Tim Holtz - Rubber Stamp Designer & More!!!

Yes, today I want to feature Tim Holtz for the rubber stamp designer this week. Now, I had planned to have a bit of info provided from Tim himself but he's been going non-stop since he got back from his excursion in Alaska and will continue to be extremely busy as the Summer CHA show is just around the corner! Be sure to check out his blog for his Alaska trip video. It's a great way to see the fun places they hit along the way. You'll also want to check out the class examples they made as well!!

Tim is a well known Designer & Senior Educator for Ranger Industries. He can often be found teaching classes or offering up amazing demos at stores, conventions and expos all over the world. His down to earth and humorous approach of teaching makes any of his classes a joy to take. Traveling most of the year he still finds time to share techniques and challenges on his blog - Tim Holtz - Life the Life You've Imagined.

Tim is known and associated in large part with his line of Ranger Products. My favorite being the Distress Inks line of dye ink pads. Specially formulated they are intended to be used with water to create a multitude of effects. Tim selected the colors and helped develop these inks to produce a realistic, weathered look on paper, photos and decorative fibers. The Distress Ink line has grown from it's original 12 colors to include 24 amazing inks with fun names like Shabby Shutters, Broken China, Aged Mahogany and my favorite Walnut Stain Distress Ink!


The popularity of this particular line been enhanced with a couple amazing innovative additions ~ Distress Embossing Powders and Distress Crackle Paints. Each offering up unique qualities without compare.


The Distress Embossing Powders are a revolutionary product in the embossing line. This powder contains a special release crystal which will yield a truly vintage, distressed image! After these powders have been heat embossed and cooled simply rub off the crystals. You'll be amazed by the results. One of my favorite projects using this embossing powder is this mirror which uses a variety of colors of the powders.

The newest in the Distress line is the Distress Crackle Paints. Another amazing product ~ creating years of crackle in one simple step. This product is so innovative that it won 2nd place at CHA's Summer 2007 Innovations Showcase !! This paint is so easy to use, simply paint onto your project using the built in brush and let dry. Thin layers create tiny fine cracking while thicker layers produce larger and more pronounced cracks. My particular favorite technique is to add a layer of Distress Inks over the top of the dried Crackle Paint working it into the cracks with my Ink Blending Tool! Simply wipe off the excess ink once you have achieved the desired look.
The card below was made using all three of the Distress products ~ Vintage Photo Distress Crackle Paint was used on the coaster, Distress Inks were used to stamp the background images as well as added to the cracks in the paint and finally the bird & sentiment were embossed using the Distress Embossing Powders!

Another Ranger product Tim Holtz is closely associated with are the Adirondack Alcohol Inks. Demonstrating some amazing techniques and stretching your creativity to the limits, his numerous AI techniques will make your projects shine! I especially love using these inks on Memory Glass projects as it really lets the inks become the focal point as you can see.

In addition to being a superior designer & educator Tim also has many other products to his name. He is an author with 2 books published through Design Originals ~ Distressables & Distressables 2 as well as his own paper line, Distressable Doo-Dads, also through Design Originals. Tim has also made 2 DVD's ~ An Altered Journey & The Journey Continues both produced by Page Sage. You'll definitely enjoy all of the informative and imaginative projects which are included in all of these books & DVD's.


Surprisingly enough there is still more....Tim also has a line of tools with Tonic Studios; a unique line of alterable storage boxes for inks, paints and more; his amazing ideology line which includes Fragments, Grunge Board and now an awesome assortment of hardware & embellishments!


And yet there is even MORE..... his amazing stamp line through Stampers Anonymous! Too numerous to mention them all I would have to say that Dream a Little Dream (pg 142 - Main Cat.), The Little Prince (pg 141 Main Cat.), Photo Studio (pg 8 Sup. 8.2) as well as ALL of his wonderful quote stamps have to be my fav's. You'll just have to take a look to find your favorites.

And now for the the best part....

Tell me what your favorite Tim Holtz product is....it can be from any of the manufactures mentioned above. Tools, Stamps, Ink products, Distressables, whatever your fancy!

And why should you do so??? Well, one lucky person will win a whole box full of Tim Holtz goodies which will include 3 Distress Ink Pads, 3 Adirondack Acrylic Dabbers, 3 bottles of Alcohol Ink, 2 jars of Distress Embossing Powders, 2 jars of Distress Crackle Paints, an assortment of Grunge Board, a few Fragments as well as some of Tim's newest line of Hardware/Embellishments! The best (if I do say so myself) prize of the whole Ink Stains 6 Month Anniversary week!!

You will have until June 7th to post your favorite Tim Holtz product and get entered for your chance to win!!