Tag...you're it!

Hi, Honoré here: Lately I've been smitten by tags... you know, those sundry shipping tags that come in a variety of sizes. Perhaps it's the season since tags are pretty much on most of our minds as we begin (anyone finished?) to wrap holiday presents and/or finish making cards. Or perhaps it's the fact that as I've visited blogs throughout this month, I'm seeing lots of clever ideas and tutorials for making tags for everything from creating shopping or to-do lists to fabric books to clever ways to package gift cards. Seems that the sky is the limit.

Tags are quite versatile; they can be used as:

1. gifts
2. shopping/to-do lists
3. substrate for practicing techniques ranging from masking, misting, stamping, and stenciling, to journaling or taking notes
4. embellishments on pages in a mini album or as pages on which to mount photos from your iPhone or camera phone.

You can write, paint, stitch, glue, type, stamp, cut, tear, crumble, or emboss tags. Don't like what you did? Not a problem; just paint over the tag and use it to try something else...or save it and cut it into shapes or strips or adhere it to a page in your art journal for use further down the road...

In the scheme of things, tags are really quite inexpensive and handy little things to have around. Being quite portable, you can carry them with you at all times for those unexpected free moments.

Over the next couple weeks, between the holidays' lull, why not play with some tags. Try out a technique or a supply that is new to you. A tag is small and definitely not as intimidating as a full sized piece of art paper or a blank page in an art journal. Have Fun. Play. Experiment. And remember, you don't need to throw the tag away...it can be used in your art journal or recycled as an embellishment or used to make a grocery, to-do, or don't forget list...

And while we're on the subject of tags, have you checked out the new class - Peeled Pages -coming in January that features tags as pages? Check out the description here and don't tarry about registering: seating is limited and spaces are filling up fast.

Happy Holidays!

PS: This tutorial by Tammy Tutterow is a great example of creating a tag in action. And of course, you can purchase most if not all of the supplies and tools, including some of the Crafter's Workshop stencils, right here at The Queen's Ink. How about a gift from you to you?