25 Days of Christmas Tags & a Giveaway!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  We had quite a few centimeters of snow on the weekend that is stuck on the ground.  Sadly enough, this is not our first snow fall of the season.  We had our first one back the very first week of September in Southern Alberta!!!!

This year, along with some of my fabulous StampNation Dream Team members, I get to share a fun Christmas tag with you today!  We’re all being featured as part of Tracey McNeely’s “25 Days of Christmas Tags” event on her blog, “My Creative Opinions”!

I chose to have some fun layering some stamps and images on my tag.

Believe it or not, I started with a good ol' regular manila tag from Tim Holtz for this creation!

Here are the basic steps to achieve my back ground:

a)  Stamp a musical note back ground using black ink across the entire length of the tag.  Heat set ink.
b)  Add a wash of watered down white acrylic paint.  Let dry.
c)  Ink up the branch mask with black ink and use it as a stamp for the branches.  Colour in the image with Copic multi-liner pens.  Heat set.
d)  Add another wash of watered down white acrylic paint.  Let dry.
e)  Add some blue inks to the sky of the tag using an applicator sponge.  Let dry.
f)  Lay the “Falling Snow” stencil over the tag and apply 3D Molding Paste over the stencil.  Pull of mask and let dry.
g)  Mist with Glimmer Mist.
h)  Add coloured and fussy cut stamped images from Clearly Besotted’s “In Stitches: Christmas”.  Stamp the greeting at the bottom.

I wanted my little critters to be balancing one on top of the other for fun!

Here’s a quick peek at all the glimmer and shine on my tag today too:

 
AND A GIVEAWAY…
Tracey is offering up some prize packages to some lucky commenters today!  YOU… yes, YOU can win one of the prize packages from our lovely sponsors just by leaving a comment below today!!!  More information about our lovely prize packages can be found on Tracey's blog.

Reverse Confetti
Clearly Besotted
CAS-ual Fridays

Neat and Tangled
Paper Smooches

Lawn Fawn

I will be drawing at random, one lucky commenter to receive one of the prizes supplied to Tracey. 

All you have to do to win is…
Leave me a comment telling me (also tell me your first name & leave me a way to contact you!) …

If you were going to make tags for your holiday gifts,

what would YOU put on your tags &

as far as design, what characters or greenery or 
designs would you put on them!?

Good luck!  A winner will be selected and posted here on my blog on Wednesday November 26th.

Here is a recap of the previous years' 25 Days of Christmas Tags on Tracey’s Pinterest Boards.  Click the year to take you to her yearly creations:

2013               2012                2011

Thank you Tracey for the wonderful opportunity to share some fun tags with you & your followers this year!  I can’t wait to see what she has in store for you for the rest of 2014!  Enjoy!

~ Ally ~

Supplies:
stamps:  Clear Besotted (In Stitches: Christmas, Building Backgrounds)
inks:  Memento (Tuxedo Black, Cantaloupe, Tangelo), Ranger Distress (Broken China, Faded Jeans), Stampin' Up! (Coastal Cabana), Copic Markers (B000, B00, BG0000, BG45, BG49, YR12, YR15, YR16), Copic Multi-liner Pen 0.5
stencils: Memory Box (Garden Bare Branches), Simon Says Stamp! (Falling Snow)
3D Molding Paste:  American Traditional Designs
cardstock:  X-Press It White Cardstock
mist:  Tattered Angels (Iridescent Gold)
tag: Tim Holtz Manila Tag
ribbons:  May Arts
button:  Queen & Co
other:  white acrylic paint.