Life ... Make it Count

I'm so very excited to be a Guest Designer over at Frilly and Funkie today!  Shelly has chosen such a perfect theme for September -- Chalk it Up.  As a mathematics teacher, I use a lot of chalk.  Now that school has started back after a great summer break, I'm up to my eyeballs in it.  So it really is fun to put that chalk to use in my crafts as well as in my classroom :).  And what's more perfect for a chalk-themed project than a back-to-school tag.

 

I started my tag by taking a piece of Tim Holtz’s Ideology paper that had the alphabet on it for the background.  I adapted Tim’s “chalkboard” stamping technique for use with a stencil. (You can find a complete tutorial of Tim’s technique on his November Tag for 2013 blogpost.)  For my stencil adaptation, I began by applying Distress Embossing Ink through Tim’s Numbered stencil with an ink blending tool.  I sprinkled on Ranger Ink’s frosted crystal embossing powder over the stenciled numbers.  I heated the embossing powder per Tim’s directions on his blog.  Then I put the stencil back over the embossed numbers and applied white chalk over through the stencil on top of the frosted crystal embossed numbers.  A cotton swab made the perfect tool for rubbing in the excess chalk through the stencil.  I then removed the stencil.  I was so excited because only the stenciled image had chalk on it! (Usually I get chalk everywhere on a project like this!)   A thin black marker was used to provide some shadows around my chalked numbers.  What a really cool background for my school-themed tag.

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I stamped three apples from Tim Holtz's Mini Schoolhouse blueprint stamps on watercolor paper.  I colored them with Distress Markers and a water brush detailer.  After that dried completed, I fussy cut the apples and gave them three coats of Ranger’s Melt Art Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE).  Love this effect!  

I also fussy cut some of Tim’s Found Relatives (that looked like they were dressed up to go back to school).  I added the relatives and apples to my tag with foam adhesive squares. Some tissue tape and a pencil stub tag tie topped the tag.

 And with my love of teaching and mathematics, I gave a little play on words for the sentiment.  I always love the beginning of the school year.  It has such promise and you really can make the semester as great as you want it to be.  I wanted my tag to remind students to make the most of the school year with my "Life ... make it count" sentiment.  Of course ... make it count can be taken in a mathematical sense as well :).

Oh ... I almost forgot ... I do want to enter this in the Numbers Challenge over at Country View Challenges (thanks Allison!!).  

  

Thanks Frilly and Funkie for the opportunity to be a Guest Designer.  I have had so much fun making this chalked-themed tag!   Hugs to you all -- Mary Elizabeth