Friday Feature - enjoy the journey

Hi friends.  It's Melody with a Friday Feature for you.  With all the family things going on for Christmas, I didn't get a chance to sit down and create until today, so I'm a little late posting. 

My project today is a tag that could be attached to a gift.  I started with a pre-cut tag and swiped some distress stains onto it -- peacock feathers, ripe persimmon, and wild honey.  While that was drying I die cut a rosette from some pattern paper and put it together with hot glue.  I love how the geometric pattern on the paper changes when formed into the rosette. 

I stamped the tag with Dylusions stamp set, around the edge, in jet black archival ink and colored in the leaves with shabby shutters and crushed olive distress markers.  Then I added some vintage photo distress ink with a foam ink applicator and distressed the edges with a distressing tool. 

On a piece of ivory card stock, I stamped the sentiment from a Tim Holtz set, just thoughts, and cut it into a flag shape, adding vintage photo distress ink and distressing.  I attached this piece to a black flag with my tiny attacher. I pierced lines along the top and bottom. 

I used a strip of black card stock and punched several 7/8" circles, which I cut in half and added along a couple of the edges of the tag.  I decided to use the negative piece as well, tucked in behind the sentiment. 

To help the rosette stand out a bit, I cut two black squares and offset them behind the rosette.  Both the rosette and the sentiment piece are attached to the tag with dimensional foam tape. 

My tag just wasn't complete without a butterfly, so I dug one out of my stash of die cuts (Tim's mini butterflies movers & shapers die), and added it to my tag. 

The tie is made from black cord.

Many of the products used on this project can be found at Outlaw Women Scrapbook Emporium. 

Thanks so much for stopping by. 

Friday Feature - Peace Tag

Hi friends.  It's Melody with a Friday Feature for you.  I thought I was going to create a quick tag... well, I did create a tag, but it sure wasn't quick.  I think to reproduce it would be quick, but I tend to be very slow when I create.  I rarely have a plan; I just decide what I'm going to do as I create.  Even when I start out with an idea in my head, the finished project usually has no resemblance to that idea. 

I started out thinking I wanted to use a rosette made from some very old gold wrapping paper that I have.  So I made that and knew I was going to like that on my project.  I was going to die cut a shape to use as a tag, but tried a couple and didn't like either one, so I pulled out a pre-cut tag to work with. 

I used the wrinkle-free distress technique to add color to the tag.  I used iced spruce, evergreen bough and scattered straw distress inks, smooshed them on my craft sheet, spritzed with water and then pressed the tag into the ink.  I dried it with my heat gun, and then repeated putting it into the ink and heating it a couple more times. 

Then I randomly stamped some snowflakes from a Recollections Christmas stamp set with pine needles distress ink.  I added vintage photo with a foam ink applicator. 

I stamped the sentiment with jet black archival ink on ivory card stock, cut a 'V' into the ends to create a banner, added vintage photo ink and backed it with some hunter green.  I put a couple of pleats in the banner and attached it to the tag with dimensional foam tape. 

I cut three 1/4" strips of red card stock and glued them to the tag.  I attached the gold rosette over the strips and then made a flower from the smallest blossom on the tattered poinsettia die and a small flower punch.  Both of these were also edged with vintage photo ink.  In the center of the flower, I made a bunch of dots with a black copic marker and covered it with glossy accents. 

I cut some green and white yarn and attached that through the hole in the top of the tag. 

It was hard to get a good photo, because the rosette is so shiny and refected the camera flash. 

Many of the products used can be found at Outlaw Women's Scrapbook Emporium. 

I hope you enjoyed my tag today.  Thanks for stopping by. 

Friday Feature - no turkeys allowed

Hello, friends.  Melody here with another Friday Feature.  A year ago, Tim Holtz posted a tutorial on his blog for making turkeys from his rosette dies.  At the time, I didn't own any of the rosette dies.  But I absolutely adored his turkeys and knew that I wanted to make some, so that meant I needed to purchase those dies.  Well, I now have both of Tim's rosette dies, but I still haven't made any turkeys. 

Thinking about perhaps making some turkeys for the Thanksgiving table this year, I suddenly got the idea that I could use the same technique, but make a peacock instead.  I checked the internet for a picture of a peacock, so I'd get at least some of the features recognizable, and proceeded to make a peacock.  I followed Tim's instructions, using some blue and turquoise papers and sponging on some brilliant blue and pacific point ink. Since his template for the turkey head has parts that distinguish it as a turkey, I trimmed those off, and then used a copic marker to color it blue.  I could have used blue card stock, but that would have meant tracing and cutting a second head (lazy). 

I wasn't sure what to use for the tail feathers, but again wanted something that would be fairly quick and easy.  I decided to try one of the flowers from the tattered flowers die.  I cut three, not knowing how many 'feathers' I would need.  I sponged around the edges with pacific point ink.  For the dots, I pulled out a new pencil and used the eraser as a stamp.  Then I cut all the petals off the flowers.  On the end that would be glued, I squeezed the sides together so they could conform to the shape of the folds on the rosette, and then glued one feather to each of the outside folds.  Perfect peacock feathers!

I was so excited that it actually turned out like what I had in mind!  That doesn't happen too often.  One change I might make, if I make another one, would be to add another row of feathers attached to the middle rosette, but since I already had that part all glued together, it would have been difficult to insert the feathers between the rosettes, so I opted to leave it with just a single row.  It's possible that a second row of feathers is too much.  At this point, I just don't know and can't quite visualize how it would look, and whether or not I would like it. 

Although you can't see it, I die cut a scallop circle and added it on the back to finish it off and cover the ends of the feathers where they are attached. 

Some of the products for making this project can be found at the OSWE store. 

I hope you enjoyed my project.  Thanks for stopping by.