inspiration monday {elvie-encore-post #6}

i stumbled upon this fabulous you tube by sija, and had to try it!

it's a really quick way to add some dimension to a shipping tag.....

and then you can use it in your journal or on a card!

as shown in the video, i used a thin coat of gesso and let it dry
 (i'm impatient, so i sped things up with my heat gun), 
and then i applied tim holtz distress inks using a foam applicator 
(make-up sponges work, too). 
here i've used the colors broken china and peeled paint, 
while leaving some of the natural color of the tag peeking through.

and this is what it looks like after i used a gentle touch with 
a baby wipe over the gessoed areas! 

for this tag, i used two of my favorite distress ink colors:

spiced marmalade and fired brick.
then, i finished using a micron for the lettering.

these tags each took about ten minutes to create, and 
they definitely fit into the "instant art gratification" category!!!

                    

you can watch this video in larger format here.

{i'm currently on a little bloggy break...this is an encore presentation 

of a post originally featured on august 6th and 7th, 2010}

giveaway treats

that time of year is upon us......the time for pumpkins, apple bobbing, hay rides......and trick-or-treats!!  i've never been so much into tricks......i've always been a treats kinda gal.  especially where chocolate is concerned.  or candy corn.  so i pulled out these little tags and bags i made last year......

and decided to add this spooky guy to the mix.....

meet my "going-batty-thumbat"!   

this year, the tag is much larger in size (about 4.75" x 2.25").....and it may just be a little too large.....but i made some a little smaller, and somehow his wacky-goofy-eyes and little i-want-chocolate-now-fangs got lost......and let's face it, if you're gonna do treats, you may as well do them large, right?!!

so with treats in mind, i'm celebrating my 300th follower*  (woo hoo!!) and giving away not one, not two, but three sets of these tags and bags.....that's five of the candy corn tags, and five of the thumbat tags,  along with ten twist ties and ten plastic bags to put all of your sweet goodies inside.  

(sorry, candy corn not included......i already ate all of that....)

to participate, just leave a comment on this post by midnight saturday (the 16th)!  

(one comment per person, and please make sure i can contact you!!

also, you must be at least 18 years old since i'll need to ask you for your address if your name is chosen!)

i'll use the random integer to choose three names and announce it on sunday!!!

*i'm celebrating reaching 300 followers.....which means that i'm really celebrating YOU!!  thank you SO much to each and every one of you for treating me to your sweet comments and bloggy love every time you stop by for a visit!!!  i will always be searching, but feel like i'll never really be able to fully express my gratitude for your heartfelt encouragement and support of my artwork!!!  

consider yourself bear hugged three hundred times!!!!

two pockets, two videos

this is the how-to for the pocket cards that i posted yesterday. you can make one of these cards lickety-split using just one piece of cardstock (double-sided works best), and two pieces of coordinating paper. then it's time for some decorating fun.....the sky's the limit!

watch here or watch at you tube

and here's a quick way to decorate a tag that you can tuck into your card pockets. i first saw this distressing technique demonstrated by claudine hellmuth using the ranger distress inks and the blending tool.....tons of fun, and instant art gratification!!

watch here or watch at you tube

i hope you enjoy making these.....and remember, a little chocolate bar fits nicely in those pockets, too!!

two pockets

i made this card today....

and like the last card that i made, this one has pockets, two (too)!

and tucked inside the pockets are some fun tags.

i'm working on a video to show you how easy these are to make....hopefully i'll have that ready to go for you tomorrow!

a tag and a jackpot

i've been tagged by the very sweet and very talented lisa lectura!  the rules on this are simple:  share the fourth photo from the fourth folder in your computer files.  so, here is my "apple a day" print that i finished several months ago.  the apple was painted with watercolor and then i used gouache for the hand lettering.  and....

tess hosted a giveaway recently and my name was chosen out of the hat!   look at all of these goodies that she sent!  lots of bits and doodads to make some fun cards, a handmade ATC card, and, most importantly a piece of original artwork by tess!  thanks so much for your generosity, tess!  :)

three in a row....

tic-tac-toe, three in a row!  continuing on from yesterday's post, here is another piece of canvas that has been treated with gesso and then a light wash of watercolor.  the grid was created using a running stitch and black cotton floss.  each element has been created by hand, including the "tic-tac-toe buttons" in the center of each heart, which were made by taking a wooden disc, stamping a letter on with staz-on ink and then punching the holes with my crop-a-dile.  i really love doing these mixed media projects, and i've especially enjoyed all of the hand stitching.  which reminds me, my husband's shirts have been patiently waiting for new buttons, so i'd better do that today...

p.s.  who won the game, the x's or the o's? (click on image for larger view)