When a Wave Comes, Go Deep - Seahorse Tag

Hi everyone,

Hope you're having a great week.  Today I have this steampunk seahorse tag to share with you.

Here's how it came together:

I'm using this Steampunk Seahorse chipboard C15S and I found the perfect words to go with it in this sticker set.

I am also using one of the tags from the Super XL Tag set D92C.  This is a set of really big tags, each one has a slightly different top.  I tried my seahorse on all three before deciding on the middle one.

Since I was going to use collage on the background of my tag, I pulled out some possibilities from my stash.  I found a few different blue tissue papers, some other bits and pieces, and even some gift wrap that had shells and seahorses on it (the green one on the left) but I really wanted to stick to blues if possible.

While I was still deciding on and sorting through papers, I also gave all the pieces a coat of gesso.  I also found this poor broken seahorse which I managed to snap in half last week, so I wondered if I could add it to the tag and give it a home.

Now it was time for the fun part - covering the tag with all the lovely papers!

I also found one of those plastic fruit nets that lemons often come in, so I thought it could make a good fishing net for my tag, and glued it down on top of the papers.

While everything on the tag was left to dry, I got to painting the seahorses.  I glued the plaster seahorse back together and then painted it with a metallic paint I made from a few colours mixed together.  The chipboard seahorse has two parts - the base and the filigree top part, so I painted the base in a nice deep turquoise and then painted the top part with the same paint mixture as the other seahorse.

When the paint was dry, I started to add wax to both seahorses - turquoise for the plaster seahorse and a deep gold for the chipboard seahorse, so they have similar colours just tweaked a little.

Here's a closer look at the finished Steampunk Seahorse.

Using the same wax, I rubbed some all over the yellow plastic net.

I wanted to add more collage to the background and found these small pieces to add beneath the plaster seahorse.

I also had all of these thin strips of book paper leftover from another project so as a finishing touch, I added a few of them too.

I darkened the edges of the tag with some dark brown acrylic paint, and then the final step was to add the word stickers and call it done.

Here's a closer look at the seahorse and the "copper" net.

The Finished Tag:

Hope you enjoyed this little tag project.  Please let me know in the comments.

Till next time,

Elle
Empire of the Cat

Supplies:

Steampunk Seahorse C15S
Super X Tag set D92C
Collage materials from stash
Plaster seahorse mould
Acrylic paint and waxes
Word stickers

Springtime Tag Tutorial

Hi it's Elle (empireofthecat) again and this time I have this Spring-inspired tag tutorial for you.

Spring is almost here or so I am told, so let's make something to welcome it!

We are going to be using a very large tag base, and this spring shapes chipboard set from GSL.  I am also using my precious Fresco chalk paints, some stamps and a few different mediums, so let's get started. These tags are BIG!  There's a ruler marking along the bottom of the photo if you don't believe me!

And this sweet spring shapes set has so many useful shapes included

I started by choosing and arranging the shapes I wanted to use on the tag and once I was happy with the layout, started to stick them down using Collage Medium and allowed it to dry.

Then I covered everything in white gesso.

Once the gesso was dry, I added a layer of crackle paste and left that to dry overnight.  Here's a close up of how it looked the next morning.

It was then time to start painting, and I had a colour palette in mind, so I pulled out some of my Paperartsy Fresco Chalk Paints and got started.

I covered the whole tag with this gorgeous sky colour.  Here's a close up of the bird again so you can see how it looks with the paint on top.

Don't forget to also decorate the back of the tag!  I painted this side with Stone paint.

Then when it was dry, did some stamping using this Rubber Dance set and some green Archival Ink.

Time for a stamping close up

 OK, so now it was time to get back to work on the front of the tag. I don't have any more photos of the painting process but you can see the colours I used here.  I also added some stamping of little dragonflies and text to the background using the same green Archival.

And another close up of that birdie and the paint splatters I also added to the tag.

I love this paint as it dries super fast so I could move on and find some ribbon to add to the tag. 

And here is the finished tag!

I hope you enjoyed this Springtime Tag tutorial, even though it may not feel like Spring outside at least you can look at this pretty tag and pretend :)

Elle
Empire of the Cat

PROJECT RECIPE:

GSL Cuts - Spring Shape Set D85B, Tag Set Super X Model: D92C
Paperartsy - Fresco Chalk Paints, various
Decoart - White Gesso, Crackle Paste
Tim Holtz - Ground Espresso Archival Ink, Collage Medium
Ranger - Archival Ink Library Green
Rubber Dance - stamps
Finnabair - stamps
From Stash:  variety of ribbons

Easter Greetings

Hi Everyone,
Jess here today.

It's almost time for the Easter bunny to hop by and leave us some candy.  We always go to my sister's house for Easter dinner so I thought I would make her a little home decor piece.

I started by using the Build  a Layout Easter Set.  The frame was painted with Deco Art Crackle Paint and then I rubbed Antiquing Cream in the cracks.  I didn't like the sheen on the paint so a layer of Collage Medium made it matte.

The largest bunny was painted with Dina Wakley's Elephant and then sanded so it looks like it's been around for a bit.  The bow tie was painted with Sky Blue and sanded as well.
The small eggs were embossed using the Tim Holtz Impresslits and 3d Embossing folders(Medallion andimpresslit, Kaleidoscope and Botanical 3D folders).  Once they were dry I painted them using Dina Wakley Turquoise and Lemon.  The Lemon Egg was toned down a bit with a layer of ELephant Paint.  The third egg was painted using Victorian Velvet Distress Paint.  Each of the eggs were sanded to reveal the raw chipboard and a layer of Walnut Stain Distress Ink finished them.

The nest is from the For the Birds set.  The base is painted with Dina Wakley Gilt and the top is painted with Distress Vintage Photo Paint.  I couldn't see much of the gold peeping through as I wanted so I added a tiny bit of gold  foil to the top layer of the nest. 

I measured how  the frame sat on one of the Super X tags and decided to bend the bottom three inches of the tag to create a base.   If you score the chipboard you can gently bend the tag until it makes a 90 degree angle.

 I covered a Super X tag with a patterned paper. Then splattered on Black Soot Distress Paint and Dina Wakley Gilt.  Behind the fame there is a piece of Tim Holtz's Worn wallpaper. The frame and wallpaper were glued directly to the tag base.  The bunny and eggs were glued down next.  The nest was attached using foam tape since the bunny and eggs were rather thick and I didn't want the nest to bend.   Distress Crayon in Hickory smoke added a grungy halo around the bunny.

Moss was glued to the entire base and then the two bunnies that are part of the banner from the Build  a Layout Easter Set. were added.  They were painted and sanded the same way as the large bunny.  Vintage flowers and some old plastic craft eggs were added to complete the base.

A tiny bouquet of vintage flowers were added to the top of the tag.

I hope you have a very Happy Easter!

Jess

Dear Santa Typewriter

Hello!! Can you believe Christmas is a little over 2 weeks away?!? I have so many Christmas decor ideas but not enough time to make them all. So I really enjoyed taking some time to sit and make this piece. My decor theme this year is Dear Santa so when I was digging thru my Gypsy Soul stash and found this Typewriter Set I knew I had to make some sort of decor piece.  Paired with a tag from the Tag Super Set X made the perfect base.

Prepare Typewriter by heat embossing the body Black and the return bar Burnt Copper Leaves. Cut a piece of cardstock to place behind the typewriter. Heat emboss this piece Champagne. Adhere to back of chipboard typewriter. 

Borrowing the idea from Jess at Two Mad Dahlia's  I bent my tag about 3 inches up from the bottom to create a little shelf/base to the tag. These tags are pretty thick but if you place your tag on a counter top and use the edge for leverage you can easily get it to fold. 

Once folded cover tag with patterned paper from Tim Holtz's Paper Stash Christmas. 

Assemble and paint a box from the Mini Shadow Box  Set Black. Hot glue to your tag. The typewriter will be adhered on top of this box in a few steps. 

Distress your Christmas Ephemera, figure out placement and adhere to tag. 

Type out a letter to Santa. 

Add your typed letter to your chipboard typewriter and adhere to tag. 

Finish off your tag by adding die cut greens and poinsettias. 

A close up of my letter. My hubby wasn't amused. Hehe!! 

I really enjoyed this project and I hope you enjoyed seeing how it came together. What is on your Christmas craft list? I have been sneaking in some knitting while watching Christmas movies. I am currently working on a pair of socks for the hubby.
Leave me a note and let me know you stopped by. 

Happy Creating~ Jennalee