The start of... A Vintage Journey

Hi everyone and welcome. Today marks the start of an exciting new adventure - A Vintage Journey - with its current line up of 11 Creative Guides to offer help and support along the way. With our mentor, the amazing Tim Holtz in mind, we are asked to imagine, devise, design, invent and construct to inspire and encourage you to take this path with us.

And what better way to start this adventure  than with an 'Anything Tim' challenge. Do whatever you like as long as Tim is the strongest theme here. Re-visit one of his techniques or tags, use his stamps and/or products, use one of his videos for inspiration, take the colours, images, and embellishments that he has used on a project and use them to make something completely different. When you write your post please tell us what your link to Tim is and show us your vintage/shabby style. Oh yes, and make sure that you have fun!

We are proud to say that Country View Crafts will be our regular sponsor and there will be a £10 voucher for winning Traveller at the end of each challenge, chosen by the Creative Guides. You will need to read the 'Travelling Instructions' on the challenge blog to ensure your entry will be included in the prize draw.

And so to my take on this theme. You'd be forgiven for thinking this card was inspired by Tim's latest tag challenge, but in reality it was completed before the end of February (I must have been channelling my 'inner Tim'!!!) Truth is I couldn't wait to get my mucky paws on Tim's new stamps and had such fun creating a 'collage on a card', combining as many textures and media as I could possibly manage.

For me one of the most exciting things about Tim's new releases is finding out how they combine with those old favourites. And it was good to be inspired by the first glimmers of springtime in the garden, including a blackbird busily constructing a nest on the fence. The soft colours started with a base of Idea-ology 'French Industrial' paper altered with Distress Paints and Crackle Paint. Never be afraid to add your Distress products to these papers - you won't spoil them as they are specifically designed to take inks, stains and paints.

By layering up fussy cut and die cut shapes covered with the same paints and inks as the background you can add dimension to your projects without detracting from the main elements on top. Random stamping also helps to emphasise the structure of the design, and I can see the 'Fig. list' becoming a real 'go to' stamp for this purpose alongside those postal ephemera stamps.

Adding dimension through different textures is not just fun; it adds to the wow factor for anyone who is lucky enough to see your work in person. Distress embossing powders give branches a realistic 'rough' feel and even emulate the look of lichen if you use Antique Linen Distress flavour. And if you use the Walnut Stain version on your nest it will also act as a resist when you paint the image with your Distress Inks/Stains.

Try putting a couple of layers of clear embossing powder over your stamped egg, and if you run an embossing tool over the back you can even give it a domed shape to add to the realism. Underneath the nest you may spot the stencilled splatters (using white Wendy Vecchi embossing paste) and the feather is covered in a mix of Perfect Pearls Powders to give it a gorgeous sheen and colour.

So that's my offering and now it's time to see what the rest of the Creative Guides have in store for you before you take the plunge and join us on A Vintage Journey. We are looking forward to seeing how you channel your own 'inner Tim'.

Take care of yourselves, Jenny xxx

Links to Country View Crafts;

Tim Holtz stamp sets

Tim Holtz Idea-ology papers

Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Powders

Tim Holtz Distress Paints