Month: November 2010

Super fancy looking tags are one of my personal favorites. While you have to be patient for some layers to dry, it’s not hard and it can be a whole lot of fun. Today I thought I’d share a special tag I made (will top a gift) for someone. I started with one of the large Ranger no.8 tags (link), a Stampers Anonymous angel collage stamp, and some distress ink.

I stamped both colors (randomly) all over the image and stamped…

Then I edged with pink – and I rubbed pink around all over just a bit… it’s a very soft color so it is subtle.

Apply glossy accents over any area you do NOT want to be covered/altered/changed from now on. It will create a glossy surface that I will be able to wipe inks off of so my angel will stand out more. Let dry totally before moving on. (At this point I moved on to other projects, setting tag aside for “another day”…

I wanted more glossy surfaces, so I stamped a (Stampers Anon) Tim Holtz flourish stamp and embossed with clear UTEE. Once done, I could stamp and ink to fill in some of that tag…

I both rubbed the stamp pad (see how it doesn’t stick to my angel where covered?) and stamped the “fly” stamp (CatsLife Press) all over. Then I sprayed my Mister Huey’s (Studio Calico) in cream a few times…

Then I took out my trusty Dazzling Diamonds glimmer mist (Tattered Angels) and sprayed a few times…

This is a lot of steps I suppose – but you can see how easy it is. Just keep adding layers and color! At this point I decided to coat the tag (other than the already glossy areas) with Rock Candy Distress Crackle paint…

Once dry I rubbed (and wiped off excess) my Forest Moss distress ink pad all over. You can see how it seeped into the cracks, and also into any areas that were not covered by crackle paint, embossing powder, or glossy accents…

At this point I wanted to seal in everything to make it a durable tag- potentially to be re-used or as a bookmark or whatever… so I applied UTEE (ultra thick embossing enamel) over the ENTIRE tag. I also flicked silver German glass glitter around (just a bit), and when melter the UTEE will become the ‘adhesive’ holding those glitter flakes on. To reduce the fly-aways, I used heating tool from underside of tag vs above.

above you can see the tag half heated/half still powder. this created a great protective coating, but also made the tag kind of curved so once done (and cool) I placed it under a few books for the night. Now it’s totally straight, and ready to gift!!

I used a silver leafing pen around the edges (just because) after I was all done, and the photos dont’ do it justice (the glossy finish makes it hard to capture) but you really can see all those layers in person. It looks way more complicated than it really was. Gotta love that!

Happy Crafting…  

PS – Love tags? Want loads more crazy inspiring stuff? Check out Tim’s Christmas tags. Do not miss  www.timholtz.typepad.com for the 12 days. Seriously inspiring stuff over there in his annual 12 tags event. Here’s his ‘preview’ video… it all starts at Midnight…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMRVT7leRRg]

First I have some winners to announce email me mflaum@ comcast. net to claim your prize…  

fun mail give-away: Julie Luna and necklace (Ella blog hop) winner is: Cassie K

In new news… Ella’s got a new book…

Inspiration on the Double!
Are you a double-page diva or a single-layout scrapbooker, or perhaps both? No matter your preference, Double-Page Design is here to help you scrapbook lots and lots of photos with ease. It’s got the ideas, insights, and inspiration you need to double up your pages in style.  And it’s only $5.99!

Get inspired by 37 versatile two-page designs, all created by the talented crew at Write.Click.Scrapbook., as you scrapbook anywhere from 5 to 13 photos per project. In all, you could get 187 photos scrapbooked simply by following these designers’ leads.

Includes plenty of ideas for 12 x 12 and 8½ x 11 scrapbookers alike–and traditional or digital scrapbookers, too. A great solution for end-of-the year catch-up scrapbooking!

Sounds like fun – and so far as I’ve flipped through this one it IS! Loads of pages, ideas… who wouldn’t want this? I have a copy to give away… if you’d like to WIN this e-book just leave a comment here.

I’ll be sharing 10 projects that I’m gifting this Christmas… from home decor to creative wrapping and everything in between… I hope you enjoy.  Here’s the first one.

 

idea: Friend I think could use a “pick me up”… want to give little Starbucks gift card to.

So I made a card (6″ x 5″ when folded) with kraft cardstock, used this felt Dear Lizzy (American Crafts) embellishment, and was on my way.

A bit of stitching, some random letters, some glimmer glam painted on… oh and who doesn’t love to have some sequin goodies.

What I love about this time of year is that it does not all have to be on one day. You can spread it out. Share the happy. Make merry. Cheer someone right up. Why not?

A quick card, a fun way to add homemade to a gift card, and hopefully a welcome gift to the person I’ve sent it off to…

Jumping back into blogging after a long weekend “tra la la” without mentioning a family death doesn’t feel right, but at the same time I want to respect the privacy and feelings of the immediate family. So I will just say that a relative of mine, just over a year after being diagnosed with cancer, passed away this weekend. He will not be forgotten, and he will be fondly remembered always. It goes without saying, this weekend was bittersweet.

I do though, so very much want to share some of the creative, good, and happy from our family adventures over the last few days. We don’t do Thanksgiving here usually – but we hosted this year and Jason’s family all came up. Since I didn’t have any Thanksgiving/Harvest table stuff I got creative…

I cut (with pinking shears) and stitched some fabric + burlap together to make my own table runner. WHY I have yards of burlap is beyond me. But good thing that I did – it saved me money and made a cool table look if you asked me. I also used my brand new Tim Holtz leaf die cuts + 80’s Harlequin Romance novel (used, $0.25 picked up just to cut up) + a few sprays of color wash to make decorative leaves.

The really fun part? Towards the end of the meal when people looked closely at the leaves and a few found love scenes. We all laughed so hard!!

I made Ina Garten’s spinach gratin for the first time… AWESOME. Here’s a link to the recipe.

Other weekend (happy) happenings? Took the girls to see Tangled (loved), had friends over for pulled pork dinner + watched the Expendables (laughed SO HARD…), worked on decorations, had some creative work time.

I hope that you had a weekend full of giving thanks, gratitude, and laughter.

I’m filling a special envelope for one of you… An awesome chocolate bar, girls’ paperie yumminess, kaiser craft delights… And instead of packing it with tissue I’m likely to add ribbon and more…

Want it? Just leave a comment here…