As I run with an idea I frequently work on a couple of tags or with test pieces on card scraps. This helps me decide on what colour of ink, brand of texture paste or perhaps glue I might want to use, before finally committing to it for my main piece. Some of these tags or test pieces get consigned to the bin whilst others get saved for later use. This tag was one of those test pieces saved from an earlier project.
The tag base was 300 gsm white card, cut to the size of a Ranger size #8 tag, to which I applied Sweet Poppy Pearlescent White Paste. I made a homemade stencil by cutting a rectangle into a scrap of card. It worked fairly well but I eventually discarded the end result as the edges of the rectangle weren't sharp enough. This paste is very fine and has a lovely smooth texture but it wasn't viscous enough when used through my homemade stencil.
But the lack of definition to the rectangle might have been an issue for my original project but for this one it was a happy accident and perfect. I wanted to add drippage down the centre of my tag to create the background and knew that the ink would catch in the rough edges of the rectangle.
Using Distress Oxidise Inks (Vintage Photo, Fossilised Amber) I added ink to the top of the tag and spritzed it with water to encouraged it to flow and mix from the top, around the rectangle to the bottom.
I picked up a gorgeous piece of tree bark whilst on holiday recently. It caught my eye, not least for the lovely texture it had, but for the deep coppery red hew that ran through the other colours. It's been sitting quietly in my craft room just waiting for the right project to come along and this was the one. To adhered it to the rectangle of paste on the tag I used a generous daub of Golden Heavy Duty Gel.
To create a focal point I chose the moth from the Stampers Anonymous Entomology Stamp set (CMS328), stamping it out in Archival Ink (Black) with my Misty. I'm certainly getting a lot of mileage out of this stamp set.
I spent a lovely half hour or so colouring in the image with various Stamping Up watercolour pencils, before fussy-cutting it out and shaping the torso with a ball-ended tool on the reverse. To add a little rigidity and to strength it, I applied a couple of coats of Multi Medium (gloss), air drying it between each coat. This also provided allow sheen gloss to the wings and body.
I angled the wings and curved the torso down slightly to give the illusion that the moth is climbing onto the bark. It's held in place with dimensional foam pads and a little Glossy Accents for good measure.
My final touches were the computer generated label, printed onto white card and inked with Vintage Photo DO and then mounted onto black card. The main tag was also inked in the same way and similarly backed with black card. The ribbon was from my stash. Finally my little date tag was threaded through the ribbon and all was done.
I was really pleased at how the month provides a splash of colour and a great focal point on the tag. However I'm not sure if there are months so vibrantly colured in nature but I'm sure Mother Nature will allow me a little artistic license just this once.
Thanks so much for stopping bye and hope you find some crafting time soon.
Carol. xx
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