Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of 2013... February

Simon Says Stamp and Show's challenge this week is "Something Messy". I've combined my entry with my version of Tim's February tag since I love to get messy with inks, but also wanted to try out my melt pot!

"Izzwizz' version of Tim's February Tag"

The background uses Barn Door & Antiqued Bronze distress stains with plenty of spritzing  for that watery effect, the edges distressed and lightly sponged with Black Soot distress ink.

"Decoupaged Cupid"

The cupid is stamped once onto the tag and three times in black archival onto watercolour paper before colouring with distress markers. I like to use the markers as paint with a detail water brush to give good blending, but the markers' fine tips are great for adding detail to hair and wings. After colouring, parts of the image are cut out and superimposed on the image stamped on the tag. As well as the decoupaged cupid, you can see the background inking quite well in the above closeup.

"Love Tickets"

The ticket is stamped three times onto white card using black archival ink before colouring with distress ink pads and markers and cutting out. I like to tear the two ends of the tickets rather than cutting with scissors to give a more realistic look. The tickets are fixed to the top of the tag with a vintage-looking brad from my stash.

"Heart Charm"

A salvage sticker was cut to fit a heart charm blank and stuck inside. The charm is then filled with UTEE. I allowed the UTEE to colour into a light caramel to let the charm look naturally aged, and didnt worry about bubbles. I think it has more of a look of old resin this way. UTEE will darken more the longer you heat it in a melt pot; if you want it really clear, use it quickly.

"Finished Tag"

Finishing touches include some heart ribbon along the bottom, died with Barn Door distress stain, and some Baker's Twine, coloured with Tattered Rose distress stain to tone the white down to match. The black heart in the background was from a Black Magic Co-ordinations pad and has its edges sanded. I embossed with the barbed wire embossing folder and sanded that too, but the embossing ended up pretty much hidden in the finished tag. Finally, the heart stamp was stamped on the edges of the left and right of the tag.

Now, while I had the melt pot out, I wanted to have a go at making some UTEE embellishments from my own moulds, and this is what I made...

"UTEE embellishments from my own moulds"

Not bad for a first attempt :-)

Ingredients:

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Love Struck

Sizzix Tim Holtz embossing folder - Barbed Wire

Sizzix Bigz - Tag (thanks Lee!)

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Stains - Barn Door, Antiqued Bronze, Tattered Rose

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Antique Linen, Tattered Rose, Barn Door, Black Soot

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Markers - Tattered Rose, Scattered Straw, Vintage Photo, Antique Linen, Barn Door

Ranger Archival ink pad - Jet Black

UTEE & Melt Pot

Tim Holtz Salvage Stickers - Seasonal

Heart Charm

Heart Ribbon

Baker's Twine

Vintage Brad

cardstock: manilla 300gsm (tag), watercolour (cupid), white 200gsm (tickets)

Adhesives: Glossy Accents, Pinflair

Entered for the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp and Show... Something Messy
Totally Gorjuss - Love
Mark's Finest Papers - Love
Craft Room Challenge - Make Your own Embellishments