Sunday, June 12, 2011

Challenges Entry: Happy Grunge

I had three challenges that I wanted to participate in this week, but of course I was down to the last day today and figured I better combine them if I wanted to get something submitted! 

They were very easy to combine and I'm calling the result "happy grunge", because while it is definitely grungy a la Tim Holtz, the colors just lift my spirits and make me happy when I look at it. 

The Challenges:
The Details
  •  I started out with a plain manila tag and added stripes of Distress Ink using the corner of the ink pad.  From left to right:  Broken China, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Tattered Rose, Wild Honey, Barn Door, and Vintage Photo. 
  • Once all my stripes were added, I used a mini mister to spray on water to bleed the colors a bit.  While the stripes were still wet, I stamped the text in Vintage Photo.  To speed the drying process, I used a heat gun to dry the inks.
  • To adhere the tissue paper, I covered the entire tag in Matte Mod Podge and pounced on plain white wrapping tissue paper.  Betsy Veldman has a great video tutorial on the whole process at the PTI blog.  As Betsy suggests in the video, I did run my tag through my Texture Boutique to really mesh the tissue to the base.  I guess I used a little too much Mod Podge in areas because my tissue actually turned mushy and lifted during this process, but you know what?  I love the effect!  The extra texture is very distressed and grungy!

  • The pen nibs and sentiment are stamped in StazOn Jet Black. 
  • I stamped the swirls and clock faces in DI on top of the tissue paper. 
  • The starbursts are those little mylar thingies that you see on beaded Christmas ornaments...sorry, I don't know their proper name...but I colored them with alcohol inks and randomly added them to the tag.
  • For just a touch more sparkle, I added some beads to a TH safety pin and attached it to the big bow at the top.


It was so much fun playing with the Distress Inks and tissue paper.  I hope this brings a smile to your face too!


Supplies:
Paper: manila tag, tissue paper
Stamps: Tim Holtz ‘Curious Possibility’, ‘Life’s Possibilities’
Inks: Distress Ink ‘Vintage Photo’, ‘Old Paper’, ‘Tattered Rose’, ‘Barn Door’, ‘Wild Honey’, ‘Broken China’, ‘Peeled Paint’, ‘Crushed Olive’; StazOn ‘Jet Black’; Alcohol Ink ‘Aqua’, ‘Sandal’, ‘Red Pepper’
Embellishments: Papertrey Ink Baker’s Twine; buttons; mylar disks; beads; TH safety pin; ribbon
Tools: jewelry pliers; tweezers; Matte Mod Podge; Mini Mister; Glossy Accents; glue dots; heat gun
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16 comments:

  1. Kathy EddyJune 12, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    This is a very happy piece! I love your bright colors also! Great tag!

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  2. Belinda BassonJune 12, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    Wow, I just love the colours you have used here. So fresh and cheerful. I have not thought to use tissue paper on things like this before. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  3. ingeJune 12, 2011 at 3:48 PM

    Hello Vicki,

    What a lovely colored sunshiny tag !!! It makes me happy just looking at it !
    I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who sees the bright sight of the distress inks !
    I love to be grungy and vintage, but I need to combine it with colorful !
    Your tag is a beautiful example of what I like :)
    I also like the colorful buttons on the string to add texture.

    greetings from belgium
    inge

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  4. BearcrazymanJune 12, 2011 at 4:05 PM

    Very Happy indeed. You can tie it on my Fathers Day gift, LOL

    Great Job!

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  5. Marjie KemperJune 12, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    This is a fantastic tag! And very well named :-) Love the way you colored it and your addition of the tissue paper... the stamping is wonderful too!

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  6. BunnyfreakJune 12, 2011 at 6:32 PM

    Love the stripes. It draws my eye.

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  7. LisaJune 12, 2011 at 6:54 PM

    Your colors are great! Love it!

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  8. www.creativepointe.blogspot.comJune 12, 2011 at 10:09 PM

    A GREAT tag. Love it all and thanks for the inspiration using the tissue paper.

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  9. NancyJune 12, 2011 at 10:33 PM

    LOVE this tag!! Great colors, great elements!

    Thank you for joining us at the Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge!

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  10. Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkieJune 12, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    Definitely happy colors - it looks like a rainbow to me. What a great job you have done - love the way you striped the colors with ink pads and that tissue paper technique is awesome. Terrific job on the challenge - we're so happy you joined in the fun with us this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show!

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  11. Shelly HickoxJune 12, 2011 at 10:54 PM

    Totally gorgeous! I love the colors you've used - so cheerful!

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  12. LynnJune 13, 2011 at 12:16 AM

    love this...very artsy!

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  13. HettieJune 13, 2011 at 8:23 AM

    Love this tag - very cheery-uppey kind of tag! Well done!

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  14. Silvia(Barnie)June 16, 2011 at 12:39 PM

    Such a fantastic tag, love the colors.

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  15. Linda LedbetterJune 18, 2011 at 4:59 PM

    Look at those fabulous colors! LOOK at them! Can you tell how much I love the way you put those Distress Inks to work?! An awesome tag and great instructions to go along with it. Awesome, gorgeous art for GM10!

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  16. storybeaderDecember 26, 2011 at 8:54 AM

    this photo is so colorful and the wording is perfect for the BBArtisan's upcoming challenge! Look at that - another challenge! Hope you don't mind my using the image - I'm linking it back to here. Will show up on our team blog in early January. Thanks, {:-Deb http://www.bbartisans.com

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