Another tag, this time for the Created Byhand Summer challenge. I'm also submitting for the Ranger Yahoo group's monthly challenge.
My original inspiration for my Tag Tuesday tag was this fantastic window die cut from RockCandy Studios. It started out a pearlized white color. I sanded it and then inked it with brushed corduroy Distress ink. At that point I was going to head in one direction and then the song Killer Queen by Queen came on the radio - there was a bit of lyric that came floating over to me, "'Let them eat cake' she says, Just like Marie Antoinette." I was like - aha! How perfect.
Ok, something a bit more conventional for this week's Created Byhand French theme. This time I did use more scraps, but no oversized pointing hands or anything, lol!
I built this collage on top of a piece of torn cardboard. Most of the paper elements are held in place with beeswax. I wasn't sure what would happen when I put the beeswax over the image of the woman, but I like what it did. Makes her look a bit ghostly.
I think all this Mississippi heat has gotten to me and I've gone a little crazy. The evidence is above. I originally set out to make a tag for the Tag Tuesday challenge using nothing but scraps from my scrap can. That's where I put all my bits and pieces that are too good to throw away, but not big enough to put back (ha, like I ever put anything away!). When I was arranging all the pieces it somehow occurred to me that the clock should have a head and probably hands and of course, some legs and ladies boots. Of course!
For this week's Gothic Arches Postcard theme. Stamps are from The Stampsmith's Passage to India plate.
Whew! I finally finished my charms for my stamp club charm swap - 19! This is the first time I've ever done a charm swap and I really enjoyed it. It took me awhile to come up with an idea, but once I did it was a lot of fun figuring out how it was all going to go together.
When they were done I thought they looked a bit like Tibetan Prayer Wheels. From Wikipedia:
I absolutely love how it came out. The photos just don't do it justice! The best part is that I had such a blast working on it. Everything in it is recycled or found - lots of junk drawer stuff in there. After lots of tinkering with alcohol ink and spray paint, the ugly orange of the bottle ended up looking just like tortoiseshell. I covered the white cap with scraps of metal from RockCandy Studios that I embossed and colored w/various inks.
Tag Tuesday's challenge was to use a mask in your tag. I have had this set of Tim Holtz masks for awhile, but hadn't used the barbed wire (bobwar to you country girls) mask yet - it seemed to be a perfect fit with the Cowgirl Blues stamps from Oxford Impressions. Since it's a Free for All at Created Byhand, I am submitting it for that too!
Mom and babies went out for a stroll this afternoon and I took a few quick pics of them. I can't believe they are only two weeks old - they look so grown up! It's fascinating to watch her teach them chicken stuff. Scratching, bugs, etc. So fun!
I had a hard time deciding what to do for today's Theme Thursday challenge, but once I did, I had so much fun! I started by using a Tattered Angels flourish mask and shimmer sprays to create a background on a vintage French book page. I used that as my inspiration for coloring my lady's dress. I had recently come across some vintage French postcards and this one ended up being the perfect element to layer with the other pieces.
Step One: Using your knife, lightly scrape across the surface of the chalk, covering your tag with a fine layer of chalk dust.
Step Two: Using your finger, work the chalk into the tag.
Step Three: Take the UHU Envelope Sealer and drag it down the length of the tag in several places. You want a few fairly light streaks - don't cover the whole thing.
Step Four: While the glue is still wet, scrape another color or two onto the tag.
Step Five: Again using your finger, start to blend the chalks together. You will notice that they adhere to the glue streaks, creating lots of texture.
Step Six: After you've blended your colors, take a baby wipe and lightly swipe it across your tag. This will further blend the colors. Be careful not to over-wet your tag. If you do, you can dry it with your heat gun and redo the glue and chalk steps.
Step Seven: When you are happy with the look of your tag, dry it with your heat gun or set aside to dry completely. The chalk should be fixed at this point, but if it isn't you can spray your tag with a fixative.
Finished product (make sure you click on the image to see the larger view)! Stamps are all from the By the Sea plate from Oxford Impressions. All elements were adhered using the UHU Purple Glue Stic - of course, what else would I use?!
This week's Created Byhand challenge is Father's Day. I made this card a month or so ago using the Drywall Stitching technique from the April/May issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. I used one of my favorite stamp sets from Oxford Impressions - Family Man. It's so hard to find good masculine stamps! I can't tell you how many times I've reached for this set. It is truly a must-have.
Front of card
Inside of Card
Another fantastic technique from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter. I was inspired by a tin sign that I bought awhile ago at Hobby Lobby. It has a vintage postcard background which I was going to try to replicate, but while looking for stamps I came across a crackle stamp from I Brake for Stamps and ended up heading it a totally different direction!
For Theme Thursday's People With Hats challenge I'm sharing a card I made for the latest Technique Junkie newsletter. It uses a technique called Double Bugging. I had made the background and couldn't decide how to use it - I spotted these wonderful stamps from Artistic Outpost and they were a perfect fit!
I tell you, I'm on a roll - two posts in two days! For this week's Wednesday Stamper I created a background using a combination of two different techniques from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter - Scrappy Spots and Stencil Stamping. These are both such cool techs!
Finally got around to doing a challenge card. I read that the theme over at Created Byhand was circles and I thought - ooh, what a perfect way to highlight a new Technique Junkies tech!