Saturday, December 3, 2011

The 12 Tags of Christmas -- Day 3

Today's tag features the dreaded custom stamp pad technique....but dreaded no more!  I just knew I'd acquired some of that cut 'n dry felt so that I could finally attempt this with the correct material (one year I tried it with some foam material and that was a disaster).  Well, acquiring it and finding it are two different animals, and wherever I buried the stuff, it has decided to remain there.  I did, however, find this:


I either found this at a stamp expo or the Ranger warehouse sale, and it contains the same felt Tim used, uninked and in a nice stamp case.  However, it is way smaller than I'd like.  But we do what we can with what we have.  I would ordinarily use a different stamp than Tim, but honestly, the one he used is the only one I have that coordinates with an embossing folder, so I went with that one.  Here's how the stamp pad looked after it was stamped and colored with the distress re-inkers:


Pretty terrible, huh?  But amazingly, it works, and produced this tag:


Since my custom stamp pad was too small to cover much of the tag I restamped a few times, and by some miracle I did wind up with enough words in the right location to then run it through the coordinating embossing folder.  I think it was an accident that I was able to emboss the top part of my tag, just as Tim did, but at least it was a happy accident.  After all that, I sprayed the whole thing with Perfect Pearls mist in perfect pearl, so it didn't add any color, just a very nice shimmer, which you may see better in this close up:


I don't have the dies Tim used to cut all the fabulous winter foliage for his tag, but I used his kraft core paper to cut leaves and branches from the dies I do have, in many shades of green.  I also threw in a leftover pinecone from the first tag.  My berries started out as white flat back pearls, and I colored them red with an alcohol based marker (because my alcohol inks were under too many things to get at without the possibility of an avalanche).

Now that I see how really easy making a custom stamp pad is, I am definitely going to either find the felt I'm sure I have or just get some more.

Besides this tag and several other great techniques, Tim's post today features a video clip from an appearance on the old Carol Duvall show, where he demonstrates making a custom stamp pad.  I loved Carol's show, and it was there that I was first discovered Tim, and it was such fun watching it again, so make sure you hop over to his blog if you haven't already.

10 comments:

Tammy D said...

Looks great. Great creativity! Happy Birthday!

patzee2000 said...

Happy Birthday! Congratulations on yet another great tag. Your subtle coloring really highlights the foliage embellishment.

Anonymous said...

You are the "mother of inspiration!" Your tag turned out super! Happy Birthday, sweet lady!

LaStamper said...

Happy Birthday Eileen, and many more! I, too, discovered Tim through Carol Duvall and it was a real kick in the pants to see the clip from 2004! Love the way you adapted your uninkded pad to make the custom stamp pad. You Rock!

craftyM said...

Didn't remember that trick with felt and creating a stamp...but I do remember something about storing them in a bag, so he must have done it last year too, but I guess it just didn't sink in. That is SOOOOO cool, huh? I need to find some of that felt now, but where? And so glad to see how you were able to make do and still have it work for your tag, Eileen! Way to go... and wonderful Tag #3!

craftyM said...

OH MY.. that's right! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, too, my friend! And MANY MANY more!!!
Love ya,
m

Anonymous said...

Eileen, love all of your tags. I too was introduced to Tim on the Carol Duvall show and started collecting his 8 or 9 inch double sided papers. My how the Tim collection has grown-lol. Hope you have a wonderful birthday!
Gail in Oklahoma

Unknown said...

Another wonderful tag, do you use them on gifts or hang them as decorations?

Nancy Lynn said...

Another nice tag Eileen. You are always so speedy in getting them done. Happy Holidays.

teri said...

What a clever idea! I remember Tim on Carol's show - he was a star right from the beginning.