January 12 Tags of Savagery!

Join me every mid-month for a tag tutorial and challenge at Swirlydoos Kit Club.  We're going to explore different techniques each month with our tags and hopefully have lots of fun!

This month we're going to think about layers.  When I make tags, I love lots and lots of layers and dimension.  With a tag, you don't have to worry about it being too thick to fit in an album so I say pile on the goodies!

Let's talk about layers on tags for a minute.  I use alot of diecut frames on my tags for layers.  I love to layer different size frames over each other, thereby creating lots of layers.

Ok let's get started on this month's tag.  Below I've listed the supplies I used, most of which, comes from the January Swirlydoos kit.  You can certainly go free style and use whatever you want!

Supplies:

1. Tag - 3.5" x 8.5" cut from Bo Bunny Double Dot Shadow Vintage
2. 3" x 4" card - your choice cut from BFS Calling Cards paper
3. Fussy cut birds - from Blue Fern Studios (BFS) Birdsong paper
4. Green cardstock for leaves
5. Masking paste - Art Anthology Sandstone from the Mediums kit
6. Mask - Art Anthology Cracked from the Mediums kit (I used Prima's crackle mask as I did not get the mediums kit.)
7. Mask - Crafter's Workshop chicken wire (from my stash)
8. White paint or gesso (from my stash)
9. White lace or trim (from my stash)
10. leafy vines - diecut with Die-namites large ivy die from a kit several months ago. You could use a chipboard vine, leaves, or a floral vine in its place.
11. Mist - two colors, I used Lindy's Ponderosa Pine Olive and Frosty Forest Green (from my stash)
12. ribbon (from my stash)
13. 5" white doily -  diecut with Kaisercraft's doily die, (from my stash) you can use a commercial 6" doily, as I don't think I've seen a 5" doily
14. Cheesecloth - from the embellishment addon
15. Cardboard or sticky foam to pop up layers
16. Flowers - I've used roses from I Am Roses (stash) and Petaloo Chantilly Velvet Hydrangeas (blue) from the main kit. ( I sprayed them with a blue mist to make them a bit darker.)
17. Prima Velvet Baubles - from the main kit
18. Ink - Prima Old Road, I believe this came in an earlier kit, it goes perfectly with these Blue Fern papers.  If you don't have it, black or brown would work fine.
19. Glue

Step 1:

Use the Cracked mask and Sandstone paste to randomly mask on your tag.  Let that dry and then using a chicken wire mask, pounce white paint randomly on the tag. 

Note:  The masking and paint dribbles are almost covered up in the final tag - that happens to me alot!  :-)  It is nearly invisible in the final photo but it shows a bit more IRL.  You can omit these steps if you wish.

Put a little white paint on your craft mat and then add a few drops of water to make it thinner and then flick onto your tag.

Step 2:

Distress the edges of your tag,  I did not ink my edges as I wanted a white edge. Cut a piece of white lace or trim and glue to the bottom of your tag.

Step 3:
Diecut several leafy branches from cardstock and then color with two different mists.  I use two mists because leaves in nature are not a flat single color so using two colors makes the leaves more realistic in appearance.  I use a dabber top on my Lindy's but you can spray on your mist or use a paintbrush to apply.  Be sure to allow the mist to dry before adding the 2nd mist.

After the leaves are dry, give them some shape with a stylus ball.  If you don't have one of these,  I have used the end of a mechanical pencil and I bet the end of a Sharpie pen would work.

Step 4:

Take one of the notecards and give it a good wrinkle as shown and ink the edges. We are going to layer some flowers under the wrinkle so be sure you have room to nestle in some blooms.

Step 5:
Add a doily to the tag, letting it hang off the right side.  Then cut a couple of pieces of cheesecloth and glue over the doily.  Pull the threads and "mess it up" a bit.

Step 6:

Now add the note card.  The only adhesive I used at this point is a foam square on the upper left corner and on the lower right corner.

Step 7:

Fussy cut the birds and ink the edges.  Then add two layers of foam or cardboard so that when you place them on the tag they will fit over the popped up notecard.  (Note, I ended up cutting the leaves off the bottom.)  Place on the left side of your tag so that they cover part of the notecard.

Step 8:

Arrange the leafy vines on the tag, tucking some under the birds so that it appears they are sitting in the flowers.

Step 9:

Now add flowers.  On the right side be sure to tuck some flowers under the notecard such that they are peaking out.  Tuck some hydrangeas under the bird and around the upper right corner of the notecard.    In the lower right rose cluster I've tucked a couple of Prima Velvet Baubles into the cluster.

I tucked a bit more cheesecloth under and around the birds.  And to finish it off, I added a bow that I tied with the Bow-it-all.

If you want to use the tags that came in the main kit, here's a simpler version of the January Savagery tag. 

Here are the two tags together.  Note that I changed the ribbon on the larger tag.

Now I know some of you are wondering what do I do with all these tags?  Well I give them away by including them in my RAKS, attach them to gifts, use them as cards by simply writing a note on the back or cutting a cardstock card large enough that I can attach the tag to the card, voila, instant card, or attach to a layout.  And sometimes I just put them in my treasure box and take them out and admire them now and again!