Saturday, November 30, 2013

Thanksgiving Tag Party

This is of course Thanksgiving week for Americans.  Always a nice time to get together, share a meal or two and in my house...make tags.  Each year, while the men watch football, the rest of us make tags for Christmas packages and neighbor gifts.  For obvious reasons, my house is always a good one to host this kind of party since I have all the supplies one would need.  We keep it simple with inks and rubber stamps.  Although this year I introduced a few die cuts to the group...gotta love the antlers!
I photographed a few of the tags we made in case you wanted to have your own Tag party.  New stamps mixed with old, Distress and Archival ink, finished off with Trimmings...all good things for making great simple tags.
On another note, since a lot of Tims stamps come in small versions, we found that you could make a very similar tag using a #5 size (instead of the #8) which are great for smaller packages, jar labels, or on gift bags.

Note: I used Distress Ink - Frayed Burlap on all tag edges

Stampers Anonymous - Seasons Silhouettes
Archival Ink - Vermillion, Library Green
Remnant Rubs - Christmas Time
Mirrored Star
Alcohol Ink - meadow and gold

Stampers Anonymous - Seasonal Catalog 1
Archival Ink - Vermillion
Sizzix Trophy Antlers Bigz Die
Remnant Rubs - Christmas Time
Trimmings - Red and Cream
Chit Chat stickers - seasonal

Stampers Anonymous - Christmas Time and Deco Christmas
Archival ink - Sap Green (my favorite green for backgrounds!), Black
Trimmings - red and cream

Stampers Anonymous - Seasonal Catalog 1
Archival Ink - Vermillion
Sizzix Trophy Antlers Bigz Die
Remnant Rubs - Christmas Time
Vial Labels
Trimmings - Red and Cream

Stampers Anonymous - Winter Sketchbook and Seasons Silhouettes
Archival Ink - Olive, Library Green, Vermillion
Distress ink - Frayed Burlap (background stamp)
Mirrored stars
Crinkle Ribbon
Distress Stain - Barn Door and Vintage Photo
This is the one picture I took that night of my best friend's daughters that were home for the holiday.  Becca tried Distress Markers for the first time and fell in love.  Rachel went the more traditional route and stuck with stamping.  Either way we all had a great time and we now have finished tags for wrapping presents. 
Happy Holidays...now carry on,
paula



Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Holly Bough Stencil take two

Another tag today using the new Holly Bough Stencil...I mean I couldn't stop at only one.  This time I'm using a #8 tag.
Color the tag with Festive Berries Distress Stain by adding the stain to a craft mat then spritzing some water onto the stain.
 Lay the tag into the mix for the initial coating.
 Then dry with a heat tool, going back into the stain numerous times to build up the layers of red.
 Pounce a little Distress Paint in Tarnished Brass onto the craft sheet.
Using the Blending tool and a foam pad, add the paint over the Holly Bough Stencil pattern.  Work quickly and wash the stencil immediately.




Lift stencil to reveal the golden holly...a very subtle glow.
A sentiment from the Deco Christmas set works great since it runs down the side of the tag leaving room to add more embellishment.
I painted a piece of Grungeboard in black, then used the Vagabond to cut the Victorian Carolers die. The die has a man and lady but I'm just using the man playing the violin today.
Add him to the tag.
 Then a Seasonal Word band tied with red and cream Trimmings.
 I added a small pieces of Wonder tape (1/8" wide) to his hat.
 Then sprinkled a very small amount of Distress Glitter over the Wonder Tape.
 I pressed it into the tape then dusted off the excess.
Hand cut a piece of holly then add a dot of Cranberry Dimensional Pearls for the berry.
Once dry, I added music from the Christmas Remnant Rubs.  Each package comes with a sheet of black and a sheet of white.  The white is perfect over the black paint surface.  A little Distress ink to knock back the white color just a bit, and we're done.



Well, it's back to working on cutting, mailing, planning, creating, gathering and garage sale shopping (all code for top secret CHA stuff).  Can't wait for the reveal in just a few short weeks.  I mean who knows what I will find on the side of the road this year?

carry on,
paula