Tim Holtz

happy halloween...

birthday wishes...

i just wanted to share these photos of my very good friend E.L. with you!  mario and i flew to california early yesterday morning to be here for her surprise birthday party.  it was so great to surprise her, get to meet her family and friends, and catch a glimpse of her life through an incredible photo board her husband made.  you see i met E.L. when i started working with sizzix on my alterations line as she is the creative genius behind it all.   as a designer i was completely in tune with designing stamps, papers, inks, embellishments, etc., but when it came to taking my dimensional ideas and turning them into a die cut, i was at a total loss.  that's where E.L. shines!  her genius has no problem taking my ideas and creating the dies and embossing folders you see today.  i know without a doubt, there would be no alterations line if it weren't for E.L.  we work so closely together on every release, she flies out to my studio twice a year where we spend days brainstorming and creating alterations magic.  i am so blessed to have her in my life and to have met such a genuine, sincere, talented, and the sweetest friend ever!  so happy birthday E.L. and wishing you all the wishes you can possibly imagine...t!m

back to normal?...

hi there bloggers!  it's been a while and i'm finally back to feeling normal from our amazing adventures in hong kong.  what a journey for sure as it's a place i've never traveled to before, but so happy i did.  i have to say this trip definitely took a bit more time to bounce back since our journey back was about 24 hours of total travel time - ugh!  however like i said, i'm so happy we went, it was worth every moment...

the lifestyle, culture, and surroundings are unlike anything i've ever experienced before.  the scenery was simply spectacular in so many different ways.  i loved the water surrounded by mountains, the thick tropical greenery, mixed with the highrise buildings jetting up everywhere...

we experienced so many things from seeing the sights, stopping at a starbucks or two (or course), and there was shopping, lots of shopping.  there were marketplaces everywhere both day and night and we did our best to shop all we could, tons of fun...

then of course there was a trip to hong kong disneyland which totally blew me away.  i mean with my love of disney and having the chance of a lifetime to visit the disneyland in hong kong?  seriously?  it was simply fascinating to see this park, go on the rides (which were similar, yet different) like the jungle cruise with lines for either english or chinese, and let's not forget the food - let's just say there were no corndogs or mickey pretzels...

all in all it was a great journey and i'm happy to share a glimpse of the experience with all of you.  just fyi, i am loving my new iphone, i used it for every photo i took, the camera is incredible.  so for the exciting news that i was mentioning before i left, we are working on some holiday project kits and christmas embellishment packs for sale coming soon to my etsy shop!  we are still finishing them up, but they should be ready to go the first week of november.  i'll post the details soon - for now, it's time to catch up on a little more sleep...t!m

another adventure...

well bloggers, we're off on yet another adventure leaving bright and early this morning...we're heading to hong kong!  even though we've only been home for about 24 hours, it was enough time to unpack, repack, grab the passports, and open up my new iphone.  i've been (impatiently) waiting for this new phone since i lost my last iphone back in july at disneyland (i'm sure it's somewhere on the indiana jones ride).   i use my iphone for everything, especially blogging, so i'm excited to be taking it on this trip!  we were invited to go hong kong last month and even though we seem to be traveling so much already, just couldn't pass up the offer to go.  i'm looking forward to seeing this part of the world we've yet to see, and since i'm not going there to teach, we simply get the chance to take it all in.  we'll be back next wednesday, but while we're gone michele and her friends will be working in the studio on something cool i'm excited to share with you guys when i get back - until then...t!m

a creative weekend...

hey there bloggers!  hope you've had a great week.  we just returned from texas last night, what a great trip!  i taught several retailer workshops over the weekend in houston using the latest idea-ology, sizzix, and ranger products including distress stains, perfect pearls, melt-art, and studio lines.  the store owners/students learned several hands on techniques incorporating an assortment of products as we assembled canvas panels for display.  the final day included an all day event of christmas holiday projects called creative wonderland.  as festive music filled the air, the students discovered some creative ideas for holiday projects, and workshops - certainly a great way to kick off the holiday season.  i wanted to share pics of the projects i taught.  for now, it's time to unpack, i have lots to get done by morning...t!m

a bewitching halloween tag...

hey bloggers!  with halloween getting closer and closer i find myself wanting to create more and more halloween things.  the house is decorated, the candy corn getting consumed daily (can't resist), and my studio table is covered in an array of oranges black, green, and purple.  i have to say, there is something about the imagery of halloween that really inspires me.  i'm at the airport heading to a retailer trade show in houston where i'll be doing this tag for a make & take.  so i wanted to make a quick tag tutorial to share with you. hope you find this a little bewitching as well - enjoy...t!m

supplies: distress stains/spiced marmalade, crushed olive, dusty concord; perfect pearl mists/mandarin, sour apple, grape fizz; paint dabber/pitch black; glossy accents; #8 kraft tag; halloween kraft resist; kraft glassine; halloween adornments; halloween muse tokens; plaquettes; memo pins; tiny attacher; grungeboard; alterations bewitching die, small easel die; tulle; tinsel

step 1: cut kraft resist to 3"x6" about the size of the #8 kraft tag.

step 2: tear off top and bottom edges of paper and adhere to tag.

step 3: stain entire tag with distress stain (i love the way the stain saturates the torn edges).

step 4: dry with heat tool.

step 5: paint edges of tag with black paint dabber.

step 6: die cut witch and bat from bewitching die out of grungeboard and paint both with black paint dabber.  let dry.

step 7: choose color of perfect pearls mist (a tough choice) and shake well.  mist tag with mist until covered and dry with heat tool.

step 8: mist painted grungeboard witch with a different color perfect pearls mist and dry with heat tool.

step 9: cut a 2" strip of kraft glassine.

step 10: crumple glassine in your hands and open up flat.

step 11: fold in each edge of glassine to create a strip.

step 12: staple on glassine strip to tag using tiny attacher.  tear away each end of glassine.

step 13: adhere grungeboard elements to tag with glossy accents.

step 14: apply black paint dabber of plaquette with finger to antique.

step 15: attach adornment to memo pin.

step 16: secure plaquette to glassine with fasteners and pin adornment through glassine.

step 17: attach tulle through top of tag and embellish with halloween muse token.

step 18: attach tinsel to bottom edge of tag with tiny attacher, and die cut easel from grungeboard.  secure to back to display.

just because...

just because i appreciate you sharing in the creativity...
just becasue i happen to love these new seasonal distress colors so much...
just because i appreciate you taking the time to comment...
i've decided to give away sets to 5 lucky winners who posted a comment...
more halloween inspiration coming tomorrow on the blog...t!m

congrats to the following winners!  please email me your contact info so i can send out your seasonal distress inks.
remember: you can pre-order the fall 2011 seasonal distress online here...or here...or check your local store to see when they are getting more in.

Love the idea of stamping then embossing for that letterpress look! I'd LOVE to have some stamps for the folders and folders for the stamps...that are already available. Does that make sense? I hope so!
Posted by: Barbara Albrecht | October 11, 2011 at 07:34 AM

Oh - I just think I found my Christmas card idea for this season - awesomeness! Welcome back and thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to inspire us!
Posted by: Cindy Araneda | October 10, 2011 at 02:50 PM

Love the limited release colors! Using these new embossing folders with coordinating stamps is fun!
Posted by: SusanK | October 10, 2011 at 05:26 AM

WOW! Again! The texture fades on their way to me in the mail & now I am anxious to get my greedy hands on them and start creating some holiday fun! I really appreciate the teaching you do to share your products with us to make our creations look awesome!  Thanks-  Hugs-  Kavi
Posted by: Kavi Coulson | October 10, 2011 at 08:27 AM

wow, those are awesome. Love how you inked the halloween words different colors. Looks really cool and then to emboss it, awesome! I see some stamps and embossing folders on my want list now! Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Vicki Morris | October 10, 2011 at 11:12 PM

stamps and texture fades...

it's a new week bloggers and time for a new technique to share!  i was so excited to release these stamps and texture fades at cha-summer that can actually be used with each other (this was a great effort between stampers anonymous and sizzix).  since these stamp sets and texture fades are now in stores, i thought a video was the best way to share this cool technique - i hope you're inspired...t!m

great news!  the second batch of the fall seasonal distress inks from ranger shipped out last week to stores.  you can pre-order them online here...or here...or check your local store to see when they are getting more in.  i have to say i love using these new seasonal colors on fall and halloween projects...

supplies used: distress inks; grid blocks; seasonal stamps (halloween, thanksgiving, christmas); texture fades (halloween, thanksgiving, christmas); vagabond

 

back on land...

well hello there bloggers!  i know it's been a while but i needed a few days to recover from the cruise and get my land legs back before i could sit down to write this post.  all is better now and i'm ready to share all about our artful adventure at sea.  i have to say it was definitely the best cruise yet in my opinion.  i had such fun, so many laughs, got to spend time with friends both old and new, and shared creativity with my amazing students.  thanks again to jim and team scrapmap for making sure everything on board the ship went smooth.  thanks also to my team: mario, joy, richele, and monica for their tireless work before, during, and after all of the classes, and of course running the marketplace.  the ship was over the top wonderful with good food, drinks, and all the amenities you could want for your paradise at sea.  i must say the weather was hot, hot, hot, and not to mention humid, but hey we were in the caribbean so it's all good.  the ports were beautiful, tropical, and i've never seen water so turquoise blue.  our group this year had the most talented and amazing students who were willing to share their excitement and creativity all week long...

the workshops i planned for the cruise had a mix of technique and of course incorporating several found elements challenging everyone to acquire throughout our voyage.  our first evening workshop was this fun travel mug where students created a personalized, one of a kind souvenir of the cruise because they were given a custom stamp of this years logo from stampers anonymous.  this was a great ice breaker for many first-time cruisers and a fun project for our seasoned cruisers.

next up was our 3 hour journal class where we created this cool gate journal using custom art parts for covers, kraft resist, tissue tape, kraft glassine, distress stains, and more.  we constructed the entire journal including several pocket pages from cardstock, fabrics, tags, and tabs so students could fill their journal throughout the journey.  here are a few pages from mine as i included mini instax photos throughout the book along with lots of fun travel themed embellishments.

mid way through the cruise we had a quick late night workshop where students designed a wearable pocket watch from idea-ology.  they got to select the theme and embellishments to make one as unique as their own creative style.

our final workshop was a 2-day 6 hour workshop and one i've honestly been wanting to teach but never have.  it was a configurations tray!  we incorporated lots of treasures i provided each student along with incorporating trinkets they have gathered throughout the cruise (check out the cool pirate ship i found for mine).  the design of this tray also had a shaker insert where we included sand and shells from the various islands we visited.  we also created a photo flip in one of the inserts using a small ring binder so photos could be incorporated in the tray.  i also thought adhering a square of cork in one of the inserts would be a great way to showcase buttons or pins many collected from the various ports.  all in all it was my favorite project from the week as each student had gathered unique elements from the voyage we all shared together considering i had to create my project on board before the class.  a great way to capture and share those found mementos...

so now it's back to reality and back to work.  although it is true this was my final "big" cruise, i have other things in the works for 2013 that i'll be sharing later next year.  thanks again to all of my wonderful students and friends for making this final voyage such a memorable and creative one.  thanks to all of the generous sponsors who made this an exciting cruise for sure.  thanks also to you bloggers for waiting patiently for me to return, you were not forgotten at all so here is a video blog i captured of our crafting in the caribbean - enjoy...t!m
(note: song credit at the end of the video: good life by onerepublic)