Tammy Tutterow

Journeys end but new ones always begin-

If you follow Tim Holtz's blog you have probably read his announcement that he has decided to end his design team.  Tim Holtz has to be one of the busiest people I have ever met.  After meeting him and getting some insight into all that is done to prep for his classes, all of his product development, and creative time, I really don't know how he does it all.  As he explains in his post, he found managing the team was taking time that was already at a premium and decided to end the team.

I have gotten so many wonderful and kind messages since the announcement was made that I thought I should take a moment and share my thoughts here.

I am a little sad to see the team end but honestly, I am just thankful and grateful for the time that it lasted and that I was a part of it.  I have been very fortunate in the last 5 years or so to be a part of many great teams and to work with many great companies in this industry.  Despite all that I have done or achieved, I never would have dreamed or felt like I was in a place to be worthy of being on a team for Tim Holtz.  I love the products and admire the creativity of Tim so much.  When he emailed me and asked me to join the team I really had to think about it.  I wasn't sure I was good enough.  Don't get me wrong, I am not trying to sell myself short, I do believe I am talented and have a gift for creating.  But when you think of someone as being at the top of your industry and you are asked to be a part a team for that person's products, I don't think you can not ask yourself if you are good enough and if you can do it.  I didn't want to not only disappoint Tim, but I also didn't want to disappoint his many faithful fans and loyal customers who might look at me for inspiration.  I gave myself a pep talk and told myself that Tim wouldn't have asked me if he didn't see something he thought he could use, to trust it and believe in it.  And I did and oh how glad I am that I did!

I believe that the whole thing pushed me to try harder and experiment more with my creativity.  I wanted to deliver the goods and prove to myself that I deserved that spot.  I think in the time that the team lasted I created some projects that were my best ever.  I feel like a whole new part of my creativity opened up.  It never felt like a chore or a job, it was just a pleasure.  How can you not feel anything but gratitude for such a wonderful gift.

Even though the official team has ended, I don't plan to change anything about what I am doing.  I love what I am doing creatively and where I am blogging and teaching.  I will continue to share projects using all of Tim's signature collections because I love them and am inspired by them.  My store classes in the future will also be very focused on Tim's and Ranger's products.  I will still blog my projects and still share lots of instructions because it is what I enjoy doing and the way I like to share.  I do intend to leave my team member badge up on my blog even though the official team has ended.  It just means so much to me that I can't bear to part with it just yet.  So really, here on my blog, nothing will change.

When Tim posted on his blog yesterday about the end of the team, he took the time to speak about each member and what they brought to the team.  I loved what he said about each member and was so moved by his comments about me:

tammy tutterow: i must be honest when i say that she surprised me the most.  i often referred to her as "tammy tutorial" (which she never knew until now) because she certainly loves sharing her artful discoveries in great detail.  i never knew what tammy was going to create, and i have to say i was blown away each and every time...

Wow.  How amazing is it to see someone you admire so much write such wonderful things about you?  To have someone you admire so much say you blew him away, well, that is incredible and humbling.  I think I may print that quote out and post it on my desk for anytime I need a positive affirmation because I smile every single time I read it.

So while it looks like a journey has ended, it really hasn't.  It has really just continued on a really wonderful path that I am loving and enjoying.  There is no sadness or disappointment, just gratitude.  The whole experience from the first moment to the last has been a true "pinch me" moment.

Art Journal: Forward

Finally!  I got to sit down today and get my hands inky and painty.  It feels like it has been years!  This month has been rough one so far for getting in and staying in my creative groove.  Maybe it is the seasonal change, maybe it is the yo-yo like weather we have been having, maybe it is just too much paperwork and not enough creative time.  I had a million things I needed to do today but I pushed them all back and played instead.  I think it is a necessary thing to do once in a while.  I know I sure feel good and refreshed

I have been picturing this page in my art journal for several days now.  In the end, it didn't turn out like I had planned, but that is okay because I like it better than what I had set out to do.

The page is made up of a clear transparency page over a solid paper page.  I applied Pitch Black Adirondack Paint Daubers to it.  The imprinted image is part of a happy little mistake I made when my paint got away from me and I tried to clean it up with baby wipes.  I am planning a second post for tomorrow to tell what I did.

I stamped this image using the Pitch Black Adirondack Paint Daubers.  I love the way the image turned out.  The man with the umbrella is from the Tim Holtz clear Life's Possibilities stamp set.

I embellished the top of the journaling strip with a Grungepaper flower cut from the Tattered Florals Die (inked with Wild Honey) and an Accoutrements button.

The journaling strip is from a sheet of vintage ledger paper.  I hand wrote the message, "The journey ahead is bright.  Keep looking ahead and facing the sun."

I added layers of torn and inked vintage book paper to the base page under the clear sheet.

The solid page is inked with an assortment of Distress Ink colors, mostly in yellows and oranges with a little Stormy Sky mixed in.  Around the edges I used the floral stamp from the Tim Holtz Flights of Fancy clear stamp set stamped in assorted green Distress Ink colors to give the look of trees.

Tutorial: Clearly for Art Tattered Floral Roses

This tutorial is now located on my new website.  You can find it here: http://tammytutterow.com/2010/10/tutorial-clearly-for-art-tattered-floral-roses/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Tim Holtz Design Team: Every Season

There are two parts of inspiration in this project, the first is a quote.  It came to mind as I was working one day when I was sitting in my studio.  I didn't know who said it or why it came to mind, but it seemed perfect to direct a project that was sitting on my desk with no direction.  I had made this flower (in blue for no reason what so ever and added Rock Candy Stickle to it for no reason), had pulled paper to match, and had a label cut and colored.  It all just felt like pieces and parts.

God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December.  -James M. Barrie

I had a rose with snow and pieces in shades of blue that felt icy and wintry.  Suddenly I had the pieces to something that would not only be pretty but also have some meaning.

The wooden box is a shadowbox that I found on the clearance aisle at Hobby Lobby.  I sanded off most of the finish so that it was pure shabbiness.  I covered the inside back with paper from the Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash.  I added Stormy Sky Distress ink to the edges.

I used Tim Holtz Nostalgic Tissue Tape on the inside shadowbox sides.  I brushed Stormy Sky Distress ink onto the tape using the Ink Applicator Tool.

On the outside of the box, I used a second pattern of paper from the Vintage Shabby Paper Stash using Mounting Adhesive Sheets.  I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink on the edges.

The shaped rose was created using Wendy Vecchi's Clearly For Art clear molding film.  I cut three flowers using the Tim Holtz Alterations Tattered Florals die.  I colored the flowers using an assortment of alcohol inks in different shades of blues.  I then shaped and layered the flowers using the process I show in my Shaped Roses tutorial.  I then heated the piece to shape it.  (I am working on a tutorial with the step-by-step instructions on making this flower.  I hope to have it ready tomorrow, so be sure and check back for it if you are interested in learning to make these.)

I applied a thick layer of Rock Candy Distress Stickles on the flower in all of the areas that I felt show would collect. 

The flower is adhered to a label cut from the Tim Holtz Alterations Styled Labels die.  I cut two layers, one from Sticky Back Canvas and one from scrap chipboard.  I used Turquoise Blue Glimmer Mist to add color to the Sticky Back Canvas.  After it was dry I adhered it to the chipboard.  I added stamping using a stamp from the Tim Holtz Floral Tattoo stamp set using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I used Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans Distress Ink for some additional shading.  I adhered it to the inside back of the box using 3D Foam Squares.

 

For the final touch I inked a small crinkled scrap of paper using Stormy Sky Distress Ink.  I used my small single alpha stamps to stamp using Jet Black Archival.  Once the ink was dry, I rubbed on a layer of Rock Candy Distress Stickles and attached it to the label using an Idea-ology Memo Pin.

That brings me to the second inspiration.  I have had a really beautiful song on my mind lately that talks about the presence of God in every season.  It always seems that when we are at a season's change this song comes to me and plays over and over in my mind.  The song is called Every Season by Nichole Nordeman.  As I was working on this project and thinking about roses in winter I began thinking about the seasons and of course this song.  I love its message and the way it describes each season.  It just seemed fitting to borrow the song's title and include it in the piece.

Hopefully I will have the tutorial for making the flower finished up and ready to post tomorrow so be sure to check back if you are interested in seeing how it was made.

Tutorial: Alcohol Ink Crackled Metal Pendants {part 2}

This tutorial in now on my new website.  You can find it here: http://tammytutterow.com/2010/10/tutorial-alcohol-ink-crackled-metal-pendants-part-2/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Tutorial: Alcohol Ink Crackled Metal Pendants

This tutorial has been moved to my new website.  You can now find it here: http://tammytutterow.com/2010/10/tutorial-alcohol-ink-crackled-metal-pendants/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Too cool not to share-

This post is now located on my new website.  You can find it here: http://tammytutterow.com/2010/10/too-cool-not-to-share/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Art Journal: Brighter Days

Life has been so busy lately.  I feel lately like I am running in a million directions and going no where and getting nothing done.  I have stacks of things I want to work on, things I should have finished, and a neglected house and yard.  I think it is probably a story that a lot of us share.  Yesterday was a finally a little different, I started marking things off of my to-do list instead of just adding to it and best of all, found a little creative time at the end of the day.  I grabbed a blank page from my art journal and sat and stared at it until I knew what I needed to say.

I was looking at a clear page from my journal and the Rays Texture Fade and suddenly had this phrase in mind, "Never lose faith in the existence of brighter days".  I had been feeling a bit like I was losing hope that I was making progress on some of the goals I set for myself for the year, that I wasn't gaining ground on where I hoped to be.  I have been in a bit of a doubting mood, thinking that some of the changes I made in my life this year weren't the cure all that I thought and hoped they would be.  I guess it is human nature, but I feel like I have been focusing on the gloom a bit more than the sunshine.  So when I sat down to create, I felt like the rays were reminding me of something I needed to be reminded of, to focus myself differently and to remember that brighter days lay ahead.

For the top portion of my page, I cut a piece of light pattern paper (BasicGrey's Basics White from the mini paper pad) to fit my clear page.  I inked it with a combination of Black Soot and Stormy Sky Distress Inks.  I added birds stamped in Black Soot along the top using a stamp from the Tim Holtz clear Lost and Found stamp set.  I used my single stamp letters to add my phrase.  I made a goof on existence so I stamped it again on another piece of paper and placed it on top of my goof.  I actually am glad that happened began I like the added emphasis it has.  I inked the edges of it with Wild Honey and added a few staples with my Tiny Attacher.

Here is the part I really love.  I embossed the clear sheet with the Rays texture fade.  I used two colors of alcohol ink (Sunset Orange and Sunshine Yellow) and one to one side of the acrylic and the other to the other side.  I held the page upright with the rays running up and down and dripped the color on the page directly from the bottle into the depressed part of the design.  The ink filled in the depressed areas and the excess kind of pooled at the bottom edge of the page (the center of the sun).

I did this on both sides, filling the depressed areas of one side with the yellow and the depressed areas of the other side with orange.  It allowed me to have a definition between the two colors.  Because both colors are applied to the center of the sun on each side of the page, you see a blending of the two.  I finished up by adding a lined page to the back of the entire piece.  The light color of the page really helps the intensity of the yellow and orange shine.  

The inking on the sun was a total "what if I did this?" moment that gave a really great result.  That is the beauty of alcohol inks on acrylic, you can experiment and say "what if" and then wipe it away if you don't like it!  In this case, I loved it and will no doubt use this technique again with other Texture Fades. 

Tim Holtz Design Team | The Creative

I should have been working on writing a class yesterday but really felt the need for some creative time.  I decided to just sneak over to the other side of my studio for just a few minutes to make something really quick and then get right back to the computer side.  It seemed like a good plan, but one I didn't stick with.  Instead I spent the better part of the day playing.  I decided I wanted to challenge myself to create something using one stamp set and one, maybe two ink colors and see where it would take me.  I grabbed the Urban Tapestry stamp set, Wild Honey and Vintage Photo Distress inks and got to work.

 

The base to my project is a vintage cabinet card photo like the one I used HERE.  I used an ink applicator tool and applied Wild Honey Distress Ink to the surface of the card.  I added Vintage Photo to the edges.  I layered on paper from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found Paper Stash, Sticky-Back Canvas, and lots of flowers.

 

I used the Alterations Tattered Florals die to cut crinoline for the large main flower.  I colored the crinoline by making a mist using Wild Honey re-inker, Perfect Pearls Perfect Gold powder, and water in a Mini Mister.  The crinoline gets really soft when wet but re-gains its stiffness when dried making it a really nice material for making fabric flowers.  After drying the diecut flowers, I added more Wild Honey with an ink applicator tool.

 

I used the steps shown in my Shaped Roses tutorial that you can find HERE.

 

I made a second rose using the second to the smallest flower on the die, this time cutting it from Sticky-Back Canvas.  As before, I sprayed the flower, dried it, and then added more Wild Honey with the ink applicator tool.  When making flowers with Sticky-Back Canvas, I leave the paper backing on.  I like the added weight it adds to the fabric.  I also like that it allows me to ink the back of the petals so that they have color on them in case they show.

I embellished other areas of the project with layers of Grunge Paper, assorted fabric, and mica flowers, all cut from the small flower on the Tattered Florals die.  They are all layered and mixed with metal pieces from the Idea-ology Foliage set.  I added a scrap piece of Hanah Silk Ribbon in Midas Touch.

For the centerpiece, I used the ink applicator tool to lightly brush on some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to a piece of Sticky-Back Canvas.  I wanted to knock down the brightness of the white while not adding much color.  I then stamped the phrase stamp stamped in Ranger's Archival Black.

I wanted to add extra emphasis to the key words, so I stamped the image on a piece of scrap pattern paper (the yellow side of Pink Paislee's Bees Wax).  I cut out the words and inked the edges with Vintage Photo.  I used a Ranger Cut & Dry Nib to pick up color from my Wild Honey inkpad and then used it to color in the word "Risks".

 

I glued the cut out words in place using liquid glue (Helmar 450 Quick Dry).  I added a thin layer of batting under the word before stitching it onto the layer below.

Just under the word piece is a layer of grosgrain ribbon topped with a strip of Tissue Tape.  Both were lightly swiped with a light layer of Vintage Photo using the ink applicator tool.

I think my favorite part of the whole project is the background fabric I made with Sticky-Back Canvas.  I brushed the surface with Wild Honey using the ink applicator tool and then stamped the piece using the floral stamp in the Urban Tapestry set using Wild Honey.  I added another layer of batting and then sewed it to the piece of pattern paper from the Lost and Found Paper Stash.

Before adhering the assemble piece to the board, I added a bit of random stamping in Vintage Photo to the board using the speckling stamp from the same set. 

I think what I really love about this project is that it demonstrates how versatile one ink color can be and how different it can look applied to different surfaces.

Tim Holtz Design Team | Honey and Grampy Tribute Frame

I have shared many times before how I love picking up things on the clearance aisles and Hobby Lobby and giving them new life with scrappy products.  Sometimes they end up on the clearance aisle because they are pretty beat up, other times though I suspect it is more about price and original design.  This hinged double frame was originally $19.99.  For some reason {wink} it didn't sell.  I picked several of them up on clearance for just $4.00 each. 

 

I have been thinking about my sweet great-grandmother Honey a lot lately.  She was someone very dear to me and I wanted to make something special to display a photo of her.  I only have a few photos of her and this is one of my favorites.  It is her and my great-grandpa, Grampy.  He passed away when I was 5.  I don't really remember much about him, just how he loved to turn off the car on a big hill near their house in the country and coast all the way to the driveway.  It drove Honey crazy! Honey's real name was Orva.  Once when my dad was really little he called her Honey and it stuck.  Almost everyone that knew her called her Honey.  I think many people didn't even know it wasn't her real name.  I never doubted for a moment in my life that she loved me with all her heart.  What I wouldn't give for another few moments with her.  Okay, gotta talk about the project because I am getting all teared up! 

I began by disassembling the frames and covering the outside wood with Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tissue Tape.  Tissue Tape is amazing for covering grooved surfaces like the front of these frames.  It is so thin and pliable that it goes right down into the groves effortlessly.  I added Weathered Wood Distress Crackle Paint over the tape.  The bottle I used had gotten pretty thick so I added water to it.  Maybe too much water because it was a little drippy when I painted it on thick.  Whether it was the water or the surface of the tape I am not sure, but once it dried and crackled almost all of it flaked off.  I liked the effect though so I used canned air to blow off anything that was loose, added a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges and then sealed it all with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi Medium. 

 

I covered the inserts for both sides with pattern paper from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found Paper Stash.  I cut a thin piece of copper sheeting to fit around the photo opening and embossed it with the Tim Holtz Texture Fades Collage Embossing Folder.  I drizzled alcohol ink onto the metal to add color.

 

In the second frame I framed the words "Honey & Grampy" typed on my old Royal typewriter in an Idea-ology Ornate Plate.  I filled the inside of the plate with Crackle Accents.

 

I embossed more copper sheeting with the December Calendar Texture Fade.  I cut out the 19 and 24, drizzled on alcohol ink, and then pieced them together to create 1924 on an adhesive foam square.  (That is the year Honey and Grampy were married.  I think the photo is from the 60s or 70s.)

 

I cut flowers from Grunge Paper (colored with Wild Honey and Weathered Wood Distress Inks) and mica sheets using the Tattered Florals Alterations die.  I layered the die cuts with Idea-ology Foliage elements that were also colored with alcohol ink.

 

The mica pieces are so super cool!  Once they are cut you can peel the layers apart and use them in super thin pieces that are very sheer or leave several layers together for a thicker more opaque look.  Depending on the light and the angle, they vary between looking silvery and perfectly clear.

 

I really love the way it all came together.  It has such a wonderful shabby and vintage feel.  I think it is a very fitting tribute to my Honey and Grampy.

 

(Adhesive used: Therm O Web Super Tape, Mounting Adhesive, and Adhesive Foam Squares; Helmar 450 Quick Dry Liquid Adhesive.)