Sunday, August 29, 2010

Simon Says Stamp and Show your Layers!

Another great week was had by all! Lots of you joined us again last week for our Lord Tim of Holtz inspired challenge ... so many different designs and so much beautiful work! Thank you all so much!
The awards ceremony for the top 3 entries and of course the first prize place will go ahead Wednesday as usual ... all very exciting :0)
Now here's the deal ... a new week brings with it another new challenge! And the challenge this week is Simon Says Stamp and Show ... Your Layers! Interpret the theme as you wish ... The Design Team and I cannot wait to see what you do! There is a slight change this week in that the challenge will run an extra couple of days! This challenge will close on Tuesday 7th September at Midnight! Why? ... I hear you ask ... Well we have something very special lined up for you on Wednesday ... more detail coming soon :0)
In the meantime ... let's see what the Design Team did with their layers!
Nancy says her project morphed from what was intended as a Halloween canvas with a pumpkin to a travel canvas with a (pumpkin turned) globe. Nancy was very inspired by Graphic 45's Transatlantique line that is so timeless and I love the way she has added Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Metal Corners to create this stunning work.

Katie admits she finds it impossible to craft without layers! For her project, she has layered up the beautiful papers from Graphic 45's Le Romantique collection, coupled with lots of Hero Arts flowers! She finished the project off perfectly with a dash of Ranger's Liquid Pearls in Petal Pink, and some Distress Inks

Kim says "I've incorporated as many layers as I possibly could for this one!" She started with #8 tag, blended on some Distress Inks. Applied a generous layer of gold perfect pearls with a mini mister! For even further dimension Kim added a pocket... there are so many things layered on to this fabulous piece ... from the cappella patterned papers to the flower created using Tim's tattered floral die and stamped with fabulous flourish.
Lori chose to use layers of grungepaper. She has also used a technique she saw on Wendy Vecchi's blog using Ranger's Snow Cap Pigment Ink and Distress Inks. She used Wendy's Stamps; Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card, and some Idea-ology pieces to create her wonderful altered CD.
I have to admit this week that I am a tad disappointed with the way my shadow box photographed. I used Tim's Rockstar stamps with Distress Inks to create a 3 dimensional shadow box picture with lots of layers and I am afraid I had to resort to removing it from the frame so you can indeed see my layers! Don't worry ... it's back in there now!
Linda said that she'd had these sweet images for some time and had been wanting do something with them ... the layers theme presented the perfect opportunity.Linda used lots of Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, Plain Grunge Board and Plain Grunge Paper as well as Memo Pins, Adage Tickets, Idea-ology Key Hole, Cracked Texture Fade, Ranger Snow Cap Acrylic Paint Dabber, Idea-ology Accoutrements and Curio Knobs to achieve this amazing hanger.
Dan tackled the layers aspect of this project from two different angles - multilayered stamping and placing the pieces of the composition at different heights within a shadow-box frame. He used strips cut from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found paper stack to edge the frame. Inside the frame he used Tim Holtz rubber stamps and Distress Ink pads to create the main image. A fabulous project ... I am sure you will agree!
Apparently Nancy had in her head exactly what she wanted to create and this beautiful work is partly that, partly not! I have no clue what she had in her head but this looks perfect to me. Nancy used Claudine Hellmuth's Matte Medium with a foam stamp on her canvas, then used very diluted Studio paints in Painterly Pink and Yellow Pastel. The background papers are Basic Grey Cappella. She used Glossy Accents to give Tim Holtz's clock face a bit of a "lens" look, placed it over a paper doily inked with Pumice Stone, Bundled Sage and Spun Sugar. The flowers are Prima, the flourishes are Grunge Board (the smallest one) and the paper was cut with Tim's Elegant Flourishes die.
Terry said she really had fun with the layers challenge...this is the beautiful design she came up with...an altered picture frame.Terry said "the frame was almost white and had a vintage look, I played with Distress inks to make it look even older....the flowers are all handmade and have several layers, I mixed Peeled Paint, Dusty Concord Vintage Photo, Fired Brick and to give them a special look I used perfect pearls and Distress embossing ink with embossing powder."
Lynne got in a layering frenzy with Gesso on chipboard ... then stamped ... then Stickled ... wrapped with Tissue Tape ... layered the BEAUTIFUL Ornate Plate. She then set about making layered flowers by coloring White Flowers with Distress Reinker Mixtures and diecut fabric flowers colored in the same fashion. She then attached it to an inked chipboard cover and bound the bundle of goodness together using her Bind it All! A truly delightful piece.
So now it's over to you ... to do some layering! The Design Team are looking forward to seeing your interpretations! This week's wonderful prize donated by our wonderful site sponsor Simon Says Stamp is a $25 gift voucher!

The prize will go to a random entry chosen by the In links Random Generator. The challenge will close at Midnight Ohio time on Tuesday 7th September 2010 and the winner will be announced during the following week. To qualify all you need to do is create a new piece of work related to this theme ... post it on your blog ... with a link to this site and then pop a link below so everyone can come see what you made! And who knows ... if you don't win this prize ... your work may be selected for the specially designed Top Three Blinkie.

Have fun everyone :0)

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

It's Wednesday ... and Here are the winners!

I am delighted to announce that the first random name chosen by inlinx.com is:-
Entry Number 91  Tara
Congratulations Tara you have won this yummy stash kindly donated by our challenge sponsor Simon Says Stamp! Please email your address details to Linda as soon as you can!
The second random name chosen by inlinx.com is:-
Entry Number 84  Kate
Congratulations Kate you have won the delicious additional stash kindly donated by THE Wendy Vecchi! Please email your address details to Linda too!

The Design Teams favourite top three entries for the Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 Challenge were:-
57       Donna

Congratulations! We have a fabulous Top 3 Blinkie for you to display on your blogs ... please email Linda and she will send you the code.
Thank you to everyone for taking part ... we had a fabulous time looking at all the amazing entries! Don't forget to join in Week Three's Challenge ... where there is another fantastic prize on offer!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Anything ... Lord Tim of Holtz inspired!

WOW! What a week we had! Thank you to so many of you for joining us last week for our The Wendy Vecchi style challenge ... the art you guys made was awesome! And Thank you kind, wonderful, talented Wendy for stepping in with another prize ... how cool was that? The awards ceremony for the top 3 entries and of course the first and second prize places will go ahead Wednesday as usual ... all very exciting :0)
OK ... a new week brings with it another new challenge! And the challenge this week is Simon Says Stamp and Show ... Anything Lord Tim of Holtz inspired! Tim is the Master of Distress ... he is the Lord of Vintage and genuinely an all round good guy! His demos are amazing ... he shares everything he knows and what this guy does n't know about the products he uses ... well ... quite frankly ... it ain't worth knowing! I could go on all day about him ... as lots of you already know :0) ... but I won't ... instead here is what the design team came up with for you this week and obviously ... here is a link to the great man himself.
Lynne's project began with a tag, the basis for so much of what Tim does! She says she felt that she needed to take it one step further ... so she did ... and attached it to a canvas. Lynne also added that she was n't sure any project had taken her this long or had been this much fun!I love what she did with the Tattered Floral Die and don't the Metal Corners and Curio Knobs look fab?


Nancy W
Nancy has made this beautiful mini-book to record everyday happenings. Each tag incorporates a different technique learned from Tim. The tags have all been gathered into a mini-book with one of Tim's D-rings holding it together. Nancy has blended the Distress Inks beautifully with Ink applicators and she has used lots of Tim Holtz's Idea-ology product line.

Katie
Katie has taken Tim Holtz Papers ... Distress Inks ... and embellishments from her stash to make this pretty little mini book.
Kim found it hard to narrow her choice down to just a few Tim Holtz inspired elements. She prepared the tin with Pitch Black Paint Dabber and used Elmers glue and a Blue Paint Dabber for the crackle effect. Just look how she has used the Tattered Florals dies cut with Tim's Shabby Chic papers. A beautiful project and I love how she cut Tim's heart wings from shrink plastic to make a magnetic charm.
Lori
Lori said ... "Distress Inks are the first things that come to mind when someone says, "Tim Holtz". I use these ALL the time. I'm also in love with the Lost and Found paper stack. Total vintage goodness here. Add some Filmstrip ribbon, some of Tim's stamps, and grab your tickets, 'cause we're going to the movies!"

Where to start? ... actually when it comes to Tim ... starting for me is n't the problem ... it's the when to stop I struggle with! Many moons ago Tim signed a stamp for me in London ... his words were "Enjoy the journey" ... and that was my inspiration. I used Tim's Classic Collage and Going Somewhere stamp plates ... and lots of Claudine Hellmuth's yummy paints to distress this suitcase blank.
Linda also chose tags for her stunning project, and she decided to make an autumn home decor item by styling her tags into an accordion. She created four panels to represent four months: August - back to school, September - the beginning of fall, October - Halloween and November - Thanksgiving. There are lots of yummy Timmy goodies on this one including Salvage Stickers, Game Spinner, Muse Token, Grungeboard Elements, Philosophy Tag, Tattered Florals Die, Distress Inks, Distress Embossing Powder and Crackle Paint.

I LOVE this frame that Dan has made and this is what he said about it "I couldn't do something in the Tim Holtz style without including a tag somewhere in there! I used some of his brand new stamps from his latest collection, in tandem with some of his earlier designs which have particularly resonated with me. Distress inks played their part too, of course, along with some glossy accents and some of his hardware."
Tim Holtz's enthusiasm for his craft hooked Nancy from the first time she looked at his blog ... Nancy say's "Tim's style is my own - vintage to the max." Nancy has wanted to use this photo of her grandmother as a young woman for quite awhile, then Tim's Sizzix BINGO Texture Fade came out and she knew that she had to use it with her photo. She used the Big Shot, embossed white cardstock, then trimmed it to make a photo frame. She inked the cardstock with Wild Honey and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.
Terry is completely new to Tin's style. She only knew of Tim Holz because of his Distress Inks....so she checked out his blog and his demo's... and she now thinks The Tim Holz is amazing. Terry has made this lovely mini book with Distress Inks and lots of other yummy Timmy goodies.

And now...it's your turn to do ... well ... anything ... Lord Tim of Holtz inspired! The Design Team cannot wait to see what you all come up with! Don't forget that you could win this week's wonderful prize! It's an autographed Tote bag and if that wasn't enough ... an autographed Compendium of Curiosities along with a sheet of Tim's stamps - the 100th Anniversary Edition called ODDS N ENDS and some Distress Inks, the TICKET STRIP Sizzix Die, 3 of Tim's new colors Distress ink, and a Blending tool!
The prize has been donated by our Site Sponsor Simon Says Stamp and will go to a random entry chosen by Random Generator. The challenge will close at Midnight Ohio time on Sunday 29th August 2010 and the winner will be announced during the following week. To qualify all you need to do is create a new piece of work related to this theme ... post it on your blog ... with a link to this site and then pop a link below so everyone can come see what you made! And who knows ... if you don't win this prize ... your work may be selected for the specially designed Top Three Blinkie.

Have fun everyone :0)

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Generous Wendy Vecchi Adds Prize!



Look what Wendy Vecchi has added to the Stamp and Show Prize Pot! YAHOO!! THREE CHEERS! PARTY HERE! Thank you dear sweet Miss Wendy!

Wouldn't you love to win some goodies just for playing along with this week's challenge? It's so easy! This week's theme is inspired by Wendy Vecchi. All you have to do is create your own art, in your own form, and enter the challenge. Stamp and show ;) Even if you don't have any of Wendy's stamps or art parts, it will be fun to see what part of her style and techniques, inspires you in your own way. Two lucky, randomly chosen, winners can win loads of goodies!

It's a great way to share our art and interpret other people's art too. Have fun!

Hugs!
Heidi, Linda

Won't you join in the fun!? Just for making your art, you could get LUCKY!

See what other folks have made below....Scroll down to HERE

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Wednesday is Winners Day!

I am sooooo excited to announce that the random name chosen by inlinx.com is:-
Entry Number 169  Peggy Lee
Congratulations Peggy you have won this yummy stash kindly donated by our challenge sponsor Simon Says Stamp! Please email your address details to Linda as soon as you can!

The Design Teams favourite top three entries for the Things with Wings Challenge were:-
Congratulations! We have a fabulous new Top 3 Blinkie for you to display on your blogs ... please email Linda and she will send you the code.
Thank you to everyone for taking part ... we really did LOVE looking at all the amazing entries! Don't forget to join in Week two's Challenge ... where there is another fantastic prize on offer!

Sunday, August 15, 2010

THE Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 Style!

Thank you everyone that joined in last week and made our very first challenge a rip roaring success! Over 200 of you wonderful people joined us ... so a big THANK YOU from all of the Design Team. We will be announcing our Top 3 ... and the winner of all these yummy goodies later in the week.

For those of you that know me ... and for those of you that don't ... well you are about to find out ... I am a humungus fan of THE Wendy Vecchi! This lady rocks Vintage in her own ... very unique way. Wendy designs her own line of stamps and is one of the most talented artists ever ever ever! This week the theme is Simon Says Stamp and Show your ... The Wendy Vecchi; Studio 490 Style!
Now before all you guys turn away thinking you don't have the stamps ... so you can't join in ... well ... only half of our Design Team used Wendy's stamps ... the other half interpreted her style with the stash they had ... and they all had a great time doing it! So rest assured ... everyone can play :0)
Here is this week's inspiration and of course ... don't forget to go visit THE lady herself ... trust me if this is your first time ... you are going to be completely blown away!

Terry had fun with this theme... She said she "never knew that she could create her own colored papers and flowers in this way".Terry had never been on Wendy's blog before and she really enjoyed looking at all of Wendy's fabulous creations. Terry used Distress Inks to colour her project and lots of ephemera that she had in her stash.
Lynne was "sooooo excited to see this challenge....cause I love Wendy, and all she creates. I had the privilege of meeting her while we both attended Ranger U, before she became a Super Star!!! Here is my Studio 490 style according to me!!!" Lynne has used two of Wendy's Stamp sheets Flower Art and Funky Flower Art.
Nancy met Wendy for the first time several years ago at CHA. She immediately fell in love with Wendy's work; her style, the way she used product in unusual ways and the detail. Nancy say's you can spot Wendy's designs a mile away and she admires her tremendously.Nancy has used Maya Road chipboard with stunning results and Studio 490 Stamps.

Katie was very nervous when she first saw the theme. She has n't got any Wendy Stamps and decided to go the whole Chipboard home decor route. I think she has done a grand job with her debossed bracket with Distress Stickles for some vintage sparkle!

Kim used Rusty Hinge, Forest Moss and Stormy Sky ... the three colours Wendy used for her fabulous ART Here! She used direct to paper technique, blended a bit and spritzed with her own gold perfect pearls mini mister mist to beautiful effect! Kim says "the things that have been blatantly taken from Wendy's magnificent style have to be the memo pin embellishment and she used crackle accents instead of glossy, totally fun!!!" Kim's stylish project would n't be complete without Wendy's well known grungepaper dimensional rose!


Lori discovered Wendy by clicking around on the sidebar of Tim Holtz's blog SEVERAL years ago. Lori says "As soon as I saw her blog and art, I said to myself, "Aha! This is it! This is the style I've been looking for!". (I think it was the flowers, lol!). I was hooked. I use her stamps in almost everything I create now, so this challenge was right up my alley!" Look at the fabulous use of Maya Road Chipboard and Black Enamel Accents in Lori's creation.
I cannot begin to tell you in a short paragraph what I think of Wendy Vecchi and her unique style! From the moment I laid eyes on Wendy's work ... I fell in LOVE with it! I now have the honour of being able to list Wendy among my dear friends ... THE Wendy Vecchi Rocks! My inspiration for this binder came from this design on Wendy's blog... Adirondack Dye inks worked a treat on the Grungepaper and just as Wendy said ... they matched perfectly with Tim's Retro Paperstack.
This is Linda's first ever Wendy Vecchi style project and she is totally excited about how it turned out ... and so am I. Linda has made fabulous use of the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die and the Tim Holtz Cracked Texture Fade embossing folder.
Dan is not that familiar with Wendy's work and doesn't own any of her stamps! Apparently he has always admired her blog header though, so he thought he'd try something inspired by that... Look at the fabulous use of Distress Inks and Tim Holtz stamps in Dan's work.

Nancy C

Nancy first met Wendy at a scrapbook show - she says "just ask her about the starstruck woman from Columbus!" She loves Wendy's creativity, her style and she says she is such a sweetheart. Nancy won a contest in a Yahoo group ... and her winnings included a "Wendy" bird to alter. Here is Nancy's bird and boy! What an amazing job she has done too! Nancy used Fashion Style & Art, Art Rules, Funky Flower Art and the Ticket to Art stamp sets. How precious is Nancy's handmade bird's nest!
And now...it's your turn to do something crafty a la THE Wendy Vecchi! The Design Team cannot wait to see what you all come up with! Don't forget that you could win this week's wonderful prize! It's a full set of Wendy's Stamp set: Residential Art, A pack of Tim Holtz Grungepaper, Wendy's Book #2, and a coffee archival ink pad with refill!

The prize has been donated by our Site Sponsor Simon Says Stamp and will go to a random entry chosen by Random Generator. The challenge will close at Midnight Ohio time on Sunday 22nd August 2010 and the winner will be announced during the following week. To qualify all you need to do is create a new piece of work related to this theme ... post it on your blog ... with a link to this site and then pop a link below so everyone can come see what you made! And who knows ... if you don't win the prize ... the Design Team may select your work in the top three and you could get a specially designed Top Three Blinkie.

Have fun everyone :0)

EDITED 8/19/2010 to add a very special gift from Wendy herself! Wendy loves making art and loves to see us all making art too! To celebrate, she is offering AN ADDITIONAL PRIZE for the challenge! We will choose 2 lucky winners at Random. One will receive our original prize above and the second will receive this amazing prize from Wendy Vecchi! Included is her NEW Book, Volume 3, Collectible Art stamps, Maya Road flowers, Distress Blender tool, Maya Road Chipboards and Tim Holtz hardware. GOOD LUCK! Thanks for playing along!