Tag Tuesday - Fabric, Wednesday Stamper - Music, Plus a Tut!

Back when I first used my Faux Tarnished Metal technique, I promised that I would post a tutorial, and I've finally gotten around to doing it! My ATT friend, Mary-Beth, graciously offered to send me some birdcage and bird die cuts so I could recreate the metal cage. Thanks so much Mary-Beth! :-) Here we go:

Supplies: Versamark watermark ink pad; brown (not pictured), bronze/copper, black acrylic paint; Ranger silver embossing powder; Ranger Ultra Thick embossing powder; birdcage or other die; heat gun; sponge or sponge brush. Tip: the plastic from an Idea-ology package makes a great palette!

Step 1: Paint birdcage with a combination of brown and copper acrylic paint. This color will peek through your melted embossing powder in the end.

Step 2: Cover entire die cut with Versamark, or other clear pigment ink.

Step 3: Cover entire piece in silver embossing powder. Tap off excess.

Step 4: Emboss using a heat gun. Let cool.

 Step 5: Reapply Versamark, covering silver embossing. It's ok to leave some un-inked areas, if you like.

Step 6: Cover with Ultra Thick embossing powder. Tap off excess.

Step 7: Emboss UTEE using heat gun. You'll notice the UTEE causes the silver embossing powder to dissipate, creating little 'windows' through to the base color. Very cool!! At this point, you can decide if you want more silver, more UTEE, etc. I added another layer of silver and another layer of UTEE, proceeding as shown above.

 

This is my piece after I was done with embossing. Don't you love the way the silver embossing is broken up? It's really starting to look like tarnished metal!

Step 8: Using a cosmetic sponge or sponge brush (one of Tim's Dabbers would be great for this!) cover the entire piece with black acrylic paint. Be generous.

Step 9: Wipe paint from birdcage using a tissue or paper towel. You can leave on as little or as much paint as you like. If it dries too soon, dampen your tissue and re-wipe.

Finished!!

My tag background was a second generation Antiqued Glimmers (Technique Junkie Newsletter) 'swipe' after making my tag for Day 1 of Tim's Christmas tags. I spotted it on my work table and decided it would be perfect with the bird cage. My bird was stamped with a flourish from one of Tim's clear stamp sets, and then clear embossed. I sponged Faded Jeans and Bundled Sage over the top. Love that technique!

To give some contrast to the tag, I added a scrap of music from an old hymnal. Since the Wednesday Stamper theme was 'Music', it works perfectly for that challenge. I used Elmer's large glue dots raise the birdcage slightly, to give some dimension, and the thin glue dots hold the bird securely.

To fit the 'A Bit of Fabric' theme over at Tag Tuesday, I created a fabric flower using a technique my friend Debi Vincent taught at our stamp club. It's so cool! Maybe I'll see if she minds me posting a tut for that one of these days. Finally, I edged both the tag and bird with some of Martha's glitter and then mounted it to a French text covered wood block, just like I did for all my Christmas tags. The stamps I used are all from Tim Holtz. Whew!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and try it for yourself. There are lots of different ways this could be used, and endless variations and combinations you could try. I would really appreciate you crediting me with the technique if you post it anywhere. :-)

**Be sure and click on any image to see a large version and more detail.