Friday, July 4, 2014

Be Yourself on the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all my American friends!  Where I live we'll be celebrating the 5th of July because Hurricane Arthur is going to dump lots of rain on the area so all the parades and fireworks have been pushed off a day.  No worries here, though because I'm going to take the opportunity to do some housework, sell some stuff on eBay then get down and dirty in my stamp room.

Today I've got a tag to show you that I made for the new Mixed Media Card Challenge using the colors from Colour Me.  This is my first foray into the world of mixed media other than adding the occasional scrap of ribbon or embossing paste on a card.  I thought long and hard about this challenge before I decided to jump in with both feet and I even searched mixed media on Pinterest to get a feel for what it's all about.



The theme for the first challenge was nature with the option of making a tag, so that's exactly what I did.  I stamped a scripted background on to the kraft card stock then after a bit I smeared on some embossing paste (that I dyed with a re-inker).  Unfortunately the ink bled through the paste and I'm not sure if I should have waited overnight to do that to give the ink a longer drying time of if that would have even made a difference.  I considered re-doing it but decided to proceed.  I cut a floral shape from some burlap then layered some inked leaves and a little butterfly on it.

So that's it then.  I will say that some of the mixed media tags I saw on Pinterest were absolutely gorgeous.  People obviously have an eye for layering and color and adding just the right amount of texture.  I don't see myself turning into a Tim Holtz-style stamper anytime soon (although I do love that style), but it was fun to see if I could incorporate some of those elements into the stamping style I've already got.  After all, I do love a bit of texture on my cards.

Well that's it for me.  Thanks for stopping by!

Supplies:
Stamps:  Kinda Eclectic (SU); Be (Simon Says Stamp)
Paper:  Blackberry Bliss (SU); Kraft (Avery Elle)
Ink:  Blackberry Bliss, Crumb Cake (SU)
Accessories:  Traditional Tag STAX, Pierced Traditional Tag STAX (My Favorite Things); Beautiful Blooms #1 die (Papertrey Ink); Burlap stencil, Splatters stencil (Tim Holtz); embossing paste (Dreamweaver); Crumb Cake seam binding ribbon, linen thread, pewter jumbo grommet (SU); burlap

13 comments:

Lisa Elton said...

Happy 4th Jen! You did a marvelous job, love all of the pretty details!

Far North said...

Awesome tag! For your 1st Mixed Media project you created a wonderful combination of some lovely textures, dimension and techniques! Isn't it terrific when an accident becomes a happy moment!
Thanx for playing in the 1stMMCC!
Janj

Loll said...

Hi Jen. Absolutely gorgeous tag!! Love the colors and the script background is perfect for the vintage look. You first foray into mixed media is a SUCCESS!! I'm fairly new to it too and I find that embossing paste will pick up any dye or distress ink underneath ... but honestly, I love the way it looks on your tag. Thanks so much for playing along with our 1st challenge at MMCC! Loll xx

Karren said...

Nailed it! (As I totally expected LOL). Love the dimension you've created.

LeAnne said...

WOW! I did a double-take when I saw it was your name under this gorgeous shabby-chic tag! You go, girl! Such a change from your usual style and of course, it turned out amazingly well! (I would never expect anything less!) Love the colors, texture, flowers, everything! I, however, have NOT embraced that embossing paste thing yet. I need hands-on direction!!!

Claire Broadwater said...

Jen, you tag is amazing! Hard to believe it is your first time to do the mixed-media style! I love all the details in your tag! The embossing paste and burlap details are fabulous! Thanks for joining us at Colour Me Challenge this week!

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness, so many wonderful layers of delightful beauty!!! Yep big smile over here :) Thank you so much for taking the time to play along with us this week at Colour Me...! We sure hope to see you around again soon :)

Lyndal said...

FABULOUS layered tag Jen - so glad you jumped in feet first!
Glad you joined in the fun @ the Mixed Media Card Challenge :)

Susan Powell said...

WOW! First time with mixed media? You can't tell! This is fantastic!!

anja curvers said...

Such a great tag I love it. Thanks for joining over at colour me.

maria f. said...

And... so your media mixed? Isn't that the name of the game?!? I think your tag looks lovely and it's beautiful in those monochromatic tones. Great to see you at MMCC!

Deepti said...

Ah! this is amazing :) I love the textures and the burlap on this tag :) thank you so much for sharing with MMCC!

Shery Russ said...

Love the monochromatic tones in this tag. Awesome on layering the elements!