Stay Strong

Hi friends! How are things? I'm starting to breathe again getting back into a routine with the boys in school. The first couple weeks of junior high have been fraught with high emotions and lots of transitions for the twins. It's the first time since they were five that they haven't been in the same classroom all day. So missing that feeling that there is someone always in your corner is adding to all the normal stress of dealing with change. They're starting to bounce back a bit and I think it's going to be a great year for them.

With a little more time to myself lately, I decided to dig out some mixed media supplies and just do what I love. I signed up for my friend Tiffany's Distress spray workshop and although I haven't been able to watch the whole class yet, I did pop in for a few minutes during the live and played along making thid tag background.

To prep, I started with a mixed media tag, then stenciled it from the top and bottom with crackle texture paste and let it dry over night. I don't typically use crackle paste, but all of my opaque texture pastes were dried up.  I used a palette of Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Uncharted Mariner, and Speckled Egg distress and oxide sprays, then edged around the tag with Scorched Timber. With all the spray, my paste started flaking off (I'm thinking it was because it was really old and had been opened previously), so I stopped after a few coats, then sealed with a thick coating of collage medium to try and eliminate any further flaking.

To finish the tag, I used the sunflowers from the Not 2 Shabby August Stamp of the Month, stamped in memento brown ink on cream cardstock, then colored with Copic markers.  I used the coordinating dies to cut them out, then added a few highlights with stickles.

The sentiment is from a set that was part of the Rustic Blooms bundle. I embossed it with clear embossing powder and cut with the coordinating dies. I used a bit of fabri-tac adhesive since I wanted to make sure my stamped images really stuck to the surface of the tag.  I finished off with some scraps of seam binding from my stash.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! I hope you have a fabulous day!

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