Oddly Aggressive

Hello friends and welcome to my first post of the new year--I hope everyone had a good holiday!

At the beginning of the year, I can't help thinking about what I'd like to do different, in my personal life and in my creative life, and that was on my mind as I created this journal page today.

I have a large Dyan Reaveley Dylusions Journal (the pages are 8.25" x 11.5") and instead of filling up the page or doing a two-page spread as per my usual, I tried something new.  I drew a smaller rectangle on just one page to make the format more manageable.

A page of Tim Holtz paper (Memoranda) and some of his tissue wrap (Melange) were used along with a print-out of a vintage photo. The flower garland was made with a stencil and paste medium and tinted with a bit of Black Soot Distress ink.

It was a frivolous and fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon and I'm linking it to Simon's Monday Challenge Blog, this week's theme is Something New.

12 Tags for Christmas 2017 - Shiny-Brite

I used two large pieces of Tim Holtz Christmas Ephemera for the background of this final tag of the series--number 12 of 12.

I altered the edges of the top part to create an arch with paint mixed to match the bottom section. The silver glitter glue (Stickles) was applied thickly and the dryed result reminds me of tinsel garland.

I used more glitter around the edge of the tree and on top of some ornaments along with some clear sequins here and there.

The presents were made with Idea-ology Fragments and paper bits from the Tidings stash and I dusted around the edges with a little silver paint.

The sentiment was stamp embossed and I used a wash of thin, off-white paint behind the letters to make them stand out more.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the tags I've made for Christmas this year and maybe found some inspiration for your own holiday crafting.

12 Tags for Christmas 2017 - Time of Wonder

Back in the day, Christmas postage stamps were printed using an elaborate process without benefit of the digital equipment we take for granted today.

And, sadly, a beautiful series of stamps commemorating great religious works of art is not something I'd expect the post office to take on in this day and age.

Thankfully, we have postage stamp collectors (philatelists) who preserve this vintage art form like my Great Aunt Esther who saved the one I've used for the tag I share with you today.

It was mounted in a little box I made that was lined with old book paper and sits on top of Tim Holtz Ephemera and a page from his Tidings paper stash.

The holly, pine branches and calendar page were cut out of that same Ephemera collection. It's mounted on a red satin ribbon and embellished with Rock Candy Stickles and Glossy Accents.

I used Folk Art gold metallic paint (good stuff) to trim the tag, box and text edges. For the text, I originally chose a Clippings Sticker but botched it up so I made a new one using another relic from the past, a typewriter.

Well, as this is tag number eleven (and also my favorite), I've only got one more to go to complete the set. It will be an homage to Tim Holtz if there ever was one and I hope you'll tune in!