Tags 4 and 7 - Tim Holtz's 12 Days of Christmas

That Tim guy.....he's pretty dang clever.

I continue to be amazed by all the new ways of doing things, combining things, and techniques, etc. I had a grand time with these tags. I buy the crackle paint in the large economy size, but I hadn't tried stains with it yet. Love the effect. Although when I tried it at first I forgot to dry it - important step. I can imagine a lot of different ways to use this.

I tried one snowman with grunge paper (right) and one with grunge board (left) and in the end, I think either is fine. Last night I ran out of Glossy Accents, so I used Dimond Glaze, and although it worked, it has just a bit different finish  - almost less dense (right side is Glossy Accents).

I didn't crackle the die-cut snowflake, so I just put on some more bling with crystal snowflakes in the corner. I mean once your decked out in pearls and feathers, what's a few more sparkly things?

I immediately fell in love with Tag 7. Any time I can use alcohol inks is a good day and I really enjoyed playing with the glassine paper that had been sitting around in the fun room for weeks. I know it didn't work for pine-cones ... too thin.  But it works great for ivy.

I love the stamp....and have coveted it for weeks. What a wonderful excuse to purchase it and go see Linda at Stamp Cache. I'm taking a hybrid approach to the tags this year. I don't mind improvising, but if I really like the tag and I have everything, why not make it and try all the new techniques, tips and tricks? And if I can shop local in the bargain, even better...

I didn't have the die so I used the Cricut. It took a little extra care and some free form cutting on my part, but it turned out fine I think.

And before I left the fun room, I started on Tag 6 - the old time metal looking one. I painted the foil, sanded it, inked, and embossed it and am simply blown away. It looked like a hot mess for sure, but the ink and embossing changed everything. Hopefully I'll get to the tag this weekend.