After moving twice this past year, plus breaking my ankle last summer, it really put a crimp in my creativity! Now that the holidays are past, I am ready to move on. So let’s get busy!
Word tag blocks with tacks to hang individual tags to make a word.
Today I want to introduce you to the foundation pieces of a great idea that you can change out all year long to decorate for seasons and holidays! By themselves, you’re probably wondering why I think these are something I would should you how to make. Trust me, you understand as we go on.
Last week I met up with one of my sister scrapbookers from the Scrap Happy online group, and she introduced me to the cutest little local store, The Little Blue House. They have a great mix of scrapbooking and decorating craftiness in their store, and we had so much fun. Among the many projects they offer, is one they call Words for All Seasons. The concept uses a foundation of paper covered blocks to hang individual tags on, which spell out a word or phrase. They sell kits for making the most darling tag sets, as well as the block sets. I’ll link you there later in the post! I really debated just making my own blocks, but I knew I would never do it, so I purchased their blocks and was ready to get on with my project! Today, I’ll share the process of making the block foundation pieces.
Sanded blocks ready to use.
These blocks are in four sizes. Thank goodness they were already cut and sanded. Would I have ever done this if I had to do that part myself? Probably not. You just have to know when you should pay somebody else for work they have already done!
Tiny text makes old dictionary pages perfect for this project.
Pages from an old dictionary are perfect for covering the blocks. The text is small and won’t leave a lot open space. Remember, a lot of this is going to be covered up with your tags.
Paper adhered to the blocks.
I used a liquid matte medium to adhere the paper to the blocks. I opted to apply the medium to the block and then place the paper on, and smooth it out. I found that putting the medium on the paper first, made it too wet, and I had a hard time smoothing it out.
You can place pieces straight or at angles, or both. They are your blocks, do what makes you happy! I have several people in my life that hate the way I make things all crooked. In their opinion, everything should always be nicely squared in any arrangement.
Make sure that you always have your gluing product under and on top of your paper so that it sticks well.
Trim off the excess paper from the edges.
When the paper is dry, trim any excess paper from the edges. I found that just using scissors was the easiest.
Gesso or paint the end of the blocks.
To cover the naked ends of each block, I used a bit of gesso. You could use paint, any color you want! However, remember that we are going to use these for the base of word tags for all year. However, if everything you do must include lime green and you feel that you must paint lime green ends, they are YOUR blocks.
Ink the edges to add a little more depth and interest.
Now you can add a bit more depth and interest to the blocks by sponging on a bit of color. I used Chocolate by Close To My Heart.
Upholstery Tacks will hold each tag.
You will need a way to hang the tags on the blocks. Since the tacks will show, use something that you don’t mind seeing. Upholstery tacks are perfect! Tap them in near the top edge of each block.
Each individual block hangs a tag with a letter or decorative element.
Be sure to visit The Little Blue House online, so you can see the cute little tag sets they already have packaged up for you! Or better yet, visit their store in Keller, Texas. (This post was written with their permission.)
Here are some stops to check out on this week’s Make It Monday Blog Circle.
- Learn how to use Masks in Artisan 5 with this quick video http://wp.me/pdovL-kM @PhotosKeptAlive
- @daydesigning is creating simple one-layer Valentine’s Day Cards today http://bit.ly/20AjBoU
- 5 Tips for putting your patterned paper to work! http://scrapbookwonderland.com/paper-to-work @aliceboll
I finally came up with a plan and got busy! The tags were to be no larger than 4×6, and didn’t necessarily have to be a traditional “tag” shape. However, I had the remainder of two packages of tags which were just a bit longer than 6 inches, and guess how many I had. 25! I cut about a 1/4 inch off each one to make it 6 inches long and was ready to go.
Instead, I used my electronic die cut machine to cut out the word “Create” in a size suitable for the tag. They were perfect! Oh, wait — how was I going to get some of their dainty little parts removed from the sticky backing of the mat? I decided to take some Press N Seal food wrap and see if I could press it over them and lift them off. NO! Rubbing on the wrap, just stuck the words on the mat even more firmly! Eventually I realized I was going to have to painstakingly remove the words. So I did. Ever so carefully!
I cut little paint palettes with my electronic die cut machine, and compared to “Create,” they were a breeze! I then placed little dots of the paint I had used on the tag backgrounds to create the little pools of color. Using heavy body acrylic paint allowed the paint to retain it’s shape and give great coverage on the black card stock palettes! When dry, I glued them to the tags.
What was I going to do? I had gone much too far to turn back! I started looking online for ideas on making teeny tiny paintbrushes, and came across a couple of ideas from young girls sharing ideas on making paint brushes for their American Girl dolls! I LOVE miniature items of almost anything. It was so funny to think I was finding my idea from little girls online! It is a new generation!
Finally, I was finishing my paintbrushes by snipping off toothpicks, and taking tiny snips of a silver washi tape and wrapping around near one end to make the ferrule of the brush (the metal part that holds in the bristles). As luck would have it, (or not have it) the washi tape was the non-sticky variety! Don’t you hate it when you get that kind? I had to take the tiniest bit of glue to get it to stick! I could see the end in sight! I used black permanent marker to create “bristles” and dipped the very end in one of the paints I had used on the tag. When they were dry, I used glue dots to stick one on each palette.
