A Tim Holtz Weekend in Roswell!

Hello, gang!  No card today, but I do have some fab photos to share with you from the Tim Holtz Extravaganza held at Imagine That!, a fabulous scrapbooking store in Roswell, NM.

Thursday a group of us craftin' gals jumped in the car and headed to Roswell to take 4 classes with our idol, the one and only Tim Holtz.  Please, do not tell me that you do not know who he is, because I will reach through this computer screen and thump you on the noggin.  In the rare case that you have been living under a rock, here is a link to his blog and his art.  

Tim has literally changed the face of paper and mixed media crafting as we know it with the development of his products and his "grunge" style.  I remember, 10 or 12 years ago, taking a class on creating aged paper and it took an armful of products used over the course of 3 hours to achieve the desired results.  Literally 10 steps to go from plain white paper to a lovely vintage hue.  I loved the results, but dang, there was no way I was going to spend that much time repeating this process.  A few years later, Distress Inks by Tim Holtz shows up on the shelves of my LSS and voila!  Instant aged paper in mere minutes!  And that was just the beginning!  Over the subsequent years, he has given us a myriad of products that have multiple uses and taken our art to whole new level. 

Not only is Tim Holtz a genius at product development and an insanely talented artist, but he and Mario are two of the nicest people you could ever hope to meet.  Down to earth and very humble, by the end of the class, I felt as though I had known him for years and he was my friend.  I have taken a number of classes in the past with some lofty names in the craft industry, but never has anyone made me feel so comfortable and welcomed.  He had no qualms about jumping in and getting inky with us.  This only made our motley crew crush even harder on him...lol!

Let's talk about the projects.  They were amazing!  When I spied these lovely creations, I thought "there is no way I'm going to be able to make these".  But with the incredible kits that he, Mario, and Michelle had prepared for us and Tim's easy, laid back instructions, we were well on our way to creating our versions of  his wonderful art pieces.  Now, let's talk about the kits....one word....I don't even know if it's technically a word or more of an exclamation, but nothing else adequately describes them as "WOW"!  They were carefully packaged by hand, featuring a high-quality color copy of the project, a typed account of the instructions, bags of embellishments, pages of grungeboard letters, and several pieces of vintage ephemera direct from Tim's personal stash!  We were in heaven as there were more than enough pieces to complete our projects and lots of leftovers to use on others!

Tim also shared his personal crafting philosophies with us and it really helped pull our heads out of the box we tend to limit ourselves to when we create.  He said that when he hits a wall and doesn't like the way something is turning out, he literally tells himself to "get over yourself" (words that Mario shared with him years ago) and steps away for a moment.  Usually when he returns to take a look at what he's been working on, he's often surprised and is able to see his work with fresh eyes.  The project that only a short time earlier was causing him heartburn turns into something he can be quite proud of.  Sounds good, Tim, but what about us?  We're mere mortals.  We were able to put this advise into action as we broke for lunch and some of us left feeling "meh" over the results of our first project.  Upon returning and gazing down upon our creation, there was a resounding, "Dang!  I made that?  That's really good!"  He was totally right!

Okay, I have yammered on for a good long while now.  How about some photos?      

Mom is obviously surprised at the bountiful project kits each of us has been given.

Shay and Mom sorting through their goodies.

Margot and her lovely sisters.

The man himself!

Tim's project samples.

Tim's project samples.

Tim's project samples.

The Mayor of Roswell awarding Tim a Key to the City.  

Despite the photo, mom is thoroughly enjoying the attention from Tim.

Tim gives Sue a hand.

Graciously signing everything we put in front of him.

A classroom of extremely happy crafters. 

Rochelle and Cindy ready to get started.

Shay hamming it up with Tim.

Shay and I posing with Mario.  

Me and Tim.  Who's that green guy in the background horning in on my photo op?

Mom and Tim (and the Green Guy).

Tim graciously signed anything we put in front of him, posed for pictures with us, shared stories, and kept smiling and laughing throughout 2 intense project filled days.  He was easily at the store 12 - 14 hours each day and must have been getting tired, but you would never have known that.  What a guy!

It was an amazing weekend!  Two glorious days of techniques, and time spent with a crafting Rock Star!  It doesn't get any better than that!  If you ever have an opportunity to take a class with Tim Holtz...DO IT!  It will be unlike any other classroom experience you have ever had!  

Signing off ;D  Stay crafty!