Samples of quick tags I made after returning home, inspired by Tim Holtz.
As promised, here are highlights from the five pages of notes I took while entranced by Tim at the Summer 2008 CHA Ranger booth:
- Cut 'n Dry Foam: One can use the white part of this product to speed blending and it does not absorb the product - it actually conserves the product and blends ever-so-beautifully...what I learned is the silver side can be heated with a heat tool, push and hold any stamp image firmly into warm/hot silver foam until cooled - using scissors cut the image out and - BAM! - instant reverse image of your stamp. Works like Clearsnap's MagicStamp. Try heating a piece then pushing into a pile of rubber bands, twigs, marbles, raffia for a truly unique stamp....
- You can die-cut Cut 'n Dry Foam.
- Tim has color index dots on the caps of his Mini Misters to identify what is inside quickly and easily - simply spray contents onto white cardstock, dry and punch with a 1/2" circle punch; adhere to Mini Mister cap with Glossy Accents.
- Tim has color index dots on the top of his Foam Blending Tools and they are stored in a vintage-style spin rack. StarLitStudio will be carrying these metal, vintage-style spin racks to house up to eight blending tools early to mid-August. To create color ID dots for the wooden handles, simply swipe desired colors (Tim had one each of these colors for his blending tools: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, light brown and dark brown) onto white cardstock and punch with a 3/4" circle punch. Adhere with Glossy Accents to top of wooden handle.
- Speaking of Glossy Accents, Tim slammed the bottle down on his worksurface when finished dispensing the product. By slamming it down it forces the product out of the nozzle and back into the bottle, preventing the nozzle from getting that common clog, then having to use a needle to reopen it with each use.
- Tim opened his Distress Embossing Pad, held it up to his nose, and deeply inhaled! I said something, and he passed the pad to me. I did the same - deep inhale through the nose...and guess what ladies... it smells....like PEPPERMINT!! No stinkie!! Tim said when he formulated his embossing ink he wanted it to, well, not stink. Y'all are gonna go smell your Versamark now I know it! Per Tim, other embossing inks, "...they stink, like STINK!"
- You can sew directly through Grungeboard.
- Grungeboard is safe in your washer. And dryer. Grungeboard, altered using either Distress Crackle Paint, Distress Ink, or Adirondack Color Wash, is safe in your washer. And dryer. Oh, the possibilities... !!!!!!!
Yes, I am trying this weekend and will report back!! - Grungeboard is moldable with coaxing - use your fingers and heavy pressure - look what he did to a butterfly - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoppingdiva/2681553570/in/photostream/ (A special thank you to Christine Urias for allowing me to share this photo with you.)
- Tim's light carmel colored T-shirt from Advantus reads on the front - very plain, no details - just the words, "Do you see nothing?" and on the back - highly detailed with stylized multi-colored flourishes - reads, "or possibilities?" LOVE it.
- Distress Pad storage: OK to store upright or upside down. Tim explained it this way: Think of a household sponge. You wet it, wring it out, then come back 15-30 minutes later - where is it wet? Everywhere - not on the top or bottom, but wet throughout the sponge. Same thing with your Distress Pad.
- You can not contaminate Distress Pads when layering color using the pad itself (direct to paper technique).
- You can not contaminate Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers either - color is dispensed only and can not be 'sucked back into' the container. Just clean the affixed sponge applicator and you're good to go.
- One can not 'tone down' a Distress Pad - you can not get a lighter color by generation (or repetition) stamping - color stays true.
- I asked Tim why his Distress Black Soot was the blackest ink on the market. He told the story of how he went to the chemists when creating the Distress palette and wanted 'black'. They told him "black does not exist", and "black is a combination of purple, green and blue." Tim said,
"start with black". The chemists said, "nothing exists in nature that is black except coal". Tim said, "Okay, so start there." ...So there you have it - it has coal in it...hence the name 'Black Soot'....he's so clever... and smart...
- Using Mini Misters, about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of Perfect Pearls, add water and a full dropper full of any Distress reinker to create your own mist of glimmer on projects. Don't fill the Mini Mister full with water - leave a bit of room (about 3/4") when filling so the water/reinker and powder can emulsify easily. A popsicle stick makes a great tool to insert a portion of Perfect Pearls into the mini misters - fits perfectly.
- Check out the new Mini Mister Organizer! Available soon and yes, we will be carrying this. I plan on adhering three or four together to keep all of mine organized and together.
- Tim showed how to get your Mini Mister to 'spit'. It cracked me up: hold the nozzle between your thumb and first finger very, very close to the top of the nozzle, and depress ever-so-slightly. This will cause the Mini Mister to
and not mist. - Organizational tip: DON'T! I had all of my Tim hardware (Sprockets, Word Keys, Trinket Pins, etc.) individually organized in their own glass-topped watchmaker tins. Not Tim - he has them all jumbled together in a purtty vintage box...I came home and did the same - now they are all jumbled together (OK the jump rings and brads are in clear lidded tins, cuz they'd be hard to find) ...and all of the hardware together...it DOES make you THINK about the possibilities...and outside the box.
- When poking using Tim's piercer from Tonic, poke, then twist slightly. It will keep the hole opened nicely.
- When using your heat tool, hold the paper up at an angle, not flat on your worksurface. By holding the paper at an angle, you allow the heat to pass through and the paper does not curl.
- Adirondack Color Wash is a textile dye - you gettie it on your clothie, it stayie. Tim recommended for folks that are squeamish about a messy product: Wear a garbage bag and gloves and have fun. Prepare for a mess and you'll enjoy it! Me? I'll stick to my apron and inky hands. If I get the spray on my shirt I'll just spray the other side.
- Adirondack Color Washes can not be watered down to get a less-intense color. Water actually intensifies them - by a factor of TEN... Try misting tag/paper with water, then go at it with the color washes. Much different effect than using the product without water beforehand. The product will not blend unless you have a water layer under the colors. With water it feathers together oh so nicely (see tag on right above).
- Tim's Distressing Tool (the one that looks like a thread cutter) contains a titanium blade for maximum life.
- Use Snow Cap (white) Acrylic Paint Dauber to rub over Tim's Trinket Pins or Philosophy Tags, then wipe away, to make the engraved word easier to read/see.
- Twelve Distress Stickle colors (not necessarily the original 12 Distress hues...I asked...) are being released now (available soon!), with the balance slotted for release this winter. Distress Stickles will have a wider opening as the glittah is biggah. They are actually more pearlesque in sparkle than a metallic sparkle of the original Stickle colors.
- Masks - VERY exciting new product - $2.99 retail and you get quite a few with each theme, and they are BIG... On the back of the packaging there is a cute little sentence and signature from Heidi Swapp - endorsing the product. Tim asked her to do this so folks would not jump to conclusions that he stole her product - Per Tim, Heidi asked him to design a few masks and he agreed, but only if she would endorse them on his packaging.
- Cling adhesive in the masks - you can wash these masks in your sink and the cling will not wear off - purrty kewl!
- More about masks: Tim's are CLEAR and more detailed than others on the market. Yup - clear. When you layer them on your surface and begin inking, you can SEE where you inked cuz, well, they are CLEAR and not black, so you can see how much to ink. Yay, Tim! genius...
In closing, Tim is as genuine in person as he comes across in his DVD's. After spending about 50 minutes enthralled, watching him demo non-stop, I prepared to depart and thanked him, and I made the statement, "I think one of the reasons you are so amazing is one can watch you and go home and recreate the same techniques with success." His reply? "That's what it's all about."
