Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Challenge

Hello my Beloved Cakettes!!!

         It's been a while since I last posted something, but life has been so busy... I can't even believe We're already at the end of March.. Wow, where does the time go?

          Anyway... Today's post is a very exciting one!!! I have recently found out about a super fun challenge that Tim Holtz is Hosting. That's right!!! Our Favorite man crafter Tim Holtz is hosting an awesome challenge on his blog, you can find the challenge here  →  Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Challenge.

        So the challenge was to create a project using Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals Die, and seen as it's one of my all time favorite dies, I decided to join in the fun, and create a project with my own little twist.

        Here's a picture of what I have made as my Project entry. It's a Shabby Chic, Slightly grudged up Canvas bag.

       This has to be one of my favourite projects I have created to date.. It's so pretty, I think I'm in love... ♥

The Image in the center is a little shine due to the flash, but isn't it Oh so Lovely?

I'm a very visual person and I just love to be able to see pictures when I read a tutorial, so I've tried to take as many pictures as I could, and I will write this post in Tutorial form, that way, if you guys are inspired, you can easily replicate any of the steps. Enjoy.. :)

So I started off with a blank canvas bag and an A4 Sheet of pattern paper, to which I had printed the Eiffel Tower image, which I'm proud to say, is a picture I have taken myself when visiting Paris a few years back. I've also used some Mod Podge to transfer the image to my bag.

Next I used my Tattered Florals Die, and some scraps of fabric cut into strips. I really wanted to use this die in a different way, so I had this idea of creating a trim from the flowers.. and here's how I've done that..

I've taken a stripe of the fabric, folded it multiple times, placed it over only one of the petals on the largest flower from the die.
 *Tip: Position the inner edge of the fabric touching the center of the flower, that way, the petals will remain attached to each other in a line.
 I run it through my die cutting machine, and Voilà!!! I now have a tattered trim!!! :)

And of course, you can get totally different looks from the other flower shapes... :)

But, for this project, I am going to be using the larger petal trim. I decided to stamp directly on to the fabric, so I used the script stamp from Tim Holtz Urban Grunge Clear Stamps Set, and Vintage Photo Distress ink.
 After stamping on all of the petals, I used a running stitch to gather the trim, creating a ruffled effect.

Then I added some lace below the gathered trim, (or tattered trim, I think that's what I will call it) and then I layered them above the image on my bag.
I did stitch them in place. I wouldn't want them falling off whilst I'm out shopping!!! :)

Next, I used some pink seam binding to wrap the ends of the strap, I did that on all four ends, and then I cut out two pieces of the same size, I chose pink and beige, I then tied these to one of the ends. This will just dangle down giving a lovely floaty effect..

Now, one of my favourite parts of the project, which is making some flowers.. I had a lot of this beige coloured satin fabric, so I decided to use it.
I kept a large piece in it's original colour, and I decided to die another large piece. Using Ranger's Mist Spray Bottle, little bit of water and Spun Sugar Tim Holtz Distress reinker, I sprayed the fabric and allowed it to dry.
Then, I die cut the pieces with the Tattered Florals die. For the largest petals, I used a candle to lightly burn the edges, this will give a very textured and grungy look to the flowers later on..

I have also used some scraps of white fabric I had, colored it with Shabby Shutters Distress Stain, and die cut it with the Tattered Florals die, the nine petal flower, I used as leaves for one of the flowers I made.

Then I decided to make some green flowers too, so I took another piece of the satin, and using my spray bottle, some water and forest moss distress ink reinker, I died it, and die cut with the tattered florals die.
Once again, I used a candle for the larger flowers. I really love the way the ink stained some parts of the fabric more than others..
I think that, the uneven look might have had something to do with drying the fabric over a radiator, but I really like how it turned out.

And here you can see some of the flowers I made. I decided to make different looking flowers with the different petals.. For the first and second pictures, I've used the second smallest flower from the die to make two types of flowers, and for the other two flowers, I've used the larger petals..
Don't they look gorgeous? Even if I say so myself.. :)
This is the reason I love this die so much, it's so versatile..

So once I made these beautiful flowers, I was playing around to find different things for the centers..
At this point you can use pretty much anything you want.. But, for the pink flower, I chose a Golden metal Cabochon , topped with a resin rose (which was  part of a bracelet). For the beige flower I used a  Metal Keyhole, which comes from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Locket Keys Metal Embellishments pack, and for the green flower, I picked this adorable number plaque, which comes from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Findings - Plaquettes pack.

I decided to add a brooch pin on the back of some of the flowers, not only would that allow me to reposition the flowers on the bag, but it also allows me to use the flowers on other things too..

As an extra detail for the bag, I decided to create a swivel clasp charm to hang it from one of the bag's strap..
Here are just a few of the things I used.. A Tim Holtz idea-ology Swivel Clasp, lots of beads, an Idea-Ology -Trinket Pin, an ideology Philosophy tag, and many other small bits, including a little mustache.. Of Course!!! I couldn't not do it, could I? You guys know how much I love mustaches..
Anyway, the next picture will give you a much better look at the Clasp finished..

And here it is, finished. So as you guys can see, I have added a lot of my favorites.. I've incorporated my love for mustaches, camera, butterflies, flowers, keys... A mixture of gorgeousness..

And here it is, hanging from the bag!!! I Just Love it!  :)

Next step was of course to add these beautiful flowers to the bag.. From the cluster of flowers you can see on the first picture, the only re-positionable flower is the large green one, picture two shows you the back of that flower..
The others are stitched to the bag, so cannot be removed..
Picture three, shows you another cluster on the top left corner of the bag, and in this case, all the flowers have the brooch pins on the back, as you can see in picture four...

And here's a better view of the bag with all of the embellishments in place. What do you guys think?

As a last minute thing, I decided to add some Chinese braid on the rim of the tattered trim. The Chinese braid was originally an off white color, so I died it using Tattered Rose Distress Stain.

           I thought I'd show you guys a couple of other ideas on how to use the re-positionable flowers..

So the first suggestion is to pin it to a jacket or coat, great idea if you like to be unique and stand out from the crowd, and the best thing is, it's totally personalized and no one else will have one like it.

          Second suggestion,two words: Hair Accessory. I love making my own hair accessories, and these ones turned out beautiful!!!

Remember the brooch pin I glued to the back? Well that can easily be clipped on to a snap hair clip. Or alternatively, you could simply glue the flower directly on to the clip, you won't be able to pin it to a jacket or a bag, but if hair accessory is what you're looking for, then go for it! :)

* Warning * Bonus Projects!!!! :D

                 Now, just as an extra added Bonus, I decided to come up with a couple more ideas to use the tattered trim I die cut. And well, there's a million and one things you can make using these, but, I have made two quick, easy and very cute projects.. The first is this masculine gift box.

Father's Day will be here soon,  and I think I already have the wrapping sorted. :)

I started by reusing a random box I had laying around, I covered it up with some Kraft paper, just regular shipping kind of paper.

Then, with the box already wrapped, I decided on the supplies, Vintage Photo and Shabby Shutters distress inks, idea-ology tissue tape (journeyman), book pages, adhesive and some of my tattered trim which I have pre-coloured with Vintage photo reinker and water.

First, I teared the book pages and distressed the edges using Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool & Foam and vintage photo distress ink, then I distressed the edges of the tattered trim with the same ink, and as a last minute decision, I've cut out a piece of a juta bag, and added it to the top of the box before layering the other bits.

Once, I had adhered all the layers, I scrunched the tattered trim petals with my fingers.
to cover up the rim of the trim, I teared a piece of the tissue tape and distressed it with vintage photo and shabby shutters distress ink.

Did I mention? I've added this super cool Clay tag I made a while back.

              And for my second extra bonus project, I decided to make something I can use a little sooner.. Easter is just around the corner, so I thought, why not make something Easter themed? And that's what I did!

Simply adorable, and scrummylicious!!! :)

So once again, I am recycling.. I kept this food jar because I knew I could use if for something. I also have some of my tattered trim, this time died in pink using Spun Sugar distress reinker, and some water.

So, seeing as the lid was black, I used Ranger's patina for metal in the color Quartz, and a piece of sponge to daub it with. Once it dried, I added a circle cut out of cardstock to the top of the lid as decoration.

Then, working on my Ranger Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Mat, I added a line of hot glue, and then gathered the trim.

I added the trim to the rim of the jar and topped it with some pastel green seam binding, tying that into a bow.
Then, for the yummy delicious part of this project, I used some cadburys mini eggs (my Favourite) into the jar. I think these were perfect for this project because they are pastel coloured anyway, so it works really well with the theme I was going for.
Last, but not least, I added a little tag, and one of the beautiful flowers I made earlier, and Voilà, an Adorable Easter gift!!!

             Wow, I think this is the longest post I have ever posted, but, just knowing that Tim Holtz himself will be checking out my projects (Hi Tim! :)), has made it all worth while. :)

There are a lot of talented ladies entering this challenge, and I wish you all Good Luck! :)

I hope you guys have enjoyed this post and I would love to hear from you all, so please leave me a comment below!!! :)

Talk to you guys again real soon!!!!

xoxo