Butterfly Tag – for Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2016, April – A Tutorial

For this month’s Tim Holtz 12 Tags of 2016 I thought I would take a break from the usual large tags I have made. So I made a short, fat butterfly tag instead. I used the “Love From” Tag Die Set from Tonic Studios.

In Tim’s example tag he uses his new Mosaic kit. This is not yet available in the United Kingdom so I have attempted to create a similar effect using the supplies I have to hand.

The Tag Base

I cut the main tag shape from 300gsm black card (it has a bit of a canvas texture on it) and used the oval die to cut white 300gsm stamping card.

Next I inked up the white card oval using Distress Inks. I used Fossilized Amber all over the oval then blended Spiced Marmalade around the edges. I wanted an irregular look.

I then ran the oval through my Big Shot machine inside the wood-grain embossing folder from Crafters Companion. I love the effect this gives.

Using Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, I darkened the raised parts of the wood grain. I kept the blending tool vertical and dragged it width-ways over the oval. In this picture I have done the right hand side only.

A added a bit more of the Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink around the edge of the oval and glued it to the black tag. I made two little beads of Dovecraft 3d Pearl Effects in each corner and put this aside to dry.

The Butterfly

I cut a butterfly from 300gsm Centura Pearl card using one of the shadow dies from the Paper Artist 3 Butterflies and Shadows die set by Hot off The Press.

I coated the die cut butterfly with modelling paste then pressed a dryer sheet into it to give it some texture. Here I have laid it on the black tag so you can see it clearly, it is not glued down. I left this to dry for a couple of hours, to be sure.

I cut a pile of tiny pieces from some scraps of coloured paper and began to stick them to the butterfly with Ranger Multi Medium Matte. This was quite fiddly and took a while. I coated all the pieces with the Multi Medium to ensure they were all glued down properly. I then left it whilst I had a cup of tea, to ensure it was all dry.

I coated each of the piece of paper on the butterfly with a thin layer of Ranger Glossy Accents. I used a cocktail stick to push the Glossy Accents into the corners of the pieces. Again I left it to dry thoroughly. The 3d tiled effect looks far nicer in real life than in pictures, honest.

I put some sticky foam behind the butterfly and fixed it to the tag.

Finishing the Butterfly Tag

Next I stamped the word “Love” in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This stamp is part of a set called Flutterby from Debbi Moore.

I applied the Fossilized Amber Distress Ink all over the word, cut it out and added a little Spiced Marmalade around the edges. I mounted it on a piece of white paper to give a tiny mount. I coloured the word in with a Brushed Corduroy Distress Marker and added some little faux stitches with a white Uniball Gel Pen. The word is more distinct in real life than it appears in the pictures. I fixed the “Love” to the butterfly tag with sticky foam squares.

And finally a green ribbon to finish my butterfly tag.

Here is a link to other tags I have made for the Tim Holtz challenges – Tim Holtz Tag Challenges – tutorials for my versions

Here are links to some of the supplies I used on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com. If you buy from these links then I will get a small commission for sending custom their way – it will not cost you any extra. Thank you.