iGirlZoe – iGirlZoe, Crafter & Tim Holtz Addict

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Lucky is a state of mind

12th April, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Day 2 of my week of sharing here on my blog with another make for the Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 2 launch. If you’re looking for a quick and simple card, this is it. And if you missed the launch party, you can catch the replay and the inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

“Lucky is a state of mind!” I have been trying to live this phrase a little more in my own life. It’s one of my many favourite quotes from the bold text 2 thinlits die set from Tim’s Chapter 2 release.

I love that the bold text dies add a real statement to the card allowing you to keep it simple. Let’s get into how to make this quick card…

To die cut the background I used a sticky grid covered cutting plate with a die from the bold text 2 thinlits set. Placed a piece of distress watercolor cardstock 3.5 inches by 5.25 inches over the top and ran it through my machine. For a quick cut like this, I use my bigshot foldaway machine. It’s quick to pull out and use and the pressure is AMAZING!

Next I spritzed with water and embossed with the cracked 3D embossing folder.

Finally I sprayed the background with frayed burlap distress spray and a little water and dried. I lightly blended in some walnut stain distress ink.

I embossed a piece of distress watercolor cardstock sized 3.25 inches by 2.75 inches with the woven 3D embossing folder.

Spritzed the background with distress spray stain and once dry, rubbed a walnut stain distress ink pad directly onto the raised detail.

I die cut a couple of four leaf clovers from the lucky love impresslits folder from distress watercolor cardstock.

Sprayed the clovers with frayed burlap and peeled paint distress spray stain.

I added a little statue distress foundry wax over the top. Check out Tim’s awesome demo of this new product HERE.

I added walnut stain distress crayon over the top to grunge it up a little and then stacked the 2 clovers over each other and glued to the background with distress collage medium.

I assembled and stitched my card.

Finally I mounted onto idea-ology black kraftstock and distress kraft heavystock.

Thanks for stopping by and let me know if you have any questions.

Zoe

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Category Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 6 Comments | Views: 2,097
Tim Holtz Chapter 2

11th April, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Happy Monday friends! I hope your week is off to a great start. I’m starting a week of sharing with a make for the newly released Tim Holtz Chapter 2 dies. If you missed the launch, you can catch up on all the fun and see the inspirational makes over on Tim’s blog.

When I saw the modern floristry die set, I knew I wanted to use them with my (retired) pillowbox die. I realise that using retired dies can cause frustration but as someone who has passionately collected for over a decade, I want to be able to use all the dies from my collection and I want you to be able to make along too; so I made a wrap that you can easily adapt to fit something else if you don’t have a pillowbox or the die.

I added all of the elements to the wrap so it’s is easy to adapt and add to another box, envelope, card or even a napkin ring, (which I show later in the post). Let’s get into how…

I die cut a few pieces from the new modern floristry thinlits die set from distress watercolor cardstock.

Using distress archival ink and the ledger script stamp from CMS241, stamped the die cut pieces.

I sprayed with distress ink spray and once dry, used the shaping kit to shape the petals and leaves, ready to add with distress collage medium.

I LOVE the 3D embossing folders Tim designs and they just keep getting better. The texture on the new woven 3D folder is outstanding and goes so well with the modern floristry.

I cut a strip from distress mixed media heavystock and ran it through my die cutting machine with the woven 3D embossing folder. I used a scoring board to create 2 folds so that it would fit around the pillowbox and snipped the ends at an angle with scissors to create a neat end, adding scor tape along this end.

The pillowbox wrap pictured here is 2 inches wide x 7 inches long.
Score lines at 3 inches + 6.25 inches.

Adapt the measurements to fit other things and use a practice piece first so you have the measurements figured out.

The woven background was sprayed with walnut stain distress spray stain and spritzed with water. Once dry I rubbed the walnut stain distress ink pad directly onto the woven embossed detail to darken the raised parts.

I used a little iced spruce distress spray and walnut stain distress ink to the edges of my pillowbox that I die cut from distress mixed media heavystock. Using distress archival inks and stamps from the field notes CMS396 set, I stamped the sides.

Ready for the wrap to be slid onto the pillowbox.

It could be adapted to create a napkin ring. I used the pillowbox wrap for demonstration purposes, but for a napkin ring would reduce the width and cut the length to fit. It’s given me some ideas to play with and I’ll share what I make.

This one is ready to have a gift added and sent out to a friend.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope this has inspired you to make and let me know if you have any questions.
Zoe

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Category Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 12 Comments | Views: 3,251
Pack Up Your Troubles

24th March, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Sending you all extra love and peace during these difficult times; I definitely need a big dose of joy at the moment and have found some by quietly making over here in Copenhagen, enjoying some spring sunshine and some new distress. Tim Holtz introduced us to the newest member of the distress family recently, Saltwater Taffy. The LIVE launch replay and maker inspiration are over on Tim’s blog.

It’s such a pleasure to be a new distress color maker and when our boxes arrive with the new distress inside, we have no idea what color it is. My sweet husband makes a “drum roll” sound as I rip open the tissue paper to reveal the color and the name! Hands up who is obsessed with the names?!

My remit for the new color is to use it with brown so I grabbed an old school BUT STILL AVAILABLE (at the time of writing this), Vintage Valise die. I cut the die twice from distress kraft heavystock (pic shows one set). I blended in ground espresso and walnut stain distress inks to the accessory parts (on the right), sanding a little and then blending with ink again to get a worn look. I stamped the base (on the left) with the plaid and nordic stamp set CMS243 with ground espresso distress archival ink.

I smooshed saltwater taffy distress oxide ink onto my non stick craft mat, spritzed with a little water, picked up with a very fine paintbrush and painted between the lines. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it just lifts the plaid to look more dimensional.

I turned the vintage valise base over and painted with a layer of saltwater taffy distress paint. Once dry, I stamped again with the plaid and nordic stamp CMS243 using ground espresso distress archival ink. I used distress paint and distress archival ink because they are permanent once dry and won’t rub off onto the journal going inside. (Ignore the side parts, they get added later).

I added the handle, corners and straps to the valise using distress collage medium.

Repeat on the second valise ready to assemble.

I cut 3 strips of distress white heavystock to fit the inside of the valise. 1x strip 6 x 1.5 inches and 2x strips 3.75 x 1.5 inches. Score 0.25 inches in from each of the long edges.

To make the valise wider just increase the width (1.5) of your strips. The length (6 and 3.75) and score line (0.25) measurements will remain the same.

I glued into place and allowed to dry before adding the other valise piece on top.

**I painted the inside of the strips once I had assembled it with ground espresso distress paint, (not pictured) but I recommend inking or painting before assembling. You can of course leave it blank but I thought it looked nicer when you peek inside and it’s matchy matchy.

Using the travel label CMS108 stamp set I stamped in saltwater taffy distress oxide and heat embossed with saltwater taffy distress embossing glaze. I blended in ground espresso distress ink, spritzed with water and wiped the excess ink from the surface. The glaze acts as a resist and the ink sinks into some of the de-bossed areas.

I added idea-ology hardware heads with a tiny dot of distress collage medium. Hardware heads have been out of stock for a little while but are not retired so keep checking with your local and online retailer. Some stores will allow you to enter your email and be notified when things are back in stock. Hope this helps.

I created a simple travel journal by cutting distress kraft heavystock to fit the valise and used a scor-board to create the spine. I decorated the same way as the valise and die cut a couple of additional straps from the vintage valise bigz die to add to the journal.

Using the travel labels CMS108 stamp set again, I stamped with distress archival ink onto distress white heavystock paper. I fussy cut, scrunched up and then inked each label. I sprayed with antique linen distress spray and once dry, added to the travel journal with distress collage medium.

I sprayed the inside of the journal with saltwater taffy distress oxide spray. I LOVE how it looks over the distress kraft heavystock.

I tucked the journal into the valise. Love the saltwater taffy distress paint showing on the inside.

I stitched pages into the travel journal it was the first time I did it and it wasn’t as successful as I would have liked but I will work on it and do a tutorial for the travel journal if that helps. Let me know in comments.

Another new distress in the family and I’m already excited to see what the next one will be and I know the next new distress won’t be yellow 😉 … If you know you know… if you don’t, watch the LIVE replay to the end.

I have to be honest, I’d never used the vintage valise bigz die before this. It’s one that I had to have and then happily inventoried, stored, dusted and never used! Thank you Saltwater Taffy for inspiring me to use it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Zoe

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Category Ranger Ink, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 26 Comments | Views: 3,287
NEW Distress Archival Inks

15th February, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Hello Friends! If like me you LOVE Distress you will have seen Tim Holtz launch new Distress Archival inks and Distress Embossing Glazes in some of the best loved distress palette on Saturday. You can watch the replay and Tim demo lots of cool techniques, plus all of the inspiration makes over on Tim’s blog.

I LOVE Distress Archival Inks and I’m so happy that Tim and Ranger have released some more. When I clapped eyes on Frayed Burlap I gasped! This is going to be added to my most used distress archival inks list, but of course I needed a swatch for every new color!

I created some labels so I would know which kit each ink pad came from. I stamped the tiny label from Mini Halloween 3 stamp set CMS140 in ground espresso distress archival ink and fussy cut. Die cut hashtags and numbers from distress white heavystock using alphanumeric label thinlits die set. Covered with distress archival ink by pressing the ink pad directly on top of the die cut. Assembled using distress collage medium.

I printed some tiny labels to add to the index tabs. These are printed onto inexpensive copy/printer paper. I added a border to make it easier to fussy cut the labels. Ranger have printable labels for all you distress products so you can get nice and organized.

To create the index card I cut a piece of card from distress white heavystock 2.25 x 3.75 inches, spritzed with water, one spray of frayed burlap distress spray ink and blotted with a paper towel. Gave it a blast with my heat tool and then stamped with frayed burlap distress archival ink with stamps from the Field Notes stamp set CMS396. To add contrast I stamped “FILED” and “CORRESPONDING ORDER” in ground espresso distress archival ink.

I sprayed each card with the corresponding color distress spray stain and all the stamping was done with the distress archival ink. It doesn’t matter if you stamp or spray first as the distress archival ink is not reactive with water like regular distress ink. If you don’t have a spray for each color, you could also use a distress ink pad squished onto your craft mat, spritzed with water and dip your index card into the ink wash and pick up the excess ink with a paper towel.

I die cut tabs using the (retired) tiny tabs + tags bigz die from distress white heavystock. I stamped a block of each distress archival ink onto the inside of the tab so it shows under the window, added the label with a tiny line of distress collage medium and use a dry cloth to wipe away any excess glue. Edge with walnut stain distress ink and add to the side of the index card with distress collage medium.

Distress Archival Ink Pad Mini Kit #4

Distress Archival Ink Pad Mini Kit #5

Distress Archival Ink Pad Mini Kit #6

Of course now I have to do the other 12 distress archival ink swatches too! LOL

Thanks for stopping by. I’m excited to try out all the techniques that Tim showed during the LIVE launch. You can see all the details on Tim’s blog.

Zoe

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Category Ranger Ink, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 13 Comments | Views: 7,835
Lovestruck for Woodgrain

14th February, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Happy Valentines Day friends! Are you still swooning over the incredible Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 1 launch?! I know I am and excited to see the dies starting to arrive in your hands. If you missed the LIVE launch party, you can catch the replay and all of the inspirational makes over on Tim’s blog.

I truly am lovestruck for woodgrain colorize and for lovestruck colorize too and was delighted to make some samples for the Launch after party! Let’s get into the details…

I gasped when Tim showed us the Woodgrain Colorize die set during our makers call and I know I wasn’t alone. You could see eyes light up from those tiny zoom squares. The new colorize couldn’t be more straightforward and it takes your wood effect to the next level!!

Cut the 4 pieces from distress white heavystock and blend in distress ink.

– Base layer = ground espresso + black soot.
– Next 2 layers = walnut stain heavy blend / walnut stain light blend.
– Top layer = ground espresso.

I trimmed the woodgrain planks to fit the idea-ology mini framed panel. You can see I trimmed one of the planks length ways with my Tim Holtz shears. If you want to use your guillotine for this, I recommend adding one layer of the woodgrain to the base and trimming, then adding the top layers and trimming with your scissors.

I AM IN AWE OF THIS DIE!! I used distress collage medium to add each layer and it created some resist effect where the glue spilled over. You can see this at the top, I love the effect, albeit accidental.

I altered an idea-ology mini framed panel. Cover the frame with a layer of white gesso. Next add distress crackle texture paste and set aside to air dry and crack. Once dry, dry brush with vintage photo distress paints. Finally rub walnut stain distress crayon into the cracks and blend with your finger.

Using distress collage medium and a distress collage brush, add the frame to the panel and set aside to dry while you make the topper. At this stage you could add anything on top and you could skip the frame panel and make this a card.

I happened to have the Lovestruck Colorize die set hanging around 😉 so I decided to use that. Again, another easy to put together colorize die and mostly large pieces. I die cut the smaller heart from the set from distress watercolor cardstock and blended in aged mahogany, fired brick, candied apple and ground espresso distress inks and assembled.

I am OBSESSED with this arrow. I cut it in half a removed a section to shorten the arrow to fit my framed panel. I used distress white heavystock for the base piece covered in black soot distress ink and die cut idea-ology metallic kraft stock for the top and added a little mushroom alcohol ink and walnut stain distress crayon to grunge it up.

I cut XO from alphanumeric shadow upper thinlits die set from distress white heavystock. I used the inside of the die cut, covered with candied apple, fired brick and walnut stain distress inks. I also die cut a couple of letters from fun foam and added underneath for dimension.

Of course… stamped from distinguished CMS391 stamp set in distress archival ink.

I used the new Tim Holtz Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway for my die cutting. I love this machine, the pressure is insanely good and 3D embossing folders only require one pass. Cutting detailed dies from distress white heavystock may require a second pass because the cardstock is so thick.

Thanks for stopping by. Whether you are celebrating today or not, I wish you love and happiness today and all days.

Zoe

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Category Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 5 Comments | Views: 3,139
Gladys

8th February, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Hello Friends. What a weekend! Did you join the Tim Holtz Sizzix Chapter 1 launch party? The dies are fantastic and there was so much maker inspiration, Tim joined the maker train and made some gorgeous little bunny cards (yes you read that right but you will get it when you see it); and Mario Rossi brought his FLAMAZING flamingo onesie out for another tour! You can catch up on all of the fun and replay over on Tim’s blog.

I was delighted to make for this launch and Gladys was top of my pick list for this chapter. She is so sassy and so damn fabulous, she most definitely has arrived!!

I went grungy with Gladys, she’s “Grunge-Glam!”…it’s a thing!! I wanted to add tiny little diamonties to her eyes but I couldn’t find them so I added a dot of white gel pen instead.

Each of these squares was cut with a different die plate. If you turn your dies over there is a color written on the back which really helped me as a beginner to colorize. You can of course change the color, but it’s helped me get started. See the Sizzix Gladys Colorize video for details on how to assemble Gladys.

I raised Gladys up with adhesive foam! I love her lifted leg it just makes her so much more sassy! Tim designed such a great die that I pushed through my fear of colorize and I’m so happy I did. As Tim has said many times before, they have learned along the way and colorize is now really simple. Even the eyes, which I sweated about took me minutes the second time I made Gladys. Remember when we make these for the first time, we don’t have any instructions, just a cover photo. I’m telling you this to show that colorize is pretty simple now.

I used a mini thickboard etcetera tag as my surface. I cut a piece of distress watercolor cardstock the same size as the tag, covered with frayed burlap and hickory smoke distress spray. Once dry I spread distress crackle texture paste through the sparkle stencil and set aside to dry. Next I added some watered down white gesso and set aside to dry again. Finally I added walnut stain distress crayon to parts of the background and removed the excess with a damp cloth. I stitched the edges with my sewing machine and glued the background to the etcetera tag.

I used the alphanumeric bold thinlits dies to create “GLADYS” at the top of the tag. I cut the letters twice from distress watercolor cardstock and sprayed one set with black soot and the other with kitsch flamingo distress spray. I cut a third set from fun foam to raise the letters off the tag. This is such a cool trick that Tim taught me and I use it all the time, see it here. I put the black letters through my new Big Shot Foldaway inside the quilted 3D embossing folder and then lightly sanded and blended in walnut stain distress ink. I offset the black and pink letters, added the foam to the back and glued to the tag with distress collage medium.

For the base I added a thickboard etcetera scalloped trim. I used the trim thinlits dies to die cut several of the scallop trim strips from distress watercolor cardstock and sprayed with black soot distress spray. Once dry I ran them through my foldaway machine inside the quilted 3D folder. I lightly sanded and blended in walnut stain distress ink. I added the trims to either side of the thickboard trim and one along the base of the etcetera tag. I glued the trim to the tag with a line of distress collage medium. Finally I die cut “I Have Arrived” from idea-ology metallic kraft-stock with the alphanumeric tiny type upper thinlits die set.

I used the new Tim Holtz Big Shot Foldaway machine. The pressure is so epic that you only need one pass for the 3D folder. Check out Tim demo the foldaway at the end of the Chapter 1 LIVE.

I grunged up a set of gates cut from the gatekeeper thinlits die set. I die cut the base gates from distress watercolor cardstock that I sprayed with black soot distress spray and the highlight pieces from idea-ology metallic kraft-stock. Assembled using distress collage medium and then rubbed some gilders wax over parts of the gates.

I attached them to the tag by the hinge with distress collage medium and carefully molded the gates with my fingers so they sit open.

For the greenery I sprayed separate pieces of distress watercolor cardstock with bundled sage, peeled paint and forest moss distress sprays, spritzed with water and dried with a heat tool.

Using a die from the funky florals #3 set I die cut the base leaves from the lighter cardstock and the upper leaves from the darker cardstocks. I blended in walnut stain distress ink with a mini blending tool.

I assembled the leaves using distress collage medium and set aside to dry. The drying time of distress collage medium is ‘now” but I wanted to make sure the leaves were completely dry so that they wouldn’t come apart when I shaped them.

I used the Tim Holtz Sizzix shaping kit to shape my leaves. Tim did a fantastic demo with the shaping kit, you can see that here, it’s really worth watching. The shaping kit is a game changer for me, it takes your die cuts to another level.

Add the leaves to the trim shelf using distress collage medium. Glue them at the stem only. The shaping kit really does bring the dies to life and it’s so simple.

Thanks for stopping by. I am so excited to see Gladys arrive in your homes and to see all the different and crazy things you make.

Zoe

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Category Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 23 Comments | Views: 5,365
Mr Frost

7th January, 2022 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends and Happy 2022. I took some time away over Christmas to relax with my guy who took some much needed vacay days. We watched some good TV, ate like kings, built a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, completed some home projects and celebrated with friends over zoom. I enjoyed taking time out to rest and now that the first crazy busy week back to reality is done, I’m ready and excited to have some making time this weekend. I hope you’re taking some making time for yourself and what better day to make than on Tim Holtz’s Birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!

It feels like a long time ago in “maker years” but when I first saw the Tim Holtz Sizzix Christmas dies, I LOVED Mr Frost. He just looks like he’s causing trouble. Like maybe he wouldn’t melt when he was supposed to! Remind you of anyone? LOL

I made this framed panel for the Tim Holtz Sizzix Christmas LIVE launch. You can see the replay and all the makes over on Tim’s Blog. Here’s a few of the details for my make…

I created a background by spraying antique linen distress spray, edging with walnut stain distress ink and adding drops of snow flurries mica spray.

Using a palette knife, spread distress crackle texture paste through a stencil, I used the hocus pocus stencil, one of my faves.

Soak your stencil right away, I use a “lasagna pan” (thanks Mario). Followers of Tim and Mario’s Saturday LIVES will know exactly what I mean! 😉

Once dry, place the stencil back over stars and brush a layer of vintage distress collage medium over the top and remove stencil and soak the stencil again. Once the background is dry, place the stencil over once more and rub with distress crayon and blend with your finger. You can do the second and third steps without the stencil but it maybe helpful for beginners and I do this because I find it keeps my background cleaner.

I altered an idea-ology framed panel. Cover the frame with a layer of white gesso. Once dry, dry brush with iced spruce and vintage photo distress paints. Next add distress crackle texture paste and set aside to air dry and crack. Finally rub distress crayon into the cracks and blend with your finger.

Mr Frost is a mutli-layer die that makes assembly really simple. The black buttons, mouth and nose are simply a layer underneath the top layer which I sprayed with black soot distress spray. It’s much easier than gluing on all those tiny pieces.

I added Mr Frost with adhesive foam to give some additional dimension and to lift his arm to hold the star…

I added a star from the Vault Series Holiday 2021 die set which I glued into Mr Frost’s twig hand! I did try a tiny light inside the star but it didn’t really show up, BUT, you could make one from vellum and add a tiny light or a cluster of tiny lights.

That hat though!

Thanks for stopping by. It’s World Snowman Day on January 18. I hope you’ll join me for a day of fun making and I’ll have some giveaways here on my blog and on instagram.

I wish you a very healthy and happy 2022 and don’t let anyone melt your snowman!
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Sizzix, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 20 Comments | Views: 2,466
Christmas Candy Store

16th December, 2021 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful December and finding time to do some fun festive things. I’ve been busy decorating and getting ready for Christmas, but I thought I would take a quick break and pop in and share my Candy Store using the gorgeous new Tim Holtz Christmas idea-ology. You can catch the launch replay and makes over on Tim’s blog.

I love candy cane everything and my obsession runs deep (think pumpkins)! I was very excited to see this years Christmas idea-ology release with candy cane stripes appearing in the backdrops, ephemera and the amazing confectionery! This was the starting point for my candy store. So grab a big cup of hot cocoa and a candy cane and let’s get into some of the details…

I covered an idea-0logy vignette shrine with papers from the Christmas backdrops set. I love the size of the backdrop papers and the Christmas selection is simply delicious, you may want to pick up 2 packs, one to use and one to stroke! Just saying!!

I created a couple of shelves for my vignette shrine using etcetera thickboard scalloped trims and the matching trims thinlits dies. The trims die set allows me to die cut trims that perfectly cover the thickboard pieces, game changer for me as I used to cut them by hand. Use distress collage medium to glue into place.

I covered the side of the vignette shrine in matching paper from the Christmas backdrops pack. I love how weathered the paper looks. YUM!

I covered the roof by die cutting roof panels with a die from the village collection thinlits die set from idea-ology kraft stock and embossing with the lumber 3D folder. Glue into place with distress collage medium and cover with distress mica.

It truly is a wonderful life and I love this word plaque from the Christmas set which I added to the vignette shrine by hammering in 2 of the stakes from the vignette hardware set. I added a little picket fence distress crayon to the word plaque.

For the top shelf I added some of the idea-ology tiny vials which I crackled. I have a how to on a previous post, see here (I skipped the alcohol ink step). I added idea-ology ephemera and remnant rubs to the bottles and painted the bottle corks with a picket fence distress paint wash for a wintry twist. I filled the bottles with seed beads, added a little twine and a gingerbread piece, all from my stash.

I added a Christmas tin top and baubles to the middle shelf. To the tin top I added a piece of Christmas mini flair and a piece of ephemera.

To grunge up the idea-ology Christmas tin top, I scratched and added a little translucent distress grit-paste and once dry, rubbed in distress crayon which highlights the scratches.

I rolled idea-ology baubles in the distress snowfall grit-paste from the distress holiday texture set and glued together in a stack with distress collage medium.
TIP: Make sure your inky fingers are clean to prevent ink transfer.

For the lower shelf I really went to candy cane town and added a candy cane from the ephemera set using adhesive foam to mount it onto the back of the shrine, ready to add the bottles in front of it.

I crackled a bottle from the idea-ology corked vials set and used the glass dome from the idea-ology snowglobe, turned upside down to create a candy bowl. I added a sticker from the christmas sticker book which I burnished onto the glass using distress collage medium. I added candy cane twine that I saved from some Christmas gifts last year and finally added the gorgeous new idea-ology christmas confections. I grunged them up with distress crayon and glued them into place with distress collage medium.

I used one of the vial labels from the new idea-ology snippets ephemera set which I completely swooned over! I LOVE labels! I added some red seed beads I had in my stash to the bottle and cut a sticker with candy down to size and added on top of the label. Finally I pushed a star from the idea-ology mirrored stars set into the cork and covered everything with distress mica, held in place with a little brush of distress collage medium first.

Everything is better with lights… so I covered a bottle in distress collage medium and once dry, distress crackle paint. I filled the bottle with tiny lights and then used the end of a paintbrush to push stuffing filler into the bottle to diffuse the lights. This was an idea I got from Tim last year when he did that awesome crystal ball, see Tim’s Blog for details. I didn’t use anything to wrap my tiny lights around like Tim did, I simply thread them through a hole I made in the back of the vignette shrine and up into the bottle. I attached the battery pack to the back of the shrine and the wire is hidden behind he back of the bottle. I cut the loop off the snowflake with wire cutters and glued it onto the front. I love this light diffusing idea, thanks Tim!

I’m going to carry on decorating for Christmas. This year I’m making my own garlands and trying to get the kind of lights I want for them is proving rather tricky, but I’m persevering because it’s all about that perfect twinkle! 😉

Thanks for stopping by.

Zoe

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Category Christmas, Ideaology, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 15 Comments | Views: 4,201
Jolly Santa

6th December, 2021 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends. Happy December. I thought I would pop in with a little Ho Ho Ho and share one of my makes for the Tim Holtz Christmas stamp release, all the details, replay and inspiration makes are over on Tim’s Blog.

I love Santa and this stamp from the Jolly Santa CMS442 stamp set stole my heart. He really is a very jolly looking Santa indeed!

I crackled up an etcetera thickboard tag, you can see the how to for the crackle on a previous post, click here. I added idea-ology velvet trim and tiny bells, hung from a hook clasp. The holiday greeting was stamped from the Jolly Santa stamp set in distress archival ink, fussy cut and mounted onto the tag with adhesive foam.

I stamped the text from Jolly Santa onto plain collage paper with distress archival ink and pasted it on with distress collage medium. I love how the collage paper “melts” into the background when you add collage medium. If you want to give it a more vintage hue, add vintage collage medium.

I used distress reinkers to watercolor the santa, which I had stamped with distress archival ink. I blended in a little walnut stain distress ink and spritzed with water. I fussy cut the santa and mounted with adhesive foam.

I added a frame and more stamps from the jolly santa set using distress archival ink and covering with a layer of vintage collage medium.

You could easily adapt this to a card, but I think it’s so fun to have a gift with a massive gift tag and bells on.

Thanks for stopping by and happy making.
Zoe

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Category Christmas, Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 7 Comments | Views: 1,951
The one that Tim finished…

21st November, 2021 by iGirlZoe

Hello friends and welcome to the final day of my week of Christmas makes. Thanks for hanging out with me for the week and for all your kind comments, it means a lot. This post is aptly titled like an episode of “Friends” because this make is representative of friendship.

I made this Christmas display dome (with a little help from my friend) for the Tim Holtz Christmas idea-ology launch. You can see all the details, replay and inspiration makes over on Tim’s Blog.

I was suffering from a little bit of maker burn out after a 12 week maker marathon. I was tired and one of my makes wasn’t working and what I thought would take me 3 hours, took 3 days, which left me short on time to finish this one. I somehow threw a dome together in under 30 minutes and with the paint and collage medium just about dry, the Fedex truck rolled up. But it wasn’t finished and as soon as I had shipped it, I wished I hadn’t!

An email later asking Tim not to include this dome in the LIVE and he offered to help even though it was on the eve of the LIVE and he must have been pretty busy. But like in the movies on Christmas eve, it brought it’s own magic and a little later Tim sent me a beautiful photo of my transformed dome.

It’s a perfect example of how idea-ology can transform a piece, and that craft friends are the best friends. Plus I get to keep the Holtz/Hillman collaboration piece! LOL This one was most definitely #mypile and thanks to Mario, who packed it up with his usual care and shipped it back to me. Big thanks to Tim for adding his special brand of magic and friendship… and that freaking incredible word plaque …and mica flakes …and candy cane string …and a little pixie dust!

Thanks for stopping by (for a week)! Please take time and make yourself a Christmas dome and even better, make one with a friend, either in person or virtually. I hope you’ll share what you make and celebrate this season of magic, friendship and making.

Zoe

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Category Christmas, Ideaology, Tim Holtz | Tags: | 20 Comments | Views: 3,528

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