Tim's Tag, Day 3 - It Worked!

One thing about experimenting (which I do a LOT); you never really know what the outcome will be. You hope for the best, but, until you actually do it, it's a crapshoot! That's why it's so exciting when something works out exactly the way you thought it would.

I totally loved Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas tag today. Unfortunately, I am a bit impaired when it comes to the whole Cut 'n Dry technique and I don't have the foam either, so there's also that obstacle. I originally thought of using Adirondack Paint Dabbers and then I remembered my Distress Stains. Yes! I used them on a similar project a few months ago (you can see a little tutorial here) and I loved the look. I crossed my fingers and started inking.....

First, lay out your tags and arrange your Distress Stains. I used Fired Brick, Barn Door, Peeled Paint, Faded Jeans, Broken China, Brushed Corduroy, and  Forest Moss. Beginning at the top, ink each word with the desired color. Work fairly quickly, but you don't need to rush. If you get a little ink on another word, just wipe it off with your finger.

Once the whole stamp has been inked, spritz it lightly with water. This will insure that all of your ink is moist. If you wet it too much, you'll have more of a watercolor effect (which might be very cool!).

WOW! I was shocked when I saw how clear the images were. I really thought that they might be washed out or watery looking. Instead, they are vibrant and beautiful!

I didn't have the Perfect Pearls mist, so I mixed up my own by adding a scoop of white Perfect Pearls and a scoop of gold to a water-filled Mini Mister. I love the shimmery look it gives the tag! This is a pic of both of the tags, one sprayed and one not - you can really see the difference.

Yesterday, I had a fun shopping spree at Hobby Lobby with my friends. I found so much cool stuff! One thing I was on the hunt for was some smaller pearls to make into acorns. I found the perfect size and was dying to use them. I was dying to dye them! Hahahaha! Anyway...I thought a olive-y green color would look fantastic with this tag.

This isn't exactly an exciting tutorial pic, but I did want to show how I dyed my pearls. I just squirted a little Lettuce and Meadow Adirondack Alcohol ink into a baggie and rolled the pearls around in it. They come out beautifully dyed!

Tim's idea for stamping this tag seriously blew me away - how does he even come up with that stuff?? The whole tag criss-crossing thing? I guess that's why he's famous or something. ;-) I finished mine with most of the same products he used: the background stamp is from his Seasonal Silhouettes set, and I jumped at the chance to use more Kraft Core'dinations. The rusty snowflake is one of my HobBlob (short for Hobby Lobby - I just read that on another blog and it cracked me up) treasures. I was really wishing I had the coordinating Texture Fade, but I just ordered it and it hasn't come yet. :(

Don't forget to check out the challenge on the Inspiration Journal blog. Your participation could win you a $25 or even $50 gift certificate to the Inspiration Emporium store! Don't forget, you can save 10% off your order when you use my coupon code - stamptramp.

Have a great day!