The Funkie Junkie

A Belated Valentine

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 16 Feb 2022 04:56:00 +0000

This is a big HELLO to friends near and far whom I haven’t been in touch with and who haven’t seen me crafting in several years. My craft room, tools and supplies have been gathering dust while I’ve been consumed with running The Funkie Junkie Boutique. From crafter to small business woman…it’s been a journey that hasn’t always been fun but has been interesting.

This week with our challenge blog needing a guest designer, my team has nudged and cajoled me to fill the guest designer gap by creating a piece of artwork. WHOA! That’s not as easy as you would think. First I had to knock down the cobwebs that smacked me in the face when I opened my craft room door (figuratively, but still the first mental hurdle), then to clean up all the junk that I’ve been shoving in here (out of sight…ya know?). I spent two days getting reacquainted with all my craft supplies and filling up three waste baskets as I opened dried out jars and bottles.

After cleaning and organizing, I plopped myself down at the craft table and…ugh, now what? What do I do, where do I go for inspiration? I watched a few YouTube videos and went to The Funkie Junkie Boutique to shop. I messed around and played at my craft table for a couple of evenings, made a couple of tags for fun but threw them in the trash. Finally I went back to my frilly vintage roots and came up with something.

To start with, I wanted to use some sort of medium paste through a stencil. We just received a huge shipment from Prima Marketing with some great Jewel Effect glitter pastes. I wanted red for my Valentine’s make, chose Precious Rubies and used it with the Tim Holtz Layering Stencil THS032 Flourish. The paste is wonderful. It goes on smoothly and cleanly and dried in a couple of hours (even in the cold, rainy north Florida weather this week).

The stencil area only covered 2/3 of the area of my card’s panel, so I needed to fill in the rest. My mind was really trending toward red and black and I decided to coordinate the stenciling with a die cut. One of the great things about using Tim Holtz products is that many of the designs from product line to product line coordinate and work together. Tim’s Sizzix Thinlits Mixed Media #2 has a die that matches the stencil I used.

Using a piece of black card stock, I applied Sizzix Adhesive Sheets #656802 to the back and then ran it through my Big Shot. If you are not using this (or a similar product) when cutting your intricate dies, let me tell you, it is life changing. Being able to peel off the sticker backing and press down the die cut makes it not only effortless but allows for a perfect adherence. The die cut wasn't wide enough to fill the space so I had to piece it.

Now I needed a strip or ribbon to cover where the two panels joined. Searching my stash, I found just what I had in mind. Years ago, there was a Tim Holtz Idea-ology product called Deco Sheets and I found some left over glittery silver plus some glittery red from an unknown source. Pulling out my old Shape Strips Thinlits set 660226, I cut a strip of the silver and then backed it with the glittery red (bonus, a bunch of tiny silver glittery hearts). Digging through some set aside embellishments, I came across a flower that had been cut with the old Tattered Florals die plus a vintage looking sparkly heart that already had the attached “Love” charm in black! Why make something new when just the right thing jumps out and says “hey, give me some love too”?

Next, I needed a sentiment and riffled through all my old stamp sets. The one that really grabbed me was from Wendy Vecchi/Stampers Anonymous SCS131 A Passion For Art: "I never knew how much LOVE my heart could hold until I found YOU." It all seemed to come together with that sentiment.

I felt the card needed one more element, and sticking with the black and red theme, I cut a black heart using the Sizzix Impresslit Lucky Love 665227 (we still have a couple of these discontinued Impresslits left in the shop!). I very lightly burnished it with Prima Metallique Wax in White Pearl to give it the tarnished antique silver look. I'm a huge fan of the Prima Metallique Waxes. I love the way the black cardstock now looks like a heavily tarnished silver piece.

I hope you have enjoyed my return to blogging. I had a great time playing and creating. I just need to make time to do this at least once a month now that my craft room is functional again! Thanks so much for visiting!

Wrap Up - 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Thu, 04 Jan 2018 01:47:00 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a blessed Christmas season. It certainly whizzed by in the blink of an eye for me. My apologies for the delay in getting the winners' post up. We were out of town for a few days for Christmas. I came back smack into the annual clearance sale at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and have been working overtime to get orders shipped out as quickly as possible. We got caught up today and the boss (that's me, LOL) let me go home on time today!

Thank you so much to everyone who particpated We had some amazing entries this year. I'm very grateful that I didn't have to pick a winner! I've sorted out the list of all those who qualified for the prize drawings and the 10% off in January coupon by completing all 12 challenges and providing all the required links on their posts. Here are our qualifiers:

1. Mimi

2. Mitra Lee

3. Stefi

4. LauraVi

5. Lisa Bzibziak

6. Autumn

7. Suzz

8. Deb Ridell

9. Jane

10. Cec

11. Kate

12. Sally Miller

13. Inkysplatters

14. Carol Stamps

15. Avril B

16. Lou

17. Sara Emily

18. Butterfly

19. Wendy B.

20. Alison/Craftytrog

21. pearshapedchris

22. Mistletoe Home Decoration

We are giving away a $50 gift certificate and two $25 gift certificates to The Funkie Junkie Boutique. Here are the winners:

Grand Prize $50 Gift Certificate

Avil B.

$25 Gift Certificate

Mitra Lee

$25 Gift Certificate

Sally Miller

But actually you are all winners because we have a 10% off coupon for each of you to use in January. Everyone, please contact Linda at customerservice@thefunkiejunkie.com for your gift certificate or coupon codes.

Thank you again to all my visitors and participants in this year's challenge. It's always such a delight to have so many talented artists play along. I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #12

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 15:10:00 +0000

Double click to zoom in for details

Hello,

Welcome back to the final week of the 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. It's been another fun run this year with my annual challenge but it's now coming to an end. At this very busy time of year, my final tag this season is another quickie. I actually had another tag partially made but when I sat down to finish it last night, I couldn't find the die I needed for the focal point. My dies go back and forth from The Funkie Junkie Boutique to my home craft space because we use them at the shop to cut die cuts for our thank you gifts. I wanted that dove die from a year or so ago and darn it, I searched high and low and couldn't find it.

At that point, I needed to start from the beginning again and sat at my craft table waiting for inspiration to hit. Perusing the discarded bits and pieces strewn around the perimeters of my table, I plucked one here and another there and soon had a pile of options. I grabbed a sheet of kraft core paper from this year's Christmas Stash pad, glued it over top of a jumbo manila tag and sanded the edges. Then I laid out all the rejected elements I had rescued until I was pleased with the array. It was all quickly glued down and in about 15 minutes I had a completed tag! Not my most original piece, but a fun tag with a pleasing retro vibe.

So that's a wrap, my friends. Thank you all for visiting and a most hearty thanks to all who played along this year. If you are participating in the challenge, you have until midnight Eastern Time on December 29th to link up your submissions. If you are participating, please review the challenge requirements found in my Week #1 post. Before awarding the gift certificates and the 10% off January coupons, I do check to make sure all requirements were met. It is very important that each post is linked back to this blog and also to The Funkie Junkie Boutique (www.thefunkiejunkie.com).

Wishing you all a blessed Advent season, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The items below were used in making this tag and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fringe Christmas	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack Christmas	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baubles
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Red Pepper	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Paper Snowflakes, Mini by Tim Holtz

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #11

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 12:30:00 +0000

Hello! Welcome to week #11 of the 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. We are on a slippery slope here, on the downward slide to Christmas. It's December 5th and we are almost at the end of my annual challenge.

This week I have an ultra simple tag to share. My mojo went out the window this week and I really struggled. In fact I had three partially made tags that were tossed aside because I was stuck. Finally in desperation I whipped up this one. It's not technique laden, but it has sort of a sweet retro look.

Starting with a jumbo manila tag, again this week I brushed it wth white gesso using a coarse stiff brush. Using the Wendy Vecchi For the Holidays Stamp It Stencil It, I stamped the greenery using Library Green archival ink and then using the accompanying stencil, I sponged on Pine Needles DI. Pine Needles DI was also applied using the Tim Holtz Merry Christmas stencil. When the ink was dry, I used my finger and applied Prima Old Silver Metallique Wax to the edges. Love the way it sinks into the brush marks.

A quick band was cut from last year's Tim Holtz Christmas Stash with a strip of narrow red burlap to top it off. Using Festive Berries DI, the mitten stamp from Carved Christmas #1 was stamped on white card stock and cut out. Quick embellishments were added - a piece of Christmas ephemera, a bit of red and white twine and a Christmas typed token.

Thank you to all who have visited and who have played along. Time is running out, but you do have until December 29th to link up 12 Christmas projects inspired by my tags. If you are new to the challenge, you can learn about it and its requirements in the Week #1 post here.

These products were used to make the above tag. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holt/Wendy Vecchi and most other name brand producs are always 20% below MSRP.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - Black Gesso	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle
Dina Media-Stiff Bristle Brushes 4 pk MDA41627	For The Holidays Stamp It Stencil It from Stampers Anonymous Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi	Ranger Archival Ink - Library Green	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles
Ranger Tim Holtz Pine Needles Reinker	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil THS098 Merry Christmas	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Typed Tokens, Christmas
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack Christmas

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #10

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Tue, 28 Nov 2017 13:09:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details.

Welcome to Week #10 of the 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style! My apologies for running a day late this week. The Thanksgiving holiday just took me out of my routine, with family visiting and then trying to get the Thanksgiving weekend sale off the ground at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. And I have to admit to dragging my heels a bit on posting #10 because I'm just not crazy about the way it turned out. Although, it is growing on me. I like it more today than I did yesterday - LOL.

It is definitely understated and doesn't make a comanding presence. But once you begin to appreciate the sparkly glittery elegance of it, hopefully you will like it too. Unfortunately, the camera can never capture the true sparkle of the original.

I recently discovered BoBunny's Glitter Paste when I read a post on Autumn Clark's blog about using it. Wow, I knew then that I had to get my hands on it. Fortunately one of my suppliers for the Boutique had it and I've stocked some in the Boutique.

I started with a blank jumbo manila tag and slatered it lightly with white gesso, then blended Vintage Photo distress ink over the entire tag. Next I lightly inked the Sparkle stamp and randomly touched it to the tag. I didn't want full coverage, but rather a worn look. The die cuts were made from plain white card stock. Once the background was created, the next step was to apply the Silver Glitter Paste through the new Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Tinsel.

The bow was quickly colored with Festive Berries Distress Stain with the dabber top, so quick and easy to color with the dabbers. I'm still annoyed that they have been discontinued. The wreath and the sentiment panel were colored by blending Pine Needles on white CS and then spritzing with water. All three pieces were rubbed with Prima Metallique Old Silver Wax (I'm addicted to that stuff!).

The snowflakes were cut from a manila tag that had been painted with white gesso. Once cut, the Old Silver wax was applied lightly with my fingertip. The large snowflake was made the same way but instead of wax, I applied Silver Stickles for a glittery effect. The center of each snowflake was also embellished with Silver Stickles. I had to settle for 'Winter Wonderland' as a sentiment. I wanted 'Let it Snow'. I searched every stamp set and die set I had for that sentiment and couldn't believe that I just don't have one! The sentiment was silver embossed.

Here is one more shot of the tag on an angle which shows the shine a bit more.

Double click any image to zoom in for details.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I so appreciate everyone who has visitied and especially those who have joined in the challenge. If I haven't been by your blog yet to say hello and see your work, I will definitely try to stop by this week. If you are new to this challenge, there are still four weeks to create and link up 12 tags or other Christmas/winter themed projects and qualify for the prize drawings and a 10% off coupon to use at The Funkie Junkie Boutique in January (on your pre-orders if you wish!). You can find all the challenge details/requirements in Week #1 post here.

The products below were used to create the above tag. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holtz/Ranger and most other name brand products are alway 20% below MSRP.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Tim Holtz Sparkles and Christmas stamps	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube
	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink Reinker	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	BoBunny Glitter Paste - Silver	Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Tinsel
Sizzix Thinlits Festive Greens by Tim Holtz	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Festive Berries	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Paper Snowflakes, Mini by Tim Holtz	Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair-Metallique Wax - Old Silver	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles
Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Pine Needles Reinker

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #9

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 13:33:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details

Hello friends and visitors,

Week 9 is upon us! Time is flying and we are now 3/4 into this annual challenge. But no worries! Even if you haven't started, there is still time to complete the challege and qualify for gift certificate prizes and a 10% discount to The Funkie Junkie Boutique in January! Simply complete 12 holiday winter/Christmas themed tags by December 29th. You can find all the challenge requirements in my week #1 post here.

Let's get into the details of my #9 tag, of which there aren't many. Starting with a jumbo manila tag, I gave it a coat of white gesso, using a coarse brush because I wanted some brush marks to show. Once dry, Chipped Sapphire distress paint was applied with a dabber top. (I know that Ranger has changed all their distress paints over to flip tops, but I still prefer the dabber tops.) Once that was dry, I used a spatter brush to apply Picket Fence distress paint spatters. This is where I ran into a problem! Once the Picket Fence distress paint dried, it had turned a light pink color instead of white. Oh my! I thought my spatter brush must have been used for red or pink in the past and tainted the white. I had to start all over again. I washed the spatter brush very thoroughly with soap this time, let it dry and made another tag. Using Picket Fence distress paint again, I spattered white over the Chipped Sapphire. Again, when it dried it was pink! I can only conclude that some sort of chemical reaction occurs between the two colors, even though when distress paint dries it is supposed to be permanent. So I had to make a third tag with the blue background. This time I used white gesso. It dried white this time, no problem. I just don't like spattering the gesso as well as the Picket Fence distress paint. It's a little thicker and doesn't spatter as well. If I did it again, I would blend maybe one drop of water into it on my craft sheet before picking it up with the spatter brush. But I really wasn't up for making a fourth start on this tag so I forged ahead. Next I die cut white card stock with the Woodlands Thinlit die set as well as the stag from Winter Wonderland. The trees were given a coat of Hammered Metal embossing powder and the stag a coat of Burnt Copper Leaves EP, both from Emerald Creek. I cut an extra layer for the stag out of light chipboard - I was actually surprised that the thinlit die cut the light chipboard perfectly. The newer generations of Thinlits dies cut SO much better than the earlier ones did. I wanted the stag to be thicker and stronger so I could pop it up for dimension.

I finished it off by cutting a piece of white CS with the Holiday Knit die and painting it with Chipped Sapphire distress paint to match the background. The stag got a little bell from Tim's Tiny Bells pack and I added some white greenery from the Festive Greens thinlits.

That wraps up #9. Nothing too complicated this week (if you can get your spatters to stay white - LOL). Thank you to everyone who has played along, stopped by to visit or left comments. I'm delighted to see some new players this past week and look forward to all the inspiration you all will provide ME this upcoming week.

Best wishes for Thanksgiving blessings going out to all my American visitors!

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube MDM41672	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Chipped Sapphire	Tim Holtz Distress Spatter Brush	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 2PK - Woodlands by Tim Holtz	Winter Wonderland - by Tim Holtz	Emerald Creek Alure Powders - Hammered Metal
Emerald Creek Alure Powders - Burnt Copper Leaves	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Pad	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Reinker	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Bells	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK - Holiday Knit by Tim Holtz
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #8

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 12:57:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details.

Hello and welcome to Week #8 of the 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style.

This week I strayed away from my vintage roots with a more modern Christmas color palette. I went with Broken China and Worn Lipstick distress oxide inks. I colored my jumbo manila tag with Broken China by smooshing the pad down on my craft sheet and then spritzing the ink with water. The tag was laid over the ink mixture so it picked up the ink. I dried it with my heat tool and repeated the process several times. Next it was dry embossed using the new Tim Holtz Simple Snowflakes Texture Fade. I dry brushed white gesso over all the embossed snowflakes with my finger and then also lightly applied Prima Metalique Old Silver Wax with my finger. I also lightly blended a bit of white gesso around the edges of the tag using my finger.

Now that the tag base was finished, I cut a white corrugated cardboard banner and rubbed the Worn Lipstick pad along the ridges to create pink stripes. I applied Worn Lipstick to a sheet of white cardstock using the same technique that I used with the Broken China. Once it was dried, I used it to cut snowflakes with the Stacked Snowflakes die. Each of the four snowflake layers was lightly edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I decided the snowflakes needed a little texture and lightly heat embossed two of the layers with Hammered Metal embossing powder by Emerald Creek. Hammered Metal EP was also used on the two holly sprigs, cut with the Mini Holiday Greens Thinlits die set. My Stacked Snowflake was topped off with a Fluted Star that I toned down a bit with Silver Mixative.

Next I cut a piece of velum the same size and shape as the white corrugated banner and applied the sentiment from the Gilded Christmastime Remnant Rubs. The Remant Rub adhered perfectly to the velum. The finishing touch was the line of icicles from Alpha Parts Frozen. The icicles and the snowflakes at the bottom were rubbed with the Prima Metalique Old Silver Wax.

That's it for Tag #8. As always, thank you to all my visitors and for the lovely comments. An extra hug to those of you who are playing along. It's so much fun to see how you all are interpreting my tags! If you are new to the challenge and would like to play along, you can find all the challenge information in the Week #1 post here.

These products were used to make the above tag. They can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where most name brand products are sold at 20% off MSRP.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Broken China	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Reinker - Broken China	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Worn Lipstick
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Reinker - Worn Lipstick	Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Simple Snowflakes by Tim Holtz 662432	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube MDM41672	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle
Corrugated Cardboard - White (6 sheets)	White Corrugated Cardboard - 15 Sheets	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Remnant Rubs Gilded Christmas	Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair-Metallique Wax - Old Silver	Emerald Creek Alure Powders - Hammered Metal
Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fluted Stars	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Silver Mixative	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Alpha Parts, Frozen

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #7

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Tue, 07 Nov 2017 11:26:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to Week #7 for the 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style! I hope your week is off to a good start. This week I'm back with some fresh colors for my Christmas themed tag, getting away from the reds. Starting with a jumbo manila tag, Pine Needles and Faded Denim distress ink were blended on using the Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Stripes. Design Tape from last year's Tim Holtz Tidings collection was used across the top.

The Ornate Frame die was used to cut the center panel from plain white card stock. It cuts two separate pieces, the frame and then the oval center piece. Hammered Metal embossing powder from Emerald Creek was used on the outer frame. The center oval was stamped with a stamp from the Tim Holtz Mini Doodle Greetings set using Jet Black archival ink, Vintage Photo DI was blended over it and it was coated with Prima Clear Crackle Paste.

An Idea-ology Christmas Quote Chip made a great focal point for the top of the tag. It has Vintage Photo DI blended on it. A small poinsettia was created from white card stock using the Tattered Poinsettia die (now comes as a set with a Texture Fade). The smallest layer was cut with an old Tom Holtz Poinsettia mini Movers and Shapers die. I always spritz my handmade flowers with water and crumple them, then carefully unfold and dry with a heat tool. A little Vintage Photo DI was sponged on the edges to give a more vintage look. It was topped off with a cluster of Beaded Berries for stamens. The holly was cut from the Holiday Greens, Mini Thinlits die from white CS. I applied some old old chunky glitter I picked up at Jo-Ann's years and years ago.

The tag was finished off with hand dyed seam binding. One piece was dyed with Pine Needles distress stain and the other with Faded Jeans distress stain. I made two loops of each color and tied them up together for a verigated effect, colors matching the plaid.

Thank you to everyone who has dropped by to visit. I always enjoy hearing from my visitors who leave comments. Thanks especially to all who have played along in my little challenge. It's so inspiring to see all the ways my tags are interpreted. If you haven't joined in the challenge, there is still plenty of time. You just need to complete all the weekly challenges by December 29th. You can get the full details and challenge requirements on the Week #1 post here.

The products below were used to make this tag. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where most name-brand items are always 20% below MSRP:

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Stripes	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam
Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Faded Jeans	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Faded Jeans	Ranger Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Reinker	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles
Ranger Tim Holtz Pine Needles Reinker	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Design Tape, Tidings	Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Ornate Frame Bigz Die	Emerald Creek Alure Powders - Hammered Metal	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink Reinker	Prima Art Extravagance: Texture Paste Clear Crackle	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Pad	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Reinker
VersaMark Watermark Ink Stamp Pad	VersaMark Watermark Ink Refill	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Mini Doodle Greetings	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips	Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia BIGz Die	Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Beaded Berries	Seam Binding
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Faded Jeans	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Pine Needles

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #6

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 30 Oct 2017 13:04:00 +0000

Double click any photo to zoom in for details.

Greetings friends and visitors,

We are now officially 50% through with the 2017 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. Where on earth does the time go? Are you hearing the steady drum beat towards Christmas? It's only about seven weeks away!

I will start my post this week with an apology to all of you who are not a fan of the color red. Who knew there were so many of you? LOL! This week I wanted to use some of the new Tim Holtz Idea-ology products on this project and many of them are red. So here we are again with red - SORRY! I'm happy and you're not but please remember this is not a challenge that you need to CASE. I see posts apologing that you don't have the same products that I have. That is not a requirement. Please find one thing about my project that inspires you and go with it. You can say you loved the die cuts or the silver tones or even the snowflakes and head off in that direction. Okey dokey??

So yes, I do have another red tag and I hope you will be inspired in some small way. I started with my usual manila tag, this time die cutting it with a Spellbinders die for the curvy lacy look. Then I gave it two coats of gesso, allowing each coat to dry. Once it was thoroughly dry, the new Tim Holtz Starry Stencil and some Prima Clear Crackle Paste were used to create a dimensional pattern on the white panel. Once that dried throughly (overnight), I used Silver Alcohol Ink Mixative to give each "star" a little silvery sheen. I did this by shaking the Silver Mixative well and dropping a drip on my craft sheet. Using a tiny fine stiff brush I sort of dry brushed on the alcohol mixative. I did that by picking up a very small amount of the silver mixative and then brushing a bit off on paper before brushing each star. Then I carefully went over each raised star with the brush, adding a tiny bit more mixative each time to build up a nice shiny starry pattern.

Next I grabbed a second jumbo manila tag and carefully measured and cut pieces of Christmas Deco Sheets and Christmas Kraft Paper Stash needed to cover the tag to provide a backing for my focal panel. Once I had it all pieced out and affixed to the base tag, I layered my white starry panel over the base. Going with the silver accents, I added a silvery ric rack along the top. The Deco Film snowflakes were topped off with a fluted star. They were too industrial shiny so I toned them down with a light application of Silver Mixative.

A tag was cut from a scrap of the tag, given two coats of gesso and then stamped in Jet Black archival with one of the Holiday Postmark stamps. I wanted to use a Christmas Quote Chip but I did't like the dark sides so I gave each edge a double coat of white gesso and when dry, foiled the top edges with silver foil. I do that by rubbing a glue stick around the edges, pressing the foil over the glued area and then peeling it off leaving a distressed looking bit of foil. Next I took an Idea-ology Screw Eye and srewed it into the bottom of the Quote Chip. That allowed me to hang the tag onto it with a bit of red burlap string.

In the upper right corner, I placed one of the cut out snowflakes, which also had the double coat of white gesso treatment, topped with a silvertone mitten charm and a snippet of red ric rack.

There you have it. Week #6 is history. I'm loving this one...it may end up being my favorite from this year.

Thank so much for stopping by. A huge thanks to all of you who have shared your artwork with this challenge. Can't wait to see how you have been inspired this week!

These products were used on the tag above and are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where most products are sold at 20% below list.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube MDM41672	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso
Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Starry	Prima Art Extravagance: Texture Paste Clear Crackle	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Silver Mixative	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Deco Sheets Christmas	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fluted Stars
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Quote Chips	Prima Marketing Rub-On Foil Sheets - Shine On 585600	Ranger Shiny Foil Transfer Sheets - Brights	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Collage Glue Stick	Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK - Tag Collection
Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Holiday Postmarks	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker	Charm Pendant - Set of 5 Silver Tone Mittens	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Paper Snowflakes, Mini by Tim Holtz

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #5

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 23 Oct 2017 11:17:00 +0000

Hello and welcome to Week #5,

I'm so glad you have stopped by my blog today to check out the fifth week of the 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. If you are new to this series of challenges, you might want to hop back to Week #1 to read all the details.

Today I am presenting my #5 Tag for the 2017 series. As I always do, I started my tag with a jumbo manila tag that we sell at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I love this size of tag - lots of room for creativity. Using the new Great Outdoors stamp set that was released this season by Tim Holtz, I stamped the tree ring stamp using Wendy Vecchi's Potting Soil archival ink, then blended Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the entire tag.

I've alway been a huge fan of vintage post marks and as soon as I saw Tim Holtz's Holiday Postmarks stamp set this year, I absolutely had to have it. It just felt right to stamp various post marks on the inner ring of the tree ring stamp so I did that with Jet Black archival ink, then stamping again with the cancelled symbol. Next, Picket Fence distress paint was splattered over the tag. How fun - I was on a roll.

I went back to that marvelous vintage Santa image from the new Christmas Classic set by Tim Holtz. I absolutely love that stamp and I'm sure I'll be using it for many years. I cut it out with the Stitched Squares Thinlits die and then cut a larger square with the same die set from the Idea-ology Kraft Stock Christmas. I sanded that piece to bring up some of the kraft core and then edged it a bit with Vintage Photo distress ink. Layering the two pieces together, I also used brads in the corners for a little extra detail as well as a Typed Token that says santa.

It felt a little lacking so a bit of holly was added, cut from white card stock using last year's Holiday Greens, Mini Thinlits die set by Tim Holtz. I blended on Pine Needles distress ink and then edged it with Vintage Photo DI. Then I smooshed them down onto my Embossing Ink pad and clear embossed them to give them a nice shine - holly is shinny, right? Holly berries were created out of white (not red) Enamel Accents. I had red, but debated and decided on white.

A pretty scrap of May Arts red plaid ribbon tops off this tag. I toned it down from bright red by blending Vintage Photo DI over it. To finish it off, I added some Santa sayings from the Idea-ology Metallic Holiday Talk stickers.

These products were used to make the above tag. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique at 20% off retail.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Great Outdoors	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Potting Soil	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Reinker - Potting Soil
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Christmas Classic	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Holiday Postmarks	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink Reinker	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Tim Holtz Distress Spatter Brush
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Picket Fence	(LATE SEPTEMBER PRE-ORDER) Tim Holtz Idea-ology Kraft Stock - Christmas	(June Pre-order) Sizzix Framelits Die Set 6PK - Stitched Square	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Long Fasteners	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Typed Tokens, Christmas
Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Pine Needles Reinker	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Pad
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Reinker	Ranger Embossing Powder - Clear	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Stickers Holiday Talk

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #4

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Tue, 17 Oct 2017 01:33:00 +0000

Hello again,

Thanks for stopping by my 2017 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. We are on a roll - week #4 already. I'm so excited by all the participation - fantastic samples being shared here!

My apologies for being a little late today to get the post up. Things got a little complicated this weekend and today, but finally here is my #4 for your inspiration. I love the Victorian Carolers die and was excited when I learned that it was being re-released this season. I grabbed one for the boutique and we used it to make a thank you gift for our customers. For those of you who don't shop with us, just FYI, we always tuck a little thank you packet of goodies into outgoing orders. We make up 200 of each design. This particular thank you gift included the two die cut black silhouettes of the Victorian Carolers, the vintage sheet music ephemera and a silver tone mitten charm. I sometimes snag one of the thank you gifts to use in my own art - LOL!

I started tag #4 for with my usual jumbo manila tag and lightly, randomly stamped with Potting Soil archival ink with the Wendy Vecchi Vintage Text background stamp. Then Vintage Photo distress ink was blended over the entire tag using the Mini Ink Blending tool. Next two texture fades were used to emboss the tag. (I'm sorry they are old and we are not carrying them any more. I don't really remember the names.) I tried to lightly rub the new Pewter distress crayon over the raised snowflakes at the top, but it didn't really show up. I ended up making a white dot on each one with a tiny paint brush and white gesso. The embossed holly at the bottim was sponged over very lightly with Pine Needles distress ink and then I rubbed a little Prima White Gold wax over them to give a little sheen.

I used some Design Tape - Tidings along the bottom of the tag, sort of giving my carolers a firm foundation to stand on. The Season's Greetings sentiment was from the year's Tim Holtz Great Outdoors stamp set, stamped in silver and free hand cut out. My bow is rayon seam binding colored with Bronze Distress Spray Sain and embellished with the new Tiny Bells from Idea-ology. I first threaded them right onto a piece of seam binding, but there was no movement. It bound them too tightly so I took it apart and added a couple of bronze jump rings so they would swing a bit.

That's it for this week. A very simple tag but I really enjoyed the Victorian Carolers.

Thank you again for stopping by. I hope you will think about playing. You can find all the challenge requirements in our Week #1 post here.

These products were used to create the above tag and can be purchased at 20% below retail at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Victorian Carolers Bigz Die	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo
Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Pine Needles	Ranger Tim Holtz Pine Needles Reinker
Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair-Metallique Wax- White Gold	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Great Outdoors	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tiny Bells	Seam Binding	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Antiqued Bronze
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Design Tape, Tidings	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #3

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 09 Oct 2017 11:37:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details.

Hello!

Welcome back to Week #3 of The 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. This week I have a tag that is an orgey of RED, for sure! I make no apology for the glaring redness. Red is my favorite color. Honestly, it makes me smile; it makes me happy!

I started out with the Tim Holtz Peppermint stencil plus Vermillion archival ink and was off and running. I couldn't stop myself. I kept pulling out this and that and everything was red. I'm not sure if I really like it or not, but oh my, did I ever have a fabulous time creating it.

Starting, as I always do, with one of my jumbo manila tags, I gave it a coat of white gesso because I wanted the bright white to contrast with the red I planned to use. Then I stencilled on the Vermillion archival ink using a mini ink blending tool. I did have to reposition the stencil once to get complete coverage. I love the style of the Retro Merry Christmas Thinlits die set and used it to make two layers of 'Christmas', one white and one red. I wanted to use the Christmas Transparent Tiles but they didn't show up well enough against the peppermint stripes so I backed them with red tags cut using the new Thinlits Gift Tags dies. They were cut from white card stock and sponged with Vermillion ink then tied with red and white Idea-ology Christmas Jute Sting.

How fun is that new Tim Holtz Christmas Fringe? Seriously, you just cut a piece off and roll it between your palms like you were rolling a meatball - LOL. LOVE it! The Merry Christmas up top is from the Merry Christmas Mini Stencil in set #32 stenciled with Vermillion archival ink onto white cardstock. And don't you just love the new Fluted Stars? I sure do! I turned mine red with an application of Red Pepper alcohol ink. I also used the Red Pepper alcohol ink to color the Baubles red. The sweet ornaments are an Impression Obsession die from a couple of years ago. I glittered them with Stickles Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter and backed them with card stock colored with Vermillion ink and clear embossed for a little shine.

That's it. Hope this week's red tag made you smile too. Thanks so much for dropping by and for your encouraging comments. And a warm welcome to all who have played along. If you are thinking of playing in this challenge, you can find all the challenge requirements in the Week #1 post. As a reminder, you do not need to CASE my sample, merely find one or two elements to inspire your work.

The items below were used to make this tag. Then can be purchased at 20% off list at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso - 2 oz. Tube MDM41672	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paint - White Gessol, 1oz Bottle (February Pre-Order)
Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Peppermint	Ranger Archival Ink - Vermillion	Ranger Archival Ink - Vermillion Reinker	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Transparent Tiles, Christmas	Thinlits Die Set 12PK Gift Tags by Tim Holtz	Tim Holtz Jute Christmas Twine	Thinlits Die Set 2PK Retro Merry Christmas by Tim Holtz	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fringe Christmas
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Fluted Stars	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baubles	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Red Pepper	Ranger Embossing Powder - Clear	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Pad
Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencils - Set 32

An InLinkz Link-up

2017 Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #2

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 13:11:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details

I'm back again for my second challenge of the 2017 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. Thank you for the encouraging comments and a huge thanks to Mimi for kicking off the participation in this year's challenge.

I had a fun time getting all shabby and vintage-y with this week's challenge. As always, I started with a jumbo manila tag. This time I brushed it with white gesso. When the gesso was totally dry, I used Prima's White Crackle Paste through the new Tim Holtz Starry Stencil. I let that dry overnight. It dried nice and crackly - not huge cracks, but nice fine cracks. I love the way the gesso goes on sort of spotty and dry-brushed. When both the gesso and the crackle paste were fully dry, I took a mini ink blending tool and my fave Vintage Photo distress ink and lightly blended ink over it as well as along the edges creating a delightfully worn look.

The next step on the background was to take the Prima Marketing Art Alchemy Metallique Wax - White Gold and using my finger, sort of dry brush it over the the crackled embossing and along the edges of the tag. If you haven't tried the Prima waxes, you really should. They are FABULOUS and we have just received a re-supply of all the waxes at The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

The stamping was done with Wendy Vecchi's Potting Soil Archival Ink. I used the new Tm Holtz Christmas Classic for that awesome vintage Santa image and also the Holidy Postmarks set for stamping on the tags. Also, the upper left tag was stamped with the Paris script stamp from Tim Holtz's Papillon stamp set.

The snowflakes were cut with Thinlits dies from the Paper Snowflakes Thinlits and some from the Mini Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set. I used my favorite kraft corrugated paper to cut the snowflakes and then used my finger again to sort of dry brush some white gesso over the corrugated ridges. They each got topped off with a little pearly embeshment from the ship, that had some of the Prima White Gold wax was rubbed over it.

Up top, I cut two tags, one from an old Sizzix tag die and stamped it with the script stamp from Papillon set, then cut another tag from the new Thinlits Gift Tag set and stamped from the Tim Holtz Holiday Postmarks set. The three tiny jingle bells are sold (as silver) in our shop. I turned them a brown-gold color with Mushroom Alcohol ink and then rubbed on White Gold Metallique wax. The same treatment was used for the snowflake charm in the lower right. The "North Pole" tag was cut with the new Thinlits Tag set.

Last but surely not least, I made the white resin-style plaque using Prima's Paper Clay and Prima Marketing IOD Vintage Art Decor Mould - Object Labels 1 mould. The moulds and the paper clay are amazing. They are so cool and fun to use. The great thing about the moulds is that you can keep creating a favorite decor piece over and over. You just need the mold and a pack of the Paper Clay. I made it a day before and let it dry overnight It was curled up slightly from drying but I was able to gently straighten it out. Once flat, I whitened it up a bit with some white gesso painted on with a paintbrush. When it all was completely dry, I rubbed more Metallique White Gold wax on the high points of the moulded paper clay. The gold "Merry Christmas" is from the Gilded Accents Remnant Rubs. It adhered perfectly to the paper clay surface.

That's it for Week #2. Thank you for visiting and a warm welcome to everyone who plays along. Details about this challenge can be found in the Week #1 post here.

These products were used to create the above tag and are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holtz/Ranger products are sold at 20% below MSRP.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Starry	Prima Art Extravagance: Texture Paste White Crackle 8.5 fl. oz.
Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	(February Pre-order) Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair-Metallique Wax- White Gold
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Potting Soil	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Reinker - Potting Soil	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Christmas Classic	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Holiday Postmarks	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Papillon
Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Paper Snowflakes	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 14PK - Paper Snowflakes, Mini by Tim Holtz	Corrugated Cardboard (15 sheets)	Thinlits Die Set 12PK Gift Tags by Tim Holtz	Tiny Silver Plated Jingle Bells - Set of 15
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Mushroom	Antiqued Silver Tone Snowflake Charms - Set of 6	Prima Marketing Paper Clay 8.8oz.	Prima Marketing IOD Vintage Art Decor Mould - Object Labels 1	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Remnant Rubs - Gilded Accents TH93287

An InLinkz Link-up

12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style - 2017 - Tag #1

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Mon, 25 Sep 2017 11:52:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details.

Hello! I'm back after a long crafting break. My DH and I did a lot of traveling starting in early May. He turned 65 last year and I'm hitting that milestone this month so we decided it was time we started checking things off our bucket list. Between that and managing my Funkie Junkie Boutique, it hasn't left me much time to focus on paper crafting. Thankfully, I have my 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style kicking off now to get me back into my craft room.

Every September I start making a tag a week with a winter/Christmas theme and challenging my visitors to be inspired by something on the tag that will get them going on a winter/Christmas project of their own. I hope you will play along with my little challenge this year. It's a nice way to get your Christmas cards done.

Here's the deal. Each Monday for the next 12 weeks, I will post a Christmas tag. If you wish to play along, you can make any sort of Christmas or winter themed DIY project. It can be a tag, but doesn't have to be. It can be a Christmas card, a holiday decoration, a scrapbook layout, a tree ornament, a banner, whatever you want but it does have to be inspired by my tag and must be Christmas or winter themed. For those of you who chose to make a Christmas card, this challenge will help you complete at least 12 handmade cards.

Everyone is invited to play along. Below are the challenge requirements, which must be adhered to in order to be eligible for the prize drawing at the end:

This is an inspiration challenge. Each week, I will post my tag and you will use it to be inspired to make something. You can enter any sort of craft. It can be a tag, a card, a home decor project, a scrapbook layout - your choice but please make it winter or Christmas related.
You must take inspiration from something on my tag and tell us in your post what inspired you. You don't have to use my style, my layout, my colors, my theme or anything except be inspired by something on my sample. Your make can be shabby, it can be grungy or it can be clean and simple. I don't mind if you CASE my work, but if you do, please give me credit.
We will have 12 weekly challenges beginning Monday, September 25. You can link your project using the linky provided at the very bottom of the post.
To be eligible for the drawing at the end of the 12 weeks, you must: 1) enter all 12 challenges, 2) provide a link back to this challenge and mention that it is sponsored by my store The Funkie Junkie Boutique, with a link to the boutique www.thefunkiejunkie.com.
You do have to have a blog (or some other way to provide the required links and inspiration information).
All 12 challenges will remain open until midnight Eastern time on December 29, 2017. You can play any of the 12 challenges up through that date in any order. To be eligible for the prize drawing, you must have submitted an entry into all 12 of these challenges by midnight Eastern time December 19th.
On December 30th, from the pool of players who participated in every single challenge and provided a link to the challenge and a link to my store on their post, I will draw three winners. There will be one $50 grand prize gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique given out plus two runner up prizes of $25 gift certificates.
Additionally, everyone who participated in all the challenges and met the requirements will receive a 10% off coupon good for their entire order at The Funkie Junkie Boutique during the month of January 2016.
Here is the blog publication schedule for my 12 inspiration tags: Week 1 - September 25, Week 2 - October 2 Week 3 - October 9, Week 4 - October 16, Week 5 - October 23, Week 6 - October 30, Week 7 - November 6, Week 8 - November 13, Week 9 - November 20, Week 10 - November 27, Week 11- December 4, Week 12 - December 11, December 29 - challenge closes.
This is a super easy and fun challenge. I hope you will play along and link up your projects. Don't forget, you can complete the 12 challenges at any time and in any order, just as long as all 12 are linked here by December 29th.

Now for a few details on Tag #1. I went for a woodsy theme using three items from Tim Holtz's new Chrismas products: Pine Stencil (TH096), Great Outdoors stamp set (CMS321) and Winter Wonderland Thinlits die set (662426). I began with one of my usual jumbo shipping tags and stenciled with the Pines stencil and Forest Moss distress ink, then stamped the deer and trees from the Great Outdoors set in Jet Black Archival. Next, the falling snow die from the Winter Wonderland die set was used to cut the tiny holes in the upper section of the tag to create snowfall. I always back up my tags with chipboard so they will stand up and not curl. I added a layer of silver Deco Sheets to the chipboard so my falling snow is silvery and sparkly. It looks really great but unfortunately it doesn't photograph well so you can't really see the sparkle in the photo.

My deer were cut from plain white card stock and colored with Gatered Twigs DI using a Mini Ink Blending Tool and popped up on a bit of craft foam for dimension. I cut a bit of greenery (Holiday Greens Mini Thinlits) for the top and colored it the same way using several different green distress inks. The panel for the top sentiment was cut with the Labels Thinlit set from white CS, colored with Gathered Twigs and then clear embossed. Same for the rest of the sentiment except they were cut out by hand. The bronze deer head is a charm from our boutique. The bottom seemed to need a small touch to finish it off so I die cut a piece of white CS with the Holiday Knit Thinlits die and colored it with Gathered Twigs.

That's a wrap on Week #1 of this challenge. Thanks so much for visiting. I hope you will play along with me this year!

25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Pines	Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Great Outdoors	Winter Wonderland - by Tim Holtz
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Deco Sheets	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Forest Moss	Ranger Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Ink Pad - Gathered Twigs	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker	Sizzix Holiday Greens Die Leaves	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK - Holiday Knit by Tim Holtz	Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Labels
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Pad	Ranger Embossing Powder - Clear	Antiqued Bronze Large Christmas Deer Head Charms - Set of 3

An InLinkz Link-up

The Music of the Sea

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 17 May 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Hello,

I'm back again playing in week two of the Frilly and Funkie challenge. You may recall from last week's post that I am hosting this challenge which is called The Sound of Music and to join in, you need to create a vintage or shabby chic project that depicts a song or what music means to you.

I picked the challenge theme to line up with my trip to Key West, Florida for the annual Songwriters' Festival. I have just arrived back home after six days in Key West and I have to say, the festival was amazing again this year. We heard so much terrific music. There were over 200 songwriters in town and there was music everywhere from morning til the wee hours (not that I made it to the wee hours).

For my song this week, I chose Kenny Chesney's The Key's in the Conch Shell. I love the kick back melody and words which fit in so well with our time in Key West. I started my project by applying Broken China Distress Oxide ink directly to my craft sheet, spritzing with water and dredging my tag through it. I did that several times, drying each time, until I was satisfied with the results. Then I applied embossing ink through the Splash layering stencil and applied Emerald Creek Fractured Ice embossing powder which was then heated on.

Ripping a page out of an old song book, I distressed it with Vintage Photo distress ink and then stamped various sea creatures on it with Jet Black archival ink. I die cut the sea horses using the Mini Sand and Sea die and applied Broken China Distress Oxide ink to them too. Next embossing ink was applied through the Ornate layering stencil and Emerald Creek Verdigris Sparkle embossing powder was applied and heated on.

I rubbed a bit of the new Finnabair White Gold Metallique Wax in the seashells to give them a little sheen. The shells and the seahorse key were adhered with Distress Collage Medium. The seahorses were popped up on Rnager adhesive foam. The little sentiment is from the new Tim Holtz Clippings stickers.

Thank you for stopping by today! I hope you will also stop by Frilly and Funkie to check out our challenge and to see what the other designers have to inspire you.

The items below were used to make the above project and are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holtz, Ranger and most other name brand products are always 20% off retail.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Broken China	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Sprayer	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - SPLASH
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - ORNATE	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink Pad	Emerald Creek Alure Powders - Fractured Ice	Emerald Creek Embossing Powders - Verdigris Sparkle	Charm Pendant Antique Bronze Seahorse Key
Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Mini Sand and Sea Dies	Prima Art Alchemy by Finnabair-Metallique Wax- White Gold	Tim Holtz Ideaology Clippings Stickers TH93583

The Sound of Music

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 10 May 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Hello! Welcome to my post for The Sound of Music challenge over at Frilly and Funkie. I'm the host this fortnight. When this post goes live, I will be in Key West at the annual Songwriters' Festival. It's an awesome music festival with over 200 performers (mostly country music) over a five-day period. I thought it would be fun to have a challenge with a music theme - make a vintage or shabby chic project depicting a favorite song or showing what music means to you.

I love island style music with lots of lovely steel drums so I chose a favorite Jimmy Buffet tune Migration. Here is a YouTube link to the tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LBAeuZ_lpr8.
I created a shabby chic beachy style project with a few bars of music. Starting with a piece of corrugated cardboard as a base, I tore out a sheet of scrapbook paper, sort of greenish wood pattern. It was a little bright so I knocked the color down a bit with white gesso and then randomly stamped sea creatures using Jet Black archival ink.

The flower was made with the old Tattered Florals die cut from plain white card stock, dampened, crinkled, dried and edged with Vintage Photo distress ink. White cardstock strips were cut with the Tattered Banners strip die, stamped with a music stamp in Jet Black archival and then aged with Vintage Photo distress ink. It was shabbied up a bit with dyed Venise Lace, eyelash yarn and twine. The tiny sentiment "I know that I am home" reflects how I feel when I am in the Florida Keys, especially in Key West. It's from the new Clippings sticker set by Tim Holtz.

Thank you for visiting today. I hope you will stop by our challenge over at Frilly and Funkie to see what the other designers have to inspire you. And we hope you will play along too. You could win a top spot with a guest designer appearance, a badge for your sidebar or even a $25 gift certificate to shop at my on-line store The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

April Rain

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 19 Apr 2017 12:09:00 +0000

Double click image to zoom in for details.

Hi friends,

It always takes a push to get me back creating and blogging these days. I wish it wasn't so, but I'm afraid it is (at least until we get to September and get started with my annual 12 Tags of Christmas). Here I am again, filling in over at Frilly and Funkie.

The current challenge is April Showers, but I chose to make my piece April Rain. You know, the cold sleeting kind that we sometimes get instead of those happy light April showers? I have a couple of friends who lost dear loved ones this month and wanted to do some sort of sympathy piece as a tribute.

I gravitated back to my favorite type of background that Wendy Vecchi created a couple of years ago - rubbing alcohol and archival inks. I absolutely love the way these backgrounds turn out! For this piece, I rubbed a Cobalt Archival ink pad on my craft sheet and spritzed it with rubbing alcohol. I dragged a piece of Ranger Specialty Stamping Paper through the puddle, trying to keep it toward the top half of the sheet, then it was dried it with my heat tool. I did that several times, drying it between each application. The process was repeated with Cornflower Blue on the bottom half of the sheet. I wanted the darker blue at the top to look like thunder clouds.

Once I had the background layer done, I randomly stamped Wendy's Script background stamp, rolling it instead of stamping flat, with Jet Black Archival Ink. I didn't want full coverage. Next a sympathy sentiment was stamped with a stamp from Wendy Vecchi's Card Art Sentiments.

After that, Wendy Vecchi's White Texture Paste was applied at the top right over the Tim Holtz Ornate Stencil. (Just a small kudos to Wendy here on the jars she uses for her Texture Pastes - they keep the pastes moist for much much longer than most other brands. My paste hasn't been opened in at least 3-4 months and when I opened it, it was like a brand new jar!).

Anyway, back to the whites, I was going for sort of a heavenly eretheal feel with all the white that I used on the piece. White was carried through by stamping the tree from the Wendy Vecchi Card Art Sentiemnts set with Glacier White Pigment Ink and white embossing it.

The piece was finished off by die cutting the sentiment strips from the brand new Tim Holtz Pondering Words die set (great set - 33 word strips to create your own taylored sentiments). Also the Wildflowers 2 Thinlits die set was used to die cut white flowers that were tied with crinked seam binding stained with Colbalt archival ink.

So that's it. I had several peaceful evenings in my craft room messing around with inks, texture pastes, stamps and the like. I had a couple of false starts before this came to fruition, but I really enjoyed making it. I hope you enjoyed visiting and learning about this piece. Thank you very much for stopping by.

The above project was created using these products. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Ranger, Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi products are always sold at 20% below MSRP.

Ranger Inkssentials Specialty Stamping Paper 8.5 X 11	Ranger Archival Ink - Cobalt	Ranger Archival Ink - Cobalt Reinker	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Cornflower Blue	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Reinker - Cornflower Blue
Stampers Anonymous Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Stamps - Script Background Stamp	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	(February Pre-order) Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - ORNATE	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi 8 Ounce Embossing Paste - White	Stampers Anonymous Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Stamp Set - Card Art Sentiments
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 30PK - Pondering Words, Thin by Tim Holtz	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 7PK - Wildflowers #2 by Tim Holtz	Seam Binding

Count Me In

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 06:00:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details

Hello,

I'm back, filling in over at Frilly and Funkie. It's always great when they ask me to fill in, not that it is good when a design team member is out of commission, but I always seem to need a reason to make art these days!

This fortnight's challenge is "Count Me In". Our amazing DT leader Jenny Marples is our host this time and she reminds us that "numbers are a huge part of our everyday lives so it is no surprise they are also often included in our creative ones too. For this challenge you need to use your choice of numbers to add that special 'sum-thing' to your vintage or shabby chic project. Make them count as part of the design, not just a last minute addition!"

For my sample I used the new Tim Holtz Distress Oxide pads. I created a base using a jumbo manila tag that we sell at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I did a smoosh and swish AKA Wrinkle Free Distress technique with the Worn Lipstick pad, then dried it with my heat tool. Once dry, randomly stenciled on leaves using Tim Holtz's Roses (THS075) Layering Stencil and Peeled Paint Oxide Ink.

Next a focal image was stamped using the Wendy Vecchi Stamp It-Stencil It Orange Blossom Collage and Wendy's Potting Soil Archival Ink. I stamped it a second time and used the accompanying stencil to sponge on Worn Lipstick and Peeled Paint Oxide Ink with a Mini Ink Blending Tool. Before adhering the fussy cut second layer of the orange blossom, I used Tim Holtz's Measured Layering Stencil to lay down a layer of the new Ranger Opaque Crackle Texture Paste. This created my numbers element to meet the challenge qualifications.

I absolutely love the Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide color. What a pretty pink it is. And I have always loved a pink and green combination so this worked out great for me. Next I cut a bunch of flower layers and leaf layers using the new Small Tattered Florals Thinlits Die Set. I cut them from white card stock. The leaves were colored with the same smoosh and swish technique using Peeled Paint Oxide Ink Pad and the flowers were colored wih Scattered Straw distress ink. They were dried with my heat tool and then edged with Vintage Photo DI.

How about those awesome branches? They were also cut with the same Thinlits die set from white card stock. Vintage Photo DI was sponged on after they were cut and then they were coated with the new Wendy Vecchi Potting Soil Enamel Accents. This was my first experience using Enamel Accents but it won't be my last! I loved using them. So fun and they dried really fast. The flower centers were done with Liquid Pearls Rose Gold. I meant to bring home Sunflower Enamel Accents from the shop but forgot. Lucky I had the Rose Gold Liquid Pearls at home to use!

I cut a little tag and stained it with Peeled Paint Oxide ink and stamped a sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's Blooming Art with Potting Soil archival ink. For good measure, I added a few numbers using Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs. It was affixed with an Idea-ology Ring Fastener and to add a little frilly, I tied on a scrap of seam binding dyed with Worn Lipstick Oxide ink. To finish it all off, I sent a little dotty with Wendy Vecchi's Leaf Green Enamel Accents. Love the whimsey they add!

Thanks so much for visiting with me today. I hope you will decide to play along with us. You can find all the challenge requirements on the Frilly and Funke post here.

These products were used t create this above project. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holtz, Wendy Vecchi and most other name brand products are always 20% below MSRP.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Worn Lipstick	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad - Peeled Paint	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Pad 12 Color Bundle
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - ROSES	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Stamp It Stencil It - Orange Blossom Collage	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Potting Soil
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Measured	RANGER CRACKLE TEXTURE PASTE	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 21PK - Small Tattered Florals by Tim Holtz	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Scattered Straw	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Scattered Straw
Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Wendy Vecchi Enamel Accents - Potting Soil	Wendy Vecchi Enamel Accents - Leaf Green	RANGER LIQUID PEARLS 1/2 OZ ROSE GOLD
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Remnant Rubs Numbers	Stampers Anonymous Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Stamps Blooming Art SCS137	Rayon Seam Binding

A Vintage Valentine for My Love

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 05:56:00 +0000

Double click to zoom in for details.

Hello friends!

I'm delighted to have you visit with me today. I have such a fun Valentine card that I made for the Be My Valentine? challenge over at Frilly and Funkie. Zoe Hillman is our host and she wants us to make a Valentine card in the shabby chic or vintage style. The challenge still has a full week to run so there is plenty of time for you to join in. The team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

I was actually off in an different tangent when I suddenly remembered that this project was specifically for a CARD. ( I'm so bad about reading challenge rules). I had in my mind that it was just a vintage Valentine project. So it was fairly late when I realized I needed to regroup and do something different.

For my card base, i chose a sheet of card stock from the old Tim Holtz Kraft Resist Paper Stash. I used it for my base layer and then cut a smaller sheet, embossed it with the Subway Texture Fade and liberally sponged it with Walnut Stain DI. It's cool the way there is a clear embossed pattern on the paper the shows up when you sponge ink over it. On my base layer, Wendy Vecchi's Black Embossing Paste was used with her new Mini Bricks stencil and also Tim Holtz's Valentine stencil for the words. The Tim Holtz Thinlits die set Handwritten Love was used to cut the two words Together Forever. They were cut from black craft foam. I love the extra dimension that gives the words. The handsome retro couple were cut from TH's Found Relatives pack of cards and fussy cut out with his new Tonic Mini Snips. The couple was a little white around the edges so they were also sponged with Walnut Stain DI.

Then I did something that I thought was so cool. I wanted to do a lock and key - sort of you have the key to my heart theme. I have been fooling around with the Prima molds and the paper clay and had a bunch of elements already made, including several fancy key holes. I found one that fit but it was white, as is the paper clay. I painted it with Black Soot Distress Paint and let it get almost dry, then rubbed off as much paint as I could. I LOVE the way it came out with almost a pewter or even a gunmetal look to it - very cool! We sell these steampunk style keys at The Funkie Junkie Boutique but it was too silvery shiny for this project so I gave it a coat of Black Soot DP too. The piece was finished off with an absolutely perfect saying from the Small Talk sticker pack.

Even though I was a little pressed for time with a deadline, I really had a blast making this Valentine's card. It's a great guy Valentine and I think my DH will really enjoy it. Thanks so much for visiting!

The products below were used to make this card. They are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holtz/Ranger and most other name brand products are always 20% below MSRP.

Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste - Black
(February Pre-order) Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Stencil - Mini Bricks	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Valentine	Sizzix® Thinlits™ Die Set 7PK - Handwritten Love by Tim Holtz®	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Found Relatives	Tonic 5" titanium snips
Prima Marketing IOD Vintage Art Decor Mould - Keyholes	Prima Marketing Paper Clay 8.8oz.	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Black Soot	Steampunk Key - Antiqued Bronze Charm	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Small Talk

Friday Focus on Wendy Vecchi/Studio 490

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Fri, 03 Feb 2017 13:36:00 +0000

Good morning friends,

Just a quick post to share a project I have over on the Frilly and Funkie blog for our current Friday Focus. We are focusing Wendy Vecchi/Studio 490 products, most of which will be an extra 15% off through February 15th at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I had a blast creating this project and if you stop by Frilly and Funkie, there will be a brief tutorial on how I made it.

Pale Winter Hues

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 25 Jan 2017 04:12:00 +0000

Hello friends and visitors,

Whew, what a crazy couple of weeks it's been, huh? This is the apex of the craft year and so many amazing new products have been introduced. I am totally on information overload at this point. First with an entire week of sneak peeks over on Tim Holtz's blog and then six days away from the shop for Creativation (CHA). I returned home late Monday, spent most of Tuesday at the shop trying to get myself organized and back on track, then came home to my craft room and had to create something for Frilly and Funkie. I apologize for very simple make again this time. I sincerely hope my life settles in to a rut so I can spend more time on my paper crafting!

Hopefully you have visited us over at Frilly and Funkie and have already seen the Frilly girls' makes for this challenge. If not, be sure to check out their inspirational art! Suzz is our challenge host this fortnight and she wants us to create a vintage/shabby chic project using the winter hues of blue, white, silver and/or gray. My project started with a jumbo manila tag that was coated with white gesso. Next the Tim Holtz Birch stencil was used to stencil on silver embossing. A small panel was created using Iced Spruce distress ink and a sentiment from the Wendy Vecchi set Blooming Art (Wendy has wonderful sentiments in EVERY set she produces).

Before I left for my CHA trip, I made up some embellishments using Prima silicone molds and paper clay. For this project, I wanted something to offset the sentiment and grabbed a key hole embellishment from the batch of embellies I had created previously. I quickly whitened it up with bit of Picket Fence distress paint and then went over it with a rub of Inka Gold Ice Blue which gave it an icy distressed look.

I made a very simple embellishment for the top using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Holiday Greens to cut a evergreen branch from white card stock. I colored the branches with Iced Spruce distress ink and a Mini Ink Blending tool and then added two mini pine cones with were brushed to white gesso for a frosty look.

That's it. Simple (but still took me 2 hours). And I'm sorry the photo isn't up to par. I left my camera at the shop and had to take the photo with my phone. I'll try to get a better image up tomorrow.

New Year's Inspiration at Frilly and Funkie

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 14:58:00 +0000

Double click to zoom in for details.

Hello friends and visitors,

Thank you for stopping by today to view my latest craft attempt. I'm on the Funkie team over at Frilly and Funkie now and we have been challenged to make a project to depict our new year's inspiration. This year, I'm inspired to simplify, declutter and get organized. So I decided to make something very clean and simple as well as quick and easy for my DT project for the challenge.

This is actually a very pretty piece, but I struggled with my photography and lighting. I normally use a light box as I have never had any luck with natural light. Getting a decent photo is the worst part of blogging for me. I have a fairly decent camera and use it on automatic and manual. I set the white balance and shoot at a variety of settings but sometimes I just can't get a decent shot. Most of the shots of this piece came out white and gray rather than white and Iced Spruce, which is a gray-green.

The piece started with a jumbo tag sized piece of white CS. I smeared some Iced Spruce ink on my craft sheet, misted it and did a little "wrinkle free distress" technique with it. That wasn't quite enough color for me so I dipped a broad brush into the watery ink on my craft sheet and gave it a few swirls with the brush.

Using the Mini snowflake layering stencil, I stenciled on silver snowflakes. Then the sentiment was stamped with Jet Black Archival (perfectly stamped and aligned using my MISTI). I cut a couple of white snowflakes using the Paper Snowflakes, Mini Thinlits set and two loves white evergreen trees using the Woodlands Thinlits set.

For stability, I glued my card stock onto a jumbo tag and then onto a layer of chipboard. Now it is nice and sturdy. I will probably add a chipboard easel so I can stand it up in my craft room as a reminder to streamline and organize in the upcoming months.

Please visit our challenge at Frilly and Funkie. I hope we have inspired you to craft with us for this challenge. All you have to do is make a vintage or shabby chic project to depict your New Year's inspiration or resolution. Our team will choose their top four picks with the winner being invited to join us in a Guest DT spot at Frilly and Funkie and the next three will receive badges to display on their blogs. Everyone who enters and follows the rules will be entered into the draw to have the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Mail Carrier Thank You

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Sat, 07 Jan 2017 17:23:00 +0000

Double click any image to zoom in for details.

Hello and happy new year to all!

Thanks to a recent visitor who reminded me that it's been awhile since I posted. I needed that nudge to get going again.

I made this tag over the holidays to give to the mail carrier who serves us at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. She is totally awesome. Her route brings her by our shop around 10:30 each morning and we usually have dozens more orders to get out that day. On busy days or days that I can't make an afternoon run to the Post Office she cheerfully makes a special trip back around 4:30 in the afternoon to pick up the rest of our outgoing shipments. She helps us get your orders to you super fast!

Please forgive the quality of the photos as they were taken with my phone as I quickly created this tag. I got out an old Verve thank you set. I love that it has a number of thank you sentiments and I frequently pile them all on a single card/tag.

I got out my MISTI and set up the stamps in a pleasingly random way, inked them up with Jet Black archival ink and stamped the impressions. These are clear polymer stamps and sometimes they don't take the ink well, especially for the first or second impression.

One of the great attributes of the MISTI is that you can reink and re-stamp until you are happy with the impression. I had to reink the stamps a third time to get a perfect impression, but no worries with MISTI.

I'm sorry, I didn't take any further photos, but the next step was to use the Tim Holtz Correspondence stamp set to stamp all sorts of mail notices randomly over the entire tag. Wendy Vecchi's Watering Can ink was used for the mail notice stamping because I wanted them to be background and to have the Thank You's pop and not blend in with the background. I wanted it to have a little more background so the Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Typo was stenciled using Weathered Wood distress ink. Once I had all that done, my next step was to blend Vintage Photo DI over the entire tag and then ink the tag edges with Walnut Stain DI.

I thought the tag needed a little pop so I took a Ranger glue stick and went around the edges, then laid Prima foil over the glue, burnished it with my hand and pulled it off to give the edges a lovely gold foiling. Unfortunately the gold doesn't show up well in the photo.

The tag was finished off with a couple of Tim Holtz Idea-ology embellishments and a wisp of dyed crinkled seam binding. I rubbed a bit of Picket Fence distress point over the Word Band to make the sentiment stand out.

This tag was a blast to make. It took less than an hour and our mail carrier LOVED it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

The products below were used to create the above tag and are available for sale at The Funkie Junkie Boutique, most are 20% off retail.

50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	MISTI by My Sweet Petunia	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Reinker
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink - Watering Can	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Reinker - Watering Can	$23.95 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Correspondence	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Typo	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Weathered Wood
Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Weathered Wood	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Vintage Photo
Ranger Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink Reinker	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain	Ranger Tim Holtz Mini Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain	Ranger Tim Holtz Walnut Stain Distress Ink Reinker	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Stencil Mark
Natural Jute Twine	May Arts Metallic Gold Crocheted Lace - 1.5"	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Word Bands	Ranger Inkssentials Collage Glue Stick	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Collage Glue Stick
Prima Marketing Rub-On Foil Sheets - Shine On 585600

12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style - 2016 Challenge Winners

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 16:10:00 +0000

Once again, the time has come to wrap up the annual 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. A huge thank you to all who submitted their fantastic work. I am so delighted to have 19 artists who completed the challenge this year. Thank you also to all my visitors and to those who left encouraging comments.

You can double click the image to zoom in for details.

Before we start, here is a recap of all the 2016 12 Tags of Christmas Funkie Junkie Style. There is a link on my sidebar for each of the tags, not only for this year but for the four prior years also, should you care to pursue them.

Now it's time to announce the winners. Actually everyone who completed the challenge is a winner because they will all get a 15% discount code, good for one order in January. And yes, it is good for the pre-orders that will be coming in January too so that could be a big savings for them.

I numbered the finalists in the order in which they submitted their #12 piece as follows:

1. Jane's Journal

2. Suzz's Stamping Spot

3. Craft Knife Chronicles

4. Astrid

5. Sara's Closet

6. Avril B.

7. LauraVi

8. Stefania

9. Butterfly

10. Inky splatters

11. Mandysea

12. Alison/Craftytrog

13. Alice K.

14. Barb Turpin

15. SewPaperPaint

16. Mitralee

17. Birgit

18. Carta e Cuci

19. MartyF.

The $50 gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique goes to #14 - Barb Turpin

A $25 gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique goes to #1 - Jane's Journal

And the other $25 gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique goes to #12 - Alison/Craftytrog

Congratulations to our winners and to all the finalists. Everyone, please email me at thefunkiejunkie@gmail.com for your gift certificate codes and the 15% discount code for a January 2017 order.

Chalkboard Banner - Details #3

noreply@blogger.com (Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie) — Tue, 13 Dec 2016 14:03:00 +0000

My apologies for the delay in getting the final letters of my Chalkboard Christmas Banner posted. Things are pretty hectic in my life at the moment and I got behind schedule. First let me correct an error in my prior two posts. The chipboard letters I used from Hobby Lobby were 2 inches tall not 2 1/2 inches as previously reported. My apologies to anyone who was frustrated looking for the 2 1/2 inch letters.

There's really not a lot of details I can share here that haven't already been shared in the first two posts, but I did want to give you individual photos of each flag. Thumbnail links are below to take you to each product that we sell at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

This one uses the Nordic stencil. Glacier White craft ink and a Mini Ink Blending Tool were used to stencil it on the Swallowtail Chalkboard Banner, which we also sell at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. It was a new release this holiday season and became a favorite of mine. The deer die is an oldie but goodie Tim Holtz Bigz die - Reindeer Flight. I used a snippet of Pine Twine and one of the silver bells from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. The bell was altered with Red Pepper alcohol ink. As stated in the earlier posts, I painted the chipboard letters with one coat of Picket Fence distress paint, but wish I had used two or three coats or even better, white gesso because it is a brighter white. The letters have more of a gray tone on this banner which I am not happy with. Once they were dry, I gave them a heavy coat of Glossy Accents and applied chunky white glitter that I purchased years ago at JoAnn Fabrics.

Next up, I used the Festive Gent Bigz die. He's another favorite of mine that I always want to use at least once a season. For my pop of red on this flag, I took a water color brush and colored his scarf and the bow on the wreath with Festive Berries distress said. The stencil used here is Snowflakes.

The stencil used on this flag was Holiday Script and the trees are from the Woodlands Thinlits die set. They are so delicate that I used the smallest pearls in the Kaisercraft Snow Pearls pack, colored red with a Copic alcohol ink marker, but you could use a paintbrush and the Red Pepper alcohol ink on them too.

And finally, the last banner uses the Concerto stencil and the Holiday Lamppost Bigz die. I colored the holly leaves with a little Mowed Grass, edged with Vintage Photo and colored the tiny rhinestones with a red Copic marker. They were strung together with Idea-ology Red Jute Christmastime twine. The banner comes with regular jute twine, but because I was going for a pop of red with each flag, I chose to use the red and white twine.

That's it. Thank you for visiting! I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Chalkboard banner that I did for a Holiday Home decor project over at Frilly and Funkie.

The products below are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where Tim Holtz, Ranger and most other name brand products are always 20% below list.

Kel-Toy Swallowtail Chalkboard Tags 12pk	Ranger Pigment Ink Reinker - Glacier White	Ranger Pigment Ink Pad - Glacier White	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam
Tim Holtz Jute Christmas Twine	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Picket Fence	Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Nordic THS070	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Snowflakes
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Concerto	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil - Holiday Script	Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Festive Gent Bigz Die	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 2PK - Woodlands by Tim Holtz	KAISERCRAFT Pearls - Self Adhesive - Snow
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Red Pepper	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain - Festive Berries	Tiny Silver Plated Jingle Bells - Set of 15	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Pine Twine	Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents