Tim's 12 Tags...

Okay, I went for it...

What creative person isn't inspired by Tim Holtz's creativity and innovation?  I mean, really. I can't imagine the person who could dismiss this guy's impact on the crafting world.  Between Tim and his obviously fantastic marketing people (Smoke and mirrors? Probably, but I'm guessing the smoke is cigarettes and essential oil vapor, and the mirrors are  mercury...), I think they've really made materials and techniques so accessible to the common folk-- not just cool supplies found only in warehouse-like college art classes.  I am not patronizing... just giving my honest assessment.  The craft world has benefited from Tim and his people.

So, because I am a huge user of Ranger Distress products (which I often refer to as "Tim's"), I think I will get jiggy with The 12 Tags of 2016 this year.

So, this year, Tim decided to get a little jiggy himself, and is doing this "remix" thing... oh yeah... who's feeling the R. Kelly?  If you click on the link above, you can read all about the madness behind his methods, but basically he's revisiting old tags and combining techniques and products from the past with new techniques, products, and/or perspective.  

Here's the remix graphic:

While Tim's tag is naturally fab, I'm not gonna lie: I like these two styles separately but I am not really feeling the remix. I gave it a go, though.  

Supplies and notes: 

• Well, for this project, I actually didn't have a lot of the supplies on Tim's materials list... so I absolutely went with the spirit of the challenge and used what I had to achieve the same effects!  It was a very satisfying project in that way!  And one more comment: I have Disney on the brain, and I kept thinking "Tower of Terror" as I went industrial... you know, the service elevator... :)
• For the base layer, I used a library card (as I do 96% of the time), and I dabbed Distress Embossing Ink over the familiar Tim/Stamp-Anon stencil and embossed with Custer's Last Stamp EP in Pewter.  (I do not own foil tape, and I am only brand-new to the world of an embossing machine... this was my method for the industrial background.)  Once cool, I painted it with Black Soot Distress Paint-- just swiping broadly for one pass,  After that dried, the entire thing was edged with Distress Stain in Brushed Pewter.  Pretty bright, but later I toned it down by daubing with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink.
• Next, I went for the "chalk" layer.  This took some thinking and experimenting.  I tried Tim's method, but really, you do need that rough-stuff (the EP with teeth).  So, my technique was this:  I stamped my image (from 100 Proof Press... love this... this is how I feel by the end of a long library day...) in Distress Embossing Ink and added my "dirty" clear EP from Custer's Last Stamp.  (Does everyone have a "dirty" clear and a "primo" clear EP container??? I do...) I did this all on 110# white cardstock.  Then I painted over the entire thing with  Black Soot Distress Paint.  After that, I sprayed a little Picket Fence Distress Spray Stain onto my mat and used my finger to edge it and smear it a little.  Looks pretty good, no?
• To attach the two panels, I busted out my Crop-O-Dile and gromlets... OMG, haven't used that thing for anything but punching in YEARS.  REALLY.  So it was fun to go into my old orange case and check out the baggies of gromlets and eyelets.  Actually, I did some eyeletting while I had the case out... fun, fun.
• For the attaching element of my tag (you know, a tag must be attached to an item somehow...) I went with some hemp twine with black metallic thread woven in. Just a single strand, thank you.  The charm was fun: I used an old heart charm from BFF's first wedding's crafts and dabbed it into Tim's Embossing inkpad, then heated the thing up, then added Aged Silver frantage by Stampendous and heated again.  The pin is Tim's, too.
• I needed something for the lower corner to balance the tag, so I cut a couple number strips from library catalog cards and dabbed them first with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink, then misted and par-dried.  After that, I edged them in Black Soot Ink and dipped in water again.  I attached them to the base with a staple pre-inked with Rust Adirondack Alcohol Ink.  This didn't yield the aged effect I was looking for, so I them added a drop of Rust to the mat with a drop of blending solution and mixed with a tiny paintbrush and painted near the entry holes of the staple, as well as accented all other metal parts of the tag.

Lots of typing... lots of thinking!  I am now looking forward to perusing the other entries for January to see how folks achieved similar results.