Triple Technique Tag

Rather than making something, say, a card or a scrapbook layout, I've been messing around with creative techniques lately and using them on tags. Yes, behind the scenes, I'm doing something more practical such as drawing, sketching, making entries in an art journal, but you don't get to see those on this little bit of blog space.

So without further ado, let me unveil my triumphant, triple-technique, tag...

Now I have to say, I am pretty impressed with the background of this particular tag. And, unlike previous projects, I've not overloaded the design with a bevy of embellishments to obscure it.

It began life as an ordinary scrap of card, cut into the shape of a tag. I then ran it through my cuttlebug with a Brocade design embossing folder. The next step I produced from a technique I've picked up from Andy Skinner's Timeworn Techniques online workshop. If you're reading this and are already on his course, you won't find this exact technique in your notes. It's my own take, loosely based on the aged ivory look. Yes, it's all done with acrylic paints and it's a pretty neat effect.

Onto the flowers, I happened to catch a Spellbinder's show on a crafting channel where a neat little papery embellishment was made using a hexagonal flower die. I've made this very easy, stacked flower technique before but not using a die. I didn't have the one used in the TV show, but I did have the Picot Edge Circles. I cut five circles from the second smallest die, for each flower, from an old book page. I stapled them together and starting with the top layer, working down, scrunched them up.

Thirdly, and finally, the butterfly. I've seen chipboard with a crystal coating on several blogs recently and fancied trying it out myself. The project which inspired me the most was by the Funkie Junkie and her cupid. Rather than use chipboard, I cut out three butterfly shapes out of ordinary card, with a Spellbinders die and glued them together. After inking the edges, I coated the top with PVA glue and sprinkled Pinflair's Ice Diamonds onto it.

The word highlighted by the metal frame, is "peculiar".  You can assign whatever meaning you wish to it. However, I couldn't think up a word to go in there that I liked enough. I came up with 'love', 'flight', 'fly', 'art', and all the usual, predictable suspects. So I turned to the web and hit the Random Word Generator with the rule that, like it or not, I HAD to use the word it came up with. And, as I often say, I am amazed at how well this process works.

And there you go, I've tried out three different techniques and incorporated them into one uncluttered tag. If you see me use any of them in another project in the future, you'll know where I first learnt them :)

Have a wonderful, creative day my friends

Paul x