Tim Holtz halloween

It seems that the imagination of Mr Tim Holtz knows no bounds which is great news for the rest of us on planet Sizzix. my favourite collections are Tim's Halloween and Christmas collections which always seem to transcend the norm and avoid the obvious or at least give it a new spin. 

Tim's collections almost dare you to try something new, transporting your creative imagination away from the flat page or card and into other previously undiscovered realms.

I decorated a couple of frames (below) for a recent event which we attended using a selection of the dies from Tim's new collection and I had an absolute blast experimenting with inks and different distressing techniques. I also got to use the new Christmas dies which I will be showing you at the beginning of October, I think they will be worth waiting for too!

Below are some close ups of some of the elements I used. I particularly like the mirror which is decorated with a stamped skull using a very subtle, washed out look. The ink pot and quill are a welcome edition to the Sizzix cannon, those of you with long memories may recall a similar Sizzix die from about ten years ago which was always very popular. The Spooktacular alphabet is, as are all Tim's alphabet very well balanced and fun to use.

I can't believe how well the ironwork Gate  cuts, it's so clean and great fun for distressing, I went for the rusty look!

The Bigz wall clock die is a new favourite of mine, it comes in various parts and I embossed it with one of Tim's new folders before going crazy with inks and Perfect Pearl powders.

Two of the stand out dies of this collection for me are the decorative strips Bats & Crossbones and Cobwebs. Cobwebs like the gate is very complex in design but cuts so crisply and is a great edition not only to your Halloween projects but anything for boys too (we love that kind of thing!).

Finally, let's not forget the Apothecary bottles which I embossed using the Ink Splats folder and attacked with my Distress Inks. Later on this week I will show you a wicked clock card with a very masculine feel which has a description of the techniques used to create it so stay tuned!!!

Click on the individual dies to follow the links. The dies used are:

• Decorative Strip Bats & Crossbones Garland by Tim Holtz (658710)
• Decorative Strip - Cobwebs by Tim Holtz (658713)
• Decorative Strip - Ironwork Gate by Tim Holtz (658711)
• Decorative Strip - Spooktacular by Tim Holtz (658714)
• Bigz Die - Apothecary Bottles by Tim Holtz (658715)
• Bigz Die - Deco Mirror by Tim Holtz (658718)
• Bigz Die - Wall Clock by Tim Holtz (658719)
• Bigz Die - Writing Desk by Tim Holtz (658717)
• Texture Fades Embossing folders - Ink Splats & Wood planks Set by Tim Holtz (658726)
• Texture Fades Embossing folders - Iron Gate & Starry Night Set by Tim Holtz (658727)