JoyOfStamping

When we got the new distress inks in, I was so happy and excited to break it open and play with them!  We were suppose to head to the warehouse, so I asked if I could quickly make a tag before we headed out.  I just need to see ink in person.

So, I quickly busted out my “go-to” layout with my “go-to” stamps and “go-to” technique.  I love the whole spritz and flick technique that tim showed us in Creative Chemistry!  But, I just used the spring distress colors, with Walnut stain and Black Archival ink.

The next day, we gathered the troops to get the distress inks shipped out.  Papa was in charge of breaking apart the three packs of re-inkers.  Chelle made the shrink plastic bags for them, I put the re-inkers in the bags. Bryan (nephew) heat shrank the plastic. Mama pulled orders, while Anthoni (other nephew) shipped orders.  My brother and his daughter Chloe did inventory after the awesome crazy Creative Chemistry classes.  We had our little “factory” going.  But, as always, we enjoyed our time together as a family laughing and cherishing the time we had together.

Again… I’m a lucky girl!

I can’t even begin to describe the friendships I have made through this crafting industry.  Some of my best and closest friends come from this craft.  I love how there are so many that I have built a relationship with… may not talk to for months, but we can pick up right where we left off.  So many laughs shared with friends.  It truly is the best!

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Plano, Texas to help my dear friend Monica Smith with a weekend filled with Tim Holtz classes for her store, Stamp Asylum.  Over 100 students in each class… with 2 classes a day.

My connecting flight was in Phoenix, where I was greeted at the gate by my BFFs MJ and tim. Always nice to see my boyz.  The three of us hopped on a plane and headed to Dallas.  Monica picked us up and we stopped for some grub…. Texas BBQ.

Before setting up, we got to do a little shopping.  MJ needed a new watch and we found the perfect one for him!  LOL!

After the grub and shopping, we needed to get to work.  There was lots of work to be done…. lots of tubs to unload… lots of setting up to take care of.  These guys are so incredibly organized.  It is truly unbelievable.

It was time for classes and I got to meet so many nice Texas ladies and gentlemen.  It was fun to see all of the cool projects and be inspired.

Again, I am so super duper grateful for the friends I have made in this industry.  Some of my girlfriends from Splitcoaststampers came to have lunch with me.  Always great to see Jen Del Muro, Susan Liles, and Jenn Balcer.

I was so thrilled that Jenn was going to be able to take a class.  She drove all the way from San Antonio.  She is one of my first girlfriends from this crafting industry.  We met on SCS and have been through quite a bit together.  She is one of those friends that we can pick up right where we left off.  Even if we haven’t talked in months, its like we never lost communication.  I do think of her often and cherish the time we can spend together.  I absolutely love this D girl!

It’s always tough to say goodbye to friends…. but at least I had something to look forward to…. a Ranger Trip.

Again…. this industry has brought me some amazing friends!  Even if I haven’t met everyone in person, it is amazing to be able to connect with them online and feel like they are truly friends.  When Kaz told me that she got accepted to Ranger U, we joked about me coming out to see her since she is petrified to fly and she was coming all the way from the UK.  We didn’t know when we would have the opportunity again…. more talks back and forth… and before you knew it, I was booking a flight to New Jersey.  LOL!  Some of my other besties were going to be there, too….

Chelle Fowler (our inspiration team coordinator and a dear sweet friend) had also gotten accepted to Ranger U.  So, she picked me up at 5:00 am and we headed to the airport on Thursday morning.

With the lack of sleep, not to mention the excitement, we got the giggles and we couldn’t stop laughing…. fun fun plane rides.  Long… but it goes by fast when you are with a dear friend.

Chelle got to get all inky during Ranger U…. I was there to help with what I could…. kitting, running errands, special projects or just being entertainment.  LOL!  I enjoyed spending time with my BFF.  He always made sure that the students were well fed.  He also took me for a tour of the Jersey Shore.  We got lost, but we enjoyed the scenery and had fun trying to find our way back to Ranger.

I was also excited for a Ranger U tradition…. Square Pizza day!

Meeting Kaz was worth every penny!  She is such a sweet and genuine person.  So beautiful… inside and most definitely outside.  She had us cracking up and she taught us new British terminology.  I also adore her Milly.  I hope to be able to see them both soon!

Friendship…. love these two girls!  Genuine!

But, of course the weekend wouldn’t be complete without a few laughs.  Ted, was being such a good boy during class…. and he sure would let lose after class.  LOL!

I am fortunate to be a part of this industry.  I am fortunate to have made some amazing friends.  I cherish these people.

I am a …. lucky lucky girl!

This year, I decided to join the fellas at work for the “Biggest Loser Competition” at work.  Since I work in the computer field, the majority of people I work with are guys.  It’s a lot of fun at work and I love the guys I work with.  Two other ladies joined in for the competition as well.

(almost) Every year, they have a competition to lose weight.  It’s a 3 month deal and everyone puts money in the pot.  Weigh-ins are every Wednesday and my brother (our commissioner) puts together the stats and a mini newsletter every week. We have to lose a 7% minimum or else you have to put an extra $15 in the pot.  And last place has to put extra $$$ in the pot.

These fellas are really competitive.  It is funny how some of them will bring donuts into work just to torment their competitors.  Chocolates are left on the desks of those in the competition.  Homemade brownies and Cookies are brought in.  All in good fun!

I knew I didn’t have a chance with the fellas…. I just wanted to be in the middle tier and I just wanted to get healthy again.  Plus, with CHA, trips to AZ, fun at Disney, birthday parties, I knew that food (and beer) would be an issue.  But, it was a boost in the right direction.  I wanted to lose weight slow and steady… and I want to reach my goal weight by June. (hmmmm… maybe cause of the cruise I will be on.  LOL!)  I needed to MAKE time for workouts… between a full time job, helping at the emporium, and babysitting, time was my biggest challenge.  Working out wasn’t the issue.  I looooove a good workout.  Luckily, I had “school” every night for the last couple of weeks of the competition.  I plugged my headphones into my iPad and watched my Creative Chemistry classes as I hit the treadmill.  That sure made the time on the treadmill go by much faster.

Anyway, glad I took a step in the right direction.  I ended up finishing 6th, which was the top of the 2nd tier.   I still have a long way to go, but at least I’m headed the right direction.  First place lost a CRAZY 21%.  He’s so tiny and his nickname “Lil Chris” fits him perfectly.  I’m proud of my brother, too.  He lost over 30 lbs and he came in 4th.  He was also so encouraging.  Since he was the commissioner, we had to weigh-in in front of him.  He would ask me what I did during that week and we would try to figure out what as working for me and what wasn’t.  I was very lucky he was there.

The night before we were going to give the prize winners their money, my brother called me and asked if I could make some quick cards to put the money in.  I had to remember my audience was a bunch of guys… so I made some quick and simple cards.  Tim’s Rosette and word play die came in so handy… and of course my favorite texture fade, the woodgrain.

I ate a bunch of junk this weekend… felt kinda gross…. so, I hit my treadmill again this morning… now I am watching the next class from onlinecardclasses.com called A Cut Above.

Let’s hope I can keep this up!

Well, its no secret that I am one of Tim Holtz‘s biggest fans… hahaha… punny!  I just finished taking his Creative Chemistry class and it was awesome!!!! If you didn’t sign up for the class, it isn’t too late to register to watch the videos and have lifetime access to the class content.  It really is worth every penny and then some!!!!  That man sure has a gift for teaching… but most of all for SHARING!  He continues to inspire me…. not just creatively but how I live my life….  He is encouraging and I love learning from him.

Anyways…. I learned and TRIED a bunch of new techniques from class.  I’ve seen some of them done before, but never tried it for myself.  I was happy that this class pushed me to try…. because I fell IN LOVE with one of the techniques…. RUSTED ENAMEL.  It’s so cool!  And tim’s Alteration Dies are perfect for this technique!!!!

We have been working hard at the warehouse until late night trying to get caught up on orders.  After a long weekend and long day, I asked to be “excused” so that I could take a little bit of time in my stamp room creating before I went to bed… no pressure… just for fun…. I only budgeted a short time so I had to act quick… I knew I wanted to try the rusted enamel technique again…

This vintage fan was perfect.  So, I grabbed one of my favorite Distress Inks: Weathered Wood! After putting clear embossing powder and heating it, I used Walnut Stain to ink those parts of the fan that the clear embossing powder didn’t cover.

For the bottom part of the fan, I used black soot and then the clear embossing powder…. but after I heated it…. I had to figure out how to get that rusted look… what ink could I use to hightlight?  Oh, duh… Picket Fence distress stain!  It worked like magic.  Then, I just used my mister to dampen a cloth to lightly “buff” the black part.  Hard to see from the pic, but the white stain is cool with the black soot.

For the background, I used some distress ink to ink up a background on my manila cardstock, ran it through my vagabond with the Pocketwatch and Steampunk Texture Fade.  Then I just used my Walnut stain to rehit the high points. And what is a card without any bling?  LOL!  I used my favorite perfect pearl mist called Biscotti.  Then, I just added some idea-ology: Sprocket Gears, Mini Gears, Mini Fasteners, and some of my favorite words from chit chat!

Thanks for stopping by!

So, I have a new obsession…. when I took the class I mentioned in my previous post, we created a tag that used a Tim Holtz Mask. (see 2nd picture in previous post)  I loved the outcome of using the mask.  So, I decided to create one with my own twist.

The new Sewing Edge Die is one of my favorite dies that was released this past January.  I cut my mask out of this die.  I took my tag and covered the right side of it with Milled Lavender Stain. After I dried it, I covered it with the mask.  I then ran Broken China, Peeled Paint, and Walnut Stain Distress Pads over the tag.  Then I used one of my favorite new stamp sets Attic Treasures inked with Jet Black Archival Ink.

I hope the Inspiration Emporium customers that received this in their orders enjoyed it!   I sure enjoyed making them!

~joy

During CHA, I was fortunate enough to take a full day class with Tim Holtz where he taught quite a few techniques.  I loooooved the first tag we did.  Here it is on the left:

I’ll have to admit… when I first heard we were going to the “spritz and flick” technique, I wasn’t thrilled.  I’ve never been a good flicker…. but during the class, when we did it, I really liked the effect.  It was my new obsession!  I’m glad I gave it another try….

So, when it was time to make some tags to include in the Inspiration Emporium orders, I knew exactly which one I wanted to do again.  Being the girl that I am, I just added brighter colors and cut out a butterfly to pop up.

I love being able to go to the ring of tags for inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by….

Ranger Non-stick Craft Sheet	Ink Blending Tool	Inkssentials Surfaces – Manila Craft Tags – #8	Distress Ink Pad – Broken China	Distress Ink Pad – Peeled Paint
Distress Ink Pad – Fired Brick	Distress Ink Pad – Wild Honey	Tim Holtz Collection – Attic Treasures	Tim Holtz Non-Stick Micro Serrated Scissors	Trimmings

Last Saturday I had one of my stamp-a-stacks.  I forgot how much fun those could be.  I think I will be doing them more often now.  It’s where I design 5 “simpler” cards and people make multiples of that same card.  So, some made 10, some 15, some 20 cards total.

My girls love to color…. and they requested birthday cards.  So, this is one of the cards that they made.  This is cute little Oliver from OA Suprise by The Greeting Farm.  They girls love coloring these cute images with Copic Markers.  The pattered paper is from an older collection of My Mind’s Eye.  We stamped the gift again and popped it up.  We also used the Tim Holtz Paper Distresser to distress the Brown paper behind the stamped image.

It sure was fun doing “cutesy” again!

Can you please that Valentine’s Day seems to be just around the corner?  I thought this tag would be a perfect fit to include in some of the Inspiration Emporium orders!  And you know me… I love these mini #5 Tags!

I absolutely love the new Tim Holtz Alteration dies and texture fades that just started shipping.  This one is the Valentine’s Background and borders.   I inked up the tag with my walnut stain distress pad and ink blending tool.  What a difference one ink pad can make!

And since I love “XO”, I wanted it to POP more…. so, I used some Liquid Pearls.  I just love the texture and accent it added to the XO.

I love to use the Kraft Resist Paper when creating rosettes.  I used the medium size rosette for this tag.  I have my Kraft Resist papers cut into 2″ strips.  So, you can get 6 rosettes out of one paper.  I also love Tim Holtz’s video on how to create the rosettes.  So much easier with that hot glue gun!

After making the rosette, I sprayed it with Red Pepper Color Wash.  I just love that the paper resists some of the ink.

I used the smaller/fatter heart from Tim’s Mini Hearts Movers and Shapers set.  I used my Glue and Seal to add some glitter to the heart. And I couldn’t leave it just red… had to dirty it up a bit with my walnut stain!

For the ticket, I used the Love Struck set.  I love that when you stamp with Distress Ink, you have a little more “wet” time, allowing you to add some embossing powder to your image.

Pop that ticket on with foam squares.  Then I took Fired Brick distress stain to alter the color of the trimmings.

Thanks for stopping by….

How does time fly by so fast?!!!!  I was looking forward to some “relaxing” time after the hustle and bustle of Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags…. but I can’t believe that the relaxing time is coming to a close and another year is behind us.

But, I did enjoy the time that I did get to spend with friends and family!

A couple of weeks ago, tim, MJ, Joe, and Mario III came out to spend a few days at Disney.

It was nice to spend time with MJ’s family…. (who wouldn’t want to spend time with these handsome men?)

But, I always love it when the boyz can spend time with my family, too!  (Here is MJ with my nephew Brandon. Aren’t they just so cute?)

After their short visit to The Park, we all hopped on a plane where we met up with our dear friend Monica and headed off to our Winter Wonderland….

Monica and I had hoped for snow… we did get a little bit, but not like we had hoped.  But, it was still absolutely beautiful there!

We shopped….

We crafted…..

We bleached trees…. dyed them, glittered them (glittered the whole studio thanks to my Auntie Tink)

It was so good to eat, LAUGH, drink, LAUGH, relax, LAUGH…. good times…..

After heading home, it wasn’t much time until we had to get ready for our annual M.A.D. Christmas party at the house…. mama started getting ready for it right away…. (with her new platter from dear friends)

I didn’t take many pix that night because I was just enjoying everyone’s company…..

Oh Christmas Day…..

How lucky am I to be able to spend Christmas with my parents, aunt and all 3 of my grandparents?!!!?!?!

My mama likes to buy matching PJs for her loved ones.

It was awesome to spend the day them lounging around in PJs…. eating, talking, sharing stories….

I cherish the time I can spend with friends and family…..

I’m a lucky girl….

I think I am addicted to these smaller tags… #5.  And I also have another new obsession….. Picket Fence Distress Stain…..

More bulk creating going on to include in some of Inspiration Emporium orders.

This is actually my first time playing with the Picket Fence Distress Stain.  We couldn’t keep them in stock for a while…. So I was happy to get one on the cruise and found a little time to play with it.  OMG! I love it!   Gives a whole new look and FEEL to the project.  The first tag above has been inked with Iced Spruce with the blending tool.  The second one has the Picket Fence stained over it.  But, I couldn’t leave it that clean now could I?   So, I added some walnut stain and ran my ink blending tool over it again with Iced Spruce.  I think that all three tags are pretty in their various stages.

(Sorry for the glare in this photo)

I am also sooooooo in love with the Vintage Lace Decorative Strip.  Three awesome trims!  I love the redness of Festive Berries, so I inked up the various trims with my blending tool.  I love how you can make these trims any color by the power of ink!   Then, for the Ribbon (trimmings), I took the stamp pad, smooshed it on my craft sheet and then spritzed the ink with the mini mister and swooshed the ribbon around in the ink.  Now I have red ribbon, too!

For the mini reindeer, I inked him around the edges with Walnut Stain.  Then, I used the definition stamp in the “Love Struck” stamp set.  (This is one of my go to stamps)   I cut the trimming in ½ to tie around the little reindeer’s neck.

For the tree, I inked the top portion with evergreen bough and the trunk of the tree with walnut stain.  I used the same definition stamp to stamp over the tree.  For the snow effect, I used Glue n Seal to tap over portions of the tree with the built in brush (I love that it has a built in brush) and applied some sparkly fluff.

I used the Glue n Seal again to apply the glitter…. Did I mention how much I love that brush is included in the jar?  Makes life so easy.

Thanks for stopping by!  I’m ready to get inspired by Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags!!!!

Ranger Non-stick Craft Sheet	Manila Craft Tags – #5	Snow Flurries Texture Fade	Ink Blending Tool
Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Pads – Winter	Picket Fence – Distress Stain	Walnut Stain Distress Pad	Vintage Lace Decorative Strip
Inkssentials Mini Mister	Trimmings	Mini Reindeer and 25	Tim Holtz Stamps – CMS082 – Love Struck
Mini Pine Tree and Holly	Glue n’ Seal – Matte 1 oz	Sugar Sparkly Fluff	Vagabond
Glossy Accents – Mini