Saturday 31 March 2012

Tags. . . . .

I do love making tags (as I've said before I'm sure) but this one seems to have taken forever and I'm not a quick crafter at the best of times!

I initially saw the challenges on The Stamp Man Challenge Blog and Simon Says Stamp and Show but then on my 'blog' hopping travels,  I saw another lovely challenge blog where I could also show my work. The is a new challenge blog called Artful Times and is run by three ladies called Sam, Von and Neet. I don't know any of these ladies but I will be having a nose at their blogs because the work they've shown on the challenge blog is right up my street!

For the Stamp Man Challenge, we are asked to select three elements from a 'bingo' card to use on a piece of work. This was where I had the most problems because I kept changing my mind. I felt that my tag fitted two different sets of criteria but couldn't decide which to choose.  Eventually, I plumped for: 'Green, Circles and Ribbons'. I hope you will see these three elements clearly displayed in my work.

Both Simon Says Stamp and Show  and  Artful Times ask us to make a tag so that was a lovely, wide set of criteria to work to!

These are most of the elements I used to make my tag.  I also used two gold 'brads' to secure the red frame on the tag but they're not shown here.
The finished tag shows all the 'bingo' elements of green, circles and ribbon.


This image clearly shows the large insect (I think it's a moth but I've coloured it to resemble a butterfly!).  The insect was painted in the same manner as the smaller one (see above) and attached by the body to create a 3 D effect. The leaves were die cut, coated with three layers of embossing powder and quickly stamped  to create a deep texture. This was the first time I'd attempted the technique and I'm sure I'll be using it again as I love the effect it gives - bit scary though with all that molten embossing 'powder'! I added the ribbon to give the impression of flight and movement. It also links in with the other ribbons used.




I used a die cut book plate secured with brads to contain the stamped sentiment. Both are coated with glossy accents. The butterfly was stamped, cut out and coloured with distress inks and a water brush then coated with GA's. I only attached the body of the insect to the frame because I hoped to created a 3D effect.




This image clearly shows the background I created using an embossing folder (TH faded texture in a circle design), distress inks and gold embossing powder.




The top of the tag is part of a die cut - the other half  is used at the bottom of the tag. This was embossed using the same folder as the main tag section. However, I inked the folder first to colour the de-bossed side to create a different texture. The raised section was inked with Peeled Paint DI then some random gold embossing was done. I inked the reinforcer for the ribbon hole and added GA as I like to make these stand out and become a feature of the design. I've added two ribbons as a final touch. They match the other ribbons used on the tag.

22 comments:

  1. Oh! That's just gorgeous!! LOVE the muted colours in that piece. You should be really proud of that because it's beautiful.

    Thanks for sharing

    Jackie x

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  2. Wow what a stunning tag, and thank you so much for the full exp. fantastic, love the gold, so much detail.

    Thank you for supporting our very first Artful Times challenge and you did the link up fine, I think it probably just took a while to register on the blog as there are now 4 entries with your name and tag, so I'm going to go and delete 3 of the entries!!!

    Sam xxx

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  3. Julia, you make the most amazint tags, this is just fabulous!
    Avril xx

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  4. What a fabulous tag and what a fabulous detailed write up. Clear instructions on how you came to completion.
    I had to smile when you said it was "right up your street" as that was one of the names we had played about with for our new blog - finally deciding on "Artful Times".
    I do hope you come back to join in with other challenges, it would be lovely to see you and your work again.
    Hugs, Neet (artful Times) x

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  5. Wow! Your tag is amazing Julia! I love all the yummy embossing, & the die cuts at the top & bottom are a fab idea!
    Alison x

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  6. Wonderful tag and a great description of how it was made.

    xx

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  7. Wow, fabulous tag. Love the colours and design details.

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  8. Wow Julia, this is absolutely stun-ning! Love how you show us all the separate elements and give such clear instructions (must be the teacher in you!) Absolutely fabulous colour and texture. Have a lovely Sunday.

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  9. Can't thnk of anything other WoW ! blown away by your tag :)
    Thank you for shairing with us for our first challenge at Artful Times
    Von x♥x

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  10. Only one word - Wow. Love it, you really are very talented.

    Cassidy

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  11. This is so pretty! The mix of metals, embossing and paper really makes this tag stand out. Thanks for joining the challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show.

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    1. Thanks for your lovely comment. Not sure what you mean by paper? I've only used white card which I then coloured, cut and altered in some way.Not necessarily in that order!! Juliax

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  12. WOW! I love the way you added the bits to the top and bottom of your tag - what a great idea! That "green-gold" color is absolutely stunning with the pop of red. Thanks for sharing your creation with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show! Ellen :)

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  13. Fabulous Julia love it all!!! lainey x

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  14. This so gorgeous and love that you showed us close ups of the elements that you used x

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  15. What a beautiful tag you have made. I love the attention to every little bit of it - the leaves and butterfly and more. What die cut have you used for top and bottom?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Carol. Thanks for your lovely comment. Sorry to take so long to reply. The die is a sizzix one 'Decorative Accent #11'. I got it on Ebay for much less than they cost so worth a look!
      Juliaxx

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  16. I love making tags too, so I was grabbed by Artful Times' first challenge. Love the butterfly...

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  17. Oh, my goodness, Julia! This is so elegant, and rich-looking. I gasped when I saw it! You did such an amazing job; it's a work of art.

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  18. Fabulous! Really really fabulous, and beautifully explained and photographed.

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  19. this is stunning - I love your colour choices so rich x Thanks for joining us at TSM Challenge

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Juliax