Relax with a Second TH June 2012 Tag

Wow!  Another TH June 2013 tag before the end of June!  Ok ... it took a couple of extra days to finish this tag, but I so wanted to do something special with my favorite dragonfly blueprint stamp.   I particularly loved this dragonfly with its vibrant colors.  That's the great thing about the distress markers.  You can use them to produce a subtle watercolor image or one that pops.

 

For this tag, I did both.  On the watercolor paper, I tried a "reverse" effect with this image where the image itself has a subtle coloring and the background is more intense.  I used Spun Sugar, Tumbled Glass, and Dusty Concord on the dragonfly wings.  I applied the markers to my craft sheet and used a water brush to apply the ink to the archival stamped dragonfly blueprint.   Mustard Seed was used for the Dragonfly name circle.    I used Worn Lipstick (I just love this color) to outline the dragonfly and Spiced Marmalade as the background color for the watercolor paper.   I flicked some water on the  background of the stamped image and let it sit for a few seconds and then blotted it with a paper towel to remove some of the ink.  Finally,  I used Walnut Stain Distress Ink to edge the watercolor paper.  

This tag took so long because I went through several backgrounds for the dragonfly image.  I finally found one, using a complementary color scheme, to make the image pop.  I started out making almost a rustic painted board effect.  I took a manila tag and painted the entire tag with Broken China Distress Paint.  I applied the paint sparingly  directly to the tag in vertical stripes (going from the top of the tag to the bottom).  I could see the stripes and really liked the effect.  I liked it so much that I think I'll enter it as a second entry into Simon Says Stamp & Show Stripes Challenge.  I dried it with a heat gun immediately.   

To bring out the stripes, I used the paint as a resist and covered the entire tag with Dusty Concord Distress Ink using an ink blending tool.  I really worked the ink into the crevices where the paint was missing or light.   I then took a thick water brush and applied water to the entire tag to diffuse the Dusty Concord ink and blotted with a paper towel (rubbing the dusty concord off of the painted surfaces). 

I used Ranger's Aquamarine archival ink to stamp the tag with flourishes and vines.   I tried doing these images in black ink and it was too harsh.  The archival ink seems to soak into the tag behind the paint.  I highlighted the vines and flourish with a Picket Fence Distress Marker and used a fine waterbrush to dilute the ink to create a "whitewashed" effect for my tag's board texture.  I completed the background tag by stamping the word "Relax" in black archival ink and lightly edged the tag with Pumice Stone Distress Ink.

Because of the intense ink, I decided to use only one embellishment a really cool ribbon.  I saw someone take some of Tim Holtz's remnant rubs and put them on a clear TH Fragment.   I really loved this idea and so I used a white rub-on for this fragment.  On the reverse side, I used Ranger's Adirondack Alcohol Ink in Eggplant.  I then used my Silver Paint Dabber to cover the entire alcohol inked surface and let it dry.  I think the effect is pretty awesome.

And now for the the ribbon ... I've had some Tim Holtz trimmings in my stash for awhile and now found the perfect place to use it.  I colored the tattered rosettes with Worn Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade Distress Stain.  I used a thick waterbrush to dilute and blend the color a little.  Then I dried it with a heat tool (don't get too close though -- I learned the hard way!)





The end result made me smile.  Loved playing with these colors!!    I hope you've had an opportunity to craft something you love this weekend as well.  Enjoy your week and I hope to be back with something new soon.

-- Mary Elizabeth