supplies: (ranger) craft sheet, distress ink/broken china/faded jeans/stormy sky/pumice stone/vintage photo/peeled paint/fired brick, paint dabbers/snow cap/pitch black/sunset orange, glossy accents, distress embossing ink, heat tool, super fine detail black embossing powder, ink blending tool, #8 tag; (idea-ology) grungeboard, mini pin, jump ring, muse token, long fasteners, washers, sanding grip, trimmings, grungepaper; (stampers anonymous) winter sketchbook stamp set; (sizzix alterations) tag & bookplates die, winter wonder die, snowflurries texture fade; (tonic) scissors, craft pick; (misc) tulle, holly punch
(step 1): cut 2 snowman from grungeboard using winter wonder die.
(step 2): working on craft sheet, paint one snowman with snow cap white paint dabber. let dry.
(step 3): cut the second snowman into parts shown: arms, hat, nose
(step 4): paint the hat and nose with paint dabbers.
(step 5): punch 2 holly leaves from grungepaper. *there's a cool martha holly punch here.
(step 6): ink the holly, arms, and edges of the hat and nose with distress inks using ink blending tool.
(step 7): sand the edges of the snowman with sanding grip to expose grunge around the edges.
(step 8): ink "merry christmas" stamp with distress embossing ink and stamp on bottom of snowman.
(step 9): apply super fine detail black embossing powder over stamped text.
(step 10): emboss with heat tool until image is shiny.
(step 11): ink the edges of the snowman with pumice stone distress ink using an ink blending tool. *pumice stone is my favorite color since i like to shade everything with it.
(step 12): "build" snowman by adhering the pieces with glossy accents over snowman base.
(step 13): color trimmings and tie around neck.
(step 14): apply snow cap dabber to the edge of the tag creating a dry brush effect. let dry.
(step 15): ink tag with broken china distress ink using ink blending tool.
(step 16): shade background with stormy sky and faded jeans distress ink using ink tool.
*this is what you should end up with – the paint dabber resists the distress ink giving a snowy effect to the edge. simple…
(step 17): next gather up all of your old plastic packaging. yep! the stuff from your grungeboard or other idea-ology stuff, or from those headphones you got at costco, etc. anything with plastic packaging – we're recycling this stuff!
(step 18): with sharp scissors, cut off any raised edges of your packaging so you just have a flat piece.
(step 19): die cut a #8 tag using tag & bookplate die from plastic.
(step 20): place the clear tag into the snowflurries texture fade and emboss it.
*oh yeah – that is so cool looking! the deep embossed designs of the texture fades creates a deep impression in the plastic packaging giving you an amazing designed overlay. some plastics will even frost a little when you do this. try it will all kinds of plastic packaging – oh the possibilities…
(step 21): apply glossy accents to back of grunge snowman and adhere to tag. hold to dry.
(step 22): place embossed clear tag over snowman tag and pierce hole through corner with craft pick.
(step 23): insert a long fastener through a washer. *these things are so great to use for so many things.
(step 24): insert the washer and fastener through both tags securing them together.
(step 25): repeat for all corners and attach a muse token to tulle on tag with a jump ring and mini pin.
*in the details: i love the effect of our layered snowman under a layer of "ice". the texture and reflections of this tag just can't be captured by camera to show how cool this really looks…
so start saving that packaging and put it to good use. this technique can be used with all of your embossing folders and my alterations dies to cut and design just about anything. you can even cut it into pages for a mini book, texture it, and even color it with alcohol inks! i hope you explore the creative possibilities of this one and have fun doing it – i did…which means of course i couldn't stop creating tonight! here's another idea i had for packaging by creating a little trinket collage…enjoy…t!m
– i gathered some supplies: packaging from muse tokens, a cheap ikea frame, some tiny trinkets, a 1" circle punch, some seasonal paper stash sheets (since they have mini images), scissors, black paint, and some glossy accents.
– i cut off the front of the muse tokens packaging from today's tag (there is also an inside sheet). i punched 12 circles from my paper stash and glued them to a sheet of white cardstock and adhered my trinkets with glossy accents.
– i taped the two side edges of the plastic and cardstock together, painted the frame black, and put it into the frame. i filled the top and bottom space with some vintage tinsel to finish it off. another cool idea for packaging i think!
– here's an up close look to shown the packaging is not smashed down over the trinkets. the frame holds everything together.
