Studio Monday with Nina-Marie: Last Minute Gift Tags (That Still Look Gorgeous!)
Hello crafty friends, it’s Nina-Marie here with you today for a new Studio Monday video!
This week I want to share a last minute gift tag idea that features both Hero Arts & Simon Says Stamp products! When you think of making something last minute, you usually envision something basic and simple right? We think there isn’t enough time to make it have a “wow” factor.
Not so! Just because something is made during crunch time, doesn’t mean it can’t look like a work of art. The tags I have created today feature a VERY simple Distress Ink and stencil technique that does all the hard work for you in just a couple short minutes… keep reading (and watch the video!) and I will show you just how quickly these came together.
I used the Hero Arts Forest Scene stencil paired with Distress Inks to create the backgrounds for my tags; by applying three different shades of inks through the stencil, I was able to create a variegated color palette that adds instant interest to the tag (the tags are die cut using the Nesting Tags dies from Hero Arts). To further texturize the tags, I added water splatters and flicks of the Finetec gold watercolors.
The sentiments are created using the Simon Says Stamp Believe stamp and die sets. I LOVE that script believe, it is just gorgeous! I heat embossed the believe sentiment with embossing powder and die cut it with the coordinating outline die; I then popped it up off of the tag, above where the rest of the sentiment is heat embossed directly onto the tag.
Color palettes are so much fun to come up with… for these tags I chose Festive Berries, Fired Brick and Seedless Preserves for the red tags; and then I used Shabby Shutters, Evergreen Bough and Pine Needles for the green tags. I find that because this stencil is so delicate, it is best to dab onto the stencil instead of brushing over it as you might normally do with a stencil (unless you were to use a temporary adhesive on the back of the stencil to adhere it down to the paper).
The brush I used to apply the Distress Inks was an inexpensive craft foam brush (mine was about 2 inches wide, found at my local craft store). I dampened the brush and squeezed out any excess water before bringing it over to the stencil-covered paper; remember that the more water you use with stencils, the more it will run… so if you want a less defined image, use more water. If you want something more crisp, use less.
To finish things off, I tied a bit of ribbon and hemp around the tops of tags; to prevent the ribbons from fraying, I used the We R Memory Keepers Ribbon Cutter to seal the ends. This tool is so handy for giving your ribbons a nice, professional look! I’ll show you in the video how I used this tool to trim the ribbons down, so make sure to check that out if you are interested!
In all, these tags took very little time to put together; all four took me less than an hour and I could have made a bunch more in that same amount of time, because I was working in assembly-line style. So I hope this has given you ideas and encouraged you to think that just because something might be last minute, does not mean you have to sacrifice on beauty!
WATCH THE VIDEO
Looks fun!
LOVE that font too!
Along with the die to match!
Thanks!
Lovely Tag idea Nina! Thank you for sharing!
Love these tags! I make my own tags too..
WOW! These are stunning! Cheers.
Love this look … thanks for the video tutorial!!
These are really beautiful. Thank you for such a great tutorial!
These tags are so adorable. I should make tags for my gift giving.
So pretty! Thank you for sharing this video!!
Yikes! I sure like the bright colors and artsy look of these tags! Watercolors are just cool.
Very pretty, Nina-Marie! And I do need some last minute tags for work, so this may be the project for me today! Always enjoy your inspiration.
Merry Christmas!
Those tags are beautiful
Wow they do looking stunning and gorgeous indeed!!
Wow! These tags definitely have the wow factor. I’ve got to try this. Thanks for the inspiration. Merry Christmas Nina-Marie.
These look beautiful!
Beautiful tags. Lovely inspiration, thanks for sharing.
These tags are lovely!! Love that they are quick to make!
Really nice tags. I love the stencil and stamps!!
Very nice! These tags are really gorgeous. And the technique is so simple, I think even I could do this. Thanks for the great video and design ideas.
Pretty tags make the package!!
We don’t really use gift tags in our family, but sometimes, like now, I wish we did!! Gorgeous
Lovely tags – love the sumptuous colors you used:)
Awesome use of the stencil…made for a really cool background. Love the Sentiments.
This is JUST WHAT I NEED! QUICK gift tags! ;) THANK YOU NINA! HOW did you know? LOL Your tags are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! THANK YOU for the INSPIRATION!!!! ;)
There was nothing last-minute about your gift tags–they are beautiful! I really liked your use of the stencil with the distress inks. Thank you so much for sharing!
Beautiful tags and you gave me inspiration for getting my stuff done! I’m sooooo far behind! LOL. TFS!
Such a fun design. TFS.
Incredibly pretty tags. Love it. I am inspired…thank you so very much for sharing with us!
Fun tags! Great technique, Nina-Marie.
Very pretty!
Very pretty!!
SQUEAL!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the SWEET Tags and the Video!! THNKS For sharing and have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)
Such beautiful tags!!! Love the colors:)
Love your pretty tags!
These are beautiful.
They DO look gorgeous – I love making tags!
beautiful tags! love the matching stamp and die set you used
Fabulous tags! I love your festive backgrounds! TFS
Definitely no sacrifice on beauty, they are gorgeous!
Even if I think I’m prepared very well for Christmas I know, that there will be some last minute craft work to do (like every year).
Delightful tags! Love the font.
Awesome, I have the Believe die, but that ribbon cutter was very interesting, I had been wondering how that worked, it was great to see it in action. I think I have to add that to my ” wish list “. Thanks for the video.
Absolutely gorgeous tags! Love those words….
Nice tags!
Very nice tags!
Beautiful work and great video.
Amazing tags. Love them.
The backgrounds on the tags are amazing! I will have to try that technique myself.
These tags are really quite lovely and they look so quick and fun to do . Thank you so much for sharing .
Great tags! :)
Gorgeous tags! I love the colors and the loose stenciled images!