At the beginning of this year, I decided to try Mixed Media and I found it is a unique art, unexpected result, and I cannot control the outcome. Those facts I found are not in my comfort zone of creating.

I have done some 8×11 canvases, cards and tags. And I love working on mixed media projects and they help me to learn to let go things that I cannot control and trusting myself more to explore the unexpected results 🙂 Nervous, yes. But I saw the unexpected result of every single layer of medium I added on a project, it surprised me. And this keep me exploring and playing with mediums.

I have been making tags for my Tag Ring 2016. They are tags with encouraging words that I hope later when I am done with this project, I have word tags that I can look it up again to remind me the good things and positive things of life.

So today I am sharing not only 1 tag, but 5 tags 🙂 On these tags, I did some experiments with my Distress Crayons, Stencils, Stamps, Embossing Paste and Gesso after watching some YouTube videos on working with Distress Crayons. Here are my favorite basic tutorials of using these crayons for mixed media projects:

• Exploring Distress Crayons by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
• Techniques With Tim Holtz’s Distress Crayons by Joggles.com
• New Distress Crayons – Sets 4 and 5 by Joggles.com
• Distress Crayons & Embossing Paste by Amy, Prairie Paper & Ink
• Distress Crayons + Emboss Resist

For my tags, I used Canson Watercolor papers 140 lbs. These papers are great to work with multi mediums and water. I prepped all the tags with Wakley White Gesso. I did a test on an unprepped tag, the Distress Crayons did not blend well. And on the prepped tags they blended smoothly and well. My blending tool for the project is my fingers 🙂

Tag 1: Distress Crayons Set 1, Bubble Dance ARTplorations Stencil, Bloom Silhouette ARTplorations Stencil, LePen Journaling Pen, Homemade embossing paste.

Tag 2: Distress Crayons Set 2, Butterfly Dance ARTplorations Stencil, Crisscrossed ARTplorations Stencil, Mixed Media Grunge STAMPlorations April 2015 Stamp Club Set, Hashtag Authentic STAMPlorations Set, Ranger Archival Ink Pad, LePen Journaling Pen, Darice White Cardstock

Tag 3: Distress Crayons Set 3 and Set 1, Stained Glass ARTplorations Stencil, Happy Flowers ARTplorations Stencil, Hashtag Authentic STAMPlorations Set, Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Darice White Cardstock.

Tag 4: Distress Crayons Set 4, Nestled Circles ARTplorations Stencil, Mixed Media Grunge STAMPlorations April 2015 Stamp Club Set, Hashtag Authentic STAMPlorations Set, Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Sharpie Black Marker.

Tag 5: Distress Crayons Set 5, Old Rose Prints ARTplorations Stencil, Mixed Media Grunge STAMPlorations April 2015 Stamp Club Set, Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Sharpie Black Marker

I totally love the process and time to create these tags, especially when I let go myself to just do it 🙂 So thankful for those mixed media artist who share their tutorials and tips on YouTube and blogs!!!

I hope today you are inspired to try new the technique, new food, or any new things and have an amazing adventure exploring them! THANK YOU for visiting and have a fabulous blessed day!

I play along at:

HLS September 2016 Mixed Media Challenge: Distress

STAMPlorations September Mixed Media Challenge

STAMPlorations Anything Goes Challenge

SSS Monday Challenge: Stamp It

SSS Work It Wednesday – August 2016

A Blog Named Hero: Texture Challenge

It has been a while since the last time I made mixed media tags. And today, I feel it is tag day 🙂

My plan to make a tag a week for this year. But for I missed several weeks so I try to catch up and enjoy the process of making it. Today, I made 2 tags with 1 stamp kit.

On both tags, I used Canson Watercolor paper because I worked with watercolor paint and acrylic paints. Stamp set I used is Unity Stamp Company – August Kit of The Month.

On the first card I was inspire by the tag from Michelle Short at Tag Your’re It Challenge #54

I created my first tag background with watercolor paint. I dried it with my CTMH Craft Heater. And then I stamped the flower with Faber-Castell PITT Artist Pen Big Brushes, sprayed some water, and dried it with the Craft Heater. Once the image dried well, I stamped the quote with VersaFine Onyx Black. I added some orange gems from Hampton Arts.

I also enter this first tag at Unity {Show & Tell} – Tag Challenge (8/18 – 8/25).

This second tag is a mixed media tag. First, randomly I stamped the border stamp from the Unity August KOTM with Versafine Onyx Black. Then using old credit card, I added 4 shades of FolkArt metallic gold paints on the tag. I dried it well with my CTMH Craft Heater before stamping on it.

Once the painy dried, I stamped the flower heart with VersaFine Onyx Black.

I painted the stamped flower heart image with FolkArt Hot Pink and Purple Acrylic Paints. Then I traced the flower line back with LePen Archival Pen. And I felt like it needed some sparkle, so, I added some glitter glue with brush on the heart 🙂

I wrote the quote with Sharpie permanent marker. It write smoothly on painted surface! Love it!

Loving these tags! My goal when I decided to make this tag ring this year is to have a collection of encouraging words and God’s words by the end of the year of 2016. And I can look back these tags for reminders later in the future.

I hope you all are inspired today and thank you so much for visiting. Have a fabulous day!

July is here! That means we are in the middle of Summer already. I hope you all continue to have fun Summer break with your love ones. Today I am sharing a mixed media tag.

“Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and He will establish you plans (Proverbs 16:3”

The verse from the book of Proverbs is one of the best advices for us to walk in our faith day by day. We are human have weaknesses, and when it comes to making plans, we tends to think that our plans are good, but actually GOD has better ones for us. We need to submit our every day plan to Him and trusting His way is the best. We need to ask for His guidance to walk by faith. We need Him.

His promises are true. He will establish our plans according to His. But, first we surrender all to Him.

Will you take that first step?

SEM Challenge Blog has Card Sketch Challenge, Layout Sketch Challenge and Scripture Inspiration Challenge that you can play along whole month long. Check out the design team projects on the blog.

I hope you can join us this month!

THANK YOU for visiting me today and I hope you will have a wonderful and blessed day!

Supplies:

• Hero Arts Stencil
• Heidi Swapp Color Shine sprays (Citron, Pink Rose)
• Precious Remembrance Shop – Blossom Stamp Set
• Ranger Archival Ink Pad
• Ranger Super Fine White Embossing Powder (CTMH)
• VersaMark Ink Pad
• Craft Heater (CTMH)
• Black Cardstock (CTMH)
• Canson Watercolor Paper
• Sharpie Markers
• Wood veneer trickets (CTMH)
• Silver Sequins (Hobby Lobby)
• Liquid Glue Pen (Martha Stewart)

I link up this tag also at:

Scrapping Everyday Miracles – July Scripture Inspiration

SSS Monday Challenge: Tic Tac Toe

I picked diagonal: Stamp – Stencil – Spray

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Week 236 – 237: Anything Goes