Tim Holtz September 2015 Tag

My take on the Tim Holtz September 2015 tag.  I was unable to reproduce the alcohol background that Tim demonstrated this month, so I dug out some Distress Inks and went to work.

I chose the new Blueprint Sketch, Seedless Preserves, and Peacock Feather Distress Inks to create my background.  No, I still don't have a craft mat, so I use sheets of wax paper.

I found a great pack of text paper at Tuesday Morning last week, 25 sheets for $3 and thought it would be perfect to use for inking backgrounds, so I adhered it to my tag.

The colors soaked into the paper beautifully, but I wanted to tone it down a bit.

So I added some white Distress paint in areas.

At the half way point in most of my projects I just get going and forget to take photos...  My Staz On ink pad had dried up so I couldn't do the acetate technique.  I had recently been cleaning and organizing my 8.5 x 11" paper file and came across some Sheer Heaven vellum like material.  I decided I would try it for the first time.  I have had it for 8 or more years and never once used it, don't know why...  So I stamped my butterfly and dragonflies (Hero Arts) onto the material.  I then heat set it and let me tell you it did not curl or wrinkle in any way.  That was the selling point for the product in the first place.  I then inked the backs of each critter with distress ink and cut them out.

I did not have any clear texture paste, so I decided to use clear embossing.  I picked up an old background image on red rubber and inked it with Versamark.  The stamp had black ink on it so in some places that came through, which I really liked!

I decided that the images were small on this big tag and a border would help fill the empty space, so I took my new Wow! Embossing powders and inked the edges of the tag and embossed.  The color really went well with the Distress inks.

I layered an inky piece of book page across the top for variation and added some silver string.  I finished the tag with

I really love the subtle embossing over the inked background.  The butterfly wings had to be creased to pop out because the Sheer Heaven does not want to be manipulated, but in the end I was pleased with the material.

I added some tacks at the bottom corners for detail and stamped Always (Penny Black) to go with the word Friends in the charm.  I made this tag for our month RAK at the local group, where we shower one person with a handmade item of their choosing.  Jean wanted bling and butterflies.  This is a little grungy, but I tried to add the bling just for her.  :)  Thanks for visiting!  I'm linking up to Tim's September lineup HERE and to WOW! Embossing Powder for their September challenge HERE.