12 Tags for Christmas - August

Gosh, I'm having a hard time sticking to Tim's monthly techniques--it seems unfair to even call this one "August." You may recall that I'm making Christmas versions of his monthly tags and I'm resolved to the fact that I just don't have the stash to pull it off.

Still, it's the inspiration that gets me started and narrows down my choice of materials and I'm always happy for the nudge in a direction I might not have considered before.

This one started with a brayered stain background that didn't work with the stamps I wanted to use so I turned it solid using Seedless Preserves (such a strong color--it will cover up almost anything).

The stamping (Inkadinkado Evergreen Holiday) was done on watercolor paper using Sepia archival ink then tinted with watercolors and Gelly Roll pens.

I cut out the negative spaces so the background would show through then embellished with machine and hand stitching, some Liquid Pearls, Rock Candy Stickles and Lace Trimmings. I felt the lettering needed more contrast so I outlined them with a fine-line marker.

12 Tags for Christmas - July

Last year, I was able to stick with the same techniques Tim used for my Christmas versions of his monthly tags. This year, not so much. For many of them, he favored using word die-cuts quite a bit and it's difficult to find an appropriate substitute.

So here's what I did instead for this year's July tag (a remix of watercolor resist and layered words).

A book page, Tissue Tape and an oval cut from tissue paper (which was sealed with acrylic medium) were pasted on a tag. The edges were brushed with white paint then I stained the surface with Distress inks and the previous elements resisted the tint.

My angel is a stamp from Inkadinkado (Christmas Silhouettes) which I cut out and embellished with a white Gelly Roll pen, Liquid Pearls and Stickles. A Christmastime Remnant Rub provided the sentiment.

My little angel still seemed a bit plain (especially for Christmas) so I covered her with lots of Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles. You just can't beat this old favorite for adding the perfect amount of vintage sparkle!

12 Tags of Christmas - March

Here's tag number three of my Christmas versions of Tim's 12 for 2016. Each month he featured a technique remix and for March it was textures and dimensional die-cuts using cardboard.

I played around with my Mixed Media thinlet to see if I could cut a surface area larger than the original die to cover a section for the inside of a tree.

See the thicker line running up the left of center? That's my attempt to line up the die edge next to a previous cut. It was fun and challenging to use the die in this way and makes it more versatile.

The word bits are from this year's Idea-ology Christmas mini paper stash called Tidings and the packages were made from Christmastime ephemera.

Ranger's Stickles decorate the borders, Liquid Pearls created the texture you see along the cardboard ripples, I applied Glossy Accents to the package ribbons and a Mirrored Star tinted red with alcohol ink was the obvious choice for the tree top.

12 Tags for Christmas - February

Monoprinting (a great way to get more mileage out of stencils) and embossed texture paste were the techniques presented in Tim's February tag--here's my Christmas version.

I stayed true to the monoprinting but....

The stencil image (a doily) just didn't develop like I wanted it to so I placed the stencil back over the printing and used paint through the stencil's negative shapes in the traditional fashion.

Without the special texture paste that Tim used, I had to improvise. But I came up with an alternative that yielded a new stencil in the process.

I stamped text on Yupo and cut out the letters to make a stencil then used brown-tinted paste medium covered with glitter.

I've said it before--Yupo makes great stencils (cuts like butter, is durable and easy to clean) and now I have a stencil I can use for future projects.

I love the Santa image from Tim's 2016 Christmastime Ephemera Pack (wish there was more than one) and framed it with tiny dots of Ranger's Liquid Pearls.

Stencil credit: The Crafter's Workshop (Mini Tatting), Stamp credits: Stamper's Anonymous (Christmas Words) and Inkadinkado (Christmas Silhouettes)

Poemata.

Poemata. That's Latin for poems. This word, along with a British Museum seal (in red), appears in their Flickr photostream where they have scanned and made available to the public over 1 million images. The small ornate frame with the word and number Tomo III also came from the stream.

I can't remember where the butterfly (actually a Luna moth) came from but it's an image transfer (along with the words) and appears brown because the particle board surface of my support is that color.

The wreath (Prima Noble Darling) was stamped onto old book paper and cut out, the lace was "borrowed" from a card a friend of mine gave me and the border was made with Liquid Pearls (Ranger).

The background text (Tim Holtz Ledger Script) was stamped with Ranger archival ink (Potting Soil) and the support is actually one of Tim's 4" x 6" burlap panels sans the burlap. There's also a tiny strip of white mulberry paper on the left-hand side.

I like working small so this was a good size for me and you can pull out more stops on wood than you can a manila tag. Maybe I've found a new calling? We'll see.

Choose Joy

I made this card for a teacher who inspired me with a quote recently read in class (just the right words for the way I was feeling that day) and I'm linking it to Jennifer McGuire's Share Handmade Kindness challenge post.

Made with Wallflower vellum, stamped fabric using a hand-carved butterfly and a background stamp by Inkadinkado, it was embellished with machine stitching and Ranger's Liquid Pearls. The text is a Remnant Rub mounted onto a painted Grungeboard scrap.

On the inside, I typed the following quote:

"Choose joy. Then cherish and savor it.

Joy is not a fleeting emotion based on outward circumstances, a transitory feeling of the moment, a reaction to the scenery around you. It comes from within your heart like the waterfall that rushes out the side of a mountain. Joy is a runoff from the wellspring within you. And sometimes it is a delightful, surprising contrast to the scenery around you.

Embrace joy. Relish it. Even if those around you don't have it right now, you can feel your joy. You don't have to be disrespectful of their feelings, nor do you have to let their lack of joy diminish yours.

You have done your work. You have chosen to open your heart. Now you have your reward.

Cherish joy. It's your treasure. You've found it. You've earned it. It's yours."

-Melody Beattie

I'm also linking this to Simon's Monday blog challenge this week. The theme is Create Something Beginning with the Letter N (I used a needle) and it turns out that stitching is an excellent way to anchor vellum to cardstock. My thanks to the inspiration provided by Andrea Ockey Parr which gave me the idea to use fabric on my card.

Sparkle

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The most difficult stamp I have ever worked with (and also the most expensive) is this image by Lynne Perella for Paper Artsy. I don't know why it's not available in the US so I had to order it from the UK and the shipping added a greal deal to the cost.

It has a tremendous amount of detail and is not deeply etched so it's a bit of a struggle to get an impression that's satisfactory.

This time I used a really bizarre inking method that worked rather well. Surprise, surprise.

I applied thick watercolor using a brush and let it dry then stamped over that layer with black dye ink. Then I lightly spritzed it with water and stamped onto my paper surface.

The paper border was made with one of the most useful stamps I own and if I had to pick a favorite from my collection this would be it because it's so versatile. It's from Tim Holtz and is part of the Visual Artistry Lost and Found stamp set.

The text is Idea-ology chit-chat and the dots are Ranger Liquid Pearls.

I made this card for my bestie Thelma who's got a milestone birthday on the horizon and I'm linking to Simon's Monday blog challenge where this week's theme is use a stamp.

I must give a special shout-out to all the Design Team members who really rocked their creations this week. It was very inspiring!

Dear Thelma

My dear friend Thelma (I'm Louise), introduced me to rubber stamping a few years ago and, without sounding overly dramatic, my life (and my storage requirements) have never been the same since.

This is the card she will receive from me this year which began as an image transfer on watercolor paper, then resist embossing, layers of distress ink and lacey ribbons added to embellish.

The shiny border dots are Liquid Pearls, a 3-D paint by Ranger that's a bit tricky to apply but creates a great effect when you want some old-fashioned glam.

I'm linking to the Monday blog challenge at SSS where this week's theme is Red and Pink.

Snow

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Far from a traditional Christmas card, this one was made for my good friend Thelma who introduced me to card making. Over the years, we have traded creations and pushed the envelope in an almost "can you top this" fashion. So it will be no surprise when she receives this year's card from me.

The group photo came from Tim's Merriment paper stash and the background is a chalkboard line from The Paper Studio. I embellished it with strips of book paper, a white Gelly Roll pen, black and white Stickles, and silver Liquid Pearls.

It's hard to see but the children in front are sitting on a toboggan, a large sled that seats many. I grew up in Colorado and my family had one. I remember the great fun of cold winter days spent speeding down hills and the long hard walk to climb back up again. I feel very fortunate to have such good childhood memories and am grateful for my parents who made them possible.

I'm linking to this week's Monday blog challenge at Simon Says Stamp which is "anything goes."