SUMMER OF CREATIVE CHEMISTRY. CC101 Week 1

     Since I have so many of the products used in this course, I finally decided to take the leap and enroll in Creative Chemistry 101.  The only problem is that I'm great at starting things, but not the best at finishing.  It's a good thing the instructions are good for a lifetime!  Anyway, I just finished my first three tags and am sharing them in the Week One Gallery.  http://www.onlinecardclasses.com/timholtz/summer-creative-chemistry-week-1-gallery/. Any comments would be appreciated and thanks for looking.
          

TIM HOLTZ APRIL - 2016 TAG

     This April remix gave me the perfect opportunity to experiment and play with some products that I hadn't used before.  Since I didn't have any wood grain card stock, I ran a tag through my Big Shot with the Tim Holtz embossing folder.  I then colored it with various Distress Inks.  I cut the bird with my new unused Bird Silhouette die and proceeded to attach my paper pieces cut from a piece of Menagerie paper.  I didn't have the Mosaic Kit, so I got creative, substituting embossing paste, gel medium, and Glossy Accents.  The bird is perched on a pen nib amidst some die cut greenery.  A Mini Plaquette and design tape finished the tag.  
     This tag was a lot of fun to make and I am sharing it on the Tim Holtz blog.
                    

SIMON SAYS MONDAY CHALLENGE

     I am entering my 5" x 7" canvas in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  I painted the background with acrylics and added a few pieces of tissue wrap.  Then I randomly stenciled it with embossing paste and black paint.  In keeping with the Challenge theme "April Showers Bring May Flowers", I attached the die cut Umbrella Man and several handmade die cut Tattered Flowers that I accented with amber gems.
     I hope you enjoy your visit and would appreciate any comments.
                   

MIXED MEDIA MONTHLY CHALLENGE #23

     The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge for April is "dimension", so I'm entering my 4" x 4" canvas featuring a die cut butterfly with it's colorful wings lifted and spread wide.  It's attached to the canvas by it's pen nib body which gives it added dimension.  Other dimensional elements include the word "enjoy" which is also die cut, and pieces of design tape over a stenciled background.  This was really a fun project and I hope you enjoy it too.  This is my first entry into this challenge and any comments will be appreciated.
                             

Simon Monday Challenge WE CAN SEE CLEARLY

Just a quick entry into the WE CAN SEE CLEARLY challenge at www.simonsaysstampblog.com.  A piece of printed vellum gives a very soft look to the die cut colored card stock.  The card is versatile and can be used for almost any occasion.  Thanks for of stopping by.

TIM HOLTZ - 12 Tags of 2016 - March

     Better late than never, my first post of 2016 is my March tag using Tim's remix techniques featuring dimensional die cuts and textures.  The tag gave me the opportunity to use my new Distress Crayons and Mixed Media 2 Thinlits dies as well as all the other Tim Holtz products I've collected.  The crayons were fun to use and I even used them to color the ribbon.  I love butterflies and liked the combination of grunge and bright color, so the tag was really fun to make.  Hopefully this is just a jump start for more tags and blog entries.

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QUAD-CITY BOTANICAL CENTER VISIT

     Since some of the area schools are already on Winter Break, we thought the Cinemas would be pretty busy today, so we decided to visit the Quad-City Botanical Center in Rock Island IL after lunch at City Limits.  There were several quilts on display which were very interesting works of art.
                 

                                                         

     

     We also went into the tropical garden area anticipating some special Christmas displays, but only found the permanent tropical plants which we had seen before.  I couldn't resist taking a few pictures anyway.       

CHRISTMAS DISPLAY AT VANDEVEER CONSERVATORY

     One day last week Irv and I stopped by the VanderVeer Conservatory to see the Christmas display.  It was very pretty and a little unusual, as many of the flowers were spray painted blue and purple.  There were several others visiting at the same time, and it seemed like everyone was taking pictures with their phones.  Below are a few of the pictures I took with my pod.
       

FIRST SNOWFALL OF 2015 WINTER

     A dusting of snow might have been OK for our first snowfall of this winter, but instead we ended up with at least 9 inches of heavy wet snow.  It also came early in the season, starting Friday night and continuing into early morning.  Irv went out Sat. afternoon with the snowblower which kept getting clogged up with the wet snow.  It was 5 degrees this morning, so we stayed home and fixed breakfast.  Good food served in a cozy kitchen.  Can't beat that.
      The Hawks played their last home football game Sat. and from the looks of the nice green field and the crowds in the stands you would never know that it snowed.  It was an exciting game and once again they came through with a win.  A perfect season so far and let's hope it continues with a win over Nebraska next Friday.  We've had a lot of fun watching the games together this year!
       I took a few pictures of our snowy deck and the back yard just so we wouldn't forget this first snow.
     

VanderVeer Park Conservatory Visit

     While I was out and about today, I stopped at the VanderVeer Park Conservatory and photographed the beautiful mum display.  It will soon be replaced with a lighted floral Christmas display, so check back in a few weeks for another conservatory visit.
     I think the "spider" mums were my favorites, but I enjoyed all of the displays.
         

HALLOWEEN SHADOWBOX

     Another fun Halloween piece that I created using a few found objects, like the skeleton and owl, and numerous Tim Holtz items.  The background of the 6"x6" 7 gypsies shadow box is covered with Regions Beyond paper and the various compartments are filled with ephemera, fragments, and various apothecary vials.  We have really enjoyed this piece displayed on an easel on our dining room table.  I hope you enjoy this piece too.
         

     Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come again.

         

EXPERIMENTING WITH PICASA

More Halloween cards made with the Tim Holtz "Bird Crazy" stamp collection.  So much fun to play with and lots of opportunity to get creative.  Think I've finally gotten things figured out about using Picasa on my iPad along with Blogspot.  Now I just have to remember how to use it the next time I want to blog. LOL

TRICK OR TREAT

I don't post very often, so it always seems like a new learning experience and I'm never quite sure how things will turn out.  kind of like Trick or Treat!  I made a couple of Halloween cards with the Tim Holtz "Bird Crazy" stamp collection for a niece and nephew in California.  They were fun to make and I hope the kids enjoy them.  I hope you enjoy them too.

     

TIM'S OCTOBER TAG

     Guess it's about time that I blog about my October tag since it's all about Halloween.  I didn't have any of the new monster dies, so I used the skull with a top hat stamp from the Tim Holtz "Undertaker" collection which I colored with Distress Ink.  I cut out the eyes and layered them with glittery black card stock.  I also used the same card stock for the top hat and highlighted it it with my white Molotow pen.    The tag was covered with a scrap of Regions Beyond paper which just happened to have Poe in the top corner, which I thought was pretty cool.  I also used a piece of Halloween ribbon and attached a skull charm to the hat.  I plan to enter this on the Tim Holtz website at  www.timholtz.com

      

NIGHT AT THE CIRCUS

     I can't believe I let August slip by without posting anything.  I must try to do better during September.  Every Labor Day weekend the "Biggest Show on Earth" comes to our area.  Ringling Brothers & Baily sets up at the Iwireless Center in Moline IL for multiple performances, and last night was the fourth time we have enjoyed the beautiful animals and daring performances of the acrobats and other cast members.  I especially wanted to see the show this year, because I've heard that it's the last year that elephants will be part of the circus.  So sad, but PETA has won.  

     Taking pictures was a challenge because of flashing bright lights and all of the movement, but I am posting a picture of the colorful entryway and one of the elephants.  

        

   

          

     Attending the circus was our way of observing Labor Day.  Just taking it easy today and staying where it's cool as it's supposed to be in the low 90's again today.  It's been a warm September so far. Thanks for stopping by.

FIELDS OF GREEN

     I couldn't resist posting this picture of a good friend of mine standing in a beautiful field of green.  If you're a born and bred Iowan there is almost nothing prettier than a field of corn.  It's absolutely amazing how fast it grows and how tall it gets.  My friend is about 5 foot 3 inches tall, which gives you some idea of how tall the corn is.  Won't be long before heavy ears of corn are hanging and ready to be picked.

           

BIRD CRAZY FUN

         Just couldn't resist playing with the Tim Holtz "Bird Crazy" stamp set.  I'll have a lot more fun once my accessory stamps and dies arrive.  There are several more crazy birds to stamp too.  Endless fun ahead.  Can't wait.  The rain drops are colored with Wink of Stella to give them a shimmer and the birds are colored with Distress Markers.  

        

      

DELICIOUS TOMATOES

     One of the best parts of Summer is eating BTL's made with homegrown tomatoes.  I couldn't resist taking a picture of these beautiful "Early Girl" and "Cherry" tomatoes that Irv harvested from his garden Sunday.  We had delicious sandwiches for dinner.  Looking forward to many more and hopefully Irv will have enough to give to the neighbors.  

                     

SWEET BABY GIRL

      Yesterday my good friend Gretchen visited with her 7 week old baby girl.  I hadn't seen them since the birth, so it was really nice to spend the afternoon catching up and holding the baby.  She is such a precious little one.  Pictured below is Mom and  baby.

                      

   

BISHOP HILL DAY TRIP

Tuesday was a lovely dry Spring day, so we decided to take a day trip to Bishop Hill IL a historic Swedish village set among cornfields and windfarms.  It was a quiet day, with only a few visitors and most of them were there to have lunch at P. L. Johnson's, which is where we also ate.  Irv had traditional Swedish meatballs and a salad and I had a turkey/ham sandwich on the most delicious Swedish rye bread.  After lunch we visited a pottery, one of the few places open on a Tuesday, where we saw a variety of decorative pots and a few Christmas items.  

     Since it was still early afternoon, we got back on the interstate and headed several more miles to Dick Bliicks, an artist supply store where I made a couple of purchases.  Then it was time to head home. Pictured below is a photo of Mr. Kitty who greeted us at P. L. Johnson's and some photos from the pottery.  

                                                                  

 

 

Hope you enjoyed our trip and stop by again.