12 tags of christmas…day 9

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supplies: (ranger): craft sheet, distress ink/wild honey/brushed corduroy/walnut stain, archival ink/jet black, perfect pearls mist/heirloom gold, ink blending tool, glossy accents, matte multi-medium, heat tool, #8 tag; (idea-ology) adornments, accoutrements/fanciful, long fasteners, design ruler, texture hammer, baubles, trimmings, sanding grip, seasonal paper stash; (stampers anonymous) christmas carols; (sizzix alterations) paper rosette decorative strip, upon a time decorative strip; (tonic) scissors, craft pick, paper distresser; (misc) glue gun, tinsel garland, tulle, coredinations paper

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(step 1): stamp christmas carols stamp on to tag with archival ink – it's very important the ink you stamp with is waterproof.  let dry.

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(step 2): apply wild honey and brushed corduroy distress inks to craft sheet by pressing the pad down on to the sheet.

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(step 3): shake the heirloom gold perfect pearls mists well and mist the inked sheet until large droplets of pearl appear. *i used more perfect pearls mist than i usually use water because i want a very shimmery background.

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(step 4): swipe tag through the inked sheet – do not press down.

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(step 5): dry tag with heat tool.

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*once the tag is dry you will see the luminous perfect pearls mixed with the warm distress ink colors.  you can re-swipe tag on your craft sheet if desired.

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(step 6): drag paper distresser along edges of tag.

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(step 7): ink edges of tag with walnut stain distress ink using ink blending tool.

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(step 8): place tag on cork or foam pad and place design ruler along the bottom edge of tag.  with craft pick, pierce holes evenly spaced about 1/4" from edge and 3/8" apart – if you're using the design ruler this is a snap since the holes are through the ruler already!  check out this video to learn more about the design ruler.

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(step 9): insert long fasteners through each hole.

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(step 10): place tag on hammer mat and tap the tops with bump tip of texture hammer to dent brads.

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*my absolute favorite thing about the texture hammer is using it on brads and staples to give a distressed look.  just a few taps and presto – vintage nailheads!

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(step 11): sand coredinations paper with sanding grip. *if you don't have coredinations, distress whatever paper you're going to use for the letters.  i prefer to do all of my distressing to these small letters before cutting – saves load of time.

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(step 12): die cut the upon a time strip 3 times for letters. (if you want to cut the paper to size and cut each letter individually you can, but i don't mind have extra letters for other projects so i always cut the entire alphabet each time i need to)

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(step 13): adhere each letter to tag with glossy accents and let dry.

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(step 14): apply glossy accents to the top of each letter.  let dry.

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*if you've never used glossy accents before, this is what makes it perfect – it doesn't drip off of the letters or spread out after you apply it.  it dries with amazing glossy shine and dimension in one application.

(step 15): create paper rosette from the seasonal paper stash following these video steps:

 

 

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(step 16): ink finished rosette with brushed corduroy distress ink using ink blending tool. *this will shade the perforations and edges of the rosette nicely.

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(step 17): lightly mist the inked rosette with heirloom gold perfect pearls mist.

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(step 18): immediately dry with heat tool.

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(step 19): turn rosette over and apply small droplets of hot glue around outside edge.

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(step 20): immediately apply tinsel garland to back edge.

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(step 21): adhere rosette to tag with glue gun.

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(step 22): apply matte multi-medium to back of adornments.

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(step 23): adhere heart and crown to center of rosette and let dry.  *i prefer matte multi-medium when gluing metal to any surface.  it takes a while to dry, but is very permanent once it does and because it's matte you don't have to be neat when you're gluing.  i use this stuff for all of my dimensional art projects and jewelry pieces.

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(step 24): cut off shanks of accoutrements with tonic scissors (yes my scissors cut button shanks, wire, metal, and so much more!)

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(step 25): tie a knot in a piece of tulle.

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(step 26): tear off one end of the tulle using your fingers to create a tattered look and cut the other end off right to the knot.

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(step 27): adhere tulle and accoutrement buttons to tag with glue gun.

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(step 28): create custom trimmings by wetting white trimming with water and swiping distress ink pads over them.  *we've done this for the previous tags.

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(step 29): mist the trimmings with heirloom gold perfect pearls mist to add a pearlescent finish and let dry or dry with heat tool.

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(step 30): tie trimmings to tag and attach baubles with jump ring.  beautiful…

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*in the details:  the elegant simplicity of this tag is so amazing.  the shine of the glossy accented letters, the vintage font from the upon a time die, the custom paper rosette with tinsel garland, and what can be better than those accoutrement buttons?  the rich warm tones and shimmer of the perfect pearls mists tie everything together on this tag…

Tim Holtz Creative Chemistry 101