How do you pick just ONE favorite Tim Holtz product?!

It can’t be done because there are SO many amazing things from this man!

Distress inks, Paper Distresser, Vagabond, Distress Stickles, Stamps, Paper Stash packs, dies, metal embellishments, stickers, Alpha Parts, Configuration boxes…this list can go on and on and on and on…

So instead of talking about one favorite product…just click the link below to see the entire list of Tim Holtz products on Archivers Annex:

Tim Holtz products on Archivers Annex

So much goodness I can’t even stand it.

It’s another Make and Take Weekend at Archiver’s…we’ve dubbed August “Make and Take Month” because there are just so many cool things to show you!

This weekend, as was mentioned on Facebook and Twitter yesterday, you can make an adorable card using stamps and paints from Claudine Hellmuth.  The stamps are fantastic and the paints are so vibrant!  Love them!

So going along with this, I have a video to share with you!

CHECK IT OUT!

Don’t be afraid of stamping with paints!  It’s super easy and creates such a different look than stamping with ink.

Happy Weekend!

Have I mentioned lately that I love Tim Holtz?  Because I love Tim Holtz!  He always has the coolest new products and fantastic new techniques to go along with those products.  How can you not love him!

This month at Archiver’s – yes the WHOLE MONTH – we’re having Tim Holtz Demo Weekends.  Every weekend, starting right now this minute (no joke!), our stores will be showing off great Tim Holtz products and techniques.  This weekend it’s the Distress Stains and Kraft Resist papers – they’re such cool products, you just have to check them out!

We are so excited about this month we can’t even stand it!  Every weekend will feature different products and different techniques – you CANNOT miss this Tim Holtz-tastic month at Archiver’s!  If you don’t live near an Archiver’s store, check out all the great Tim Holtz products available on the Annex!

Tuesday morning was all about warm greetings, sharing stories and catching up. It was like this big wonderful family reunion. As everyone settled in, the focus turned more towards the business side of things. Time to review, evaluate and strategize. The long day ended with some relaxing fun as everyone enjoyed some really yummy food and  a little “card making”. 

Things fired up again early Wednesday morning. The day was filled with training sessions, group discussions and more strategizing. As I basked in the creative energy that surrounded me, I was inspired to capture and “preserve” these moments just as I would a birthday or holiday so I grabbed my camera and off I went.

After dinner, everyone gathered for a short recap of the day. Our CEO stood before the group and began speaking of the “history” of scrapbooking. (seemed a little random) As the group respectfully listened, the double doors at the back of the meeting hall suddenly swung open and in walked  (are you ready for this?)  TIM HOLTZ!!!

There are no words to describe the reaction of those in attendance…..maybe this will help…    

I seriously thought we might have to bring in oxygen! It was a fabulous surprise that got even better. He showed up prepared to teach a workshop.  WooHoo!  Tim is an amazing person and an outstanding instructor. We learned tons of new techniques and got to use a bunch of his new products.  (before you even ask……yes, his delicious new creative goodness  is landing in our stores over the next few weeks) 

The results speak for themselves….

The best thing about the last three days was the feeling we came away with. Tim is SO inspiring. It was the same excitement I felt upon completion of my very first scrapbook page years ago.  He left us feeling confident, knowledgeable and just plain giddy!  Now, we want to pay it forward. We want you to experience that same feeling.

Our managers left yesterday  to go back to their respective stores. They are  super excited to share what they learned.

Let us INSPIRE YOU!  It’s a great time to go to Archiver’s.

Oh, and Tim…..thank you so much. You’re the best! 

Here are a couple cool ideas from the staff at our store in Algonquin, IL.  Every year, the store employees have a creative gift exchange, where each staff member creates and receives a handmade gift, and boy are these ladies creative!  The amazing gifts they create are a thing of beauty!  I’m so glad they snapped a few pictures and sent them my way, because now I get to share my favorites with you!

How cool is this tree made out of Rosettes?  You can use the Martha Stewart Scoring Board and the I Believe collection from My Mind’s Eye to create one just like it.  Adorable holiday decor for your own house, or for a fun handmade gift or centerpiece!

Tim Holtz fans, you’re going to love the vintage look of this piece!  This Tim Holtz configurations box was decorated using 7Gypsies paper tape and Tim Holtz feet foundations, then filled with all sorts of fun personal holiday treasures.  I’m thinking this would be a cool way to safely display some really old and fragile ornaments I have that belonged to my Grandmother.  Love it!

Get to one of our stores to pick up supplies, or shop online at Archiver’ s Annex and get going on a fun holiday project of your own!

Click here to see a cool tool in action, learn a new technique and see some fun and super easy holiday cards!

You can try out this technique in our Vintage Holidays card workshop (make the Santa card shown in the video) or our 10 Tags workshop (make the lightpost tag and the banner tag shown in the video).  The card with the lightpost and the card with the blue snowflakes can be seen in our Holiday card showcase.  Make sure you’re stopping in to check out Tim’s technique!

Just returned from CHA Chicago where I had a great time seeing all of the fabulous new products. I was fortunate enough to chat with a few “celebrities” as I made my way through “creative bliss”!  As you can imagine, Tim Holtz was completely surrounded by fans but was gracious enough to spend some time with me. I was excited to tell him about one of our upcoming holiday card workshops (Vintage Holidays) that features so many of his products. While concepting the cards for this workshop I discovered that one of my co-workers left a photo of Tim on my desk as inspiration. As I sat gathering my creative genius, I decided to practice a few of my favorite “grunge techniques” on……..you guessed it……….

Tim’s photo!

I think he looks Awesome…in person and on paper   Who doesn’t love a “distressed stickles” goatee or a “resistable” crown!  And of course I had to distress all of the edges using his paper distresser and distressed ink (Pumice stone is my absolute FAVE).  Thanks Tim for having such a good sense of humor and for designing such outstanding signature products.

Don’t forget to check out the video clip below, and stay tuned for more videos to come next week!

Click here to see me at CHA with Tim…

Oh, and I’d like to thank Mol for my close-up

Card Tip: Use Cosmo Cricket’s 6×6 Mini Decks of paper for cardmaking.  Since the patterns are smaller than their 12×12 sheets, you can see more of the pattern on small images, like the die-cut bird and label.

Full instructions for this card are available online.

Stop in Archiver’s this Friday-Sunday for Tim Holtz Demo Weekend!  Get a chance to use his distress inks, cling stamps and the caged bird die. Love this :)