tim tag mania #2

welcome back gypsies! day two/tag two. i was very inspired by this tag from tim

 

now, the tag itself didn't do much for me. in fact i refer to it as the "license plate tag" - sorry tim!

but the technique is what turned me on and inspired me to create this -

i was really stoked when i figured out how to do this. so are you ready gypsies? then away we go!

i created the tag itself by cutting it out of a sheet of metal, using tim's big tag die. 

one trip through the sizzix and we were ready for action. 

then i cut a bunch of leaves out of chipboard - tim's leaf die of course - and arranged them on the backside of the metal tag. then i sandwiched everyone together with cutting pads, and one trip through the sizzix!

leaving the leaves in place i then burnished around the edges with one of those big paper "thumbs" to really sharpen the edges.

then i broke out the alcohol inks and painted the leaves. i used a paint dabber on the background then rubbed it off and burnished it. next i used a point to create the veining down the centers. the final step was applying glossy accent and diamond dust to the leaf edges.

while the tag dried, i took those chipboard leaves i used to emboss the tag, and saturated them with "pine needles" distress stain. after they dried i sanded the edges and then rubbed them with "walnut stain" distress ink, using the sponge blending tool. the final effect was distressed layers of colors. final snowy touches of white paint dabber and the leaves were good to go. 

but i had too many leaves, so i cut the stems down and part of the leaf off, and ta-daah! instant tiny trees!

i also played with embossing and created the ticket and lightpost - tim stamps of course. for these i actually did the embossing on white cardstock, then rubbed "walnut stain" distress ink over the paper to create a subtle kraft paper. and of course i inked the edges after cutting them out.

final touches included velvet ribbon "berries" - tie a tiny knot then cut very close so there's no ribbon hanging out. some more ribbon and trims and we're done!

i really enjoyed this tag - thanks for the inspiration tim! or should i say, "timspiration"?

materials used

metal - 10 seconds studio

"tattered leaf" and "tag" dies - alterations, sizzix

"walnut stain" - distress ink pad

"pine needles" - distress stain

"snow cap" and "espresso" acrylic paint dabbers

tim tag mania! #1

so it's xmas, and evidently that means that tim holtz creates his "12 tags of christmas", and everyone else goes crazy. it's really amazing to watch. every day mario rossi starts tweeting behind the scenes shots and commentaries on that day's tag. we get peeks and teasers of what the tag will look like, and we build up to the big reveal at midnight. people challenge each other to post first on the tim blog, and this year we're able to post our own tags on tim's blog, to show off our own inspired spin on his idea.

it's a friggin party every night!

i didn't realize how crazy devoted tim fans are, and since i'm one of them, i think it only fair that i coin a new "gypsy jargon".

timaniacs - n. a person who stays up until midnight to get the first look at a tim tag, after spending several hours following on twitter, making shopping lists for the next day, and trying to be the first to post a comment when the tag goes live at midnight.

bonus jargon:

timania - n. state of being one with the timaniacs

i'm not saying i do all those things....ok, maybe i am just a little.

so in the spirit of timania i am starting my own set of tim inspired tags. i'm not doing a literal one-for-one, but rather creating tags that might be inspired by techniques from a couple of tim's tags. so are you ready gypsies? well here we go!

timaniac tag #1 - inspired by tim's day #1 tag

and it's inspired by...

so my first decision was to not copy the tag, as copying is boring

 so, i started off with one of my newest and most fun techniques - i made sweater letters out of the "noel". for those of you who visited during my "so knotty" tutorials, you'll remember my sweater letters, and i hope you're as excited as i am with the result.

next i added my other favorite new technique - homemade icicles

then i created some paper flowers from tim's cool tape. next i die cut some leaves and then crumpled and inked them for extra gypsiness.

final bits were the reindeer, which cut from a ribbon of them, and the lace at the bottom that i misted with water and then inked with "walnut stain" distress ink. some dabs of gold stickles and we're almost done!

to finish off the tag, i misted and inked some plain white ribbon with "iced spruce" and "festive berries", added some twine and sparkle charms and tied everything together around a glittered twig i stole from a decoration  found around the house.

i really had a lot of fun with this one, and i hope you're now inspired to try your own tag! don't forget to join the party on twitter tonight as we all await tim's #8 tag. and come back tomorrow for my timspired tag #2!

materials used:

"wonder" collection paper - authentique

"maraccinno" twine - the twinery

"iced spruce" and "festive berries" inks - tim's seasonal ink set

tim tape, bits and pieces, this and that

caffeine - starbucks