Live, Create and Tell The Story

Hi my friends, today's blog post title is rather appropriate because last weekend and for the first half of the week, this cubbyhole one-woman band has been laid low with a nasty head cold, the kind where, one minute your nose is blocked, the next, it's running like a tap. My tried and tested cure is usually 2 Neurofen painkillers washed down with a glass of hot lemon and Manuka Honey 4 times a day but on this occasion, I needed to speed things up for the imminent arrival of a happy mail box containing the new Distress colour Kitsch Flamingo, thanks to the kindness and generosity of my friends, Tim, Mario, Paula, Heidi and the Simon Says family and Ranger Ink. So on Wednesday evening, I laced my bedtime concoction with a very generous splash of whisky, headed to bed, slept for 10 hours and woke feeling 100 times better and after the usual labelling and swatching, I was to ready to play with this box of magic.

I created a card inspired by my sweet friend Zoe using the adorable chubby bird from Tim Holtz/Sizzix Feathered Friends and Small Tattered Florals Thinlits, an old favourite and which, this little bird tells me, may be making an appearance on the Tim Holtz YouTube Live Demo tomorrow at 9.00am PT, 12.00pm ET and 5.00pm if you're in the UK. Get your snacks ready and don't be late for the party.

To begin I trimmed Distress Watercolor card to 4.1/2" x 6.1/2", smooshed Antique Linen, Kitsch Flamingo (such a beautiful pink) and Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide inks on to the craft mat of my Glass Media Mat, laid the card into the ink, dried, spritzed with water and tapped back into the ink to pick up all those gorgeous droplets. I inked the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Halftone and Rings backgrounds with Kitsch Flamingo and Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide inks and holding the stamps in my hands, stamped randomly on the card. I stamped the sentiment from Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous Handwritten Thoughts inked with Ground Espresso Distress Archival ink and then machine stitched around the edges and the sentiment with Dark Brown Top Stitching thread.

I die-cut the branch, flowers and leaves from Distress Watercolor card using Tim Holtz/Sizzix Small Tattered Florals and the bird from Feathered Friends Thinlits and coloured by dipping the die-cuts into Kitsch Flamingo and Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide inks, dried, spritzed them lightly with water and tapped back into the inks until I was happy with the coverage. I shaped the flower petals with my fingers, heat embossed the centres with Stampendous Aged Black Embossing Enamel, layered to create dimension. I applied Distress Collage Medium to the back of the flowers, only in the centre, fixed in place and manipulated the petals with my fingers. I repeated with the leaves and added the branch and bird. 

To finish I matted the panel on to a Distress Kraft HeavyStock 5" x 7" card blank

Have a great weekend everyone whatever you have planned and if you are heading over to Tim and Mario's place on Saturday, I'll see you there.

Hugs Kath xxx