Patriotic Tag Trio

If you’re feeling patriotic for President’s Day then Michele Aiello-Zendejas has just the inspiration for some beautiful all American art.  Perhaps you’ll want to make your own tag trio which features a free collage sheet sampler from Pennywise Arts and Swing Shift Designs!

Supplies:

•Free Swing Shift Designs Patriotic Collage Sheet

•Pennywise Arts Ultra Fine Micro Beads

•Pennywise Arts O’So Sticky Tape

•Double Sided Foam tape

•3 Manila Tags in graduated sizes (or cut them down yourself)

•Brown Ink Pad

•Assorted Coordinating Ribbons & Lace

•Assorted Buttons

•Assorted star stickers

•Assorted flowers

•Leaf Die Cuts or pre-made leaves

•”Decorative Container Filler” from Dollar Tree or Small Foam Balls or large no hole beads

•Lace Stamp Set (Anna Griffin)

•Assorted Patriotic Stamps

•One ¾” Loose Binder Ring

•Adhesive (I used a Glue Gun & Glue Sticks)

•Scroll Die Cut

•Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents

•Red & Blue Marker (optional)

Directions:

Cut the tags into graduated sizes if necessary. Stamp the tags with “Lace” stamps on the front and back. Distress the edges of the tags with brown ink.

Adhere free Patriotic Collage sheets to the tags with double-sided foam tape.

Optional: Distress the edges of the images with brown ink and color in a small focal point of the image with blue and/or red ink pens.

Stamp the tags randomly with patriotic images.

Adhere decorative die cuts and lace to the tags.

I purchased the Decorative Container Filler at the Dollar Tree.

Wrap Some flowers around some decorative Container Filler balls to add interest.

Add more flowers, more “decorative filler”, leaves, buttons, and star stickers as desired.

Run a line of Diamond Glaze or Glossy Accents around the edge of each tag and then dip tags into ultra fine Micro Beads. Set aside to dry.

Attach coordinating ribbon through the tops of the tags. Stack the tags with the largest on the bottom and the smallest on the top. Use a loose binder ring to attach them all together.

The Heartbeat of Your Soul

Once upon a time in a land far, far away.  Oh.  Maybe it wasn’t quite THAT far but it does seem like it was quite awhile ago!  We partnered with The Stamping Studio and offered a custom made stamp set based on something that I said in a PWA chat room.  (You had to be there).

Dot Alcorn is one Beadie Buddy who has the vintage and now priceless stamp set and she created this fun shaker card for me using it.

When I revisited this card today I noticed that the micro beads inside were all clinging to the acetate and obscuring the message, not to mention that they just wouldn’t SHAKE!

Never fear!  The used dryer sheet is here!  Yep!  Save one of those USED ones for an occasion such as this.  A new one will still be oily – DON’T use a new one!  Take the USED dryer sheet and rub it around on the acetate and the beads will relax and settle back down where they should be and viola – no more static cling!

Now go forth and bead freely!

Hugs and Happy Valentines Day!

Suzanne

Love Grows

It’s true that love does grow with patience, time and care.  This sweet Valentine collage frame by PWA Designer Julie is a tender visual of what it might actually look like if you planted heart seeds and nurtured them to harvest…

It was difficult to photo this sparkly treasure so I wanted to tell you that the photos and letters are popped up with mounting foam to give the collage depth.  It definitely makes a difference!

Would you like a chance to own this one of a kind creation?

All you need to do is email a good quality photo of something you’ve altered with any PWA products.  Please include your first and last name and a short description of your item and what products you used along with the photo.   All entries will be shared with our blog audience.  One winner will be selected at random by our “hat” to receive the love of this creation.  To protect my email account from spy bots, please click on the “Contact Me” button near the top right of this blog page.

Here’s how Julie did it:

Supplies:

Frame with 2.5" x 3.5" openings (I got this plastic one for $1 at Target)

O'So Sticky Tape, 3/8"

Mini Translucent Micro Beads, Stream

Alphabet stamps

Blue dye ink, to match collage images 

PWA Collage Sheet, To My Valentine1

Glossy Accents

Black, white & red cardstock

Circular punches, two sizes

Foam Tape, Dimensional Glue Dots, scrap of corrugated cardboard (optional)

Flat paint brush

 

Directions:

1. Remove the glass & backing from frame.  The glass will not be used for this project.
2. Place a strip of O'So Sticky tape around the sides of each rectangle opening.
3. Set the frame in a shallow pan or tray, remove the pink liner and cover the exposed tape with Mini Micro Beads.  Press beads into adhesive.
4. Squeeze Glossy Accents (adhesive) over the beaded rectangle openings.  Spread adhesive over the beaded strips with a flat paint brush.  With the frame still in a shallow pan or tray, generously pour or spoon more of the Micro Beads over the beaded strips.  Set aside to dry.
5. Once dry, gently brush off loose beads and return them to bag/jar.
6. Cut a piece of black cardstock to the same size as frame backing and clip these into the frame.
7. Trim desired collage images.  To pop the images away from the backing for a shadow box effect, mount the images onto the black cardstock with foam tape.  As an alternative to foam tape, I found it easy to adhere a scrap of corrugated cardboard to the back of each image and then adhere the cardboard scrap to the black cardstock.
8. Stamp letters with blue ink onto white cardstock.  Use circular punch to punch out each letter.  Punch out a larger circle of red cardstock, and mount each small letter circle onto these.
9. Use dimensional glue dots to mount letters onto black cardstock in remaining frame openings.
10. If desired, punch or cut a small red heart for center of frame and adhere with a glue dot. 

Note... Adding extra beads over the first layer gives more dimension to the frame and also intensifies the color of the beaded surfaces.

Before Julie’s muse got a hold of the frame

After Julie’s muse got finished playing!