TIPS & TECHNIQUES: Tim Holtz 12 Days of Christmas Tags

Year in, year out, we've been inspired by Tim Holtz 12 Days of Christmas Tags … so here we are reblogging it for you!

Note that Scrap-n-Crop.com carries a large range of Tim Holtz Ideology products and other collaborations with top scrapbooking brands such as Sizzix and Ranger Ink.

the holidays are in full swing and the studio is buzzing with festive creativity.  i hope the final tag of the year will inspire you to take time during this busy holiday season to give these ideas a try.  we start by transforming plain burlap into a colorful patterned masterpiece, then layer punched paper shapes into yuletide evergreen, and finish everything off with a few findings and a splattering of distress to create a winter wonderland.  here’s wishing you all a creative and magical christmastime…t!m

supplies:

surfaces: textured surfaces/ burlap, #8 manila tag, kraft core

embellishments: jingle brads, chitchat stickers/occasions, crinkle ribbon, mirrored starsdistress ink: ground espresso, walnut stain

distress spray stain: fired brick

distress paint: picket fence

alcohol ink: mushroom

punches: pine, juniper, laurel

die: decorative strip bow tied

tools: layering stencil/THS032, distress splatter brush, sanding grip, ink blending tool, craft sheet, tiny attacher, scissors, vagabond

adhesives: hot glue, glossy accents

misc: pencil, sewing machine, power punch, paper towels

step 1: start by cutting a tag shape from a sheet of textured surfaces burlap and punch a hole through the top using a power punch (or crop a dile).

step 2: place just the burlap tag shape on a paper towel and position layering stencil over the top.

step 3: ink over the stencil using distress spray stain – do not use too much stain or it will seep through the stencil.

step 4: place a dry paper towel over the stencil to blot off the excess stain before removing the stencil.

step 5: lift the stencil off of the background to reveal your patterned burlap and let inks dry or dry with a heat tool.

step 6: remove the adhesive backing from the burlap (my favorite thing about textured surfaces is that they are all adhesive backed).

step 7: adhere the “printed” burlap to the manila tag.

step 8: ink the edges of the tag with distress ink using an ink blending tool.

step 9: select several colors of kraft core cardstock for the greenery and bow.

step 10: sand the kraft core (on a surface other than your craft sheet) using a sanding grip.

step 11: punch one design per color of cardstock. note: if you alternate the punch you can get more punched from a strip.

step 12: lightly ink the edges of all punched shapes with distress ink using an ink blending tool.

step 13: trace a circular shape on the burlap with a pencil.

step 14: gently scrunch and crumple the punched shapes to give them dimension.

step 15: start at the bottom center of the circle and adhere your pieces with hot glue.

step 16: layer each piece by slightly stacking it over the previous one working your way around the circle.

step 17: repeat the same process for the other half of the circle changing direction of the shapes.

step 18: once you've made it to the top of the wreath, leave a gap for the bow.

step 19: die cut the smallest bow and center strip from the bow tied die.

step 20: ink the edges of cut pieces with distress ink using an ink blending tool.

step 21: accordion fold the bow on the small areas using your fingers and hold in the center as shown.

step 22: secure the center with a single tiny attacher

step 23: once the bow is secure, gently pull the ends of the bow down.

step 24: wrap the center strip around the middle of the bow to cover the tiny attacher and glue the ends in the back.

step 25: give your paper bow character and shape by indenting the edges with your fingernail.  adhere the bow to the top of the wreath.

step 26: cut the ends off a few small jingle brads (i know kinda defeats the purpose right?).

step 27: adhere the bells to areas of the wreath with hot glue.

step 28: for a snowy effect, add some white distress paint using the distress splatter brush.

step 29: select a festive quote from the seasonal chitchat stickers, cut the quote in sections and snip one end of each into a flag.

step 30: sand the edges of the stickers to reveal the white core.

step 31: adhere the stickers to the burlap tag using glossy accents.

step 32: proof that i figure things out as i go, i decided to add some stitching to my tag using my sewing machine (at least this way it was definitely more random which i like).

step 33: tint a mirrored star by dripping mushroom alcohol ink over it and blot off the excess with a paper towel.

step 34: adhere the perfectly vintaged star to the burlap with hot glue.

the details: hard to believe this tag started as plain burlap and some strips of colored cardstock.  i love the patterned background and the amazing dimension paper punches give this tag.

the 12 tags of 2015 have been packed with techniques all year long.

so if you’re looking for a convenient way to the have creative inspiration at your fingertips, i’ve created a digital download of all 12 months of tutorials with over 80 pages and 400+ photos!
check out my etsy shop to purchase the download (click here).

Tips and Techniques: Reblog of Project Life Tag Album with September Skies Core and Value Kit from Heidi Swapp

Reblog from Heidi Swapp - Project Life Tag Album

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you are in for a fabulous treat today!!! My media team member Jamie Pate is sharing a beautiful mini album she created with my Becky Higgins Project Life September Skies Core and Value Kits now available at Hobby Lobby stores! there is so much eye candy in this post that you will want to bookmark this page to come back again and again!!!

Some of my favorite albums are the little ones. When the Project Life September Skies Core Kit arrived, those journaling cards said loud and clear that they were perfect for a tag album. Using those cards as the base, a birthday tag album was created to celebrate a recent birthday in the Pate household. Today’s post will share how that album came together, including a photo template made for mini photos, and other Heidi Swapp goodies to craft a memorable memory keepsake.

To start, photos were the focus. The album needed a real simple approach by way of the images, and so a photo template was needed first. A template was create that allowed mini photos sized 2 1/8 x 3 1/4-inches. But that was not enough. A ‘polaroid’ type frame that is so on trend currently would be what set these images apart. Thus a mini photo template was born, and can be downloaded HERE just for you! Perfect!

So now that the photo approach is settled, embellishments were to be decided on. The base of this project is the Project Life September Skies Core Kit. A selection of the 3×4-inch cards were gathered and stayed mainly pink, some teal, and a touch of grey. Overlays from the Value Kit of course was a good choice. And then various stickers sets that are part of the collection found at Hobby Lobby were going to add all the needed details.

Let’s get started.

A 6×4 glitter card was chosen to be the back ‘cover’ for the album. Clear acrylic paper was to be the front cover and was embellished with a polka dot stencil and Pink Texture Paste. It allowed for just a touch of see through.

The ‘enjoy’ glitter embellishment is trimmed out from a card in the Value Kit. And then other stickers and word phrases finished out the cover.

The inside tags each include a photo, of course. Each photo is mini attached to it’s individual 3×4 card. Then clear ephemera, punched paper pieces, word strips, chipboard images, and whatever else suited my fancy was layered on and under the photo.

Don’t forget there are great die cut pieces to be found in the Value Kit as seen here with the ‘pretty’ die cut. Just dab a small amount of hot glue on the back and adhere to the tag.

The overlays from the Core Kit found their way in here as well. This one is embellished with a glitter phrase to give it focus and some depth.

One way to get more mileage from embellishments is to cut up phrase stickers, like the Word Jumbles Vintage Stickers. These are some of my all time favorite embellishments Heidi has offered. Cut them up to give more interest to the layout.

Journaling is very important to this tag album and these memories. Remember the direction above about stapling the photo to the journal card?

That creates a self made flap on each card. A perfect place to journal thoughts and sentiments is hidden under each photo. This is at the heart of what makes these creations so meaningful. My daughter, celebrating 16 years here, will always have my words right here about her right now. These memories and moments are so quickly forgotten. We have nothing if we don’t have our memories. Each of these tags will hold my thoughts to her. Because it’s not just about the pretty stuff. It is about the photos. But it’s REALLY about the heart that you share with the one that you love.

There is a lot more eye candy to be found on my blog. Images of each page of this tag album can be found there, along with the download to the mini photo template. Hoping this inspires you to take your Project Life journal cards a tad farther and craft a beautiful album for any occasion.

I LOVE this Jamie! There are so many layers and textures that it just makes me want to flip through it in real life! Alright! head over to Jamie’s blog and check out more pages and inspiration!