TIM HOLTZ 2016 APRIL TAG

Tim Holtz 2016 April Tag

Here is the link to Tim's birdie directions...if you want to

follow along to make one like Tim.

http://timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2016-april/

I can't believe this month is over and I am rushing

to post my tag.  I got together with my girlfriend,

who LOVES to create tags as much as I do, at the 

beginning of the month to create this months tag.

It has been soooo crazy at my house that 

I am just now getting around to posting this.  

I liked this months tag simply because I LOVE BIRDS

...and I looked forward to learning how to do something new.
 That is one of the things that Tim's inspires in me...

and gets me excited about creating.

My girlfriend and I had  FUN creating this

tag and deciding what products we could use to get the

"LOOK" of Tim's tag.
We were unsure of this new process so we decided to
stick close to Tim's design.

Soooo Here's My Tag(s)

Cut out your birds using chipboard.

I meant to have them facing each other

but I got caught up in the creating process 

that I forgot...LOL!

 I did not have the Distress Paper Mosaic Kit.

We decided to just use some Teresa Collins Modeling

 Paste instead.

I thought this process was really fun.....

and as Tim said...kind of therapeutic....cutting

up little bits of paper and gluing them on.

(I used all scrap paper for both of my birdies).

It doesn't take much.

 I also didn't have Tim's wood grain paper,

so we made some by using the Teresa Collin's 

wood grain embossing folder and then  I used

the antique linen paint on the base just as Tim

did.  I then used some distress stain and ink

for my wood grain colors.

I then distressed the edges and inked them.

Now for the tags.  I only put color on the

top part of the tags when I noticed that the

rest of the tag wasn't going to show.

I always LOVE making this distressed look!

I never get tired of it.

Glue the wood grain on top of the tags.

then ink the tags.

Now it's time to put my birdies on the tags

and embellish them.

I decided to use the heart charms instead of the 

number tokens to dangle off of the arrows.  

(I think I ended up using Hobby Lobby's 

Paper Studio's brand of arrows or Maya Road).

Then I made my own ticket at the top using a 

stamped image (Fiskars Teresa Collins Noteworthy 

stamps) instead of using vial labels.

Stitch the ticket at the top and also 

stitch the ruler ribbon on the bottom on
the right side and on the staple the
ribbon on the left side.

Oopsies...I have a lead foot today...

Really heavy on the zig zag design...

I didn't pull it through the sewing machine 

fast enough.  I still love the stitching and 

the extra layer of dimension it adds to the tag.

This is starting to look really cool as it comes together.

I chose thread to tie the hearts onto

the arrows.  The holes on the hearts are tiny

so it worked out PERFECTLY and I love

the extra pop of color it added.

Now to choose my sentiments and add my stars. 

I also added a sentiment to my ticket at the top.

I didn't have my alcohol ink with me so I just left

the star natural. 

Oh...I just love them.....Glue on the birdies...and 

now its time for the ribbon.

Yep a blue one and a pink one.

TWEET TWEET....now aren't these SWEET!!!!!

My girlfriend and I got to play for 

FIVE days straight...

uninterrupted ....

For REAL!!!

 

Thanks for stopping by and 

feel free to leave some LOVE!

MIRACLES WILL SET YOU FREE

My Soul is Full of SUNSHINE

This blog entry is soooo full of joy that I have trouble

finding the words to describe my happiness.

My eyes continue to tear up due to the 

 GRATEFULNESS that

is in my heart.

My oldest son has had health issues all

of his life. When he had just turned 7 months old,

he contracted spinal meningitis and almost died.

Since that illness he has had many, many surgeries

throughout his entire life.

At the end of January (after 27 1/2 years of 

depending on a shunt for survival), he was able to undergo a 

surgery that, if successful, would cure his

acquired hydracelphalas.  

Yesterday, I went with my son to his doctors 

appointment to see his neurosurgeon.

Since February, he has been 

"SHUNT FREE!"

The doctor gave him a THUMBS UP SIGN!

He handed us his card and said, "No need to call

me or come visit unless you are having problems!"

Words that I NEVER thought I would ever hear were

finally spoken and left me feeling sooo

BLESSED.

There is also a gratefulness to all of our

family and friends who have supported us and prayed for us

all of these years and  to the neurosurgens and their teams that

have taken care of William. 

Dr. Roger Hudgins

Dr. Florence Barnett

and 

Dr. Jon T. Willie

How do you repay someone who has given you

a MIRACLE?

Since my son's surgery...I continue to see this special

young man change daily.  Just the simple act of sleeping

is different.  He smiles more each day and gives me

 gentle, genuine hugs full of love and

 gratefulness. He is forever 

changed.... as is his family.

I BELIEVE in MIRACLES!

 

 

FAMILY

No Frame Needed

I am really interested in finding different

ways to share my photos without using 

a traditional frame.  It's really fun for me,

plus I use up some of my never ending supply

of scraps and use some pretty embellishments 

that I have saved in my stash.

Here is a project I finally got around to 

completing not long ago.

 It is made up entirely of scraps excepts for

the beautiful pin, the bling, the heart buckle (Paper Studio)

and the stand that I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

I also used some Tim Holtz Walnut Distress Ink.

I used some art mat board to mount my paper onto 

with glue...then I had an old pair of jeans that I cut

up and distressed, cut it to size, put some red

stitching in a few places and glued it to the paper.

I already loved how this was turning out.

I matted the photo and mounted it onto chipboard. 

Then I glued it on top of the blue jean base.

The dies I used were Tim Holtz Tattered Florals and the 

Wanted Alphabet Strip Die. 

To make the flower, I cut flowers out of blue jeans, 

red and blue tulle, and navy paper, added the pin and

glued it all together with a hot glue gun. 

I pulled some dark red velvet ribbon through 

the heart belt loop and simply cut both end with

some sharp scissors. I keep my scissors for 

material and scissors for paper separate.
Sissors for material need to be "sharp" for cutting.

 Velvet dresses up any occasion, 

along with some "BLING!"

To make the title I cut the word family from the Wanted strip

die using blue scrap paper.  The base for the title also came

from some scrap paper. I eye-balled the sizes to make some 

layered rectangles and used my Stub Corner Chomper

to cut the corners...quick, simple mats for the title.

I found two othe items in my scrap bin to add to this small 

layout.  I found a partial design that looked like a flower that

I trimmed and put in the upper right corner.

I then ran across a quote to put right next to the larger flower.

I distressed it and added some bling.  

I think it provided the perfect touch to finish off this project.

I enjoyed making this project sooo much and
it provided me so much satisfaction to finally
finish this photo.
This project would also make a nice gift
for someone.

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN

LIFE OUTSIDE of SCRAPBOOKING

I recently had someone point out to me

that most of my posts were just a lot

of Tim Holtz's Tags.

AND....you know what they were right.

I try mainly to keep my blog 

ALL ABOUT SCRAPBOOKING!

EXCEPT...It has been a lot of simple projects.

When I first started my blog, I did put my

projects on here....but life happens...

and I am not getting younger...and when you realize

that you can't correct things that need to change...

it wears on you!!!!

Scrapbooking is MY OUTLET....I can go 

in my scraproom and forget about everything

that bothers me and have FUN!!!!!

SPECIAL STORY INSERTION 

 

We recently had a MIRACLE that was 

granted to our oldest son!

YES...A TRUE MIRACLE...they really do occur!

 

Our oldest son was very sick at 7 months.

I won't go into all the details, but he almost died!

We are very blessed that he is still with us,

but that illness left him with some major 

health issues.  One of them is that he was

left with acquired hydrocephalus. He had to have

a shunt inserted to survive.  All throughout

his life (He is now 28), he has had surgery after

surgery on his shunt. 

(He has had so many surgeries that I have lost count).

  In February of this year, we 

entered the hospital on a Saturday... and then we

were told that his drain would need to be inserted into

his heart because it wasn't going to be able to work any 

more in the abdominal area due to all the scar tissue.

His neurosurgeon then referred us to another neurosurgeon

for this surgery.  This all happened rather quickly and this new

doctor presented us with another option.  We were going to run

some tests and if our son had this specific characteristic

within his brain, then he might be able to have another type 

of surgery and be SHUNT FREE!

All these years whenever our son has had surgery...

I have just prayed for God to watch over him and that 

he makes it through without any other complication.

For the longest time we have just been living day to day

waiting for the NEXT surgery or problem to arise.  

I will tell you that when his neurosurgeon told us in the 

beginning that we were going to have to make a 

change, I literally broke down and said to my GOD....

 I am done!   This is out of my mommy realm,

I can't handle this ANYMORE...I am handing the 

care of my son over to YOU....YOU DEAL WITH IT!

I was just angry and devastated... and then I realized 

that I was trying to shoulder all this....ALL BY MYSELF!!!!

I imagined all the things that were going to go wrong with

the new placement of his shunt (none of the options were good in

my opinion) and I had had ENOUGH! 

His doctor  said she would NOT be doing the surgery...

she was going to refer us to a colleague. My son just looked

at his doctor and put all his faith in what she said!  He trusted her.

So in the middle of the night we were taken by ambulance to  

the next hospital...met with the new neursurgeon .....had tests

after tests....thanked God for providing us with another option....

and that our son fit the requirements for this other surgery....

and he made the decision to try it...(This was a very scary 

thing for all of us...because the surgery itself was scary and 

there was one factor that if it didn't work...

 ....then he would NOT be shunt free!

He had surgery on Wednesday and by Sunday...the

doctor met with us and told us the surgery was 

SUCCESSFUL!

PRAISE GOD....our son got his MIRACLE...

WE ARE BLESSED!

HE IS NOW BEEN SHUNT FREE SINCE FEBURARY!

He has one more doctors appointment before we are

completely let go!

But this is the main reason why I haven't really posted a lot

of other stuff...my life has not really been mine...As my son 

says....he has had a "SHUNT DRIVEN LIFE!"

BUT NO MORE!!!!!

MIRACLES DO HAPPEN!!!!!

THANKFUL EVERY DAY!!!!!

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