12 Tags for Christmas 2017- Most Wonderful Time

It's tag number eight and that rhymes with skate!

(Sorry...  if you've ever made 12 Christmas tags in a row, you start to get a little slap-happy.)

The assembly consists of an Occasions found relative (Tim Holtz) which was masked then stamped, a die-cut (Tim Holtz Gothic Gate) made from a magazine page, and pinecones cut from the Frosted paper pad (Kaisercraft). Some Stickles and Scribbles provided the bling and text was cut from the Tim Holtz Tidings paper stash (2016).

12 Tags for Christmas 2017 - Wonderful Time

We had a toboggan when I was a kid. Not the safest kind of sled but ours could handle about six passengers at a time which made it easy to steer as long as everyone leaned the right way in unison.

This little miss was certainly safe when this vintage photo (Graphic 45 Frosted) was taken. It was nicely staged with a painted background and fashionable clothing (I wonder if it may have been done for an advertisement or greeting card).

She is the focal point for tag five of my 12 for Christmas and was placed on top of a background of embossed snowflakes tinted with Distress Oxide (Faded Jeans) and framed with tissue paper and a cut-out stamp border.

Embellishments include scraps from a Tim Holtz Mixed Media die and lots of Stickles. The ribbon is a scrap of Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements fabric

12 Tags for Christmas 2017 - Joy to the World

♪♫ ♪ "On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me ..." ♪♫♫♪

Ten years ago today, Tim Holtz began the tradition of blogging about techniques for creating 12 Tags for Christmas and I've continued to make them every year since then to decorate my presents.

This year, I decided to post them in 12 consecutive days beginning December 1st just like he used to do and my first tag features a simple, understated design with an early American or Georgian vibe.

The background is pearly paper with clear-embossed snowflakes (Kaisercraft Frosted) that was tinted with Faded Jeans Distress Oxide.

I coated the book paper die-cuts (Carta Bella Joy Wreath) with Glossy Accents and created additional contrast by using a blue gel pen and a water brush (which soaked in underneath).

I gave the entire surface a wash of dilute white acrylic paint and took advantage of the resist properties of the Glossy Accents by wiping the paint away from the die-cuts where there was overage.

I used a Remnant Rub to complete the phrase and made a frame border with 1/8" silver metallic ribbon (Offray) tinted with off-white acrylic paint.

To age the appearance a bit more, I rubbed on Frayed Burlap Distress Ink here and there and added some Liquid Pearls along the bottom for a touch of Christmas bling.

12 Tags for Christmas - April

This was inspired by Tim's April tag and his faux mosaic/paint resist technique but rather than follow along exactly, I went with my impressions instead.

The background is a page from the Dapper paper stash die cut with a Mixed Media thinlet to cover an entire tag. Purple cardstock was pasted behind it then crackle medium was spread over the cut-out areas and it was sanded and stained with Distress ink to give it an aged, old-world appearance.

The angel (Somerset Studio) and framed text (Kaisercraft's Frosted paper collection) serve as the centerpiece.

The tag border was embellished with Platinum Stickles (distressed with walnut ink) and tiny dots of Liquid Pearls.

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 - January

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Once again, I've made Christmas tags inspired by the Tim Holtz monthly tags which I use for decorating gifts.

This year's theme of remixing techniques helped me discover more ways to use my stash--holiday style!

The January tag featured a chalkboard/industrious metal combo with a word band.

This was the first time I've ever embossed metal foil (I didn't have die-cut equipment back in January) and it's an interesting effect. I always prefer a matt finish but since sparkles and shine are must haves at Christmas, this technique was really appropriate.

Without frosted embossing powder for the chalkboard technique, I tried to make do by embossing red vellum (bottom flower layer) with white ink and clear powder but the lines were too faint. Then I tried stamping white ink on red cardstock (top layer) which also faded some so I went over the lines with a Gelly Roll pen. What is it about white inks that make them so fussy?!

I combined the layers for a lush flower look and now I wish I had used green vellum for the bottom layer since Poinsettias have that look naturally. Maybe next time.

The rest, I think, is self-explanatory and here's a list of the products I used: Penny Black (Christmas Star), Stampers Anonymous (Christmas Words), Idea-ology paper (Merriment), cardstock, vellum, heat duct tape (metal foil), Sizzix Thinlet die (Mixed Media #2), Distress inks, acrylic paint, Scribbles, Stickles, Glossy Accents, a white Gelly Roll pen, and one tiny pink gumdrop.

Triplets

Identical triplets are extremely rare and so, I suppose, are purple tree trunks. But who cares--anything goes on Halloween, right?

I stamped and embossed the trees (Inkadinkado) to create a resist for the Distress ink sky then ironed off the embossing (see my tutorial here). The moon was made with a mask. The text was stamped (Tim's Mini Halloween #5).

I wanted the house (also Mini Halloween) flipped from right to left so I stamped it on Plain Tissue Wrap, turned it over, painted the backside off-white, cut it out and pasted the painted side down. You lose some of the crisp image with this method but I think the softer, lighter look works here.

I needed something in the foreground so more tissue wrap was used, this time stamped with a crackle image in brown archival ink and tinted with distress.

I cropped Tim's Gothic Gate thinlet die to fit my tag (and support the composition) then darkened the gray paper with black Distress.

The triplets were laser-printed in a very small size, cut-out and pasted down. Do they remind you of that hallway scene in the movie The Shining? I guess that's the look I was going for. Anyhow, some shadows were added and I decided to mount the tag on black paper and add some dots of Stickles around the edge.

I'm linking this to Simon's Monday Challenge blog where this week's theme is Halloween.

Encore

You'd think that I've been blogging long enough to know this--wait awhile before you make something final, don't be in such a hurry to share, make sure it's right first.

Earlier this week, I posted Natasha Returns but she should have stayed put and so I revisited her, made some modifications and brought her back for an encore.

I've recently started using die-cuts and thought I'd try an image transfer over the top but this just didn't look right so I modified this tag by pasting the image over the original transfer and now I am satisfied. Why didn't I do this in the first place?!

Timeless Flight

When I browse Pinterest, I'll see an image and next thing you know I'm inspired to make something. That's exactly what happened with this tag. Here's the pin that prompted me to research and find the image I used. Nature never ceases to amaze me and Cithaerias pireta (the Blushing Phantom) is no exception!

I had a vintage tag (used for tracking sewing alterations) and covered it with a strip of gold Idea-ology Deco Tape, Tissue Tape and gold metallic mulberry paper along with some Mixed Media thinlits bricks and Remnant Rubs. I added more sparkle with Fruit Punch Stickles.

The antennae were made by pasting on some black hairs from an old paintbrush and Distress inks were used for tinting.

If you'd like to see a previous creation made with these vintage tags, here's the link. I really like working with them and plan to scout around for similar printed tags to add to my stash.

Natasha Returns

Meet Natasha. She has returned for another appearance on my blog (see previous post here). She's an image transfer laid on top of a background made from the bricks Mixed Media Thinlit by Tim Holtz.

There's also a scrap of his Tissue Wrap and the butterflies are a stamp from Prima. A bit of embossed polka dots (Tim's Dots & Florals stamp) and a stitched border that was painted and embellished with black Gelly Roll lines complete the look.

I've recently entered the world of die-cutting and I'm learning as I go. As if I didn't collect enough collage "scraps" already, I've got a feeling this new technique will add to my collection exponentially!

Here's what I know now: Tissue paper over die-cuts can work and look OK but I don't care for the appearance of the image transfer over them and won't do this again in the future.

Receipt No. 25

I really like the look of sewing on paper. One artist whose work I greatly admire, Viv (aka Hens Teeth) in Staffordshire, embroiders on vintage envelopes and they are just divine. You can see them here. Her studio is pretty fantastic, too.

Tim Holtz also seems drawn to the look of stitching as several of his monthly tags have featured this technique so it's no surprise that my August tag for the 12 Tags of 2016 has some too.

A Mixed Media Thinlit die-cut, Wallflower paper stash cut-outs (including vellum), some Small Talk stickers and Remnant Rubs were used to complete it.

I wish I'd splattered some flecks of paint here and there as I think it would have been a nice addition. I just didn't have the guts and so I need to work on that.

Remix

Tim's doing a "Technique Remix" for the 12 Tags of 2016 and this month he features metal embossing and chalkboard stamping. What a combination!

So even though I really tried to use more metal (three tags are in the trash as I write this), the best I could do was pull off the chalkboard look. In spite of my failures it was great fun just to try.

I thought I'd share my discovery for making your own chalkboard paper. Either start with black paper or make your own with paint or black gesso then coat it with what's known as clear gesso.

It's meant to be used mostly for pastel artists who need "tooth" on their surface for the powdery pastels to cling to. It's basically clear acrylic medium with a bit of fine sand mixed in.

First I used Tim's Schoolhouse stencil on a black tag to apply texture paste that was tinted with gray paint. I let it dry, stamped with Tim's Type Keyboard using white pigment ink and clear embossed it.

Then I applied the clear gesso over everything so I could use a white charcoal pencil to give it that chalkboard look.

Remember the grungeboard die-cuts from Tim's early days? That's what I used for the big number 12. Painted with black and clear gesso, they were easy to tint with a red pastel pencil and more white charcoal to keep the chalkboard theme going.

Some circles stamped with red paint, a bit of washi (polka dots), tissue paper and two more design features from Tim's early beginnings--mini staples and Dymo tape (the red 2016) provided the final embellishments.

I may have drifted from this month's remix but embraced what I've learned from following Tim's tag tutorials for such a long time and am excited about this year's new twist. I think it will be great fun to revisit these oldies but goodies.

Escape

A bonus from mucking-out the craft room last month was discovering long-forgotten goodies like the wooden birdcage die-cut (from Kaisercraft) that I used on this tag.

And since this week's theme at Simon's Monday blog challenge is stamp and punch/die-cut what better time to use it?

A background was made with old book paper, paint and stamping then I tinted and stamped the birdcage and used an image transfer for the text. Yes, that's a bit of washi tape for the shadow and I used a black Fudi-ball pen to ink the edges.

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I have yet to invest in die-cutting equipment and only have a few, very small paper punches so I was happy to find this birdcage in my stash--otherwise, I'd have to sit this one out!

Stamp credit: Kaisercraft Dictionary Meanings