Giant Santa Tag: Another Tutorial

Last night, I had the WORST case of crafter's creative block you could imagine. I was sitting in front of tons of awesome Christmas paper, and more paper crafting supplies than I knew what to do with, and couldn't think of any way to use them...that is until my wonderful boyfriend came to my rescue. Keep in mind that while he appreciates all of the things that I'm able to create, this man has absolutely no interest in crafting whatsoever. He knows how much I love making tags, so he pitched his idea of using an extra large tag, strips of the My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly collection that I love so much, my favorite Distress Ink (Walnut Stain of course), and my stamps. He even insisted on red fibers at the top! Isn't it great! I don't know what I'd do without him :-D

Here's a quick tutorial:

Start by covering a #8 manilla tag, like these from Ranger, with the My Mind's Eye Holly Jolly - Holly Berries paper. I used Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi Medium to secure the paper to the tag. Works wonderfully!

Apply more Studio Multi Medium to two more patterns of paper, and apply them to the tag at an angle. Distress the edges of the added papers by tearing them before the Multi Medium dries completely. Work quickly, or it'll be stuck for good :)

Distress the edges of the tag with the Tim Holtz Paper Distresser, and ink the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Blend Stormy Sky Distress Ink into the blue paper, and Aged Mahogany Distress Ink into the red and slightly into the blue. Use Ranger's Jet Black Archival Ink to stamp your favorite santa onto the blue snowflake paper. Use a scrap piece of paper to mask off the edge of the red paper if you're worried about your santa stamp getting on that area.

Using Aged Mahogany Distress Ink, create a watermark effect by stamping on the red paper. You can also stamp various flourishes and script stamps with Archival Ink or Distress Inks all over the tag to create a Christmas collage effect.

Cover the entire tag with Rock Candy Stickles for a vintage glass look, and either allow to dry or dry with a heat tool. The Stickles will slightly feather the Distress Inks, but the Archival Ink won't budge - makes for a great effect! Add red fibers or ribbon to the top to finish it off!

Well, whatta you think? Wasn't his idea great? Leave us a comment and let us know what you thought.

Happy soon to come holidays!