Hello May Crafters,

I made a tag that can be used for any occasion.  All you need to do is change the sentiment.  I needed a tag for a Mother’s Day gift we were giving to our daughter.  Her birthday is in January, and there’s a long time between January and Christmas, so a Mother’s Day gift is a little love gift for her.  Plus we ARE proud of her as a mom, AND she DID give us a granddaughter.  Here’s the tag. 

I didn’t want to make the same old, same old card, so  I thought a tag can be meaningful, simple and a keeper.  So I looked up a Tim Holtz video on YouTube for some inspiration.  Here’s what I watched to get my creative juices flowing.  Click on the photo to link to YouTube.

Since I don’t have the same supplies Tim used, I had to try different ways of making this tag before I figured out the best way to go about creating it.  Hopefully, the tag will be meaningful and a keeper to our daughter.  

All the inks I used on this tag are Tim Holtz Distress Inks, except for the sentiment.

Ranger Craft Sheet, Inkssentials Manilla Tags, Twisted Citron Ink, Mini Mister        Press the pad on the craft sheet.  Spritz the ink with water. 

Smoosh the tag on the wet ink.

    

 

This can be dried naturally or with a heat gun.  Make sure the tag is completely dry before stamping the flowers.      

   

Below I used a MISTI (Most Incredible Stamping Tool Invented) and the Tim Holtz Artful Things Stamp Set (heart).  The blue things are magnets covered with washi tape.  These magnets are very strong.  If the magnets get stuck together, they are difficult to separate.  The washi tape gives you tabs to hold onto while you slide the magnets apart.

      Click on the stamp photo to link to the stamp set.  

I want this heart to show up on the tag instead of being hidden totally behind the flowers, so I stamped it first in Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick.  I could have masked it, but I want it to be mingled amount the plants.  

NOTE:  You MUST let the Distress Oxide inks dry before re-stamping.

        I like this Wilted Violet ink over the Twisted Citron background.  These flowers came from the stamp set, Tim Holtz Flights of Fancy.

       Click on the stamp photo to link to the stamp set.  

I wanted the heart to be brighten, so I stamped it again.         Then I stamped the bird using Broken China.

The next step was to add a few of My Favorite Things Myriad Dots, stamping them with Hickory Smoke ink.  You could use any dots stamp you have or even a stencil.

   I wanted more of a distressed look so I used Black Soot to stamp on Altenew Snowing Stamp.  Click on the stamp photo to link to the stamp. 

     Oops!  I overdid the speckles and dots but what’s done is done.          Time to go around the edge of the tag with Distress Oxide Spiced Marmalade using a Tsukineko Sponge Dauber Tool. 

Then I went around the inside perimeter with Broken China using a Ranger Mini-Blending Tool.      To give the tag more interest, a little more Spiced Marmalade was applied around the edges, as well as tapping it here and there on the tag.  The tapping was done with Worn Lipstick Distress Oxides too.

I left the heart and bird on the door of the MISTI, so I could re-stamp them to make them brighter.  So I applied more ink.  

 

THE BACK OF THE TAG  

There were ink stains on the tag back, so I used a new tag to decorate the back.  These are all Distress Oxide inks in Peeled Paint, Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick and Broken China.  After spreading on the inks, I spritzed them with water to add a distressed look.  This needed to be dried completely before moving on.

After the tag was dry, I set something heavy on top of both tags to flatten them.  Then the tag front was adhered to the back.  I used Scrapbook Adhesives E-Z Runner Tape. 

I went around the front again with the Oxide Spiced Marmalade and also around the back.  

I laid something heavy on the tag again to flatten it while I colored the ribbon.  This is white ribbon made of rayon.  After spotting it with ink, it was crinkled by scrunching it.  I held it like that for a while with a clip.  

While the ribbon dried, I stamped the sentiment on the tag.  I rarely have the sentiment I want to use, do you?  So I had to piece together what I wanted to say.  I don’t mind cutting my stamp phrases apart.  They work just fine later when I want to use the entire phrase.  The stamp set in my collection that helped me most with my sentiment was Avery Elle Butterflies.  Click on the photo for the link.  

I cut off the word MY from the phrase, To My Very Special, and stuck it back in its place on the stamp sheet.  Then I cut off the letter, from the word Happy in the phrase So Happy For You, and put the rest of the phrase back on the plastic sheet.  The word, Mom, stands alone in the set.  So the sentiment I wanted, I got, which is to say, To A Very Special Mom.   The MISTI was used to be sure to get the sentiment straight, but you certainly can use an acrylic block instead.  My favorite black ink for sentiments is Versafine Onyx Black Ink.  This is a pigment ink, so it stays on top of the surface for a while and needs a moment to dry.  In the meanwhile, you can sprinkle the ink with Clear Embossing Powder.  Shake off the excess and melt the powder with a heat gun. 

I like this method of embossing a black sentiment better than using black embossing powder.  The times I’ve used black powder, I’ve gotten black sprinkles embossed on the card where I didn’t want them.  

The tag needed some pizazz, so I decided to add Perfect Pearls Perfect Gold around the perimeter of the tag.  I spritzed water on the craft sheet.  Then I used my finger to spread just a little moisture along the perimeter of the tag.  The gold powder was then touched to the moist perimeter with a small brush.  The excess gold powder was brushed away with a wide dry brush. 

It was time to thread the ribbon through the hole of the tag and tie it in a bow.   The tag turned out so soft and pretty, as well as the ribbon on top. 

Give a distressed tag a try.  I think you’ll like the results.  These new Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks are awesome in my opinion.  I hope you enjoyed this and got something helpful from it.

Blessings,

Tricia Ann

CHALLENGES ENTERED

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Little Critters http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/

Word Art Wednesday Challenge #284-285 – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Summer Sunshine  http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/wednesdaychallenge/