Tim Holtz’s 12 Tags of 2012-May

Inspired by Tim’s May tag, this was a fun tag to make, and I didn’t mind buying a couple of supplies (Seamless Experience stamp set and Sewing Room die), as I can use them again for little projects for my mother to enjoy during her chemo. Since she was the CHAMPION seamstress as she was raising her five children (of whom I am proudly the oldest), I will use this theme more than once. She made almost all my clothes until I got married (as she did for all us four girls). She made my wedding dress and all the bridesmaids gowns for the wedding. For a time, she taught classes for Singer. So, I love this theme.

I will give credit to Shelly Hickox for the idea of using a stamp on sticky-back canvas for the dress form, but I must say that I had already purchased the die at a Hobby Lobby while traveling for our granddaughter’s graduation, to use in lieu of the stamp that Tim used (though I do have the stamp he used). I used my favorite Wendy Vecchi stamp for the pattern on the form, with Coffee Archival Ink. I cut the little dress for the hanger with Cricut Everyday Paper Dolls, using paper from October Afternoon. I stained the seam binding with Fired Brick. I stamped the spool stamp with Barn Door Distress Ink.

I found an old pattern on the internet and printed it on regular white tissue paper. I was hoping Mother had saved some of her old patterns (I remember Butterick and Simplicity and McCalls), but she says they have been gone for twenty years.

The really fun NEW thing for me was using the Melting Pot (recently purchased and used with beeswax already) and UTEE. It was so much fun, I kept trying to think of things I could dip in it! I had trouble finding paper flowers like I’ve seen on others’ projects, and the only thing I could find was some individual fabric flowers on stems in the wedding department at Hobby Lobby. They also had some leaves on wires.

I knew right away I would NOT be using the wooden spool (I don’t do woodworking, nor do I intend to), so I like the little spool that is part of the Sewing Room die set (cut from grunge board covered with natural sticky-back canvas and inked with Frayed Burlap and a bit of Barn Door). For my part, the next time I do a version of this tag, I will probably use flatter flowers, as I don’t like huge and heavy tags so much. But, I’m pretty much pleased with how this came together, and I’ll certainly be using UTEE again!