Texture fades and distress: Grungy Monday

Monday April 18, the very same day that Linda announced the newest StudioL3 Grungy Monday technique, I dutifully trotted right over to watch Tim Holtz's technique video.

And procrastinated about doing my own Grungy project until roughly two hours ago.

Why? I guess I couldn't decide what to do. I mean, our Mr. Holtz calls for us to use a Texture Fades folder and Distress ink.

Do you know how open that is? How many colors there are? Several dozen, right? How many folders? Several dozen again. Just look around Tim's blog! There are millions of options!

As of last night I had still not made any decisions, and I don't even own half of the available colors or folders.

Today I finally decided that it was again time to beg My Guy for help: I dropped my pile of about a dozen texture fades folders into his lap, explained the overall technique and said, "Choose a folder."

He asked, "What's your theme?" To which I responded "Choose a folder and then I'll know."

Unbelievably, that's all it took: Fixing my attention on the one starting option, the one folder he chose, got me creating.

I used four Distress ink colors on the embossing folder and a vintage-look Tequila Sunrise recipe from the DezinaWorld ephemera collage sheet for a centerpiece image.

The scrolly-leaf embellishments and oranges are made from grungeboard bits with a few orange leaves cut from metal. Those are colored with Bic permanent markers and alcohol ink.

My Guy has decided that this piece looks "classy" and should be hung, in a frame, above our bar.

Unfortunately his decision has left me pondering: Why is the first time he's called one of my creations "classy?" What does that say about my other pieces? Were they the opposite of classy? Were they tacky?

And, more importantly: Do I care? Not really. He's got some scrap metal and a torch. He can make his own art!

So, I'm sure most of you finished your classy Grungy Monday piece six days ago. Those of you who are even tardier than me: Find a friend, roommate or lover to choose a folder for you and then get your fingers inky!