Ninth Tag - Enamel technique

Day 9 - Someone asked me the other day what I do with all these tags.  Hmm,  had to think on that one.  I actually save them from year to year as inspiration.  Each tag represents new color combos, techniques, or tools/stamps/etc that I can use throughout the year.  Whenever I get stuck or am looking for something new to try, I dig through my big box of tags, and get inspired.  How about you?

Todays tag used double embossing, which makes the tag end result look like enamel.  First the leaves are embossed, then distress ink is rubbed all over the tag, covered with yet more clear embossing powder and embossed.  We added glossy accents to the letters for extra depth and shine.

Eighth Tag - Steampunk Christmas

Day 8-  Don't you just love these 3 guys?  It was fun to pull out all the gears, and get all steampunky with them.  The new seasonal distress colors for Christmas are so beautiful.  The Holly Berry Red really stands out.  No real new technique today - but we did get to grunge up the gears after they were die cut, and used a few inks to make them look a little more rusted.  Well,  I'm on the downward slope - only 4 more to post.

Seventh Tag - Gold and Glorious

Day 7   - Don't you just love these colors?  Nothing beats Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist, over a tag distressed with all the browns in the distress family.  The other technique today was to play with glassine paper.  I have done a few things with this before, but never alcohol inks.  Too Cool!  After you pounce all over this great paper with the alcohol inks, you heat it to get it set in, then scrunch it up into a ball, over and over again until you like the amount of wrinkles.  The cool thing is that the more you wrinkle it, the softer it becomes.  Way too beautiful.  I didn't have the holly die cut, but think the tattered leaves worked for a close second.

Sixth Tag - Foiled again

Day 6  took some thinking.  It turned out kinda goofy -  since I improvised.  I tried to make it look like the jalopy was driving into the woods, but adding that embossed piece turned out to be more tricky than I thought - and since I didin't get the logic gene - I didn't realize how it was going to affect the trees I embossed first.  Oh well.  The technique was fun, loved the effect of painting on the foil, and then adding the high gloss of clear embossing powder.

Fifth Tag - Merry Christmas

Day 5 - Never ever throw away the plastic packaging all those fun embellishments come in.  That is what I used to cut out todays tag.  The technique today is really fun. It's like 'magic'. I used all the red colors of alcohol inks I had to make this gorgeous colored tag.  THEN - you stamp on the ink with black archival ink.  I used the trio of trees.  After you stamp, while the ink is still wet - you blot it off.  Amazing the way it takes the color away and leaves you with a clear image.  Pretty cool right?

Fourth Tag - Frosty the Snowman

Day 4 was my favorite so far.  The colors, the techniques,  all very fun.  There are so many layers of color and texture, you have to really look closely.  You start by painting the grunge board white.  After cutting out the snowflake and snowman (I used some pieces from the old holiday grungeboard cutout packs), you paint them with rock candy crackle paint - real thick so it gets great crackles in it.  After the pieces dry - i used two different colors of  distress stains (weathered wood and tumbled glass) to get that gorgeous blue color.  The tag was created using the same blue stains along with the new white picket fence distress stain.  Don't you just love that color!  I also stamped some snowflakes on the tag, and attached an 'on the side' snowflake border I cut out of old packaging materials.  I had not tried using the movers and shapers to cut out a design in a die cut yet - so that was fun to play with.  I really like the way it turned out.  It is backed with old music paper from my piano books, and topped with glossy accents to make it shine.  This tag reminds me of a cold winter day in Minnesota!

Third Tag - Holiday Greetings

Day 3 was a bit of a challenge.  I didn't have the 2 main items - the stamp and embossing folder.  SO - I pulled out all the holiday saying stamps I had, and built a collage.  I don't know if you can see the shimmer or not - but I used biscotti perfect pearls.  One of my favorite ways to add a little pizazz to a project.  I love all the different pieces in the festive greenery die.  It's one of the 12" long ones and has holly, ferns, flourish, and other 2 other types of greenery.  Very fun to put together.