New Look Destination Inspiration

Hello everyone!  It's Alison (butterfly) here, and I'm really excited to introduce you to our new-look Destination Inspiration posts.

Since you now have a whole month to play on each challenge (if you missed the birthday celebrations with the news about the changes, plus exciting prizes on offer, check it all out here), we're going to offer you four - yup, count'em, four - Destination Inspirations each month, always on a Monday. Like the old Destination Inspirations, they won't necessarily be related to the challenge theme, but we hope you'll enjoy the new game we're playing...

Each month, four Creative Guides will play with the same set of ingredients as each other, and cook up four (hopefully) very individual creations to inspire you.  There are four of us playing in March - with one project revealed each Monday.  And there'll be a fresh team of four Creative Guides each month, and a fresh list of ingredients too.

Don't worry - you'll soon get into the swing of it!

So between the four of us who've signed up for this first month,

we've nominated a substrate, a main colour, a technique and a product

to be included in the project, and here are our March ingredients:

Substrate - Tag

Main Colour - Peacock Feathers

Technique - Spritz and Flick

Product - Idea-ology Metal

And here's the tag I cooked up with them...

Instead of using my Spritz and Flick technique as my background, I actually used it to create my Umbrella Man.  I applied my Peacock Feathers ink to Distress Watercolour Paper, which gives a really strong effect to the water droplets you flick at the ink.

I love that he looks like his own slightly cloudy sky now...

... an effect I particularly like on the umbrella!

I painted a thin coat of gesso onto my manila tag, and then blended on some more Peacock Feathers for the sky.  The gesso really softens the intensity of the colour so you get a delicate, pale shade.  But I then spritzed some Distress Spray over the top, to get some more colour and to give it a lovely spritzed splatter texture.

No surprises that I chose some greens to accompany my Peacock Feathers - Mown Lawn and Peeled Paint are here, both blended on and used to stamp some of the meadow grass layers.  I also layered some more stamping using Archival inks in Olive and Leaf Green.

I couldn't resist using my new Mixed Media Thinlits, simply cut from kraft card and trimmed to fit the tag.  I love how delicate it is - and given this design is my most-used stencil from Tim's collection, I'm thinking this die will get lots of use too!  It's a happy coincidence that it ended up over the darker spritzing, but the contrast works really well I think.

To give Umbrella Man somewhere to stand, I've used a coffee stirrer "liberated" from Tim and Mario's favourite coffee shop.  I inked it with Vintage Photo and a bit of Coffee Archival and snapped it in pieces, so it would have nice rough edges.  I added some extra shading under his feet with Distress Markers to ground him properly.

And for my final ingredient - the Idea-ology Metal - I've used one of the Muse Tokens, altered with Distress Paints, mainly Peacock Feathers of course, but also a touch of Mown Lawn in the mix.

And some simple twine finishes the whole thing off...

Umbrella Man is gazing off into the distance, allowing his mind to wander in pursuit of Knowledge, and in the meantime enjoying a sense of peace and solitude.  (Me too, please!)

Well, that's the first of our Destination Inspiration posts for March.  I hope you like it, and I hope you like the idea of this new game.  Do let us know... it's always great to hear what you think.

So, who will it be next?  And what will they come up with when they combine these same ingredients with a little touch of their own special magic?  You'll just have to come and find out next Monday!

If you can't stand the suspense, why not spend the time in between creating an Anything Tim project to come and play along with our birthday challenge?!  Don't forget that as well as the prize voucher from our generous sponsor Country View Crafts, there are other goodies on offer this month too, including fantastic prizes provided by Tim and Mario.  See you there!

Happy 1st Birthday AVJ

Welcome, welcome, welcome to our first birthday celebrations.

Courtesy of Candy Colwell one of our ex Creative Guides.

There’s lots to tell you today about the changes to our schedule and what surprises there are for the birthday winners (you will definitely want to see what they are - so read on please..), but first I want to extend a very warm welcome to our newest Creative Guide Shari Trumbull. Shari lives at Ain’t That ArtsyFartsy and you can find her photo and read more about her in 'Meet the Creative Guides' in the sidebar. I am sure you will extend a warm welcome as she joins us today with her first Creative Guide challenge sample. You will also notice that Trace is on the line up and is going to stay with us and I am so pleased she has managed to find some time to join in today as well. In fact I think there is something from all of us to whet your appetite for this next challenge. So grab a coffee and a few minutes of your time to help get this party started.

Other news

From today we are changing our challenge schedule quite significantly, we are now posting one challenge a month and the winner will be chosen by random.org. We continue to have Country View Crafts as our fabulous sponsor and Susan will be donating a £20 voucher as the prize. Our challenges will go live at midnight on the first Friday of every month and finish at 6.00 pm on the Thursday night - the day before the next challenge commences (London time).

We are continuing with our 'Pinworthy Mentions' and these will be the Creative Guides' Top 3 from all the entries, as last year it will be the Host of that month's challenge who will pull all the Creative Guide suggestions together and make the final decisions. Those projects will be pinned to the appropriate Pinterest board on our Pinterest site and we will send you a Pinworthy badge for your blog.

Throughout the month Fridays will be project based with guests and we will invite the winner and the pinworthy mentions to join us with a project as guest Creative Guides. We will also continue with a special invited guest each month - so watch out for a very special Tim team member, Paula Cheney who will be with us on the 27th March.

Mondays will be education days, every Monday there will be a Destination Inspiration post brought to you by one of the Creative Guides and if you pop back here next Monday Alison is first up and she will explain what we will be doing.

Birthday Challenge and Birthday Prizes......

read on ---------

To celebrate our first birthday we are going back to the first challenge we started off with in March 2014. 

ANYTHING TIM

Make 'Anything Tim' your key focus with one of those vintage, shabby, mixed media or journaling projects that has a Tim Holtz influence. What is a Tim influence? Well it could be that you use one of his techniques, some of his stamps, Idea-ology range, dies or his embossing folders. Alternatively, you might take one of his tags for inspiration or use something from one of his books or videos. Whatever it is, just have fun and post it on here with the proper links (see our Travelling Instructions in the side bar).

Here is the Creative Guide line-up for this week and each and every one of us is joining the party; I think we have produced some incredible samples for you to take inspiration from and to encourage you to join us in the challenge. We have cards and pressies and even a cake .........

Jennie

Whilst I love all the wonderful "Tim" techniques, more than anything I love using Tim's products in my own style. And this is my favourite - pulling together a disparate collection of items (die cuts, flowers, metal, buttons, etc),  equalising them all with gesso and then re-colouring them using Distress sprays, inks and paints. If you want to see what I used and the process then do please hop on over to Live The Dream where there are more details.

Astrid

I decided to alter a little 6 x 6" file folder from my stash, playing with my new Correspondence papers and Mixed Media dies. Of course many other wonderful Tim Holtz products came out to play too. If you want to see more, all you need to do is click here

Anne

To celebrate our first birthday I have created a tag to commemorate this, using lots of new and some older Tim goodies.  If you would like to see more, please pop over to my blog.

Terry

It is so hard to believe how quickly a year goes by and Happy Anniversary to AVJ! Well AVJ is not the only one with an anniversary and my pocket watch die full of Tim goodies will be gifted to my absolutely better half for our special day. Stop on over for all the details right HERE.

Shari

Serendipity has a way of making a play when I didn't even expect it!  Inspired by Tim Holtz designer Richele Christensen, I created this layered burlap panel with family birthdays in mind, but here I am at the 1 Year Birthday of A Vintage Journey celebrating as a Creative Guide!!  If you'd like, I've got a few details of how I put this together at my blog Ain't That Artsy Fartsy. 

n't That Arts

 Julie

I just couldn't resist baking....Oops ! making a cake for our 1st Birthday Celebrations. After all a party just wouldn't be a party without a Birthday cake. I would love to have you pop over to Juliz Design Post to see all the details. 

Nikki

For our 'Anything Tim' challenge I decided to use the new Runway stamp set and create a wall hanging for my study. Lots of Tim inspired techniques including stamping on frosted film coated acetate. More details over at Addicted to Art today.

Julia

I used some new Tim (Cracked Pistacio Distress Ink, Handwritten Sentiments) and several old Tim (Butterfly Frenzie and Postage Stamp Frame dies, Latticework Stencil,Chit Chat Stickers to name a few) for my Birthday card celebrating A Vintage Journey's first birthday!  

You can find out just how I put this together over at my blog post here.

Alison 

I'm celebrating by playing in a different style than normal...  I was trying to stay true to the spirit of the sentiment!  And I had a lovely time playing with this glorious new stencil from the latest CHA releases to create this card and co-ordinating envelope.  Come over to Words and Pictures if you'd like to see more.

 Trace 

I am loving collage style pieces and have used lots of my favourite Tim Holtz goodies, with lots of distress inks and stains as well as plenty of my favourite... idea-ology and lots of ephemera. 

Hop across to inkypinkycraft to see all the details x

Chris

Curiously, my 'hedgerow album' has been made using Sheena Douglas dies, BUT the inspiration for the album is Tim's riveted patchwork technique made with foil, alcohol inks and distress paint.  I use a lot of non-Tim products in my crafting but most of what I make is inspired by Tim's techniques in one form or another.  You can find the step x step for my album on my blog.

Have fun joining in with us this month, good luck!  Chris xxx

S@ndy

I've been in the process of reorganizing my blog and studio so thought I would share a storage chest I made to hold some of my Tim stash.  This little chest has made it easy for me to find those small items that I sometimes forget about or don't want to look for.  I have these items at my fingertips with this storage unit sitting on my worktable.  For more details and tutorial please stop by my blog here.

 Annie

It's so hard to believe that we are celebrating our 1st Anniversary here at AVJ  and with so many gorgeous giveaways as well as a great challenge. 

I decided to make a Pillow Box and incorporated lots of Tim Holtz products as you can see. To view more details please click on my name above, which will take you straight to my blog. Best Wishes x

Jenny

Now for my Tim thing... this is a bit of a different colour scheme for me isn't it! It looks kinda complicated but in reality it's quite simple to achieve, making use of the new 'Flower Garden' stamps, 'Mixed Media' Thinlits dies and Tim's 'Distress Watercolouring' technique from the Compendium of Curiosities III. See more about it on my blog HERE


Brenda

I'm celebrating Tim's new Correspondence papers today and I've made a hard back bound book which I think I might just use as a birthday book.

.

AND NOW FOR THOSE VERY, SPECIAL BIRTHDAY PRIZES (just for this month only)

The Winner's Prize
- drawn by random.org (and who is eligible by following the rules) will win
£20.00 gift voucher for the Country View Crafts on-line shop.

Pinworthy Prizes
for the Creative Guides chosen Top 3
(The Creative Guides check eligibility for winning a prize against our rules)


1. A special Compendium of Curiosities 3 signed by Tim Holtz
donated by Tim and Mario.

2. A special set of 'Perspective' stamps signed by Tim Holtz
donated by Tim and Mario.

3. A special Ranger apron signed by Tim Holtz
donated by Tim and Mario.

THANK YOU TIM AND MARIO for sharing our birthday celebrations with us and sending these fabulous items for three of our lovely challenge entrants to win.

(The additional products have been donated by Brenda and Chris).

Commenting Prize 
- drawn by Random Org from all the people who comment on this post before the challenge ends

A Compendium of Curiosities 2 and additional Tim products
donated by Anne (Redfern)

So how exciting is that ????? - so many special birthday prizes. Want to have a go at winning one? Then make your project keeping the expectations in mind - link it to the linky below and good luck

I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who is supporting and donating, including Susan, Anne and Chris and of course Tim and Mario and to all of you who enter our challenges, what an extra special birthday it is and now we are looking forward to year two of AVJ themes, guests and destination inspiration posts.

A Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary if you are celebrating something special today and that includes our fabulous CG Terry who has a wedding anniversary today.

happy Birthday AVJ

hugs Brenda and all the Creative Guides. xxx

An InLinkz Link-up

Welcome Guest Creative Guide Tracy Evans

 There is a very warm welcome to Tracy Evans as our Guest Creative Guide today. I have know Tracy in blogland for quite some time and I love popping over to her crafty space for a shot of inspiration. You can find her blog post at Craft Addicts and I recommend you take a while to peruse some of her other work if you haven't already.

Tracy has made us two projects today, so you are in for a real treat.

I asked Tracy to tell us what her Tim inspiration is and this is what she said ...........

How have I been influenced?…… well to be honest I think Tim’s product range inspires me the most, they are a perfect fit for my style and I adore the Distress Range, in fact I don’t think I create anything without reaching for my Distress Ink Pads, Paints or Sprays in some shape or form. I like to think that although inspired by Tim’s grungy style I like to take my own direction, use my own style to showcase his wonderful product range and If I inspire others along my journey, well that’s a huge bonus. If I am ever stuck for inspiration I find that turning the pages of Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities series of books always sparks my creative juices and one of his techniques is always a wonderful starting point for me to be inspired along my creative journey. These pieces have been created with my husband in mind as its his 48th Birthday in April, this being my significant number within my design. I love using numbers in artwork they are so versatile and perfect for male or female pieces.

My project began with a piece of corrugated card, cut to 8” x 8”. I then die cut Tim Holtz Matchbox die from white card, using only the base in this project, creating an aperture within the corrugated card for the matchbox piece to fit. I applied a thin layer of cheesecloth over corrugated card to add texture to my design, I adore texture! The next step was to layer elements over the corrugated card to add dimension and layers of interest.

I die cut 7 hearts from mountboard using Tim Holtz new Heartfelt die and then added numbers to three of the hearts using the Cargo Layering Stencil and texture paste. I also applied Texture Paste over the Honeycomb Layering Stencil to add further interest to the background and a also die cut random pieces from white card using the Washer Border Die along with random pieces of chicken wire from my garden.

I die cut two further hearts and this time soldered them to add a further texture and element to my design. The inside of the matchbox was coloured with a touch of Gathered Twigs and Tarnished Brass Distress Paint to coordinate with my background and I then housed one of the hearts inside the matchbox aperture, adding chicken wire and the second heart onto the top. I also included Arrow Adornments to the top of each heart for added interest.

The hearts at the bottom of my design have been covered with Vintage Photo Distress Powder to add texture and once all my elements were added I then covered the whole area with Black Soot Distress Paint and then allowed to dry. The embossing powder is a fantastic way to add gritty texture to a piece.

48 it a significant number for this piece as this will be given to my husband on his 48^th birthday in April.  Once all my elements were applied to the background and Black Soot Distress Paint added to the whole area I then took time to layer metallic colours over the top to highlight all the texture and dimension further. I began with Brushed Pewter Distress Paint, painting lightly over areas of the background and then drying with a heat tool. The second layer of colour was Tarnished Brass again applying layers of colour until I was happy with the depth. Something more was needed, a touch of sapphire wax to lift the whole design and to add a touch of colour. I also included wire wrapped around two of my hearts secured in place with the Tiny Attacher. To complete, I added Big Chat Stickers from Tim’s new 2015 Idea-ology range.

********************************

I created this card also for my hubby’s 48^th birthday again using all Tim Holtz wonderful product range.

I cut a piece of Kraft card 4.5” x 6.5” and then spritzed the background with Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain, adding subtle splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint. Texture Paste has been applied over the Cargo Layering Stencil to add numbers to the top and bottom corners for added texture.

I die cut three hearts from mountboard using Tim Holtz new Heartfelt die, applied texture paste over the Cargo Layering Stencil onto the hearts to add dimensional numbers to each heart. Each heart was then coloured with Gathered Twigs Distress Paint and then dried. Touches of Tarnished Brass were added around each heart and once again dried with a heat tool. To highlight the numbers further I applied Black Soot Distress Paint to the numbers with my finger.

I die cut a piece of Washer border to fit across the centre of my card and then set about giving the die cut a rusty appearance. I coloured the die cut piece with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink and then applied VersaMark ink to the die cut piece and then sprinkled Vintage Photo Distress Powder over the top and then heated with a heat tool to melt. Once cooled down I then applied a touch more VersaMark randomly over the die cut and sprinkled a further layer of Vintage Photo Distress Powder over the die cut, adding different thicknesses of powder to the die cut piece and once again melting with a heat tool. Once cool, I then spritzed the die cut piece with touches of Black Soot Distress Spray Stain and then dried with a heat tool. This gives a really authentic rust appearance to the die cut piece. I added the die cut washer piece across the centre of the card and added the die cut hearts along with an Elementary Flash Card, spritzed with Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain, tucked behind one of the hearts.

I added touches of wax around the edges of each heart and included a Small Talk sticker to the top of my design. To complete, I added a few more splatters of Picket Fence Distress Paint.

Wow Tracy what amazing projects and thank you so much for taking the time to make two for us with all the process steps to go with those gorgeous photos. Thank you also for bringing this first leg of A Vintage Journey to a close at the end of our first year. There is so much inspiration here for our lovely readers I know I will come back several times to take it all in.


Well, it doesn't seem like 12 months ago that we all hopped aboard A Vintage Journey with the aim of bringing you interesting challenges, quality Creative Guide samples to inspire you and useful destination inspiration stops along the way to show you how we use Tim's products, techniques and ideas. I think we have met that goal. So now there's just a few days to get in those special numbers projects before we announce the new challenge and changes for the coming year. Also there are some very special prizes up for grabs, Oooh I'm squealing with excitement, I just can't wait to show you - but of course I don't want to spoil the surprise either.
See you Friday then.

hugs Brenda xxx

Welcome Sarah Emily and who are the latest winners?

Hello, my fellow Vintage Journeyers! My name is Sara Emily, and otherwise known as sarascloset. I was totally floored when my Gentlemen’s Club project was picked by the Creative Guides as winner of Sandy’s challenge “Use a Portrait” back in January. It is because of that I was invited back to be a Guest Creative guide for the second time, and I can say it is quite an honor! I was thrilled not only to be invited by A Vintage Journey, but not long after I found out the theme was to be “Special Numbers”, I was invited to a friend’s 90th birthday party. I knew then just what direction my numbers would take me!

Let me tell you a little bit about myself for those that are curious. I hail from northern NJ, where I was raised on a fairly large dairy farm with my 5 brothers and sisters and a menagerie of animals including horses, cows, bunnies (hundreds of them!), various cats and dogs and an occasional wild sickly bird my Dad would bring in from the fields for us to nurse back to health. After a short stint in Texas, I now live in Wilmington, NC, just minutes from the beach. I am married and have 16 year old twins who keep me quite busy. I am a “retired” Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant, and have been working as a gardener and Personal Assistant for over 7 years. That makes me 35 years old! Ha! Ha!

My vintage journey started with one Tim Holtz Distress ink which I still use daily—Vintage Photo. When I learned of this wonderful crafty resource known as the Internet, I quickly became a huge fan of Tim’s vintage grungy style and his wide variety of products. My favorite thing about Tim’s products is their adaptability to many different styles.

Let’s get started! Brenda has chosen the theme “Special Numbers”, and I chose to use a few of Tim’s numerals to help celebrate a very special birthday of a family friend. Our friend is turning 90 on March 2, and I wanted to make her something she could use, and that would commemorate her life. I got a few inside tidbits of information from Martha’s daughter such as her past accomplishments, her favorites, special dates and milestones in her life, and got to work transforming this book style box I rescued from the ordinary. (For a before photo and other photos, please be sure to visit my blog. I chose a style for this vintage book/box which marries grunge with shabby through color choices and textures.

Tim Holtz has so many wonderful techniques to use, and I chose a few in making my background including, but not limited to Paint Marbling, Layering Stencil: Texture Paste, a version of Faded Layers and Effect Powders and my favorite—spritz and flick!

After completing the painted background, I chose and tore paper from Tim’s Wallpaper stash—another personal favorite-- to make the background paper layer.

I used some numbers from his old Lost and Found Salvage Stickers—the number 19 game piece and license plates. The “19” pairs up with the “25” from his new ephemera to signify Martha’s birth year. When you reach such a milestone you just want to shout out your date of birth! I’ve used the license plates along the spine of the book to represent the states that she has lived in.

I’ve added a few new products to my stash just for this project—Framed Alpha Parts and Thrift Shop and Expedition Ephemera. Good words, useful numbers and lovely butterflies I inked up to match my palette. A number 3 Flash Card with a bit of musical note Tissue tape stands in as a nod to her role in a musical trio she once sang and traveled with.

I used Tim’s rub-ons for the 90 on the spine and for the sentiment on the back cover. Also included on the spine are an Industrious frame and some lines I made using a string and Distress paint to give it that old volume look. A Simple Sayings stamp stands in for the title.

The back cover remains somewhat bare, save for the paint, stenciling and powdering as I wanted a flat surface for the book to sit on (this is meant to sit on a table), and I am waiting for a photo from Martha’s daughter to complete a short bio like you might see on the back of a novel. The bio also contains some personal information I thought she might not want published on the Internet.

I’ve chosen a few of Tim’s dies to create some dimension on the front cover, including Ornate Frame, Tattered Florals and Spring Greenery. I added a sprinkle of micro beads from my stash to the handmade roses and used a sunburst punch to make the center of the blue flower.

I gave the edges of the “book” the look of pages using Distress paint and a dry brush. Crinkle ribbon was dyed with Distress stains, ink and paint to match the roses and twirled up for a little closure and a shabby bow. Although I’ve used seam binding in the past, there really is no substitute for Tim’s Crinkle ribbon for coloring and shaping.

To finish it off, I gave the entire book a shabby white wash treatment using Picket Fence and a tiny bit of Broken China Distress paints and my finger. A final spritz here and there with Tim’s marker spritzer and Walnut Stain Distress marker give it one last final touch.

The only thing I did to the inside of the box was to give it a quick coat of gesso, since the inside was pretty enough, but the color needed to be taken back just a bit.

Martha has made many friends in her lifetime, and her daughter is asking them to send a little warm birthday wish if they are unable to attend her party. We will fill this memory box with them so she can read them at her leisure.

I’m so thankful to Brenda and the Creative Guides for giving me this opportunity to be a Guest Creative Guide today. I hope you have enjoyed my interpretation of “Special Numbers” and that you will stop by my blog (http://sarascloset1.blogspot.com/) for more details and to have a poke around.

A huge thank you Sarah Emily for sharing this wonderful box, you have put so much thought into it and paid attention to the most tiniest of details, it is indeed a fabulous idea for a gift to a friend, I am sure she will treasure it.

****************************

I am now handing over to Annie for the news about who is the winner of the Tic-Tac-Toe challenge and the Pinworthy Mentions.

It was lovely to see so many amazing entries for the Tic Tac Toe Challenge.

Deciding on a winner was no easy task, but without further ado, our winner is

#31 Zoe

http://www.igirlzoe.com/4208/matchbox-valentines-collage.html

Zoe’s Matchbox Collage is stunning with so many wonderful
details and embellishments.

Congratulations Zoe, your badge and voucher from Country View Crafts will be on its way very soon.


The Pinworthies are as follows:

#15 Branka
http://vintagehandmade45.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/a-dream-metal-plate.html

Wonderful background textures and layout on Branka’s canvas



#29 Suzanne

http://suzzstampingspot.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/secret-garden.html

This really caught my eye with fabulous textures, rub ons and sprays.



#38 Hilda
http://inkythings.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/vintage-journey-tic-tac-toe.html

Hilda’s canvas was inspired by Tim’s quilting technique on his February tag and I love the layout she has created.


Huge Congratulations to all of you for sharing your amazing projects. Your Pinworthy badges will be winging their way to you soon



Today sees the beginning of the second week of Brenda’s challenge, “Special Numbers” so there is still time for you to join in with us and to be in with a chance of winning a voucher from Country View Crafts, our regular sponsor. As always you can view the inspiring projects created by the Creative Guides, who share their step by step details on their own blogs, which can be viewed by clicking on their names.

Have a great weekend and remember to pop back on the 6th March, when we will be 'Celebrating our First Anniversary’.


Hugs Annie and Brenda x