Simon Monday Challenge: Anything Goes

Hello again!

This afternoon, I spent some time in my studio just playing.  The tag I came up with was created for SimonSaysStamp's Monday Challenge ("Anything Goes"), but I'm also submitting it to Inspiration Journal's April challenge ("A Few of My Favourite Things").

Here's my finished tag:

Materials/tools used:

 - Ranger Inkssentials Manila tags

 - Ranger Distress Ink: Old Paper, Salty Ocean

 - Ranger Distress Stain: Tumbled Glass

 - Ranger Archival Ink: Cobalt, Deep Purple

 - Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists: Forever Violet, Sour Apple

 - Ranger Metal Foil Tape

 - Studio 490 Clearly for Art Blackout

 - idea-ology: Grungeboard, Tiny Attacher

 - Maya Road Twine Cording Solids: Blue Raspberry

 - Ranger Heat Tool

 - Ranger Inkssentials Foam Blending Tool

 - Sizzix Big Shot

 - Sizzix dies: Mini Butterfly Set, Picture Wheel

 - Tonic Studios Craft Scissors

 - Stamps by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous: CMS155

 - Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil: Shatter

 - Xyron 2.5" sticker maker

 - Paper towels

 - Painters tape

 - Foam dots from my stash

I didn't really have any sort of set plan in my head when I was making this tag.  My only focus was to try to use products I love in some new ways, and I think I accomplished that pretty well!

The reflective squares were left over from when I used the Picture Wheel die on this January project.  I'd set them aside for future use, and ran across them while doing some straightening today.  To adhere them, I simply ran them through my Xyron.  (Be aware that grungeboard pieces are a *little* bit too thick to go through the Xyron easily.  When I was finished, I popped out the cartridge, and snapped the front bit back into place, since running these through popped it out a bit.  No permanent damage; just be aware.)

For the butterflies, I wanted to do something a bit different.  I've been loving playing with the Clearly for Art, but I have a sheet of Clearly for Art Blackout that I hadn't tried anything with yet, so I die-cut my butterflies, and decided it would be interesting to use Perfect Pearls mists to give them a bit of an iridescent look.  To get the look you see above, I sprayed the Perfect Pearls on fairly liberally and let them sit for about an hour.  I hit them with the heat tool for a little bit, and then used a paper towel to take up some of the excess liquid.  I dried them further with the heat tool, and when I noticed that the pigment was flaking off in some places, I decided to encourage that a bit by blowing on them.  Attached them to my tag, and used my heat tool to shape the wings.  And voila!  Butterflies with iridescent, but somewhat shabby, wings.  I really liked how they turned out!

Additional views:

Well, that's where a little experimentation took me today.  Where will your experimentation take you?

'Til next time!

BAC