12 Tags Of 2013 - January

You cannot believe the squeal I let out when I read he was continuing on with the tags! Creative life just wouldn't be the same...right? Thank you for the inspiration Tim!
Nothing like waiting until the very last day! Here is my take on Tim's 12 Tags of 2013 for January. It's a little...okay a lot...industrially gaudy, but it makes me HAPPY! My hands have been stained for days...YIPPEE! Maybe I should add a little more! ;0)

And finally, after many inkings and stainings and combinations therein, I've also included an easy tutorial for a cool background technique (Which I used on my January tag.), that I finally figured out after trying and trying to achieve it this past year, to make a "Colorized Metal Blow Torch Look" on paper. It's an Art to make colorized metal and steel now, but back in the mid 1980's when I was a pimple faced teenager taking Welding and Metal Shop, everyone was cutting out cool shapes and making fabulous signs and such with acetylene torches, while I was just heating up the metal and making colors, being totally fixated on it. It all makes sense to me now, but back then, everyone probably thought I was a bit mental (Still do perhaps!) I love the color combinations and how it changes and manipulates itself....like a metamorphosis. If I could go back in time, I would have cut the metal into cool designs, colored it up, and sold the goods for thousands! Oh, and all the while buying all the IBM and Windows stock I could! ;0)

I've deduced that Aged Mahogany (My fav!), Rusty Hinge, and Walnut Stain Distress Inks seem to make the best base colors. I apply them using Tim's good old technique of blending the inks in a circular motion starting on the craft sheet and moving on to the tag to prevent lines. Give this a little blast of heat to dry. Sorry for the poor photo quality...night shot.

Here is the secret...applying Weathered Wood Distress Stain directly over the blended inks, and then drying. It never occurred to me to apply it like this, but it makes all the difference here. I like do it in stripes, only because that is how I worked my acetylene torch way back when. You will not compromise the color inside the Stain, as the dabber does not allow color in. If the pad get Distress Ink on it, just purge it on your craft sheet a few times while whipping clean the pad. Here is the tag with horizontal stripes, and....

...here is the tag with vertical stripes. Both of the tags are very interesting and really look like heated up metal.

Next, finish off using Tim's spritz and flick technique, by applying water in the palm of your hand and flicking it onto the tag. Dry it with the heat tool after a few seconds.

I got a little too much water on the right tag, but it definitely adds interests. I wish the photos were better, and I wish I found a good colorized metal photo on the internet, but here is the link to a youtube video of a man showing you how he colors metal with a torch. You will see what I mean, sort of, as he doesn't finish the piece, but you will get the gist. I will be doing this technique a lot, so I am sure I will be getting much better photos of the results again.

Back to my January tag...I embossed the horizontal tag from above using the gears, and rubbed straight from the pad, Black Soot and Walnut Stain Distress Inks in different areas of the tag.

I misted the tag with water and then with Ranger's  Sunflower Sparkle, Heirloom Gold, and Perfect Copper Perfect Pearls Mists in the spots of color that I thought coordinated with them, and then misted them with more water to dilute them a bit. I dried it thoroughly.

I took this in the dead of night and just couldn't get my lighting correct to pick up the way it looks like light is shining from behind the gears, so this really looks very plain, but it really is not.

The Sizzix Gears, Mini Clock, and Maya Road Wings were colored with Metallic Distress Stains, then painted with Distress Crackle a bit. After all of this dried, I inked it all up using Walnut Stain.

I added Tim's Idea-ology Ball Chain around the Clock Face and filled it in with Glossy Accents a bit to hold it together, before adding the crackled wings.

This is probably my favorite quote of all of the ones on all of Tim's Stamper's Anonymous images. I thought it was perfect to start off a new year. I stamped it in Jet Black Archival and heat embossing it with Aged Mahogany Distress Embossing Powder. I did the same for the Pointing Finger.

I wanted this Word Stick to match the Philosophy Charm is terms of patina, so I did my best using these Alcohol Inks. It worked very well, and looks down right old!

 

 

 

Supplies:


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

A Heart That Pops???

I have wanted to do a pop up card for some time (Been very intimidated to try it.), and  I have yet to do one, until the challenge at the Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo Group has prompted me to get going on that. Our mission, (Should we choose to except it!) was to make a Pop N Cuts something or another, with a heart, some glitter, and some Wendy stamps. I think I took care of it all on this card for my extra wonderful In-Laws for Valentine's Day, except that I didn't have a Pop N Cuts anything, so instead I used a Sizzix Pop Up Spinning 3D Platform. 

I have to say, I totally love this new stamp set of Wendy's "Sunshine and Art"...the sun especially! He is grown up and not cutsie. I'm totally loving the Plaid design as well.

I stamped the Plaid in Cobalt Archival and the Gate Scroll in Jet Black and embossed it on the giant #12 tag from Ranger after I folded it in half to form a card.

I inked the sky portion with Salty Ocean Distress and the bottom with Cut Grass. I stamped the Sun in Jet Black onto Specialty Stamping Paper, cut it out, and colored it in using every shade of golden toned Distress Markers I have. I adhered that onto the card. I stamped a Floral Art Part with it's coordinating Floral image, colored it in with Distress Markers, and blinged it up using Stickles. It too went on the front of the card.

I stamped the sentiment onto Specialty Stamping Paper, dried it, and inked it using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink, then flicked some water on it. I dried it, and then sewed around the edges. I adhered this to the front of the card. I inked all the edges in Walnut Stain.

For the inside of the card I stamped the Script image in Yellow Chrome Archival, then I stamped the Tulips in Jet Black. I die cut the Spinning 3D Base using a scrap piece of black cardstock and folded and adhered it as per the directions. It took a few tries, and you should probably watch a video rather than listen to me, because I flunked Origami 101! I colored in my Tulips with Distress Markers, and added some color with the Summer Distress Inks to the sky and ground portions just like the front of the card. I made some dashed lines using a Glaze Pen around the edges for a border.

I stamped the Heart in Jet Black onto Specialty Stamping Paper, dried it, and colored it in with both Picked Raspberry and a Spun Sugar Distress Marker. I love the blended look. I dried this, and then stamped and heat embossed in Black Powder and Jet Black Archival the works.  I used a fancy cut out pair of scissors to cut out the heart, then used the Crop O Dile to punch holes to make a doily type pattern. I added the hand written and cut words.I adhered this to the Pop Up Base. I secured the ribbon using the Tiny Attacher to finish the card.

   

I am also submitting this card to Hels Sheridan's Sunday Stamper challenge of "Wish", since I'm sending some lovely Valentine wishes here. 

Supplies:
From My Stash- ribbon, fancy pattern scissors. rhinestone heart


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!