Tim Holtz

what a week...

well hello there bloggers!  what a week this has been - better yet, what a FUN week this has been.  we started our journey heading to florida on friday morning to teach at ruban rouge the next day.  i always enjoy spending time with lisa (the owner), her wonderful friends (who are also unconditionally helpful), and her very talented customers.  i taught 3 workshops last saturday and we were up to our elbows in ink, paints, and grunge.  the projects were fun and i loved seeing what everyone created - always inspiring....

and check out this shirt!  seriously it's one of the funniest one's i've seen.  to be honest i didn't get it at first, until i read it a few times...
"hey tim I LIKE YOU so much... IT HOLTZ"!  clever and funny huh?

then we were off to the cha summer show on sunday morning as we drove to orlando.  there was definitely lots to do before the show even started. we began setting up the booth and unpacking all of the crates, boxes, and palettes.  then the next day it was an early morning with my cha holiday workshop "distress the holidays".  i taught 2 workshops back to back with about 50 students in each - lots of festive fun, here's the project...

then we were back on the show floor to finish setting up the ranger booth and then i headed over to the idea-ology booth to finish setting up there - talk about a long day!  the cha-summer show kicked off on tuesday morning to very eager stores, designers, and vendors.  it was a much smaller show than in the past years of cha, but still a good show nevertheless.  my first 2 days of the show were spent demoing for ranger along with suze, claudine, and wendy, hanging out in my idea-ology booth, and getting to walk the show floor for about an hour each day to see what i could see.  what i really love about the showis seeing friends, and noticing how many people are there videoing the show, taking pics, twittering, and facebooking right from the show floor.  it's definitely a great way to keep everyone up to date on all of the new releases and goings on of cha.  i also had some help from my friends in getting everything ready for the show - of course i could never do what i do without them.  a huge thank you and shout out to mario, michele, and kim for their awesome job getting all of my class kits and make & take kits prepped perfectly!  to tracey for working the make & take in the idea-ology booth, and debbie for her hard work in the ranger make & takes, and of course to keychain and wendy for lending a hand making some incredible samples for the idea-ology and ranger booths - they were quite the hit at the show....

here's a cool grunge display that wendy did for the ranger booth...

and here are keychain's amazing grungepaper flowers - so unbelievable in person...

and of course to finish it off, what everyone was going crazy for at the show - including me i must confess, were the new rock candy distress stickles and clear crackle paint!  this is going to be a very versatile and fun product to work with - i can't wait...and neither should YOU!  which is why i am starting a weekend of new cha giveaways!  that's right - i am giving away some new cha-summer products and all you have to do is simply post a comment anytime this weekend sharing your favorite new product i've released at this show - it could be distress stickles, or rock candy crackle paint from ranger, something from the idea-ology line, or one of my new stamp sets with stampers anonymous, and the winners will be randomly selected and posted on monday's blog!  i will be giving away prize packs including a new stamp set, some distress stickles, and new idea-ology goodies to 10 lucky winners!  so i hope you enjoyed the recap of my week long adventures, we're heading home from the airport to get unpacked and ready to head out again next week.  i have a couple more great cha moments to share with you on monday - remember you have all weekend to post your comments....t!m

a quick update...

hey there!  just checking in since i had every intention on posting on monday before cha started.  well things have been busy as ever with with workshops at ruban rouge, cha workshops, booth set-up, demos, appointments, and the list goes on and on.  i'll be posting a recap on friday with some fun cha giveaways to go along with it!  more then....t!m

orlando here we come...

hey there bloggers!  geesh....what a crazy week this has been heading up to our trip to the cha-summer trade show.  we're sitting here at the airport waiting to fly out to teach tomorrow at ruban rouge in florida.  i'll be honest it's always crazy around here during show times, there's just so much to do.  things around the studio have been going in overdrive to try to keep everything going and stay ahead of it all - well trying to anyways.  the days have been long, the nights have been to, and we've just been moving along.  i just wanted to share a glimpse at what things have been looking like around this place.  kits to pack for cha, 120, make & takes, 100, kits for my classes at ruban rouge 150, kits for cku 250, kits for the queens ink 260 - how crazy is that.  of course with  kits comes supplies so we've been cleaning up all of the scissors, sorting the inks, unpacking, repacking, and making sure everything gets where it needs to be in time.  so needless to say, i'm looking forward to a 5+ hour flight - hopefully a little shut eye.  i'll be posting about my cha adventures and offering some giveaways of some of the brand new products starting monday - for now, i'm off to the land of humidity...t!m

for the love of cosmo winner...

congrats to altered route for their random winning comment.  please email me and i will get this earth love cosmo cricket paper pack off to you.  thanks to all of you for being part of the fun blog hopping - what a funny post!

Hi ,  Altered Route (alteredroute@dishmail.net) has left you a comment:

Tim Who????
Love the "earth love"!...and Tim aint't too bad either!

more to come later today with a CHA final update - stay tuned...t!m

for the love of cosmo...giveaway!

hey bloggers!  check out today's cosmo cricket blog.   it features the make & take we're doing in the idea-ology booth at cha using the new word sticks, and of course idea-ology fragment charms, jump rings, ball chain...  oh yeah and that paper - don't you love it?  cosmo cricket hooked me up once again with their incredible new papers "earth love".  cosmo cricket are my absolute favorites always and forever - seriously i'm a humbled fan of their design talents.

okay you have to go check out their blog be sure to leave a comment on THEIR blog, they LOVE comments.  i'll pick a name from THEIR blog comments tonight and send the winner the whole collection crafting kit of "earth love"!  good luck! more cha updates to share tomorrow!...t!m

cha-summer ranger...

well here you go bloggers!  thanks for waiting for this one.  here are the new cha-summer release products i've done with ranger.  i'm really excited about these since i've been playing with them for about a month now - seriously, they are so cool.  these products are being released next week at cha-summer and shipping shortly after so you just have to hold on a little longer.  here they are - enjoy...t!m

NEW Distress Stickles - okay so if you haven't tried distress stickles yet, you're missing out.  as i've said before i'm not much of a bling guy, but these are so vintage, so nostalgic, and so distress.  these glitters aren't your typical metallic glitter glue, distress stickles is more of a mica looking glitter and now we have the remaining 12 colors to round out the distress palette.  oh yeah - tattered rose, aged mahogany, dried marigold, mustard seed, shabby shutters, pine needles, weathered wood, dusty concord, old paper, tea dye, brushed corduroy, and black soot. more distress fun!

MORE NEW Distress Stickles! - so i couldn't leave out the new metallic crackle colors for the distress stickles?  especially in time for the holidays, these 5 more new colors of distress stickles are a must have!  picket fence (yes a white chunky glitter perfect for snow!), tarnished brass, brushed pewter, and antiqued bronze (a touch of aged metallics in a mica looking glitter - incredible!), and of course my NEW favorite...rock candy! (this is totally clear glitter and because it's clear, it reflects whatever colors you put it on.  use it over stamped images, flowers, scrapbook paper, whatever you want -  i'm telling you, it looks like you've dipped it in chunky clear sugary goodness!).

NEW Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint - okay you didn't think i wouldn't want rock candy in a crackle paint too did you?  of course!  just think, a thin clear layer of crackled clarity - there's nothing better!  paint this over stamped designs, photographs (oh yeah photos!), canvas collage artwork, and just about any paper craft embellishment you can get your hands on.  this new rock candy has the same fine porcelain crackles you've come to expect from distress crackle paint.  this rock candy definitely "rocks" my world! (couldn't resist that one...) - check it out!

NEW Replacement Nibs - well last but not least, you've asked for them and we've delivered.  now you can purchase replacement nibs for your adirondack fillable pens.  if you've been using them as much as i have, this release is just in time.  each pack contains 2 brush nibs and 2 detailed nibs, so now you have nothing to fear - let your colorful creativity roll...

cha-summer idea-ology...

hey bloggers!  hope you're enjoying the weekend.  i just got word that the cha-summer new releases for my idea-ology products have already leaked out, and you know i've been wanting to share them with you - so here they are!  there are just a few new things as you can see, but some really cool new stuff to play with!  i'll be sharing my new ranger releases on monday - so much to do so little time before the show.  back to work...t!m

happy birthday disneyland...

hey bloggers!  just wanted to share a birthday wish to the happiest place on earth.  today is disneyland's 54th birthday.  it's hard to believe that one man, walt disney could have made such an impact on the entire world!  the imagination, dreams, and vision walt shared when creating disneyland is not only timeless, but one of the most incredible places ever built in my opinion.  so join me in a birthday wish that some time throughout everyone's life, they will have the chance to visit and create their own memories at the happiest place on earth...t!m

some BIG news...

it's no secret i love my friends at hero arts - seriously, their creative and whimsical style are a huge inspiration in the craft industry.  i just wanted to give a shout out to say congrats on the new website - it looks amazing!  you should all go and check it out yourself - they're doing giveaways and everything!  so thank you hero arts for more great ideas, for some of the most talented designers ever, and for the creative products you continue to share with all of us...t!m

carson recap and stamp winners...

*** ATTENTION BLOGGERS!  GREAT NEWS!  i've just confirmed that 2 stamp retailers in california came by the booth on the last day and bought up all of my NEW STAMPS and have them FOR SALE NOW!!!  that's right, you can buy them now before they are released at CHA.  for online, check out ECLECTIC PAPERIE, for  the store in northern california, check out STAMPERS CORNER in elk grove - get them while they're hot! ***

hey there bloggers!  well i honestly had good intentions on posting this morning on the way to the airport in california, but it didn't happen (not much of a morning person i confess).  then when we landed in phoenix i started downloading the endless emails from the comments all of you made on the blog - honestly, what can i say?  thank you is a start!  thank you, thank you, thank you for your kind words, funny comments, and trying your best to pick a favorite image from the new releases.  i appreciate all of you.

carson stamp show was a great time!  thank you to everyone who came, watched demos, did the make & takes, and of course shopped - boy did you ever!  thanks to wendy for being the dueling demo/make & take partner in crime -we did it!  and of course thanks to the carson gang (you know who you are) for your tireless efforts to make the weekend a success, it would not be the same without you....

so i just got home, jumped on the computer and needed to post the 5 winners of one of the new stamp sets, which one you may ask - well the most expensive of course!  that's right, all 5 of you will be getting the $30 holiday mini set, and it's just in time to get a jump on your holiday projects.  again, thank you everyone for taking the time to post a comment.  i'll start reading through them now that i'm home for a while before cha.  time to unpack and take a breath - until tomorrow....t!m

congrats to the following winners!  please email me your contact info so we can send out your stamps. (*you must e-mail me by 7/17 to claim your prize)

14. Posted by: Barbara | July 10, 2009 at 07:06 AM
WOW WOW WOW AGAIN!!! It is hard to pick a favorite, but LOVE the mini holiday set (1st in the display) but I also love the one with the birdcage hat. So great for manly cards!! I know I will purchasing quite a few of these. Love all your amazing images and thanks again for tons of inspiration. 

183. Posted by: sherly giglio | July 10, 2009 at 08:31 AM
love the artful flight ;)
sherly 

468. Posted by: Wanda H | July 10, 2009 at 12:23 PM
Fabulous sets!!! I absolutely love the saying "learn to pause.... or nothing worthwhile will catch up to you", that will be the first set I'll be buying!!! 

833.  Posted by: Lynn Barwald | July 11, 2009 at 05:45 AM
OMG TiM! There can't be anything better in this world than Tim Holtz & Stampers Anonymous! Your stamps really ROCK!!!! It's impossible to pick my favorite, but I guess the 2 tops are Artful Flight and Fabulous Flourishes. These are just WONDERFUL!!! Have a great week-end! Lynn B 

1129.  Posted by: Marie Sporrong | July 12, 2009 at 02:19 PM
I bet you've never read this as a comment ever before!
I'm glad when I see something of your items that I don't like, and don't want! Glad!!
But only because I almost want to have everything you make for us to use!! Everything!! And you've done a lot of stuff!! :)It is like a curse. I want and I feel a desperate need of all of your things but I can not buy everything. Even I understand that. ( Almost... ;) ) And that even with a most understanding husband! :)

So now he has done it again. Made gorgeous stampsets that I sit and drool over and just can´t make a choice over which one is a absolute musthave and which one I can spare to have. At least for a time.... :)

Then! There it is! One thing I don´t want!!
And I´m feeling glad. How crazy is that?
Bet you are a little bit curious of what it is that I don´t want to have!?
Clowns. They just give me the creeps. And your clowns didn´t exactly cure me from that!!
So, now they were twelve!

A favorite one you ask? Now here is an impossible thing to do. You made many great sets and they are great in several different ways. So therefore they are impossible to compare with each other.

"Just thoughts": Great thoughts!! And made to beautiful pictures even as text. Many great ways to use these. I love to make cards and often feel a lack of something to say. These thoughts are great! ( A must have :) ! )

"Spooky stuff": Love them all! The splash! Oh what fun you can have with this one! On everything! (Must have it on some of my scraparea furniture!)
The poisonstamp. Great to be able to make your own label, and as many as you like!
( Have to use it for a Halloween party and put a label of poison on every glass as a decoration!) ( Could use your clips! )
The cat and the "Happy Halloween" with that beautifully spider net! Invitations and so on and so on... great!
And what a beautiful stamp you made of the bird! You can really feel it flies away. Or just landing... Love the scratchy feeling.

"Artful flight": I can never get tired of birds. They are everything nature stands for. ( Lucky to live just by the forest.)
And you made a beautiful stampset here too!!
I make small birdhouses in just paper and these stamps are also a must have!

"French marketplace": Oh lovely, lovely handwriting!! This is another must have!!

"Ultimate grunge": Love it!! You can color it and emboss it, resist it and so on and it will be like completely different stamps although it is the same stamp.
( I can´t wait to see you use these stamps yourself. I´m sure it will be inspiring!)

"Mini holiday": MUSTHAVE! Love making homemade Christmas cards and you have made it almost bulletproof to make only great cards with your great stamps! And such a variation in fonts and pictures to choose from!
I could go on and on like this for hours!

You are a true genius in everything you do and even if you heard it before from other fans I just need to say so!
Thank you for making me glad if I find something made by you that I don´t want!
And thank you for having a blog so we can read some of your thoughts and for letting us be able to send some of our thoughts to you!
I sure wish I could come to the show but as I live in Sweden it´s a little bit too far, but I hope you all have a blast!!!
Big hug, Marie Sporrong, Sweden

new cha-summer 2009 stamps...

morning bloggers!  well it's early morning (for me anyways) and we're heading down to the airport to fly out to california for the weekend.  as promised here are the 13 NEW stamp sets that are being debuted at the carson rubber stamp show this weekend, and released at the cha-summer show in orlando in a couple of weeks - i'm so excited!  to be honest, i never know where my mind will take me when i create my collections or how many stamps i will even do.  this collection is definitely inspired by so many things including my recent travels this year as many of you might notice - inspiration is everywhere.  funny thing is, i originally remember only planning on designing 12 stamps for the entire line (that was over 100 images ago...).  thank you to all of you for your excitement and support of my stamp collections from stampers anonymous.  they are the best stamp company to design for and are so supportive of my random creative thoughts.  so here you go, check them out, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts, any favorites?  i'll be drawing 5 random winners on monday morning and the winners will receive the NEW "mini holidays" set - love this one!  for your chance to win, simply post a comment on the blog between now and sunday night.  have a great weekend everyone and i hope to see many of you at the show...t!m

counting the minutes...

hey bloggers!  well it's that time again... time to pack up for the summer carson rubber stamp show and gather up my demo supplies.  i am very excited as always to attend the july show since we always debut the new summer releases early there (before they "officially launch" at cha-summer show).  so tomorrow morning, be sure to check back to see all 13, yes 13 sets!  crazy i know but when the little voices in my head are shouting ideas, i listen...  i will also be giving away a few of the new sets tomorrow on the blog so don't miss out!  i'm off to spend the day in my studio making samples - counting the minutes until tomorrow...t!m

make & takes this weekend...

hey bloggers!  well exciting news for those of you attending the rubber stamp convention in carson, california this weekend.  my friend and talented grunge extraordinaire wendy vecchi and myself will be doing make & takes as well as demo throughout both days of the carson stamp show.   basically we have 4 different make & takes planned, 2 per day.  we have timed each make & take to 30 minute sessions with 12 seats in each session, and we have limited space for each one (see below).  we will be selling tickets at the stampers anonymous booth first come first serve on saturday morning when the show opens.  the first make & take starts at 9:30am - you can purchase tickets for 1 or all 4 make & takes at once if you choose.  all supplies are included for these and they are so fun and so different using a variety of ranger, idea-ology, and of course our new stamp designs from the Tim Holtz Collection, and Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Collections that will be released at CHA-Summer but available for sale in limited quantities at the carson show this weekend!  we can't wait for you to see them...  sorry, but these make & takes are for stampers 12 years and older - so here's what we have planned, we hope to see you there...t!m

SATURDAY 7/11 (Show Hours 9:00am-4:00pm)
FREE DEMOS in the Stampers Anonymous Booth:
9:00am-12:00noon - Wendy Demos
1:00pm-4:00pm - Tim Demos

MAKE & TAKES in the Stampers Anonymous Booth:
Tim - "Holiday Wish Pin" Cost $10 (seats limited to 60 total) *image below
Times: 9:30am-10:00am, 10:00am-10:30am, 10:30am-11:00am, 11:00am-11:30am, 11:30am-12:00noon

Wendy - "Grunge Flower Clip" Cost $5 (seats limited to 72 total) *image below
Times: 1:00pm-1:30pm, 1:30pm-2:00pm, 2:00pm-2:30pm, 2:30pm-3:00pm, 3:00pm-3:30pm, 3:30pm-4:00pm

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUNDAY 7/12 (Show Hours 10:00am-3:00pm)
FREE DEMOS in the Stampers Anonymous Booth:
10:00am-12:00noon - Tim Demos
1:00pm-3:00pm - Wendy Demos

MAKE & TAKES in the Stampers Anonymous Booth:
Wendy - "Make Art ATC" Cost $7 (seats limited to 36 total) *image below
Times: 10:30am-11:00am, 11:00am-11:30am, 11:30am-12:00noon

Tim - "Spooktacular Canvas" Cost $10 (seats limited to 48 total) *image below
Times: 1:00pm-1:30pm, 1:30pm-2:00pm, 2:00pm-2:30pm, 2:30pm-3:00pm

a wicked weekend...

hope everyone had a great july 4th weekend!  headed down to phoenix with friends for the day to see "wicked".  i absolutely love this show, the story, the music, the costumes, everything!  i highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for a very entertaining show.  this is my third time seeing it, twice in chicago and now once here in arizona - it's just a cool show.  just wanted to share about our sunday event - if you want to have some fun, do a few google searches for some "wicked" sites and some great youtube videos.  right now, i'm defying gravity and still on a high from the show - amazing...t!m

happy 4th of july...

hey bloggers!  just wanting to wish everyone a happy independence day!  my thoughts and prayers go out to our troops and their families - thank you.  hope you are enjoying your holiday weekend -  i'm looking forward to great bbq and mojitos today!  it's been a busy week working on kits, and even a few surprises i have planned for you next week (you won't want to miss it).  so today be sure to surround yourself with the people you appreciate the most, be safe, and have a happy 4th...t!m

final store booked for the year...

 hey bloggers!  don't you just love the feeling when there's something you can check off of the proverbial daily check list?  well today i've booked my last store visit for the year!  woo-hoo!  it's been a crazy whirl-wind this year and i am so blessed to be living my dream, but i have to be honest, i've put on a lot of miles so far and still quite a few more trips to go.  i have a total of 3 more store visits for the year if you're interested in taking a workshop here are the details i hope to see some of you there - and remember i always have the dates posted on my website calendar...

JULY 25th: Ruban Rouge (palm harbor, fl.)
-idea-ology intrigue *SOLD OUT
-patchwork pandemonium *a few seats left

AUGUST 15th-16th: The Queen's Ink (savage, md.)
-idea-ology intrigue *SOLD OUT
-nostalgic metal memoirs *a few seats left
-assemblage of flight *SOLD OUT
-patchwork pandemonium *SOLD OUT

SEPTEMBER 11th-12th: Ink About It (westford, mass.)
*sign-ups for this final store visit starts tuesday, july 14th at 5pm EST.
-exploring alcohol inks
-nostalgic metal memoirs
-idea-ology intrigue
-patchwork pandemonium

...of course i'll still be seeing many of you at:
- Carson Rubber Stamp Show in july (we have some cool things planned for this)
- CKU-Provo in august (you still have one week left to sign up for the FINAL ONE!!!)
- Creative Escape in august
- CKU-Japan in september
- and of course, my big event for the year, the creative mecca, the infiltration of inspiration, an Artful Journey to Mexico cruise with myself and good friend wendy vecchi.  i can't wait for this adventure on the high seas - surprises galore!

alright it's time for me to get back to sample making, kit prepping, and idea thinking - oh how i love being home in the studio....t!m