For my project, I decided to go with a mysterious substance to make these Christmas tags:
I already gave it away in my post title, but the mysterious material is dryer sheets! Oh boy! An actual fun reason to do laundry...sort of. I've used dryer sheets before on projects, but had never combined them with wax. So here's what I did to make these tags:
First, I got a used dryer sheet (they work much better if they've been run through the dryer a time or two), some ink, and a sponge. I just sort of dabbed and rubbed ink onto the dryer sheet.
Next up, I laid the dryer sheet across different patterned papers to see which tag background would look best. I ended up deciding to use some vintage Christmas music as my background.
I knew that I would also be incorporating wax into this project and wax can flake off, so you need to make sure whatever you're adding wax to is stable and sturdy so it won't bend and allow the wax to chip off. My next step was to use a Tim Holtz tag die to cut out tag shapes. I cut them out of the sheet music and out of a very thick chipboard. I then glued the sheet music tags onto the chipboard tags for a solid base.
After my tags were good to go, I cut the dryer sheet in half and laid it across my tags. I melted some beeswax in a melting pot and brushed it on top of the dryer sheet that was on top of the tag. No need to adhere the dryer sheet to the tag because the wax sticks the dryer sheet to the tag for you. I love the instant hazy ethereal look the melted wax added!
I wanted to add some more texture and pattern, so I smeared some white acrylic paint onto a polka dot stamp and stamped it on top of my tag.
But what to do for the focal point? I wasn't done with the dryer sheets just yet! I grabbed another used dryer sheet and sprayed it with Dylusions ink spritz in two different shades of green. When that dried, I cut out some triangle shapes for trees and glued them onto my tag. I liked how they were still sort of see-through. You'll also notice that I trimmed the excess dryer sheet off the edges of my tag.
I thought the trees could still use some oomph, so I added some Ice Stickles and topped them off with some pearl embellishments. Last but not least, I spelled out "fa la la" with some stickers and added them on then punched a hole through the top of the tag and added some yarns and fibers.
With my other tag background (why not make it easy on yourself and do multiples at the same time?) I made this second Christmas tag:
I always buy holiday twigs and sprigs (at Michaels, JoAnn's, etc.) at this time of year to use on Christmas projects and with wrapping jobs. They are reasonably priced and add some great wow factor to your creations.
So there you have it! Wax and dryer sheets and maybe a little too much time on my hands. Be that as it may, I liked the finished results.
Here are the fabulous materials I used for these projects that you can get at Simon Says Stamp:
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While this week's mystery theme may stretch your brain a bit, I am so excited to see what you come up with! I can't wait to check out your entries and just remember that you'll be entered to win 50 big bucks at Simon Says Stamp for submitting your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog.
