Gingersnapping in Snow, Pine and Mahogany

Happy Monday! I hope everyone who celebrates it had a wonderful Christmas (and if you don't celebrate it, that you had a wonderful day, period), and that this week-between-the-years (as it's always felt to me) continues the festivities!

Over at the Gingersnap Creations blog, our latest challenge is all about the colors. Snow, Pine and Mahogany, to be exact, and just think of all the lovely things you can do with that particular combo!  

I'm a bit late posting my piece, so please excuse the Christmas theme, but I just had to use this image. See, a couple of weeks ago, I visited my favorite antique store, Blue Moon, over in the historic district and was delighted to find a stack of old greeting cards, some dating as far back as 1929, but most from the late-1940s/early-1950s. The glittery bell at the center of my piece is from a card dated 1951. To make it my own, I cut a frame for it using Tim Holtz's Baroque Alterations Die, colored that with Cranberry Adirondack ink, and stamped the little holly leaves from Darcy's Cardinal Ornament set. The details were colored with Copic Sketch markers. 

I love those old cards. 

I so hope you'll check out the gorgeous things my Gingersnaps design teammates created for this challenge-- there's some truly exceptional stuff going on there!-- and then, please create something of your own to share with us. This challenge is open through January 23, and wouldn't Snow, Pine and Mahogany make a gorgeous Valentine's palette? It'll be here before we know it!  ;-)

Hugs,

Linda

Happy Winter Solstice!

And so the shortest day came, and the year died

And everywhere down the centuries of the snow-white world 

Came people singing, dancing, 

To drive the dark away. 

They lighted candles in the winter trees; 

They hung their homes with evergreen; 

They burned beseeching fires all night long 

To keep the year alive. 

And when the new year's sunshine blazed awake 

They shouted, revelling. 

Through all the frosty ages you can hear them 

Echoing behind us - listen! 

All the long echoes, sing the same delight, 

This Shortest Day, 

As promise wakens in the sleeping land: 

They carol, feast, give thanks, 

And dearly love their friends, 

And hope for peace. 

And now so do we, here, now, 

This year and every year. 

Welcome Yule! 

--"The Shortest Day," written by Susan Cooper for The Christmas Revels

I've always loved that poem. :-)

It's the shortest day of the year, and that can only mean one thing: Light is returning! Happy winter solstice, merry Christmas, and a spectacular new year to you all! Thank you so much for your friendship and all the inspiration you bring me, every single day.

With love,
Linda

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge 25!

Scribble Stain Distress!

Sponsored by Simon Says Stamp!

Happy Holidays, everyone! I hope the last couple of weeks have been chock full of fun and creativity and tons of good cheer!

My goal with this challenge was to choose a technique that will be easy for everyone to fit into this jam-packed couple of weeks. It's quick and fun and utilizes products we Tim fans all have on hand. So, please open your Compendium of Curiosities to page 34, where you'll find Mr. Holtz's Scribble Stain Distress instructions!

Our sponsor this week is the ever-wonderful Simon Says Stamp, who's giving away one of their awesome $25 shopping sprees! What a nice treat after the expense of the holidays, and with Simon's massive inventory, the winner is going to have the time of her or his life shopping! Don't forget to check out Simon's fabulous challenge, Simon Says Stamp and Show, too! Their new challenge just posted today, and it's a beauty!

To be eligible to win this this lovely Simon Says Stamp experience, create your own art using the Scribble Stain Distress technique and link it to this blog via the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. You're in the running as long as you honor these two simple rules:

1. Follow the technique as it's written in A Compendium of Curiosities (adding your own special flair, of course!); and

2. Out of respect to Tim, please don't post the technique instructions on your blog!

Gloria, the List Mom and benevolent crafting goddess at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo, will also send a lovely gift from her special stash to one lucky participant! Just upload your image to the Compendium of Curiosities folder at the ATT home page, and be sure to tag your photo "CCC #25." If you aren't a member of All Things Tim, please join! It's a great place to meet incredibly nice and talented people who are wise in the ways of Mr. Holtz!

Don't forget, this challenge is two weeks long, so your submissions are due by 8 pm Mountain Time on Sunday, Janary 2...2011 (Wow: 2011)! And remember, too, that everyone who submits at least one entry to each of the three 2-week-long Holiday challenges will be entered to win a $50 shopping spree to the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge sponsor of their choice!

I want you all to know how much it means to me that you're making time to play along with these challenges during such a busy time of year, and are so generously sharing your talent and kindness. It's like a little present every time I get to visit your blogs and see your creations, and it means the world to me that you're having fun and making friends and experimenting with Tim's awesome techniques. Thank you all, so much, and have the most merry Christmas ever!

Hugs,
Linda
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Congratulations, CCC 24 Winners!

Wow, what an amazing couple of weeks it's been! We saw the conclusion of the incredible 12 Tags of Christmas 2010, not to mention a tremendous amount of gorgeous art for the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #24! Every entry was wonderful, and I wish I could send a big, craft-loving Santa to visit all of your with a bag full of goodies. You absolutely deserve it!

As it is, I have one bag full of goodies to give away, courtesy of the amazing Daisy at eclectic Paperie. Remember this? I mean, seriously, what a cool prize package. Let's give it away, shall we?

The Random Number Generator has randomized, and the winner is...

Deanna Cosgrove

of the Girls in the Craft blog!!!

Hooray for you, Deanna! Congratulations, sweet lady!

Check out the stunning Santa card Deanna created, and click on it to visit her lovely blog!

The lovely Gloria from the All Things Tim group at Yahoo has a prize to give away as well, so be sure to visit the group's message board later today to see if you're her lucky winner!

Our final challenge of 2010 posts in just a few minutes! I made sure to pick a technique that would be easy to do during the holiday rush, so be sure to join the fun!

Thanks so much to Daisy and Gloria, Tim and Mario, and to all of you for making the CCC so much fun!

Hugs,
Linda

Drunken Stampers Celebrate Christmas!

So, this is Christmas... almost anyway, and the Drunken Stampers would love for you to join us in our last challenge before Santa's big ride: Christmas, Drunken Stampers' Style!

I know what you're thinking. "So, I just need to down some heavily spiked eggnog and let myself loose at the craft table? SWEET!" And, that's okay, if you're able to craft under the influence (personally, all I can do under the influence is sleep.. ). By "Drunken Stampers' Style," we mean, do something Christmas-themed that incorporates the things you personally love most about the season.  If you don't celebrate Christmas, do Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or the Winter Solstice, or just make something wonderfully wintery. Or, celebrate the idea of eating all the sugar you can possibly consume under the guise of "holiday spirit!" Mostly, just have fun! That's what the Drunken Stampers advise, after all, as often as possible. 

I was one of the lucky and delighted winners of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas this year, and when my amazing prize package arrived, I knew I had to use those products inside right NOW! Tim and Mario very generously sent me a complete set of the brand new Ranger Color Wash Sprays! You should have seen me, jumping around with what can only be described as full-on glee when I opened that box. I love Color Wash and have used it many times in the past, but these new bottles make a HUGE difference in how it works. It's easier to control and you can get a nice, fine mist, if that's what you want. 

Anyway, the background here was created by stamping snowflakes onto white mulberry paper with Distress Embossing Ink and embossing them with clear powder. I then sprayed over the snowflakes with  Denim and Sailboat Blue Color Wash. After it dried, I placed the mulberry paper between two sheets of newsprint and ironed it until the embossing powder melted away, leaving behind a batik-like snowstorm. I learned this technique from Tim's DVD, "An Altered Journey," where he uses it to make gorgeous silk scarves. It's really fun and kind of magical. 

I used the adorable Alterations Townscape die to cut the little houses from metallic silver cardstock, dabbed them with Rock Candy Distress Stickles, and filled the windows with black Ranger Enamel Accents. The lyrics came from an old Christmas songbook, and if you heard about the day I'd had, you'd find them hilariously ironic*, as Spike did when I told her about it.

I know everyone is SUPER busy, and Christmas is coming like a freight train on crack, but I hope you'll find a few minutes to share one of your favorite holiday creations with us at Drunken Stampers. We're stretching this to two weeks, so you have all the way until Friday, December 31 to play along!

Hugs,

Linda

Okay, so, on Friday, Scott finally got that Wii he's been wanting forever, and we were playing Ping Pong for the first time. I got a little over-exhuberant and... wait for it... knocked my glass of water over onto the table where my three-month-old Macbook was sitting. The little computer made some pathetic flashing gestures, then gave up. I was beside myself. So, "all is calm, all is bright," is sort of the antithesis of the un-silent night during which I made this card! The happy epilogue is, after a night in front of a fan and some very careful handling, the Little Macbook That Could is working fine. My heart is still racing, however... 

E-Team Special Mission: Tied Up With Strings!

Raindrops. Whiskers. Kettles. Mittens. 

You know what comes next, yes? Why it's: 

"Brown paper packages tied up with string!"

And the eclectic Paperie E-Team is using this bit of musical inspiration for our pre-Christmas, gotta-wrap-those-gifts-NOW blog hop! 

Of course, brown paper is pretty easy to come by— just upcycle any grocery bag or little coffee fold-over sack you have handy. Good string, though... really pretty, really festive, really COOL string... is a little more difficult to find. Or it was, anyway, until The Twinery came along!

Frankly, I'd never have guessed I'd get this excited about twine, but this stuff RULES! The colors are bright and cheerful, it's eco-friendly and biodegradable, and— yes!— it looks like the striped Christmas hard candy my dad always keeps around the house during the holidays. What's not to love?! I think all my E-Teammates agree that we're now hopelessly devoted to Twinery string, and were delighted to learn that it would be the theme of our mid-December hop. 

And, check this out: eclectic Paperie is going to choose not one, not two, but THREE winners, who will each receive a prize package of cool eclectic Paperie goodies, including some fabulous Twinery products to play with! 

To be eligible to win, simply visit each of the participating blogs listed below and publish a comment!  Each blog will accept comments for the next 48 hours, starting at 8am (EST) today! One comment per person, per blog, please. Two winners will be chosen and posted on the eclectic Paperie blog on Friday, December 17.

The E-Team is:

Daisy, our fearless leader

Broni

Latrice 

Linda D

Linda L3-- That's me!

Sherry

Starla

Micki is sitting this one out, but be sure to stop by her blog and say "hello!" 

Here's what I came up with for our "Tied Up With Strings" hop:

To begin, I cut green handmade paper with the Tim Holtz "Pine Tree" Alterations Die, glued it to a coffee bag and "iced" it with Rock Candy Distress Stickles. The Fragment Charm was backed with a scrap from Tim's Seasonal Paper Stash using Glossy Accents, and hung onto "Peapod" Twinery string. 

This began as a little flat paper bag. I envelope-folded the top over and inserted two Idea-ology Long Fasteners and Washers as a way to anchor a strand of Marachino Red Twinery string. The snowflakes were cut from plain white card stock using the Alterations "Snow Flurries" On the Edge Die. The "Merry Christmas" stamp is from Tim's Mini Holidays set, and it's embossed with Adirondack red embossing powder. 

Finally, this dapper little snowman was created by using a Tim Holtz Seasonal Mask with Ranger Sailboat Blue Color Wash on a little white bag. The sentiment is made with with Seasonal Salvage Stickers, and the starburst-y thing was made with Twinery string in Lilac. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and don't forget to visit my E-Team friends and leave a comment at each blog to increase your chances of winning a spectacular gift bundle, courtesy of the always generous Daisy at eclectic Paperie!


Hugs and Happy Holidays!
Linda

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 11!

I hope you guys have all had as lovely a weekend as I did! Spending time with my mom was so wonderful, and I can't begin to express how much I appreciate everyone's kind wishes on my birthday. I am so lucky and honored to be part of this worldwide paper-crafting community, and I've never been more aware of this fact than I am right now. Thank you. Enormously!

Here's my take on Tag 11 in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas 2010. I love the idea of using an Alterations die to create a foam stamp-- it's such an easy technique, and boy, does it ever open up some cool possibilities...  :-)

I still have Tag 12 to do, and I think I'm putting it off because I just don't want this to end! The incredible  amount of work (and heart) that both Tim and Mario put into this tradition is mind boggling, and they both deserve a medal, a year's worth of espresso, and a million accolades for what they've accomplished. Thanks, guys!

And thanks to all of you for visiting my blog, especially during such a busy time of year. You rock!

Hugs,

Linda

Drunken Stampers Tag Along!

Over at the Drunken Stampers Crafting Lounge and House of Eggnog, we're hosting-- are you ready?-- a TAG CHALLENGE! Now, maybe I'm making assumptions, but it seems to me an awful lot of us have been making tags lately-- at least twelve of them!-- and you're welcome encouraged to share those babies with us! Same goes for special gift tags you've created for your holiday goodies. 

My tag up there is a simple one. I used various gray-blue Copics in the airbrush doohickey for the background, then spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mist in Blue Smoke. The snowy swirl is an Inkadinkado stamp embossed with white powder. The horse and sleigh are Silhouette SD images cut from black paper. Oh, and there's a little Sparkly Fluff  along the bottom edge. I used a white Galaxy Marker to make little dots that hopefully look like a snowy sky. Easy peasy! 

Join our little tag party, why don'cha? We're accepting submissions through Friday, December 17. Just link up that masterpiece at the Drunken Stampers Challenge Blog and make our day!

Last week, we teamed up the awesome ladies from with Digi's with Attitude for our first ever combined blog hop, and DWA kindly offered some sweet candy for our blog friends. I'm delighted to report that my winner, chosen by the trusty Random Number Generator, is my friend Lynn Stevens, from the Trash to Treasure Art blog! Congrats, sweet Lynn! 

Have an awesome new week, everyone!

Hugs,

Linda

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 10!

We're up to number 10 in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, somehow. Hey,December, slow down!!!

Making today's tag was really special for me, because my mom, who's visiting for the weekend, played along, too! This is her first foray into Tim's style of paper crafting, and she's already got the hang of it. I have a lot of great memories of Mom doing various craft projects when I was a kid, so being able to share this experience with her now was truly awesome.

Here she is, working that Vagabond:

And here's a fuzzy, grainy photo of the two of us with our finished tags. Can you believe my mom has never done this kind of crafting before?! She's a natural!

I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend! Don't forget to stop by Tim's blog and soak up some inspiration!

Hugs,

Linda

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 9!

On the 9th Day of Christmas, Tim Holtz gave us a sweet, earthy tag that uses his fabulous new Rosette Die and his lovely Upon a Time alphabet. I love the earthy colors and blend of textures he created, and had a blast getting this 3/4 made before I even left for work today. Tim's a champion of using simple techniques to create something that looks super-intricate and time-consuming!

My mom is here for the weekend, and we're chilling out at home tonight, conserving energy for a big day of Christmas shopping beginning bright and early in the morning. I think I've convinced her to do tomorrow's tag with me, too. :-)

Sorry to miss out on the Twitter party, but hugs to all, and I can't wait to see what's in store with tag #10!

Hugs,
Linda

Gingersnaps Dive Headlong Into White Glitter!

Just a quick little hello today. Hello!

We're up to our ears in white glitter for our new Spicy Supply Challenge at the Gingersnap Creations blog, and we want you to bling it up with us! I mean, 'tis the season, right? Snowflakes, sugar, sparkling cocktail dresses... winter art and white glitter go together like butter and rum. We're accepting submissions all the way through January 9, so you've got plenty of time to get your glimmer on!

Hugs,
Linda

P.S. Those cute little elves and snowman are from Stampotique!

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 8!

Twas the night before Christmas...

Okay, actually, more like 16 nights before Christmas, but Tim Holtz's sweet tag of the day would make Clement C. Moore proud, I have no doubt. I love the masking, the metals, and truly, the Townscape die is my favorite of them all. Don't forget to leave a comment at Tim's blog every day during The 12 Tags— the prizes are just flying out the door at Tim and Mario's workshop!

I've managed to keep up day by day so far, but after tonight I'll probably fall behind a bit. My mom is coming to town for a few days to help me celebrate the shift from my mid-40s into my late-40s, and we'll be painting the town (or at least hitting the shopping malls) and doing other fun things (i.e. eating a lot). I'm going to try to talk her into playing along with the 12 Tags, though, so we might just team up for a project. If so, you know I"ll blog about it! ;-)

Hugs to all... and to all, a good night!

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 7!

I have said this in the past— many times— and I know I'll say it again in the future (many more times), but Tim Holtz has outdone himself with today's edition of The Twelve Tags of Christmas. I mean, seriously, a poinsettia made using a stack of cut apart Tattered Florals?! Get outta here! It's ingenious!

I loved this entire project. And learned a ton, too. 

Happy tagging to all... and to all, a good night. ♥

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 6!

Wow, are we half-way through already?? What a delight it is to come home after work and spend the evening doing Tim Holtz's holiday tag du jour!

I love all the cool techniques Tim incorporated into this tag, and the video-enhanced tutorial is (as always) awesome! I'm beginning to repeat myself, but once again, I've learned a bunch of stuff I'll use over and over from now on. Bonus!

Have a great evening/morning, friends! I'll see you tomorrow for Tag 7!

Hugs,
Linda

Compendium of Curiosities Challenge 24!!

Rock Candy Distress Stickles!

Sponsored by eclectic Paperie!

This entire collage has a nice, thick, sparkly coat of Rock Candy!

Woo Hoo! Happy, happy December, everyone, and welcome to the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge #24, based on Tim Holtz's spectacular book! If you're not familiar with it, just click right here to get yourself a copy and join the fun!

Are you all following along with Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas? I am, and it's an absolute blast! You don't have to complete each tag the day it's posted, just work on them whenever you can. I promise-- you'll learn so many great techniques from Tim's wonderfully detailed tutorials, and you'll be so inspired you'll feel all giddy inside. Really! :-)

As for the Compendium Challenge, we'll be doing Tim's Rock Candy Distress Stickles technique, which you'll find page 47/

Really, you can't possibly go wrong with Rock Candy! It's such a brilliant product (literally and figuratively speaking), and gives your art a funky, fun glimmer that looks so cool (especially under the twinkling Christmas lights!). Play with the product and have fun with it. The only real requirement for this challenge is that you use Rock Candy Stickles specifically, and make them a prominent part of your submission. They can be a little hard to photograph, but just do the best you can and tell me in your blog post or photo description how you used them if it's not obvious in the picture.

eclectic Paperie is our generous sponsor for Challenge 24, and wait till you see the prize package Daisy assembled for our winner. Check this out:

Included is: one of Tim's awesome Configurations, a set of his Idea-ology Metal Foundations, some Maya Road wooden Bingo numbers, and... holy cow, it's the official eclectic Paperie "ISH-Factor" apron! WOW! 

Does Daisy rock, or what??

To be eligible to win this this fabulous eclectic Paperie prize, simply create your own art using the Rock Candy Distress Stickles technique and link it to this blog via the InLinkz button at the bottom of this post. You're in the running as long as you honor these two simple rules:

1. Follow the technique as it's written in A Compendium of Curiosities (adding your own special flair, of course!); and

2. Out of respect to Tim, please don't post the technique instructions on your blog!

Sweet, generous Gloria, List Mom at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo, will also send a cool gift from her special stash to one of this week's participants! Just upload your image to the Compendium of Curiosities folder at the ATT home page, and be sure to tag your photo "CCC #24."

I hope you guys are all having a great early December, and are finding time to play and create and just relax every once in a while, too. I'm so looking forward to seeing your Rock Candy creations! Remember, this challenge is two weeks long, so your submissions are due by 8 pm Mountain Time on Sunday, December 19.

OH! And also remember-- everyone who submits at least one entry to each of the 2-week-long Holiday challenges will be entered to win a $50 shopping spree to the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge sponsor of their choice! A little Christmas cheer from me to you!

Hugs and Happy Holidays!
Linda

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Congratulations, CCC 23 Winners!

We've reached the end of our first two-week-long Compendium of Curiosities challenge for the holidays, and I hope you're all having a great December so far! Your Double Distress art has been absolutely incredible, guys, without exception. I know how busy everyone is, yet you still create these gorgeous, original works, and kindly share them with the rest of us. Thank you for bringing more beauty into the world!

Before we dive into the new technique, I'm delighted to announce the winners of Challenge 23!

First up, for the sponsor prize from the always awesome Simon Says Stamp, our winner is:

Angie Hall Haviland 

 Congratulations, sweet Angie! Your tag is gorgeous! 

Click the image above for a closer look at Angie's gorgeous tag!

Angie, have a BLAST with your $25 shopping spree!!!

Over at the All Things Tim group at Yahoo, our beloved List Mom, Gloria, has chosen a winner for last week as well, and congratulations go to:

Donna of the Paper Crows and Butterflies Blog!

Isn't Donna's card lovely? Click the image to visit her blog!

Thanks to Steph, Heidi and the whole gang at Simon Says Stamp, and Gloria at All Things Tim for being such awesome and generous sponsors! Thanks to Tim for his awesome book and all-around brilliance, and to Mario for the countless things he does to make it all happen.

And, thanks to everyone who's taking part in the Compendium of Curiosities Challenge. You guys inspire me immensely, and I'm so grateful for your enthusiasm and willingness to share your talents!

Challenge 24 will post shortly, and I hope you'll join the fun!

Hugs,
Linda

The Twelve Tags of Christmas, Number 5!

Another day in December, another joyful and clever tag from Mr. Tim Holtz! This was a fun project with a bunch of great techniques that I'll undoubtedly use a lot in the future! The faux enamel numerals are a blast to make (UTEE always seems kinds of magical to me), and really, who doesn't love playing with Distress Stickles?

There are still seven tags to go, and if you aren't playing along yet, it's not too late to join the party! Itls a worldwide sensation! And, if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @mariojrossi for his awesome nightly behind-the-scenes photos and hints.

See you in the morning for the new Compendium of Curiosities Challenge!

Hugs,
Linda

The 12 Tags of Christmas, Number 4!

It's Day 4 of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas, and holy cow, this just keeps getting even MORE fun, somehow! Today, we played with Facets, which is such a cool product, and Tim demonstrated how to do a little magic with ink! I think all of us playing along will agree: This is a BLAST!

Tim, you're a brilliant, brilliant man. And Mario, if I were a genius crafter, I'd want someone just like you to be my Business Manager. Your nightly behind-the-scenes Tweets make this whole crafting festival even more awesome!

This was so much fun, I couldn't stop...

When I was out shopping for self-adhesive bling today, I stumbled upon a product I've never seen before called Fluerettes, by Mark Richards. It's a simple metal disk with both a pin back and a hair clip attached to the back. I thought it would be a swell way to put a decorated Facet to use, so I made a little hair jewelry using today's technique.

I followed Tim's instructions for the "Sparkly Snowman" Facet, and just hot glued the finished piece to the Fluerettes disk with a scrap of silver-blue netting in between. I hung a few Baubles from the pin back, and voila! A Holtzian Hair Accessory!

I searched all over the internet for the Fluerette clips, and finally found them at Altered Angel online. They're hard to come by, apparently, so if you want to try this technique, order up! ;-)

It's been a really great day, not only because it's Saturday and we're in the middle of 12 Tag Wonderland, but also because I had a truly wonderful surprise happen today. Mr. Fed Ex showed up with a box of joy for me— one of those brilliant Tim Holtz Hoodies I've been wishing for! Apparently, I have a Secret Santa! To the dear, generous person who sent this: Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I am overwhelmed and overjoyed, and you are incredibly kind. I hope I can do something to make someone else as happy as you've made me.

Happy Holidays, Everyone!

Hugs,
Linda