Tutorial | Ticket to 2015- Just Be

I started this tag with a misting technique I wanted to share with you and along the way it turned into something even more.  This tag could be one of my most favorite tags ever.  The theme was going to be something to do with sunshine and the quote about keeping your face to the sunshine.  In the end it turned into a New Year’s Resolution tag.  I started thinking about the song “Ticket to Ride” and a theme came together, my ticket to 2015.

The background of this tag is a ombre like color blending where the colors blend from light to dark from the top of a tag to the bottom.  Begin with a #8 Ranger manila tag.  Mist one swipe of Squeezed Lemonade Distress Spray Stain across the top of the tag from side to side.

Add a swipe of Scattered Straw Distress Spray Stain across the tag just below the first.  You will want to work quickly, you don’t want the stain to soak into the tag very much.

Add a swipe of Wild Honey Distress Spray Stain next.

Add a final swipe of Spiced Marmalade

You will need something to use as a soft edged spreader.  I am using the black side of a piece of Ranger Cut & Dry Foam.  You could use a soft edged kitchen scraper (I have one from Pampered Chef that works great) or a scrap piece of chipboard.  You do not want to use anything that has a hard or sharp edge as it will scrape into the wet surface of the tag.  Your spreader should be as wide as your surface.

Start at the top of the tag and swipe downward.  You will be using your spreader like a squeegee wiping away the excess stain.

Color Crinkle Ribbon with the excess stain on the craft sheet.  Dry the tag and ribbon with a heat tool.

Add some light specks of Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain.  To create small fine droplets, hold the mister bottle far away from the tag.  Press the sprayer button halfway so that you mist only a small amount of stain.  When misting, the farther away your mist is from the surface the smaller the droplets will be.  In this case, I held the mister about 3 feet away from the tag.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges of the tag.

Cut a slit into the top of the Tim Holtz Compass Texture Fade.  Place the tag in the folder so that the top right corner of the tag sticks through the slit.  When the tag is positioned this way, more of the tag will be embossed with the design than if it were placed in the folder straight.

After embossing, lightly sand over the raised areas with a sanding grip to highlight the design.

Use a palette knife to spread Ranger Texture Paste over the areas that do not have any of the embossed design.  The Texture Paste will add more texture to the design and will also hide the areas that do not have any embossing so that the embossed design looks like it is being revealed under layers of plaster.

When applied over inks, the paste can wick up some of the color below.  I love the effect of it and don’t add any addition color over the paste when it is dry.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edge of the Texture Paste by lightly brushing it against the rough edge of the paste to help accent it.  Ink the Texture Paste on the edge of the tag with the ink blending tool also.

Use an ink blending tool to ink the edge of a 4″ x 1 1/2″ piece of Tim Holtz Expedition Ephemera piece using Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  Add a metal File Tab with word sticker and epoxy label to the upper right edge of the ephemera piece.

Add a scrap piece of manila cardstock to the back of the ephemera piece to add more structure.  Each ephemera piece on the tag will have a piece of manila on the back to strengthen them.

Make sure the cardstock pieces are slightly smaller than the ephemera so that you can bend, curl, and tear the edges of the ephemera without the cardstock showing.  The pieces don’t need to be cut neatly either, I literally tear strips of scrap.  They won’t show so they don’t need to be pretty.

Adhere the piece of ephemera to the right side of the tag.

Wrap the tag with a piece of dyed Crinkle Ribbon.  Tie the ribbon in a simple knot on the side of the tag over the top of the piece of ephemera.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges of a 1″ x 3 1/4″ piece of ephemera.  This piece of ephemera had the image of a staple on it.  I added a real staple over the image.

Adhere the second long piece of ephemera over the first, overlapping the ribbon.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges of a ticket stub piece of ephemera.  Tuck the ticket under the edge of the second piece of ephemera.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges of “special delivery” label piece of ephemera.  Tuck the strip in between the ticket and the long top piece of ephemera.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Gathered Twigs Distress Ink to the edges of a round piece of ephemera.  Adhere the round piece on top of the other pieces.  I placed mine so that it was over the center of the embossed compass design.  (Find it again by looking at the back of your tag.)

Adhere a large Sprocket Gear over the center of the round piece of ephemera.

Drop two drops of Mushroom Alcohol Ink on the top of a Gumdrop.  Allow the ink to dry.

Drop one drop of Lettuce Alcohol Ink on the center of the Gumdrop.  The two colors will lightly mix and create a unique antique looking green gem.

When the ink is dry, glue the Gumdrop to the center of a large Sprocket Gear.

Adhere the assembled gear over the first sprocket gear.

Add a mix of Sprocket Gears and Mini Gears around and under the edge of the round piece of ephemera.  Add a Mini Fastener to the center any of  Mini Gears that have an open center.

Use an ink applicator tool with felt to apply Mushroom Alcohol Ink to the surface of two Mini Numerals.

When the ink is dry, place the numbers on a foam piercing pad.  Use a craft pick to pierce two holes in each numeral.  Work the tool in the hole so that the hole is large enough for the prongs of a Mini Fastener to fit through.  If the numerals bend while piercing, you can flatten them back out with your fingers.

Adhere the numerals to the lower left corner of the tag.  Use the craft pick to pierce through the holes in the numerals.

Place Mini Fasteners through each hole.  Flatten the prongs on the back of the tag.

Add rub-on sentiments randomly on the tag.

Finally add an Adornments Arrow to the top of the round ephemera piece next to the large Sprocket Gears.

One thing I really love about embossed backgrounds is that they add subtle design and texture without competing with your main focus.

Layers sweet layers.  I am so in love right with adding layers and layers of elements.  (Want some serious ephemera and element inspiration?  Check out my friend Aida Haron’s blog!)

I love the dimension they add and how they add to the story being told.  I love that there are just bits and pieces of a few of them peeking out from under others.  They all make you take a look closer.

I have shared before that these tags are my art journal.  They each tell a story.  For me, this one is like a New Year’s Resolution as we are at the dawn of 2015.  Her is the story it tells:

The year is going to take my life in some exciting and new directions (the compass).  There are new beginnings (the bright colors of sunny new days) and lots of new adventures (tickets).  There will be changes that will peel away some old things and show new (the revealing texture).  The pieces of it all will work out (gears) and life will be on the upswing (the arrow pointing up).  Through it all, I am vowing to be daring, be fearless, and to just be.

It is funny that those elements came together to tell the story without me thinking too much about them.  I didn’t pull them out and use them with the intention of them symbolizing what they do.  They just happened to feel right as I looked through my supplies.  I think that is part of the magic of art.  It just happens sometimes and the story it tells reflects your heart.