the CLASSroom

Tag #10 Holiday Cheer by Becky Olsen

Holy WOW!!!
I love that mosaic that Lisa created! So much to keep looking at, very fab!

Here we are at tag #10 already, I have to admit that I don't have my tree up yet, or most of my shopping done, but we have plenty of time, right? It has been such a fun distraction to work on these tags, and all that stuff that needs to be done will be waiting for me when I am done so I am not too worried about it.

So with my mind on holiday decorating, I came up with the idea that it would be fun to "decorate" our little deer's home, so here we go!

Start with a piece of Sticky Back Canvas, a 6" x 6" piece of "Eskimo Kisses" and a white "#8 tag".

Claudine came up with a new technique for image transfer recently, so I thought it would be fun to share that here.
Start by trimming the patterned paper just a little smaller than the tag. Then trim the Sticky Back Canvas to the same size.

Peel the protective backing off of the Sticky Back Canvas.

Adhere the patterned paper pattern side to the adhesive of the Sticky Back Canvas. (this is a super clean version of image transfer, you are going to love it!)

Burnish using your Ranger "Craft Scraper". I am really heavy handed and apply a lot of pressure and repetitive movement to make sure that I am getting that ink as embedded into the adhesive as possible.

Spritz with water in a "Mini Mister", you want it to be really moist, so go for it!

Start by scraping the paper off in big chunks.

When you have most of the big chunks off again, spritz lightly with water and then rub with your fingers to get the smaller pieces off.

Place some "Matte Multi Medium" on your "Craft Mat" and loosen with a few spritzes from your Mini Mister.

Coat the entire surface by brushing on with large paint brush.

Sprinkle on "Twinklets" and lightly press into the multi medium.

Accelerate drying process with "Heat It" tool

I love how this looks, like a bluebird powder day at the mountain, gorgeous!

Adhere to tag.

Stamp the ornament from the "Heart Warmers" set with "Jet Black " Archival ink.

Trim around stamped shape.

Color in top of ornament with "Champagne" Stickles.

Fill in heart with "Burgundy" Stickles.

Trim piece of "Eskimo Kisses" paper with zig zag scissors.

Adhere to ornament with "Quickie Glue Pen". 

Fussy cut the deer out of the "Eskimo Kisses" paper 



Place dimensional adhesive onto back.

Gather "1 1/4" White Silk Ribbon" with needle and embroidery floss. Tie off ends when you get a width that is equal to the width of the tag bottom.

Stitch onto card with sewing machine.

Place deer onto tag.

Use a double sided tape to adhere your "White 1/4" Silk ribbon" to the tag.

Tie bows with the same ribbon.

Put dimensional adhesive onto the stamped ornament.

Place a "Say it in Pearls" center onto a large pink button.

Choose your favorite brad from the "Eskimo Kisses" brad set, then adhere the button and brad to tag with "Matte Accents".

Adhere silk ribbon bows to the top of the ornaments with Matte Accents.

SO CUTE!!!

Stamp the sentiment onto "Neenah" white cardstock with "Pitch Black" Pigment ink. Fussy cut around the sentiment and cut into two pieces.

 

Adhere to tag with Matte Accents.

Lots of textures and sweet colors! This tag is another super sweet one that is going to send you to see Herbie our Christmas dentist.

We are calling it done! Make sure you hang this one in a place where it will get a lot of light to play off of all that sparkle, and don't forget to brush and floss when you are done...
;o)

B-

Tag 9 - Mosaic Christmas Tag by Lisa Strahl

Tag 9 already, can you believe it?

When I talked to Bek today I just had to share with her how clever I thought her tag was yesterday.  That window was so uber cool.  Nice job girlie!

I have been just dying to play with the new Inchie Art products- Plus Size inchies (1.5 inches), Twinchies and in lovely neutral colors.  Today's tag was my perfect excuse...

 

First order of the day is to decide on a layout for the inchies, twinchies, etc.

 

Stamp images from the Mini Holidays, Floral Tattoo and Festive Sounds stamp sets in permanent brown ink such as Coffee Archival (Ranger).

 

Create a "handle" for your inchie with Eclipse Tape.

 Press it to the stamp.

 

Repeat this and stamp all of the images.

 

 

 

Sponge Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress Ink around the edge of the pieces with Cut 'n Dry Foam.

 

Sponge Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edge of the tag.

 

Adhere all of the pieces to the tag.  Stack the Santa image onto a second Twinchie.  

 

Embellish the images with Melon and Sky Blue Glitter Spica Pens.

 

Embellish with Lime Green and Arctic Ice Stickles.

 

Stamp the reverse side of a Word Key with permanent white ink using the Christmas sentiment from the Night Before Christmas stamp set.

A few details: the metal pieces are Sproket Gears, Muse Tokens, Long Fasteners, Foliage, Game Spinners, Hitch Fasteners, Jump Rings and Bead Chain.

 
...of course I can't resist adding some of that gorgeous lace trim to finish it off.

And with that friends, I wish you a wonderful Wednesday!

door hang gift idea by Kim Hughes

Have you created some hand crafted gift items for Christmas yet?  Here's your chance to make something special that is super easy to create.  This would make a great gift for just about anyone.  Hang this on a door, bulletin board or a refrigerator. 

Supplies:

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Cranberry

Basic Grey Bling It Individual Rhinestone Squares, Nutmeg/Curry, I used some Basic Grey from my stash, but this product would be a great alternative: Basic Grey Bling It Rhinestones Lotus, Tangerine, Basic Grey Take Note, Indian Summer, Basic Grey 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad, Nook and Pantry

Twill, White

Backgrounder, Leaves

Martha Stewart Craft Punch, Classic Butterfly

Start by punching a hole in the transparency and die cut paper and then punching a ring out of yellow paper to go at the top.  You can use a die cutting machine or punches, but keep in mind that your punch may not go through the transparency, so you may need to cut the circle out with scissors.

Mat the photo with green paper.  I chose green so that it would stand out from the other colors.  It has the same tones as the others, so it blends well.

 

Tuck the photo under the punched circle and cut off the area that is sticking out.
 

adhere the photo to the paper base.
 

add a punched butterfly accent and some Basic Grey bling to the center of the flower and circles on the transparency.
 

Ink the leaf patterned stamp and press the twill onto it.  Press it onto the stamp with your fingers.
 

move down the stamp and ink a long strip of twill.  The good thing about this is that you can easily see where the ink left off.  Continue down the entire stamp.
 

your customized leaf twill will look like this.
 

String it through and tie a bow. 
 

Lastly, punch another butterfly and add to the knot in the bow.

Instead of making a door hang, add this creation to a 6 x 6 piece of paper for a mini scrapbook page.  make one with all of your kids and give them to family members.  Add a wedding photo and give it as a mini gift.  The whole pack of Basic Grey "Take Notes" are wonderful to use for this gift idea.

Tag #8 From Our House to Yours by Becky Olsen

Wow, what a beautiful tag Miss Mona Lisa!

Did you know that every product that is listed in the "12 Tags Of Christmas" has a 20% discount on it? If being inspired isn't enough of an incentive to get you shopping, maybe that sweet deal is! I love a great deal, and it is even better when it is on all the stuff that I want!

A few days ago Ellen and I were talking about the tags that have been created, and how inspiring we find them. Then, I asked her what she thought a fun thing would be to try. She gave me an answer that made me put on my thinking hat. So here is my tag that was inspired by her reply of "a window".

Let's get started by measuring the stamp we are going to use. It is called "Crested Bird", and I could just imagine this scene outside my studio window! It measured at about 2" x 2 1/2" so I knew that it would fit the #8 size tag if I planned well enough.

The next step is to get the first layer of color onto the tags. This is a technique that I though of myself from playing with my Dimensional Pearls. I love that they are acrylic in base, have a beautiful shimmer, and are also very easy to loosen with water. So fill your "Mini Mister" half way with water, and then squirt some "Espresso" Dimensional Pearls into the water and give it a good shaking.

When it looks thoroughly combined, start spritzing onto your tags. You will need to prepare two this time, we have lots of layering to do!

Accelerate the drying with the Heat It tool. Keep spritzing and drying in layers until you get the look and color that you want. Be sure to empty and clean your Mini Mister right away. Because this is an acrylic base product, it could gum up the works if it were left to dry in the bottle.

Look at the shimmer in that, so gorgeous!

Next I stamped onto the " Crystal clear plastic" using Archival in "Jet Black". You could use another ink that works on plastics as well.

Here it is set aside to dry and get ready for what we have planned for him next.

While we are waiting for that lets get the "Wood Grain" stamped and embossed onto our tag. Sprinkle with "Walnut Stain" Distress embossing powder and melt with Heat It.

With Distress powders, they are designed with little crystals that will fall off after the heat process to create that more distressed look. Also do not rub while hot to "check" to see if it has melted, this will only frustrate you because the powder will rub off when hot. Be patient and thorough while heating and you won't have to worry or check. After it has cooled off, gently rub the surface with your hand and the crystals that are supposed to fall away will, and the others will stay if properly heated.

Now for the window. Make a template using a trimmer that is 2" x 2 1/2" and place on the back of the tag approximately where you want the window to be and then trace.

Use a straight edge ruler to help you guide your exacto when trimming out.

Our little bird is dry now, so flip him over and paint on the back side.

We are using "Classic Teal", "Dash of Red", and "Dab of Yellow". Mix the teal and yellow to get the color of leaves that you like.

The leaves will still be wet, so work carefully while filling in the bird.

Lightly apply some "Frosted Lace" Stickles onto the branches and leaves to give it a frosty, snowy look.

When everything is dry, adhere with "Glossy Accents" to the back of the tag.

Weight down with a heavy object while drying.

We will work on our window frame while that is doing its thing.

Trim a piece from the second tag that is 2 1/2" x 3".

Trim the template we had before to 1 3/4" x 2 1/4", place in the center and then trace around.

Trim with exacto and straight edge to remove. There we have it, a frame for our window.

Place some dimensional adhesive around the frame.

When everything is dry, adhere the frame into place.

Our window needs some curtains. Using embroidery floss and the ribbon lace "Cynthia", tie off end gather lightly to the width of the tag and then tie off and trim.

Apply "Matte Accents" across the tag just above the frame and then place gathered ribbon on carefully, arranging as you go. You can use other adhesives for this part, I just didn't want any glossy or wetter adhesives. This one dries fast and is clear, without a sheen.

Weight down while drying so it doesn't get away from where you want it to be.

After it has dried, flip over and pierce holes for the bottom piece of lace that we will stitch on with embroidery floss.

Use a running stitch to lightly tack on the "Nikki" ribbon.

Go through your vintage (or not so vintage) buttons and find some varied shaped and colored reddish ones. Stitch onto tag along top of ribbon.

Stamp sentiment from the "Night Before Christmas" and then sprinkle with "White Embossing" powder. Use Heat It tool to melt, then punch into tag shape.

Apply dimensional adhesive.

Adhere to tag, and then tie a big bow with "Burgundy" silk ribbon.

Here is where we call it done, and take a big sip of hot cocoa to toast our success!

So as I sit and finish this post there are little snowflakes that are drifting slowly and lazily out if the sky. It is a beautiful sight, and one that I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to enjoy from my window, in a warm robe and fuzzy slippers. ;o)

B-

Thank you!

No eye candy or treats from me tonight (Beks has more to come soon though)... but from me it is just one huge THANK YOU! Thank you for sharing your comments with the girls who work so hard in preparing their projects to share with you our wonderful readers! It just means a ton to me to know that you are out there reading, enjoying and being inspired! It means so much to me that you would take your time to share your thoughts with the girls who create as a team for you! THANK YOU!!! -Ellen

Tag 7 - Christmas Carols Tag by Lisa Strahl

Well all I can say about Becky's tag is that I hope she sends it to *ME* for Christmas! 

Today's tag features more traditional Christmas colors, but hopefully keeps that soft and romantic feel with the use of watercoloring and vintage trims.

 

Place the tag over the portion of the Graphic 45 paper you want to cut out and trim around the edges with a Judikins Craft Knife. Adhere the paper to the front of the tag.

 

Stamp and heat emboss the lamp post from the Festive Sounds stamp set with Detail Black Embossing Powder on a tag using the Ranger Craft Tool.

 

Put a small amount of Heirloom Gold, Sunflower Sparkle and Pearl Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet.  Spritz with water. 

 

Mix the Heirloom Gold into paint and apply to lamp standard.

Fill the "glass" portion of the light with the Pearl (white) color and then while it is still wet, add some Sunflower Sparkle and allow it to bleed into the white.

 

Allow the paint to dry and cut out the image with sharp tip detail scissors.

Stamp the image again with Jet Black Archival ink on Judikins Eclipse Tape.

Cut around the left side of the image and place on the tag. 

Ink the music background from the Festive Sounds stamp set with Fired Brick Distress Ink.

Stamp the image on the tag on an angle.  Remove the Eclipse Paper and set aside.

 

 

Stamp the Christmas Carols sentiment from the Festive Sounds stamp set with Jet Black Archival Ink on a tag and cut it out.

 

Spritz the image with a Mini Mister filled with Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls and water - heat set.

Press the image onto an watermark or embossing ink pad.  Dust with Clear Embossing Powder and Heat set.

Apply Candy Cane Stickles as berries to the sign.

 

...and Green Stickles to the edge and leaves.

Color the words on the image with Red Spica Glitter Pen. 

 

Stamp the Santa image from the Mini Holidays stamp set on a Crystal Clear Sheet and heat set.

 

Cut out.

 

And paint the back side with Blank Canvas Studio Paint.

 

Press to the tag while the paint is wet.

 

Apply foam tape to the lamp standard and adhere to the tag.

Paint Santa's coat and hat with A Dash of Red Studio Paint.  Allow to dry.

 

Apply small dots of Flower Soft Glue over Santa's bead and hat and dust with Polar White Flower Soft.

 

Cover the glass portion of the lamp with Glossy Accents.

 

Attach Crochet Ivory Ribbon with the Tiny Attacher stapler.

 

Apply strong tape on both edges of the tag and foam tape in the middle.

 

...and add the sentiment piece over it.

 

Adhere three Red Twinkle Sticklers to Santa's hat.

 

Punch a hole in the top of the tag and cover with a sprocket gear (Ideology) and tie with Ivory 1 1/4 inch ribbon.

Wishing you a wonderful week creative friends, please do come visit us again tomorrow!

Tag #6 Season's Greetings by Becky Olsen

 Lisa's tag yesterday was so cute, Eskimo Kisses is such a cute line of product, and the colors are delicious! The tag that I am sharing with you today is very much in that sugary sweet genre, so much so that you might want to make an appointment with your dentist to check for cavities when you are done reading this post! I always used to wish that Herbie of the Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer fame was my dentist, do you think he is still practicing? Wouldn't he just be the best dentist for this job?

So with your toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss in hand, let's get going!

You will need "Broken China", "Shabby Shutters", and "Worn Lipstick" Distress inks, "Kiwi" Perfect Pearls, a "Mini Mister" with water and your tag.

Start by pressing a little of the ink onto your "Craft Sheet" and then lightly mist them with water to loosen the ink up.

Using a brush, sprinkle some of the Perfect Pearls onto the inks, dispersing as evenly as you can.

I used the large brush from my "Studio Brush" set to paint the inks onto the tag, starting with the blue, then the green and lastly the pink.

Add water as needed to loosen the ink and create better flow on the tag. Smooth the colors and try to create a smooth transition between each of the colors.

This is what it looks like before it is dry, don't you love all that sparkle? Fantastic!

Use the "Heat It" tool to accelerate the drying process.

When the tag is dry, apply a very generous layer of "White Picket Fence" Distress Crackle Paint to the bottom edge of the tag. Set aside to dry, we have quite a few things to work on, so no need to rush this part.

Get out your Archival ink in "Jet Black", we are going to be using it a lot! Using one of the tree stamps from the Kim Hughes set "Winter Trees", stamp it onto a piece of "Sticky Back Canvas".

We are going to mixing up some paint for this tree, so start with some Studio acrylic paint in "Classic Teal" and "Dab of Yellow" and combine until you get a green that works for our cute little evergreens.

Using water to loosen the paint, apply paint to fill in the stamped area, repeat for the other tree.

Use a little but of "Sable Brown" to fill in tree trunk.

Loosen with water if necessary, and don't worry about staying within the lines, we are going to be cutting these out later.

Stamp the igloo from the same stamp set.

Paint with "Sky Blue" by starting with a brush that is just wet with water and going over image and then applying the blue paint that has been substantially loosened with water to the left edge.

Now we are going to stamp our sentiment, Start by stamping the sign post from the "Bear Hugs" set, and then the Season's Greetings from the "Christmas Critters" set.

Paint with the Sable Brown, start with the post and then paint the sign with water first again and then lightly add the brown so it looks aged.

Stamp the cardinal from the Christmas Critters set and paint with "Dash of Red"

Stamp the holly sprig from the "Heart Warmers" set.

Paint with the same green that you used on the trees and the same red that was used for the cardinal.

Now start to cut it all out!

Trim so that you still have the black from the stamp, you don't want the white from the plain canvas though, so be patient.

When I was trimming out the sign post, I decided I didn't want the little leaves on the side of it, so I cut it off.

Next, using the "Blank Canvas" white paint, carefully brush and dab on the pieces to look like they have snow on them. Let dry, you can coax it along with the Heat It tool if you want.

When the paint is dry, use some "Frosted Lace" Stickles to give that snow some glisten! Just lightly apply over the white painted areas. Set aside to dry.

While that is drying, use the snowflake from the Heart Warmers stamp set to stamp embossing ink onto the tag.

Sprinkle "White Embossing Powder" onto the tag and then carefully shake off. Then melt with the Heat It tool.

Stitch around the sides and top of the tag, don't stitch the bottom.

Now we are going to make a scarf! Start with the red "Baker's Twine" from Martha Stewart. Cut three pieces that are about 6 inches each.
 

Tie a knot at the end, and start to braid.

Continue until you reach about 3/4" from the end and then tie another knot.

Stamp the snowman from the Heart Warmers set onto "Craft-a-Board" with Archival ink in Jet Black.

Cut around, and you won't need those little arms, so don't try to trim around them. Apply "Frosted Lace", "Spiced Marmalade" and "Ruby Slippers" to the snowman.

Now find a couple of tiny twigs from your yard and use the Frosted Lace Stickles to glue those little snowman arms on. Set aside and let dry or use the Heat It tool to speed things up. You could braid the little scarf now if you wanted.

When he is dry, wrap the scarf around his neck and lightly adhere in place with a little drop of "Matte Accents". Doesn't he look cozy, bundled up, and ready for any snow storm to hit?

Now we are going to start putting all the pieces together for our little winter scene.

Start by placing the holly leaves and berries onto the sign. I ended up moving them later, that is the great thing about working with the canvas, it sticks but is so easy to move and fuss with.

Next place your trees, igloo and cardinal on the left side of the tag. Put some dimensional adhesive dots on your snowman to really pop him up.

Adhere him to the right side of the tag. In this picture you can see where I ended up placing the holly pieces, it looked more balanced to me this way. When you are making yours, fuss with it a bit to get things where you like them, that is the fun of it all!

For the final touch put a little more Picket Fence Crackle Paint onto the bottom of the tree, igloo and sign post to ground them into the scene, then tie a bow with that "1/4" silk ribbon" that I am so in love with and call it done!

Here we are with the finished tag, it is so sweet that it might be time for that appointment with Herbie your Christmas dentist! 

Now we are officially half way through the feminine 12 Tags of Christmas, we hope you are having as much fun as we are!

B-

Soldered Tree Ornaments by Debbie Olson

 

Some of you have been asking Ellen for more soldering posts--you know who you are! For today's post, I pulled out my Graphic 45 Christmas Past tags sheet and chose three images that would work with the Memory Glass sizes that I had on hand, 1-1/2" square, and 2" square. I also had some pretty chandelier crystals that I thought I would try to work in. I will use these as tree ornaments, even though I photographed them with chains. (Trust me, the chains looked better than my ornament hangers!)

 

First, I trimmed my tags down to fit within the glass sandwich, making the paper ever so slightly smaller than the glass. You do not want paper sticking out to prevent your copper foil tape from sealing well against your glass.

 

Next I wrapped copper foil tape evenly around the edges of all three pieces. I chose the ripple edged copper foil tape from the variety pack to add a bit more interest, burnishing it well to be sure that the tape would stay put when it got hot.

 

Here you can see my initial rough soldering job. If you click and enlarge it, you will probably see some places where I need more solder. By the way, that is a quarry tile that I am using to protect my counter top from stray pieces of molten metal. I'm going to get one of these heat proof mats one day though!

 

Here I have added some accessories at the tops and bottoms of the ornaments, including jump rings and Victorian Filigree. If you enlarge it, you will also see that I have some discoloration on the tops of the center and left pieces where I got the decorative piece a bit too hot. I went back and re-tinned them (brushed them with flux and added a thin layer of solder).

 

Here I've added some lovelies on the bottoms of each piece--ranging from the chandelier crystals, to some miscellaneous beads that I had in a box, to a Maya Road pin that I cut off and attached with a jump ring. This was a fun project; my nine year old was impressed; "Can we keep them, Mom?" he asked. Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today!

Tag 5 - Eskimo Kisses Inspired By Lisa Strahl

Are we having fun yet or what?! 

I have seen the preview for tomorrow's tag and once again Bek and I are channeling each other by creating some sugary sweet cutesy projects.  My version was inspired by the Eskimo Kissesline by Basic Grey which is so stinkin' cute I can barely stand it!  Purple and pink and green and burgundy....yum.  Here we go....

 

For those of you who have never experienced the Studio Line of paint, let me give you a very brief endorsement - this stuff ROCKS.  It's the most buttery smooth paint I have ever worked with an when it's applied it gives such a richness and depth of color that I never have to add a second layer.  Just loverly.

Begin by adding some Perfect Pearls "Pearl"to the paint and mix it in well.  I wanted to create a shimmer paint because it 'Tis the Season to bling.  Perfect Pearls are permanent once wet so the Painterly Pink Studio Paint becomes a shimmer paint when the powder is added.  Cool beans right?  P.S.  I added some Blank Canvas white paint to the mixture as well so I could match the paper we are using perfectly.

Go forth and paint TWO tags.

Spritz with a Mini Mister filled with 3/4 water and two scoops using the end of your paint brush of Perfect Pearl.

 

Heat set with the Ranger Heat Tool - also known as the greatest heat tool on the planet.  (and no, I am not being cheeky)

Now loosen up the paint a little by spritzing more.  You don't want the paint to be to heavy when you paint this Heidi Swapp flower. 

 

Leave some open areas of white so we can ink them later.  This is so shimmery and pretty, even though the camera can't pick it up.

 

Flick some Patina Perfect Pearls onto the wet flower and allow to dry.

 

Stamp this image from the Mini Holidays stamp set(NOW available in the store!) with permanent burgundy ink such as Archival or StazOn.

 

Add Clear Glossy Accents to a Charm Fragment.

Press the fragment to the image ensuring full coverage of the Glossy Accents between the plastic and the paper and then set something on top of it while it dries.

 

Trim around the backside once it's dry and set aside.

 

Using the brown Martha Stewart Twine, secure the Swivel Clasp to the back of the Eskimo Kisses button and remove the clasp part (you can bend open the jump ring with your fingers.)  Keep the  jump ring.

Ink your flower with Aged Mahogany Distress using Cut 'n Dry Foam.

 
 
Stamp the calendar image also from the Mini Holidaysset with permanent brown ink on your second painted tag and cut out.

 

Ink around the edges the same way as the flower, with Aged Mahogany Distress.

 

Tear the edges of the Eskimo Kisses paper from their 6x6 pad - the images are the perfect scale for smaller projects.  Use your Tonic Scissors to cut into the edge until it curls.

 

Adhere to your tag.  Sponge around the edges of the painted tag and lightly in the center to highlight the blotches of shimmer paint.

Create a circle of fibers from this green Botanicals paper by Prima.

 

Apply Glossy Accents to the flower.

 

..and press the Botanicals into the glue to dry.

 

Attach the charm fragment onto the chain/jump ring.  Add more Glossy Accents and adhere the button into the center of the flower.

 

Time to assemble the tag!  

-stamp the snowflakes image (yet another from the Mini Holidays set) with the same permanent burgundy ink, adorn your snowflakes with bling and pearls when everything else is put together

-a strip of paper as a border from the Eskimo Kisses Pad, add dots of Glossy Accents once everything is put together

-adhere the calendar image with foam tape, add a big dot of Glossy Accents over the "25th"

-loop wide Burgundy and Celery silk ribbon through the tag

 

I feel like I have been kissed by a pretty cute Eskimo, don't you?  :^)

Wishing you a WONDERFUL Saturday friends!

Tag #4 Christmas Night by Becky Olsen

Can you believe that we are four days into December already? Lisa's tag yesterday was so gorgeous, great colors and textures, and very inspiring!

ETA: Clue #4  Inchies are cute, inchies are fun! Let'gs get happy and make them go "scrappy" (think scrapbooking ladies) --- head on over to our habitat, Inchie INKlings, for your next clue.

The tag I am sharing today is a little spin on vintage. Are you ready for a stroll through years past?

Start by trimming a piece of "Let it Snow" paper from the Graphic 45 "Christmas Past" collection just a little smaller than the size of the tag you are working on.

Use your tag as a template for trimming the edges of the tag.

Using Distress "Tea Dye" ink and the "Ink Applicator Tool" start on the craft mat, make sure to use the "Blending Foam" for this technique.

Work the ink onto the tag with the tool starting on the craft mat and working in small circles onto the tag reapplying ink to the tool as necessary.

Repeat this process for the patterned paper.

Apply "Vintage Photo" Distress Ink in the same manner to the tag, but stay closer the the edges.

Use the same technique to apply the ink to the patterned paper. 

Using your "Perfect Medium Pen" trace a few of the snowflake shapes. 



Sprinkle "White Embossing" powder onto the places you have traced.



Melt with the "Heat It" tool. 



I left a gap where I knew my larger image would be, but do what you like.

Now we are going to work on St. Nick! Stamp "Jolly Holly Santa Collage" onto another tag with "Cranberry" Adirondack Pigment ink. 



Sprinkle "Clear Embossing Powder" onto the image. 

Shake off excess and then melt with Heat It tool. 

Trim image out of tag.

Apply the Vintage Photo ink using the same method shown in the beginning.



Apply highlights to the image with "White Opaque Pen".

Press "Tattered Rose" Distress Ink onto the "Craft Sheet". Lightly mist with water from "Mini Mister" and then using a small brush from the Claudine Hellmuth "Studio Artist Brushes" lightly paint some color onto St. Nick's cheeks. 



Use the same technique to apply "Pine Needles" to the small holly leaves.



I used my ATG gun, but you can use what ever adhesive that you prefer to adhere the "White Felt" by Martha Stewart to the back of the image.



This is what it looks like so far, fun!! 

With Pine Needles Distress Ink, stamp the sentiment "Christmas Night" from the Rummage Bin set "Night Before Christmas", and stamp onto piece of tag that was left. 

Sprinkle "Pine Needles" Distress embossing powder on then melt with Heat It tool. 



Trim around sentiment. 



Apply highlights to the top of the letters with White Opaque Pen. Press "Antique Linen" onto Craft

Sheet and then mist with water, paint sentiment carefully.
 

Adhere sentiment to tag with foam adhesive.

Apply larger foam squares (or dimensional adhesive of your choice) to St. Nick.

Adhere to tag.

Again I didn't have a ribbon that I felt matched the way I wanted, so I colored "White Silk" ribbon using my Copic marker "Forest Green" to achieve the look I was after.

Using a needle and embroidery floss, I gathered the ribbon.


When I got the fullness I liked, trimmed the ribbon.



Tie it off in a knot to complete the circle.

Thread the needle with Martha Stewart "Baker's Twine" in the green and white and then thread through a vintage button.

Tie in a bow!

Apply a liquid adhesive to the back of the ribbon flower and the button.



Adhere to top left of St. Nick and call it good, because we are done! Stand back and admire your hard work!



I love this project with all of the varied textures. The cozy felt, the smooth ribbon and the glossy image all add wonderful components to this fun tag.

Thanks for dropping by to visit and I hope that you can take some time to play along!
B-

Tag 3 - Botanical Merry Christmas By Lisa Strahl

Well, Ms. Becky certainly rocked the house yesterday didn't she?  :^)  Go Bek!

Today's tag is definately a non-traditional Christmas Tag.  Let's begin trimming a Webster's Pages Vellum Journaling Card with detail scissors. It's always good to leave a small amount white space around the edge of the image rather than trimming right next to the line.

 

This white paper may not look like much but it's an amazing product line by Heidi Swapp called "Invisibles".  Basically they are 12 x12 pre-embossed pages with absolutely gorgeous designs.  They allow you to apply resist techniques, but you get to skip the heat embossing step.  The pattern is very visible in real life but hard to discern in the photo.  Let's add some ink so you can see what I am talking about.  This piece is from the Classic Vintage Page.

 

Using Cut 'n Dry Foam, I sponged Shabby Shutters Distress Ink onto the Invisible.  Please see the Tag 1 post for more information about adding ink to a project with Cut 'N Dry Foam.

 

Add Antique Linen Distress Ink in the same fashion.  I used the images on the sheet to determine where to add color.

 

The last color added was Brushed Corduroy.  It is the most "red" brown of the 5 Distress browns, but still didn't quite match the color in the vellum overlay I wanted to use, so I added a little Aged Mahogany Distress Ink over the Brushed Corduroy until I achieved the desired color. 

 

Stamp the Reindeer (Mini Holidays stamp set by Tim Holtz) with a permanent ink such as Archival or StazOn.

 

Now you might find this next step interesting.  How shall we attach the vellum to the tag?  There are vellum tape runners or you can use brads or eyelets, but I chose to paint so that the vellum basically became part of the tag.  Simply paint a relatively large portion of the back side of the vellum with Blank Canvas Studio Paint and press to the tag.  I really wanted this beautiful flower to "pop" so I painted that portion to secure the vellum.  You will need to smooth it a little as it sets and dries.  Claudine's Paint Brush Set is an amazing value with all of the different sizes and cuts of brushes.

Once this portion was smooth and dry, there were a few areas around the edge I wanted to be a little more secure, so I just added some Glossy Accents and pressed the seam flat.

 

Trim around the tag with Tonic Non-Stick Scissors.  These work great to cut through any of the extra glue that has seeped out around the edges. 

 

Add Rock Candy Distress Sticklesto some of the ornamental areas.  This product literally dries like sugar on your project, giving it a fascinating texture.

 

Stamp the Reindeer image again on a clean tag and cut out, minus the antlers.

 

Those non-stick scissors came in handy again when I needed to cut my foam tape to fit my deer.

 

Apply Vintage Photo Distress Stickles to the antlers.  If you apply more than you wanted, just use a piercing tool or the tip of your scissors to redirect the glitter glue or even to remove some of it. 

 

Sand a piece of Translucent Lucky Squirell Shrink Film in both directions, but make sure you don't do it on the craft sheet, it will damage it!  I used the Sanding Grip, but Lucky Squirell actually makes great sanding blocks with a very fine grain, for this very purpose.

 

Stamp the Merry Christmas from the Santa's Wish stamp set with a permanent brown ink (I know this looks red, but trust me, it's brown) and gently heat set to dry the ink with the Ranger Craft tool.  Make sure you don't heat it too much or it will start to shrink.  Cut around the the sentiment and shrink based on the manufacturer's instructions.

 

 

When I was pulling the ribbons I wanted to use for this tag together, I realized that I really needed a red/brown and didn't have anything quite right.  Copic Markers to the rescue!  Use the chisel tip to color this 1/4 inch white silk ribbon and allow to dry.  I used Leather Copic as you can see.

 

Being the piercing junkie that I am, I did some decorating around the leaves.

 

There are a few extra details that I added near the end of the project, but forgot to snap photos!  I got so carried away in my creative head, please let me describe them for you...

-Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink was sponge around the entire edge of the tag with Cut 'n Dry Foam

-the Celery 1 1/4 inch Silk, White 1/4 inchand my Copic colored ribbons were wrapped around the bronze Sprocket Gear and tied with some Martha Stewart Baker's Twine

-Nikki Lace Trim was secured to the bottom of the tag with the Tiny Attacher Stapler

-Design Ruler used to pierce a line of holes down the right side of the tag

-Glossy Accents applied to the "shrunk" sentiment

Thank you so much for visiting us again today and happy 12 tags of Christmas to you!

12 Tags Blog Candy

I bet you thought I was done with the blog candy - didn't you? Well... I'm not --- LOL!

I left a VERY broad hint in my announcement a few days ago that you never know what we have up our sleeves! Well, it's time for a little surprise! We here in the offices of Ellen Hutson LLC are giddy with what the girls create for the CLASSroom and we know that the comments we share make a wonderful difference in their days. To know that the creativity they bring is appreciated is a gift in and of itself.

We know that it takes time to leave comments, especially those unsolicited ones. So we would like to thank you for sharing your time with us when you do share your thoughts. I wish that we had the $$$ to share with everyone who left a comment yesterday, but the reality is that we don't - LOL! BUT we can share a bit here and there and we would like to thank you for stopping in and supporting us with your kind words.

• Martha Stewart Punch Around the Page Crown Set,
• Joyeux Noel (Christmas Snowflakes),
• Prima Marketing White Flower Centers,
• Silver Super Fine Embossing Powder

I counted up all the comments that were made yesterday on the CLASSroom (on all posts that had a new comment) here in our Typepad account - the total was 50. I then entered that number in the Random Number Generator and counted forward to comment 38!

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 38 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

The comment below was left in Tag 1 - Angel Wings by Mona Lisa

 

Christy Q said:

How clever!!! I love the feminine touches and the twist to Tim's tags. Can't wait to see the remaining 11 days!

 

Thank you to each and every one of you who leaves messages/comments for us here in the CLASSroom. They are appreciated!!!

 

Hugs,

Ellen

 

Anniversary Celebration Blog Candy Winners!

FIrst let's share the Blog Candy from our Anniversary Celebration Thanksgiving drawing. I want to thank you all for sharing what you are thankful for this past year. Even though there are many challenges in life it is so important to look to the things we are grateful for. So without further delay let's do our random number drawing for the following prize package.

True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 128 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Following is our winning comment:

I am thankful for my family. We lost my father a few months ago, and I moved my mom in with me. I'm very thankful and honored to have her living with me. I'm grateful that my son gets to spend more time around his grandmother and that my sister comes to visit us often now.

I'm thankful that I have a good job and have been able to work. I have some major health issues, and it was touch and go for a while, but I've been persevering and I'm still able to keep a roof over our heads!

I'm also grateful for good honest friends. The kind that knows all about you and loves you anyway!

Posted by: Peggy | November 27, 2009 at 09:22 PM

Thank you all so much for your comments, emails and support over this past year! They are so appreciated! -Ellen

Tag 2 - Dashing Through the Snow by Becky Olsen

Are you ready to dash through the snow with me? That is the theme of the tag we will be making, so put on your parka, grab a mug of cocoa and we will get started!

 

Start by getting your craft mat out and pressing out "Tattered Rose", "Worn Lipstick" and "Fired Brick" Distress inks, then spritz with a Mini-Mister.

Lay your #8 white tag down in the inks.

 
Lift tag out of the inks and set on ends.

Use your Heat It tool to help the drying process along.

Get out your large brayer and roll it through the ink that is left over and then apply to "Swirling Snowflakes".

Stamp onto tag.

Use Heat It tool to help the drying process along.

Ink up the "French Script" backgrounder with "Fired Brick" Distress Ink.

Mix up a Mini Mister with a drop of "Pine Needles" Distress ink and a little bit of "Forever Green" Perfect Pearls to make your own special blend of shimmery mist.

Spritz onto tag randomly, then use a paint brush to flick on random drops, set with Heat It tool.

Stamp with medium sized snowflake from the "Joyeux Noel".



Then sprinkle "Silver Super Fine" embossing powder and melt with Heat It tool.

Stamp the sentiment from the "Primitive Christmas" close to the top and the left of the tag.

Use the shimmery mist to spritz the sentiment, set with Heat It tool.

Cut three pieces of Prima "Saucy" lace the width of the tag.

Stitch on with sewing machine in layers, starting with the bottom one first and working up the tag.

Stamp sleigh image from "Primitive Christmas" the flourish from "Beautiful" stamp set and the littlest snowflake from the "Joyeux Noel" with Black Archival ink.

Stitch a piece of Webster's Pages "Home for the Holidays" trim over the top of the Prima trim covering the bottom of the sleigh.

Stamp with large snowflake from the "Joyeux Noel" set onto a piece of "Craft-a-Board".

After you stamp, sprinkle with Super Fine Silver Embossing powder and melt with Heat It tool.

Carefully trim out and around the snowflake, be patient, it is worth it!

Adhere snowflake to the tag with a "Glue Dot".

Adhere a Prima "Flower Center" with another Glue Dot.

Tie on a big "Rose" colored silk ribbon bow, this really brings out the color of the pinks in the tag!

Isn't the play of the silver beautiful? Nothing like the look of metal to inspire the chilly feelings of winter!

Have fun creating!
B-

Tag 1 - Angel Wings by Mona Lisa

A very warm welcome to the Ellen Hutson 12 Days of Christmas.  Thank you so much for joining us in kicking off the holiday season!

I am honored to be able to create with my dearest friend Ellen for a few weeks and share my passion for paper crafting with her amazing customers.  Becky and I are having much too much fun behind the scenes creating to our heart's delight.

Without further adieu, let's get right to the first tag...

I began by cutting this adorable pair of angels out of the Ode to Joy 12 x 12 sheet (Graphic 45) with my sharp tip detail scissors.  Using a good pair of scissors makes all the difference when cutting out detailed images.

It's very important to have a non-stick surface such as the Ranger Craft Sheet when applying products like Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint.  Any paint or ink wipes right up or flakes off when dry.  Paint a thin layer of the Rock Candy over the entire surface and allow to dry.  This paint cracks like a fine porcelain over these richly colored images.  Gorgeous!

 

Paint the surface of the tag with Tea Dye Distress Crackle Paint, but paint "lightly".  Leave lots of open space because we are going to add ink in those areas later.  With Crackle Paint, the thicker you apply, the deeper the cracks.  This color matches the Christmas Past Collection perfectly.  Allow the paint to fully dry.  Cracks will appear as the paint dries.

Here is the what the paint looks like dry:

Edge the mini wooden Scrabble Pieces with the Copper Krylon Pen.  The trick with these pens is to get the flow of ink moving to the tip.  Simply press down repeatedly on the Craft Sheet until it begins to pool.  You can create a nice pool on the sheet if you like and just dip the tip of the pen into the ink as needed.  Drag the tip around each side of the letters and allow to dry.

Cut a small piece (I like about 2x2 inches) of Cut 'n Dry Foam from the 8.5 x 11 sheet and grab your Peeled Paint Distress Ink Pad.

 

Load the sponge with ink by pressing it into the pad several times and then ink the tag in a circular motion beginning ON the Craft Sheet and then dragging the foam onto the tag.  Add color as desired.

Add Perfect Pearl Pigment Powder to a Mini Mister filled 3/4 full with water.  1-2 scoops on the end of a paint brush will do the trick to create a lovely shimmery mist over the project.

Spritz 3-4 times over the tag and allow to dry or heat set with the Ranger Craft Tool.

Stamp the border from the Floral Tattoo Set (Stampers Anonymous) with Archival Ink.  This stamp set will be in the shop soon!

Then stamp the floral spring from the same set.

 

I wanted to really add some texture below where the angels would sit and chose this amazing cream colored Botanical Paper.  I tore the bottom of the piece to get lots of "stringy" bits and then used my ever handy Tonic Non-Stick scissors to cut through the fibers and adhesive underneath.

The Botanical Paper is adhered until the the Angels which are popped up on foam squares.

Attach the "wings" tiles with Red Tape Liner.

Pierce a line of hole in the paper using the piercing template on the Design Ruler.

Use a white gel pen to "Faux Stitch" the border of the tag.

Decorate the berries with Fruit Punch Stickles.

...and the branches with Patina Stickles.

Add small dots of Flower Soft Glue to the Angels' Wings and dust Polar White Flower Soft over the glued areas several times.  Flower Soft is much easier to use in a big container once it has been unpacked from the container.

Attach the lace with the Tiny Attacher Stapler.  This handy little tool really does allow you to attach all sorts of things and the staples are so stinkin' small, you don't even notice them!

Last but not least, tie a soft and romantic piece of silk ribbon to the tag and voila!  A very special tag that someone could enjoy all year round.  Oh, I almost forgot...at the last second I realized that the blond angel needed a flower in her hair.  Tim's Foliage Hardware was perfect topped with a little bling.

Thank you so much for visiting and make sure you check back as I know Ellen has some giveaways planned!

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist

It is such a privilege to share our excitement for the 12 Tags of Christmas that Tim Holtz is hosting on his blog. In fact we were so excited that we decided to join in the fun with our very own "feminine twist" and who better to share this excitement than our very own Becky Olsen and my dear friend and guest designer Lisa Strahl!

These two very talented designers have both attended Ranger U and have come away with so many different techniques that they now utilize in their creative process. It is with much anticipation that I look forward to each of the next twelve days and the tags Lisa and Becky create as they share and expand upon what they have learned.

So in addition to our regular posts please come back each day for some additional inspiration!!! Join Becky and Lisa and share your comments with them as their posts go live over the next few days - you never know what else we might have up our sleeves (just sayin!) As well don't forget to leave your comments on Tim's blog to win some fabulous products!

Garden Fresh card by Kim Hughes

So I am sure that some of you have snow outside of your window at the moment, but fresh vegetable images make me smile...hope they do the same for you.

Supplies:

White Tags, #10 (X-Large)

ink: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

CHF: Scrapblock, Fiery Floral

Inchie + Squares, White

Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, The Boyfriend

Copic E00, R27, YG63, YR24, YR21

Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam

Karen Lockhart Gardener's Know the Best Dirt, IB Peas, IB Radishes, IB Carrots

 

Start by folding the tag in half to form a card base.  Stamp the floral pattern onto the tag with a powder blue ink.  Stamp the 3 vegetables with brown ink onto 4 inchie squares.   Chalk the edges with brown ink.  Use craft foam for a soft look.
 

Then color the entire tag surface with Copic YR21
 

...and on top of that layer with a Copic YR24.  This will tone down the white and give the tag an aged look.
 

Color the stamped vegetables by first coloring them all with YR21 so that they all have the same colored base.

 

Once you have colored each image, color over the entire surface with EOO.  This will help to blend all of the colors and give it an aged, warmer look.
 

I added some shading with YR24 and YR21 to give each image a soft glow.

I cut two thin strips of patterned paper, inked the edges on both sides, and colored the white side with YR21 to dull it down.  Tie a knot through the tag hole.

Stamp sentiment onto the same patterned paper, cut down, ink edges and add to the left side of the card.

Add two brads to the top left of the card to balance out the color.

Some other options for this idea is to create a journal cover (great Christmas gift idea), or use the tag as intended and combine it with a floral gift.  You can change out the customized paper knot for a fun ribbon accent.  Thanks for stopping by today.  :)