Tim's Tag - Day 6

Yesterday, I spent the day down near Tupelo getting firewood w/my man, so I couldn't work on my tag - ack! I did get to go to Hobby Lobby though, where I was pretty excited to find the mini garland that Tim used on this tag. I also found some very cute holly garland as well. Even better, everything was 50% off, so I got a lifetime supply for a buck!

I had just a few deviations from Tim's tag today - the biggest was my tree and I was so thrilled to see that it worked! I did a variation of the Faux Embossing Folders technique from the latest issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. Instead of using a punched shape, I used one of the masks from Tattered Angels - you know, the ones we all bought and then never used. ;-) After I'd embossed it, I inked up the mask and then used it like a stamp to color the tree. It ended up giving it a speckled look, which I think looks so cool!

I couldn't get the right shade of blue for my background, plus, I'd really fallen in love with the way Stephen did his Day 4 tag. So, I decided to keep mine a nice, neutral brown shade. I think it really makes my reindeer stand out. For my reindeer, I used a clip art image that I Googled. I first painted him w/a dabber that I thought was the same one Tim used, but ended up being way darker, so I added a lighter blue over the top. When I sanded it, the original blue kind of peeked through. I liked that look so I left it that way. BTW, an emery board works great to sand those hard to reach spots!

The Peace stamp is from Oxford Impressions. I stamped it onto a scrap from a vintage ledger and then attached it to a ticket. I trimmed it and inked the edges and attached it with Tim's baby stapler. Instead of tissue tape, I pleated a strip of paper from a French book. The music background and snowflake are both from Oxford Impressions.

Now, I'm off to see if I can get caught up and finish today's tag!

Tim's Tag - Day 5

Today's tag from Tim is absolutely my most favorite - ever! The faux enameled numbers are worth the price of admission alone. Did I have any of the stuff he used? Almost nothing. Did I let that stop me? Hellz to the no!

The biggest challenge was the metal numbers he used - they are totally the star of this tag and I really wanted this look, but didn't have any. Thankfully, I have great friends who share their stuff! My friend, Ronnie, brought a bunch of metal sheets to stamp club a few months ago. They'd been used in printing presses (?) or something like that. Anyway, I have a bunch and figured I could use them to make my own numbers. I found a similar font, printed it out, and adhered it to the metal. Using sharp scissors, I cut out the numbers, trying hard to keep a nice edge. A little burnishing on the back side and I had something that looked pretty darn close to the original, for free! Thanks, Ronnie - you rock!

I didn't have white UTEE, but I had clear and regular white ep, so I combined them and embossed. I had to add quite a few layers of white to get the final look, but I am totally thrilled with how it came out. My flower was made with the same metal as the numbers. I had to stomp on the punch a little, but it worked!

The other thing I didn't have was green Distress Stickles. I ended up doing a multi-step method to get the final look. First, I tried using some of Martha's glitter, tinting it with Distress ink after it was dry. It was ok, but not really green enough. Next, I added some Adirondack green ep. Definitely made it a bit greener, but it still didn't pop. Finally, I added some Linen Distress Stickles. Perfect!

Oh, one more tip. I'm not sure if this was a tip from Tim or where I heard it, but, if you have the Picket Fence crackle paint, you can ink it with any color. So, if you don't have green crackle paint, don't despair! I painted my Grungeboard with white and, when it was dry, inked the heck out of it with various green distress inks.

Finally, I have to mention the awesome stamps I used. Is that not the BEST Santa stamp ever??? It's from Artistic Outpost's Snowy Woods collection. The holly and sentiment are both from AO's Sleigh Ride collection. Go buy them!

We're almost halfway through the 12 Tags of Christmas....my house is a mess, my studio looks like a bomb went off, and I'm not sure if I've changed my clothes or showered lately. But, I'm having SO MUCH FUN!! :-)

Tim's Tag - Day 4

Today's tag was really a difficult one for me - if you didn't have the stuff he used, it was very hard to improvise. So, I didn't. I kind of followed the general direction he sent us in and did my own thing. That's what it's about, right? Otherwise we're just mimicking his work versus finding our own voice.

My biggest issue is that, well, I hate alcohol inks. And they feel the same way about me. I can never get the smooth look, like on Tim's crystal. Mine is always splotchy and the more I try to fix it, the worse it gets. After a bunch of tries, I ended up taking red Stazon and sponging it very lightly onto a Fragment. The sentiment (from Artistic Outpost) was stamped on a scrap of cardstock and glued to the Fragment. I wrapped the piece in silver tape to give it a soldered look.

My background was created by accident. I sponged blue ink onto my tag, but the yellow in the tag made the whole thing turn kind of green. To fix it, I scraped white acrylic paint all over the tag and then added more ink. I did this until the whole tag was covered and looked right to me. When I was done, I stamped the snowflake with Faded Jeans Distress ink.

My absolute favorite part of this is the little angel stamp. She's just been re-released by Oxford Impressions and I think she is one of my all-time favorites! She's stamped on glossy cardstock with black Archival ink, and then colored with Distress inks and a water pen.

To finish off my tag I sponged white acrylic paint over the Hope ticket to soften it, and attached it with a swirly silver clip (the other half of the clip is the attachment for the Fragment). The gorgeous ribbon is from Artistic Outpost - the pink actually matches IRL, don't know why it looks so different in the pic!

Tim's Tag - Day 3

Day Three, and Tim has shared yet another gorgeous tag, loaded with lots of fun and creative techniques!  Mine is, of course, loaded with lots of substitutions and an extra technique. For the most part I created my tag following Tim's guidelines. Here are my substitutions:

• I created my own tissue tape (not worth the hassle! buy it!) by first stamping white tissue paper with a music stamp and then running it thru my Xyron. Then, cut into strips and apply randomly.
• I didn't have Rock Candy Stickles, so I made my own icy glitter using Glossy Accents and some craft store chunky clear glitter.
• My bottom ruffle was created using crepe paper streamers that are gathered and stitched to the tag.
• The 'button' on my flower was made by inking an upholstery tack with Versamark and then embossing with silver ep. While it was hot, I dipped it into some of Martha's silver glitter. Love this!

Speaking of my flower - I absolutely love Tim's tissue tape flower, but I couldn't resist trying out the Acetate Flowers technique from the latest issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. It's very cool! The flowers were all cut using Tim's Tattered Florals die. All the stamps I used (except for the music) are from I Brake for Stamps. 

Ooops! I just realized I forgot the bird's wing! It is a flightless bird...

Tim's Tag - Day 2

Another tag, another day of improvisation! Today's tag from Tim is really cool, unfortunately I didn't have a lot of what made it so great. I do have a lot of stamps and ink, though, and that's about all you really need!

The stamps I used are all from various Oxford Impressions stamp collections - I'm very lucky to own so many because they are truly some of the best stamps out there. No Cut 'n Dry felt here, so I just carefully inked the holly leaves and then added the color to the berries by smooshing fired brick and barn red ink pads on an acrylic block and then dabbing the ink on with a brush. I used the same method with the Scrabble tiles and it worked like a charm!

The 'metal' bird was created by embossing a bird with silver ink, and then sponging black ink over the whole thing and wiping it off. Definitely not as cool as a real metal one, but it works in a pinch! I created my own baubles using some pearl beads and other bits I had lying around. I got the cream ribbon out to dye and then fell in love with the softness of it, so decided to just leave it as is. I think it gives the tag a more feminine look, which I really love.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

Another fun year of Tim's Tags!

Ok, let me tell you a little secret - sometimes when you take a break from blogging/creating, you get out of the habit. Other things start filling the void that is left and suddenly you wonder how you can find the time to sit down and make something. At some point, you pry open the door to your studio and, as a gust of stale air whooshes out, you glance at your desk and notice the last thing you were working on was for Halloween - and it's over a month later!

Thankfully, Tim's Tags have come along to save me. I love seeing what he comes up with, but even more, I love the challenge of trying to recreate them with materials I have on hand. The first tag was particularly difficult since I had ABSOLUTELY nothing that he used, other than the Picket Fence crackle paint.

I had also been thinking about a new way to display my tags. I came up with the idea of mounting them on a block of wood - my kind hubby cut one out for me last night to try out (I drilled the hole tho!) and I love how it looks.  I had nothing like the house die Tim used, so I substituted this beautiful door stamp from Artistic Outpost's Snowy Woods collection. I remembered the wonderful coloring that Cathy Edgar did w/this stamp and tried to recreate that look. Of course, she is a master with Copic markers and I have none! Instead, I colored the image using a water pen and Distress inks. 

The picket fence is a wood one I bought ages ago. To finish my tag, I added some rusty jingle bells and a bit of glitter snow, and created a holder for my tag using a piece of wire. I love how it came out!

Here's to hoping this is just the inspiration I needed to get back in the saddle. :-)