Compliments of the Season

The best part of making cards and tags at Christmas--you can never have too much glitter!

This tag was made by pasting gold-printed mulberry paper (Black Ink brand) on a manila tag, color was added with Distress inks, it was mounted on pinkish-red card stock and glitter was placed around the border.

The poinsettia was made by printing a page of leaves on vellum which were cut out after painting the back side. The leaf edges were embellished with glitter and diamond bling was used for the center.

The greeting (an image from Graphics Fairy) was pasted on card stock and it also received some glitter. A simple red bow became the topper.

I think the best feature of this tag is the gold-printed mulberry paper. I never tried using it with Distress inks but I applied it gently (the paper is soft and thin) and it helped break up all that gold and gave it an antique-like quality.

My inspiration came from the Tim Holtz December tag and Simon Says Stamp Monday blog challenge, which was tissue paper.

Christmas Carols

By Paula Cheney

I am posting another tag for the Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist contest, not only for one more chance to win a terrific prize ($150), but also because the lovely examples are so inspiring. Per Ellen's suggestion, I went back to a tag from last year, Day 9 by Paula Cheney, because it is one of the prettiest Christmas tags I've ever seen. I only wish I had all the supplies she used but you can guess what I'll buy if I happen to win the contest!

I made the wreath out of sheet music, used mirror cardstock in the center, stamped the scrolls and wording on vellum and embellished with lots of glitter. To emphasize the Christmas carol theme, I embossed the face of the mirror with a sheet music stamp.

To see more examples of wreaths made from sheet music, check out this search on Pinterest. 

I have to thank Paula who blogged about her trip to Wendy Addison's studio last year and admit that Wendy's dreamy creations also influenced some features of this tag.

Santa Baby's Got Bling

This tag was created for Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist challenge and was inspired by Julia Stainton's "shabby chic" tag from Day 6.

I used an emboss resist technique to create the background on a plain manila tag with a Tim Holtz Christmas stamp (placed in multiple areas to cover the entire surface) and some Distress Inks (Dusty Concord, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye and Spun Sugar). To keep it looking shabby, I lightened the colors here and there with Picket Fence Distress Stain.

Santa's image (another Christmas stamp by Tim) was tinted with Distress Inks and placed in a glittered frame. I used my sewing machine to attach the lace trimmings then added strips of home-made washi tape and some glittered stars.

Thanks for the inspiration, Julia! I really like shabby chic and my whole house would be in this style but the king of this castle is none too crazy about it. If you like it too, then check out Crooks & Nannies, a favorite spot of mine.