I am really excited to share this technique with you today. I love the look of masking, and using the masking products that Ellen has in the shop makes it even easier! Masking can be a very fussy process, but using pre-made masking pieces makes it a snap. We are also going to use the Adirondack Acrylics which I think are an incredibly versatile product that are also very easy to use.
It is a good time to start looking for the first signs of spring and the vibrant colors that are sure to follow. With that as my inspiration this is the tag that we are going to be creating.
We are going to start with a Manila #8 tag, a Mini Mister, and Adirondack Acrylics in Lettuce.
Put water in the Mini Mister about 2/3 of the way full and then add a small squeeze of the Adirondack Acrylic, tint to your preference.
This is what the squeeze looked like that I put in. Use the stem of the mister to swirl the paint mix into the water to get it started and then tighten and shake to finish mixing.
Spritz the tag and get a nice coat of the mixture covering the top.
Accelerate drying with the Heat It tool. Apply more layers to get the color that you wish.
I was left with about half of the Lettuce colored mix, I then added a squeeze of the Pesto color. Again swirl with the stem to blend and then put the lid on and shake to fully mix. This is a nice way to blend colors because you know that you will have a color that will compliment your scheme perfectly because it has been blended with the previously used color.
Spritz onto the tag, dry and then apply more layers as desired.
This is what the tag looked like when I was done. I wish you could see the shimmer and color saturation, really beautiful!
Clean the mister out completely and then fill half way with water and add a squeeze of Stream. Swirl to begin blending then cap and shake again to get it completely mixed.
Apply a couple of Advantus Leaves mask shapes to the tag.
Spritz the Stream colored mixture over the top of the mask and tag. Carefully accelerate drying process, if you are too close with the Heat It tool, it can melt the mask (yup, ask me how I know this, lol!) Apply more layers to achieve the look you like.
When everything is dry, carefully lift the mask from the tag and place back onto the protective backing sheet for use at another time. Doesn't that have such a lovely, elegant look?
Now we are going to be making those sweet little flowers. Start with a piece of paper from the Cosmo Cricket 6" x 6" Mini Deck of Garden Variety and cut a 3" piece from it and then cut that in half. Trim the cut strip from the top and cut another 3" square from that as well.
On the back draw a spiral that starts in the middle and then goes out the edges of the paper.
This is what mine looked like when I was done. Now cut along the lines.
Discard the outside corners and this is what you are left with.
At the beginning of the spiral start rolling the paper...
continue along the entire spiral and keep it going until you reach the inner little circle.
This is what it looks like when you let go of it, a really cute little bloom!
Place a glue dot or two onto the circle and gently press the center of the flower into the adhesive to get it held in place.
Isn't it an easy and cute way to create your own coordinating embellishment?
We need to make some leaves for our blooms, so draw a leaf shape onto the green and teal colored piece and then cut out. I used two of these for my project.
Fold down the middle the long direction and then crumple accordion style to get a nice shape to the leaf.
Use glue dots to adhere the flowers and leaves to the tag.
Stamp sentiment from the Hero Arts Truly Appreciated set with Walnut Stain Distress ink, and trim off just the "hello" part of the sentiment. Adhere under the flowers with a glue dot.
Thread a piece of white floss through a button from the Cosmo Cricket Garden Variety button pack and tie into a bow.
Tie a piece of Olive Silk ribbon through the top, and then adhere the button with a glue dot onto the knot. Now call it done!!
I am sure that you have a friend (or a few!) that would love to receive a tag like this as a sweet sign of the spring weather to come. I hope that this has inspired you to give masking a try, and that you can see the versatility of those beautiful Adirondack Acrylics. They are wonderful for adding texture too, something that we will be playing with in the near future!
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