Well, I finally took the plunge and joined Arlene's tag swap. When I read on her blog, http://www.butterflykisseswithlove.blogspot.com/ , that the theme for June was "Postcards from Paris", I couldn't resist. I was lucky enough to visit Paris for four days in the summer of 1991, and it was more beautiful than I could've ever imagined. Since that summer, I have been a little obsessed with everything Parisian, especially the Eiffel tower.
I have to admit that I was more than a bit intimidated to submit a project for this swap. I've seen the amazing projects that Arlene and others showcase on You Tube and they are breathtaking!
I usually take forever to come up with ideas for projects, but this time around I was lucky. I knew from the moment I signed up that I wanted to create a tag that looked like a French memo board. The swap had two additional challenges that we could take on.....vintage and collage. I decided that for the collage element, I would use six different types of K & Co. "Life's Journey" paper to cover the chipboard base of my tag. After this was finished, I put the ribbon on in a criss cross pattern and added brads to all the places where the ribbon intersected. I distressed the edges and added another piece of chipboard to the back, which I also covered with paper. I finished the back off with an Eiffel tower die cut from Sizzix. I embellished the front of the tag with ribbon roses that I distressed, feathers, a fleur de lis accent from Jolee's, a circular stamp with the Eiffel tower in the center, Webster's Pages trim, and some die cut butterflies. For the vintage postcards, I found some images online and printed them onto cardstock. I covered some with Crackle Accents and the others with Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. I distressed them all with Vintage Photo Distress ink and added them to the tag.
These tags took a LOT longer than I thought they would, but I was pretty happy with the way they turned out. I hope they will live up to the expectations of the other ladies in my group. I know that I can't wait to receive their tags!
I did end up making a You Tube video about these tags....my first one! I was so nervous! Here's the link if you want to take a look.
Heather...these are fantastic! and I can see why they took you awhile to make..lots of work went into these wonderful tags. Thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteOMG, how often did you come up for air. The tags are fabulous. Love your take on the Paris theme. Tres International!!!
ReplyDeleteHeather, they are gorgeous!!!!!! The ladies will love them!
ReplyDeleteHeather, these are amazing!! I just can't even imagine the time they took! How could anyone help but LOVE them!!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather
ReplyDeleteI was in your group for the june paris tag swap and I just received them back and yours are just absolutely beautiful, Thanks you so much I love the detail and all the different things going on, you are just amazing. I just thought I would stop by and say thanks so much for your hard work.
best regards
Eve