TRENT-TM Creative Hobby: Let's get started

Happy New Year my fellow artists, crafters and friends. With each new year we set out resolutions and new goals for ourselves.   For me I wanted to share one of my favorite techniques when making a tag and using stamps.

With any project you have to set the stage for your design. For me that is to determine what the background (pallet) element will be on your project (card, canvas, tag or journal).   As an artist I have a deep love for distress vintage and the ability to mare my work.

So let's get started with the project and me walking you through how to create one of my favorite techniques I have learned and/or experimented with. Don't worry as you work on this project keep in mind sometimes it takes several attempts to create the effect you want.   Be sure to accept abnormalities in your art as it adds a flare to the project to make it yours.

Supplies you will need for this project:

façade (surface): # 10 and # 8 size manila tags
distress ink: gathered twig, pumice stone
distress spray stains: bundled sage and pumice stone
archival ink: watering can, red geranium and black
embellishments: crinkle ribbon, jump ring, gears, mini gears, word band, jump ring, ruler tape, buckle, brad, metal corners, token
adhesives: glossy accents, double sided tape and pop dots
tools: craft sheet, mister, heat tool, scissors, ink blending tool, ripper, vagabond and sewing machine
stamps: CMS185 Graph & Croc, CMS187 Purveyor, CMS188 Typography, CMS085

Step 1: Creating the background on the tag. We are first going to take the # 10 manila size tag. We are going to take the gathered twig distress ink and cover the tag lightly.

Step 2: Then we will spray the tag a few times with the distress sprays of pumice stone and bundled sage.

Step 3: Then with the water spritzer flick water onto the tag and dry the tag with your heat tool. Then the background of the tag should look similar to this.

Step 4: Now the stamping fun will begin. We are going to take the stampers anonymous graph stamp CMS185 and using archival ink watercan cover the tag with this stamp.

be sure to clean your stamp after use. I use inkssentials stamp cleaner (ranger brand).

Step 5: Now we are going to take CMS188 Typography stamp set and take the stamp with the alphabet and numbers and apply archival ink red geranium. Then stamp this on the right side of the tag as show below.

Step 6: Then we are going to take the number stamp from CMS187 Purveyor and we are going to cover 1 to 5 on the stamp with black archival ink. Once we have covered that portion of the stamp we will stamp this across the bottom of our tag.

Step 7: Now with a sewing machine we are going to outline the tag with a standard stitch pattern.

Now that we have the background pretty defined it looks great. We can now begin building out other elements for the tag by adding embellishments and working on the focal points.

Step 8: Let's start working on the main focal point for our tag. We are going to take the # 8 manila tag and use pumice stone distress ink to cover the entire tag.

Then we will need to lightly mist the tag with the water spritzer to give it a rain drop effect. We will want to use a heat blending tool and dry it completely.

Step 9: Now take a stamp from the Purveyor CMS187 stamp set and stamp it on the center of the tag using black archival ink. Then at the bottom of the tag we will want to rip off the excess to give it a marred look.

Then we will cut down the sides a quarter of an inch and used gathered twig distress ink to edge out the tag. We will also want to rough up the sides of the tag as well to give it a more vintage feel.

Step 10: Now it is time to add more elements to the tag. To get started lets use elements that will give our project more character by using a small tag and embellishments. To apply these to the tag you will either use double sided tape or glossy accepts.

We will then want to stamp a word saying on a piece of scrap paper from Good Thoughts CMS085 stamp set using red geranium. To give this a worn look let us rip the paper around where we stamped the saying and then edged it with gathered twig stain.

To add further texture let us again use the sewing machine to edge out that tag with a jagged stich. So you can see how we have began to finish off the focal point for this project.

Step 11: We now can take the paper distresser and rough up the sides of the #10 tag.

Next we can add ruler tape and a buckle on the tag. We will want to run gathered twig distress stain over the ruler tape to dirty it up. To apply this to the tag we will want to use double sided adhesive tape.

Step 12: Now to finish off the tag with more embellishments ---- I added gold corners and a word band for further elements on the tag. to apply the word band I used pop dots and I used hemp cord at each end to give it that additional flare.

Step 13: For our final step, lets use gathered twigs and fired brick to add some color to our crinkle ribbon. Apply both colors to your craft sheet and spritz with a little water. Swipe the crinkle ribbon through the inks and then dry with your heat tool. When dry add to your tag with your choice of embellishment charm.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and I hope that you enjoyed my project. I hope that you make one for yourself and let me know if you have questions.

Trent-TMCreative

There is a great company out there that is an impressive place to buy stamps- http://sincitystamps.com. This site has endless possibilities of adding to your stash, collections and expanding your hobby with new purchases. I had purchased some great stamps to hope to use in this project but haven't received them yet. But rest assured when I get them I will be posting another project that will showcase my great new finds to my stash.