I started this week’s tutorial knowing I wanted to do some embossed foil. I wanted to add something to accent the embossing on the foil, black paint looks great (check out the riveted stars), but I wanted something different from what I have shared before. Usually I photograph what I do start to finish, but this time I did a couple of experimental pieces first. I think the final result is pretty cool.
The downside to not photographing as I go is that when it comes time to re-create how you got from A to Z so that you can do a tutorial, you have to remember how and what you did. I loved the experiment tag. I decided to re-make it on an art journal page. As I worked along photographing it, I tweaked it a bit. The result was not the same as my first one (which I had already tweeted, Facebooked, Instgramed, etc.). Here you have the third attempt, which turned out like the first, for the most part…
Begin by die cutting a heart (from the full size Tim Holtz Love Struck die). Apply glue stick to the front of a #8 manila tag. Adhere the heart to the center of the tag.
Die cut a “Joy to the world” word piece from the Tim Holtz Christmas Words die. Cut out the word Joy. Discard the rest of the die cut phrase.
Apply glue stick to the front of the heart. Adhere the Joy die cut to the center of the heart.
Place the tag face down on the sticky side of a piece of adhesive foil sheet. Use a craft knife to cut around the edge of the tag.
Use a dry cloth to rub the surface of the tag to smooth any wrinkles. Run your finger over the heart and word to help define the edges of them.
Place the tag inside the Tim Holtz Ruler Texture Fade. I have cut a slit in the fold of mine so that my tag top and stick through. The bottom edge of my tag lines up with the bottom edge of the folder.
Place the oval embossing diffuser over the Texture Fade so that the heart is framed in the opening. Place a piece of scotch tape around the edge of the diffuser, taping it in place to the folder. This will help keep the two lined up with going through the machine.
Place the diffuser and embossing folder combo diffuser side down on the extended platform. (Placing the diffuser face down is recommended to reduce stress on the diffuser from the machine’s roller.) Place a cutting pad on top of the embossing folder.
After embossing with the diffuser…
Apply Tarnished Brass Distress Stain over the tag.
Dry the stain with a heat tool.
Rub over the surface with a dry cloth. Some of the dry stain will come off of the raised areas.
Tap archival ink (Sepia shown) onto the tag, highlighting the raised areas. Avoid using black ink as it will be lost later with the layer of paint. Dry the ink with a heat tool.
If you heat the tag to the point to where it curls, it will cause some wrinkling as shown here. You can smooth these later. They aren’t very noticeable on the finished tag, but if you want to avoid them, be careful to not overheat the tag.
After drying the archival ink, rub a dry cloth over the surface. It will seem as if most of the ink has come off, but there is still some there accenting the color of the stain.
Apply assorted colors of alcohol ink to a felt applicator pad on an ink blending tool. Tap the colors onto the tag, covering the entire tag. (Colors shown: Pink Sherbet, Willow, Aqua, and Pearl.) Dark colors may be applied if desired. On the second version of this tag that I created, I used jewel tone colors. The result was very dark. I think the lighter colors give more contrast to the black on the final tag.
After the alcohol ink is dry, apply Pitch Black Adirondack Dabber paint onto the tag. Apply the paint in swipes from top to bottom
Use a heat tool to dry the paint.
Use a sanding block to sand the surface of the tag. The sanding block will allow you to sand the paint off of the raised areas, revealing the silver foil. Sand in straight lines from top to bottom.
Use a dry cloth to wipe away any dust from sanding.
If desired, apply more alcohol ink to the exposed silver foil.
Additional archival may be applied to the raised areas around the edges to accent them. Dry the ink with a heat tool.
Apply a generous layer of Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint to the entire tag.
Allow the paint to dry, at least until it begins cracking. Once the paint has begun to crack on its own, you can help speed it along with a heat tool. As the paint dries and cracks, some areas will peel up. Crackle paint has to have something to grab on to keep from peeling off. The previous layers of product help do that. Areas where those layers are thin are the areas where more flaking will occur. In the case of this tag, I wanted peeling and flaking that would reveal that layers of color. Once you have the amount of peeling and flaking you want, stop heat drying and allow any remaining wet crackle paint to air dry.
If you like the look of crackle on metal look but don’t want flake, check out my tutorials for Embossed Foil Pendants and Alcohol Ink Crackled Metal Pendants for the secret to binding the crackle to metal.
Die cut a small tag from manila cardstock using the Tim Holtz Tiny Tabs die. Mist the tag with Antique Linen Distress Stain. Allow the stain to sit on the tag for a minute.
Blot away the excess stain with a dry cloth. Dry the tag with a heat tool.
Stamp a sentiment on the tag with Jet Black Archival ink and alphabet stamps.
Apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges of the tag with an ink blending tool.
Dye a piece of crinkle ribbon as desired. Tie the small tag to the larger tag with the ribbon through the tag hole. Use foam square on the back of the small tag to keep it in place and lifted off of the surface.
Tie the ribbon off in a bow. Accent the bow with a decorative pin.
After the crackle was completely dry, I gave the words another touch of pink alcohol ink to brighten it. The alcohol ink on top of the crackle looks really cool since the color accentuates the cracks.
As you handle the finished tag, some of the flakes will fall off. After the initial flaking, what is left will most likely not flake off but some might. Some flaking areas will look very delicate but will stay put despite the handling. But, that said, this technique is probably not the best for a project like a card that will get handled a lot or mailed. Think of it for maybe things inside shadow boxes or frames or display pieces. I will probably put this tag on a small stand and display it on a shelf.
I love how fragile and weathered it all looks. To me the subtle color from the alcohol inks look faded from time.
I think it is very cool how you see the different layers of color peeking through the streaks of black. The black being applied in streaks is key to the other colors showing through.
This image is from my original version of the tag. I applied the black a bit lighter and more streaky. You can see that the gold and sepia really combine to make a great metallic coloring. (On this tag I was experimenting with diffusers, which is what the curved line above the heart is.)
I love how in this section you see both the Tarnished Brass Stain and silver of the foil. The foil picks up a pitted texture from the embossing folder where there is no design. I think this incidental texture is a great touch!
Originally when I was making the tag, I had the phrase “Count it all joy” on my mind, which explains use of the ruler texture fade. As I was getting ready to stamp it, I did a quick quote search to see what other quotes there might be that would be a little longer. I found this one and loved it. I have thought a lot lately about how being happy in life is a choice, so this quote about choosing joy seemed just right to combine the two ideas into one.
Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.
-Henri Nouwen
sss: Simon Says Stamp ie: Inspiration Emporium sb.com: Scrapbook.com
This is just stunning Tammy! I love how all the textures work together! The quote is so true, I tell my kids that when things are rough!
Very cool technique – love the old weathered, beaten look.
Lovely tag, Tammy. I adore that sentiment too. Thanks for sharing your tutorial with all of us. Have a great day!
Very wonderful Tammy! I wonder if you sprayed the tag with a light matte sealer if it would help it not to flake off so much over time? This way you could do something like this for a card.
I am not sure, I haven’t tried that. I think I have a can somewhere… I will give it a try and will report back.
Great tag. Love the look of the crackle paint over the metal.
Oh, My…love all the distressed look and great quote! Thanks Tammy.
LOVE THIS LOOK..GOING TO TRY THIS, I DO A LOT OF METAL…GREAT JOB TAMMY…THANKS FOR SHARING…
Love this very clever
Happy craftin
Rebecca
Such a cool technique, love the fragile and weathered look! Thanks for another great tutorial.
This is breath-taking. I absolutely love it. Your photography is also excellent!
Thanks! I think it is that fancy camera lens Santa brought me!
Do tell–what is the lens?
It is a Canon Compact Macro Lens EF 50mm. My camera is a DSLR Rebel Xsi.
Will have to research that. My camera is a Canon Rebel T3i, and I have a 50mm lens, but I don’t think it’s the Compact Macro Lens.
Tammy you always do great tutorials. I would be hard pressed to pick my top ten favorites. This one is also excellent. thanks as always for sharing.
That is the same reason I don’t have my 10 picks… I couldn’t narrow it down either!
That is cool Tammy! TFS!
WOW! Love this tag? Thanks for taking the time to recreate the tutorial!
Tammy this technique is awesome – love the finished look. I will be giving it a try!
Super cool project, love everything about it (even the quote at the end!!) and thanks so much for the clear step-by-step!
This is awesome Tammy…. Love it!
GORGEOUS! LOVE LOVE! Fabulous project, with so many awesome details to adore! Thanks so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp and Show 🙂
Utterly adore this Tammy. So many ideas and so much inspiration from you as ever. Huge hugs, Jenny x
Another great project Tammy! I love that you do all the “experimenting” for us!
My pleasure! 😉
Wow lots of work but well worth it, it turned out brilliantly, you always inspire us all, thanks for sharing…
how did you do the sentiment? did you stamp each letter separately or do it on the computer?
They are individual letter stamps. They are called Printers Type by Hero Arts. They are linked in the supply section.
This is stunning Tammy! Fabulous technique, such amazing texture.
Absolutely stunning tag, love love the colours and the crackle and flaking . Extremely eye catching piece. Love it. So good to have you joining in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Tracy x
Awesome tag tammy, the embossed texture in the background looks so realistic, amazing detail shots of the crackle/flaking, really enjoyed your tutorial, thanks for sharing this inspiring project.
I could have sworn I already commented…wonder what I did wrong. Anyway…GORGEOUS tag! I read through the tut twice! Love the pink Alcohol Inked Joy! The texture and crackle is amazing! Love the whole design. And this feels so weird to say to you but…Thank you for showing us your metals at Simon Says Stamp & Show this week!
This is just stunning! I love seeing the process too! Thanks for joining us this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show! – Ashli 🙂
Oh my, Tammy! This is gorgeous! Love the crackle with the metal. So amazing to see the process! Thanks for sharing and thank you so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. Hugs, Sandra
Uber-gorgeousness galore – such fabulous textures and tones. Love everything about it – Thanks for sharing your creativity and for joining in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Sarah.
Oh wow this is so cool! I definitely want to try this. Thanks Tammy!
Just found your blog via a Pinterest post. Your tutorial is phenomenal. I have never seen such detailed explanations of the process to complete a project. May I also add that you are so creative, love your style.
Wow….so many layers, and so much detail! Love how you altered the die! So cool!
Hi tammy, wow, love, love your vintage tag. I only found out about your blog through
the tim holtz blog with your beautiful tattered floral entry (also lovely). I will visit often.
Thanks for the play by play. love it, and most anything altered in this manner!!!
Wow Tammy this tutorial is brilliant. I will add this to my ‘MUST DO LIST’. The finished result looks amazing. Once again though it calls for self adhesive foil, which I don’t have, although I do have hologram foil, so I will have try it with kitchen foil instead. FIngers crossed it works.
THANK YOU for sharing more super tipe.
Warmes tbest wishes.
Susanne
-x-