Legacy

Every book has a story and this one began when I pasted the pages together and cut-out its center.

Its final chapter ends with a stint in the Tim Holtz Idea-ology booth at the 2016 Craft and Hobby Association Convention in Anaheim, California (CHA).

Photo Courtesy Paula Cheney via Instagram

It features three of Tim's new Idea-ology products for this year--a Vignette Box,

some Gilded Accents Remnant Rubs and the Dapper Paper Stash (cigar box strips used along the box front edges).

I also used some old favorites like the Wallflower Paper Stash, a rather famous Found Relative, some Thrift Shop Ephemera and Letterpress.

My idea for stamping onto the letterpress faces came from some artwork by Paula Cheney that's featured on Tim's packaging for the new Framed Panel. If you haven't seen The Flamboyant Mr. Albert (and Paula's great tutorial) here's the link.

The vintage postage stamps are courtesy of my Great Aunt Esther who was a collector and left them to me. One is from Argentina and the other is Belgium.

It was a thrill to be asked to contribute artwork for Tim's booth display because (as so many of you know) working with his products just invites creativity. To see my other CHA projects, here's a link.

Photo Courtesy of Mario Rossi via Instagram

So that's the story with the following epilogue: This book will soon return to anonymity and never again be seen in such magical surroundings!

- The End -

Morning Glory

It's illegal to grow Morning Glory flowers in Arizona. Too bad because I really like them. They grow fast, attract hummingbirds and open and close each day which is pretty cool to see.

My attempt at drawing them came from a Haiku poem I thought especially appropriate for the new year and was my inspiration for this journal page. That, along with a photo I fell in love with of two charming children gathering sea shells that I placed alongside a very old Japanese print of a grasshopper.

It felt good to spend time in my journal and I couldn't help but contemplate various New Year resolutions as I worked. Like how I should try to draw and paint more (which is harder) and paste less (which is easy).

The only thing I know for sure is that time passes by way too fast so I better stop wasting it!

12 Tags for Christmas - December

As the year comes to a close, I'm posting a final tag for 2015 which will link to Tim's monthly tag along with Simon's Monday blog challenge.

I used Tim's four smallish Christmas Collage stamps for the background by stamping on Distress-tinted tissue paper, cutting out various parts and pasting to the tag in a new arrangement.

An oval was cut from the middle, a photo from Tim's Merriment paper stash pasted behind it then tiny paper-punched oak leaves were tinted, glittered and pasted on.

Perfect Pearls and Stickles were used to embellish the borders along with a tiny bow and some Remant Rubs.

I expect the reason we love vintage (and Christmas) so much is because it takes us back to happier times.

The children here certainly had a different experience from kids growing up today.

And if there was a soundtrack running as you view this tag, it would be John Lennon's song which I believe is more poignant now than when it was written given the turbulent events of this past year:

So this is Christmas, and what have you done

Another year over and a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun

The near and the dear ones, the old and the young

A very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year

(let's hope it's a good one, without any fear)

If you'd like to see all of the Christmas tags

I made based on Tim's 12 from 2015, click here.