Sunday, April 30, 2017

Eclectic Ellapu May 2017 Challenge - Design Team

Due to the kindness of a fellow crafting friend, I have a plethora of colored tags. The stash of green tags keeps catching my eye, so several of my projects lately have started with a green tag base. As a few birthday presents sat on my desk calling out to me to finish packaging up for the mail, I felt that they needed a little something extra before I sealed them for mailing. Tags! I had already made another birthday tag for a present that went into the mail a couple weeks earlier, so more sounded like a great idea! This is part of Eclectic Ellapu's May "Anything Goes" challenge; come create with us and enter your project in the May challenge!

These tags I took in a different direction. I started by spraying what became their backs with hickory smoke Distress Spray Stain and Lindy's Stamp Gang gossamer gold Moon Shadow Mist spray. A little heat from the heat gun to dry, then flip over for some leaf green and grey Brushos application. I wasn't in love with how the Brushos turned out, but knew I was going to cover it up with ephemera anyway. It did cement that the Brushos' side of the tag would be the front, though!


Because I have a bit-too-abundant scrap paper drawer, I was determined to use some of it for my tag ephemera.
Tag #1 (starting on the left) has a scrap of napkin, inked book paper, soap packaging, used dryer sheet, and an image from a package of rubber stamps I ordered.


Tag #2 has a fiber paper scrap, metallic doily, used dryer sheet, and a fussy cut of a mis-stamped image from a past project.


Tag #3 has a catalog scrap and a cut out from a Netflix mailer.


As you can see from my ephemera list, I am a fan of upcycling. See an interesting image? Cut it out and add it to a drawer or folder collection. Twice or thrice used dryer sheets? A great source of soft texture or fog/snow effects for projects.


{crafted while listening to M.R. Carey's "The Girl With All the Gifts" audiobook}

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Matching Tissue Birthday Tag

When I had a birthday gift to mail out last week, for some reason I was not in the mood to add a birthday card. Instead, I decided to use some of the teal pinstripe tissue paper (thanks, ThredUp for a cool reusable!) that I had wrapped the gift in to make a tag.


I dry-brushed gesso in a neat pattern over a green tag, then used acrylic glazing medium to stick some tissue to the tag in a somewhat transparent manner. It needed some more tissue, so I took another piece and dabbed it in some excess twisted citron Distress Stain Spray I had puddled from another project I had been working on, prior to adhering it in an opposing direction on the tag.

My ephemera for this project came from the Tim Holtz Thrift Shop pack. As I played with layout and finalized my specific ephemera picks, I saw that the background needed more behind the ephemera. Washi tape to the rescue! The vintage ephemera needed a touch of vintage tape, and I love that the metallic arrows both added some shine and could stand in for the ups and downs of our days.


Here is the finished tag with pop-up ephemera moths, inked edges, baker's twine, and a sea green Brushos & Lindy's Stamp Gang gossamer gold back:




{crafting while listening to Jonathan Franzen's "Purity" audiobook}

Entered in:
4 Crafty Chicks - challenge #347 Butterflies

A Bit More Time to Craft - challenge #42 anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - challenge #177 anything goes w/optional twist
Crafting By Designs - Vintage challenge
Crafty Catz - challenge #367 anything goes w/optional twist
Creative Fingers - challenge #128 anything goes

Creative Moments - challenge #116 anything goes w/optional twist of Spring
Word Art Wednesday - challenge #278-279 anything goes