December Tag - Tim’s Tag Challenge

I gave a rye chuckle when I saw Tim’s tag this month because I’ve had some tiny pieces of foliage in my stash for at least the last two years, which I’ve kept with the intention of making a small wreath on a Christmas card… finally, they were going to get used.

 Here they are in all their glory on my interpretation of Tim’s December tag:

For some reason Santa didn’t bring me any Ranger Textured Surfaces (but he did very kindly bring me oodles of other crafting bits & bobs YEA !!)  so I improvised and used some hessian ribbon from my stash. I cut two pieces slightly larger than the size 8 manila tag, then laid them side by side onto some double sided adhesive paper. Once secure, I removed the backing and stuck the hessian onto my manila tag….luckily I managed to make a good join which is hardly noticeable on the finished tag.

My first attempt at creating the background by spraying sparingly through a stencil and onto the hessian was an abject failure. Whether it was because I used Archival ink instead of DS or whether it was using the hessian instead of burlap, I don’t know. Either way the hessian soaked up the ink which bled out, blurring the design……

So it was back to the drawing board and Plan B.  I repeated my earlier preparations but this time I used a blending tool to dab the Archival Ink through my stencil. Not quite Tim’s technique but it gave me more control and the same end result.

Next was the stitching… out came my old Singer treadle and a couple of laps round by tag with brown cotton. I had intended to use green but unfortunately I didn’t have the right shade so brown it was. My sewing machine’s an ol’ gal and doesn’t do jig jag stitch, so plain running stitch was the order of the day.

All those tiny pieces of foliage then saw the light of day whilst I happily spent the next hour using Peeled Paint and Crushed Olive Distress Ink to add some tones of colour.

Then I scrunched each one to add a little more ‘life’ before randomly glueing them in a circle on my tag. A few deep red half pearls and some tiny shimmery green dots became my berries. I used a snippet of bright red organza ribbon for my bow at the top and a couple of tiny silver jingle bells from my stash for sparkle.

I wanted a touch of snow rather than the white splatters Tim used on his tag, so I resorted to Fluff It which I dotted randomly about my wreath. It looks like white glue until it is heated with a heat tool, then it ‘fluffs up’ to look like snow.

Finally, I computer-generated my wording and used the Spellbinders Ribbon Banners die to make the banner for the bottom of my tag. Double sided tape secured the banner at each end so that it would be dimensionalised on the tag. I used it again on the two Idea-ology Mirrored Stars after dyeing them green with Pesto Adirondack Alcohol Ink. A touch more Fluff It on the top of banner to carry on the theme and add the ultimate Christmas decoration….snow.

The wide, deep green, wire-edged ribbon was from my stash….left over from another Christmassy project it was just enough for what I needed and perfect to give the finishing flourish to my tag.

As always I backed my tag with black card-stock to neaten the back, added my charm (Tim’s tag logo) and picture of Tim’s tag to show my inspiration.

Here's my December tag with last months tag...I love how festive
they look standing in my craft room together.

I think I always end my tag posts by saying how much fun I had making my tag that month, but it’s been so true. There hasn’t been a month when I haven’t enjoyed joining in with Tim’s challenge. Some may have been a roller coaster, I admit, but nevertheless I’ve enjoyed learning the techniques and having a go. I’ve even been quite chuffed at the end results for one or two. It’s been a fabulous year long journey; your comments have been wonderful and motivating and Tim’s inspiration has been and is boundless….. thank you all so much for reading my posts and I look forward to playing along next year too.

Happy New Year one and all. I hope all your dreams and wishes come true.

Carol. X