SEPTEMBER TAG; The 12 Tags of 2016

Another month crosses off the 2016 calendar and we are into the last 3 of the year. Please, don't start telling me how many "days left until CHRISTmas" because it is NOT my fave time of the year. We just closed the pool this week, and it actually made me CRY! But, I still have the new sailboat to work with! (More on that coming later.) So life goes on, and Summer 2016 has passed along with it.

  Tim's YUPO paper is just to die for!! But alas, I was not able to get my hands on any and, as you can tell by the date of this posting, I was not going to have time to. I do hope to get some on my next shopping trip, but THAT is a ways off also since we have things and travels still to catch up with. Chelsea, Michigan next week for my first visit (I hope of more, but have to see how it goes) to The Purple Rose Theater of Jeff Daniels ! Randy Mantooth is perfowe'll rming again onstage there in "Morning After Grace" and we have tix in hand for October 6th. I am so excited as I LOVE stage plays! But to see my fave is a Bucket List scratchoff! I hope to get to see Kevin Tighe onstage one of these days. also. In the meantime....
      While the YUPO didn't make it's much-wanted appearance in my craft studio, I did follow the rest of the techniques as closely as possible. I was rewarded with my efforts in a set of 4 Tags that was pleasing to my eye as well as a smile-maker for 3 of my Besties-all who had me skipping over their recent special dates. This was my make-up to them.

One of the first things I did was to experiment with some colors. I knew I wanted Red, White/Tan. or Blue- the September 11th reminders. Pardon the rounded photos as I ended up using my waterproof panoramic cam since I had my phone cam go on the blink- along with my PHONE! ARGH!!!

The coloring of the pc here makes it look more yellow than tan.. to me anyway. But you can clearly see from the first 3 Tags way over on the left= how my colorings improved as I experimented. The final 8 on the Craftsheet became the backs and fronts for the four Sept Tags.

While Tim said "Hello, YUPO!", I was crying "NO YUPO!!!"  So I busted a brain vein trying to come up with a way to make something SIMILAR & this is what I started with: Remnane Rubs in words and odd-whatever numbers to describe each of the 3 Besties I chose out of the almost dozen I have. For paper- I grabbed a couple sheets of Glossy Photo Paper... just to see where it went... starting with a smaller piece then going ahead with the other four as it turned out workable.

Added some Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink on my fave sets of Tim Holtz stamps...and then used a couple diff shades of darker Distress Inks to give them a shadowy look, and edging as wel (last two steps not shown here).

Got the Tim Book out just for a refresher on that tech and some ideas on color to make it look like I wasnted.

Sewing is getting to be FUN with these- as long as they have LAYERS because single cardstocking is hard for me to sew and not leave mistakes to.....er.... EMBRACE!! lol!

Front Sides of all 4 Tags...

Back Sides of all 4 Tags. The following photos below show the Tags with their cooresponding pics I chose to put onto the backsides for each Bestie...
 

           This was for Sandy- the Bestie who shared with me her horses and fulfilled my dream of having one for my own! THANK YOU, SANDY, for sharing WINGS with me!! I will treasure our time together (the FOUR of us!) for always!!! ILU!

 

 

Chuck & Debb in rental boat...

 

...Wendy and Mark reeling one in.

 

Another beautiful MICHIGAN sunset on Lake Lilly !

        The other two were for Wendy and Debb- we shared a trip with them to Michigan early in September to a place where I found my BucketList Sailboat!!! Maybe you guys didn't catch much in the way of fish, but it was still a fun trip! ILU2!!

September is always a month of conflicting emotions for me. Having been right there tuning in just as the first plane hit.... my sons in a neighboring town north of us, and my CheifHubby at work 45 minutes away.... I was alone. Being deaf was never more serious than in that moment. And then, in the days, weeks, months, and yes, 15 yrs later... it still remains clearly in my mind. Even while all three of my guys are now retired from the Fire Service along with their Dad before each of them (3 Generations; Buck Larimore, Grandpa... David - my Chief...and both our Sons, Brian and Brett.... I will always be PROUD of the job they did.  And I will always keep PRAYING for those still answering those tones when they go off to serve and save in the unknown situations.

GOD BLESS THE USA!

 

Thanks for checking in, once again!

 

BE SAFE & HAPPY BLOGGING

A TimTag NOT For September...A Family Thing.

    Back in June when Tim Holtz debuted his monthly Tag, he used one of his newest dies that recently hit the market. I was absolutely thrilled with this die, and both the positive and the negative cuts can be used in so many ways!! The die itself reminds me of the old classic movies of "The Invisible Man".  I immediately put this die onto my Wish List, but found it on sale via The Funkie Junkie Boutique and thought it would make a cool Tag gift for the "Daugherty Rocketeers" aka my older Brother & Sister remaining on the Daugherty side of my family. They'd been trying to make a gathering since the spring that we could all attend. With the third try hoping to be a charm- it was not so for me. We had already committed to a cabin stay up in Michigan with 2 other sets of friends. There was no other date to change the gathering to, this late in the year, but I seem to run into this kind of quandry quite a bit these last ten yrs. We used to scramble dates bk & forth until we satisfied every event with our presence. But even then, it would somehow let someone down in the end. We have tried to keep along the lines of whatever 'firm' commitments were set to the calendar (with the exceptions that come along in life; births, weddings, illnesses, deaths, and more often- the celebration of life itself in gathering together). Ultimately; you do what you gotta do, even when it hurts. So we missed this gathering and while I am often thinking "What if that turns out to be the very last chance I had to be with that person?", and indeed we did lose one older Sister to both us younger Sisters this past Spring whom I had never yet met as an adult. She was almost adult herself when I was born, and while I do remember being at one brother's house (I was told he and his wife babysat me) who died before I got the chance to remeet him again either....I keep trust in The LORD's perfect timing and the fact that ANY time could be the last time we see a person - ANY person we know. That leaves me with one sister and one brother from our father Lyle (from whom I get my first and maiden last names).
           That all said, I chose to do a Tag for both of them in honor of the earthly father (and Heavenly Father as well) we share. I was able to get them to my Sister at church before the event/our leaving for Michigan. I wasn't getting the story out in a timely fashion though- as per my usual. So there you have it, guys... with LOVE!!!



All Front Sides: The lapels on each "gentleman" show a rose for us girls, and a star for the oldest brother... as shown in the following photo below:.

I chose the Chit Chat Sticker "family"...



...and a Type Charm "D" for Daughterty- the family name handed down from our father, Lyle Audrey.

The backsides with the "positive cut" from the die... shown closeup below:

The stitching was fun but I am NOT a sewing person (as in clothes, etc.).

David and I were both humbled and very HAPPY to finally meet that side of my family in 2011 for the first time since I was a baby around 2 or 3 yrs old. I last remember seeing my Father, Lyle, just before my Dad (Don Rush Sr) married my mother the summer I was 7 yrs old. My Dad told me as I was getting married in 1984 that he had sat across the table from Lyle during a school dinner/play at Lake Cicott Elem School (torn down old Elem School in Lake Cicott, IN, that was part of the Pioneer Regional School Corp 3 of our 4 kids went on to graduate from). I was a Narrator of that play and my Dad said that Lyle seemed to enjoy watching me that night - both fathers were able to meet each other then. For some reason, everyone thought it was best not to tell me Lyle was there and I don't remember getting the time to run into him as I was onstage in front of the curtain all evening.

Our boys get the Dougherty nose from ChiefHubby's Mother's Dougherty side of the family (her maiden name from Grandma and Grandpa Doughtery spelled with an O). And they get their frizzy hair from my Daugherty (spelled with an A) side of the famiy.

Love you, Topper, Pam, and the rest of the family !!! Maybe 2017 is a charm??

Thanks for checking in to read this post, everyone!

Next post is the late-as-usual posting of the SEPTEMBER TAG; The 12 Tags of 2016...

Coming right up on the heels of this post!

 

AUGUST TAG; The 12 Tags of 2016...Smooth Sailing & Safe Travels.

   I hope this EARLY posting doesn't cause any massive coronaries to any innocent readers: I'm surprising even myself being this early! I actually get my Tags done by mid-month, but it's a tossup between procrastination and being busy that keeps me from getting it posted. In fact, I find it hard to get to sleep on the night before Tim posts the new month's Tag. After viewing his new post, the ideas roll over so fast in my head that I am usually gathering together all I need and putting it into one pile on my desk right away. It's not hard for me to picture the end result in my head, so geting it onto the craftsheet from there, is pretty easy for me.

 Unless, of course, it's one of those techniques that I have to keep trying over and over to get it anywhere near Tim's look. This month's Tag took me off guard. There were two things Tim stayed away from that he's done in the past 1tag/month years; both Patriotic or beach/water for July and August. So I was surprised to see a more muted tone for this Remix. Not that I didn't like it...I LOVED IT! But, this summer has been bittersweet for me. After a long winter watching my Dad literally melt away from cancer, it's given me somewhat a more heightened sense of LIFE. I've always tried not to take anything for granted because I know we are BLESSED to be alive in this day. The age of media technology to share talents and friendship in a way that I'd never  have been able to do since I am deaf. Plus all the medicines and helps that are available to me in this age. I think we need to go further in helping the rest of everyone in the world to have access to it all. But that is a great arguement for another day. Right now, I'll get down to the how and then the why for my August Tag...

 

I knew I would be trying to incorporate two shapes into my Tag: 1- a sailboat, and 2- my new TH Alterations Thinlets Die Set; Gearhead. I hadn't had a good chance up til this to play with the Gearhead and it is really awesome! Now, the sailboat was a toughie. I looked at all my ocean craft items and came up empty. I've got both sets of the TH Sand&Sea, palm trees, lighthouses, etc...but no sailboat. Ok, fine. I got online and Googled "Sailboat" hoping to find one in the simple leaning (elegant) shape I wanted & I got lucky with several of the same shape turning up in quite as few of the pictures. I was able to change it to just a black/white scheme and save it to print out the size I wanted to fit to the Tag background. So there ya go, Tim and Mario: make up a simple sailboat to go with the new Beach/Sea items you have out this year (which I added to my WANT LIST)!

The first time we did this technique, I wasn't very great at it. That's what I love most about this Remix; we get a chance to purposefully practice these techs all over again. I think I had more fun (AND did BETTER) this time around. You'll notice there are four sides. I made TWO TAGS; both having a front and back.

Adding the shading was not just fun, but actually let me 'set up' the background for my sailboat.



I went a little giddy with these. I just FINALLY found this TH Frameworks Die earlier this summer in a bargain! So noone had to urge me twice to have some fun with it. I chose lots of muted tones in different textures; burlap, cork, Tim-PaperStash, even some of Tim's yesteryear Kraft Glassine. The muted textures were the type you would find on a sailing vessel.

Sewing was more fun this time around....esp the sailboat - shown below in closeups...



I LOVED the way the new design of gears from the Gearhead Die Set allow you to stack as many as you want but still stay closer to the base layer of your Tag- lighter weight, too. There are alot more pullys, gears, and blocks/tackle on a boat than most people think. Instead of stitching on the Tag's background, I chose to stitch on the sail itself. This pic shows the JibSail.  It's where you would actually find stitching on a sailboat, and I went a bit further...

... I stitched an upper case "L" on my pennant topsail! I also added a smallest IdeaOlogy Spinner- as there would normally be a similar pointer up on top to help you steer into the wind. Of course, I needed a compass ornament on my Tag.

A neat find in my stash was an anchor charm I had leftover from another project made for the OlderSon's USNavy Fiance'. I decided to put it to good use here- complete with a slipknot and another squareknot from the paperstring with Hitches holding my Word Band.

The BACKSIDE of my August Entry Tag (I only enter the main front and the rest is just up for grabs/gabs/&entertainment! The back also has similarly done technique, but this time I chose to use all Gearhead topper and used Glossy Accents to adhere it plus some Long Fasteners just for looks. The Compass Coin w Spinner & another Long Fastener completed the look. I did add a few random stitches, too.



Finished FRONTSIDES August Tag entry (left) and gift for OlderSon& Fiance' for use in memory of their trip to London, England this past week. (They got into O'Hare Intl, Chicago late and missed their IND flight. Next flight out was not till late Sunday, so this will be posted before they even get back home.)
Note: I coated the sailboat with Multi Medium Matte for a little strength since it was going to be stitched.

Finished BACKSIDES to both Tags... You can see more of the 2nd Tag in closeups below...

This saying was PERFECT! The color, the stitching, and all the little things just made this Tag way too fun for me!

I'd ordered from The Funkie Junkie Boutique for another set of  dies and got another TH Crinkle Ribbon already done in the perfect Red, White, & Blue as an 'extra' they always send out with their awesome packaging! The little trinkets were part of my order and you can see the compass matches the one on my own Tag. These trinkets were great looking next to the TH paper of Great Britain's Flag inset on the top hexagon.

Again- use of the Gearhead since gears are also used in planes... I only set the Eiffel Tower piece on top, but didn't adhere it. I didin't know if they'd get any chance to make a quick run through the Chunnel to France or not. So it will be a JIC piece.

Of course, I had to use Tim's paper here, as well as the smaller Crown from the IdeaOlogy. I laced it all up in tiny red & blue gems with fake diamond gems. I took a tiny key I had in my stach and broke off the bottom (the part that goes into the lock itself) and using some of the same gems. The end result became "the Queens Crown Jewels". A cute touch, or so I think, that can offset a small photograph - if they choose to add one in the space I made here.

Here's the Older Son, Brian, and his USNavyGirl Fiance', Ashley- they're doing a selfie for me at a site I requested they visit... & if you're having trouble guessing where this was taken at; look closely into the far background on the streetwalk and think THE BEATLES! (PS: THANKS, my babies! We're so happy you got to see such a beautiful country!) While Ahsley spent 3 years of military service in Japan, this was Brian's first trip abroad. Our entire family of 6 is seeing some amazing places this year and we are very thankful!!

And now the reason why I did a sailboat...I've been brushing back up on my boating knowlefge since we used to have a couple of our own motorboats (Bayliner open bow & then a larger deckboat, and currently have an old pontoon) since the ChiefHubby grew up with his Parents and Grandparents- as well as most of his extended family-owning boats. One of our first dates was spent at his Grandparents' Lake Shafer Isle home to teach me water skiing. I fell in love with it and really miss the sport! Lately, I've  longed for a shortboard to take up surfing from plain boogie hardboarding, but he is afraid I'd go too far out alone (aka: without him) since noone else shares my "sense of adventure". Ditto with the smaller 1&2 person sailboat I had my eye on for the past 2 years. Party pooper! So instead, he looked for something he can go with me on and we ended up with a Lifetime 3person Manta Kayak. It's usable on all waters- even the ocean- within reasonable limits.
Here we are- during the first Wabash River excursion just for practice. We've done kayaking before a few times both long ago and recently, but never on the Wabash. Shown in the background is Georgetown Bridge in western Cass County, IN.

The first weekend of August, we took the kayak up to Red Wing, MN,to visit with the Ygr Purdue cpl kids. They'd gone out and got their own kayaks before we ordered ours! So we packed them up and took a trip out on Lake Byllsby near Cannon Falls,MN. It was during the weekend of the Red Wing River City Days Festival, and the live music was pretty cool that Friday Night. The kayaking trip was on Sunday afternoon, after the Chief and I attended worship at our usual place there: Cornerstone Christian Church, located right in the downtown store fronts.

My surprise at finding out that the particular 3Person Manta Kayak we have now... also can be fitted with a SAIL!!!
And BLESS my ChiefHubby's BIG WONDERFUL HEART: the sail has just been shipped as of last night!!!
Guess it does help to keep dreaming- who knows how it will turn out?!?
 

              Thanks for checking in and I hope you will join in on the 12 Tags of 2016 with us if you haven't yet! There are still  FOUR more Tags for the year with TWICE that many techniques to (re)try your hand at. For those of you I see who've checked in to see my blog posts continually- THANK YOU!!! I may not leave comments or proof that I have been to everyone else's sites, but I try hard to get a peek as much as I can because there are so many AWESOME talented folks out there! I've probably seen most of them on Pinterest and have tons pinned under my "12 Tags" board.
               I sincerely hope everyone has a smooth transition from the summer months to the school months- it's crazy how EARLY school starts now and feels like such a short summer life for kids. Makes me want to stay out in my pool 24/7 right now. But, alas; those fall months will bring more craft time. ;)
                                                                      Till next time....
                                Be Safe and HAPPY BLOGGING!