12 Tags of 2014 - December

Happy Friday Everyone!  I'm here to post my final tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014!  I actually made all twelve tags for the first time EVER!!!

I really liked the tag that Tim created for this month.  I have the previously released Reindeer Flight die but not the new Prancing Deer.  I thought about using the older die and creating some antlers with the Branch Tree die but I decided to use the new Angelic die instead and I'm really glad I did!

Here's my tag...

 

I attempted Tim's method for the background on the tag but it didn't work out for me.  I don't have the distress stain sprays so I used Perfect Pearls for the metallic spray and it didn't mix well with the distress paint and my homemade Mini Mister spray stain.  The tag remained sticky after it had dried and it was a little brighter than I liked.  I'm sure there's a lesson on that somewhere in the Creative Chemistry 102 class!!  Although I've paid for the class I haven't watched any of the content so I found out the hard way!!  I went back to the drawing board and created the background by misting the tag with water and then swiping it through Faded Jeans and Brushed Pewter distress stains.

 

The rest of the tag was made based on Tim's tutorial.  I used the Starry Night embossing folder on the Frosted material.  The angel was painted with Antique Linen distress paint. I added Mustard Seed distress glitter to her wings for some extra bling. The trumpet was painted with a Ranger Adirondack Metallic Gold paint dabber. If I had it to do over I probably would have painted her wings with the gold paint instead of using the distress glitter. I sprinkled the rock candy distress glitter on using my thumb and index finger (similar to the way you'd add a pinch of salt to a recipe) since I don't have that type of tea infuser. Walnut distress ink was then used to tone everything down.  Originally I was going to use the word "Joy" on the tag because that's what this angel represents to me. But it didn't seem like enough so I chose "Peace on Earth" and added the Joyful muse token.

 

I'm totally impressed with myself for taking the time to do the actual sewing instead of stapling the Frosted to the background.  I think it's a first for me!  It only took two minutes since my sewing machine was already threaded with the right color of thread.  Had it not been I might not have done it!  It's also a little uneven because I was under the influence of pseudoephedrine for a sinus headache and my hands were shaky!

 

The Industrious Border sticker was in my possession thanks to Paula Cheney as it was in the Collection Folio class kit from her recent teaching trip to Whim So Doodle!  The Frosted material was graciously supplied to me by my good friend Sue. She shared part of the package she bought when we met to take Paula's classes. Thanks Sue!  Sometimes it takes a village to make a tag!

 

And there you have it!  The final tag for 2014!  This will probably be my last post for this year so I want to wish all of you Happy Holidays and may the New Year bring you joy, health and lots of love!

 

Thanks for stopping by!



Holiday Ornaments with Rubbermoon Arts





Happy Holidays to everyone!  I'm here today to share some cute ornaments that I made with some holiday images that I recently bought from RubberMoon Art Stamps!  Aren't they cute?!  I just love how they turned out!  Below I've shared how I made them.

 

 



I stamped the central images twice so that I could mount them with foam tape for dimension.  The images were colored with Distress markers and a water brush.  I also added stickles glitter accents to them.  The finished designs were mounted on a scalloped circle die cut (Papertrey Ink) measuring 3 1/4".  To complete the ornament I placed a couple of spoonfuls of iridescent artificial snow in the center of the assembled piece.  I used the two-piece plastic ornaments that you can buy in your local craft store.  I tapped the edge of one half of the plastic ornament into a clear and quick drying liquid glue.  I centered the plastic ornament on the scalloped circle and held it in place for a bit.  Then I let it sit undisturbed until the glue dries.  If you pick it up and shake it before the glue dries completely the iridescent snow will stick around the edge.  (I know this from experience!)  If you want that look then shake it gently and sit it back down until it dries completely.  I added a little die cut bow to the top of the ornament.  You could also add tinsel or ribbon around the edge.

 

So there you have it!  Really easy and fun to make!  Make sure you take the time to check out the great images available at RubberMoon Art Stamps!  And right now they have a section of retiring images that are on sale for 50% off!  I already placed and received my order, shown below, and can't wait to get them inky!!!

 

 

While you're there make sure you check out the RubberMoon Mail Club!  Each month you'll receive an exclusive stamp, sometimes along with some really cool extras, and will have access to a club Facebook page and monthly tutorials from Kristen Powers!  There's also a monthly ATC swap and periodic special offers on RubberMoon Art Stamps.  Kristen is very generous with the discounts she offers exclusively to club members!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! 

12 Tags of 2014 - November

Just popping in to post my November tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014.  I don't have the die/embossing folder combo that he used so I've been mulling over what and how I could do to make this tag.  Since month-end is looming I figured I better just get it done!  I decided to use the Tattered Leaves embossing folder and no die.

Here's how I did it!

I followed Tim's instructions up until the point where you have to die cut the corrugated cardboard.  At that point I matched my tag up with the tag-shaped corrugated cardboard and slipped in into the embossing folder.

I lined up the embossing folder image with my already embossed tag and then pulled out the tag leaving the cardboard in place.

I ran the folder through my big shot and embossed the design onto the cardboard.

Then I used an exacto knife to cut out the leaf shapes.

Done!

It doesn't quite match up perfectly but it's good enough for me!  At this point I followed the rest of Tim's steps.  I used a different walnut stain spray and bronze Perfect Pearls mist since I also don't have the distress stain sprays.  Here's the end result!

 

It's a great feeling to make do with what you have on hand.  I'm determined to make all 12 tags this year and I'm happy that I got this one made in time.  One more to go!!!

12 Tags of 2014- October

I love Halloween so I couldn't wait to have some crafty fun with this October tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014!  I don't have the Carved Halloween stamp set that Tim used so I used my favorite image from the new Halloween Blueprints 3 set.  I love any type of check, diamond or dot print so the black cat from this set is my favorite!

I first stamped and watercolored the cat image with the front half purple and the back half green.  After I finished I decided it would look better the opposite way so that is what you see here.  I had to put my spider on the other side of the tag because of the shape of the cat.  I don't have any of the new distress sprays so I created my own using the Distress reinkers and water in the Ranger Mini Mister bottles.  It worked great!  I'm sure the concentration might be different but that's the beauty of making your own distress sprays!  They can be as intense or subtle as you like!  I spritzed the tag with Perfect Pearls Bronze as a substitute for the bronze distress spray.

I used the Idea-ology Alpha Tiles to spell out "EEK".  The "monocle" that I used is actually an optical lens that I've had in my stash FOREVER!  It's larger than the Idea-ology monocles so I had to take remove the hinge clasp from the Idea-ology watch chain to shorten it so that the monocle wouldn't cover the spider!  I noticed that the picket fence distress paint was rubbing off the backside of the monocle after it dried so I coated it with a thin layer of Ranger glossy accents.  That seemed to do the trick and seal it from rubbing off any further.

Love this tag!  And, as usual, I made a second one to share!

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you'll take the time to play along and make a tag as well!

12 Tags of 2014 - September

Popping in to quickly post my September tag for Tim's 12 Tags of 2014!  I had other ideas for applying his technique but since I waited until the last day to do this I had to go with copying his tag.  I LOVED his tag and would have made at least one just like it, anyway, in addition to my other idea.  Anyhoo, as usual I made two so I have one to give away.

I used Willow alcohol ink on my background because I didn't have Lake Mist.  It was a little dark so I put some alcohol blending solution on a piece of felt and wiped it across the surface of the glossy paper and that took off some of the color leaving me with a lighter background.  I used the Botanical Remnant Rubs that Tim used on one of my tags and Life Quotes on the other.  I probably should have more butterflies on each tag but in my haste I made two tags and only one strip of colored paper so I had to spread them out!!  I didn't apply them in the rainbow pattern but added them randomly.  All-in-all it's still a very pretty tag and I loved getting out those alcohol inks!

Also, a big shout of thanks to Cheiron over at Cheiron's Crafty Life!  She held a giveaway back in July and I was the lucky winner of the Daydream stamp set used on this tag!!  Be sure to visit her blog.  She designs for Hero Arts and the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog and her work is fabulous!!

Thanks for stopping by!

Frilly and Funkie - From the Heart

Hi Everyone!  Today I am guest designer over at the Frilly and Funkie blog!  I'm so excited to be part of this challenge and I'm honored to be showcasing my work along with all of the other super-talented Frilly and Funkie design team members!

Trace is our host for this fortnight and the theme is From the Heart.  Make a vintage project to have hearts as the focal image.  You can make a dimensional piece or a card or tag with hearts as the focus.  Well, I don't know about all of you but I got tons of inspiration from the Hip to be Square challenge that Frilly and Funkie recently held!  So I used an artist trading box, or ATB, to create this photo display!

 

And here's a view of the other side... 

The ATB is covered with a sheet from the Tim Holtz Wallflower paper stash.  I distressed the edges of the covered box with Walnut Stain DI.  I decorated each of the four sides with hearts cut from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Love Struck die.  Each heart demonstrates a different surface technique from the Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities books, Volumes II and III.

This first heart is Painted Industrial from Volume III...

 

 

This heart is Colored Crackle also from Volume III... 



 

 

This heart is Texture Trade Techniques from Volume II.  I cheated a little bit on this one because I still hoard have a lot of the old textured grungeboard!  I used that instead of first adding texture with an embossing folder!...

 

This heart is Distress Glitter from Volume III... 



 

I added some burlap behind each heart, for texture, and then cut and stamped the mini Tattered Banners.

 

The frame was cut from grungeboard using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Ornate Frame die.  The finish on the frame is also the Colored Crackle technique.  The hinge clip at the top holds the two frames together and allows for the photos to be changed.   Instead of two photos you could also put a photo on one side and a stamped sentiment on the other side. A chalkboard-style sentiment would look really nice!  I may have to try that!

 



And there you have it!  I really appreciate the opportunity to play along with Frilly and Funkie on this challenge.  I hope that you'll find the inspiration to create your own From the Heart art piece and enter it in the challenge.  Who knows, maybe YOU will be the guest designer next time!

I've listed below all of the supplies that I used to create my piece.  These can all be found in Linda's shop, The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

Thanks for stopping by!

Eileen Hull Sizzix ScoreBoards XL Die - Blocks/Cubes, 3-D	Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Ornate Frame Bigz Die	Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Love Struck BIGZ Die	Sizzix Alterations Decorative Strip Tim Holtz Tattered Banners Die	Tim Holtz Sixxiz Texture Fades - Springtime Background and Borders
$23.95 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Hashtags	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Mustard Seed	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Peeled Paint	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Fired Brick	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Paint - Antique Linen
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain - Aged Mahogany	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Walnut Stain	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Black Soot	Tim Holtz Distress Glitter Mustard Seed	Ranger Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy 4 oz size
Ranger Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy	Ranger Inkssentials Manila Card Stock 8.5x11	Ranger Surfaces Silver Foil Cardstock: 8.5" x 11", Pack of 3	Ranger Inkssentials Foil Tape Sheets 4.25x5.5"	Ranger Inkssentials Foil Tape Sheets 6x12"
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Grungeboard Basics Plain	Ranger Inkssentials Mini Ink Blending Tool - With 4 Blending Foams	Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Foam	Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool-With 2 Blending Foams	Tim Holtz Ranger Idea-ology Sanding Grip
Tim Holtz idea-ology Refill Pack for Sanding Grip (4 sheets)	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Stash Wildflower	Ranger Inkssentials Non-Stick Craft Sheet	Ranger Inkssentials Mister Bottle	Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Accents
Ranger Multi Medium Matte 4 oz.	Ranger Multi Medium Matte 1 oz.	Ranger Multi Medium Matte 1/2 oz.	Corner Filigree Metal Pieces	Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black Pad #3
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Heart Charms	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hinge Clips	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Long Fasteners	Natural Jute Mesh (Burlap)	Ranger Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities Vol. III
Ranger Tim Holtz Compendium of Curiosities Vol. II