Our Magenta order arrived, including the Tea Party paper in the Color Me Softly collection. Come in and see all of the quality stamps, papers, cork and chipboard die cuts from Magenta that help you make something very special for family and friends.

Tea Party in Magenta's Color Me Softly paper collection

From the Tim Holtz blog:

12 tags of christmas...tag 5

"happy monday bloggers! i hope you had some time over the weekend to be creative and make a tag or two. i can see more and more photos of tags getting uploaded (thanks to the amazing inlinkz) each and every day so be sure to check out all of the days of the 12 tags throughout our festive journey. i must admit i really had fun with today's tag. i love it's simplicity in composition, but complexity in it's technique. are you ready???
before we start, i want to remind everyone about being sure to check to see if your name and comment was chosen as a winner each day. if you've won, please email us via the same email you posted the comment from (that's how we verify the winners). if you email from another address or computer we won't have any way to be certain and won't be able to send your prize to you. also, when you email to claim your prize you will receive a reply from us within 2-3 hours tops. if you don't receive a reply, please resend your email. thanks!

here we go...today's technique is all about my reflections stamps with stampers anonymous. this was one of those crazy ideas that i had to convince mr. stampers anonymous would be a good one. i mean when i proposed the idea of making backwards stamps, it's not the easiest thing to explain. that is until you see it for yourself - so today's tag starts with a video introducing you to reflections...




supplies: craft sheet, alcohol inks/cranberry/red pepper/watermelon, ink applicator tool, archival ink/jet black, paint dabber/lettuce, distress ink/pumice stone, ink blending tool, glossy accents, glossy cardstock; grungepaper, tiny attacher, sanding grip; dies/regal crest/tag & bookplate; cms112 seasonal reflections, grid-blocks; clearly heavy transparency; pearls



step 1: die cut a #8 tag from white glossy cardstock and a piece of clearly heavy transparency (from hambly studios). *note: you can use clear packaging for this step too, but i like the thickness of the clearly heavy from hambly - great for books too.



step 2: remove the clear protective film from both sides of the transparency.



step 3: apply a piece of felt to the ink applicator too.



step 4: apply several colors of adirondack alcohol ink (red pepper, watermelon, cranberry).


s
tep 5: begin tapping the inked tool on to one side only of the clear tag.



step 6: continue inking until the tag is completely covered and allow the tag to dry for 10 seconds before adding more ink. note: to build the intensity of the color, reapply as many layers of ink as you wish. as long as the first layer is allowed to dry, additional layers will create intensity. allow the tag to dry completely - do not heat.



step 7: mount seasonal reflections stamp on to grid-block and ink with jet black archival ink. stamp image on to the inked side of the tag.



step 8: immediately blot the wet stamped ink with a soft cloth - DO NOT wipe, just blot.



step 9: once you've blotted most of the ink, begin lightly wiping the remainder of the ink away always working on a clean area of the cloth - this removes the stamped image and lcohol ink like magic!



step 10: repeat for the next stamping directly below the first one, and follow previous instructions to remove image.



step 11: stamp a third time and repeat previous instructions to remove image. *note: if things do go right, simply all of the ink off the tag using blending solution...no worries.



step 12: place your tag over your white cardstock and check it out! cool huh? *note: the more layers of alcohol ink you apply to the tag, the more "marbling" you get in the tag - i like it though, very distressed.



step 13: apply a small amount of glossy accents to the inked side of the tag.



step 14: place over white tag to adhere.



step 15: cut two pieces of grungepaper 3"x4".



step 16: paint one side of both pieces with paint dabber (lettuce). *note: for those that need to have the "backs" of things finished, you might want to paint both sides of the grunge - i did not...



step 17: stack both pieces on to this die.



step 18: yep! the branch on the regal crest die is perfect for this.



step 19: die cut the branches and keep them in the grunge.



step 20: place on a piece of chipboard and sand with sanding grip.



step 21: remove grunge pieces and cut each one in half.



step 22: ink the edges with distress ink (pumice stone) using ink blending tool.



step 23: using your fingers, curl the ends of each leaf.



step 24: place two opposite branches on the tag as shown.



step 25: secure the top end with a tiny attacher. *note: i don't feel the need to glue the entire branch to the tag, but if you wanted it more secure you could.



step 26: place the second layer of branches over the top, but slightly off-set them as shown.



setp 27: secure with tiny attacher as well.



step 28: tie a bow from ribbon.

step 29: adhere the bow to the top of the wreath. (loving my glue gun for things like this)


step 30: snip some flat back pearls and embellish the wreath - we're done in record time!



the details: using this die for a mistletoe wreath and adding the little pearls is perfect.



the details: i love the ghosting effect this alcohol ink resist technique does...magic every time.

since we're done with that tag already, how about another idea? i wanted to do this technique on fragments of course. so here's a bonus tag for you!!!



additional supplies: fragment charms; metal foil tape; mini scallop and pinking die; craft knife, craft pick; wire; foam tape; CMS114, CMS117 stamps



step 1: select a couple of fragment charms.



step 2: ink one side of each fragment charm with different colors of alcohol ink and let dry.



step 3: following previous steps, create resist technique with archival ink.



step 4: now for the bonus part, cut a piece of metal foil tape a little larger than your fragment, and remove the paper backing.



step 5: adhere the inked side directly to the sticky side of the foil tape - no glue needed!



step 6: place fragment on a cutting mat (my cutting mat is glass so i'm NOT cutting through my craft sheet like it looks like) and cut of excess tape using craft knife. *note: scissors don't work well for this and could tear the tape.



step 7: use a craft pick to pierce the holes back through the foil tape.



step 8: smooth the edges of the metal foil tape using a bone folder.



step 9: die cut a piece of metal foil tape using mini scallop & pinking die.



step 10: snip off some of the scallop edge and use to wrap around the top of each fragment charm, smooth edges to bone folder, and pierce hole to create an ornament.



check out the reflection through the fragment from the foil tape!



step 11: add a thin piece of wire through the hole and curl the end with pliers.



step 12: apply a piece of foam tape to the back of each fragment charm.


s
tep 13: stamp the silhouette deer following the distress to distress reflections stamping technique i shared in the video earlier in this post. ink the background with distress ink (iced spruce, tumbled glass) using an ink blending tool.



step 14: mount the background on to black cardstock (i think this makes the image seem more dimensional).



step 15: stamp mini "merry christmas" in archival ink. *note: this is one of my favorite holiday mini sets since it has such mini verses and useful elements.



step 16: stamp mini snowflakes with distress ink (iced spruce).



step 17: adhere both fragment charm ornaments to the background.



step 18: fold wire around the back.



step 19: adhere to kraft tag.



the details: i think these fragment ornaments are so vintage looking, i really do!
so you might be asking yourself, will this technique only work with reflections stamps? the answer...nope! you can really use any bold design for this, but keep in mind that whatever design you use will end up backwards, that's why reflections stamps are all words or music. here is one of my favorite stamp sets (tiny textures) to use for this technique and just great backgrounds in general. check these out...


well my advice for this technique is practice makes perfect - so if at first it doesn't work, try, try it again. it's so fun to do on anything non-porous like plastic, metal, or glass and you can see the effects are pretty neat. now what about that wreath out of the regal crest die? i think creativity is all about perspective. hopefully these tags are challenging you to see things a little different too. just be sure to have fun...t!m"



We're down to our last full day in Milan tomorrow. The time has gone by so quickly and I'm not sure I'm ready to stop watching and holding Cecilia until they visit in August.

Tonight we dined at Il Montalcino. I enjoyed a crostini with a sausage spread topped with freshly shredded pecorino cheese that sat in a pecorino cheese sauce. Then I had a mushroom flan . . . it was sooo delicious!

Last night we ate at one of the best restaurants for authentic Chinese food that I have enjoyed, and it's here in Milan. The 3rd generation of this Chinese & Italian family now runs the restaurant, Mandarin 2. Kristen and Marco know the proprietors and we were very lucky to get into the restaurant; it was jam packed!

This was my dessert at Mandarin 2:
Tiramisu in a pastry cup with fresh strawberries and raspberries; the
tiramisu was so smooth and creamy!

Images from our afternoon walk with Cecilia and Gus around the neighborhood today  . . .

One of many courtyards that we passed; I ventured
back into this one. They happened to have a security
guard and once he saw that I only wanted to take
a photo, he was more than gracious in allowing
me to do that.

Interesting sunglass display in the store window.

The driver couldn't find on-street parking, so he
backed his car onto the sidewalk to park. Only in Italy!

We're going to one of the beautiful lakes about one hour's drive from Milan to enjoy a nice lunch. The weather has been so beautiful . . . a typical sunny fall day every day.


Ciao!