My Cards and Tags: Tea Bag Tags

Using an "artsy stamp" is this week's challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog.  I decided to go with the always-artsy Dina Wakley's Collaged Hearts stamp set and created these Tea Bag Tags:

I started by slitting the bottoms of the tea bags and emptying all the tea out.  You can leave the tea intact if you want to create some cool brown speckles when you spray them with ink, but I emptied them so the bags would lay flat and hence be easier to paint on later. 

Next, I sprayed the tea bags with all sorts of Dylusions ink sprays and let them dry.

While the bags dried, I stamped some of Dina Wakley's hearts onto patterned paper and heat embossed them with black embossing powder.

Once the bags were dry, I got out my trusty black Gesso and painted it over some stencils to create different background designs on each tea bag.

When the Gesso dried, I tore off some strips of Washi tape and used them as a background for my heat embossed hearts, which I glued to the bags.

These Tea Bag Tags were easy to make and were a fun way to put some of my favorite artsy stamps to use.  

Here are some of the products I used that are available from Simon Says Stamp:

Dina Wakley Collaged Hearts Stamp Set	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Memory Box Brioche 6x6 Paper	Bazzill Vintage Lace 6x6 Paper Pack	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink	Ranger Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder--Black	Heat Embossing Tool
Dina Wakley Black Gesso	The Crafter′s Workshop Mini Cursive Alpha Template	The Crafter′s Workshop Mini Love Post Template	The Crafter′s Workshop Mini Specimens Template	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Bubblegum Pink	Dylusions Ink Spray In White Linen	Dylusions Ink Spray In Fresh Cut Grass
Dylusions Ink Spray In Calypso Teal	Dylusions Ink Spray In London Blue	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Fresh Lime	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Vibrant Turquiose	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Lemon Zest	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Squeezed Orange	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Pure Sunshine
Kelly Purkey Washi Tape TEAL POLKA DOTS KPWS8	Kelly Purkey Washi Tape NUMBERS KPWS6	My Minds Eye Up and Away Washi Tape	We R Memory Keepers AQUA Washi Tape	We R Memory Keepers PINK Washi Tape	Wild Honey - Distress Ink	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink
Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink

   
If you're anything like me, you have way too many artsy stamps than you should, but who am I to call a fellow visionary a hoarder?  :)  So grab some of those artsy stamps and make something amazing!  I always enjoy seeing the creations that are uploaded to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog.  Give it a whirl and you may even win the $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp!

My Other Creations: Pretty Paint Box

This week's theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is "Botanical Bliss."  While I simply adore flowers and love this time of the year when they're blooming, I've had a rough relationship with plants.  I had my share of allergies when I was little, not to mention stings and rashes and scratches from our various forest friends.  So for my project, I decided to go with more of an artsy look rather than a realistic nature-y look.

I acquired this fabulous vintage paint tin and attached some Tim Holtz tissue tape to the background for a few subtle images here and there.

I also added the word "Paint" to the background.

I added some cursive script and color to the paintbrush, too, and finished it off with these fabulous flowers, which I colored using Distress Ink and water.

So see?  This project was incredibly fun and it incorporated flowers without my eyes puffing up from a pollen attack.  Can't beat that!

Here are some of the products I used that you can get at Simon Says Stamp:

Tim Holtz Journeyman Tissue Tape	Barn Door - Distress ink	Wild Honey - Distress Ink	Mowed Lawn - Distress Ink	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Victorian Velvet - Distress Ink	Festive Berries - Distress Ink
Teal StazOn	Timber Brown StazOn	Jet Black Stazon	Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET Reusable 15 X 18 Stamp Paint Ink	Indigo Blu Script Stamp	Graphic 45 Typography Stamp Set

So how will you interpret Botanical Bliss?  I can't wait to see what you come up with!  Don't forget to upload your work to to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for a chance to win a $50 gift voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.