Best in Show

Most collage artists have a habit of collecting images that might be useful for a future project. I like to collect people and the image I used here was found and saved to my stash six years ago.

I thought the spotted theme clever but had no way of knowing when I'd use it--until now.

This week's theme at Simon's Monday Challenge Blog is "Man's Best Friend" and became the perfect opportunity to use it.

The background is a page from the Tim Holtz Etcetera paper stash, an 8" x 8" collection of papers that are sized just right for tags.

I added polka dots using Tim's Dots & Floral stamp set, the label is from one of his Ephemera collections and most of the tinting was done with colored pencils.

Kept Her Word

I've been experimenting lately with image transfers over stenciled texture paste using large, solid designs so I thought it was time to try the technique over a more intricate stencil (Tim Holtz Floral).

I used one side of a page from Tim's Memoranda Paper Stash to cover the stencil and another page from the same collection was used for the tag's background.

The little miss is also an image transfer, Remnant Rubs were used to cover the red-bordered labels and a Clippings Sticker became the sentiment.

I consider my experiment a success although it was a little harder and more time-consuming but doable just the same.

And, because this is Not a Card, I'm linking it to Simon's Monday Challenge Blog where the theme this week is to make anything but. Two entries in one week will double my chances of winning and I'm itching to buy some Christmas goodies. Wish me luck!

Field Notes

Tinted mostly with water-soluble oil pastels, an image transfer, some stamped images, Tissue Wrap and Quote Chips came together on a support made from an old textbook cover. I've got step-out photos if you'd like to see the particulars.

(Click on the photos for a larger, lightbox view.)

I stripped the cover of a textbook which left me with a sturdy gray board that I covered with Tim Holtz Postale Tissue Wrap using Modge Podge.

I edited an image (coincidently, also a book cover) and then transferred it to the board using Golden Polymer Medium (Gloss). You can read about my technique in this post.

I used dilute gesso to obscure the background details and this also provided a good surface for applying color.

I stamped the keyboard image (Tim Holtz) on tissue paper using archival ink, tore the edges and pasted it on my support. I added a border detail/frame using a dark brown Pitt Artist Pen. They are made with india ink and waterproof with almost all mediums.

The Quote Chips (Tim Holtz Idea-ology) were delaminated because I wanted the text but not the thickness. They were later stained and distressed to blend in with the background.

The snail (Carabelle Studio) was also stamped on paper, which I tinted then cut-out and pasted on.

Most of the coloring was done with water-soluble oil pastels. I like that they are transparent, easily blended with your fingers and can be diluted and spread with a water brush for thinner coverage.

I made this to link-up with Simon's Monday Challenge Blog, this week's theme is to make anything except a card. This may be out of the box for some but if the challenge was just the opposite, I'd expect to struggle a bit as I haven't made a card in quite some time.