Winter Tags - Winter Side Orders

 The last of the holiday Side Order dies is the Winter Side Order Set - now I have to say here that I inadvertently mixed up two dies between the Winter and the Christmas dies. The Snowman is actually part of the Christmas set and the Mitten is part of this winter set.  But really it doesn't matter because trust me, you need both!

 As with the Christmas tags, I used the Mini Shifter Stencils #36 to make the paper for the tags using Distress Water Color Paper and Distress Ink, and I embossed some of the papers with the mini embossing folder that comes with this set of dies and colored used a solid color so the die shapes would stand out.

 The shapes of the tags are from the Labels die set that I have proclaimed over and again as one of my most favorite die sets in the Alterations line. I hand cut the little banner and the sentiment is also included in the die set.

 These little cuties are perfect for gifts, place markers, card fronts or ornaments.

 If you are making several of these, I recommend cutting and embossing all of the pieces and then coloring them as you go. That's what I did.

 It made for a really relaxing evening of coloring and assembly. Then when it was time to put tags together I was ready to go!

Christmas Tags - Side Order

 Oh these little Christmas Side Order dies are so cute and make delightfully fun tags that can be used on presents, cards, placeholders, or even made into ornaments.

I started by using the Mini Shifter Stencil #36 from the Halloween release because they are classic designs that work for any occasion, and also because at the time the Christmas Shifter Stencils #37 hadn’t been released yet. These styles were perfect for my tags though.  I used Distress Inks and Distress Watercolor Cardstock for these tags.   

**Let me note here that not all watercolor paper is equal** I only use Distress Watercolor Cardstock now because I stamped a ton of images for a card swap this summer on a cheaper brand that I purchased at a hobby store in a pad and cut to size. I had a horrible time water coloring on it. My results were nothing near what I get with Distress, so now to save time and money I only use Distress. 

I did two color schemes for the two different side orders  and I included some solid colors that I embossed with the mini embossing folder included with the dies.

The background tags and the smaller shapes the dies sit are are both from the Labels dies set.  I know I have said this before but it is seriously one of my favorite die sets! There are so many great shapes and lots of sizes! It is a definite must have in your die cutting library.

I made sure that the smaller label dies that the Christmas shape was going to sit on were the solid, embossed pieces.

I hand cut the little banners from left over bits of the stenciled papers and added the sentiment that is part of the Christmas Side Order.

Then I was inspired to try this. I was looking at the Santa die and I realized that he could easily become Yukon Cornelius if I just colored the die parts a little differently. So that's what I did and I love it! I even added his yellow earmuffs. 

Yukon and Rudolph are so cute.

 The sentiment on this one is a made up of a combination of the Christmas Script dies for Merry and the Lowercase Cutout Alphanumeric for Misfits

Once you get the stenciling and embossing done these tags move pretty quickly.  I also cut out all the little pieces and parts from Distress Watercolor Cardstock and Distress Mixed Media Heavystock and then colored them and assembled them before I started the tags.

Halloween Tags - Sizzix Alterations Halloween Sideorder

All of the Sizzix Sidekick Side Order dies this year have been such fun to create with. They made wonderful additions to other dies, or as you see here, they can make a terrific stand-alone tag. 
The Halloween Side Order die set comes with the skeleton, cat, monster, boo, and a small bat texture fade folder. Everything is sized to fit perfectly in the Sizzix Sidekick. 

To make these quick Halloween tags, it is simple enough to just use the tag that came with your Sidekick, but I decided to use another set of dies to make these tags and it is one of my favorite sets, the Labels. I truly think it should be one every paper crafter owns. 

I chose the ornate tag shape from the Labels set for the base, and the large shield shape to emboss. The shield made for a perfect frame for the Halloween Side Order shapes.

I colored several pieces of Distress Mixed Media Heavystock with Distress Inks for the tags and the shield shapes. Then I cut the various pieces for the Skeleton, Monster and Cat from plain Heavystock and then colored each piece once it was cut.

To finish them off, I punched a small hole in the top center of the ornate tag shape and tied some black twine through it.
These are very quick and fast to make and can be added to treat bags, made into cards, or added to a gift.

Would you like a Side Order with that Sidekick?

Adding to all the fun that is the Sizzix Alterations Sidekick, Tim Holtz has released six sets of Side Order dies and the best part is that they are available TODAY! How cool is that? You don't even have to wait!

Below are the sample tags I had the privilege of making for Tim's live Facebook reveal. There were several questions about how I made the frames for the shaker tags, so I took a few pictures that are at the end of this post that I hope will explain how I made the frames.

 

Making the frames for the shaker cards is actually really easy! I started by pulling out the following die sets: the tag that comes with the Sidekick, the Labels set and the Gift Tags set.

If you take a look at the dies in the Labels  set, you will notice that most of them are too big or small for the shaker tag frames, but there are two in this set that work well. The large postage stamp and the one I've termed the bulging rectangle.

As you can see in the image below, the bulging rectangle and the large postage stamp fit within the tag and leave a nice border or frame.  The ornate oval is too wide and doesn't leave a sufficient frame.

I cut several tags first, since you need two for each shaker tag. Keep one whole and the other, the one that is going to be your frame, center the smaller die in the center of the tag and tape it down with removable tape. Run it through the Sidekick, and voila, you have a shaker frame. Now you just need to cut foam to go around the outside of the tag, add your shaker items, acetate and adhere it to the bottom tag. 

The Gift Tag dies all fit on the Sidekick but not all will work for a shaker tag frame. Some are too wide or too tiny, so check carefully to see which fit on the tag.

These three are the best fit for the shaker tags. Now these tags have holes in them but that's of no consequence since we just need the outside shape. Cut them out the same way you did the labels.

As you can see from the image below, each of them make a fun shaker window in the Sidekick tag.

 

For the birthday shaker, I cut a bunch of the stars from for the hat

 

For the Valentine tag, I cut a bunch of the tiny hearts that go on the envelope. 

 

I colored some of the Rock Candy Distress Glitter with Butterscotch Alcohol ink 

and added that as sand in the Summer shaker tag.

 

I cut a bunch of the stars from the banner for the 4th of July shaker tag.

 

This shaker has a bunch of little "eggs" that are actually the bird's wings. I speckled them

 by using the Distress Sprayer with the Ground Espresso Distress Marker.