Tags of Christmas – Peaceful Deer

It's time for one of my favorite challenges of the year … Ellen Hutson's 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist.  First-up this year is Julie Ebersole with this beauty:

Julie shared a video showing how she painted her stripes with Distress Ink and a wide paint brush.  I decided to see if I could get a similar effect using a not-so-wide paint brush (since I don't have a wide one in my stash … I must correct that) and Hero Arts Watercolor Paint Wheel.

I used all four colors of green in the watercolor set on a small piece of watercolor paper, as well as incorporating some yellow into my top two stripes.  Since my paint brush was smaller, it took me several swipes to get the width of stripe that I wanted.  I followed Julie's advice to use my heat gun to dry between stripes to keep a bit of definition between the colors.

Since I like to send my tags like cards, I cut a second tag from cardstock and attached it to the back of my watercolor paper (it gives it more stability and covers-up any watercolor blips on the back).

In addition to gorgeous German Sequins, my Secret Santa Betty also sent me the deer die cut that I used on my tag (love it).

As I thought about inking my sentiment from Hero Arts Lowercase Greetings (this set, which is one of my favorites, is a steal at only $8 at the a2z Scrapbooking Store) to match, I wondered if I could use watercolors on a stamp … turns out that works too (I think having a nice wide font is the key to getting a readable word).  It took a couple of tries to get the coverage I wanted, but I love the effect.

I finished with two sizes of silver squins … as well as red velvet ribbon tied with a scrap of silver sparkle ribbon.

Remember, through the end of today (Monday), you can use code CYBER20 for 20% off your $25 order (before shipping & tax) at the a2z Scrapbooking Store.  

There's also a Scavenger Hunt through the end of today (Monday) for a chance to win a $25 gift certificate, so you can shop & enter to win.

And while you're at it … why don't you LIKE the a2z Scrapbooking Facebook page, so you don't miss out on any great deal … or lots of inspiration (seriously, look at this beauty that was entered in our November Challenge).

And speaking of challenges … the December Challenge is … drum roll … watercolors (remember you have to use at least one Hero Arts stamp/diecut/stencil) … so get painty and join us for another chance to win some $$.