Tuesday 7 October 2014

10 Easy Steps to making your own Mixed Media Tags!








Hello lovely creative people!
I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful week!!
Things are a little slow around here this week as I'm taking things a bit easy :)
For the first time in over 2 decades {& I really DO mean the FIRST time}
 hubby & I are ON OUR OWN without any one of our 4 children!!!  

Apparently I am meant to be feeling miserable but to be honest I am loving
 every minute of it!  Things haven't been THIS relaxed in...well...2 decades!!! 
 No heavy bass music playing.  No constant requests for food!! 
 No last minute trips to the grocery store for cakes for some
 event that wasn't mentioned until the night before...

Of course I can't WAIT to see 2 of my 4 babies again very soon
 when they return from visiting their siblings at university
 but while there is mud this pig is very happy to wallow in it ;-p


So as you can see I have been TAG making!
I really have to FORCE myself off the layouts or that is ALL I do.
I find them so easy now that it's just a cop out to go there all the time...
And I don't want to get lazy & stuck in a rut - so tags it is!


The base of these tags are actually manilla postage/shipping tags & they are very large.
To be honest they are TOO large.  They measure 8 inches by 4 inches {10 by 20cm}
so they're actually a bit gigantic!!  I won't be buying them again.  Tags are very easy 
to make yourself & I would prefer a smaller size.

To make this tag I followed these steps:-

1.  Cut a piece of printed paper slightly smaller than your base tag, tearing it
 straight off across the top, ink the other 3 edges then adhere to your base.

2.  Using an old credit card spread out a teaspoon sized dollop of gesso outwards
 from the centre of your tag then dry off using a heat gun or leave to dry naturally.

3.  Stamp randomly on your tag using 1 or 2 background stamps
{mine are 7 Dots Studio stamps from their Illumination Collection}
using  black archival ink for a grungy look.

4.  Using a small {+-6 inch} stencil, for ease of use, lay it over your entire
tag but only apply randomly to one side at the top & one side at the bottom
using a thick texture paste.  Dry off using a heat-gun or leave to dry naturally.

5.  Spray on 2 or 3 different colours of mists, spraying alternately with water 
to dilute & soften the colour & keep turning your tag as you dry it off wit
heat-gun to manipulate the flow & get the drips where you want them.

6.  Splatter black ink onto your tag using a fan brush or just use the uptake
straw attached to the spray nozzle to flick it on.  (do this LAST to reduce
smudging UNLESS you are using an archival ink).

6.  Unfold a square of medical gauze, cut it in half across the width then pull
it apart with your fingers to loosen the weave even further & lay it on your tag.

7.  Adhere your sentiment using foam tape, leaving a half inch/one centimetre
border all round for pushing your embellishments under so they are peeking out.

8.  Add some flowers & metals to the top & flair to the opposite corner in the bottom.

9.  Add a few bling dots in a random confetti scattering.

10.  Cut down some lace & dye to match using mists & water then loop
 through the hole in the top of the tag - Voila you are done!!

So you see now...
No matter how complicated something looks it's really just a matter
of going through the motions & following a series of simple steps!!


14 comments:

Val-Belle said...

Gorgeous tag... love the step by step. I hardly ever make tags but I have been watching the TH videos again with all the distress stuff and now this I think I will make some... like the cards.. I hardly ever make cards... :P you are right in a rut I am... time to get my finger our :P thanks for the inspo as always. xx

Jaya Raghuvanshi said...

What a gorgeous tag Helen! Thank you so much for the detailed explanation. I love making tags but don't make them so often...now I am so inspired to make one :)
Your tag is so beautiful :) as if a mini canvas! Love it totally! <3

Shilpa Nagaonkar said...

Beautiful tag, Helen. Thank you so much for explaining these easy methods to create mixed media tag.

Lizzy Hill said...

ENJOY your twosome-ness....I must say, I loved it from day 1 & still do....it's NICE & freeing & relaxing:):) AND your tags are wonderful mini [or maybe not so mini!!!] works of art!!!

Lizzyc said...

Wow your tag looks loaded and layered but when you break it down to step by steps it isn't too hard after all! Love the end result, thanks for sharing the steps.. and enjoy the empty nest.. I have watched 3 out of my 4 fly the nest, but I am enjoying my youngest still at home for a while!

Julie Tucker-Wolek said...

Soooo gorgeous! LOVING those colors and textures!! And enjoy your empty nest!!!!

Di Garling said...

Sweet tag and great step by step tut. Enjoy your week of freedom. Cheers Di

Eila Sandberg said...

Know what you mean about getting the tag fever. It's creating yumminess in a mini format :) This is such a lovely tag too, thank you so much for the walk-through! Chiibng in the with other ladies, you just enjoy all that freedom!! xoxo

Bente Fagerberg said...

Thanks for the step-by-step, Helen!! I will come back to look closer at a later date :-) Your tag looks amazing and that bg is totally awesome! :-) TFS!

Evelyn Walter said...

Stunning tag, Helen! And your step x step is again so clear and easy to understand!
I haven´t made any tags so far - may be, because I'm always so stingy with my hoarded material, silly huh? But I have bought some, well I should use them I think ;)
Enjoy your empty nest!

Denise van Deventer said...

Gorgeous tag Helen and I really love the look of it! You did a great job with it. It's good to mix things up a bit sometimes...because I wouldn't want my scrapping to become old hat!! LOL....So awesome that you have a breather too and no rush and hurry to do things for the kids...amazing how much time one then has avail for oneself!!!! Enjoy it while it lasts.... ;-)

Helen Wallace said...

Gorgeous step by step Helen. You getting stale? I can not imagine that for a second. I love to make tags, but not this size, however you pulled it off and made it look stunning. Enjoy the peace without the young ones, you deserve some me time. You will be refreshed when the come back :D

Margaret Mifsud said...

Stunning!!! Love the step by step but, like Helen above, I cannot imagine you getting stale ... just not possible!! I don't make many tags but I have a feeling I'm going to have to follow your steps and see what happens!! I have to agree, a few days without kids can be heavenly ... as long as it doesn't last, 'cos we do tend to miss them after a while don't we?? Love this!! ox

Lynette Jacobs said...

Awesome tutorial...right now I need all the inspiration I can get...my mojo is still on holiday.