Friday 23 January 2015

For the Love of Tim

Hello all and thanks so much for dropping by here! Today it is my turn to host the latest challenge at A Vintage Journey.

As it's not that long until Valentine's day, this is the description of the challenge:
It being nearly the end of January, it's not long until Valentines day.
A flower cannot blossom without sunshine,
And man cannot live without love.
So the saying goes. For this challenge please share what moves your heart with us, be it a Valentine's card for a loved one, a heart themed project, or something else that expresses what true love means to you. Just make sure that Tim's style is evident in what you make.

Well, in the end I decided not to go the traditional Valentines route, instead I created a project expressing my love for all things Tim....
As you know of course, love can come in many different ways, - there is the passionate "being in love" or the steady enduring love between long standing partners, - there's the love of a parent or grand parent for their off spring, or the platonic love between true friends. Did you know that in Ancient Greek, there were actually 3 different words for love? ἔρως érōs, φιλία philía and ἀγάπη agápē, the latter means spiritual love. Anyway, my love for Tim Holtz and the wonderful inspiration he provides for crafters all around the world, possibly holds aspects of all three.....

But enough philosophy lol, and onto my project.
This year I decided to do my 12 tags on Ranger #8s, - I wanted to design a mini with 12 pockets that could hold them all, so here it is and how I made it.

You will need 4 bits of card that are large enough to be cut to 13" by 10.5"
Score each one at 6.5 along the 13" side and at 3.5 and 7 along the 10.5 side. Cut as shown in the picture below:
Next fold each piece according to Tim's W book. I have shown how to do this many times, as most of my booklets are made according to this principle, I just vary the sizes.. Here is a description.
Once you have folded your card it will look like this:
By adhering the top or the bottom of the pages together (for this one it is best to use something like tissue or washi tape), each piece of card will have 3 pockets. Simply glue your 4 pieces together and you will have created a booklet with 12 pockets just the right size for a size 8 tag.
This is what it will look like from the front and below you can see what it looks like from the top:
As I had to use different types of tissue tape because I ran out and also because it all looked rather messy, I decided to edge everything with black gesso.
For that reason I decided to make the cover and spine  with 3 bits of black card, this is the size you need:
2 pieces of 3.75" by 6.75 " for the covers and 1 piece of 3" by 3.75" for the spine. If you score this piece at 1 1/8" each end along the 3" side it will wrap neatly around the outside of your tag book. But before adding the spine, create something to cover the plain black first.

I used a piece of Manila card for this, cut to 6 1/4 by 3 3/8". I used inks, sprays, texture paste and gesso to create my background. I then rubbed it with Dorland's Wax Medium and then crumpled it up to give it a leather like appearance.
I embellished it with various Ideaology pieces, some letter stickers and two stamped sentiments. The stamps are from the Mercantile set. I then ran the spine piece of card through a little embossing folder and highlighted the embossed bit with Pewter Treasure Gold.
Here are a few close ups still:
Here you can see the spine of the book.
The numbers are from an Industrious Stickers sheet. The laurel wreath is an Ideaology piece, I aged it a bit with some Decoart Antiquing Creams.
The one sentiment is of course Tim's favourite saying, the other is one of my favourite love quotes..

Now one of the fun things with creating a booklet like this, is that you also have the inside pages to decorate. I plan to do that on a monthly basis, really picking up the qualities and colours of the month and the season. So here is my January page:
You can just see my January tag stick out of the back. If you missed it, you can see it here, based on Tim's tag of course.

Well, hope you like my tag book. If you would like to make your own and I have not made things clear, please feel free to email me and I'll be happy to answer any questions.

Almost all of the products I have used are available from Countryview Crafts. And do check out the amazing projects my team mates have created. All you need to do is click HERE

Of course we all hope you will play along in our challenge, so hopefully see you there!!


49 comments:

Pawsitively Creative said...

Okay, I have to try this because this is my first year doing the 12 TH tags and what a neat way to keep track of all 12! Thanks so much for the tutorial! Your holder is superb and so Tim inspired. TFS! ~Niki

massofhair said...

THANK YOU Astrid for the clear instructions on how to make the mini book. As always you leave me both smiling and gobsmacked at your ArT:-) xxx

experiments in paper said...

This is lovely, and perfect as I am also wondering how to keep my tags for the 2015 Tim Holtz play-along. Plus it has your wonderful textures and colors....and another great technique for the cover background. Thank you! xx Lynn

S@ndy Diller said...

What a great take on a fabulous challenge. I love the unexpected twist and the beautiful book. Great Idea. I think I want to make one tool

Julia Aston said...

What a lovely place to keep all of your Tim Tags for the year Astrid! such a clever design and beautifully decorated! Thanks for showing us all the steps! and for your wonderful challenge this fortnight!!

maria's knutselplezier said...

Great mini book , I love the front and your first tag is wonderfull, I really have to try one myself!!!

Greetings
Maria

Maryann Laursen said...

And I can only agree to everything all the others have already said here, it´s so beautiful and fantastic created and thanks sooo much for a really awesome tutorial here again, that is as always sooo easy to understand and follow. It looks absolutely fabulous hun,
Have a wonderful week-end now.

Deborah Wainwright said...

Such a brilliant idea Astrid. I love how the book came together and as always the decoration is superb. I hope to play along with Tim's Tags this year and look forward to your take on Tim's themes. Xxx

Jane said...

I loved reading your love ideas Astrid, all so true. This little tag holder is perfect....thanks so much for sharing it. I shall put it on my list of things to make. So many gorgeous details, you are so talented and creative x

Valerie-Jael said...

Really gorgeous Astrid, wonderful work. Valerie

Brenda Brown said...

Beautifully designed and made Astrid and what a great idea to decorate the page with the feel for the month. Thank you for a great challenge and your amazing inspiration xxx

chrissie said...

Thanks to you I have made a few of these wonderful little books. This one is very beautiful with great techniques

Love Chrissie x

Dagmar said...

Oh Astrd - das ist fantastisch!!!! Mir fehlen die Worte - wieder einmal :-) Liebe - ja ich lebe deine Arbeiten! Es ist immer eine Freude deinen Blog zu besuchen und neue Inspirationen zu finden durch deine tollen Werke. Danke dafür <3
Liebe Grüße, Dagmar.

Rupa Swaminathan said...

Absolutely fantastic, Astrid! Loved your little booklet...so inspiring. Now can't wait to see it all filled up with your wonderful tags.

Nikki Acton said...

Oh I do adore it when you make mini books and this one is stunning - what a great thing to have to store your Tim tags... which reminds me, I must do January! Nikki x

Pamellia said...

Wow Astrid, you never fail to blow my hair off with your fabulous creations! This is just such an outstanding idea and you have really hit the mark with all the gorgeous textures and deep rich colours! Amazing way to keep your tags! I look forward to seeing the next page! until next time, big hugs :)

Terry said...

I was so looking forward to your Tim's tag holder and am so impressed! Astrid, the design is amazing and such a great idea for holding those 12 tags. I am going to have to find paper that size and give this a try. Love, love, love the texture and those lovely colors! As always total gorgeousness! Have a great weekend! Hugs!

Artyjen said...

Great way to keep your tags together ;)
xoxo Sioux

Ros Crawford said...

You went with your heart and came up with something really special ... Beautiful work!

Kathy Bradley said...

Wow, very impressive and lovely. Thanks so much for sharing!

Redanne said...

I like the Greek lesson at the beginning, I never knew that they had more than one word for love. Your tag holder is just stunning, the leather look is fantastic (you are such a master with these books) and the embellishments are just perfect. A stunning make. Hugs, Anne xx

Unknown said...

Such a brilliant idea Astrid. I love how the book came together and the embellishments are just perfect.Hugs.Tunder

Meggymay said...

WOW, an awesome book for your tags, look forward to seeing it grow during the coming months.
Yvonne

Granmargaret said...

Beautiful work. My friend Barb in the USA just gave me the link to your blog. I live Australia. Thank you also for your freebies, I will have a look at those later. Have a happy year.

Anonymous said...

This is MAGNIFICENT Astrid! Such a beautiful book and one which appeals to the vintage girl which lives inside me.

I love the technique for creating the book and am going to try this one out for myself. (I've no doubt that my first try will get me into a sticky mess, but I'm doing it anyway! lol)

Sending love and crafty hugs your way ~ Cobs. x

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Good art moves my heart! LOVE this...awesome texture on the cover.

Tincan Crafter said...

Astrid, I love it. You always come up with amazing things. You just reminded me that I Proabably need to work on a Tim tag this month as well.

Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...

Love your tag book, wonderful design and great step by step. I use the jumbo tags so I'll have to tweak the dimensions, but would love to make something like this to hold my 2015 tags too. Love your richly textured background and the wonderful deep hues you always achieve. Here's to 2015!

Hugs,
Linda

Jackie PN said...

I love this book and the non-traditional way you have decorated it in regards to "love" Your colors and and textures are always so delicious Astrid- and the design of this book goes on to my new favorite list! hugs ")

Margaret Mifsud said...

Have been looking forward to seeing what you would create for your tags and it is just as gorgeous as I expected it to be!! Love everything about it. The colour, the texture and the design are so beautiful. I have been thinking about trying Tim's tags this year and I might just have to go and take a look. Love this Astrid!! ox

rachel said...

what a stunning project Astrid - I adore all the details and thanks for sharing with us how you made the album up. Big hugs to you Rachel x

rachel said...

what a stunning project Astrid - I adore all the details and thanks for sharing with us how you made the album up. Big hugs to you Rachel x

Jennie Atkinson said...

Genious! What a fabulous way to keep all those wonderful tags. I will definitely be making one Astrid. The cover is just so wonderfully created too - fabulous textures and the gold highlight is just stunning! Fabulous xxx

Mona Pendleton said...

Wow Astrid! Another stunning project! Love all the texture and the blend of beautiful colors! Thanks for sharing your creative process and thanks for the never ending inspiration!

Unknown said...

Amazing, Astrid!! I love this special tag book you've created to house all of your creations of the Tim Tags of 2015 in!! It's marvelous!! XOXO-Shari

Words and Pictures said...

What a beautiful tag book, Astrid - great structure, which I'll be bookmarking for future reference - and how lovely to have somewhere to keep your growing collection of Tim tags through the year. As always, the textures are wonderful and I love, love, love (take your pick of specific meanings) your January page. The Greeks had it so right to separate it all out...
Alison xx

Teresita said...

Son muy bonitos tus trabajos!

Jools Robertson said...

Lovely tag book, the cover is amazing
Such fab textures and colours
And the spine is beautiful
Brilliant tutorial and thank you for such a lovely challenge

Love it

Jools x

Marjie Kemper said...

What a super creation - beautiful AND useful all at once!

Juliz Design Post said...

What a great way to keep your tags for 2015, must try this when I have some time. Stunning outer cover and for January, looking forward to seeing this Tag journal fill up.
Julie x

Ruth said...

Such a beautiful tag book , love the embossed spine, wonderful textures going on on the cover and your January page is just beautiful....perfectly captures the mood. Thanks Astrid for a fab tutorial. Ruth xx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Wow! Another fabulous creation that I missed by having no connection while I was away! This is stunning and I'm sure you must be so pleased with it yourself! There's still all the fun of filling it too!! Chrisx

Judy Biggerstaff said...

Oh what a great idea to make a book to hold your 12 tags of 2015. I do believe I must make a book like yours. Love your work.

Jenny Marples said...

Love this design for holding your 12 tags this year Astrid and of course you've altered that cover in your own beautiful style. So inspirational. Jenny x

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Wow, I'm missing words, that's such an outstanding idea. A wonderful project.

sarascloset said...

Astrid, I always love your work, with the colors and rich textures! This book is another example of those gorgeous creations you make with that fabulous richness. I always love a great art piece that is functional as well! Thank you for inspiring us with your beauty here!

Maggie said...

I love mini books and yours is just fabulous great place for all your tags I "need" one. The cover is fabulous so much texture and rich colour thanks for sharing
MaggieH

Deb said...

Beautiful Astrid! I have a holder for Tim's 12 tags on my to-do list and thanks to your wonderful tutorial I now know how I am going to make one. Thanks so much and thanks for a fun challenge at AVJ.

Ink Art Designs said...

This is such a beautiful book Astrid, and a great idea for keeping the Tim Tags in! I looove the whole aged feel and the texture and colours - so much like an antique book...you have captured it well.
Dot x

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