A Little of This and a Little of That...

Welcome to the Alteredpages.com Blog.

Today, I have for you a couple large Halloween themed tags. 

I used the same Crafters Workshop stencil and one Raven themed collage sheet as the jumping off point for my two tags.  I used similar products and even similar placement for each element.  

You will see however, that I acheived two completely different looks.  

I also used a newer item to Altered Pages, Tyvek envelopes to create beautiful DIY flowers.  I will include a seperate tutorial on the flowers at the bottom of this post.  You really must try this technique!!!  It is 100% addictive. 

Let's begin...

Grab your tag and break that blank background with an ink of your choice.  You can mist, sponge, watercolor, etc.  Splash Inks are perfect for this! 

Next, apply another layer over your stencil.  I used a darker green ink sprayed on the stencil right over the base color.  Splash Inks are perfect for this! 

Then, I added my collage image, a bit of black acrylic paint to all four edges, a few inches of cup chain, as well as a bit of black border embellishment to the bottom edge. 

Next, came the addition of my DIY flowers made from our exciting new product...TYVEK!  (see tutorial below)  These were added with a bit of hot glue.  

A bit of ribbon to finish it off and there ya go.  A pretty quick tag! 

My next tag was done in the same basic manner, with the exception of the background.  This was done with more ink colors dabbed on the tag and then the stencil layer was obtained with Dixie Belle Chalk Paint in Sage.  This tag is taking on a much more muted look with rusts, browns, golds and even a bit of navy. 

 Apply bits of vintage text page and my Raven collage image...

Add my Tyvek DIY flowers, more border, orange tulle and glitter ribbon and another tag done! 

 

If you are low on time and can't make your own Tyvek flowers, not to worry, just pick up these gorgeous black and cream Prima blooms and you are all set. 

And, here we have the two finished tags...same tag, same stencil, same placement - two totally different looks. 

Thanks to Altered Pages and The Crafter's Workshop! 

Let's now take a look at that Tyvek flower process. 

This is a great assembly line DIY.  If you have some time, feel like creating, but aren't quite sure what you want to do...this is it. 

These are a wonderful make ahead embellishment.  

Cut open your Tyvek envelope and cut different sized circles. 

These do not need to be perfect circles, actually the more irregular the better. 

You will need multiple sizes ranging from about 6 or 7 inches on down to about 2 inches.  And, really you can make these as big as you want.  Just remember the circle will shrink almost in half so make sure your largest circle is at least 6 inches to end up with a flower that will be a few inches around when done.  The best advice I can give you here is MAKE A LOT OF CIRCLES!  :-)  You will want to make 100's of these pretty little beauties! 

Spray your circles with desired color inks and mists.  

You can find them here and here.

I allow mine to dry for at least a couple hours and sometimes I just let them sit overnight.  You don't want to use a heat gun too much for drying purposes because it will start to melt the Tyvek...that part comes a little later.  The Tyvek is water resistant so this part of the process takes a little while, but it is so worth it.  
Just look at those yummy color variations!  

Now, this is where the magic happens.  Being very careful, use your heat tool to "melt" your flowers.  You will want to use tweezers or jewelry pliers to hold the Tyvek circle as to not burn your fingers.  Basically, you heat and turn the circle, heat and turn.  You will see the edges start to shrink up and this never gets old.  It is a ton of fun! 

You then assemble them starting with the largest circle on the bottom and hot glue each layer together.  Keep adding until you get your desired fullness of flower petals.   Then, you can add a little gem, pearl or bead to the center.  I tend to leave this blank until I know how and where I will be using the flower so I can match the center embellishment just right to the project. 

I know this seemed long, but this is one of those "once you get going projects" that you will be whipping out bags of flowers in no time. 

I will say goodbye for now.  See you again in a couple weeks. 

Happy Halloween!!! 

Steph S. 

Supply List - 

Ravens Take Flight collage sheet

Large Tags

Paints and Inks

Tyvek Envelopes

Cup Chain

Ribbons and Trims

Prima Ascot Park Blooms (black & cream flowers)

Embellishments and Gems (for center of flowers)

Vintage Text Pages