12 Tags of 2013: December

I'm done December's tag!!!  I have to admit this was pretty challenging for me.  I didn't have a poinsettia die or a die that I thought would work sufficiently for the task at hand.  So, I hit the stores today looking for something, anything, that I could make work for this technique.  I found the frosted film with no problem.  But no where could I find the Alterations dies or the clearly for art plastic.  I thought well... let me try normal packaging plastic!  It worked but it definitely shrinks differently than what the blog photo's look like with the clearly for art.  In my feverish search, I found a die from spellbinders for the Aster flower.  It had that tattered kind of edge like a poinsettia so I thought, hmmmm lets try this.  After a few passes thru my Cricut it cut thru the plastic.  Phew!  Ok, step one.  But I had to apply the frosted film afterwards and then trim the film around the die cut to make it work.  A bit more work than I had anticipated but I got the end result of some frosted flowers that when assembled resembled a poinsettia.  :)  So, I got out some dye inks and colored up my flowers and I was ready to attack it with my heat gun!!!  Or.... oh oh.... because it shrinks differently, my frosted side ended up on the bottom rather than the top.  :(  Oh well.... carry on and see what we can make of it!  :)  I cut out my branches but instead of using dye ink to color them, I wanted a bit more shimmer so I used my alcohol ink in a green and the gold mixative for some glam shimmer!  :) 

 

 

 

Next, I colored my tag.  Again, I wanted more shimmer on my tag so I got creative and applied iced spruce and picket fence distress stain to my craft sheet, and then instead of misting my tag with just water I used Perfect Pearls spray in Kiwi!  :)   Once my tag was misted in the shimmering yumminess I lay my tag into the stains and pulled it thru.  I went back and blotted up the extra onto my tag which gave it a real blotchy shimmery look.  I LOVE it!  Next, I took brushed corduroy ink and inked the edges.    I then used the same ink and the Harlequin stencil and randomly inked the design onto the tag.  In the second photo, I angled my camera so that you could see the shimmer on the tag from the perfect pearls spray mixed with the stains. 

 

 

 

 

 

I took a festive sentiment from my stash of Christmas stamps and inked with archival ink onto the tag.  I glued my poinsettia and my branches in place.  Now it was time to splatter some Picket Fence paint onto the tag, but all I had was a toothbrush from the dollar store.  I splattered some paint onto the tag but I found that with the toothbrush it was more of a fine mist than a spotted splatter that I was hoping for.  So, time to improvise a bit again, and I took my smallest stylist pen and lightly dotted some bigger spots randomly on the tag making it look like I had splattered it on with a splatter brush.  Wink wink... hahahaha... clever I know!  LOL   The tag seemed a little bare to me so I took some twine and wrapped it around the middle a couple of times and tied a bow slightly to the right side.  :)  Yup, ok now I am liking it.  It added just that little bit of rustic vintage look to the tag.  :)   I used twine as well as the hanger up to too so that it would tie the whole tag together. 

 

Here is my finished tag:

 

 

 

 

Thanks for popping in to see me.  I've only started making Tim's 12 tags of 2013 in September, so I think I might have to go back and do the rest of the year so I have all 12 in my collection.  :)  Definitely had so much fun following Tim and his tags these past few months, I really look forward to doing all 12 next year.  :)  Keep up the great work Tim, and passing on your inspiring tags for us to recreate and learn from!  It's been a blast and I am officially addicted and in need of a 12 step program to wean me off of my addiction.  Or maybe not!  I could be addicted to a lot worse things!  Right?  My husband might not agree to that statement, but I'll stick to it!  Teehee 

 

Have a great night and see you in a while...