Washi Tape Altered Tag

Today I wanted to share a tag I created with some fun washi tape. I was inspired by the technique that Sharon Laakkonen used for the Creative Jump Start Summit hosted by Nat Kalbach. Have you joined along?? I love it. Each morning in January I have received a wonderful creative video in my inbox to get my creative juices flowing. I love being introduced to new artists, teachers, and techniques. If you haven't checked CJS 2013 out, you should click right here and join!

Washi tape is so fun to use and there are so many different ways to utilize all the colorful patterns. Right!? I think I need to add a Washi Tape board to my Pinterest, so I can gather all the various ideas I see. :) In Sharon's video she covered her entire manilla tag with washi tape which created a fabulous texture for the background. So I started there! Look!! Super fab!

After covering the entire tag with coordinating washi colors, I laid down a layer of gesso to prepare for some painting and stamping.

I really love this circle stamp I found at Michael's in the clearance section. I love the size! It was only $1.99, so how could I pass it up?

I decided that I would make a tag also inspired by my daughter and spring. I had some paper butterflies in my stash that I wanted to use. I painted the butterfly with blue acrylic paint for contrast. 

I looked through my billions of letters to find the letter M. (OK. Slight exaggeration. Maybe not a billion, but I am addicted to letters. Could it be the teacher in me? I do not know. I found a package of these chipboard letters from K&Company at the dollar store. Score!)

I added all my little goodies and also punched a butterfly directly into the tag. I have seen this done by quite a few people, but had never tried it before. All you do is punch or cut out a shape, then add patterned paper to the back so it shows through. It is a great way to add visual interest and texture. You can see where I did it with that little white butterfly. Some of the white paper hangs below the bottom of the tag. I cut it with a pair of scalloped craft scissors. (Technique also shown in Sharon's video)

Here is the finished tag. Super cute and girlie. I added some turquoise ribbon through holes in the letter M. On the right side of letter I glued some chipboard flowers that came in the letter package and added a little bling. Along the bottom I attached some cream colored lace. I love this lace because it has adhesive on the back. SO easy. Peel and stick! :)

Hope you are having a lovely Tuesday!

Fall Tag Tutorial

I am so thankful that Fall is upon us (and Christmas right around the corner-Yikes!) and today I thought I would share a mixed media Fall themed tag tutorial. Whoa, that's a mouthful! Lol. Anyways, this is the Make N Take tag that I lead last weekend. I thought it was quick, easy, fun, and the perfect thing to share. If you need a little fall pizazz for your table, tag for a gift, or a quick autumn decoration - here you go. :)

First get your tag (or anything really) and cover it with gesso by scraping the surface with an old credit card or gift card. I made some with plain white acrylic too and it worked just fine. The whole surface does not have to be covered.

1) Next, use the same card to spread some more fall colored paint over the card. Here I used Bronze Yellow from Liquitex and Cadmium Yellow from Americana. Move the card in all different directions to get a layered look. If you want to tone down the colors go back with some white.

2 & 3) After the tag dries, use a stencil to make some circles in Burnt Umber (also Americana). I made this stencil using an old manilla folder and a 1 inch circle punch. SO cheap and easy. I applied the paint using a make up sponge.

4) Use 3 torn pieces from an old book and place them in various spots around the tag. Glue them down using a glue stick or matte medium.

After securing the book pages down, cover each randomly with paint to help blend them into the background. Your fingers work best!

Type up, print out, and cut some fall themed words. Then use a permanent ink pad like StazOn and ink around the edges of each word. Set aside to dry. I used Timber Brown.

Use that same pad and stamp your butterfly. I love butterflies! They pop up everywhere...even in fall! :) I stamped one out completely and then stamped a few that hung off the sides. Some of the tags I left as is, while others I used white acrylic over the butterfly (once dry) to mute it a bit. Next, attach your words.

Finally, add some interest and doodles with a white Gelly Roll pen and black Pentel pen. I added some definition around each word, added white here & there, and doodled away. 

That's it! Quick, easy, festive, and fun!

I hope you enjoyed this tag tutorial!

Happy Creating!