Grungy winter tags by Cathy N

 Good morning, Cathy here with some grungy winter tags for you today.

                                                                      Stamps Used:

                                                           20695 writing and scribbles collage

                                                           20165 cross marks background

                                                           19723 fir trees silhouette 

                                                           18947 medium snowflake

I started off with some cream tags and I used some distress inks to make the background. Next, I edged them all with a dark brown distress ink.

After I got the backgrounds how I wanted them I stamped them with cross marks background in the same tan color. After that I stamped cross marks background.

Next, I stamped the fir trees silhouette on the one side of 2 of the tags and then the other side of 2 of the tags. Lastly, I stamped the medium snowflake in the light gray distress ink randomly over the tags.

TWO BUTTERFLY TAGS - by Fran Chalmers

Hi everyone!

Today I have made two small tags using the same stamps and similar colours, but they are quite different. I hope you like them.

 For the first tag, I made a background using Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch distress oxides, mixed with water on a mat.

I then stamped round the edge with Writing and Scibbles Collage stamp  in Versafine Clair Blue Belle to add some interest.

I then stamped the main image in Versafine Clair Nocturn in the centre of the tag.  I masked off the top butterfly so the image would fit on the tag!

I went round the edge of the tag with Wilted Violet Distress Oxide, and added some sequins to give some texture and sparkle.

With the second tag, I started by stamping the image onto white card with Versafine Clair Blue Belle. I then went round the edge with Distress Oxide in Tumbled Glass.

Again, I added some interest round the edge using the Writing and Scribbles Collage stamp, this time stamped in Distress Oxide Tumbled Glass  

I then added some splats in blue Posca pen, and went round the very edge with Distress Oxide in Blueprint Sketch. I also added some clear dew drop gems for some bling.

To finish both tags, I added some threads in coordinating colours.

Stamps Used:

Butterfly Specimens 19415

Writing and Scribbles Collage 20695

Other items used:

Distress oxides in Blueprint Sketch, Tumbled Glass, Wilted Violet, Salty |Ocean

Versafine Clair inks in Blue Belle and Nocturn

Blue Posca Pen

Sequins

Clear Dew Drop gems

Threads

See you next time!

Banksy Tags by Fran

Hi everyone! Today I made two tags using Banksy stamps.

 Each tag starts with white card measuring 12.5cm x 6.5cm.  Mark the top of the card at 1cm in and 1cm down, then cut the corners off. I used a thick card that could take a lot of water.

Using brushos in Ost. Blue and Dark Brown with water, I tried to leave an area fairly clear where I knew the face of my stamp would be.  This can be tricky with brushos as you never really know what they will do once sprayed with water, but I used white brushos to lighten the area too.

I coloured in the face and scarf with polychromos pencils.

I added a pearl for the earring

I backed the tag with black card, made a hole and added some matching fibres to finish it off.

With the second tag I used Brushos in White and Black (which actually has lots of different colours in it).  I again tried to leave a clear space for the face of my stamp.

I stamped the image and coloured the flesh parts and used complimentary colours on her dress (picked up the orange in the brushos)

Again I backed the tag with black card, and made a hole and added fibres.

I hope you like the tags.  See you next time!

Stamps Used:

Banksy Wall Lady 20459

I am Banksy's Mother 20448

Other Items Used:

Brushos - White, Ost. Blue, Dark Brown, Grey

Polychromos pencils

White card, black card

Fibres/ribbons

Tag trio - Banksy girls

Hi everyone,

today I want to share with you a small series of colorful tags that I created. I always like to have a little something at hand to give away when swapping ATCs. 

I started with three tags cut from watercolor paper with a size of 5.25 x 3 inch. I used Lindy's Magicals and water to create a few layers of color. Make sure to dry them beween the colors to avoid a muddy color mix.

Next, I added some of the good old mark making and texture stamps to the background. These stamps from plate 1495 are very versatile and perfect for a lot of backgrounds.
Also, I stamped three different Banksy girls on the tags. I used Versafine Claire ink for the girls as it is a very intense black and Archival ink in the background for a more distressed stamp impression. Then I inked the edges of the tags directly with the Archival ink pad.

I like adding ribbon to my tags for a finished look. Here I chose to tear some strips of cheesecloth and added some of the same stamps to these grungy strips as I have already used on the tags themselves. This really connects all the elements. Another idea might have been to 'dye' the ribbon with some colors from the background, but I think that might have been a little too much here.

From some black cardstock, I cut a base for each of my tags, a little larger than the tag to get this black edge around it. I glued them together and sandwiched the ribbon in between, secured with a little bit of liquid glue. To finish the tags, I added some quote stickers.

Hope you liked this project. Here are a few more detail photos:

Stamps used:
Carved Xs (20162)
Row Of Numbers (20170)
Cross Marks Background (20165)
Punchinella/Sequin Waste Border (20161) 
Plate 1495
Banksy Girl Floating With Balloons (19421)
Banksy Balloon Girl (19430)
Banksy Child Sitting (19940)


Other material:
- Canson watercolor paper
- black cardstock
- cheesecloth
- Lindy's magicals (teenie weenie bikini, umbrella drink pink, nuneka's purple popsicle)
- Archival Ink (jet black)
- Versafine Claire Ink (nocturne)
- Tim Holtz quote stickers

See you soon!

 

Enchanted - Quick bookmarks

 Hey everyone,

Today I'm sharing two bookmarks with you. No fancy techniques this time, even no coloring, just a little stamping to fill up my lunch break while I was working from home.

I must admit that I have been a little uncreative over the last month. Such more simple projects help me getting back to the crafting table. So if your muse went on vacation, this might be a way to get back into your creative flow.

Here's how I made the bookmarks:

I cut the two pieces of paper to a size of 7 x 2.5 inch and used a small corner chomper. For bookmarks I prefer having round corners. Then I stamped the goddess on one and the raven on the other tag, using Versafine Clair ink. The next stamp I used was the "enchanted" lettering along with a multi-colored embossing powder. This creates some nice interest on the bookmarks as it contrasts the other more neutral colors I used.

For a little visual texture I grabbed the lace background stamp as well as a writing stamp from the same plate. Fun fact: When I stamped the lace I was really dissatisfied with the look - lucky that changed once I added the other stamp over it.

I added some ink to the edges and some mettalic thread to the top and that's it.

 

Here are some more detail photos of the two bookmarks:

Stamps used:
Raven Looking Up (20269)
Whimsical Tree Lady Nude (19681)
Lace Background (19298)
French Writing Background (19297)
Enchanted (18823)


Other supplies:
- left over paper (watercolor paper, kraft cardstock)
- corner chomper
- Versafine Clair ink (nocturne)
- Versamark ink
- Archival ink (pebble beach, watering can)
- WOW! embossing powder - Seth Apter "space dust"
- thread or ribbon

Hope you like my project, even if it is such a simple one.

See you soon

 

A Tag and Train

Tag You're It!

Today I want to share some tag love with you!

I just love creating vintage grungy tags!

Stamps Used:

Row of Numbers

Scribble Circle

Vulcan Locomotive

I chose to start with some scrapbook paper I had left over from a project. I created a 3x6 in tag and used various brown distress inks to ink the edges and add a bit of color through a Tim Holtz layering stencil.

Using Archival ink, I then stamped my row of numbers and my scribble circle. 

To add visual interest I ripped up some scrap pieces of book pages then glued them down.  To make them pop, yet blend i used brown distress ink to watercolor around the edges.  I wanted this piece to be grungy, so added flicks of vintage photo and antique linen distress stain. 

To finish everything I mounted this tag on a piece of dark brown card-stock, and stitched around it.  I stamped my train on a separate piece of paper and inked it to match the tag.  When it was just like I wanted I added some string in the area of the scribble circle and glued the train down on pop-dots. 

The stickers and metal tab I used are both by Tim Holtz

Travel the universe

Hello everyone, 

Do you sometimes have difficulties to make a decisions? I do, and that's why I want to show you two quite similar tags today. Also, these are great examples of getting more out of your stamps - I'll get back to that later.

I started by stamping the moon on my tags with a light grey Archival Ink. To intensify the color, I did this several times with the help of a stamping tool. I also stamped the moon on some masking paper, cut that out and out it onto the tag.

The rest of the background was quite simple. I added some Oxide Inks with a blending tool. To make the moon shine, I used lighter colors around it and went darker the further I moved away from it. But what would the moon be without some stars? I added them by sprinkling some drops of water and watered white acrylic paint.

Whild everything was drying, I prepared my focal images. I stamped the mermaid as well as the dancer and used watercolor to bring them to life. They needed quite a lot of fussy-cutting, but it was totally worth the effort.

They just needed something to stand on and while browsing through my stamps, I found one that was halfway matching. You can see what I mean in the following picture. On the left there is the "original" stamp with the woman on the docks and on the right what I made out of it. I just cut off the parts of the image that I didn't need to have just the pier.

After the coloring and fussy-cutting I placed all the elements on my tag and heat embossed my "travel the universe" quote in silver. Just make sure that your tag is entirely dry before  heat embossing over the Oxide Inks.

As my last finishing touches I backed my tag with some navy blue cardstock and added a piece of ribbon - luckily I had one in my stash that was perfectly matching.

Stamps I used:

Fancy Mermaid (20152)

The Moon (20157)

Travel the universe (19754)

Lost at sea (19762)

Plate 1494 >> the dancer stamp is missing as a single item in the shop. The VLVS team is working on the issue, but you can find the stamp along with two others from this project on this plate in the meantime.

Other materials:

- Canson watercolor paper

- Cardboard navy blue

- Masking paper

- Oxide Inks (Iced Spruce, Faded Jeans, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot)

- Archival Ink (Shadow Grey)

- Watercolor 

- Versafine Watermark Ink 

- Embossing powder (silver)

- Ribbon

Hope you feel inspired and found some helpful tips. See you soon!