Ancient stash tags

I made 3 tags for a swap.  

The swap rules were that 'ancient stash' (anything you've had and not used for more than a year) had to be used to make the tags.

I dug out my Modern Options patinating solutions. I wasn't even sure if they would still work, I haven't used them for a couple of years.  I painted one tag with the 'blackened bronze' base, another with the 'blonde bronze' base, and the third with the 'iron' base. I also painted some card offcuts with the copper base.

I painted the bronze and copper bases with the green patina liquid while they were still tacky, and left the iron base to dry overnight before painting it with the rust liquid.

The results were a little patchy - but they often are if you don't get the timings right - so I gave the rusty one another coat, and redid the blackened bronze and green patina one.

Once dry, I ran each tag through the Wizard in two different embossing folders, and highlighted the raised areas with Brilliance ink

I stamped and embossed architectural images down the centre of each patinated offcut of card, and attached these to the tags with brads. I wrapped some metallic thread around the non-embossed 'stripe' I'd left on each tag, and added some air-dry clay embellishments I had made a couple of years ago. I added a touch of Treasure Gold to the embellishments, in colours which toned with the tags. Finally, I threaded and knotted a selection of fibres to the tags to finish them off.

I'd forgotten how lovely the patina solutions make cardboard, I should probably go and paint lots of pieces of card for my stash, to use these liquids up before they lose their potency.

Hope the recipient likes the tags as much as I do, these were a little hard to let go!

Hanging ATCs

I am in a swap where we made a set of 3 hanging ATCs - any theme, colour scheme, media or way of hanging. I decided to combine metal with paper, and made 3 ATCs in my favourite colour combination of turquoise and copper.

The hanging 'mechanism' is 5 pieces of copper wire, twisted together and curled at the ends. I patinated the copper lightly so it has some areas of light turquoise verdigris. The ATCs are attached to the twisted wire 'hanger' using jewellery findings - eye pins, head pins & bead caps.


The ATC backgrounds are deli paper sprayed with colour wash sprays, glued to cardstock. Old sheet music which has been stained with watered down Crafty Notions Creative Colour Spray in turquoise, plus some which has also been dry brushed with white gesso, are layered onto each ATC. Tags sprayed with Sticky Fingers Maple winter ink colourwash spray and the turquoise are wrapped with more sheet music with words stamped on top, and punched flowers with tiny brads were added . To finish the ATCs, I glued on copper coloured metal embellishments from the US, and a letter 'A' triple embossed on cardstock.

I hope Annie likes them!

Leonardo chunky book page

Leonardo Da Vinci was such a special man - a scientist who recorded his ideas and inventions through drawing, as well as an artist who painted the most fabulous paintings. I am involved in a Da Vinci themed paperbag book, and have finished my first page.

I mixed a little yellow ochre and a drop of transparent red oxide with a dollop of liquid gloss medium and a smaller dollop of white gesso. I used this mixture to coat Fabriano hot press watercolour paper, then dabbed it with a crumpled up magazine page to texturise the surface and remove the brush marks. I used a piece of Ranger Cut'n'Dry foam to rub around the edges with yellow ochre chalk ink, then a thinner layer of burnt sienna on top.

I stamped the image with the same burnt sienna fluid chalk ink.


The tag was a manila shipping tag, which I dabbed with black, burnt umber, Payne's grey and bronze acrylics, again using a crumpled magazine page. Once dry, I applied slivers of textured papers (painted bronze to match the background) down the right hand side, and stamped and embossed a pen down the left hand side, before adding a slip of paper stamped with the word Leonardo coloured to match the main page. A few fibres threaded through the tag finished the page off nicely.