SEPTEMBER TAG - The 12 Tags of 2015

I was checking into my blog just to make sure I'd posted up my September Tag, and nearly had a heart attack that I'd completely forgotten to make my post even though I'd had all the photos up! Arrrrgh!! Taking off for vacation will do that to ya, I guess. *shrug* It was well worth the trip; getting time in with far-away, dear-to-our-hearts family, as well as time to rest our minds on the beaches of the Emerald Coast along the Florida Panhandle. There was one particular day that took our breath away; the ChiefHubby & I had to honestly agree that it was THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DAY we'd seen in all our years of ANY BEACH at ANY TIME we've ever visited. It was THAT pristine with the warmth of the sun, only a whisp of clouds, a perfect breeze, THE perfectly huge but smooth waves with the water at such perfect temperature that we simply floated in it and relaxed just wanting to stay there and nap! Now, THAT right there says a LOT, because the Chief is really picky about water temp. I'll go in -with or without my board- and catch up with the surf no matter how chilly (or downright freezing) the water is. Will the REAL Ocean Lover please surf past?? *grinning widely*

     So here I was, with all the photos ready to post up on our drive down. We'd checked in at a hotel in Nashville after driving all evening from the time he'd gotten home from work. Taking off the evening before actually gives us more time away, but gives us both a chance to start winding down on the 7 hr drive down into southern Tennessee- the sunset is nothing short of AMAZING! And that right there probably made me totally forget EVERYTHING. Whoopsie!

            I'll tell you right now- Tim's September Tag is AWESOME!!!! Not just because it's another use for the Frosted Film, but also because it actually 'pops' and 'shines' so amazingly! He geniously incorporated Spring into Fall with this tag. So I decided this was my chance to try out that FFilm in a flower I'd seen someone else do in the CC3 Challenges. I got to thinking that the Fall here in Indiana is a mixture of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens, with a little purplish tossed in. The TH Alterations Tattered Flowers Die is just right for making what is the most popular fall flower here: Mums! Sunflowers are another usual scene here and I was EXTREMELY EXCITED to have been able to get a full afternoon all alone in a full field of them; twice !! (I'll be sharing all hose shots in a post for October.)

I chose to make my 'own' stamp out of the TH Tattered Florals Die - ambossing the foam also before temporarily-adhering it to my wood plate I like to use. The wood doesn't let me see through it, but it keeps my hands from slipping off since the RA in my hands often makes me lose my grip.



You can see the resulting stamp I was able to get. CUTE!




I played around with colors I had on hand. I ended up going with Distress Paints along with a bit of the Metallic Gold and Silver Mixative to achieve the color set I had in mind. A little bit of mixing the DPaint colors here- including some Antique Linen DP for a bit of brightness-  gave me just the right shades of Indiana Fall !



I went with the Wild Honey TH Distress Stain for my background tag. More of this shade shows up than any other here.

Here, you can see I took off the smaller of the 3 stamps, choosing to use the largest only, for the background. I wanted just ONE perfect, large bloom- the opposite of the hundreds of tiny blooms you will see on any one Mum plant.



Just discovered: this little drawer sits on my Studio table holding lots of odds and ends of my week.... and also my small Canon cam. It's a go-to for what I grab before heading out the door.  I used it to hold the Frosted Film blooms I'd cut so I wouldn't lose them and ended up using them to hold while heating....when I figured out how EASILY the FFilm heated MORE while inside that little 'box' ! The idea hit me why; it's holding all the heat inside and makes the FFilm heat faster than if the heat flew right past it into the air ! Plus- it didn't fly out of my tweezers! :)



    



I wanted to use these for the middle of my Mum bloom, but the hole in the middle was too tiny. I often have that same trouble with the Mini Gears, too. The solution is one I've been using ever since I got hold of my first Tonic Scissors: use the serated edge of the blade pair to stick inside and just twist back and forth all around inside the hole. You will soon have a hole large enough for your chosen metal peice (Long Fastener, Pin, or Jump Ring, etc.). The 3 on the left are now large enough for my Long Fastener, while the last one on the right is still originally too small.




Here, is shown my choice of the Bricking Stencil for my coating of texture. I just LOVE that stencil !!!  It was my intention to make it look like the flower was blooming out of the brick wall- due to school starting in the Fall here WAY TOO EARLY in August now when Indiana barely had any Summer because of the June monsoons ruining it all! Pink Floyd's "The Wall" kept running through my mind here.....



On the backs of each, I chose to add a Happy Birthday notation along with a Months Shadow Embossed "September" and a stamp of  hand pointing to the note.....for 2 of  my Besties; Wendy Cotner and Susan Phillips, and the 3rd tag for my ChiefHubby- whom all celebrated September birthdays.

 



     I made each front to match the description of my 2 Besties- how I see they are from my own eyes. And the tag I was keeping for the ChiefHubby, I chose the Word Band SALVAGED- to describe how we'd 'salvage' what was left of summer with our trip to Florida.

I was pleasantly impressed with my own Mum! :)







      Thanks SO MUCH for not only the sweet comments, but for HANGING IN THERE WITH ME & I noticed ppl still checking in TODAY !! (You are actually the ones that made me wonder "Hmmmm....? " and then get in here !!!  I am back off here to await the coming OCTOBER TAG... and get my little butt busy with the coming "Leaf War 2015" that will come with all the leaves needing to be mown up as they fall. If you check in on my "WLYLA FRIDAY HITS" on FB or Twitter, you will be treated to "LEAF BREAK" every week. These are photos of the same area out here with we live in a private lake where the leaves change the landscape into a beautiful portrait throughout the coming weeks. It is such a lift on Fridays after a long week of work- or for anyone who needs a lift to get through the weekend, too ! Our GOD is such a colorful Creator !!!

                Please Stay Safe, &- as always- Happy Blogging!