The adventure begins...

Hello all!  I'm gradually making my way round catching up with you all - if you haven't seen hide nor hair of me yet, I'm sorry, and I will get there!!  I'm glad you enjoyed waiting in the lamplight with Lili Marlene in the meantime - nothing wrong with a little romance now and then, eh?


Today I'm back to share my take on Tim Holtz's fabulous inspiration tag for August, and this time it's the romance of childhood nostalgia.


I stuck pretty closely to the techniques, so you can't do better than check out Tim's own tutorial for how it was all done.


I've been using Hickory Smoke again - I particularly love how it echoes the colour tones in the Idea-ology ephemera and the photos, as well as the pewter metal pieces.

In any case, I had a lovely time selecting adventurous travel words and juggling them onto the tag.  I've used the Script thinlits rather than the block lettering.  And my background paper also captures the world travel theme - it's from the Correspondence paper stash.






I couldn't resist having another little play with the colours I used on my Lost Lives tag.  It's a combination of three of the new Distress Colours - Twisted Citron, Mermaid Lagoon and the to-die-for Hickory Smoke.




And when it came to adding medium over the top of my inky colours, I dabbed it on with some paper towel rather than applying with the brush, which meant I could preserve a little more of the colour separation.




It also gives a great stippled texture to the finished background.  It's deliciously tactile!







Something always happens to my insides when I work with siblings - and these two are no exception.  I love the quiet determination in the brother's face, and that reassuring arm around his little sister's shoulders.












His sailor suit is adorable - absolutely the fashion of the time for small children - and perfect for setting forth on the journey through life.












She doesn't look quite as confident about the journey ahead - perhaps she knows that life's adventures are unlikely to unfold quite as smoothly for a girl as for a boy.

The butterfly comes from the Thrift Shop Ephemera pack and I love him (wish there was a whole packet of butterflies!), but I'm even more pleased with the other bits of ephemera.









They come from the new Idea-ology Pocket Cards.  I just got them and I'm delighted with them.  They come printed with all sorts of Tim images and designs, and in several sizes - so there's always one just right for what you need.  So useful and so many in the packet...!

So the clock is cut from one of the Pocket Cards and so is the postcard tab.

The little postcard at the top is also cut from one of the Pocket Cards and, as Tim did, I've added some extra rub-ons.

The smallest version of these postcards (there's a whole card of them) will be making its way to my mother's dollshouse museum, Small Worlds - they're the perfect size for cutting up and leaving on hallstands and tables in some of the houses there.











The pen nib is there so that either or both of our siblings can record the story of their travels in their memoirs!













Mushroom alcohol ink has become a must-use colour since Tim mentioned it in one of his CHA videos a while back - love how it mutes and ages the metal so subtly.

My stamping and edging is done in Hickory Smoke ink and Distress Paint - an altogether softer, smokier look than Tim's grungy black... I just wasn't in a grungy sort of mood, and you have to follow your heart.

For the topping I've used my current favourite combination - some crinkle ribbon, some linen ribbon and a twist of Prima's wired thread.  You saw it on the Lili Marlene tag, and it's coming up again soon on an exciting little extra I'm squeezing into my schedule (I know - what a tease!).










And so the adventure begins...  I wish this sibling pair well on their journey through life. 

And I wish a huge vote of thanks to Tim for another amazing inspirational tag.












I had so much fun with this.  It's particularly nice, when I'm so busy, to have the guidelines already laid down, so that I can just play without having to think too much.  Tim's already done all the hard work!








Thanks to you too for dropping by today, and I hope you're all having a lovely week.

I'd like to enter this as my August tag in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2015

I'd also like to share it at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where they're looking for Citrus With a Twist - well, I've used Twisted Citron, and I've also got my twisty twirly thread in the topping, so I hope that will do!

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
Eleanor Roosevelt