My Craft Guru

hey all you crafty types!

i'm sure i've probably mentioned to you before that i really dig all the products created by t!m holtz... he's provided me with a LOT of inspiration over the years and caused me to spend plenty of money on all his "i must have that!!" items. not that i'm complaining! all those incredible stamps and distress ink colours and cool masks and grunge paper and the alcohol inks... i could go on forever. but i won't. this time around anyway! lol here's just a few of my fave products from my arsenal:


i had the immense pleasure of going down to Anaheim for the recent CHA Show with my mom, who owns a stamp store and teaches classes in Whitehorse, Yukon. (that's where i'm from, by the way.) she's been going for the past 4 years, and has always wanted me to join in the fun and mayhem of walking that show floor and collecting free goodies (plus figuring out how to get it all home!) and attending the great workshops too. a friend of hers came down from Whitehorse with her as well, so the 3 of us had an absolute blast! a typical day involved getting up at 6am to be at our 7am workshops, getting a couple hours of show floor time in, then back to workshops, more of the show, squeezing in some food here and there, finishing up at 9pm after the last workshops of the day (which were all 2 hours long), then heading out for a bite to eat or a movie. (OMG - have you all seen Avatar? we went to the IMAX 3D show down there and it's uber fantastic! gotta go again soon with the hubby.)

so anyhoo - one of the highlights of the show was getting to actually MEET t!m holtz!!! yes, he was there, and when we saw him at the Idea-ology booth my heart raced and we bolted over there to meet him. i got a photo of course - a remembrance of my craft guru.

i hope you all have someone who inspires you to create your buns off!

cheers,
crafty girl

Saturday Rules!

the hubby and i went out to do some errands today and ended up buying a wicked new patio furniture set plus a bistro table & chair set at The Home Depot, on clearance! we thought we'd have to wait til next spring but now we have a great set to enjoy for the rest of the summer! awesome, because we plan to have a couple more bbqs before the weather turns.

happy happy joy joy, to quote Ren & Stimpy. (a very strange cartoon that my brother used to like.) quite the tangent...

so anyway, i'm happy to post this card this evening to finish off the 365 Cards challenges for the week! it's great to see your name in print when Pam posts the full-week finishers, don't you agree?! i got this fab-tastic stamp set yesterday on my jaunt to Michaels, using my last 50% off coupon. i couldn't wait to try it out!

i painted some white cardstock with silver paper paint for my background, to see how it would work out. not bad, i think! the distress inks and brilliance inks needed to be heat-set because they didn't want to dry on their own, but otherwise it was great! i stippled the paint a little with my sponge brush to get some texture.

stuff used:
paper...
white, purple & pale blue speckled cs
stamps...
Hero Arts - Grid Pattern designblock
Martha Stewart - clear butterfly stamps
PSX - happy birthday!
ink...
Tim Holtz distress - broken china
Brilliance - victorian violet, crimson copper & lightning black
extras...
Cherished Memories - cherished silver paper paint
EK Success - scallop dismond border punch
Marvy - mini rectangles punch
Offray - spool o' ribbon looped purple
Forever in Time - purple buttons

cheers! crafty girl

Hero Arts is at it AGAIN!!

you`ve just gotta watch this video from Hero Arts - it`s a technique i love to use (the ink blending) and it looks so stunning with the layers of embossing that are used here! the theme this week is using photos on your cards. (earlier this week i posted my black & white wedding card.)

don`t ya think that looks just awesome! i`m going to make one of these right away and post it soon...

cheers!
crafty girl

A Different Direction

afternoon kids!
today i'm playing in the Raspberry Suite Colour Challenge #8, on dawn mcvey's blog called "my favorite things". she's really into photography and takes some awesome pics! i've been waiting for her to post this challenge cuz she's been promising for a few days that it was coming soon... and today's the day!

stuff used:
Tim Holtz - French Market stamp set
Hero Arts - polkadot background stamp
- embossed cream cs
chocolate & kraft cs
Imaginisce - copper brads
Maya Road - vintage stickpin
Bazzill Basics - monochromatic browns ribbon
jute
Recollections - pink fabric flowers
StazOn - cherry pink ink
Brilliance - pearlescent chocolate
Tim Holzt - Distress ink in vintage photo


today's colours are cream, chocolate, kraft and bright pink. i just got this tim holtz clear stamp set a couple of days ago so i sorta went in a different direction for this challenge cuz i wanted to play with it. i don't usually go for the 'cutsie' look anyway, but collage stamping is a big fave of mine. this set is called french market from his visual artistry collection. i totally dig all things tim holtz, and wish his products were as cheap in canada as they are in the states! the stamp sets cost $24.99 canadian at michael's, but they are only $14.99 at the michael's in bellingham. even with the exchange it's way cheaper. really worth the occasional trip over the border for a little shopping excursion!


my sister Sheila and her husband Vance arrived last night for a 4-day trip from whitehorse (that's in the yukon, for all you americans/others who don't know) to celebrate their anniversary, leaving their twins at home. they have gone out golfing so i'm playing on my own. me and 2 of my sisters all have our anniversaries within 2 weeks of each other (not planned by any means) and we're having a family party on saturday to celebrate all together. our weather is supposed to kick ass so i can't wait to slap on the sunscreen and hang out in my sister's fab yard! my point is that i might not have time to craft-it-up for a couple of days while they're here, but that's because i'll be out having FUN!! a little shopping and perhaps even a spa visit. ahhhhhh, gotta love the spa! the toes could use a pedicure for open-toe shoe season!

cheers!
crafty girl

hand-made elements

TGIF to all! our weather is supposed to rock this weekend so i've got my sprayon sunscreen stashed in the car, just in case i get caught outside somewhere. me & my freckles and strawberry blonde colouring fry faster than a cat on a hot tin roof! (grin)

this week on the hero arts club blog, the challenge is to make manly cards. always tough, but i think this example below fits right in!
i love working with great elements and embellishments to add to my cards, but man, they can be expensive, especially here in Canada!
i took matters into my own hands, so to speak, and made my own! i used some plain chipboard pieces that I multi-layered with embossing powder (platinum UTEE used here, 3-4 layers). when the final layer was still molten hot, i pressed patterned stamps into the EP then let it cool. voila! cheap and might i say AWESOME looking embellishments! you could also use thin cardboard, and cut out shapes using a Cuttlebug or other diecutting machine. i inked my stamps with versamark first to be sure they would release easily from the hot EP.


what do you think? give it a whirl - i'm sure you'll love the results as much as i do!

stuff used:
Basic Grey - [un]dressed Chipboard Elements
Tim Holtz - Visual Artistry clear stamp sets Life's Possibilities & Regal Flourish
Hero Arts - Geometric circles stamp
Judikins - Thin Lines cube (4-sided stamp with great patterns)
Tim Holtz Distress - multiple inks & walnut stain EP
Ranger - platinum UTEE & ink blending tool
gunmetal brads and screw-top brads
PearlEx powder - Micropearl
white, chocolate and purple cs

cheers,
crafty girl

playing with t!m holtz

does anyone love the Tim Holtz products as much as me? playing with his trinkets, masks and stamps really makes me feel like an artist! or at least a crafty girl with a capital 'C' !!
i've included a video from YouTube showing his masking technique, along with a pic of a card i made after i bought some masks. they are so cool!

cheers!
crafty girl