Tim Holtz *Fragments* and Mini Book

I'm excited to share about Tim Holtz's *Fragments* and this little mini book I made over the weekend - it was my first time working with Tim Holtz's new (semi-new) FRAGMENTS, and it was so fun! Fragments are a very cool tool/embellishment you can use on just about anything.

--They're a part of Tim's Idea-ology line by Advantus, and come in three different varieties. The first one that came out is simply called *Fragments* which contains square and rectangular pieces of clear acrylic tiles in different sizes. The largest is a 3.75" x 3.75" inch square, and the smallest is 5/8" x 5/8" inches. There are also various rectangular pieces, and they're all approximately 3mm thick. You get 48 pieces in one package - it's actually a LOT, and goes a long, long way. You can ink them, stamp on them, drill through them, and glue patterned paper to them! All of these supplies are available at Creative Play Stamps.

More recently Tim has released two other varieties: *Charms* and *Ovals & Circles*. The charms are cool because they're shaped like tags and have holes at the top of each charm. They come in many different shapes - square, round, etc...

Here's a photo of the package:


And a description written on the back of the insert:


You can watch the master himself demo-ing the Fragments:
TIM HOLTZ FRAGMENTS *HOW-TO* VIDEO


For my book, I used 2 of the largest square pieces (3.75" x 3.75") and decorated them with Adirondack alcohol inks (Cranberry, Butterscotch, Red Pepper). (See tutorial on the previous posting). Then I measured and drilled 2 holes in the fragments using a drill bit made especially for using on plastics and acrylics. (If you use a regular drill bit it will crack the acrylic and won't drill through correctly.) Then I just fiddled around with my other new goodies: Tim Holtz's *Sprocket Gears*, *Swivel Clasps* and Keyholes, and pushed them around until I liked how it looked. I also rubber stamped 2 more fragment tiles with permanent *Timber Brown Staz-On* ink and shuffled everything around and around until it looked good. The final step was gluing everything down with Ranger's *Glossy Accents* which Tim Holtz recommends for using with Fragments and his metal embellishments.

close up:


I left the bottom right-hand corner empty so I could place a photo or stamped image on the paper behind it and have it showing through. Neat, huh?!?

top view:


The hot orange rings are by *Junkitz* - I bought them about 4 years ago before they went out of business, and the metal button is also an old one by *7 Gypsies*. I custom-made my own half-pearls by soaking them in Adirondack *Espresso* alcohol ink. The pages of the book are thick paper coasters which I cut down to fit the size of the book.

I'm going to post 2 more projects made with FRAGMENTS over the next week. Stay tuned!

~~~ All supplies are available at: Creative Play Stamps ~~~

***I'm currently trying to fix my blog so that people can leave comments - I didn't realize the template I chose doesn't allow for comments!!!

inspiration for today:
*We need the freedom to discover how God wants us to grow, for his design will not look quite the same for everyone.* - John Ortberg

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Repost: Alcohol Inking Basics on Glossy Paper

Alcohol Inking Basics on Glossy Paper (this is a repost from my other blog)

[I'm reposting this tutorial on alcohol inking basics because I'm going to post some new projects I did with Tim Holtz's Fragments, which involve alcohol inking]

In order to get really good results with the alcohol inks, I recommend you use the tools that Tim Holtz designed to use with them. Pictured here is the Inking Tool and a pack of Applicator Felt pieces (mini pads).



You will also need glossy paper for artists/crafters. Creative Play Stamps carries the paper by Ranger and the tools/inks as well. --You can't use glossy photo paper, btw - it doesn't work. And finally I highly recommend that you also use Blending Solution, although you don't have to. It just helps spread the ink out instead of leaving pure color blobs. It spreads the color out and blends them -- allowing them to meld together in a natural way.

The inking tool has a wood base and medium sized handle -just the right size to fit it your palm. On the bottom of the base is a strip of velcro that's permanently attached, so you can easily put on and/or take off your felt pad.



Simply place the piece of felt onto the the velcro.



It stays put with just the right amount of clinging. It won't fall off while you're using it, but it's easy to take off as well.



Next, choose your color of ink and gently squeeze. It's very easy to control the amount of ink that comes out - the bottle is designed with the artist in mind, and the needle-nose tip makes it even easier to control the flow of ink. I used the color *Meadow* in this example.



Lift up and repeat it again. Place around 4-7 drops on the pad, depending on how large of an area you need to cover.



Now add a few drops of Blending Solution on top of the color drops. (Using the Blending solution is optional, however if you don't use it all you'll get when you apply it to your project is exactly what you see on the felt pad - little drops of color - there will not be any spreading/blending going on.)



You can see how the color drops and Blending Solution have melded together on the pad.



Now pounce it onto the glossy paper.



Keep repeating until you have good coverage.



You can add another color if you want -- simply add a few drop to the felt. You don't need to use a new piece. I used *Ginger* for the 2nd color.

Just pounce away again.

And Voila! Now you have a wonderful new piece of paper! If you want to add another color, just repeat the step above. Add metallic mixatives to spice it up and give it a little tinge of metal!



A SIDE NOTE *** I did the color in 2 steps, however you can do it in one step -- just put different color drops on the felt at the same time (however many you like, really) and then add the Blending solution and pounce away. The result will be similar.

There have been other methods for laying down the color, some people only pounce the blending solution onto the paper after the inks have been applied, and there are still yet other ways to do it.

Remember, the inks can be used on plastic, metal, glass, and other slick surfaces. The inks were not meant to be used on absorbant papers!

ALL MATERIALS ARE AVAILABLE AT CREATIVE PLAY STAMPS

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