I didn’t get to fit in much crafting this week. My work schedule is so unpredictable. There just is no crafty fun to be had when you have to work marathon 12 hour shifts several days in a row. But I finished two tags, with two more in the wings. Not exactly a roll, but you have to start somewhere!

And can I just say how fun this is? I’ve barely started but I can already see the potential. My head is spinning with ways to update older techniques and to remind myself to get more of these ideas on my pages. And I haven’t even talked about the bonuses…like using up scrap paper, using up 2 pieces of leftover embellishments that have been sitting there, using all of my punches and dies, using all of my ink colors and glitter colors. I’m starting to see this project not only as idea jump starters (or finishers!) but also as a kind of inventory of what’s in my stash. (I know…so much potential!)

So here are the first two…

I used three colors of distress inks in fun colors (Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry and Chipped Sapphire). I used one of Ranger’s #8 tags here, but I plan to vary the sizes a bit. Not all the tags I create will be the same size. The tag itself is really simple but here is the list of ideas I can get just from looking at this one tag:

• Flicking water drops on a distress ink background
• Teal/Pink/Navy color combination
• Using gold embellishments
• Martha Stewart butterfly punches
• Outlining with a gold pen
• Adding three brads to a corner

When I started, I just thought I’d combine a technique with a random embellishing idea. But I didn’t realize that so many ideas could come out of one tag. Here’s another one.

I cut this tag out of scrap pattern paper. (Yeah, I’m already going through all my scraps to pull out my very favorite patterns!) Here, I used the idea I had the other day, folding back corners to reveal the pattern on the back and the pattern underneath. To update the look, I added stickles to the polka dot paper underneath. For the embellishment idea, I used one of my older Hero Arts flower stamps and punched them out with a circle punch. Something I haven’t done in forever. Ideas from this tag:

• Fold back a corner with a brad to reveal something behind
• Wrap jute (or crochet thread or twine) around something
• Use stickles to emphasize something on pattern paper
• Use this flower stamp
• Stamp something, then punch it out and use it as an embellishment
• Stamp with distress stains to get a cool watercolor, abstract effect
• Distress stain colors of Mustard Seed, Victorian Velvet and Tumbled Glass

I’m not really after a work of art so the tags will be fairly simple. I just want something to look at, to see a technique or see a quick embellishing idea.

Two more tags are on my desk, ready to be filled with even more inspiration.

If I can swing it, I’ll whip up more tags this weekend! And I’ll continue to share my progress as I fill up my boxes with inspiration.

Do you have anything fun planned for the upcoming weekend?

Thanks for stopping by today!

{13 Comments}

I have had these boxes for about a year now. At least. I was wandering around the Hobby Lobby in Franklin, Tennessee (where I was living at the time) when I found them. I grew up in Spokane, Washington and was so surprised to see this fun vintage label on these cute boxes.

The corner of Post and Garland is near my high school. It’s my side of town, the north side. I don’t know if this drug company really existed, but I could definitely imagine a 50′s-style pharmacy/drug store with a soda fountain in that neighborhood, across from the milk bottle café.

Needless to say, I had to have them.

But I never had anything in mind to actually do with them. They just sit on a shelf. Last week, I had the idea to take apart my 4×6 and 3×4 cards and put them into another container that was sitting empty.

So, in need of inspiration, what’s a crafter to do?  Turn to Pinterest. Of course.

Within minutes, I had a wealth of inspiration. Exactly what I needed.

Over the years, I have taken several of those classes where you learn techniques and are supposed to make a tag and add the directions on the back so you remember how to do it. Something about pasting directions on the back of an art piece always turns me off. So I never completed any.

But I like the idea of a visual reminder. It’s not as much in the techniques where I get hung up – though I do think visuals are a good thing – but it’s more in finishing touches. When I need those last finishing touches, I tend to forget things. Later I’ll come across an idea and think, that would have been perfect on the layout I finished last week.

It hit me that if I had a resource or reference of cards full of those little ideas, I could flip through as I’m finishing a layout. It won’t have instructions, just visuals. I’ll go through my albums and find all of my favorite embellishing ideas (especially older ideas I have forgotten about) and combine them on a tag with all the fancy techniques learned in class.

A summer project is definitely brewing here. I can’t wait to get started. And just for fun, I pulled one of my albums off the shelf and started looking at old layouts for ideas. Like…

Thin, smaller letters on top of thicker, chunky letters.

The ever popular folding down corners in the middle of the page with brads. Very Becky Higgins, pre-Project Life.

Love this double pattern paper border with the rolled edge.

And what about holding down memorabilia with thread around brads?

Ah, so many fun ideas to bring back! OK…maybe I won’t bring them back so much as figure out ways to update them.

Stay tuned for updates as I complete these embellishment and technique idea cards.

Do you have any fun summer paper crafting projects planned?

Thanks for stopping by today!

{10 Comments}