Tim Holtz… I want to learn

[Laurie]

Hi my Friends!

I have seen so many cards with stamps and die cuts that look like they have been colored or painted. I want to learn to do that. Where should I go to get started and what supplies do I need?

Thanks

[nchoney]

Not sure what kinds of things you're referring to. If you're talking about the Tim Holtz Colorize line of designs, those are die sets with layers of diecuts that you glue together... like these examples:

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if you search on Youtube for Tim Holtz Colorize, you'll find the instruction videos for putting them together.

[Keitha]

That's a loaded question Laurie, and you could go in a bunch of different directions. As Debi said, paper piecing with Tim's colorize dies is one way; you can start with either coloured cardstock or colour your own cardstock first. You specifically mention Tim so I'm guessing you've been inspired by something on one of his sites; his design team are very good at posting how-to's on their blogs for their makes. As for stamps, many are outline images coloured with Copic markers and that's not my thing, although I do know you want several shades of the same colour to achieve the blending you see. Copics are an investment, if that's the look you're going for. If you have outline images you can also do a loose watercolour effect; if you heat emboss the stamped image that helps to keep the watercolour from spreading to other sections. I like the organic look you get by colouring your own papers which can be done with paint, watercolour paint, ink, pigment powder, etc. I'd suggest starting with whatever colouring medium you might have on hand. If you have dye ink pads, you can smoosh some on a craft mat and dilute it a bit with water, then either paint with it or simply drag your cardstock through it. It helps to dry the cardstock in between layers, and remember your basic color theory - if you mix opposite colours (i.e. orange and blue) you'll get a muddy colour. Then once your cardstock is coloured, diecut or even freehand cut your shapes.
Tim has lots of technique videos on his YouTube channel, or search for YT videos of the people who's cards you like. Or scroll down the list of videos by popular cardmakers like Jennifer McGuire, or check out the ones by Simon Says Stamp.

[mpizzazz]

Wow, Keitha has covered a lot of the coloring options!

Laurie, Could you post an example of what you would like to do?

[Laurie]

These are some I found on Pinterest that I thought was so pretty.

[Laurie]

Here’s another one.

[Monica]

Laurre, those look like samples his Makers have done. If you go to timholtz.com you can find links to his makers and check them out. They tend to use Distress products for coloring. And Tim has some really great tutorials on his blog and YouTube channel.