brand.

    The seaweed was cut from a sheet of American Crafts White Vellum, and sprayed with Heidi Swapp’s Color Shine: Tinsel or a combination of Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Sweet Mint and Shimmerz Coloringz: Oh Say Can U Sea.