it's day 12 the final one - but have to say it's sure been fun...

"holiday fragments" - tim holtz 2007
supplies:
craft sheet (ranger)
glossy accents (ranger)
distress inks: aged mahogany, old paper (ranger)
jet black archival ink (ranger)
ink blending tool & foam (ranger)
stamp set (stampers anonymous)
scissors (tonic studios)
fragments (tim holtz idea-ology)
grungeboard (tim holtz idea-ology)
patterned paper (cosmo cricket)
glue dots (glue dots)
tag and embellishments

step 1: believe it or not, for today's tag, it's a good idea to plan ahead.  i know i'm not much of a planner or thinker, but when creating a mosaic using the fragments it does help to know how many and what sizes you'll need before you get started.  i like to lay out whatever fragments i am going to use on my project.  then once i'm happy with the look, i'll sketch the layout on a piece of paper - nothing fancy here, let's not get carried away with this thinking thing...

step 2: when creating custom embellishments with fragments you have so many options like i listed above, but on today's tag i wanted to incorporate 2 things i think most of us have lots of - stamps and scraps of paper. stamp images on various pieces of patterned scrapbook papers using waterproof ink - you do not need to stamp everything, (*tip: you could also stamp and color your images, create inked background papers, or stamp in other colors of ink - but EVERYTHING you use for this step must be waterproof, even the markers - or your images and colors will bleed when we adhere them!).

step 3: to start making our fragments, apply a small amount of glossy accent to one side of the fragment by scribbling it with the applicator tip of the bottle. (*tip: fragments do not have a front or back, top or bottom - anything goes!).

step 4: immediately press the fragment over the area you want for your embellishment.  i like to rotate it a little on the paper to spread the adhesive, but you must work QUICKLY! (*tip: glossy accents has a 5 second drying time on paper when using it as an adhesive - cool huh?  this is why it is important that whatever we use on the paper is waterproof or the colors will become a mess.  you may be asking about "other" dimensional adhesives on the market - my advice, i've tried the others and have had the best luck with glossy accents, enough said.).

step 5: repeat the above step until all of your fragments are adhered to the papers. (*tip: be sure to leave a little space between your glued fragments so you can get the scissors in there to cut them out.).

step 6: once all of the fragments are adhered, you're ready to cut them out.  remember they were dry in 5 seconds.  i prefer to use non-stick scissors to cut them out in case there is extra adhesive on the edges of these. (*tip: my scissors from tonic are detailed, self-sharpening, and non-stick.  i can't say it enough, they are really great scissors).

step 7: ink the background of the tag by going direct to paper.  rub the old paper distress ink pad on the tag until the background is inked. (*tip: you can use any color for this and for a softer background, use your ink blending tool).

step 8: remove the letters "w-i-s-h" from grungeboard sheets and adhere to craft sheet with glue dots. (*tip: i use this trick whenever i'm inking, painting, or even embossing small pieces of grungeboard or chipboard)

step 9: apply aged mahogany ink directly to them to hit the high textured areas.

step 10: rub over the letters with ink blending tool & foam to soften the color and get it into the recessed areas of the grungeboard.

step 11: using the sketched map from earlier, begin adhering your fragments to the tag using glossy accents once again as your adhesive. (*tip: only use a small amount of glossy accents from this step by placing some only on the back center of the fragment to avoid any oozing out.)

step 12: adhere your grungeboard letters to tag also using glossy accents and embellish tag. (*tip: even though glossy accents is often used for a dimensional effect, i use it as an adhesive for paper, grungeboard, metal, glass, wood, and ribbons - amazing stuff!).

Comments

[Sarah]

Love this tag Tim! Very different, and something I've never tried before!
Sad that this has come to and end - but I will be hitting your blog everyday anyway!!
Once again, a huge thank you for sharing these tags and techniques with us all. You're a champion!
Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year.
~Sarah~

[Holly Erickson]

So that is what the fragments are for! And thanks for saying what the size of the tags are.
Thank you for all the great inspiration1
Holly

[Doreen]

Another good one Tim --I'm sorry to see the end of these tags but I will visit you bog regularly now
Doreen

[paiku]

Can´t belive it´s last one! Thank you very much for these wounderful ideas! You really rock!

[Brandi Pitts]

This is really cool! I'm so sad that this is the end! Whatever am I gonna do in the wee hours of the morning now? LOL! Thanks so much for posting all of these fabulous techniques!

[rosslyn madley]

ooh, i didnt even know that glossy accents was an adhesive too!! ....and I'd never heard of fragments before, cant wait to get me some of those. You've shown me so many different tequniques over the past 12 days, it's mindblowing how much can be done with your products. You blow me away!!!!

[Bridget Larsen, Canberra Australia]

Tim you saved the best for last, it's sooo sad to see this come to an end, it was fun and wonderful to sit at the computer at dinner time (Australia) so it was a decent hour each day to wait for the upload. I am inspired to use the techniques from the tags for a book swap next year.

Thanks again...Bridget L

[bruinbr]

very cool to see the fragments in action! i'm sad to see the 12 days come to a close, but you really saved the best for last! Thank you! :)

[Wendy T]

Beautiful and worth staying up for - I knew I bought those fragments for a reason :) Merry Christmas to you and Mario!

[Shana]

Tim,
Thank you so much for taking the time to post all of these wonderful ideas. You have been keeping my crafting buddy and I very busy.
Shana