Tim Holtz Sizzix Christmas 2024 - Christmas Magic City Card

Hello All and Happy September (Stamptember too!). I know I say it every time, BUT... Did you watch the Tim Holtz Sizzix Vault Christmas Release Live??? OH MY GOSH! FABULOUS JUST FABULOUS!!! The projects were ALL AMAZING and spirit lifting with the Christmas and Holiday themes. My heart is happy having just watched it, and my head is full of ideas and inspiration. I am so honored to be apart of it. Here is a Christmas Card I made shown in the Live, made with the new Vault Series of Dies...Christmas Magic, Holiday Classics, and Seasonal Sketch. This whole year of Vault goodness has been wonderful to revisit these older shapes and images all in new sizes. Even though I have all the original dies, it's been so long since I've used most. So revisiting them and actually digging through my stash for older loot has been refreshing. Thank you Tim! Enjoy everyone.

 

Cut a piece of Black Kraftstock to 4.5 x 6.5 inches. Die cut 5 of one of the words from the Vault Holiday Classics Thinlits using whatever cardstock you want as these will be masks only (I used 'wish'.). Place the Kraftstock in a spray box or only papertowels, and arrange the 5 words on it evenly. Shake the Uncharted Mariner Distress Spritz from Ranger well, and then mist over the words covering the paper. Clean the hole of the Spritz before putting it up so it won't clog next time. Carefully remove the words and use them for another project. Let this dry. 

 

 

 Shake up the Weathered Wood Distress Spritz and then mist it over the whole paper minus the masks this time. Clean the hole of the Spritz as before, and let this dry and set aside.

 

  

Apply two sided tape to the back of six colors of Metallic Classics Kraftstock, making sure each piece will be big enough for the 'city scape' die. Apply two sided tape to the back of three pieces of red and three pieces of green from the Metallic Jewels Kraftstock, making sure each piece will be big enough for the 'city scape' die. Using the Vault Christmas Magic Thinlits, the 'city scape' die, die cut all 12 of the pieces so you will have 6 of the Metallic Classics and three each of the green and red Metallics, but do not remove any of the windows from the red and green, and save the scraps on the red and green as you will need those. Only remove the windows from the Classic Metallics. (Sorry the picture does not show the red and green before layering.) Remove the backing on the Classic Metallic ones and adhere them over the red and green ones, so that you will see either green or red in the windows of the Classic color city scapes.

 

   

Add more two sided tape to a piece of Black Metallic from the Classics collection big enough for Santa and the sleigh, and then die cut it. Add two sided tape to some silver for the base of the 'moon' die  as well as another Santa Sleigh, and die cut those. Add two sided tape to some Watercolor Cardstock and die cut the top layer of the moon and then remove the inner pieces of it. Using the scraps from the green and red Metallic Kraftstock, die cut the letters...3 H's and 3 O's...from the Vault Seasonal Sketch Thinlits. Ink around the edges of both in the inside and out of the moon face with Lost Shadow Distress Ink, and then layer it on top of the silver base. Layer the Black Metallic Santa over the Silver Metallic Santa with the Silver showing a shadow to the right side a bit, and then ink around the edges of the Santa Sleigh with Black Soot Distress Ink. 

 

 

 Cut and fold a Kraft cardstock base card to 5 x 7 inches, and ink the edges with Black Soot. Cut a silver metallic mat to 4.75 x 6.75 inches and add to the front of the Kraft. Ink the edges of the misted words piece with Black Soot, and then adhere the misted words piece on top. Remove the backing of the silver city scape and adhere it above 1.25 inches above the bottom edges of the misted words piece. You will have three rows of city scape (silver, gold, and black last) that you will stagger and so that all the towers can be seen, and you will use the light gold, darker gold, and copper city scape pieces as fill ins by cutting each building off separately and layering them on an existing matching building. Some of the bottom buildings will need foam tape to stand out and be layered nicer so have it close by. So in my picture, I worked on a silver, gold, and black row of city scape pieces first before adhering everything on until I liked the placement of the light gold, darker gold, and copper pieces that I cut off. I also inked the edges of all the pieces with Black Soot before adhering. To finish off, I cut a strip of Watercolor Cardstock the same length of the city scapes and cut the upper border to look like rolling hills. Then I misted it lightly with more Weathered Wood Distress Spritz and then added this on. I staggered the 'HO HO HO' onto this and adhered those on, and I added the moon above and then Santa.

 

Supplies: 

(Paper Trimmer, Two Sided Tape, Die Cut Machine, Die Pick, Scissors, Ink Blending Tool)

-Ranger Surfaces: Manila Cardstock, Kraft Cardstock

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits (Christmas Vault Series 2024): Vault Holiday Classics, Vault Christmas Magic, Vault Seasonal Sketch 

-Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Black Kraftstock, Metallic Classics Kraftstock, Metallic Jewels Kraftstock

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spritz: Uncharted Mariner, Weathered Wood

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Paper

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Lost Shadow, Black Soot

-Ranger Surfaces: Kraft Cardstock

-Ranger Foam Tape: Black

 

Are you already getting in the Holiday Spirit now? LOL! Thanks for stopping by. I'll be back soon with another Christmas make. Until then, I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Tim Holtz Sizzix Autumn/Halloween 2024 - Halloween Brooches

Hello Everyone! I'm back again with my other make from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Autumn/Halloween 2024 Live, the Halloween Brooches. I really want to thank you all for all the wonderful comments on the Autumn Brooches...my cup runneth over. I had no idea that the reason I made the brooches (in honor and remembrance of my Mother) would resonate with so many of you. It makes my heart glad. These Halloween brooches are made the same as the Autumn, with many layers, and then with resin, but I did add some more bling to this set. There were many more designs that I wanted to do, especially with the ghosts, but I ran out of time...so I will probably make those sometime soon. Enjoy, and again a HUGE THANKS!

This picture is pretty much a culmination of several steps, but you know after the last tutorial for the Autumn Brooches that you have to plan what you need out first, and that takes a bit.  This time I only used Metallic Classics and Colors with Deco Sheets. I added two sided tape to the back of what I would be using, and then started die cutting the parts I wanted from the Vault Foliage Wreath, Fright Night, Gothic Portraits, and Wicked Thinlits as well as the frames from Vault Boutique for the cat/moon and silhouette girl/witch hat, and the banner from that set for the word wicked.  I die cut the same pieces again for about three layers to add to the thickness of the piece but I didn’t adhere them, and then I die cut the same again BUT from the backside of the Kraftstock with the two sided tape side up for the backing of each piece so that the backside of the brooch looks nice and finished. Once I die cut I started playing with the pieces to figure out the layout and size of the brooch always keeping in mind the closeness of the parts so that the pin wouldn’t show through from the front, so I kept the pin handy to help guide myself.  I layered the pieces and kept them close together to add to the sturdiness of the brooch as well, 3 to 4 layers is what most are. I also used a bit of Collage Medium on the border parts to make sure they stayed in place with all the layers. On the two cat pieces I added green rhinestones behind the slit in their eyes. For the Deco Sheet detail parts like the witches hair and clothing, I just die cut the entire piece and cut around the parts I wanted and just stuck them on…same for the inside of the words. I just free hand cut the inside parts, fyi.

Once all the layers and pieces were on then I added the backing so that all the pieces are covered with metallic paper on the back and Kraft is not showing. For the pieces that won’t be showing on the back, you don’t need to add a backing of course, but make sure to add a bit of Collage Medium to those pieces to make sure they stay in place. I use Metallic Leafing Pens and permanent markers to color the sides to match the fronts so no Kraft paper was showing.

Here are the pieces with all the layers adhered up a little closer. I should have taken a picture of the backs as well, sorry. But they are just solid metallic paper with no detail parts. The pin will not be adhered until the very end.

Some of the Droplets were not the color I needed so I dyed them with Alcohol Ink. If I had to do a lot I used a cup with several drops of the ink, if only a little I just colored them directly with a Qtip. I did the same with plain clear rhinestones as well. Then I adhered all the bling with Glossy Accents. The bling takes a while to do, but it’s so worth it. 

For the wicked brooch and the spider web as well, I wanted Antiqued Gems hanging down. In order the color the stones inside the bezel, I used pliers to open them up to remove the gems. To color them without moving and touching them, I punched holes in a strip of paper with a regular hole punch and added feet below it with foam tape so it was raised up. Then I added the gems into the holes, and placed a drop or two of Alcohol Ink on them and let it dry. This worked perfectly.

For the mirrored hearts and stars I just dropped Alcohol Ink directly on them.

Another pic of coloring the bling with Alcohol Ink.

I mixed 1 ounce of Ice Resin as directed and poured it over the pieces on a baking cooling rack I have designated for Art, with a piece of wax paper underneath. I tried to do as heavy as a coating as I could and I kept these on the rack over night, moving them around every hour using a craft pick so they didn’t get stuck in place. By morning they were dry and not stuck in place. The bottle says they totally cure after 48 hours.

While the resin hardened I made pillow boxes with the words cut out in the centers to house most of the brooches but some are too big to fit. I added clear packaging material under the word opening.  For all the brooches I cut black tags to fit them and added Kraft colored words to the tags. Once the brooches were dry, I used pliers to bend the hook of pin in a little more so that there wasn’t more tension to secure the pin in the closure hopefully alleviating people from pulling on the pin too much to latch it. I added the pins to the back of each brooch so they wouldn’t be seen using lots of Glossy Accents. I also used tiny letter metal stamping punches and a Craft Hammer for my initials onto Metallic Kraftstock, and added those to the back of each piece for my maker marks, and then I coated the whole back with more Glossy Accents for added strength again, and let them dry. Once dry, I measured and marked where both ends of the back of the pin would be on the black tags and punch holes for them, and then used scissors to cut a line between the holes. The back of the pin just pushes through the line into the holes and stays in place. Then the card with the brooch fits into the pillow box, well at least the smaller ones anyway.

Supplies:

(Paper Trimmer, Two Sided Tape, Die Cut Machine, Die Pick, Scissors, Standard Premium Crease Pad)

-Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Metallic Classics Kraftstock, Metallic Colors Kraftstock, Christmas Deco Sheets, Halloween Deco Sheets, Metallic Droplets, Mirrored Hearts, Mirrored Stars, Antiqued Gems, Jumprings

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits (Autumn Halloween Vault Series 2024): Vault Foliage Wreath, Vault Fright Night, Vault Gothic Portraits, Vault Wicked

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Matte

-Ranger Glossy Accents

-Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink: Dijon, Limeade, Everglades, Purple Twilight, Boysenberry, Slate, Pitch Black, Gold Mixative, Silver Mixative

-Ranger Ice Resin

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits: Vault Boutique, Vault Pillow Box & Bag

-Ranger Surfaces: Kraft Cardstock, Black Cardstock

-1 Inch Brooch Pins, Gold, Silver, Copper Metallic Pens, Microfiber Cloth, Various Sizes Flat Rhinestones and Pearl Halves, Containers for Ice Resin, Metal Letter Stamps and Hammer if Desired, Clear Packaging

Thank you so so much for stopping by, and for all the comments! I'll be back in a few weeks. Until then, I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Tim Holtz Sizzix Autumn/Halloween 2024 - Autumn Brooches

It's already August and Autumn will be here before you know it, so I love that Tim Holtz releases products early enough to be in hand before the season. Today was the Live for the Sizzix Autumn/Halloween Dies. If you missed it, watch the replay, or just watch it again and again because the makes were crazy outstanding and inspiring from the Makers! I'm always in awe and my head explodes with ideas after every Live. I'd like to give you a little personal side note as to why I made Brooches for not only Autumn but also for Halloween (Don't be surprised if you see some for Christmas!) with the new Dies, and YES they are made with paper.  My Mother and I shared a love for vintage jewelry and especially brooches. We gifted each other many over the years. She passed away in January of this year, and I was entrusted to clean out her house. When I came to large collection of jewelry, so many pieces were brooches of course. Memories flooded back, and I found so much joy in them. I researched every single piece and discovered some valuable pieces as well as learned so much. My love for them was renewed, and I decided to start making my own, but I had no idea where to start and didn't know how I was going to shape real metal. Then Tim sent the dies, and I decided to try making one brooch with the dies and PAPER. I started with several layers of metallic paper, and it proved sturdy but not quite as I would have liked, so I thought I'd coat it in resin, and WOW it worked! It was not only sturdy, but I think it will last years. Next thing I knew, the one brooch turned into many and I just couldn't stop making them. Each one brought joy and strangely enough a closeness with my Mother. It was absolute therapy. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did making them.  

Add two sided tape to the back of Silver, Light Gold, Dark Gold, and Copper Metallic Kraftstock, and then start die cutting the parts that you want from the Vault Foliage Wreath Thinlits as well as the two pumpkin parts from the Vault Wicked Thinlits.  You will also need to die cut the same pieces again for about three layers to add to the thickness of the piece but don’t adhere them yet, and then die cut the same again BUT from the backside of the Kraftstock with the two sided tape side up to be able to back your pieces so that the backside of the brooch looks nice and finished, MINUS the detail pieces like the centers of flowers and leaves as you don’t really need to have those on the back.  Do not add the backs on the pieces yet though. Start playing with the pieces to figure out the layout and size of the brooch you want keeping in mind the closeness of the parts so that your pin won’t show through from the front, so keep a pin handy to help guide you, as well as when to add another layer so the depth makes sense for a 3D look. You will want to layer the pieces and keep them close together to add to the sturdiness of the brooch as well. Add a bit of Collage Medium to the detail parts to make sure they stay in place. This is the hardest part of making the brooches as it takes some thinking and planning. 

Once you figure out the depth and closeness of the pieces and have added all the layers, then you can add the backing so that all the pieces are covered with metallic paper on the back and Kraft is not showing. For the pieces that won’t be showing on the back, you don’t need to add a backing of course. 

Here are all the pieces with all the layers adhered on up a little closer. I should have taken a picture of the backs as well, sorry. But they are just solid metallic paper with no detail parts. The pin will not be adhered until the very end, so don’t worry about those now.

Since the edges of the pieces are brown from the Kraft, I used metallic leafing paint pens to color the edges. I used a tiny craft Qtip with the paint from the pens to get into the tiny open areas. Doing this also allowed me to see all the edges were adhered down well, so when they were not I added a bit of Collage Medium to fully secure them. 

Some of the Droplets were not the color I needed so I dyed them with Alcohol Ink. If I had to do a lot I used a cup with several drops of the ink, if only a little I just colored them directly with a Qtip. I did the same with plain clear rhinestones as well. Then I adhered all the bling with Glossy Accents.

Another picture of using Alcohol Ink to color the bling.

Same as 5 and 6. Alcohol Ink is so versatile.

I mixed 1 ounce of Ice Resin and poured it over the pieces on a baking cooling rack I have designated for Art, with a piece of wax paper underneath. I tried to do as heavy as a coating as I could and I kept these on the rack over night, moving them around every hour using a craft pick so they didn’t get stuck in place. By morning they were dry and not stuck in place. The bottle says they totally cure after 48 hours. 

While the resin hardened I made glassine sacks to house the brooches using the Vault Pillow Box Thinlits, making a window with the pumpkin die, and adding clear packaging material under the pumpkin opening. I had to use the Premium Crease Pad for the sack die with the thin glassine so the folding creases didn’t get cut all the way through.

I used pliers to bend the hook of pin in a little more so that there wasn’t more tension when it gets secured in the closure, hopefully alleviating people from pulling on the pin too much to latch it. Fingers crossed. I added the pins to the back of each brooch so they wouldn’t be seen using lots of Glossy Accents. I also used tiny letter metal stamping punches and a Craft Hammer for my initials onto Metallic Kraftstock, and added those to the back of each piece for my maker marks, and then I coated the whole back with more Glossy Accents for added strength again, and let them dry.

Using the same Vault Pillow Box Thinlits, there is a card to die cut that fits into the sack. I die cut 6 of these, one for each as a holding card for the brooches. I measured and marked where both ends of the back of the pin would be and punch holes for them, and then used scissors to cut a line between the holes. The back of the pin is just pushed through the cut line into the holes and it stays in place perfectly. Then the card with the brooch fits into the sack. 

Supplies:

(Paper Trimmer, Two Sided Tape, Die Cut Machine, Die Pick, Scissors, Standard Premium Crease Pad)

-Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Metallic Kraftstock, Metallic Droplets, Christmas Droplets, Halloween Droplets, Mirrored Hearts, Kraft Glassine

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits (Autumn Halloween Vault Series 2024): Vault Foliage Wreath, Vault Wicked

-Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Matte

-Ranger Glossy Accents

-Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink: Sandal, Latte, Dijon, Ginger, Teakwood, Sunshine Yellow, Valencia, Botanical, Gold Mixative

-Ranger Ice Resin

-Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlits: Vault Pillow Box & Bag

-1 Inch Brooch Pins, Gold, Silver, Copper Metallic Pens, Microfiber Cloth, Various Sizes Flat Rhinestones and Pearl Halves, Containers to Dye In and for Ice Resin, Metal Letter Stamps and Hammer if Desired, Clear Packaging

Thank you truly for all the comments on the Live and social media. I totally appreciate all of you! I'll be back again next week with the Halloween Brooches. Until then, I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!