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Bling up a Holiday Gift Tag with Buttons and 28 Lilac Lane!

By Nancy Nally on November 1, 2016 in Christmas, Holidays, Paper Crafts

It’s November and that means…the leftover trick or treat candy has been eaten (at least at our house)…and it’s time to jump full on into Christmas trees and snowflakes and all things Christmas! For our readers that like to personalize their gifts, today I’ve got a holiday gift tag that will be remembered long after the holiday is over!

Supplies:

Buttons Galore Winter Flurries Button Basics
28 Lilac Lane Attic Findings embellishment kit
28 Lilac Lane Let It Snow embellishment kit
PPA Matte Adhesive
White #8 Tag
Watercolor Paper
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans, Mermaid Lagoon, Tumbled Glass, and Clear Embossing.
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Ranger Embossing Powder in White
Stampendous “Snowflake Sky” stamp
Faber-Castell Watercolors
Ranger Stickles in Frosted Lace
Tim Holtz for Stamper’s Anonymous “Christmas #4 Minis” stamps
Tim Holtz idea-ology “Small Talk – Occasions” stickers

The background on this tag was created by inking a craft mat with the four shades of blue Distress Ink, spritzing it with water, and then dragging the tag through it. A heat gun helped to speed the drying process. The nice thing about this technique is that if you don’t like the effect that you get, you can add and remove color by spritzing the tag with water, or adding another layer of color, until you get just the effect that you are happy with.

Once the background was thoroughly dry, I stamped the snowflake stamp with clear embossing ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. Since the stamp was not as tall as the tag, I made sure that I started the stamp at the bottom of the tag. Using the PPA Matte Adhesive to glue a line of buttons across the area where the snowflakes stop disguised the transition area from snowflakes to plain background.

Next, I stamped the poinsettia stamp in Archival ink on watercolor paper, and colored it in with watercolors and a waterbrush. Finally, I trimmed it to a size that would work on the tag.

It’s not very visible in the photos, but I used Stickles to create a border around the outside edge of the poinsettia square to add a little extra glint of sparkle to the tag. I also used various colors of seed beads from both of the embellishment kits to create some dimension in some areas and create the flower’s center. (The seed beads in our kits adhere beautifully with the PPA Matte Adhesive, which is what I used here.)

The trickiest part of assembling this holiday gift tag is getting the loops of silver string and the poinsettia layered and adhered. I laid down a pool PPA Matte Adhesive in the middle of the tag, and created my string loops by passing the string through the glue area repeatedly. Then I pressed the poinsettia block down on top of it and when it dried, everything was adhered together!

At first glance, it looks like the snowflake charm is looped through the string but if you look closer…it is not. I simply glued it on with the loop laying over the string. This helps everything lay a little more flat and stay adhered better.

The final touch on my holiday gift tag are the two phrase stickers I added in the bottom corner. If you didn’t want to put the to and from information on the reverse side, these strips could have it instead.

Make a Scaredy Cat Halloween Tag with a Beaded Twist Tie!

By Nancy Nally on October 20, 2016 in Halloween, Holidays, Paper Crafts

Halloween is coming fast! But there’s still time to make a few more Halloween projects – like this fun scaredy cat halloween tag! It makes a great decoration on a spooky tree or a fun goody bag attachment.

To make my scaredy cat halloween tag, I started with the middle tag below. This is a set of three tags that I made using Distress Spray Stain. I sprayed the three colors of stain on my craft mat in a triangle arrangement, and pressed the first tag into them. That created the tag on the left below. Then I added some water to the mat using my Distress Sprayer, and swiped a tag across my mat again, which got me the tag in the middle that I used for this project. Finally, I took a third tag and swiped it through the color mix that remained on the mat. By that time, the three colors were mixed together enough on the mat that it produced a more brown color, giving me the tag on the right.

Decorating this tag started with a lot of stamping! I stamped the cat in black and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I stamped the pumpkin in brown, coloring in the part of the blueprint stamp that I wanted to use and stamping it. To make them look wispy, I used silver ink to stamp the spider webs to fill the top of the tag area.

Once the stamping was done, I stuck down the phrase stickers and the letters to spell “Boo!”

Next I got my PPA Matte Adhesive liquid glue to start adding some beautiful embellishments! Well, first I added a scary one…I cut the shank off of a spider button using button shank removers and glued it onto the spider web on the upper left of the tag. In that spot it looks like the cat is looking at it!

To make the cat’s eyes look really bugged out, I selected two dark colored seed beads from the 28 Lilac Lane “Paws & Pets” embellishment kit and glued them on top of the stamped dots in the cat’s eyes. It makes the cat look even more scared!

Finally, I dumped the new 28 Lilac Lane “Candy Corn” embellishment bottle (pictured above) into a craft tray, which is a great way to contain all of the small embellishments while you are looking for just what you need. With it all spread out I selected several small sequins to glue on to the spider webs, and glued some small seed beads, sequins, and a button onto the bottom of the pumpkin to give it some orange coloring.

To really look finished, my tag needed some ribbon through the hole. I selected some gray and some black and strung them through the hole. But instead of tying them off, I made a seed bead “twist tie” to fasten it. I cut a piece of wire several inches long. To start, I looped the wire through and around a pair of beads and twisted it together, clipping one of the ends off. then I began threading seed beads onto the wire in a random pattern until the tie was the length I wanted. To finish the wire off, I once again created a loop with two beads in it and twisted the wire together below that loop. I made sure to cut off the ends very close to the twist and turn them under so no sharp points stick out!

The seed bead twist tie was then wrapped around my ribbon to cinch it tight (similar to a ponytail holder). It brightens up the ribbon and brings something shiny to the top of my scaredy cat halloween tag.

And now my scaredy cat halloween tag was ready to hang on my halloween tree with my other tags! (To see the other tags in the collection, check out the Spooky Halloween Tag and the Fall Pumpkin Tag).

Supplies:

Buttons Galore “Spiders” 3D Buttons
28 Lilac Lane “Paws & Pets” embellishment kit
28 Lilac Lane “Candy Corn” embellishment bottle
PPA Matte Adhesive
Button Shank Remover
Ranger Inkssentials #8 Manila Tag
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain in Wilted Violet, Twisted Citron, and Carved Pumpkin
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Black Soot
Ranger Ultra Fine Clear Embossing Mode
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Vintage Photo
Colorbox Pigment Ink in Silver
Stamper’s Anonymous Tim Holtz “Crazy Cats” stamps
Stamper’s Anonymous Tim Holtz “Min Halloween 3” stamps
Stamper’s Anonymous Tim Holtz “Halloween 2 Blueprint” stamps
Tim Holtz idea-ology Label Letters
Tim Holtz idea-ology Small Talk – Occasions
Beadalon 26 gauge Antique Brass German Wire
Ribbon (Black & Gray)

Do you make tags? What occasions do you make them for? Tell us in the comments!

Make a Spooky Halloween Tag with Trick or Treat Button Basics!

By Nancy Nally on September 8, 2016 in Halloween, Holidays, Paper Crafts

Today we’re taking a walk on the creepy side of Halloween, with a spooky Halloween tag that makes a great attachment for a treat bag or can be a unique holiday greeting by itself!

Supplies:

Buttons Galore “Trick or Treat” Button Basics
Buttons Galore Happy Halloween 3D Spider Buttons
Button Shank Remover
PPA Matte Adhesive
#8 Manila Tag
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain in Carved Pumpkin, Twisted Citron, and Wilted Violet
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Hickory Smoke and Fired Brick
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Black Soot
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Stamper’s Anonymous Tim Holtz Halloween #3 Mini Blueprint stamps
Tim Holtz idea-ology “Curiosities” Ephemera Pack
Black Embroidery Floss
Doodlebug Designs Doodle Twine in Gray

1. Create the background of the Halloween tag by spraying the three colors of Distress Spray Stain in a triangle arrangement on a craft mat and then dragging the tag across the ink. Allow to air dry, or dry with a heat gun.

2. Ink the edges of the paper elements with matching ink to hide the white edges, and glue them in place.

3. Using Archival ink, stamp the creepy cat on top of the background and paper elements.

Tip: If the stamp image is incomplete where the paper layers meet, use the fine point end of the Distress Marker to fill it in!

4. Draw a line for the spider web in the upper right corner using the brush end of the Distress Marker and a ruler.

5. Thread black embroidery floss through the green button and tie off.

6. Use a button shank remover to cut the shank off from the back of a spider button.

7. Glue all of the buttons into place using the PPA Matte Adhesive. (Make sure to center the orange one over the hole in the tag.) Let dry.

8. Thread twine from the back through the button and ending at the back again, to tie off the tag.

9. Enjoy your Halloween tag!

Hit the Books with a Back to School Tag!

By Nancy Nally on July 5, 2016 in Back to School, Holidays

With July 4th gone, that means for many of us the summer is officially half over. It’s already time to start thinking about back to school! Our cute back to school tag is perfect for teacher gifts, first day of school lunches, and decorating backpacks!

Making this tag is so quick and simple – the kids can help! Die cut the tag base and hole reinforcer out of patterned paper, and glue them together. Attach tab and alphabet stickers across the bottom of the tag. (Instead of “hello”, you could substitute a name, or the year if you’d like!)

To make the button collage on our back to school tag, use a die cut machine (I used my Cricut Explore) to cut an apple shape out of red cardstock that matches the “Red Hot” buttons. Spread a nice thick layer of the PPA Matte Adhesive all over the fruit of the apple. Begin to fill it in by carefully selecting various sizes of the buttons to fill as much of the space as possible. Push the buttons down into the glue to make them really secure!

Once the glue is dry on your apple collage, glue it in place on your tag! For the finishing touch, slip a piece of ribbon through the tag’s hole and secure it with a staple.

To make this back to school tag double-sided, select a double-sided paper (like this one) for your tag base. Or cut a second tag from the die and glue them back-to-back.

Whose back to school are you going to make awesome with an apple button collage tag?

Supplies Needed:

Buttons Galore “Red Hot” Button Basics
Bella Blvd “Tiny Tots” Alphabet Paper
Bella Blvd “Simply Spring” Eggstravaganza (plaid paper)
Bella Blvd “Tiny Tots” Treasures & Text stickers
Momenta kraft alphabet
Red Cardstock
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations “Tag & Bookplates” die
Cricut Explore machine & apple cutting file
PPA Matte Adhesive

Simple Mixed Media Tag with 28 Lilac Lane

By Nancy Nally on June 23, 2016 in Mixed Media, Paper Crafts

Our 28 Lilac Lane embellishment kits designed by May Flaum make the perfect finishing touch for projects like this mixed media tag! This tag thinks “outside the box” with our Paws & Pets kit, using its lovely brown tones as the perfect partner for some vintage style Tim Holtz products.

Supplies:

28 Lilac Lane “Paws & Pets” embellishment kit
28 Lilac Lane “Vintage Findings” embellishment kit
PPA Matte Adhesive
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations “Tag & Bookplates” die
Tim Holtz idea-ology “Dapper” Paper Stash
Ranger Tim Holtz “Ground Espresso” Distress Ink
Ranger Tim Holtz “Picket Fence” Distress Paint
The Crafter’s Workshop “Mini Harlequin” stencil
Tim Holtz idea-ology “Small Talk” stickers
Tim Holtz for Stamper’s Anonymous “Clock” Wood-Mounted Stamp
Melissa Frances Ribbon
Thread

To make this tag, begin by cutting the dapper man out of the patterned paper sheet. Then flip the sheet over and cut the tag base out of the Tim Holtz paper and glue down the hole reinforcer.

Using the Distress Paint dabber, stencil the harlequin design across the middle of the tag. Once dry, glue the dapper man on top of it. Stamp the clock image with Ground Espresso ink, allowing it to bleed off the edge of the tag.

Lay down an area of glue in the bottom right corner of the tag and spread a random assortment of buttons and seed beeds throughout the area. (In addition to the Paws & Pets kit, I used one ivory button from the Vintage Findings kit.)

Lay down another area of glue in the upper left corner and spread another assortment of seed beads in that area. Loop a short length of the Melissa Frances ribbon through the tag’s hole, and stitch a button through it to keep it in place.

To finish off the mixed media tag, select some phrase stickers from the Small Talk set and place them over the dapper man. I selected phrases that reflected the man’s confidence and effortless sense of personal style.

Our pre-coordinated 28 Lilac Lane kits are the perfect quick & easy embellishment for all your mixed media projects. Don’t forget to look past the name to the color scheme, and “think outside the box” about all the wonderful things that they can do!

Wire Heart Embellished Christmas Gift Tag

By Nancy Nally on October 12, 2015 in Christmas, Holidays

Christmas is coming faster than it seems – there’s only 73 more days left! It’s time to start thinking about crafty holiday projects like cards, gift wrap, and home decor if you don’t want to be scrambling at the last minute.

This Christmas gift tag will make a festive addition to any package or bag. With plenty of room on the back to write a message and the recipient’s name, it’s practical as well as pretty. The wire heart is finished off and brightened up by a button, which also serves as a convenient anchoring point for the embellishment.

Supplies:

Buttons Galore Button Basics in Red Hot (available at AC Moore)
Beadalon 20 Gauge German Style Wire
Authentique Paper “Tidings” collection (paper & stickers)
Sewing Machine
Jewelry Pliers
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Tag & Bookplates Die
Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Tea Dye & Bundled Sage
Aleene’s No-Sew Fabric Glue
Hot Glue Gun
Embroidery Floss & Needle
Sequins
Brown Ribbon
Crochet Lace Trim

To begin the tag, use your die cutting machine to cut tags and hole reinforcer from the two different papers.

Trim the top off of the brown patterned tag to turn it into a rectangular panel. Stitch the edges of the panel with your sewing machine.

Ink all edges. Glue down the hole reinforcer and the stitched panel.

Glue crochet trim to bottom of tag. Thread small buttons and glue on top of trim.

Create the wire heart using wire and jewelry pliers. (Grab wire with tip of pliers and twist to create loops.) Anchor wires together at “v” of heart by threading them through holes of a 4 hole button.

Use hot glue gun to adhere the wire heart to the tag, using the button as the anchor point.

Adhere word and letter stickers on tag. Glue sequins randomly around the wire heart.

Thread ribbon through the tag.

The kraft, plaid, and buttons give this Christmas gift tag a cozy Christmas look. Pair it with a generic red or kraft bag or gift wrap to dress up a basic package!