Winter Snowflakes Tag for 613 Avenue Create

Hello, Friends!  And Happy First Day of Winter!  There’s a brand new challenge up at the 613 Avenue Create Blog:  create with snowflakes.  As with all 613 Challenges, it’s anything goes, but if you’d like to add snowflakes to your project, that would be great! I have a technique laden Winter Snowflakes Tag to share with you here today.

This is officially the shortest day of the year…it gets light late and gets dark early, and winter settles in for a nice long visit.  Growing up in Vermont, winter never paid too much attention to the dates on the calendar.  It just showed up whenever it pleased.  Sometimes, as early as October…and it hung around waaaay too long for my tastes.  I remember marching in the Memorial Day parade one year in 8″ of snow.  Now, people, “that ain’t right!”  Thank God, I married a Southern Boy and was whisked away to warmer climes that I happily claim as “home.”  But like every season, winter has it’s own special beauty, and I wanted to try to capture its unique light, color, and sparkle in my Winter Snowflake Tag.

I pulled out a ton of techniques while making this tag.  To begin with, I painted a jumbo manila tag with a coat of “Everlasting” Americana Decor chalk paint.  I spritzed on some inks from the Tattered Angels Turquoise Precious Stones Kit because I wanted to capture the beautiful blue glow that snow takes on at dusk. Next, I inked up the flat side of an embossing folder with Tea Dye ink, inserted my tag partially into the folder and ran it through my machine.  I then ran the other side of the tag through with a snowflake embossing folder.

I went back in with more of the white chalk paint and just dry brushed it onto the trunks of the trees.  I covered the entire tag with Tim’s Frosted Film and carefully ran it back through the folders again.   This added a wonderful icy shimmer to the tag….which is awesome in real life, but hard to capture with a camera…I hope you can see it here because it almost looks like snow sifting down from the branches of the trees.

I created a bunch of Tim’s Snowflake Rosettes out of some Basic Grey text paper that I found in my stash.  These were brushed with more chalk paint and heat embossed with Bridal Embossing Tinsel.  Then I spritzed them very lightly with more of the TA Sprays.  They were stacked and glued onto the tag, and I topped them with a little silver snowflake.

For the deer, I die cut Tim’s Reindeer Flight from vintage music paper and hit it with a little Tea Dye DI.  I cut two more out of lightweight chipboard (old cereal boxes) and glued the three together.  I covered the whole thing with UTEE and heat embossed it.  Then I tapped it with Versamark and embossed it again with the Bridal Embossing Tinsel.  I tied a little silver embroidery floss around the neck and topped it with a wee snowflake.  I have to confess…I love the way this turned out.

I also stamped music notes onto Cream Seam Binding using Ranger Aquamarine Archival ink.  I spritzed the ribbon with water, crumpled it and left it to dry.  Then it was wrapped around the base of the tag and tied in a square knot.  I sanded one of Tim’s Christmas tokens and tied it on with more silver embroidery floss.

The little chalkboard was in my stash…and I honestly don’t remember where I got it…a clearance bin somewhere, no doubt, because that is how I roll!  I wrote the quote from Robert Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” using a Sharpie white paint pen. I painted the edges with more of the “Everlasting” chalk paint, then brushed on Crystal Stickles, pulling some down to create “icicles.”   The tree and bird were also in my stash and seemed to fit the project, so I added those, too.

Here’s one last look at the whole tag.  I have to confess…I really like this one!  It reminds me of those dusky, silent winter evenings where the whole world is covered in a glittering blanket of snow.

Be sure to link up your project at the 613 Ave blog.  There are some great prizes this week. You can find out more about them on the 613 Blog.

Also, don’t forget about the big block party that’s coming up in January!  This event will be loaded with inspiration and prizes, so be sure to mark your calendars!

Thanks for stopping by today…I hope you were inspired by my winter snowflake tag.  I’d love to hear some of your snow memories!

Cheerio,

kathy

I’m entering this tag in the following challenges:

• Creative Knockouts Challenge #68 (Winter Wonderland)
• DRS Designs Rubber Stamps (Winter Skate Colors)
• It’s All About the Vintage #82 (use a knot…square knot in the seam binding)
• Crafting by Designs (Embossing)
• Word Art Wednesday (anything goes)
• A Vintage Journey Secret Santa Post ( visit blog for news about special Christmas giveaway)
• Simon Says Winter Inspiration