Dog Tags for a Mom Who is Dog Tired

Hey People!! Just a quick post tonight as I am TIRED.  This is the last of the 8th grade campaign propaganda for the Sergeant of Arms office that my oldest kiddo is running for.  I made dog tags (yes, the kiddo got a "by" on this one as he was studying for a science test.  Seems to me that tests out rank making paper dog tags!).  Very simple, yet pretty cool, if I do say so myself!



I cut  2"  x 1 1/8" strips of silver metallic paper from DCWV and rounded the corners with my corner rounder.  Grabbed a stack of them and used my Cropadile to punch the center hole.  Wrote Sergeant of Arms on one tag and Kiddos name on the other tag.  Tied some silver cording (retired from SU).  The end.  Easy peasy.

Friday is the elections.  Kiddo has to give a speech, which he is sooo not thrilled about. Keep your fingers crossed for him, please!

I hope to actually have a "grown up" project to share by the weekend!! But, like I said previously, I use the kiddo projects to justify all my "stuff" BHWHAHAAAAA!!

Thank for dropping by again!!  Till the next time......

Tag!!

Happy Friday Peoples!!  And with Friday comes the Just for Fun® color challenge!  This week Sandy challenged us to use the following colors:

Of course, my colors look NOTHING like the challenge!! REALLY!! I did try!!  And I just realized that I must be stuck in a creative mode.  I made another tag....with a silhouette.....and butterflies!!

Pretty straight forward on this.  Started with a vanilla shipping tag and pulled out the  Distress Inks. Shabby Shutters (that was my "lime" green) was sponged along the bottom with a touch of Mustard Seed.  Tumbled Glass was sponged along the top portion of the tag.  I stamped the Wildflower Silhouette from Just For Fun® with Walnut Stain and then did some generation stamping with the image to add the background shadows. The edges of the tag were distressed and sponged using Walnut Stain. The Small Butterflies were stamped on a first attempt tag (cough, cough) using Mustard Seed, Broken China and Walnut Stain.  They were cut out and adhered with rolled glue dots along the body only.  Tiny pearls were colored a light lime green with my copics and added to the bodies of the butterflies.  The sentiment "friends" was stamped along the edge with Broken China ink.  I paper pierced the flight trail and last but not least, the great fibers from my friend Melody completes the tag!

I think I am going to have to do another project with these colors this weekend.  BUT!! I need to try and stay more to the brighter tones of these colors!! HEY!! I should get points for not totally bailing out on the challenge! (Yes, I do try and justify my less than stellar creations).  Lucky for you all, there is lots of inspiration to be found from the other Just for Fun® team members!

Sherry Cheever

Broni Holcombe

Kat Tucker

Sandy Sandrus

Roni Johnson

Glenda Brooks

Beth Moore

And

Margarita Ybarra

Remember! You do NOT have to use Just for Fun stamps to play along (although, we'd love to see what you do with them, if you've got them!!).  Just link your creation on the Just For Fun Blog using Mr. Linky. 

Thanks for stopping by again today!  Remember to make time for some creativity over your weekend!

Is it Friday YET?!

Morning People!! I cannot believe it is only Tuesday!! I feel as if it should be at LEAST late Thursday, LOL!!

I spent Sunday touring the Pasadena Design House with my mother-in-law (sorry, no pictures allowed!).  The design house is a fundraiser for the arts.  The committee decides on a local historic house, mansion or new construction to "design" with the lastest and best.  A group of designers are chosen given their presentations on what they would do with a given color scheme and somewhat a theme to a certain room. Each chosen designer is then assigned a room (or hallway, ceiling, garden area) to redecorate.  There are some WAAAY over the top designs as no surface is left untreated!!  This year the house was not quite as over the top as it is used by the Red Cross as offices, so the "homeowners" won't be purchasing the upgrades or home decor.  Still, it is always fun to get some new ideas (this year will probably cost the Toad the patio cover!)

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Yesterday I REALLY needed to put something together for Teacher Appreciation Day (which is today).  But as luck would have it, my allergies decided to kick in with the light winds and the blooming flora.  Let's just say that Mojo decided to go into hiding somewhere in the stuffed up cranium!! With the help of come cyber friends, I finally decided to quit fighting the fact that I would not end up in the papercrafters hot spot if I went a bought teacher gifts versus made them. I ended up buying some Herb Window Sill plants that came with three different herbs, the biodegradable pots and the wooden crate to hold them.  I even gave serious thought of buying the cards (GASP!!), a sure way to end up burning, but I kind of redeemed myself by finding enough mojo late last night to make the tags for the gifts. 

The original idea was to use the Faux Bleach technique with distress inks.  So I embossed my tags, picked out distress inks in Crushed Olive, Tumbled Glass and Rusty Hinge and discovered that it is possible to have colors that will not show up the Faux Bleaching!! No big deal. Didn't really care for the shade of Crushed Olive for what I had in mind. Got out three more tags, and switched out the Crushed Olive for Peeled paint and went with the wrinkle free distress technique instead.  I was applying two to three different layers of color when I got interrupted on the last tag and discovered that I liked ONE layer of color better!! Sooooo, repeat the first two tags until I FINALLY got the three tags with a background of color I liked! I then spritzed the required (hehe) Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Antique Linen over the background.

The Brushed Wildflowers is from Just for Fun Stamps®.  This image is one of my favorite images in my stamp collection! I love the lines and it just lends itself for tags or those CAS projects!  I stamped the image with distress Walnut Stain.  I then inked up the Background Block script from Just for Fun Stamps® with distress Stormy Sky, stamped off once and randomly stamped portions of the image on the tag. The edges of the tags were then sponged with distress Vintage Photo and the entire tag was adhered to a piece of SU's Cool Carribean cardstock.  The cool fibers were a RAK from my friend Melody.   Here are some close up pictures of the two different style of tags.

My oldest son is soon to be 13.  He was not sure about the butterfly as being masculine enough for his male teacher so I swapped out the CUTE butterfly for the simple Thanks (SU's Much Appreciated) and stamped it on a scrap piece of SU's Cool Caribbean with distress Stormy Sky.  The edges were sponged with more Stormy Sky and the sentiment was adhered with dimensionals. 

The butterfly was punched with Martha Stewart's butterfly punch from Cool Caribbean and was spritzed with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Frost.  I then added the rhinestone accents to the body and used a rolled up glue dot to adhere just the body to the front of the tag. 

The herb sets were wrapped in kraft wrapping paper and had more of the fibers winding around it.  The tags really popped off the craft with this color combo. 

Ok....I need to head back to the school to make sure the catered lunch for the teachers gets set up in the right place!!

Hope you all have a wonderful, creative day and thanks for dropping by again!!

And the Tags March On

Hello Peoples!!  I'm on a roll with the 12 Tags of Christmas that         T!m Holtz gave inspiration for!!  I'm really not following the tags in order.  I'm going with what ideas strike with what supplies I have to make my own version.  My first tag is inspired by T!m's Day 7 Tag.  So without further ado: here is my tag number 7:

Don't you just LOVE this image?  The girls at work gave me a gift certificate to Michael's for my birthday and as I was walking up to the cashier to make my purchace, I saw this stamp by Inkadinkado on one of center aisle displays!!  And wouldn't you know it~~it jumped right into my cart!!

Now this stamp made it very easy to make this tag...all the "extras" are pretty much on the stamp already!! I first stamped the image using Jet Black Archival Ink onto the tag.  I had thought about using my ever trusty stampamajig to make sure I aligned the stamp straight. You'll notice I talked myself out of that much needed step as I managed to stamp the image slightly crooked!  PLEASE!!  What was I thinking?!!  I can't write my name straight without lines, did I really expect to be able to stamp this straight?!!  BUT!!  I got lazy and decided that it will only bother me and DH ('cause he makes it his purpose in life to notice my off layers, stamping and such!!).  I then made a mask around the face/lettering  so that I would not cover them when I did the stamping of the flourish (Tattered Angels Regal Classic Accents Clear Stamp...another new "birthday" gift I picked up with the LSS gift certificate that DH gave me!!).  I used some Folk Art acrylic paint in Spring white, brushing it on my clear stamp (I just made sure I washed the stamp in warm water immediately after stamping).  I did not heat set the paint as it dried while I was washing out my brush/stamp.  I then inked the image, avoiding the center of Santa's face with Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles.    I took a damp cloth and wiped off the inks over the painted swirls and then misted the entire tag with Tattered AngelsGlimmer Mist in Pearl.  After heat setting the mist, I applied distress sticles in Fired Brick and Peeled Paint to the holly on Santa's hat.  Let's just say that I need to work on some fine motor skills when it comes to applying stickles!! GEESH!! I got that stuff globbed on!! I finally got wise and let the stickles dry over night (after smearing them and having to apply even MORE stickles to cover up my mistake!) and attached the ribbon and the foilage embellishment in the corner. 

Bonus time again for you!!  I actually made a tag that was inspired by Day 8. 

I do not have the lamp image that T!m used (tho, I have seriously considered it several times....one of these days I'm expecting it to make it into my cart!).  BUT!! I do have the Christmas Lantern by Just for Fun Stamps (sorry, I cannot link directly to the stamp...my wonderful computer (HATE this thing!!) REFUSES to go past the home page.  The number for the stamp is D2747).  But this stamp is only the top of the lamp....it does not have the post.  So I stamped the image on scratch paper drew out a simple post (ok....I'll admit that I drew out a more elaborate post but it did not fit the clean lines of the stamp image.  Sooooo, I modified to a more simple version)  and cut out the entire paper image.  I then stamped the top of the lamp onto grunge paper using versamark ink and embossed using black EP.  I then placed my paper image over the lamp and traced the lamp post using my versamarker and then heat embossed.  Finally, I added a few defining details with the marker and embossed those as well.  The "fine" tip of the versamarker was still wider than I wanted the lines for the post to be, so when I cut out the image from the grunge paper, I just trimmed off some of the embossing. I then cut off the holly leaves off my paper lamp and used it as a mask so that I could ink the grunge holly with Distress Peeled Paint and Pine Needles.  I applied the Distress Stickes in Fired Brick to the berries and then carefully sponged the lamp using a q-tip and Distress Black Soot (you'd think I'd learn to leave such things as stickles for LAST!!).  I colored the flame using my SU markers and applied a thick layer of Ranger Glossy Accents to the "window" to give it that glass appearance. 

I inked up my tag with Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap and made the water drops like T!m shows.  I stamped the flourish from Tattered Angels Classic Accents with Aged Mahogany (love this color combo btw!!).  The music score is by Stampendous and was stamped onto vellum using Archival Jet Black ink.  I then sponged the vellum with Antique Linen and heat set (***Just a note:  this will cause the paper to smoke some as the ink is heat set into the vellum).  I tore the now brittle vellum and sponged with Antique Photo.  Curled the edges and applied to the tag using vellum tape.  The lampost was attched using dimensional tape.  I then sponged antique linen and frayed burlap onto a small tag, stamped the sentiment from SU's Christmas Punch using Aged Mahagany and had to cut out the oval by hand as it would seem I have neglected to add this punch to my tools!!

Well, I hope you are enjoying my takes on T!m's wonderful creativity!! I have one more tag that I HAVE to do so I'm off to work on that now!!

Decorating with Fragments

 I am still playing with the 12 Tags of Christmas on Tim Holtz's blog.  Today was Day 10 and I'm just completing my fourth tag...for day 5!! Here is T!m's tag and here is my version:

I wish that some of the very subtle details would show up better (btw: I'm still taking applications for a photographer!!).  I cut the images from a couple of the plaid sheets that I had stamped previously (sometimes it pays not to throw away your mistakes!!) with a stamp from Inkadinkado and adhered them to the framents using Ranger Glossy Accents.  Since I did not have any foil to make the top of the ornament, I painted the toppers using my gold Krylon paint pen (this is quickly becoming a favorite tool!!).  I stamped the Pine Boughs from Just For Fun using SU's craft Forest Foliage and then clear embossed.  Using various Distress inks (I believe I ended up using Fired Brick, Pine Needles and Vintage Photo) I sponged on the background color.  In the bottom corner I used one of T!m's mini masks to make a flourish.  Tried to lightly swipe Mememto Tuxedo Black over SU's French Script, but I must have a heavy hand as it stamped darker than I was hoping for!!  Then my new favorite "embellishment":  Tattered Angels Glimmer mist was spritzed in Old lace and Pearl over the tag.  It adds just the right amount of shimmer IRL!! The fragments were hung on the tag with care (...sorry....couldn't resist!!) and then I cut apart a brushed copper  Spellbinders Fleur De Les pendent that I had already cut out from my previous 3D ornament project.  I deliberately let the edges hang past the tag.  Tied off with a small bit of brown ribbon and copper cording and DONE!! 

*Some notes:  In hind sight, I would probably have embossed the pine boughs in a thicker embossing powders so that they would show up more.  I would have also toned down the brushed copper paper with some alcohol inks but it would seem that SOMEBODY used up all her felt pads making multiple sheets of the plaid technique!!).  And last~~I would stamp off the French Script for a more subtle look

Thanks for dropping by again today!!  I'm having sooo much fun trying some of these new ideas that T!m is sharing!! It's fun to explore new creative adventures!! 

I'm Dreaming of a Plaid Christmas

Just like the one's that T!!!!m showwwed!!

Welllll....not exactly!  But here is my TAKES (yes!! Bonus today! I have TWO tags to share!!) on Day 3 of the 12 Tags of Christmas (yes, yes.  I know that I've skipped Day 2....I'm still thinking on that one!)

This technique is VERY ADDICTING.  I have multiple plaid sheets done just waiting for some inspiration!! I'd share with you what colors of alcohol inks I used, but, uhhhh,....welllll....it would seem that I just kept grabbing inks, and trying different color combinations and in all honesty...I don't remember which one this was!!

After making my plaid on glossy cardstock (NOT photo paper!!)I stamped  my image from SU's Lovely as a Tree using Stazon White ink and embossed with iridescent ice ep.  I then stamped the swirl from SU's Season of Joy using Stazon Black.  Pulled out the forgotten Itty Bitty Backgrounds from SU, tapped it on the white Stazon and got caught in a blizzard!! The image was then mounted on a basic black and adhered to he vanilla tag that has some Distress ink in Pine Needles, Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo sponged onto it.  Needed something and since I was lacking in the wonderful embellishments that T!m used, I added some antiqued eyelets and the ribbon in grey and black. 

Now~~this next tag is SOOOO much better in real life!! It even got a "That turned out really cool" from DH!!  This is my FAVORITE tag so far!!

Using another plaid sheet that I had made (I tell you! This is a very addictive technique!!) I stamped the image from Inkadinkado using Tuxedo Black Memento ink and heat set (because this ink will smear on glossy if handled too soon......ask me how I know!!).  I trimmed the image (it has words running along the top and one side) and matted on basic black.  I then pulled out Distress inks in Worn Lipstick, Fired Brick, Pine Needles and Peeled Paint and did the wrinkle free distress technique.  I then spritzed the tag with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Old Lace.  It gives a beautiful, soft shimmer!! I then pulled out my Olive Vine Glimmer mist and sprayed some on Whisper White and Old Olive paper and punched the leaves from both sheets using a Martha Stewart punch.  The berries are some 1/2 back pearls from SU's Pretties Kit, colored with my copics.  Added a couple of 26 gauge copper wire twists and the copper cording for the top. 

If you are playing along with the 12 Tags of Christmas, leave me a comment so that I can see were your inspiration is taking you!! And if you aren't playing along but are crankin' out the holiday goodies, leave me a comment so I can see what you are doing!!

I'm off to try and find the motivation to do some house cleaning.  I'm having waaaay too much fun stamping these last couple of days, but I've got to get some basic chores done!!

Thanks for dropping by again!! 

One the First Day of Tags

(Get the 12 days of Christmas Song in your head...it is going to be a running theme on my blog for a while!)

On the First day of Taaags T!m Holtz gave to me....the in~spir~aaation for this!!

Ooooooo!! How much fun was THIS?!!  I absolutely LOOOOVE T!m's creativity and the fact that he does the 12 Tags of Christmas!  This year, my goal is to play along  as much as possible and use the tags for the office girls/boss gift bags.  That means I have at least 8 tags that I will be inspired to try!!  Are you all just sitting on the edge of your seats?!! hehe

Ok...for this tag I pretty much followed T!m's tag with my own side trips (I'm lacking in the stamp area of T!m's collection....hopefully not for too much longer!! hehe). I used distress inks in Broken China, Dusty Concord and Faded Jeans for my background.  I stamped a flourish from Rhonna Farrer using Broken China and the snowflakes come from SU's Christmas Punch set and they were stamped using Jet Black Archival ink.  Now....I obvioulsy need to learn how to "frost a cake" better (as T!m describes how much of the Rock Candy Distress Crackle to put on) because I did NOT get the same crackled look that T!m's tag did (trust me...the next one is going to be better!).  I thought I had let the crackle process dry enough before helping it along with my heat gun....Let's just say that the ONE spot that I had gotten a LOT of crackle on bubbled up!! What to do?  Pulled out my new Spellbinders Create a Flake One Snowflake and cut, embossed and stenciled the snowflake to put over my little mess up.  The first layer of the snowflake is attatched using some dimensional tape.  The other layers were then added using my Pro Glider.  I applied some Ranger Glossy Acents and then sprinkled a light coat of Barbara Trombley's Art Glitter inVintage Shards Glass over the layers.  After that had dried, I applied a heavier coat of the Glossy accents on the top layer of the snowflake and then LOTS more of the glass glitter.  OHHHH!! It's sooo puuurrrdy!!

Next came the Grunge board flouish from the grunge board plain elements pack.  I painted the flourish using some Folk Art acrylic paint in Spring white and while the paint was still wet, I misted it with Tattered Angels Glimmer mist in Pearl.  After letting it dry (for the most part...I obviously have very little patience, 'cause I managed to smudge a couple of edges) I lightly sponged some distress inks in Broken China and Dusty Concord along the edges.  I adhered the grunge flourish with some more glossy accents (makes a great glue!).  The final touches were using Glossy Accents along the top edge and first applying some of Martha Stewart's Snow Glitter then another layer using her Carrara Marble glitter.    Saw the Merry Christmas sentiment from Just for Fun sitting on my desk and did a little masking to break up the sentiment and stamped it using Jet Black archival ink.  Pulled out a bit of ribbon from Michael's dollar bin and I'm giddy with excitement on how this turned out!!

I've already cleaned up my mess so that I can start on the next tag!!  I think that my house will never be cleaned up and ready for Christmas at this rate!! Too much fun playing with these new ideas!!  LOL!!

Ok...I'm off to work on tag number 2!

Thanks for dropping by today!! I hope that you will be inspired to try something new and different in your creative time today!!

Out of My Comfort Zone

My DH has a theory about artists. He feels that everyone has artistic abilities, but somewhere down the line, we are influenced by adults, teachers, parents, friends or what have you, and start to put our imaginations and creativity into a "box". This box is what tells us that we must paint the sky blue, stay within the lines and don't mix this with that. The younger we start to put ourselves in this box, the sooner we lose our ability to really "create". Those we deem "artists", are those who refuse to but themselves into that box and are still willing to take chances with their creativity.

I find it amusing that people find me "creative". I know that I can paint or draw a picture, but I usually have to look at something for inspiration. I'm such the "visual" person that I don't think I can "see" the details enough to create something out of my head. I love to put together ideas for a room, yet, I'm always afraid that I might not like the outcome (what is the worse that can happen? I have to repaint?!! Throw out something that I thought would be perfect?!) I think that I am in my creative box, but the flaps aren't locked down. I can see out of the box, but I'm just scared to actually STEP out of it!!

I love the grunge look that Tim Holtz is famous for. I'm just in awe of how he can take all these different colors, elements and make them look FABULOUS!!! I have quite the collection of trinkets (haven't noticed them being used, have you?!!) and inks from his collection, but I just find myself afraid to go in the opposite direction of my usual CAS.

BadSherry, aka Yoda to this padawon, is another person who I so admire for her skill in making grunge look soooooo fab!! I think my fear of "being too cluttered" gets in my way of just letting go when I try to create this look. Sherry is another one who can combine all these different patterns, embellishments and make them work!

But!! I today I decided to give it a go. If I don't start pushing those box flaps aside, I will never grow in my creativity. Here is the beginning of a journey out of my comfort zone

I took Distress Inks and swiped them along my craft sheet. Used a spray bottle to mist the inks and laid my vanilla shipping tag in the ink (BadSherry calls this "that inky thing she does"!). Dried with my heat gun and laid it down again in the ink to get the missed spots. I stamped the images from Tim's set "Flights of Fancy" using Black Soot Distress ink. Since these stamps are clear, it is easy to position them where I thought I wanted them without using my favorite tool, the stampamajig (tho, I will confess to using the printed backer sheet for a rough visual placement before stamping!!). I then lightly sponged some Vintage Photo distress ink along the edges. Remembered that I had some cool fibers from my friend Melody (aka Laceyquilter on SCS), had given me a while back. Knotted those on.

Definitely not my CAS look that I've been doing lately. But I tried something new. And I rather like it (didn't say LOVE it....but like is a good way to continue on the willingness to try this again).Supplies: Stamps: Flights of Fancy, Tim Holtz. Inks: Ranger Distress Inks in Spiced Marmalade, Worn Lipstick, Faded Jeans, Vintage Photo and Black Soot. Accessories: Spray bottle, multicolored fibers.

Thanks for stopping by again!! I love your feedback and I hope that today I can encourage you to try something out of your comfort zone when creating.