Inspiration for Tags

These creations are always a process to make. But once in a while I find some inspiration in ordinary everyday things. I was shopping in a store and saw a display that I just loved. I thought I could reproduce it in my studio!

I loved the industrial look that had elegant touches to it. The lightbulbs were so unusual in their shape and size. Awesome display!

This was the inspiration for this tag! The background is Distress Stain Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge. Once dried a piece of Tim Holtz Tissue wrap was adhered with glue stick, then scrunched up while wet. Let the tissue dry with all those lovely wrinkles. Edge the tag with vintage photo distress ink on a blending tool. Then I stamped a verse from one of Tim's stamp sets. Using the window die from Tim's Alterations line, I cut a piece of Grungeboard to fit just the inside of the window, then trimmed out the center. This makes a great frame. I cut grungeboard gears from Tim's Gadget Gears Alterations die and painted all the pieces with distress paints. At a big box craft store I found these amazing charms that are lightbulbs. I attached some jewelry making string to the charms and hung them behind the frame. Very industrial looking!

 This tag was made using Tim's stamp set, and Alterations dies. The background uses distress ink, feathered peacock and pine needles applied with the blending tool. I stamped the background design in Wendy Vecchi's Archival ink "Tree Branch". The color is impressive. It's a light brown but is crisp and bold enough to show a nice image. A strip of acetate was alcohol inked and attached to the back of the filmstrip die cut. The tag turned out so well, it surprised me, as I had the stamp set for a few years but hadn't used it, not seeing exactly how I would use it. Sometimes you just have to sit down and play with a product or stamp to see what exactly you can do with it!

This third tag is a combination of former tag techniques all in one tag. It looks very simple but there is a lot that went into making it! Each grungeboard rectangle has a different inking technique used on it. Upper left is an embossing resist over evergreen bough distress paint. Upper right is stamped and then inked with vintage photo and the blending tool. Lower left is the Rusted Enamel technique that I just love. Wanting to keep the same color scheme, I had to pre-stain the grungeboard with picket fence distress stain to achieve the light blue/green color of the evergreen bough distress ink. Onto the pre-stained grungeboard rectangle apply evergreen bough distress ink with the blending tool. Pour Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel over the rectangle, and tap off excess. You do not want full coverage as you normally would. There should be specks of no powder. Heat to melt the powder, and let cool. Then apply distress ink Vintage photo to the rectangle over the enamel and into all the non-enameled spaces. Wipe enamel with a wipe and you then have the "Rusted Enamel Technique". The last square is embossed in an embossing folder, painted black, then once dry sanded to reveal the grey grunge in the raised spots. I then inked the rectangle with evergreen distress ink with the blending tool. At the bottom of the tag is an embossed piece of metal I painted black. Once dry I then used Evergreeen Bough distress paint over the black, then wiped off some of the paint to give that patina look! I topped off the tag by adding some metals to embellish it.

 I hoped you enjoyed these creations. This class runs through mid June. E-mail me for details on attendance to one of these classes, or check out my calender to the right on this page.

Next time I'll share another book I just treasure.

Till then

Kim