Friday, November 2, 2007

Decorated tag tutorial ~

I'd like to share with you another one of my projects ~ these are so very simple but they really are beautiful, my decorated tags. These tags are the large size manilla price tags that you can buy at Staples, Office Max or Office Depot. They are a creamy yellow color to start off with but I dip each one in a bowl of instant coffee to age them! So here we go with the steps:

1) Heat a bowl filled with only an inch or so of water in your microwave, about as long as you'd heat it to boil it. Remove and spoon in a couple of tablespoons of instant coffee, stir to dissolve. I've featured the brand that I use but you can even buy the no-name brand and use it. I leave them in a couple of minutes and lay them out on an old hand towel. At this point if you'd like "age" spots, using a dry hand, pinch a little of the coffee between your fingers and "grind" it into a fine powder as you are sprinkling it over the tags. I place them on a microwave safe plate with the strings on the outside and then microwave them for a minute or so to dry them fast! But please be careful, paper can catch fire if you don't watch it.

2) This is how your tag will end up looking after the coffee aging process:



3) This step is optional if you don't have a background stamp but I love the effect that it gives. I just use a gold ink because it's not really dark and press on my background.






3) Next I use images that I've printed out from my computer or you could use the images cut from old Christmas cards ~ what a great recycling idea! You can use decorative edge scissors here. Then I use a glue stick on the back of the image and place it on the tag.






4) Then I use my finger to spread a little glue around the edges of the image, Elmers is fine here or even use the glue stick again, then sprinkle some fine clear glitter onto the tag and shake off the remaining glitter into something that you can pour what's left over back into your glitter container. I let them dry and voila! You have custom handmade tags for your gifts that have a beautiful aged look and you made them yourself!!

PS.....They look beautiful tied on the Christmas tree as ornaments!

42 comments:

Anonymous said...

These are so pretty! Thanks for the tutorial, I'm going to give it a try. Thanks also for the sneak peek on the RH article. I still don't have a copy of the magazine, it was so nice of you to share!
Smiles, Heather

Anonymous said...

OMGosh, those are just beautiful!! I love that aging process, I can't wait to try it! ~A :-)

shelbi said...

lovely! thank you so much. i am very much enjoying your delightful blog!

Anonymous said...

Oooh...cool! I wish I had kept those old postcards I had. Got too caught up in the spirit of de-cluttering!

Sweet Cottage Dreams said...

Lovely! I peeked at the shop and can only say if I lived close by I'd be spending my money there. I love it! xo, Becky

Flea Market Queen said...

Thanks for the tutorial...
Mine haven't turned out quite the way I wanted in the past...I will have to try this!
Thanks...
Priscilla

Anonymous said...

Dawn -you site and creations are always a delight to the eyes and bring a smile to my face . I am a certified tag a holic -- i cannot even throw the tags away from the wonderful things i have bought in your shop -- they are too sweet -- also the mitten tutorial --so wonderful - hope you have these at the open house - Kathy

Deb said...

Hi Dawn
What an awesome tutorial! I love the idea of tying the tags on a Christmas tree as ornaments too.
Have a great weekend.

Lena said...

This is a wonderful tutorial, Dawn. Thank you.
Things are looking lovely on the Plum Tree site! I often think...it's a good thing I don't live nearby! So many beautiful things are found there, and the vignettes are inspiring.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dawn! Your instructions are SO helpful. I'm thinking this process would work great for place card on Thanksgiving too!
Best,
Kathy

michelle sturgeon said...

Very pretty! Such a great vintage look!

Cape Cod Washashore said...

Great tutorial, Dawn! Your tags are lovely! One year I used Victorian postcards as gift tags, and put gold ribbons on them to attach them to gifts. The next year, my parents used all of theirs as decorations on their tree. =)

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

How pretty! Thank you so much for the tutorial. It looks like something even I could do!
Penny

Lee Weber said...

what kind of glitter do you use? Love the tags, did some for my PIF.

Anonymous said...

Oh!!! Thank you for sharing those they are beautiful!

CIELO said...

Wow!... this is amazing!!... An enjoyment to the eyes. Such a talent you have, Dawn. I whish I’ll be that talented…

Love,


Cielo

Cindy said...

Oh, it's so much fun to see how others make their art. Thanks for a lovely tutorial, I can't wait to try it. I've been wanting to try to make more vintagy things, this is the perfect excuse. : )

Charmingdesigns said...

I never thought of vanilla flavored coffee! That would give it such a nice smell!! Thanks for sharing! Laurie

~Red Tin Heart~ said...

Dawn these are really pretty. Thank you for sharing your technique. xoxo nita

Cottage Contessa said...

Wonderful tags! This looks like something my daughter would enjoy doing. Thanks for sharing!
Amanda (aka Cottage Contessa)

Anonymous said...

Oh Dawn, sans t'avoir lu ... nous avons eu des idées communes !!!
J'adore !

Lori said...

Dawn, these are so sweet...i'm going to try them!!!

Janet said...

Dawn,
You make crafting seem so easy. I "took" the mitten ornaments to the party at the Inspired Room, and now these tags, WOW. I can't wait to get to Staples ( and I don't say THAT very often)!
Thanks,
Janet

Anonymous said...

Looks like you are well prepared for the Christmas gift season :-)

Anonymous said...

What a fantastic tutorial. I will have to try this sometime. I love the end result. It's beautiful and wonderfully creative. I just found your site but I will return for more browsing!

Sherry said...

Something so "simple" and "easy" yet so beautiful and looks like it took ages to make. Thank you so much for sharing this brilliant idea!!

Jacqueline said...

This is a great idea for a tag, love the script background - TFS!

Crafty Mama said...

I loved the little mittens but these tags are going on my to-do-list also! Great tutorial. Thank you!
Happy Saterday!

Mary said...

I'm another tag-aholic and make them constantly - even keep tags off of clothing and rework/recycle them! Thanks for the great tutorial Dawn - love the 'glitterati' idea for the upcoming Holidays.

Enjoy your extra hour of sleep this weekend - I'm off to turn my clocks back!!

Sharon said...

I love making tags, thanks for the coffee tips.

Just took a tour of the store all set up for the holiday kick off. It looks great.

LeAnne said...

These are beautiful, I have just the images to use on them. Thanks!

maija said...

thank you very much for tutorial!
maija

Kim said...

What a pleasure it is to read your blog. In fact, it was the first art blog I ever read, and always inspires me to do something lovely. Thank you for that, it goes way beyond just this post, thank you for all your sharing. Kim

AmyB said...

Thank you, thank you for sharing the know how! How kind of you!
-Amy B

Erin said...

Thanks so much for sharing this with us! I hope mine turn out as lovely as yours!

Anonymous said...

Hi Dawn:

Thank you so much for sharing how to make the Decorated Tags! I had my husband pick up (what I thought was instant coffee) at the store while he was there. Later, as I was retrieving the tags from the bowl, I noticed the tags were quite chunky! Important Note: make sure the coffee you're using is instant....not regular ground :) They still turned out great...! Thanks again, Tonya - Anacortes, WA

Anonymous said...

I just today discovered your blog and while I'm a little behind date wise, I LOVED your step by step instructions for these lovely gift tags. They're beautiful! You've inspired me to create a great tag for my shop. Thank you! Elizabeth

sepiadreams said...

Thanks Dawn another great idea and simple steps which is what I always need..LOve Tiina....

PEA said...

thanks Dawn,
nice of you to share.
They are beautiful!
Pea

Janet said...

:) made a tag tonight as a matter of fact. i've always used ink to "age" mine, but will have to give the coffee a try. love the way it looks. thanks!

SharDon Exclusives said...

When going through my parents storage shop there on the floor were hundreds of those tags and I had the forthought to pic them up. I will try this right away so I don't loose the idea. Thank you for such a sweet idea. Now I can use some of the images I got from your Chistmas tutorial that I purchased a while back. Thanks!!!

Sanctuary Home said...

Oooooo...I love these...I'm going to make some for myself. Thanks for sharing! :)


Labels

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...