Christmas, and my latest Tim tags

Hope y'all had a merry Christmas.

This is our before picture - I took it before everyone else got up - they usually don't wait for me. Amazingly, this year they did {of course, since I took the picture the night before!!}

Kidlets with their stocking loot

 

 Rhi was really pleased to find a new snowglobe in her stocking!

David and Jennie couldn't make it this year, so Jennie sent the gifts instead.

Rhi's gift this year was to make fudge for everyone. This was the first time she had ever made fudge. She had a little help from Grandma, but essentially made it by herself. She was really pleased with it. {And so were we, because it was really delicious!}

Wanted to get a picture of the kids with all their loot after opening it, but they weren't cooperating with that

Been working on the Tim tags.. still have 4 more to go.. hoping to get them done in time for the contest.

This tag is based on Tim's day 1 tag. I didn't have his snowman stamp, and was trying to figure out what to do, when my SSS secret santa sent me this really cool Maya Road chipboard snowman! And I thought how perfect! Tried to do a resist embossing, but didn't have fine enough clear EP, and it looked horrible, so I painted over it to start over. Stamped the snowflakes with Stazon. Added a little color with some homemade perfect pearl mist {made with Broken China blue reinker, water, and silver perfect pearls}. Also added some rock candy stickles for glitter. Cheated a little with the ribbon - I used pre-wired ribbon. Really love the icy feel to this tag though - I think it is my favorite so far. That rock candy crackle paint is really cool!

Day 5 tag - made almost like Tim's. Didn't have any of the ornament shaped fragments, but did have some old square ones with pre-punched holes {in Junkitz packaging! That tells you how long I've had them}. Stamps are from InkaDinkaDo. Colored a la Tim and stickled for glitter. Didn't have the right colors for embossing powder for the evergreen branch either, so I used colored ink and embossed with clear EP. I really like it. Used a MS border punch on the gold paper for the accent, and gold embroidery floss to attach the ornaments. And the JOY word is a laser cut sticker {from Mrs. Frossman, I think}

Day 2 tag - Another make due - didn't have the stamps or the metal pieces, so I used what I had. The frame is autumn leaves. The Christmas stamp also had a definition on it, but I just wanted the word, so I cut the rest off. Love the perfect pearls splatter technique!

Day 7 tags. Rhi wanted to make a tag with me the other night, so I helped her make one of these. The masking technique was really cool - I just used a piece of plastic {that had actually been wrapped around the blanket my mom got for Christmas!} since I don't have any of Tim's mask stuff. Used repositionable adhesive to hold it down. {knew that stuff would come in handy!} The santa stamp is one of Tim's, and is part of the set I won during last years 12 Tags. Rhi didn't want to leave the face uncolored, and we had a little trouble with her embossing on the bottom, but she was really happy with it. I did the stickles for her, and helped a little with the inking, and most  of the rest she did herself.

Still have 4 more tags to go.. hoping to get at least 2 done tomorrow, maybe 3. Gotta submit them before the 31st..

Merry Christmas!

Don't know if I'll get back before Christmas to say so - been really spotty with the blogging lately because it has been SO crazy around here.. so I'll say it now... MERRY CHRISTMAS! Switched the playlist to the Christmas version.. enjoy it while you can, it won't last long.. LOL

Here is a pic of my favorite Santa..

(photo originally posted by Jason Michael Carroll on twitter)

Jason visited the NC Children's hospital.. he does that a lot. It's one of the things I like most about him. He doesn't just give at Christmas time.. he gives all year round.

Tim Holtz has started announcing sneaks of his new diecutting machine, embossing folders, and dies. And from the sneaks.. it's going to be something I want. I'm going to start saving my pennies now, just in case it's not compatible with the cuttlebug {will make a good birthday present - hint hint!}

Here is one of the sneaks he posted on his blog today - click here for more!

Still working on my tags for the 12 Tags of Christmas.. need to really get it in gear to get them all done by the deadline.. that's my plan for after Christmas.

Tomorrow is my son's birthday - and I will officially be the mother of a teenager! Yikes! How did THAT happen??? Wasn't he born just a couple of years ago??  I don't have any embarrassing baby pics on the computer {going to have to remedy that!} but here are some others over the last 7 years..

On the tractor {Henry} - he was so thrilled when he got to start driving the tractor.

As Harry Potter {the first time} - My mom made the tie since we couldn't find one

Playing in the snow

Board break! This is one of my favorite pictures.. talk about luck.. {on my part, LOL not his - he was good!}

Good enough to earn his blackbelt before his 11th birthday.

Posing with Jones, the truck...

Patrick, the pumpkin eater.. grossing out his sister.. LOL

Singing along with Brad Paisley's I'm Still a Guy... man, he had us ROLLING on the floor.. it was so funny.

I also need to get a new photo of us together... he is taller than me, by several inches {boy, was that a happy day for him!}

So I hope y'all have a great holiday, get scrappy, listen to good music, have fun with your families, and make a mess on Christmas day!

Tim's Tags Days 11 and 12 and more

These are the last of Tim's tags for the 12 Tags of Christmas for this year. And boy,  are they awesome. The Day 11 tag was posted really late {about 4am my time} because Tim had trouble uploading it. But check it out - I love the way he did the deer, and those canvas brads are just awesome! {yep, I see another tool purchase in my future LOL} And I love the red flourish with the green background. Instructions for this tag can be found on Tim's blog.

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

And OH my goodness! Talk about saving the best for last...! Several of us have been asking Tim for a tutorial for making the grunge paper roses.. and here they are! I love love LOVE these flowers, and luckily was able to get some grunge paper before the LSS closed.. I have been saving it for just this technique. Hopefully tomorrow I will have a chance to play with it {today was spent putting up the Christmas tree - more on that later}. I spent a little time today making some pearl sprays, so it will be interesting to see how they turn out. As always, instructions on Tim's Blog.

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

Here is my tag, based on the Day 10 tag. I used metal tape that I found at O'Reilly's Auto Parts store. Yep. You read that right. I went shopping for scrapbook supplies at the auto parts store. {Hey, you would be surprised the cool stuff you can find in a place like that!}

Anyway, the tape was exactly the same width as the tag, so I trimmed my tag to make it a little narrower so I could fold over the edges like Tim did on his tag. The letters, star and flourish are all grungeboard, which I attached with Zip Dry. Since I don't have any of Tim's pen {yet} I simply cut up one of the foam applicators and used that to apply the alcohol inks.

This was my big project today - putting up the Christmas tree... I gave in a couple of years ago and bought a smaller, prelit, artificial tree. Smaller because there are kids and dogs here, and it's harder to keep a regular tree looking nice the whole time. Not to mention there really isn't room for it here. This picture was taken before adding the ornaments. {Rhi, of course, had to be in the picture too}

This is the after photo.

Closeup of one of the vintage ornaments. This photo was taken using only the existing light in the room - one lamp, and the tree lights. {Yep, that's the Burl Ives snowman in the background}

Another closeup ornament shot.. really like how this one turned out too.

And speaking of Christmas, today I received a Secret Santa package! Hooray! This is some of what was in it - lots of yummy goodies, including Tim stuff! The things {I just now realized} I forgot to get in the picture were 2 distress reinkes (milled lavender and worn lipstick), some baby's breath Shimmerz, and a bag of Christmas mint m&ms! Yum! The best part? Those awesome Rock Star chipboard letters!! Thank you so much!!!

Unfortunately, my SS didn't sign their NAME... so I don't know who it is... or which board to thank them on! eek! The package came from Oregon, but it isn't an address I have written down anywhere.. so it will be fun to try to figure out who it is from!

Finished up my Christmas cards the other night at work - this is the basic design, though most of them ended up being horizontal, and with three trees on the front. Pretty simple, but I think they look cute. Now I just need to get them addressed and sent out.

Tim's Tags - Day 10

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

Here's another new technique from Tim - he said he was inspired by a vintage garland on his tree, and I can totally see that. One of my friends on the Serendipity board thought this would be a great way to make gift tags for people (using just their name instead of all the other words) and I think she is right. Not sure I will get that done this year though.

As always, check out Tim's blog for more details.

Tim's Tags - Days 8 and 9

Missed posting this yesterday (not a good day around here), so will end up posting two together.

Day 8:

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

On this tag, Tim shows us a really awesome technique to make vellum into parchment like paper. How cool is that?? I also lost how he makes the lamppost -  Check out his blog for the how-tos!

These are the two tags I made based on the Day 3 tags:

The inspire tag was chosen as the Pick of the Day on Serendipity Scrapbooks... awesome. And I've already decided I love this technique so much that I'm going to use it as a background for snowmen atcs for Gay's Snowman ATC Swap on Scrap Sisters Studio. Very fun.

Day 9 tag:

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

Oh. My. Gosh! I love this tag. It is so vintage.. makes me think of classic movies.. Love love love the film strip ribbon... Must Get Some. I think I just need to start working for Tim, so I can get tons of product easily. LOL. Check out Tim's blog for the details

Tim's tags - Day 7

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

This is the next tag in Tim's series... Not my favorite overall, but I do like the way the flourish pops off the tag, and the masking technique for the Santa. Not sure what I mean? Check it out on Tim's blog...

Really hoping I have a package tomorrow from Nona Designs. If not, I will be very unhappy.

Tim's Tags - Day 6

(tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

Oh my gosh, I think this is my favorite tag yet! {or at least VERY closely tied with the Dec 1st tag!}

I love the grungeboard truck and the snow covered tree tied on with jute, the dictionary page background, and that awesome flourish stamp. Fabulous!!

As always, make sure to check out Tim's blog for all the details - he does such a great job stepping it out, and making it easy to follow his instructions.

Tim's Tags - Day 5

(tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

Gosh, only a week left already!! Can't believe it! Especially since I still don't have the things I ordered as a RUSH order   >:(    Definitely not happy about that.

But back to the tag!  And the awesomeness of Tim, who was able to finish the tag and post it 5 minutes early despite having no internet in the studio and having to find another place to upload it from! (Thanks, Michele!)

So, my favorite things about this tag... The lovely gold swirl (must...have...that...stamp...), the really cool fragment ornaments, and the embossing of the pine branch. How did he do it?? Check out Tim's blog for details.

Got a little happy mail today - Denise from Scrap Sisters Studio sent me Tim's spiced marmalade distress ink. Definitely made me smile! Thanks, Denise!

12 Tags... Day 4

(Tag and photo by Tim Holtz)

Love love love this tag - especially the little house.. whch is removable and can been worn as a pin!

As usual, details are on Tim's blog

Tim's Tags - Day 3

(tags and photo by Tim Holtz)

Tim posted 2 tags for day 3! And man, check out those awesome plaid backgrounds!! Those were done using alcohol inks - much more detail on his blog!

And yeah, I bought some glossy paper today! Gonna have to try this technique out!

On another note - Received notice that my order was shipped from Nona Designs - NOT within the promised 24 hour time period for Rush orders (boo!) but they did discount the shipping (yay!) I suspect they have had tons of orders, so as long as everything arrives in good condition, I will still be happy.

Also! We received our tickets in the mail today for the Acoustic Christmas Concert in Kansas City! Hooray! And I was pleasantly surprised - I was expecting 2 tickets - and Tracy sent 4 tickets! wahoo! So excited to go... I hope the weather stays clear enough! I don't mind if it is cold, and it can snow, as long as it stays off the roads LOL. I just don't want any ice!

Tim's Tags - Day 2

(photo and tag by Tim Holtz)

Today's tag uses a lovely frame stamp, resist embossing, perfect pearls, stamping, and metal work.  One of the neatest things about the frame is that most of the sayings stamps Tim has made will fit inside this frame. How cool it that?  I love the Christmasy colors he used on this tag, and that rose! Oh my goodness! Tim made this rose from a couple of flowers from the Ideaology line, and I have to say, it is just amazing! Here is a closeup:

(photo, rose and tag by Tim Holtz)

For detailed instructions and a supply list, check out Tim's blog.

I think I'm going to order that flourish stamp.. the more I see it, the more I love it. Guess it will be my Christmas present to myself this year (only I'm not going to wait until Christmas!)

Today is the day - Tim's 12 Days of Christmas Tags - Day 1

{photo and tag by Tim Holtz}

Hooray, hooray!

Today's the day!

Tags by Tim

And we're on our way!

Ok, Sorry, that's as close to Dr. Seuss as I get LOL. But I am really happy to see Tim start up the 12 Tags of Christmas again for this year! And, as always, the first tag is simply FABULOUS! My favorite things about this tag are how ICY it looks with the rock candy stickles and crackle paint, and the way the little ribbon scarf was done - it looks like a blustery day!!

And not only does Tim post directions, he posts PHOTOS showing how to make them, which makes it easier for those {ME} that need to SEE how things are done sometimes before we can actually DO them {yeah... that's why it took me almost 2 years to use the Perfect Pearls after I bought them! And now I use them. Often. A lot. Really.} AND a supply list, including links to online places to purchase them!

AND there will be tons of prizes this year - not only on the blog, but also a drawing for a big prize for those that finish all the tags {or cards or whatever Tim's tags inspire you to make before the deadline 12/19/09}, AND Mario { @mariojrossi } will be randomly picking tweeters to receive prizes on twitter!

So.. what are you waiting for??? Check out Tim's blog and get started on your own tag {or card, whatever you are inspired to make!}

Edited to add: I followed Tim's link to Scrapbook.com to order the rock candy stuff, and they were SOLD OUT. So I did a search and found a new website { Nona Designs Art Supplies } that not only has the TH stuff I need, but also tons more I want {LOL}. AND they have it all listed out by the tags {obviously just the first one at this point, but they have spots for the other tags later} I have placed an order already, and will let you know what I think about shipping/CS once it arrives.

My goodness, it has been a long time...

Sorry it has been so long since I blogged. We have had company here the last several weeks (my brother and his family are staying here while they are looking for a house to rent.) and it has really been wearing me out. But that's another story.

(from Tim's blog, link below)

Had a couple of pieces of good news today - the first being that Tim is going to do the 12 Tags of Christmas again this year. He wasn't sure he would, after what happened at the stamp show, so I was really glad to see the announcement today. Check it out HERE on his blog - there are going to be lots of giveaways each day. I was lucky enough to win a stamp set last year!

(from the Wolf website, link below)

The second - Jason will be doing the Acoustic Christmas Concert  in Kansas City, MO on December 9th - and Rhi and I will be going! Along with Jason, we will be able to see Jimmy Wayne, Chris Young and Love and Theft!! They will all be onstage at the same time, which will just be so exciting. And they will be helping the Salvation Army with toy donations too - One of the things I love the most about Jason is how much he wants to help others.

The third  -  the guys finished installing the new wood furnace today - woohoo! That means we will have better heat this year. Course, that also means we'll have to chop a lot of wood o_O but at least the house will be warmer this year!

Photo shoot at the Riverview Park

Today, I took my daughter to the park for some fall photos. {Wanted to take my son too, but he wasn't interested in going. So he stayed home} I wasn't sure the pictures would turn out, because it was overcast and the light was pretty dim, but I messed around with the settings on the camera, and I think they actually turned out pretty well. {Especially considering the camera wanted to use the flash when set in automatic, and I didn't want to LOL}

The first thing she noticed about the park was all the leaves. Which made her very happy. I made her stand by a tree until I figured out the camera settings, then let her play around. She had a lot of fun kicking up the leaves, loving the way they crunched beneath her feet.

I really like this shot. She was just sitting in the leaves and tossing them up in the air. But I really like how most of the background is leaves.

This is one of the overlooks for the River. It was really pretty, a little misty in the background. I love that little stone wall. There is not much land on the other side of it before it drops away.

Closer up/cropped view

Sitting on the wall and doing the model pose.

She walked over to the end of the wall and was looking off through the trees at the River. I really like this picture. In fact, it is one of my favorites from today.

Sitting at the picnic table.

"Let's pretend we are having a picnic!"

This is another favorite, even though it is blurry. Or maybe especially because it is blurry. I love how it shows the motion. She was having fun whirling around and kicking at the leaves.

Sitting in the leaves again {I was sitting on the picnic table}

Yep, really like this one. She was having so much fun.

Walking back down the path - she kept getting too far ahead for the camera, and I had to keep calling her back. The lighting in this photo is a little more true to how the lighting was

We found these beautiful yellow maples at the park.

Walking back across the grass to the car :which can just barely be seen in the background}

Found this statue of Mark Twain by another overlook in the park.

Looking out over the river.

All in all, was a fun afternoon. I'm really pleased with the photos I took, especially considering how dim it was. And she had fun too, which always makes it worth it.