Because I am Proud

Last month I joined a Swap hosted through Alpha Stamps. It was a 6 for 6 valentine themed tag swap. Why did I wait to post them until now? Well, when I saw all the other fabulous tags the swappers created I thought mine looked sloppy. It took me until just a few days ago to realize that I was being silly, I put a lot of time, thought and effort into creating these tags. Yes, some turned out better than others, and a few I downright don't like. But when I mailed them off all in all I was proud of what I created and I can't let anything other artist do make me feel like I am not worthy. So, here they are at long last.



I decided to use images from two different collage sheets, Valentine Bird Hearts and True Romance. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with acrylic paints recently so all the tags got a coat of paint, some got a few based on the look I was going for.



The tag on the right I painted with black and then stamped the music score with versa mark which I then covered with various shades of pearl ex powders. Once I sealed that I clear embossed a swirl pattern on top, just to add a bit more interest. I cut the heart out of the Valentine bird image and outlined it with black glitter. Behind the heart I mounted coordinating feathers and finished the tag off with various fibers, some of them from Alpha Stamps.


This tag I used my absolute favorite image on. There is just something so romantic yet down right dirty about these two figures. The tag was painted with a pinkish acrylic. On an off white tissue paper I black embossed the music score, crumpled it and then glued it over the entire tag. Next I layered the image on top and then I stamped the word Love along the side. I added a bit of diamond glaze to the word and then sprinkled some pink glitter randomly over it so the word is not entirely covered with the glitter. To soften the edges I painted them with weathered wood distressing paint and finished the tag off with some coordinating ribbon.



The tag on the right I experimented with a bit. I started by painting the tag a deep red. Then I clear embossed a heart directly onto the tag. Mixing up a pink shade of paint that accented the image as well as used the same red on the base I then painted the entire tag again. I let this dry slightly before wiping it off, wiping in one direction only. The paint on top of the embossed heart came away instantly, and some of the other paint came off but not in its entirety which was what i was going for.

After adding some Twinkling H2O touches to the roses of the image I cut it out and affixed it so the heart peaked out between their kiss. The vine is a felt sticker that I added touches of glitter to. And I finished this tag off with a fun pink ribbon that says "Kiss Kiss" all over it.



This tag is my least favorite. I just couldn't get the vision in my mind to transfer to the tag. This is also the only tag with the entirety of the collage image on it. I embossed various shaped hearts on purple tissue paper and then glued it around the image. I added diamond glaze to the swirls that were on the image, making sure to bring them out on top of the tissue paper. I affixed some whole punched circles randomly all over the tag, I was trying to make it look like the images circles spilled out onto the tag. Finally I outlined the heart with some glitter and then affixed some fibers.

I am not one for the color purple so that could be partly why I don't like this tag, but something about the composition just seems off to me.


I really enjoyed creating the tag to the right. There are a ton of layers on it. I started with a coat of off white acrylic paint. On top of that I stamped various colors of twinkling H2O squares to mimic the patchwork pattern on the collage image. Next I black embossed the cherry blossom stamp. I then used the same technique as I did on the "Kiss Kiss" tag. Covering the entire tag with a pinkish cream acrylic paint, letting it dry partially and then rubbing it off. Finally I affixed the heart. It is coated with diamond glaze that I sprinkled black glitter along the edge. Once that dried I outlined the heart with more black glitter and sewed on buttons with a shimmery black thread. Lastly I attached a wide ribbon.

This tag is actually the first one I did. There are two layers of acrylic paint. A custom mixed color to match her dress serves as the base and then another custom mixed color is dry brushed on to match his shirt. I mixed a shimmer in each of the acrylics so there is an iridescent effect.

Next I black embossed the floral image. After trimming the couple out I affixed them and covered the bottom harsh edge with a sticker that says "All is nothing without you" To finish this tag off I clear embossed the edge of the entire tag adding some pearl ex powder to the embossing and then affixing the ribbons.

I do hope that the swappers that receive my tags like them. If not I get to take some solace in the fact that I learned a lot about mixing acrylics and layering with them. I also learned that tissue paper and i may not get along when it comes to art.