hey bloggers! well i'm all packed up and ready to head off to california this weekend for the carson show. luckily i have a few friends staying behind to work in the studio all weekend to continue prepping for the show workshops (so much still to do…). as promised i wanted to share a few more samples i've created using my new release stamps debuting this weekend at the carson stamp show, but "officially" released at cha-summer later this month. many of you have asked if there is any way to pre-order the sets and i have GREAT news! my friends at the inspiration emporium are now taking pre-orders of the images, but even better – they are going to be at the carson show picking up their stamps so they will be shipping them next week! lucky you! well let's get on with the tags. i'll be tweeting from the carson show so be sure to follow me on twitter to see more tags i'll be creating during the weekend. you can also follow mario on twitter for all of the behind the scenes stuff – he's really good at tweeting all of that. oh yeah – another BIG sneak peek tomorrow…t!m
postcard tags: i know many people thought i was crazy doing a set of just vintage postcard headers, but guess again. i always design with purpose! i'm always asked "what to do with tags after you make them?"…the answer – mail them of course. here i created a set of postcard tags that can be used on the back of your tags, or better yet, make a set just like this and tie them up to give as a gift to someone traveling for the holidays. i simply stamped the postcard top with archival ink, stamped the holly cluster with distress ink, and blended the edges with distress. the final touch were berries created with distress stickles. pretty cool after all huh???
happy holidays: each year i try to design a santa with the special look in his eye. this year is an instant favorite! i also love the other elements that go with this set including the christmas carol background, holly cluster, and this cool vintage "happy holidays" embossed with gold embossing powder. the tag was stamped and inked with distress inks, but the santa was created by painting a small area in the center of the tag with snow cap white paint dabber and then stamp the santa with archival. once dry, i accented with a little distress stickles and blended a bit more ink around the edges. the dimension of the happy holiday banner and timepiece really give this a festive feel…
winter watercolor: this new sketch set is so fun to use. whether you can watercolor or not, this set will make you look like a pro. just create an inked background on the tag using distress ink and a little water on your craft sheet. once dry, stamp the tree with archival ink and emboss the merry christmas with red embossing powder. using a wet paint brush or waterbrush, simply swipe the brush across your distress pad to get color to paint with. the tree was colored and shaded with one single distress color – walnut stain. just keep adding layers for more depth. the pine and snowflakes were stamped later with distress inks and to finish it off, i stamped the splatter stamp with white paint dabber for a flurry effect. just like walking in a winter wonderland…
festive flight: okay i really do like this one. i think it's the classic colors of red and green. for this tag, i inked my pine cluster stamp with various colors of distress ink (greens and browns) and stamped on the tag. then i poured clear embossing powder over the image, removed the excess, and embossed it. remember distress ink is an embossable dye ink! then i inked the entire tag with distress inks using an ink blending tool. finally i stamped the greeting with archival ink and stamped a few splatters around it as well. the bird charm is one of my adornments attached to the tag using a memo pin. i can see this one as my holiday card this year – hmmm….
jack frost: there's nothing crazy about this last tag, but i do like the look of these new grunge snowflakes. i'll admit, there are lots of snowflake stamps out there, but they all seem to "clean" to me. i wanted snowflakes with some imperfections and character. i think you can tell they add a cool effect to this tag. i simply inked the tag with distress ink and an ink blending tool. then i spritzed the whole tag with water and dried it – this gave the background a mottled look. then i stamped the snowflakes with white paint dabber and applied a little distress stickles over the top. then i immediately dried the distress stickles with a heat tool for a cool shimmer effect. i feel jack frost nipping at my nose already…
