12 Tags for Christmas - January

Click to View Larger Version

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.

Field Notes

Autumn means a second spring here in Phoenix. After the long, dry summer (when plants are in survival-only mode), cooler temps give them an opportunity for another growth spurt before winter sets in.

Trees don't turn colors or lose their leaves but seed pods, so common among many desert-adapted trees, have dried out and begin to fall.

So, when this week's theme at Simon's Monday Challenge Blog was Autumn, I thought to pick up an empty pod on an evening stroll and made a paint box out of it. Crazy? Yes, but you have to admit it's original!

Science Guy

Made to link-up with Tim's 12 Tags for 2016, this is the 41st tag I've made for the year not counting all the boo-boo's that ended up in the trash (Halloween pun intended).

It's a little plain Jane, especially for Halloween, but I lean towards "less is more" (perhaps just an excuse for not knowing what to do next). However this time, I did summon the courage to add some tiny black splatters and for me that's a step in the right direction.

Tim's technique started with a collage background of paper bits then a covering of crackle medium. I discovered first-hand that a thin application yields tiny cracks (background) and laying it down thick on the frame/tag borders (I used a fine-tip squeeze bottle) changed the look completely.

(Click on photos for a larger view.)

Obviously, my "Science Guy" isn't one of Tim's metallic monster masks but you have to admit this photo is just as bizarre. We can only assume this gent may have been a little impoverished (note the clever way he's buttoned his jacket) and I have no idea what he's cooking but it looks a bit suspect to me.

I used the skull from Tim's Mini Halloween Set #5 and also one of his Vellum Ephemera pieces painted off-white on the back and then distressed by sanding, wrinkling and inking.

To fill in the empty spaces, I mixed some texture medium with paint to match the shade of the medicine label and applied it through Tim's Dot Fade stencil before splattering the tag with watered-down black paint.