A Little Bit French - A Vintage Journey

Hello and welcome!  Over at A VINTAGE JOURNEY it is the very talented Astrid's time to introduce a challenge and she has chosen 'A Little Bit French'.   In Astrid's own words:

The theme I have chosen is "A Little bit French". So whatever you decide to make, give your project that little bit of a French feel. Tim has so many products that can be used to create a Springtime in Paris make, or if that does not take your fancy, why not something grungy or vintage but with a bit of a French flair?  Think stamps, embossing folders, Distress products, dies, - the possibilities are endless. Whatever you do, enjoy the journey, but for this challenge, take it to France!

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Our wonderful sponsor is Country View Crafts who offer a £10 voucher to the winner who will be chosen by the Creative Guides (DT).

I went to Paris, once, in the Spring time and my lasting memory is that of the Eiffel Tower, so I used several dies and embossing folders, some Letterpress and  inked my Tim Holtz Paris Memoir stamp set to create a little hanging.

There is quite a bit to talk about in this because I added so many elements.  The base is heavyweight black card.  The next layer is white card which I embossed with Tim's French Script Embossing Folder, I had to do this twice to cover the whole piece of card.  The card was then coloured with Broken China and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks.

The next layer is Tim's Picture wheel, to which I added some mini photos of Paris.  The frame was cut from the Postage Frame die and then painted with Black Soot Distress Paint, some Distress Crackle Paint and then 'grunged' up with some Gathered Twigs Distress Paint.

Behind the frame is white card, coloured with Broken China and Tea die Distress Ink and then overstamped with Tim's Paris Memoir stamp set.

The Eiffel tower was cut from the Eiffel Tower die and then embossed using the Eiffel Tower Embossing Folder.  Treasure Gold (Pewter)  was lightly rubbed over the surface to highlight the embossing.  The words Je t'aime were computer generated.  I wanted to reflect my love of Paris and they were they only words that sprang to mind....

I was so excited when Tim brought out the Letterpress alphabet!  I love them.... lots.  They are much chunkier than I had imagined and will be great for all sorts of projects.  I sanded down the top of the letters and then, with my finger, I dabbed some Peeled Paint  Distress Paint over the letters and wiped some off with a baby wipe to give a more weathered look.  I attached them to the frame with jump rings and little eyelets screwed into each of the blocks.

To finish off the piece I added some twisted rusty wire and an Idea-ology charm with the word 'journey' on it. 

I look forward to you joining us this time at A Vintage Journey, in our 'A Little Bit French' challenge.   I hope you will have a look over there and see what amazing creations the other Creative Guides have produced.  

I am rather belatedly joining in the Paris or French challenge over at The Kraft Journal where a random prize of $15 will be given away to spend at www.KraftOutlet.com and participants have a chance to be selected as a Featured Artist. 

Thanks so much for looking, hope to see you again soon.  Hugs, Anne xx

Tim Tag September 2013 and Eclectic Elements

It is so good to have Tim's tag for inspiration because Mr Mojo has still not returned from his holidays!
My tag follows Tim's recipe but with different colours and a couple of different stencils (Tim ones) because I do not have the full set as yet.

Here is my effort:

I used the burlap, rays, schoolhouse and splatters stencils but to finish I added pearls instead of a charm and a key instead of a pen nib, otherwise it is similar. Click on the image for a closer view if you wish.

Because my tag has a key on it I am also entering it into the wonderful Hels' Sunday Stampers challenge which is KEYS.

But, even more exciting than doing the tag, if that is possible, I have got my hands on some of the new Eclectic Elements fabric!!  Woohoo - these fabrics are lush.  If, like me you have been dying to get your hands on some of these fabrics, well now you can.  Thank goodness for Dyan Reaveley's shop, which you can find HERE, as she does get Tim's new things in, in record time.  I am on her mailing list but even though I went online as soon as the email came through, all the larger (fat quarters) had sold out. I do believe that she got more stock in though.   Anyway, I am more than happy with my half fat quarters and 10" square pieces.

I am hoping to make one of Jim, the Gentleman Crafter's passport holders with some of the fabric and a nice holdall, plus, I have already given some of the fabric away, but in the meantime I have made these:

Top left is a notebook with ruled lines, in my favourite piece of fabric.  I have cut the letters from Tim's Wordplay die and added glossy accents (love that stuff) and the word 'notes' is a chit chat sticker.

On the right is a diary for 2014 with my next favourite fabric (what's not to like about butterflies!) and the notebook at the front also has ruled lines and the page edge colour matches this fabric so very well.  I added a word band which says 'possibility begins with imagination', which I coloured with Spiced Marmalade Distress Paint.  Finally, with the scrap of blue fabric that I had left over, I made a bookmark - so nothing wasted.

Just in case you want to cover some books too, the notebook top left is 6 1/2" x 4 1/2" in size and I used a half fat quarter to cover that.  The diary is 5 3/4" x 4 1/4" and also needed the half fat quarter size to cover it.  The small notebook is 5 1/2" x 3 1/2" and I used a 10" square to cover it and there was a bit left to make the bookmark.

I used Pinflair bookbinding glue to glue the fabric to the notebooks, it is very easy to do, the fabric is an excellent weight and quality to work with.  With the possible exception of the red butterfly pattern, all the fabrics are suitable for both male and female projects.  The fabric makes the books feel so tactile - I just love them.....

I am hoping you will all like them because I am thinking of making more to give away as Christmas presents and if you, my crafty friends like them, then I am sure my family and friends will too.  As always, thanks for looking and a special thanks if you take the time to leave a comment.  Big hugs, Anne x