Friday, August 29, 2014

Self-imposed Summer Challenge

Tags…Tim's Tags…a quick (some what) and small "canvas" to try out different techniques without fear of wasting expensive products.  Tim posts a new one every month but my school year is just too busy to keep up.  So, I challenged myself to create 20 different tags this summer using 20 different techniques.  My peep thought I was NUTS and was putting too much pressure on myself but it seems do-able at the end of June when I told her about my plan.  Well…much to my surprise, I managed to complete 40 (yes FORTY!) tags as of today, the last day of summer vacation!!  (Actually I have two bases drying, so really I almost completed 42!).

At first I was puzzled with what the heck I was going to do with all these tags.  I am a big picture kind of girl.  I need to see where I am going before I can start the journey.  (Hence why I had to prep the entire economics course this summer before teaching the first lesson next week!)  I thought of maybe making an album for tags, but quickly realized the thickness of the embellishments was going to make that task near impossible.  Then I considered some sort of pocket wall storage but abandoned that when I realized that no one would ever see it unless I hung it in my driveway!  And, so my faithful reader (Cindy?), this blog is going to serve as my vessel for displaying my tags!


My purpose of creating tags was to work on my background techniques - how to create dimension, layers, depth, etc.   Here is the first one I am revealing (and actually the last of the 40):


I just realized that my inspiration of this tag was made for Tim's August 2014 Challenge, so by complete accident, I did a Tim tag on time!!

Here is Tim's original:

And here is the one that caught my eye on Pinterest which came from this blog:


Not having a clue that I was actually doing Tim's tag, I didn't consult his blog for the technique. I decided just to experiment with layering distress paints, stains, and inks.  Here is the background before I embellished it:

This was three layers.  For the first, I used Broken China and Wild Honey paints, misted with water. The second was Antique Bronze & Tarnished Brass paints.  The third was a little Picket Fence stain and paint & Walnut Stain stain (that was weird to type). I dried each layer with a heat gun before applying the next layer.
I really liked how to eye stamp stood out on my inspiration tag, so I first stamped the eye and the three men (I love moustache man), the eye chart and the quote.  They all were equally dark, so once the ink dried, I sanded the men and eye chart to dull them a little.  The stamps came from two Tim sets: City Central & Curious Possibilities.
For embellishments, I used: Swivel Clasp, Mini Gears, Crinkle Ribbon dyed with Mustard Seed and Tea Stain ink, a piece of film strip, and a Metal Custom Fastener.

The other thing I really liked from my inspiration tag were the stars in the top right corner.  I mimicked them by using the Memory Box Stars Starry Nights template and some embossing paste at the top and Ferro Gold paste on the bottom:


The very last thing I added (because the empty space seems weird) was the pen nib under the quote.  It's part of a pen nib stamp that I had previously stamped on a piece of transparency and used on another project.

I added one more element to the tag after I thought I was finished.  Here is the picture before I added it. Can you figure out what I did?

4 comments:

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    1. Sorry, a typo caused me to delete the comment since I couldn't edit. My comment was- frame your favourite tags- maybe 6 in a shadowbox and display it on your wall. I also thought these would make stunning gift tags-put the name on the back so as not to spoil them. I picture one hanging on the neck of a bottle of wine.
      In response to your challenge, I think you added burnt sienna or some similar tint to the upper left and lower right side of your tag, and then distressed it.

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  2. Hi Craftymathdiva you have made a lovely tag to Tim's August challenge, Good colors, Love it. Thanks for your comment on my blog.
    Hugs Susan

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  3. Love the star stenciling and your wonderful background on this beautiful tag! I'd say you have taught yourself alot about techniques this summer!

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