Wednesday, August 28, 2013

August tag!!

Hello again!

In just a few hours, I'll be on my way out the door for a fun long weekend in Massachusetts!  But first, here's my tag!  :-)


Materials used:
 - Ranger Inkssentials Manila Craft Tags
 - Ranger Distress Inks: Black Soot, Walnut Stain
 - Ranger Distress Markers: Chipped Sapphire, Fired Brick, Pumice Stone
 - Ranger Distress Stain: Brushed Corduroy, Pumice Stone
 - Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black
 - Tsukineko Staz-on Ink: Jet Black
 - idea-ology Word Bands
 - Inkadinkadoo Stamping Mask Paper
 - Stamps by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: CMS162
 - Maya Road Twine Cording: Blackberry

Tools used:
 - Ranger Heat Tool
 - Ranger Inkssentials Mister
 - Ranger Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool
 - Tonic Craft Scissors
 - Tonic Paper Distresser
 - idea-ology Tiny Attacher

Notes:
 - With a good bit of travel behind me this summer, and one last road trip approaching quick, I was LOVING Tim's travel theme this month!  I went with (what else?) ROAD TRIP!!!  Tim's full-size Travel cling mount sets are definitely on my wishlist, but what I had was the Travel Ways sets, so I made do with some smaller stamps.  I still like how it turned out!
 - What I was less crazy about, though, was the behaviour I got from my manila tags!  I've been keeping my tags standing up in a tray on my craft table for easy access.  I'm not sure if it's due to the high humidity here these past few days, or the recent rains (they ARE kinda close to an open window), but the upper edges of my tags would not dry completely for anything.  They sucked up the stain colours, and even after a few minutes with the heat tool, were only sort of dry along those edges.  If you look at the pictures, you'll see what I mean: the edges of the tag are much darker on the top half than the bottom.  (I had the same problem yesterday with the tags for the challenge, but was able to disguise it pretty well.)  Maybe time to rethink where I keep those!  :-/
 - I knew I had blank mask material in the studio, and I thought it was the clear idea-ology stuff, but when I checked that drawer, it was the Inkadinkadoo (I think I found it on clearance at Joann's awhile back).  Worked pretty much the same, but because it's white rather than clear, lining it up to cover the image below was a little more of a pain.  And it was decidedly one-time use, unlike the idea-ology mask material.  I'll be giving that stuff a try quite soon, I think.  :-)

More views:



Well, that's it for me, for now.  Hope you have fun plans for this last weekend of summer!  :-)  

Talk to you soon!

BAC

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Challenge: "Summer Memories Anything Goes"

Yikes!  I haven't been here much at all this summer!  Time I usually spend in the studio has instead been spent mostly outside enjoying awesome weather.  :-)

I was super-psyched at the beginning of this month, however, to see my name as one of the winners for Tim's July Tag of the Month!!  I jumped around my studio for a good minute or so!  SOOO grateful to be picked, and receive a gift certificate to SimonSaysStamp!  Thank you!!!

On to the challenge:

This challenge was to create something that conveyed the idea of "Summer Memories".  After thinking on it a bit, I wound up creating 2 tags, both centering on the same general idea, and that's all the hiking and journeying I've been doing this summer.  :-)

The first:


Materials used:
 - Ranger Inkssentials Manila Craft Tags
 - Ranger Distress Ink: Rusty Hinge
 - Ranger Distress Stain: Broken China
 - Ranger Archival Ink: Olive
 - Design Originals Tim Holtz Mounts & Tags: Brick & Green
 - Stamp by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: CSS25887
 - Ribbon, double-stick tape from my stash
 - Photo taken by me

And the second:


Materials used:
 - Ranger Inkssentials Manila Craft Tags
 - Ranger Distress Ink: Dusty Concord
 - Ranger Distress Markers: Dusty Concord, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Peeled Paint, Pumice Stone, Shabby Shutters, Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet, Weathered Wood
 - Distress Paint: Mustard Seed
 - Ranger Distress Stain: Mowed Lawn
 - Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black
 - Core'dinations Tim Holtz Kraft Core: #2
 - "Enjoy the Journey" stamp by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: CSS30232
 - Landscape stamp carved by me
 - Cold-press Watercolour paper
 - Gold ribbon, foam dots, double-stick tape from my stash

Tools used (both/either tag):
 - Ranger Heat Tool
 - Ranger Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool
 - Ranger Inkssentials Mister
 - Tonic Craft Scissors
 - Zig BrusH2O: Detailer tip

A few notes:
 - I picked up the package of Mounts & Tags a month or two ago at a local store.  Pretty sure they're discontinued, though, so you might have to do some Googling to locate them online.
 - The photo I used on the first tag was one I took recently while hiking.
 - The second tag used a lot of the same marker and waterbrush techniques as Tim's June tag.  (What can I say?  They were fun!)  :-) 
 - The landscape stamp is indeed one I carved myself a few years ago, based on a piece of clipart I found online.

Close up of landscape stamp:


Well, that's it for now.  Back tomorrow with this month's Tim tag! :-)

'Til then!
BAC