Start with a Grateful Heart

Hello friends,

Just a short blog post today sharing a Etcetera Mini Tag I made using Sizzix dies.

I painted the Mini Tag with Picket Fence Distress Paint and let it dry completely.  

While the paint was drying, used Distress Watercolor paper and my Vagabond machine to cut TWO of the Flowery Thinlits to create a background for my tag. I chose the white watercolor paper because it is white to match the background I painted perviously. The string was added and some frayed cheesecloth (colored with Peeled Paint Distress Spray). I also added an Antiqued Gem hanging off the string.
I adhered the two die-cut pieces, one above the other, with Collage Medium matte. I bet you would have a hard time even seeing where the two pieces meet up? Look closely, the seam is hidden right below the string.

Once the Collage Medium was dry, I cut off the top corners that were overhanging the tag. Then the most important step...paint a layer of Collage Medium over the surface to seal the Watercolor paper to the tag. If you get too much build up in the flowers and leaves, use an old brush to wipe the excess away. It does not have to be perfect (and the Collage Medium with shrink as it dries) but there should not be any mounds of Collage Medium. Once dry, this slick surface will allow you to color over the paper with Distress Crayons.

I chose Crackling Campfire, Fossilized Amber, Evergreen Bough and Bundled Sage Distress Crayons but any color combination would work. Scribble the crayon over the raised portion in color "patches", then using your finger tip, rub the the patches of color so just the edges mix with the color next to it (wipe off your finger tip when changing color). Your goal is to keep true color in some parts, blending into the next color to fill in. At this point everything is water reactive so you can wipe the entire color story away, dry the surface, then start again. As you can see, I "colored in" the orange flowers and green leaves just by rubbing the excess crayon directly onto the surface of the tag.

Once I was happy with the finished result, I sprayed the surface with a clear fixative (Krylon or another brand).  It just takes a light spray over the surface to quickly seal the crayon in place.

The Long Stem 2 flower was cut from Watercolor paper and painted with Distress Inks.

The Sizzix 3D Floral Frame is also Watercolor Paper that has been embossed with Speckled Egg Embossing Glaze.  Once the Embossing Glaze is melted, scribble over the top with a Walnut stain crayon and rub into the design with your fingers to age and give definition.

I cut out a girl from the Photobooth pack (so you would be able to see the color in the background) then added a tiny hand-cut heart to her chest.

I finished up by creating vellum band with embossed words from the Tiny Text stamp from Stampers Anonymous. I used the Deckle Cutter to create the "torn" edge effect. The vellum was adhered on each end with Score Tape which seems virtually invisible when used to secure to the surface.

I hope you liked this fun tag and the technique that can be used for so many things.  I love the vibrant colors for Spring and the message that says it all.

thanks for stopping by..

now carry on,

paula