Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas #6

Welcome to Magpieheaven, where I'm still gaining lots of fresh inspiration from Linda Coughlin's beautiful 12 tags of Christmas. I am loving creating these tags and the vase above my mantel-piece is gradually filling up with twigs heavy with glittering tags. If you would like to play along with Linda's challenge then click HERE, there is still time to join in: you have until December 22nd and it can be any Christmas themed make. Why not drop by the Funkie Junkie boutique and check out some of the lovely crafting goodies on sale here. The tag that inspired me this time is Linda's Tag #6, which you can see here. I love Linda's composition so I took my inspiration from the way Linda composed her tag and balanced the different elements. I also wanted to include that all important 25 on my tag too. Apart from that, I just went where the inspiration took me. Linda's tag had the strong central image of a Christmas tree. I had no die that resembled this beautiful, fluid shape, but I did have a lovely Lynne Perrella stamp from LPC 016 of an Edwardian lady who looks as if she is metamorphosing into a fir tree, or is the tree morphing into a lady? I've always been intrigued by this stamp and wondered if there is a story behind it.

I die-cut my tag from card and then die-cut another one out of the text from my Christmas book and stuck this over the top. I chose a page about the 'wonder' of Christmas. You can just see a little scrap from the page on the left of the top image. I then sponged the tag with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Linda's tag had two squares of machine stitching, top and bottom. I cut two squares from some Bo Bunny Silver and Gold paper and doodled stitches around them. I couldn't resist adding some Shabby Blue Frantage to the corners.

I added little frosted leaves painted with Paper Artsy Hey Pesto Fresco, a colourful Christmas button with some red waxed thread and some seam binding dyed with Vintage Photo and tied in a little bow. Linda's tag had a beautiful button and big ribbon bow, but as my tag is smaller I kept to buttons and bows but arranged them a little differently and went for a smaller scale. The top of my tag is finished off with some tea-dyed lace, seam binding and an idealogy pin. My Edwardian lady was an imaginative combination of fir tree and drapery, so I stamped her onto different cards and papers in Wendy Vecchi Potting Soil Archival. I edged her with Green Amber Treasure Gold and gave her a dry distress glitter choker and a pearl earring.

I added extra punched out snowflakes with Frantage, some red pearls and some ruby Stickles.

I combined real tea-dyed lace with paper lace and layered the lady using little foam pads to give her dimension.

It's difficult to show the subtle glitter effects that can be achieved with dry distress glitter. The fir tree lady really shimmers as the tag catches the light. The final layer of her skirt has the 'Believe' sentiment on it from Paper Artsy Lynne Perrella Collection 016, which seemed appropriate to the theme of my fifth tag, which is the wonder of Christmas. I love how mysterious the lady looks, as it reminds me of the miracle that is at the heart of Christmas. Thank you so much for stopping by today, as the festive season draws ever closer and Thank You, Linda for all the inspiration your twelve tags are giving.