DECEMBER TAG...The 12 Tags of 2016

The end of the 2016 Remix Tags comes to completion with these two fun techniques from Dec '16 & June '15 coming together in Tim's December Tag. Both techs are easy and you're likely to have items on hand enough to come up with either a version like Tim's or one that comes totally out of your own imagination. I took the latter route &  ended up with three different Tags this month. If you're only interested in the version that was my entry Tag for Tim's blog, then just scroll down. Otherwise; here we go...



 

 

This is the front side of TAG 1, which was created specifically for the Annual CHRISTmas Party for the Ladies Circle group I am involved in at Church. We each make (or purchase- if you're feeling very UNcrafty or short on time) an ornament to exchange by drawing names or playing 'Musical Ornaments'.
If you're guessing the entire setup of pieces is a Nativity scene... you're right!!! Inside the 0 is a snippet of sTH's Holidays stashpaper  Valentine's Day "LOVE" which is the Baby JESUS. The rest of the 2016 numbers are supposed to represent Joseph, Mary, and their donkey that carried Mary to Bethlehem. The word JESUS letters are the Choir singing in the sky, and the angel Gabriel leading them. The star is at the top on the ribbon.

This is the back side of TAG 1 - complete with mistletoe! The second technique is used here on the word "Dec".

                                                    Here are some closeups of TAG 1...

                   

     

                   Next, I made 10  more tags -all the same design-  & I'll call theses all TAG 2....

These are the FRONT sides of all the Tag2 copies I made- one for each Bestie who lived in snowy-below-zero-frozen Indiana...which ended up matching the weather perfectly since it all blew in early this winter!!! You'll note that each one is slightly different since each is personalized with the first letter of the Bestie's last name and the number is related to their Wedding Anniversary. Tim Holt's Holidays stash paper really came in handy for all the tiny backgrounds to the pieces of IdeaOlogy and Glossy Accents gave the impression of 'ice' so I used it liberally! My craft studio was a "disaster area" which finally got relief with a good cleaning (along with the rest of the house) after 8 full days of getting all the 12 tags put together. In time to head south for both holidays.

And these are the BACK sides of each of the TAG 2 copies. The heart shape (A retired Christmas tree Sizzix Die) on the tree stands for JESUS (GOD is love itself) and the rest of the ornaments are the silver and gold of newer friends and old.

                                       Here are some closeup pics of the set of 10 "TAG2"...

"Frozen" looked almost real when I added some Distress Picket Fence Paint!

The mix of "new" in metallic silver thread and the "old" of the burlap went over nicely with the two ribbons I put together for the top to hold a pin with a jingle bell.

The "holly" looked GREAT with all the snow I added in sprinkles, sprays and dips all over everything!

A bit closer look at the tree and snowflakes embossed on the backsides.

                                             And lastly: TAG 3... my DECEMBER TAG!

                                                                        Front Side

WARMTH, SUNSHINE, and BEACH was the mixed theme since we were planning to spend CHRISTmas and New Year's in Florida with our Dixon side of the family- first time in 3 years down here during deep snow of the north for the winter holidays. We saw some of them on the summer trip to Montana, but missed our College Girls Basketball Frosh girl since she had so many things going on all summer and missed Montana.  

Decorating for CHRISTmas in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, takes over 3 months to get all the lights around the perfectly round lake here. So here's my take on that thought- complete with the many-layered cuts of Tim's new Thinnest palm tree! I left a Cash Key empty so I can put a photo of the ChiefHubby and I on the Emerald Coast we took on CHRISTmas Eve.  

                       
                                          Here are some closeups of my DECEMBER TAG...

Both this and the next shot are from the FRONT SIDE

The "seaglass" is actually Tim Holtz Fragments broken up into odd pieces and some Alcohol Ink added in little puddles (to make it darker) and allowed to dry. The castle die cut was an extra goodie sent from The Funkie Junkie on one of my summer orders of Tim Holtz dies/supplies. THANKS, Funkie Junkie Boutique!!!

                                 

And these last 2 shots are from the BACK SIDE of my DECEMBER TAG.

Aren't 'we' CUTE?!


So, that's it and here I still am- typing this in and getting my December Tag up onto Tim's blog from SUNNY, WARM FLORIDA....where, unfortunately, a cold front has moved in and the temps dropped drastically this evening (Dec. 29th), but we DID get in a lot of beach time as well as tons of FUNNY, fun time with more family we love!!!
I hope you had a BLESSED CHRISTmas and look forward to the trip back home when I can pop in and see some other tags and crafted items from blogs, Pinterest, and Facebook!

Thanks for checking in, and...
HAPPY BLOGGING!

NOVEMBER TAG; The 12 Tags of 2016....A Nod To My Native AmericanHeritage

      November always brings thoughts of all the blessings we are thankful for, and it also happens to be set aside for celebrating - & discovering - the original peoples of this great land called America; Native American Indians. I've always felt deeply for 'the underdog' in any situation/circumstance, and ever since I can remember, whenever my school studies involved the Indian Tribes, their unjustified "removal to reservations of set-aside land for them to live freely on" ( aka: really nice wording for every tool they owned for their way of life having been stripped from them, and forced death marches on foot to where they would be neither seen nor heard from and not able to re-claim their rightful lands)... let's just say that my heart always knew there was more 'dirt' layered under "Manifest Destiny" than the clean paper it appeared on in elementary school U.S. History books.

      Having more time during this period of housewife life known as "empty nest" while The Chief is at work -especially during the time of my Dad's illness and passing at the start of this year- I've had a bit more time to once again dig back into the Native American ties in my ancestry. It takes quite a bit of time to research. But, the biggest thrill was our trip to Glacier National Park in July where I got just a glimpse into life now of NAI - their vast lands of Montana. The views on trips we make up to Minnesota (to see the ygr set of cpl kids) always takes our breath away, but the reservations are sparse in the lower section. The NAI we have met in the Red Wing area are always welcoming, and there is an awesome hand-made items shop in the downtown where you can browse the awesome talented authentic beading. While our kids have ventured further north and seen how beautiful the land and its Native tribespeople, is; we have yet to go further than the line from Minneapolis & due west. But we plan to accompany them on a rural hiking/kayaking/camping trip sometime soon. Only in our heart-buried desires to keep this land pristine and save it for future generations, do we have a huge volume of learning to do from America's REAL "first settlers".
       Thus; my take on Tim's November Tag for 2016. I'd gotten the "Feathers Set" of Tim Holtz's Alterations earlier in the summer from The Funkie Junkie Boutique, and hoped to somehow use it for my November Tag. Tim's choice of Remix did not disappoint for my plan! But, first, I wanted to get some real meaning behind feathers in general just for inspiration....

Then, inspiration having taken its hold... I was armed & ready!

Tim used his stamps, and while I did NOT have a matching stamp to this set, I DID have an idea to use the embossing folder WITHOUT running it through my BigShot: I simply used it -on the raised side- as a stamp. And I got better with a bit of practice on how hard or soft to press. I wanted a crisp, clean image, but at the same time; a "feathery-soft" image. Worked!!!

You can see how I was trying to figure out if I wanted to follow the Feather Meanings info on the designs of my three feathers for each tag, but I ultimately opted to go with Color Meaning since USA Americana and the 'first' people (moho: aka the NAI peoples) match together very well. I am a Peacemaker at heart...ALWAYS. 

I tried my hand at making a similar set of trinkets to the NAI DreamCatcher. Several of our group purchased one during our trip to Montana, & I'd already fallen in love with them many years ago.

Left: my hand-made trinkets for the November Tags and; Right: the pair of earrings that caught my eye during one of pur shopping excursions to the GNP shops. These are NOT authentically made, tho. Real hand-woven beading is much, MUCH more beautiful, sturdy. and LASTING! Certainly worth MUCH more than these shops bring in for factory-generated tokens. But, they DO give me the general design and inspiration to follow! FYI: The tribesppl we met/chatted/askedQsOf were from the Blackfeet Nation. A very proud, yet totally humble, people indeed. We learned quite a bit abt them and my ChiefHubby quipped "Aha!! That's how I need to keep you from talking too much: take away yer 'Talking Stick'...PERMANENTLY!" 

Hey, can I help it? I LOVE to TALK!! (And I type like I talk: A LOT!) lol

So these are what I ended up with. These are the FRONT SIDES...and some closeups follow:

Thanksgiving seemed the perfect time to add those IdeaOlogy cuttlery items... and use my very FAVE TH IdeaOlogy items: the Compass and an Arrow pointing out the NW Montana direction. I tied both- w bindertwine on the feathers to the cuttlery, and hemp on the arrow- for a more natural look.

I used some Silver Distress Spray as well as the Spritzer w Black Soot Distress Marker to give a little pop matching the metal colors of the IdeaOlogy. On my Gift tag, I used the same colors, but w the exception of a different Compass color... just to make each Tag a bit different from the other.

And here's that DreamCatcher hanging on the ribbon...matches in really nicely with the awesome background of the Remant Rubs!!! You'll notice that my resist is not as prominent as Tim's. That's because I started w a darker tan/gold shaded stockcard, and color-matched my Distress Inks in coordinating shades. It took on a much more subtle look that I wanted. It reminded me of the many different shades of rock, shale, and clay that run throughout the mountains and the colorful, CLEAN rocks in the clear, cold rushing waters! Think: PURE& NATURALLY BLENDING!

You see the layers?! I used two layers of thinner cork and stacked them...like the layers of rock we hiked over. And the awesome depth of the sky, tree-covered mountains, layers of green grass and flowers sticking out of - and growing BENEATH!- the still-melting foot of snow left in July, ....the deeply running clear rivers... it was like living in a TENTH dimension of sight, sound, and color!

These are the BACK SIDES of the November takes on Tim's Tag.

My Bestie in Florida (whose Family was the entire reason we ended up making plans for the Montana trip) who made FREEZING on JULY FOURTH worth the trip! She attacks anything put in front of her with gusto...and a GENUINELY -FELT smile on her face. She and her Husband, John, changed our lives in so many ways, and they continue to help us see possibilities in life: even when it seems so far out of reach. Christie shares my love of getting to know other people and knowing that we are all made with love, and in the Image of Our CREATOR! 

Closeup of one of three Arrowhead stones I found in one of those GNP shops. Indiana has tons of sites where these can be found that are originally left from Tribes of Miami, Shawnee, and very early before those- Sioux, among others who had been forced from lands further east of Indiana. The Potowatomi Tribe was the main native peoples in all the surrounding area of our Jefferson Township in Cass County. In fact; the very land the ChiefHubby and I currently own, & live on, were Potowatami lands. (Pottawatomie - coumpound for 'Put-ta-wa' & 'me' means "a nation of fire blowers" ... kinda cool having been a 3- generation firefighter family that we are!!) Their "Trail of Death" is marked all along the backroad we drive on to get to our house, so the thought of those misdeeds of white settlement is never far from my mind. Logansport, which is the county seat and our address city, is named for Captain Logan- a US Soldier who was famous as a Scout for General Harrison. Captain Logan was half Shawnee.

I guess I could say I was 'tickled' by the final result of my NOVEMBER TAG! lol

Thanks so much for checking in this time, and hang on for another Tag I worked on this month that was a 2nd take on October Tag for my 51st Birthday on the 18th that I'd been a bit behind getting done. But, the time spent was worth it: in time for GIVING THANKS!!!

Stay safe, and...

HAPPY BLOGGING!

OCTOBER TAG; The 12 Tags of 2016 ...A Bucket List Item Crossed-Off !

BOO! It's the end of Halloween Night as I type to get this out after two busy weeks of crafting, crocheting, and still sailing on as many still-sunny-&-warm days as I can get in! So I may make it onto Tim's Blog by the seat of my Halloween costume. :)  TIm Holtz loves this particular holiday, but while I was born in the Pumpkin Month of October, it's never been one of my fave times. I prefer my leaves green and still growing on the trees; thankyouverymuch! But, the colors of Indiana fall do make beautiful photographs, which I've been sharing on WLYLWFridayHits "Leaf Break".

Back at the start of the year, I found out that one of my very favortie actors of the 70's was going to be back in Chelsea, Michigan. Randolph (Randy) Mantooth has been almost a fixture in the Firefighter/EMS life since "EMERGENCY!" debuted in January 1972. Along with Kevin Tighe, Tim Donnelly, Marco Lopez, Mike Norrell, and real-life Los Angeles County Firefighter (retired Captain) Mike Stoker; all served on the A-Shift of Station 51 in Carson, CA, filmed at the real-life Station 127. Backed up by "Rampart General Hospital" (real-life Harbor UCLA Medical Center) with the beautiful Julie London, her husband, Bobby Troup (you'll remember he got his kicks by writing "Route 66"), and America's best cowboy, Robert Fuller. I was hooked from the start.... ladder, truck, and all! In 2014, I finally got my Bucket List wish of meeting at least one of the cast- Randy Mantooth. That's another post I have yet to put up. But suffice it to say that I've wanted to see him on stage since...well, forever! (Does that date me, much??) And I finally got my wish and checked that off- thanks to my wonderful ChiefHubby who took that week off to spend a couple of days up in Chelsea at Jeff Daniels' Purple Rose Theater! And let me tell you: it was WELL WORTH the wait. Talk about an awesome script, actors, director, and the setting just about blew us away!! We were sitting right smack front row- which put us both in direct line of main character "Angus" when he unloaded his grief of the death of his wife, Grace. Thus the title "Morning After Grace". (No spoilers here.) The loss of my Dad in April was right in sync with the feelings that burst forth from these characters, and it was almost too much. I bawled through the entire last half after laughing through most of the first half- which anyone who is 51 and older, can truly understand!
It runs through December, and is VERY acoomodating, affordable, and downright AWESOME, in case you want to check it out (the PRTC is also on Facebook). The Photos used here were taken by Sean Carter Photography. I sent a note to Sean to tell him how deeply his photos affected me in the way they conveyed the deep feelings of the characters. I cannot give enough kudos to the place, the people,and the town of Chelsea itself...just beautiful! So, I felt it was Tag-worthy for my Oct Tag!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All photographs used on the tags are by The Purple Rose Theater, PRT Company & it's Guest Actors, Playwrite Carey Crim, and Sean Carter Photography. I own none of it nor made, nor will make/claim any profit at all from any. Nothing is for sale and one Tag will stay with me- the other sent to PRTC. 

 

THANKS to the Cast and Crew of the Purple Rose Theater, it's owner Jeff Daniels (for his dream come true that helped MY dream come true), the town people of Chelsea MI for being so NICE to everyone, and to Randy Mantooth- for staying loyal to his fans and "what brought him to the party". A HUGE BIG HUG&KISS to my ChiefHubby for making the dream come true and making sure we were able to be home for it this time around!!

    THANKS for checking in once again! There'll be more to come on this subject.... soon !

                  Stay Safe. and HAPPY BLOGGING!