12 Tags of 2015 May Tag

Hi everybody ... " Eleventh Hour Susie " here ... LOL ... that's my name today !  I'm actually starting this post while I wait for the tag to dry. Well not unlike the past couple of months this one has been busy. With passing of two more family members; Baby Levi and Roy Lee it's been quite busy. I was feeling a little overwhelmed this past week ( out of sorts ... probably closer description) so I took some time to do busy  body clean up of my work area; hoping for the creative fairy to stop by. She DID NOT COME ... can you believe it ?!
Anyway ... I'm closer to normal today then I have been for the last two weeks.
I was very excited about getting to this tag ... but dreading it too ... those tiny flowers looked so intimidating !! To my surprise they were very easy... love that little tool that comes with the Tiny Tattered Florals die ... OMG ... GREAT DIE TIM !! I actually remember watching Tim demo these at CHA in January and I remember thinking those are great but I don't think I'd want to wrestle with those tiny flowers ... hahaha ... no wrestle here... tiny flowers in one try !!!

Wow... those flowers are amazing...

This tag had so many fun details ; PhotoBooth strips , way too much fun to colorize and then use remnant runs. It is amazing how such small details add so much to a project.
I tell you
Tim just WOWS me with the elements he brings to each tag every month. Burlap background, texture paste stenciling, stitching and spritzing too ... fun, fun, fun !
I have to say I'm embracing the spritzing ; as I was not getting any spritzing and then POOF ... NO NOT ON MY PHOTO AND RIBBON !!! What can I say ... I even tested first ... oh well EMBRACING IT IS ( as Tim says embrace your imperfections. ).  I'm very pleased to have finished my tag.

Okay, that's it for now... I've gotta go finish up so I can drop the photos in and make deadline... see you shortly !! Hi ... "SHE"S BACK ! "

I finished my tag ... hope you enjoy it ... Thanks for visiting, see you again soon !

Graphic 45 May Challenge

May Challenge for Graphic 45 is a layout! So perfect for  me ... since my mom is deceased every Mother's Day I do some sort of scrapbook page in her honor. When I saw the challenge I decided to do a page with one of my favorite photos of my mother. I loved my mother's smile.
In my daily devotional ( In Touch  Dr. Charles Stanley ,  they had a really  inspiring article ; Between Mothers a& Daughters. I loved the quote they had so I adopted it for my page. It says: " No mom is perfect, but that doesn't change the fact that yours is a gift from God. " That so spoke to my heart about my own mother. I always felt she was a "Gift" . Out of those feelings the idea for this layout were created... I wanted my "Gift" wrapped !
 I chose Graphic 45 Time To Flourish June Flourish because of the beautiful blue background and because it had pretty pink roses. My mother loved roses and her rose gardens were her pride and joys.

I used May Arts ribbon the ivory/celery grosgrain strip ... such a refreshing color against those leaves of the roses. I fussy cut the roses, distressed the edges with vintage photo distressing ink and layered them on heart shaped doilies. I added some bling and a stick pin from my stash. I wanted to make the photo pop  so I cropped it on a light bluer polka dot bag ( so fun) !

CC3 Challenge #28

Happy Friday everybody ! Here I am Friday afternoon  ( at least I'm consistent)  rushing to make a deadline because I don't want to be left out. I so enjoy my CC3 Challenges. I'm hoping you've finally decided to join us... We are at Challenge # 28 !
Now if you've never joined us or if you need a review ; Linda Ledbetter over at Studio L3 http://lindaledbetter.com/2015/05/compendium-of-curiosities-challenge-28-3.html  is our fabulous host on an awesome "Journey" through Tim Holtz's book  A Compendium of Curiosities Volume III. On our Journey we are exploring amazing techniques and products of the Mastermind himself . To join us you will need a copy of this book... you really Want a signed copy... it is such a valuable treasure. You can still go to Tim's site http://timholtz.com/ to purchase a signed copy. Also Linda has guidelines for participation on her site ( not a lot of rules ... but simple ... easy to follow).
What's in it for you ???  We have great sponsors, this week's sponsor is The Funkie Junkie http://www.thefunkiejunkie.com/. Should you be chosen as this Challenge #28 winner you will get a $ 25 Shopping Spree at their online store... OMG ... you will want to check them out!!
You also have an opportunity to win some awesome  goodies from Tim Holtz and Mario Rossi picked just for the CC3 Challenges. Now to be eligible for these you must visit the blogs of each one of Linda's creative friends aka The Curiosity Crew; show them some love ! Easy enough right?? Let me let you in on a little secret we are ALL winners because these ladies have given us soooo much inspiration; you will have no problem showing them some love (leaving comments). So now if you are stuck and don't know where to start ... go visit their blogs ... be prepared to "ooooo and aah " ...
Okay got that out of the way ... now if you read Linda's guidelines you KNOW you NEED your own book and you KNOW I WILL NOT be giving you details... TURN to Page  57...
Did you ever wonder what Ombre was  ( and didn't want to ask ) ? I did  ... I know now ... yay !!
Challenge # 28  found on page 57 is  Alcohol Ink Ombre .
As usual I had fun ... pretty easy technique... love the results ! One of the joys of having a substantial Tim/Ranger stash is having lots of colors to choose from. Here is my project ... I chose to do a card ( more room to play) !! 
My weapons of choice for this challenge were salmon, watermelon and red pepper alcohol inks. I so love this color combination... but what to do ... what to do ?? Ah... my 35th wedding anniversary is coming up in June ... yay quick thinking... saved the day ( I did do three other sets of ombre just in case I couldn't come up with an idea for the reds ) ! For my background papers I used papers from Tim Holtz's Correspondence Paper stash, ephemera from the vellum expedition ephemera pack; a pocket card,  fired brick and vintage photo distressing inks, and fired brick distress marker .
For my embellishments I used a mini corner, mirrored stars, game piece, and found relatives. Other misc. items from my stash included felt hearts that I cut using my hearts die cut ( Tim Holtz of course) !; and a heart clip.

Since my husband is my #1 cheerleader when it comes to my projects; especially the CC3 Challenges
I decided to make an anniversary card. So here is my card ...

 I almost felt guilty about covering up my beautiful red ombre, so I've included a photo of it.

Below I showed a photo of the elements as I was adding them. I love the hearts I stitched them together with white thread... it was a little tricky but I managed. I'd seen this done but I had never tried it... so I got out of my comfort zone... To give some texture I crumpled the pocket card and then stamped it.  I also stamped the upper part of my ombre before adding the photo. If you look close you can see I attempted to colorize the little girls ribbon in her hair  with fired brick distress marker and then I used the watercolor detail brush to soften the color ( fun touch... it seemed to "pull my colors together).

I so  enjoyed this ombre technique I have three more in different colors ... waiting in the wings  for future projects !! I hope you enjoyed your visit and I do hope you joined us. Don't forget to stop  and visit the  Curiosity Crew ... you will so enjoy it I promise you! Okay see you next time my CEO Lefty ( my oldest cat )  is giving me the evil eye ... a tornado went through his favorite spots ... he's waiting for me to clean it up !

CC3 Challenge # 27

Hi everyone ! Did you get some rain? We did ... burr and it was 48 degrees this morning ! Spring is here ... yes ... maybe ?! There is snow on the mountains too !!

Wow can you believe it we are at Challenge # 27 ... that means 27 times our gracious hostess Linda Ledbetter and her amazing friends the Curiosity Crew over at the famous Studio L3 http://lindaledbetter.com/2015/04/compendium-of-curiosities-3-challenge-27.html ; have given us guidelines/rules. Twenty Seven times the Curiosity Crew has jump started us with amazing projects and tons of inspiration. Twenty Seven times  we have been WOWED by the great techniques and products from the very humble Tim Holtz in his book  A Compendium of Curiosities Volume III. Which by the way you can still get  from Tim's site http://timholtz.com/a-compendium-of-curiosities-volume-iii/... you REALLY DO WANT this book ... it is amazing ! Well our sponsors this week are Inspiration Emporium http://www.inspirationemporium.com/  ... should you be the  chosen winner you will receive a $50 shopping spree at their online store. Let me tell you that's a fabulous prize... and it goes far on Tim Holtz goodies ... IJS :)  Speaking of Tim Holtz goodies; Tim and Mario have supplied Linda Ledbetter with some awesome goodies as well ;  to be given as the Curiosity Crew's Choice Award. Does that  inspire  you ?? Need help getting started check out each one of the Curiosity Crews projects ... all you do is click on their project photo and it takes you to their blogs; leave them some love ( that's so easy to do ) and you could be eligible for some awesome goodies.
Now you gotta PARTICIPATE to WIN ... follow the guidelines and submit YOUR project ... I'm waiting to see it :)

CC3 Challenge # 27 is Embossing Diffusers  found on page  61 ... are you looking at it?? ... pretty cool huh ??!  You know the drill my lips are sealed ...

I love confessions ... don't you ? I bought set #1 Diffusers a few ( I'll say a few because I believe it was more than two) years ago. Had NO IDEA what to do with them except I saw Tim do a demo and I NEEDED some. Yes ...  I've used them maybe twice. Wasn't until I recently revisited Tim's book that I realized how very cool diffusers are. That's another reason you NEED to buy Tim's book ... if you forget a technique or how to use a product it can be found right there in his book !

Here is my project ... it's a wall hanging to go in my craft room. This week Dr. Maya Angelou's family has been honoring her  with parts from various poems she had written. One of my favorites  ... " A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. " Also found on the postage stamps honoring Dr.  Maya Angelou .  So I was so happy when I discovered the saying on my bird stamp set from Dina Wakley.  Oh I love it when a plan comes together !

I used my circle diffuser from Set #1 and my Sheet Music  Texture Fades.
Pretty cool don't you think?!

I played around until I got the colors I wanted on my music sheet and my bird ; using my distress markers; abandoned coral, cracked pistachio, mermaid lagoon and fossilized amber. I colored a second bird that I layered over the first bird. I used some remnant rubs to add some words inside the circle. I used mermaid lagoon and vintage photo markers and my spritzer to add some details. So fun!
Some how I had some mysterious ink on my fingers that smeared onto my bird... hum ... more embracing going on here ! :)  I colorized my ribbon using my four new colors and added thought trinket pin , happy typed token, live word stick and a yellow gem from my stash.
This was fun to create ... can't wait to purchase the hanger to hang it from ( already have one in mind... hope I'll be able to find it ) !
 Well I hope you enjoyed your visit. Happy Mother's Day to all you mom's . Don't forget to visit the Curiosity Crews Blogs and hope to see you for CC3 # 28 !