Mad for Plaid Etcetera Tag

Hello friends,

The house is decorated for the holiday season and we are counting down the days till Christmas!  I have enjoyed sitting and reading in the morning time, with the glowing Christmas tree and the fireplace going (It's electric so I only have to click the button).  I'm going to miss it once the tree comes down in January.

As I was working on todays project, I could not help but think of my mom.  One of her favorite Christmas songs was Silver Bells by Andy Williams.  As I was putting together the Christmastime die pieces the song kept playing in my head.  I thought I would share the words here.

Silver Bells

City sidewalks busy sidewalks  

Dressed in holiday style 

In the air 

There's a feeling 

of Christmas 

Children laughing 

People passing 

Meeting smile after smile 

And on ev'ry street corner you'll hear 

Silver bells silver bells 

It's Christmas time in the city 

Ring a ling hear them sing 

Soon it will be Christmas day 

Strings of street lights 

Even stop lights 

Blink a bright red and green 

As the shoppers rush 

home with their treasures 

Hear the snow crunch 

See the kids bunch 

This is Santa's big scene 

And above all this bustle 

You'll hear 

Silver bells, silver bells 

It's Christmas time in the city 

Ring-a-ling, hear them sing 

Soon it will be Christmas day

So lets get started on the tag!

Paint the small Etcetera Tag (5.5 x 10") with Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint.  Let dry completely.

Use the Distress Splatter Brush to flick Picket Fence Distress Paint over the surface of the tag.  Once dry, add a thin layer of Collage Medium over the surface to seal.  NOTE: I like to add CM so when I add Texture Paste in the next step, I have the ability to wipe away any excess without damaging the paint.  Dry the Collage Medium with heat tool.

Working quickly, use the Sparkle Stencil and a Palette Knife to add Texture Paste Stars on the top half of the tag.

Immediately add Gold Embossing Powder over the wet Texture Paste (it only works if the paste is wet enough to hold the embossing powder).  Set aside to air dry at least 30 minutes.

Once the Paste is dry, use an embossing gun to melt the Embossing Powder.

Scribble some Walnut Stain Distress Crayon onto craft mat.  Pick up crayon with a damp brush and work your way around the stars coloring any of the white Texture Paste that might still be showing.

BACK

Adhere patterned paper to the back of the tag.  This one with the red berries is from the idea-ology 2020 Christmas Paper pad.  The paper must be on the back before the lights are threaded through the tag.

TINY LIGHTS

1. Drill a hole in the center bottom portion of the tag for the lights.
2. Thread lights from the back to the front of the tag.
3. Wind lights into a circle and adhere to tag surface with scotch tape or hot glue.
4. Secure battery pack to the back of tag with Thin Foam Squares.  I covered my battery pack with paper to blend into the background.

FRAME

1. Find the two plaid frames from of the Baseboards Christmas pack.  
2. Using Scor-tape, adhere the Vellum Scene to the center opening in the red plaid frame (do not use a wet medium or vellum will bubble).  I chose the one the scene that looks like it could be a toy store window.
3. Now adhere the red plaid frame to the green checked frame.
4. Since the frame needs to sit high over the lights,  I added 4 small wood blocks to the back to raise it.

SHELF

While the wood blocks were drying, I went to work on the shelf below...

1. Cut two scallop Etcetera Trim pieces to the fit the tag.  Since I'm using the small Etcetera Tag, I cut the trim so there were 11 scallops (they cut pretty easy with Tonic/Tim Holtz scissors).
2. Glue the two pieces together to make one thick shelf. 
3. Paint the shelf with Picket Fence Distress Paint.  Once dry, add Crackle Texture Paste over the top and set aside to dry.
4. Once dry, go over the top with Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to bring out the cracks in the paste.
5. Use Collage Medium to add cotton batting to the top of the trim.  I also added it to the "window ledge" of the red frame.
6. Add the frame centerpiece to the center of the tag so the lights end up behind the Vellum Scene.
7. Using Collage Medium, add the shelf under the frames so they sit right on top and become like storefronts.  Let dry completely.

CHRISTMASTIME THINLIT

While the shelf is drying, start on the Christmastime dies.  The hardest thing about this die is making decisions on clothing.  There are so many choices!!  I started with a red coat and then I ran across this paper from last year that changed my mind.  I knew I had to use it even though there were two plaid frames in the background!  She really pops now compared to the red coat that blended into the background. She also had back boots but I changed them to gold Metallic, because really, who doesn't want a pair of gold boots at Christmas?  I used the Metallic paper for not only the gold boots, but her head band and the center of the lamppost.

Once all the pieces were assembled I used foam squares to add them to the frame.  

EMBELLISHMENTS

1. Add a double row of "a merry little christmas" Trim Tape to the bottom of the tag.  
2. Greenery was added to the shelf that was left from last weeks Package Topper projects.  If you missed that post you can see it here.  I also added holly and a red Bauble to the lamp post.
3. Add a bit of wired tinsel to the top using a glue gun. 
4. Any kind of ribbon or string can be added to the top of the tag.  I used red and white string and a couple of glittered bells.
5. Once everything was in place I tapped a bit of Collage Medium onto the cotton batting and sprinkled Distress Mica Flakes over the top to add some sparkle to the snow.

This project makes me happy! This die is one of my favorites for the season and I can see it being used over and over.

The pandemic may be keeping us close to home so even though it might be a different year, it could actually be the best year, because we are relying on the Spirit of the Season to carry us through to 2021. 

now carry on,

paula