Gift Tags

     Hello Hump Day! Boy is this year just whizzing by! Today Erica gave us the choice to use rosettes or make 3 tags using the feature key. I made 3 tags using 4 different cartridges: Winter Frolic, Sweethearts and Enjoy The Seasons and Snapshot Everyday Imagine cartridges. If you follow me regularly then you know I like to go over the top sometimes however, there are times when I like to tone it down a bit. I also love to use up my scraps and tags are a perfect way to do this. So let's get started.

     A while back I made a cute card with this same monkey image. I loved it so much (and had some of the printed paper left, that I decided to make some tags.You can find this image on the Sweetheart carton page 43 using the tag feature.I believe I cut it @ 2.5". What I really wanted to show you was what you can do if you don't feel like cutting layers whether for a card or a tag and how just a few minor embellishments can make a world of difference.

     First I cut the top layer and taped some twine to the back for the vine the monkey is swinging from. I also added some Liquid pearls for the mouth and black enamel for the eyes. I wanted a warm brown for the bottom layer so this is what I did:

     I laid the shadow tag right beside my top layer with the monkey and made a small pencil mark for where the monkey is. Then I traced the small heart onto the bottom layer. I just smudged some distress ink in the area of the monkey and filled the heart with stickles and outlined it with a gel pen. Now all I had to do was adhere them together. I also used a white gel pen to add faux stitching around the edges. I REALLY love this gel pen that Erica sent me!

    You should really check out Erica's Store. She carries all of the supplies I used here and so much more with great prices too!

     My next tag is from Winter Frolic and Snapshot:Everyday an Imagine cartridge. I recently signed on to sell  a wonderful chocolate fondue at home parties (I'll share more about this in an upcoming post). I wanted to do something special for those who order from me so I thought I'd create a special Thank You tag to package their orders with.

     This tag is on page 46 and I used the tag and tabs. The red base is from my scraps but, since I am in the business of chocolate I thought I'd fill my tag with chocolates!!!!I cut these @ 2.2" which gives you a 3.2" x 2" tag. The companies' logo is in brown and red so these look great to attach to the bags. I needed to add some dimension so I used satin ribbon to make a bow. Incidentally, I love making bows with a fork. You heard that right, a fork!!! Just Google how to make a bow with a fork. There are several U tube videos out there.

     My last tag is made using Winter Frolic and Enjoy The Season. The tree tag is on pg. 48 of the Frolic cart and the background paper is is on the Imagine cart on pg. 41. I didn't do anything special to this tag because I don't want to take away from the gift it is on top of. You don't have to always "dress" it up. Here's why:

     It is for a Christmas ornament! I am doing these for a local store for them to market so I didn't want to take away from the gift but wanted to give it a professional look.

     That's it for today guys. Hope you enjoyed my projects now, get going and use up those scraps! I'd love it if you would tell me what you think. Be sure to head back over to http:.mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com

Always My Daughter Tag

     I am so excited to be here with you on WYEGW! In case you are wondering, this means we usually use a feature key in our booklets yet today we were to incorporate the use of a clear element as well. Since I am not one to shy away from a challenge I decided I would really love to try this.
     I really love tags. I always try to keep some on hand just in case I forget to make a card (ya right,lol). So I decided to make a tag to match the card box I made last week. It is a great way to use up scraps as well.

     I started with the tag from Picturesque on page <76> and cut one from cardstock and one using Grafix Clear Craft Plastic @ 2". For the clear plastic I used the multicut x2, speed 5 and pressure @4 with the deep cut blade on my Imagine.
     I chose the rose tag on page 51 tag shift @ 2" and used a Zig pen to adhere the top layer to the plastic and ran the backing card stock through my Xyron before putting it all together. My sentiment is by Pink By Design's "all in the family". In order to have it stick to the clear plastic, I used Archival Brilliance Coffee Bean.

     I always love to use some type of bling, so for this project I used Copper stickles to outline the rose petals on the top layer. Finally I used a copper eyelet to reinforce the hole on the tag and added a bow. You can find great prices in Erica's Store http://www.shop.ericascraftroom.com/. She carries a HUGE selection of craft supplies including Cricut cartridges, stickles, inks, well you name it and she has it, lol.

     I bet you wonder what is in the box, lol. Well, several years ago we were at Disney World and were in Norway @ Epcot when I smelt this wonderful fragrance. (I LOVE perfume!!!) Once inside the gentleman Geir was signing bottles of his fragrance "Laila". It was named after his mom. It turns out it is the official perfume of Norway and was in the gift bags handed out to the stars at the Emmy's! I wasn't the only one who loved this but one of my daughters and my daughter-in-law as well. I snuck back into the store while they we a ways ahead and bought 5 bottles. Yes I did keep one for myself. Well they all got one for Christmas that year and they treasure it to use only on special occasions. However, all of us have diminishing supplies so Amazon to the rescue! I was able to get her a bottle and can't wait to see her reaction. I highly recommend this perfume. Every time any of us wears it you ALWAYS have people ask what you are wearing it's such a clean beautiful fragrance . (It also stays with you the whole day.)
     I hope you liked my project for today. Be sure to see what my Design Team sisters also made @
http://mycricutcraftroom.blogspot.com/. Until next week I hope you have a great week!!!!

Merry Christmas, Tag #11

     I only wish this season I had more time to try out these awesome techniques Tim Holtz showed for the 12 Tags of Christmas...2011. Although I only had time to complete 4 I know I will continue to try some of the other tags and the great projects he shared.
     This tag by far is my favorite. I always loved this angel image yet for some reason I just hadn't found the right project. I started with Art Philosophy cartridge by ProvoCraft and cut the tag @ 6.25". The background is so easy to make. I used cream glossy card stock and some alcohol inks. The Salt Boat Blue and Stream alcohol inks go together perfectly.
     Next I used a piece of craft plastic and stamped this beautiful sentiment: The most precious Gift of Christmas arrived in a very small bundle with no bow." You have to use Stazon ink or one that can be used on slick surfaces.

     The stars are really cool to make. Unfortunately I only had Shrinky Dink material in white. Tim had used the clear one and the effects are so stunning. Don't worry, I will be getting some to try the other techniques.Any way I like how these stars turned out. First, when working with shrinky dink material you need to cut your images 3x the size you want the shrunken article to be. I cut my stars from "Tis The Season" cartridge @ 2.25", 2.50", 2.75" and 3". this yields finished stars at 1" or less. Here's the fun part. You need to heat UTEE, Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel in a melting pot. Ranger sells these and they are great. All you do is heat the utee, drop your shrinky dink material in the pot and watch it shrivel and squirm! Once it flattens out (in seconds really) gently remove from pot with tweezers and place on a craft mat or another non stick surface to cool. It really is that easy. I finished it off with some Creative Charms rhinestones and also used a gold detail heat embossing to the horn and halo. Add a bow and you are done. Whew, I can't wait to try some more tags.

Believe Tag With Tim Holtz

     I am so excited how this tag came out! This was tag #10 in Tim Holtz 12 Tags Of Christmas. The main technique for this one centered around making a transparency with packing tape! I'll explain more about this later. First I'll begin with the basics for this tag.
     I made my own tag using the  Cricut Art Philosophy cartridge.The tag was cut @ 6.25" but, where did that beautiful sheet music come from you ask. Well the Imagine More cart and my Imagine. I have big plans for this machine in the new year. There is a beautiful gold sheen on this tag which the picture does not do it justice. This is accomplished with a mist of Tattered Angels Heirloom Gold. The corners also have a heat embossed filigree design using distressed ink in peeled paint and a gold embossing powder. To complete the tag I used Tim's paper distresser and then inked the sides with Antique Linen distress ink by Ranger.
     I am fortunate enough to have the Expression 2 by Provo Craft but must admit with the holidays I haven't had much of a chance to use it, that is, until now. The machine comes preloaded with the Cricut Alphabet so I decided this font was perfect for the letters in "Believe". I used a scrap piece of paper from DCWV because the colors were just perfect. I ran the letters through my Xyron "X" which made it so easy to attach the letters.

     Here is the best part of this tag, the acrylic charms! I used the seasonal stack from Tim Holtz for the images. This is by far the easiest transfer I have ever made. First, you cut out the image you are going to use and then place a piece of clear packing tape over the image.Next place the image in a bowl of luke warm water for about 30 sec or until the paper begins to separate from the back.You want to gently rub the back to remove the paper leaving the image affixed to the tape. Once it is dry you want to lay it down on the sticky side of a piece of foil tape. Just a word about this.I used foil tape I had on hand from Home Depot. This is not a good choice. The reason is that by removing the paper from the image, it should allow the metal to show thru for a wonderful vintage look. Be sure you purchase one that when you  remove the paper on the foil   it has a metal colored backing. The foil tape I have was white on the back once the paper was removed. This still looks good but would have been great had I used the right foil. Since I made this tag I have noticed the type Tim used where the Tim Holtz line is located in my Michaels. I think it is by Essentials.
     To adhere the image to the front of the charm you will need to apply a small amount of glossy accents to the charm and then burnish the image to the charm. After this dries you just trim it with either scissors or an Exacto knife. I finished the edges off with a gold foil pen.

     As you can see I attached these to the tag with small brads and some twine. In order to complete the look I used some small gold bells that I attached with some raffia. However it some how did not look complete. I rummaged through my supplies and found this twig of red berries and they just seemed to go perfect. Guess I will be doing a lot more transparencies this year, lol. You should really give this a try.

Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas #6

     Ok you are not missing the other tags. I watched Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas and played along when I had the supplies or time. (You know what I am talking about in regards to time at Christmas time, lol). Anyways this tag REALLY intrigued me because of the drill punch.
     I am always looking at Tim's section in my local craft store and saw this thing that looked like a huge hinge. I thought, what in the world does he use this for? (Guess I should have looked at the header to see what it was, lol). You can only imagine how thrilled I was when I saw Tim use it on the video for Tag#6! You use it to drill holes in soft metal. How cool is that!

     I decided to use this on an ornament. The wonderful thing about Tim's Tags is the inspiration he gives you. I had this glass ball hanging around and although I thought it would be nice, it didn't have the glitter I was looking for. I held onto it and decided it would be perfect for this technique of Tim's. Boy was I right!
     Thank goodness I had Tim's adornment with the wreath. I thought I could use it for something and then, along came Tim's 12 tags.First I started to drill the hole using the hand drill. The wreath was then painted with green acrylic paint and then distressed with Tim's sanding grip. After, I added some red berries also with acrylic paint. I used Ranger embossing ink to the whole wreath and covered with Kaleidoscope transparent embossing powder by Stamp N Stuff and heated the wreath to set the powder. The colors are just gorgeous!

     The inside image is from Tim's Seasonal Stack that I covered with paper glaze then cut to fit inside the wreath.You can tell from the top photo the image is of a wonderful winter countryside.I finished off the ornament by tying a red cording and a small jingle bell. After adding a white sheer bow to the top it is ready to hang. Thanks Tim for being the inspiration behind this ornament.

Tag 1 Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas

  Ok, so now I get to play and share a few of the projects I learned from Tim Holtz fabulous 12 Tags of Christmas! I just love all the techniques he shared this season and it's the first time I have been able to play around.
     This first tag had some great techniques including some new ones as well as some I always love to use. I cut my own tag using Art Philosophy @ 6.25" which is the equivalent to the manilla tag Tim sells.The first part is to emboss the tag first with a dry embossing and then to add some embossing ink and white opaque embossing powder. The effect is a nice pearled sort of background. Of course that is followed by distressed inking Antique Linen) after a little distressing. I love Tim's sanding grip. It seems to give you nice control and is easy to apply just the right amount of pressure without sanding away too much of the paper. Oh I forgot to mention I used the snowflake embossing folder from the cuttlebug.
     I thought I would use the "Let It Snow" phrase from Winter Frolic so I cut it @2.25 from some glittered card stock I had. I also cut the shadow from a metallic silver card stock from my stash, lol.The snowflakes are also from the Frolic cart.
     The challenging part about this cart is the pinecones. I searched all over to find this die of Tim's but to no avail. So I searched my cartridge "library" and settled on a cut from the gypsy font. I need a LOT more practice,lol. After some distressing inks and shaping, I added some Martha Stewart crystal glitter and some of Tim Holtz' snow cap paint to the edges. Although I am not too happy with the finished product, I know with some practice I will do better.
   I forgot to mention I used a strip of Tim's Seasonal Pack for the music sheet and also distressed the edges with Vintage Photo ink. The final touches were a few leaves cut with martha's leaf punch and some bling and pearls to jazz it up!
     I completed the tag with a nice ribbon and a snowflake brad. I can't wait to do more of his tags!