Saturday, January 8, 2011

Tag Along!



Paper crafts are near and dear to my heart.  I have so many scrapbooks I am running out of space.  Paper is like fabric for me.  Each time I work with it I feel like I am quilting.   I like things very straight and clean and even.  My education is in Horticulture: Landscape Design.  Drafting classes were my favorite in college.  This might explain my love of rulers and scissors.  With all this in mind, I started my first tag for Elizabeth's Tag Along "Happy Homemaker".

http://creativebreathing.blogspot.com/

image courtesy:  http://skippingstonesdesign.com/
Patterns always make things easier for me.  Skipping Stones Design is a fabulous website that provides patterns and examples.   Now that is not to say that I don't change the pattern, but I do like a starting point...to me its a tested and working pattern that is harder for me to mess up. 


  These are a combination of Modern Homemaker, Seaside, and Thrift Store from October Afternoon.  There are 2 vanilla colored 12x12 sheets for the tag backgrounds.


To be fair, 2 of the sheets have patterns on the opposite side.  


Pattern Paper


I narrowed down the theme to Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes.  Most of the images came courtesy of http://prettylittlestudio.com/.  They have some of the cutest vintage images and paper too!  I wanted to use old greeting cards, but I couldn't come up with 12 that I could use cohesively.  I already had these cards and now I had something to do with them.  I made a template and tags courtesy Cathe Holden at http://justsomethingimade.com/.  I also added 3 small sheets of solid colored paper to complete my 10 sheet total.


Jack and Jill are my January month image choice.  I cut the images out and picked my papers accordingly.  I used a 3 inch scallop punch to make the circle.




  The process of inking was taught to me when I took paper craft classes locally years ago.  Inking makes the image pop more. The finger dobber helps on curved surfaces.  When the paper is cut, a white edge is left, the ink adds an outlines affect.   Left is inked, right is not.


The tag on the left has been inked and the one on the right hasn't.


The extras included some old gummed stickers, millinery, gold tabs, vintage buttons, and cream twill.  The image itself is very busy and doesn't require a lot of enhancing.  These are things that I have on hand.  One of my favorite places at estate sales are desks.  They are always loaded with these great stickers and tabs...rulers and scissors too!


Jack and Jill are added with pop dots so that they are on top of the paper tag and truly the subject of the tag.  I added the button flower to Jill's hat and the orange flowers were cut out of the gummed sticker and added to Jack's hand.  The label is nestled in what looks like the tree.   Not intended, just a happen stance.  The gold tabs were added to the top to reinforce the ribbon and also over the back where I sewed the button.  I cut one in half.  I added the cut gummed sticker to the back of the tag below the tag hole to finish it off.  I was surprised by how little paper these took.  When you are limiting your supplies you are definitely more creative.

Thank you Elizabeth for the invitation to such a fun year full of creativity.  I cannot wait to see every ones ideas and learn something new.  I will be linking this up to Elizabeth's site on Monday, January 10th.

21 comments:

Debby said...

Those are just adorable. I wanted to sign up but didn't think my talent was up to par for those of you that do so well. Thanks for sharing. These are great.

kluless said...

Your tags turned out wonderful! It is nice to hear someone else say they like things straight and clean and even. I struggle with that in my artwork. It is the way my brain operates and it is very difficult for me to get that random, haphazard look that is so popular now. I just keep trying to straighten everything out and make it even and symetrical. And let something hang over the edge?? - I might as well try to stand on my head!

Nan said...

Oh these are great and thanks for taking the time to just lay it all out like this. This inspires me to get on the stick and get my photos done. I have my first tag made.

Betty said...

How cute! I am trying to come up with my theme. I love your vintage nursery rhyme theme!

Scrap for Joy said...

Darling tags Renee! A plan...what a novel idea. I may try that for this swap..I'm usually very random. Love your theme. I have my theme...just need to pick the papers.
Nice to find you...
Joyce

Linda Ruthie said...

A pattern! That's what I need. These are just adorable and I enjoyed watching you pull it all together.

Unknown said...

The tags are wonderful! Thank you for sharing your process- very helpful to a newbie like me! I'm really excited about this swap and getting to you all.

Debbie Doughty said...

Sweet theme and cute tags! I love the vibrant colors you chose.

Lizzidroege said...

i just love your theme and your tags the images are wonderful and your paper choices are great
lizzi

Sandy said...

Lovin' your tags!!! Too cute! Great theme! Thanks for the ideas, it's always so nice to see how others work their magic. So excited to see Februarys tag. This is my first tag swap and I'm having the best time ever.
So nice meeting you... and, I love the little frog idea for display... wonderful idea.
xoso Sandy

kluless said...

Thank you for visiting my blog today and becomming a follower. I couldn't find contact information for you so hope you don't mind me responding here.
Yes, I think I am addicted to the hunt for vintage Christmas. I'm really having fun with it. My Christmas enthusiasm was really waning since my kids are grown and this has really brought it back - two fold! I picked up a little baggie of vintage plastic angels just today and it will be so fun to find them all over again when NEXT Christmas gets here.

Home and Heart said...

BEYOND adorable!!

Unknown said...

Renee! So much to learn from your first tags! What a perfect theme for the year. Bright and cheery like your craft room. I love that you talked about your background and how it fits into your paper style. Very interesting! Now I know why you have so many pairs of scissors! Thank you so much for sharing your talent with us. I absolutely adore your tags! Elizabeth

Linda said...

What a sweet, sweet image and beautiful tags! I love the idea of using a pattern...I've never thought of that! See, I'm learning something new already!

LBP said...

Such pretty colors and adorable tags! I love the vintage images!

Blessings

Linda

Valerie said...

Wonderfully pulled together. I like the Nursery Rhyme theme and vintage to boot. Should be exciting as the months come together. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas and such.

Amy said...

Hi Renee'
I just popped in to see your tag. It is so cute. Your blog has caught my eye and I can not wait to come visit a bit when I have a bit of time to peruse. Thank you for sharing.

Nancy said...

Hello Renee' - Wow you are so organized and methodical - I'm impressed because I lack that myself. Love your theme of nursery rhymes and the tag is darling. xoxo Nancy

Anonymous said...

Oh, I just LOVE your tag - and I do understand the neediing to be neat and tidy and straight - I do the same thing, and sometimes I wish I could just 'go for it'! I love nursery rhymes, too - maybe because I teach kindergarten. I chose the same paper - I just had to have it!

Margie said...

oh my gosh! i am in awe ... you have everything so meticulously planned out ... *sigh* ... my hubby WISHES i was like that! lol! next month i need to try to have more of a plan, too, so things run a bit smoother than they did this time! i just adore your tag ... it's so happy-looking you can't help but smile when you see it! i can't wait to see the next one!

Denise said...

I need all the help I can get.Thanks for sharing.Even though I blog,I'm not that swift with computers.I do alot of paper crafting without the use of anything digital.Would love to learn about the digital world of paper crafting.