Monday, 27 April 2026

Explore Tag

Hi, it's a holiday here in NZ today (Monday), so I spent some time in my craft room, getting messy and inky venturing into the mixed media space, where I don't go very often.  I based my card on the sketch at The Paper Players and the masculine theme at Krafty Chicks.



While I love clean cards, I really enjoyed putting this together.  I started with the tag using a piece of Aall & Create patterned paper to cut the tag from.  Once the tag was cut I added stamping, ink-blending, splatter, rub-ons and stenciling to the tag.  The rub-ons ended up getting covered up by the layers on top, but they're there.


I went to a craft show here in Christchurch, New Zealand last weekend and bought some supplies I normally wouldn't.  But seeing things in real life makes all the difference.  Of the things I bought was some patterned paper by 3Quarter Designs - a NZ-based company.  The papers are gorgeous (the strip down the left hand side and the fussy-cut elements on top of the tag come from the same paper pack).  


To add more interest to the left-hand strip, I scrunched up some collage tissue paper, lightly rubbed Vintage Photo ink over it then flattened it out a bit before adhering it behind the patterned paper strip.  The original tissue paper strip was longer than the card base so rather than cutting off the excess, I gathered it while the glue was wet to give some extra texture and dimension.  The Desert Storm panel was dry embossed with the Airmail Vault embossing folder and then I lightly rubbed some white ink over the top, before blending some Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain ink around the edges.


Once the stenciling on the tag was dry, I assembled all the pieces, adding a die-cut leaf sprig and some corrugated cardboard.  I adhered it to the kraft panel and then stapled a word I cut with a sentiment strip die from the tag's patterned paper using a Tiny Attacher.  Finally I adhered it all to a white card base.

Thanks for visiting.  This was a fun project and I can see more of this in my future...






Products used:

Stamps: Sign Here (Spellbinders), A Little Artsy (SSS)
Ink: Versafine Clair Nocturne, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Cardstock: White, Neenah Desert Storm, Eclectic Clockwork (3Quarter Designs), Graph Paper Garden (Aall & Create), Archives Collage Paper (Tim Holtz), corrugated cardboard
Dies: Stitched Traditional Tag Stax (MFT), Tags A Lot (Mama Elephant) [for the reinforcer], Bloom Colorize (Tim Holtz)
Accessories: Opaque Grit Paste (Tim Holtz), black splatter (SSS), White Gloss Acrylic Spray (Dina Wakely), Tiny Attacher (Tim Holtz), Vault Airmail Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz), 755 Street Stencil (13@rts)

Cheers
Karren

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Edited to Add: This card got a shout-out at Paper Players.


9 comments:

  1. My goodness, Karren, your stunning card was certainly a labor of love! So many elements to see, I just kept staring at all the details. Every layer looks fantastic and is a wonderful mixed media take on my sketch. I love mixed media but I don't lean towards making those cards often, however I sure love seeing ones like yours! Thank you so much for joining us at the Paper Players this week!

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  2. Wow, Karren! What an amazing masculine mixed media card! I love the texture and the combination of elements you used. I have never attempted mixed media, but your card is certainly an inspiration. Thank you for playing with The Paper Players this week!

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  3. Fantastic Karren. It's a great mixed media project. And isn't it just the best to see and touch stuff before buying!

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  4. WOW! It is amazing! I truly love how you created this feeling of deep layers with embossing, stencils, and stamping... I am in awe! Your work is so inspiring, please don't ever stop!

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  5. And wasn't it great to have a Monday off? Even though it seemed a bit naughty given ANZAC day had been done already. Glad you got in your craft room to share this with us. Usually I pick your work without seeing your name but this is really different. What a fabulous project it is too, with all those little extra bits of texture and layering of such different elements. It's amazing what a little ink distressing makes to a project. And thank you for the tip about 3Quarter Designs - I'll look out for them. Thank you so much for joining in with us at The Paper Players - and yes, please do more of this!!

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  6. What a fun project! Loving all mixed media and vintage feels. Thank you for playing with the MASCULINE themed project with the Krafty Chicks Challenge.
    Diane - KCC DT

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  7. Love all the masculine, grungy elements on your card! Vintage, shabby and fun! Thanks for playing with us this week at the Players!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment.