12 Tags of Fall - Day #12

Well, I made it! All 12 Tags!! The technique for this tag was to use clear embossing as a resist for the ink. so that is how the wheat was done. I stamped it with clear embossing ink and then embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then stamped and inked over it. The charms on this one were from Buttons Galore. I colored them with alcohol inks.

From another angle...


I decided to display them on my mantle this year. My mom said that she and my sister displayed the ones I made for my sister on their mantle, and I didn't have time to make a Thanksgiving banner, so decided to hang mine from the mantle as well and I like it!

Today I am thankful for the gift of creativity. I am so thankful that God gave us unique talents and gifts. For me it is such fun; I really enjoy making and creating things, but I also love to see the all the amazing things created by my talented family and friends.

I want to thank Nancy for the inspiration to jump in and make 12 Tags of Fall! Now I'm all warmed up and ready for Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas. Maybe I'll get all 12 of them done this year...now THAT would be a feat.

12 Tags of Fall - Day #11

Almost done!! Today's tag used a recipe, so I cut two out of Tim's Holiday Stack paper, and used some pumpkin clips that I have had for at least 5 years!! I am now in love with Kraft Glassine leaves. They are so much fun and they take the color of the Distress Inks and Distress Stains so well!

Today my DH went out and got me a pumpkin donut (I'm addicted to them!) and with the theme of today's tag, I was reminded of how much food we have. I constantly see people posting food pics (and I post them too!) So today, I am thankful for the abundance and variety of food that God has graciously provided to us.

12 Tags of Fall Day #10

12 Tags of Fall Day #10 - the techniques were a wood grain stamp and to paint on grungeboard. I cut out the pumpkin using the small Tim Holtz pumpkin die, and I also used his oval book plate die. The center ovals are covered with some small vintage Thanksgiving postcards from Tim's Holiday Stack. And the small leaves and branches are from his fall foliage die.

This turned out a little darker than I planned, but I like it!

As I sat and listened to the rain coming down outside tonight, I was so thankful for a warm, cozy home, lights, a heater, indoor plumbing, a soft bed with warm blankets, and so many of the comforts we take for granted every day.

12 Tags of Fall Day #9

This tag had a technique that I always love the look of -- the distressed dictionary paper. I added some kraft glassine paper leaves and painted some of the bright blue berries that were on a Christmas pick so they were fall colors, and added this wonderful painted picture of the first Thanksgiving.


I said this the other day as part of my facebook status update, but I made a quick trip up to my parent's house this week to help my family out a little bit. It was a spur of the moment need, and I am thankful for my two part time jobs and that they are both allow me time to take off and help when necessary. I know so many people who would not be able to pick up suddenly and be able to try and fill a need and come along side my family when they need it. I consider it a privilege to work in both the jobs and to work with the amazing women I work with at both jobs!!

12 Tags of Fall Day #8

I took a lot of liberties with this tag. I was supposed to make my own back ground with an inking technique and some stamps, but I really, really wanted to use this Tim Holtz Kraft Resist Paper, so I inked it a little, but not too much because I wanted the kraft color to show through. I added a copy of President George Washington's proclamation for a day of Thanksgiving.

George Washington's 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to "recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3d day of October, A.D. 1789.

Today I am thankful for the richness of my family heritage, and the great history of this country.

12 Tags of Fall Day #7

The technique for Day #6 was to make a water stained inked background and make a yo yo. I really like this one! I slightly changed my tag and added a copy of the Thanksgiving Day proclamation as put forth by Abraham Lincoln.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State

I am thankful for our military men and women and their families who sacrifice so much, many times even their lives so that we might live in freedom and security here at home. Thank you to my many family members, grandfathers, my dad, uncles, and my cousins who have served and are currently serving in our US armed forces. I love you!

12 Tags of Fall - Day #6

Tag #6 had several techniques. Nancy encouraged us to decoupage pattern pieces onto the tag, then to take the directions for the pattern and to make a rosette out of it. It was fun and I got to put some of my Tim Holtz sewing stamps to work too!!


I used a Friendship stamp on this tag, because I am thankful for friends. They come in all shapes, sizes, and even types. There are the kind of friends you may not see for years and yet when you do see each other, you can pick up as if you were never apart, or the kind of friends you can see everyday and not get sick of each other, or the kinds of friends that share your common interests, the kinds of friends who support you, hold you accountable, and love you despite your weaknesses, and even the friends that you haven't seen in years, but you reconnected with on FB, and you just like each other's photos and statuses. Or even the friends that you have met on scrapping websites and never actually met in person, or only met once in a great while. All of these kinds of friends add to our lives and I want you all to know how much I appreciate you and our friendship, not matter what kind of friendship it is. :-)

12 Tags of Fall Day #5

Isn't this design beautiful? Nancy's design for this tag included that pretty doily with the button heart in the center and I just couldn't wait to make this vintagey tag.

Today I am thankful for love. Not the mercurial, emotional, "romantic" type of love that is touted in movies, books, music and made a mockery of on reality TV. I'm talking about real love. The kind that is self-sacrificing, undeserving, and unchanging. The kind that chooses to endure in the midst of the difficulties, the heart breaks and the mundane. I'm thankful for my DH, Dad, Mom and my sister who do their best to love me this way, and for God who is the perfect example of unconditional, self-sacrificial love.

"Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." I Cor. 13:4-7

I really like the contrast of the dark Gathered Twigs background color and the light Antique linen doily and ribbon. The buttons and burlap add just the right touch of texture. Great design Nancy!

12 Tags of Fall Day #4

For Tag #4 of my friend Nancy's 12 Tags of Fall challenge, the main technique was to stamp with ink, then stamp with clear embossing ink and emboss with clear embossing powder. Then to ink over it and the clear embossing powder acts as a resist to the ink.

Nancy used some foliage to decorate her tag, but I wanted to try some of Tim Holtz's Kraft Glassine paper. I decided to post pictures of how I made the rust leaf on my tag so you could try it too. I just love the way it turned out.

I used Rusty Hinge Distress Stain, Kraft Glassine Paper, and I cut out leaves with my Lifestyle Crafts leaf dies.

Then I crinkled the paper and folded it to make it look like the veins in the leaves.


Then just color the paper with Distress Stain and look how beautifully they turn out!!

On my large leaves I did add a little of the dark brown Gathered Twigs Distress Ink around the edges to make it look a little varigated.

And as usual, I made two, one for me and one for my sister.


Today, as I finished these, (which included painting and inking the acorns because no one has any fall stuff out any more, it's all Christmas, so I had to paint some bright blue and green sparkly acorns from the Christmas pick aisle at M's) I was thinking about the words on the tags...Fall Hues. I just adore the gorgeous colors of fall. Seriously, I can't get enough of them. And so as I waded through the Christmas stuff with all the Christmas music invading my celebration of Thanksgiving, I was so thankful for FALL HUES. What an amazing display of God's creativity and beauty that shines through His creation!

12 Tags of Fall Day #3

This is the tag for Day #3 of the 12 tags of Fall from my friend Nancy's blog. I am obviously a day behind. Part of my problem with this tag is that I searched high and low for my Tim Holtz bird cage die and I couldn't find it for the life of me! I finally gave up because there isn't a place that I hadn't searched at least twice in the entire house. So I bought a new one with a 50% off coupon and am waiting for mine to show up in an obvious place that I searched half a dozen times today. ;-D

As I said before, I am making two of each tag so that I can give one to my sister and I can keep one.

When I saw Nancy's design for this tag, I knew I wanted to use the bird flying away from the cage theme too, because today I am thankful for freedom and liberty. I'm thankful that I was granted the privilege of being born in this country. I am thankful for the freedom to worship free from governmental persecution. And I'm thankful for the freedom from sin through the work of Christ. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

12 Tags of Fall #2 - 2011

Tag #2 from my friend Nancy's 12 Tags of Fall Challenge. Again, I followed the techniques she used and used things I had in my stash.

I love this hymn. And as with each tag, I want to post something for which I am grateful. Today I am thankful for God's abundant provision. He has faithfully provided for me and my family through some very difficult times. It is so easy to feel sorry for yourself or to complain about our struggles, but in reality, when we take a moment and begin the thank God for His provisions, it is humbling to see how He meets our needs in a myriad of amazing ways.


I'm making two of each tag so that I can send one to my sister, so that in the end, she has 12 tags of Fall to use for decorating and also as a reminder of God's faithfulness.

        Come, ye thankful people, come,
 raise the song of harvest home;
 all is safely gathered in,
 ere the winter storms begin.
 God our Maker doth provide
 for our wants to be supplied;
 come to God's own temple, come,
 raise the song of harvest home.

 All the world is God's own field,
 fruit as praise to God we yield;
 wheat and tares together sown
 are to joy or sorrow grown;
 first the blade and then the ear,
 then the full corn shall appear;
 Lord of harvest, grant that we
 wholesome grain and pure may be.

 For the Lord our God shall come,
 and shall take the harvest home;
 from the field shall in that day
 all offenses purge away,
 giving angels charge at last
 in the fire the tares to cast;
 but the fruitful ears to store
 in the garner evermore.

 Even so, Lord, quickly come,
 bring thy final harvest home;
 gather thou thy people in,
 free from sorrow, free from sin,
 there, forever purified,
 in thy presence to abide;
 come, with all thine angels, come,
 raise the glorious harvest home.

12 Tags of Fall 2011 - Tag #1

My friend Nancy decided to start a little challenge on her blog to try and create 12 tags of Fall (a la Tim Holtz 12 Tags of Christmas.) I loved the idea and am going to try and play along to the best of my ability.

This is the first tag. I used all the techniques that she did - stamping, inking, masking, water speckling, etc. Originally I wanted to try and keep it all in the burlap and cream color scheme with a little brown, black and orange to accent them, but once I got started inking, I couldn't stop!