12 Tags of 2014, December

Welcome back! Today I want to share with you my take on Tim Holtz's December tag. It has been so much fun participating in the monthly tags and I'm so proud of myself for playing along  each month. Well...I did miss August and September, due to my move, but I won't tell anyone if you don't, hehe. The tag for December was amazing , like all of Tim's tags! Again, I was without a lot of the products he used, but it's always fun to work with what you've got. So enough babbling, let me show you what I came up with...

December Tag

It's very different from Tim's but I think it turned out rather cute. I created the background with a combination of Chipped Sapphire and Weathered Wood Distress Stains for a dark winter day look. Then I embossed a piece of Frosted Film (didn't have the new Frosted Sheets) with a snowflake embossing folder from my stash and adhered it to my tag. I love the shimmery effect of the frosted film and the subtle embossing. To create the look of snow, I splattered white paint on the surface and dabbed Snow-Tex all over the tag.

I hope you can see the shimmer and the embossing from this angle. Believe me, it's there and looks gorgeous in person.

I don't own the Prancing Deer die so I used one of the deer from Reindeer Flight. I cut out 3 deer out of chipboard and glued them together for dimension.  The deer was colored  with light brown acrylic paint mixed with Antique Linen,then I sanded and inked the edges with Walnut Stain. I did add Distress Glitter in Rock candy and dabbed Snow-Tex on the deer to make it look like falling snow.

As for the greenery, I used the branches from the Tattered Pinecone die. I cut them out of watercolor paper and used Peeled Paint Distress Stain to color them. Then I just lightly sprayed them with a shimmery silver spray from my stash and dabbed some Snow-Tex ( can you tell I love this stuff)?

 

The branches are from the Branch Tree Die. I cut three out of chipboard and layered them for dimension. Then, I inked them with Walnut Stain and heat embossed them with Walnut Stain Embossing powder. This is my favorite technique to create realistic looking branches. You can see more of that snowy stuff on my branches and one last, little green leaf just clinging on for dear life. The scene really does look like a Winter Wonderland and makes me long for a white Christmas. I topped of my tag with a crinkled ribbon bow dyed with the stains used to color the tag.

Well, that is it for me today! I had so much fun creating this month's tag and there's still plenty of time to play along, if you haven't already.

Can't wait to see what Tim comes up with for the New year.

Thanks for stopping by!

12 Tags of 2014, November

Hi all! I'm back to share my take on Tim's November tag. I'm so proud of myself for not waiting till the last minute to make my tag, hehe. Tell me what you think;

November Tag

As you can see, it's quite different than Tim's version but still has some similarities. I created the background with Distress Paints in Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Rusty Hinge and Peeled Paint. Tim used corrugated board on his tag but I really wanted a rustic look, so I used the wood grain embossing folder. I dabbed  Walnut Stain Distress ink on the raised surface of my embossing folder before running it through my Big Shot. Tim shared this technique on a past tag and it's still one of my faves.

I don't have the Leaf Die so I had to improvise with an old leaf punch from my stash. I punched out 3 leaves out of Kraft Glassine and colored them with Distress Stains. I then crinkled them up in my hand and dabbed them with the  Walnut Stain ink pad and sponged gold acrylic paint on top. I also used the Tattered Pine cone die to create the little pine cones and some of the greenery. I sponged gold acrylic paint on the greenery and pine cones as well.

I threaded a piece of linen ribbon through the Alpha Parts words and tied it around my tag.

Then, I tied some dyed seam binding through the hole on  the tag and added chit chat stickers on the top corner. Lastly, I sprayed the entire tag with Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold for some added shimmer. So, so pretty and just perfect for Fall.

Thank you so much for joining me today and I hop you like my tag. There's still plenty of time for you to play along.

I'll see you all real soon!

12 Tags of 2014, October

Hi guys! Got a real short post for you today. Just wanted to share my take on Tim's tag for the month of October. I wasn't able to participate in August and September because of my move, but I just couldn't pass up on October's Tag!

Halloween Tag 

I loved Tim's tag from the moment I saw it but was a little disappointed that I didn't have most of the products he used. So I had to improvise quite a bit. First, I  made my own homemade texture paste and used a tree stencil on my background. I had this cute little owl stamp and I wanted it to look as if the owl were perched on one of the branches.As for the color sprays, I had to use some Tattered Angels sprays I had on hand. I must say I was a bit disappointed with the colors and just know Tim's Distress Sprays would have looked so much better! Definitely have to add those to my wish list.

The little jack-O-lantern is an old Sizzix die, I die

cut out of chipboard. I inked it with Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge, and Vintage Photo. Then I covered it with clear embossing powder. The letter squares are stickers I had in my stash and I added tiny little half back pearls painted in gunmetal to mimic the look of nail heads.

I added the monocle and wishbone and tied some black tulle at the top to finish my tag.
So there it is, my take on Tim's October tag. Can't wait to see what he comes up with for November.
Have a great day everyone!

12 Tags of 2014, July

Hey everybody! I'm back to share my tag for the month of July. I fell in love with Tim's tag as soon as I saw it and knew I just had to make the time to create my own . Being from Southern California and all, I can't help and be in love with anything beach theme.Since I've moved to Texas,  I think the beach is the one thing I truly miss from Cali...that and the gorgeous weather.

I stayed pretty true to Tim's version and had to purchase the Sand and Sea dies ( any excuse to get new goodies will do) . The background of the tag was created with a combination of Distress paints, stains and inks. The edges are distressed and inked with Frayed Burlap.

I didn't have Shrink Plastic so I just used a piece of plastic packaging and embossed it with the Swirls Texture Fade. It reminds me of waves so it was perfect for the ocean theme. I inked the sea horse with Spiced Marmalade, Rusty Hinge and Barn Door Distress Inks. I also used Rock Candy Crackle and then sprinkled some gold embossing powder on top. I think he turned out awesome!

I followed Tim's recipe to create the "sand" and I've got to say it looks just like the real thing. And it didn't flake off! I'm definitely going to use this technique again. The sand dollar and starfish were painted with distress paints and then sprinkled with gold embossing powder. I also used Distress Stickles on the starfish for added texture.

I had so much fun creating this tag and can't wait to see next month's tag.

Hope you are all making the time to participate in the monthly tags.

Till next time, have a great one!!!

12 Tags of 2014, June

Hi guys! It's been a couple of weeks since I posted on my blog, but I've just been super busy. The kids are on summer vacation and I've been putting in a lot of hours at work. So that  leaves me with only a few hours here and there to craft or do anything else, for that matter! Don't you just hate it when life gets in the way of crafting, lol? Well, I did manage to squeeze in my tag this month with just a few days to spare. Let me know what you think!

 

Tim showed us a really cool way to use our stencils and Distress inks to create a watercolor background for our tag. This was my second try since I didn't like the way the first one turned out. I guess it's because I don't have any of the mini ink pads and it was hard applying several colors onto the stencil without it turning all muddy. Some of you may know, I have an obsession with all things "Alice" and having just ordered some new stamps from Oxford Impressions, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to play with my stamps.

 

 

I used the harlequin stencil ( which always reminds me of Wonderland), Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Peacock Feathers, and Black Soot Distress Inks to create my background. Then I stamped large flourishes using Versamark Ink and white embossing powder. I randomly stamped small script over the tag with Barn Door Distress ink for a pop of red. I colored Alice with distress inks and a water brush and aged the tag with Vintage Photo.

 

 

The two little wooden toadstools are by Recollections. I inked them with Barn Door Distress ink and sponged a bit of white paint on the tops then I lightly inked them with Vintage Photo. You may not be able to see it all that well, but I also added gold embossing powder on the edges of the tag.

 

 

I used the same colors as my background to ink up the seam binding and then I made the Paula bow and tied it on my tag. I had some cute charms that I thought would go well with my tag so I attached them to the bow using a charm clip. That's it!

 

I love the way my tag turned out and I'm really glad I found the time to participate this month. You still have a few days to play along, so I really hope you'll give it a go. Thanks so much for stopping by. I'll see you all real soon.



12 Tags of 2014, May

Hi everybody, welcome back! Today I want to share with you my take on Tim's May tag. I'm so proud of myself because I finished it with plenty of time to spare. I just knew I had to do it now because I'm going to be crazy busy in the next 2 weeks and wouldn't have the time then. It was a very simple tag this month, I think the hardest part was using all the little trinkets I've been collecting.But why collect them if you're never going to use them, right?  So here's my take on the tag:

Imagine, Create, Inspire tag

 

I kept it pretty simple and followed Tim's lead. I created the background with a combination of Peeled Paint, Wild Honey and Pumice Stone Distress Inks. Then I  splattered some water on the tag to create a mottled look. The tiles were cut out of chipboard and I covered them with bits from the Wallflower paper stash. Before adhering the tiles, I adhered my tag to a piece of burlap paper, a tad bit bigger than the tag. The burlap frames the tag nicely and I really like the way it looks.

 

 

The inspiration for the tag came from a wall hanging I had seen at a store. It just read Imagine, Create, Inspire. I thought that really summed up what we do as crafters, so it would be perfect for the tag. The butterfly tile is just like Tim's, since I really liked the look of the butterfly over the sticker frame. I just  added a chit chat sticker that reads inspire, to complete my title. The little light bulb is for the sparks of creativity and the #5 game piece is just for the month of May. This way I remember what month this tag was for.

 



The key and keyhole are to symbolize unlocking our talents and opening up our minds to the possibilities. I love those cute little gears, too.They symbolize the gears turning in our heads, working full speed, helping us to come up with new ideas. I used a Philosophy Tag that reads "Imagine" and then used several different Alpha Parts to spell out " Create". The letters were too shiny, so I scuffed them with my sanding block.

 

Well, I hope you like my tag. You still have plenty of time to play along if you haven't already.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll see you all real soon.

12 Tags of 2014, April

Hey everybody! I feel like it's been a while since my last post. I've been doing a lot of crafting and I do have some new projects to share with you, but just haven't found the time to sit down and post. Work and family keep me pretty busy if you know what I mean. So here I am, trying to catch up...
I did manage to find the time to create my April tag with time to spare before the deadline. Tim did a beautiful job with this new tag. It's a little softer than the usual but oh, so pretty! And perfect for Spring.

My take on the April Tag

 



 

 I usually work with what I have on hand since I don't always have all the supplies Tim uses. But, I couldn't help myself and I ordered the new Frameworks Trellis die. It's what makes the tag special. How could I not have it, hehe. I'm so glad I did ,so many possibilities with this die.

 

 

I followed all of Tim's steps but used different color inks and paint for my background and on the trellis die cut. If you look closely at the die cut inserts, you can see where I used Tim's Seasonal Paper. I just had to incorporate those cute Easter bunnies into my tag.

 

 

This was my first time using my Tattered Pinecone die, can you believe it. I've had it forever and haven't touched it! That's what I like about making these tags every month. It gives me an opportunity to use some of the older things I have in my stash. I really like how my roses turned out but I felt the little cluster needed something more, you know. So added bits from an Easter pick and just tucked them here and there among the flowers. Perfect for Easter!

 

I had so much fun creating this tag and can't wait to play again next month. If you haven't participated, you should really consider joining in. You won't be disappointed.

 

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and I'll see y'all real soon!



12 Tags of 2014, March

Hi guys, welcome back!

 So at the beginning of 2014, I told myself that I was going to start participating in Tim Holtz's  monthly tags. I had every intention of following thru on that promise,( I really did)  but life sometimes gets in the way. Needless to say, I missed out on the January and February tags but wasn't going to let March get away from me. And I'm so glad I took the time to create my tag(s) because they turned out awesome! If you aren't participating already, you really should consider getting started. It's never too late and I just love all the tips and techniques that Tim teaches us each month.Well, enough rambling...check out my take on the March Tag of 2014.

 

 I didn't have many of the products that Tim used for his tag, so I had to improvise. But, to be honest, that's actually the best part, because you end up with a  really unique tag. I used Steampunk CMS107 stamp set for the main images and a couple of random stamps from my stash.

This month's technique was smudging. You stamp your inked image onto one tag first, and then without re-inking, stamp again on a second tag. Then you immediate smudge the images using your  ink blending tool. You can see the smudging much better in the close up above. Pretty cool, huh? I used a stencil from Heidi Swapp and Lindy's Stamp Gang color spray in Tiffany Blue, concentrating on the upper right hand corner.

I  applied turquoise paint onto the word band and then rubbed it off with my finger. This step really helps to bring out the words in the band.. The jute string was stained with Peeled Paint Distress ink and I dabbed more of the turquoise paint on the edges of the tag. And viola... two really cool Steampunk inspired tags!

I had so much fun creating these tags that I couldn't stop there and thought I'd catch up on the two I missed.

Here's my take on the January tag:

 

It's almost identical to Tim's tag because I practically had every product he used. Of course, I changed it up a bit to make it my own. The chit chat stickers reflect what's important to me and the "R" on the charm further emphasizes that notion.. It's my family name!

 

My take on the February tag:

 

Again, I had to work with what I had on hand, but I just love the way it turned out! The arrow and scalloped edge were created using foil tape over cardstock. I then applied black gesso over the die cut pieces and rubbed some off with my finger to create a grungy look. I did the same thing on the wings except  they were die cut out of grungeboard. I used a toothpick to create the "feathers" and then added the black gesso to accent the wings. LOVE it!!!

 

Well, that's it for today's post. I really hope you like my tags and you really should consider joining in the fun each month. You not only get to  create an awesome tag but you may also win a prize if you upload your tag to Tim's blog. I'm on my way to do that now!

 

Have a wonderful week everybody! I'll see you all real soon.