Tag Archives: Emboss

Feb3

Escape to Paris–mixed-media Paris

Posted on February 3, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Ahhh Paris…the City of Love. Or so they say. I have to take people’s word on this since my love, The Husband™, has never wooed me with a romantic get-away to France. To be fair, I haven’t wooed him there either, but this is my blog, so it’s all about moi*.

My fifth and final tag of the Valentine series focuses on the City of Love. All of the elements of this tag are either a deep red, purple or silver color. I don’t think this is particularly Parisian, but of course I have no way of verifying that since someone has not taken me there. Just sayin’. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan23

Valentine’s Day is the 14th

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Valentine’s Day is the 14th

Valentine’s Day is the 14th

Although the techniques I used for this tag were similar to the Heart aMazing Tag, I was much happier with the results. To continue the chocolate box metaphor, I guess this one had the caramel filling. Nom Nom.

When all else fails, Coke is it.

To most closely replicate this tag, you will need some sort of red ring. I am lucky that my vintage stash contains a plethora of red, white and green plastic translucent rings. I have no idea what they were used for or where I got them. I suspect they came from a game, but that’s just a guess. In any case, scrounge around your supplies and see what you discover. If you come up empty, you can always use the plastic top from a Coca-Cola bottle.

Measure the width of the interior of the circle and using a computer and a sans serif font, print out the number 14 onto to tan or ivory paper. Choose a font size that will mostly fill your circle. If you wish, you can print several different sizes to see which one you like best. You can always use the leftover 14s in some other Valentine collage. Center the ring over your chosen number 14 and use a pencil to lightly trace the ring. Then cut out the circle and glue the number to the back or inside of the ring. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan18

Valentine’s tags are like a box of chocolates—sometimes you wrinkle your nose and just keep chewing

Posted on January 18, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Valentine’s tags are like a box of chocolates—sometimes you wrinkle your nose and just keep chewing

You Heart aMazing

I’ll be honest, this tag is my least favorite of the five. I like each of the elements on their own, but somehow they just didn’t mesh together well. I guess it is kind of like that big ol’ box of Valentine chocolates. You always end up biting into one that you don’t like. By the time you realize it, you are half way through and then you are left with the quandary of deciding whether to go ahead and finish it or stick it back in the box to disgust some other member of your family.

I’m speaking from experience, as my daughter has been known to do that with just about anything. The other day I found a solitary doughnut left in the box with the topping completely gnawed away. Now that’s an enticing breakfast. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan14

Enter mixed media heaven with this Valentine

Posted on January 14, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

Enter mixed media heaven with this Valentine

Valentine’s Day is exactly one month away. So today I bring you the second tag in this series. I should mention that all of them use a basic alteration of a technique I learned from Tim Holtz’s 12 tags of Christmas sometimes around 2007 or 2008. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan9

A distressing end to a love affair

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Betsy Skagen

A distressing end to a love affair

The first time I walked into a an Archiver’s store, I was in love. I had been in scrapbooking stores before, but this was something different.

Archiver’s was classy. Archiver’s offered scrapbooking options beyond those cutsey stickers–you know, the ones I told you reminded me of Precious Moments figurines. This in itself is why Archiver’s was, at least in my eyes, something extraordinary.

It probably didn’t hurt that I fit perfectly into their niche target market. I was middle-class mom with a two-year-old son and a daughter on the way, who yearned to express my creativity in some way other than Duplo structures and pudding painting.

My stash of bargains

Read the rest of this entry →