March 24th was the Season 5 finale with the #bigAreveal and I spent the entire week leading up to the episode in endless hours of neuron exploding thought trying to figure out who A is. And even after the episode I'm still left wondering which actor on the show is Charles (#CharlesIsA)…PLL writers, you are frying my brain!
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| Photo courtesy of the Pretty Little Liars Facebook page. |
So I set to work making some really cute "tAgs" inspired by A messages to go with the food. Warning: A sometimes uses "unsavory language" so the pictures may contain a choice word or two!
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| These delightful "tAgs" are quick and easy to make. Plus, you only need a handful of supplies: a little bit of Aria inspired creativity, a dash of Hanna's sassiness, a spoonful of Spencer's ingenuity, a bit of muscle from Emily and a pinch of A's dark and twisted intentions. |
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| I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut out the tag shapes and to write on the banners. If you don't have a die cut machine of your own it's easy to find some pre-cut tags at your local craft store. Hand-cut the banners and write on them with a red pen or marker. |
Next I stamped some vintage looking images from Tim Holtz onto the bottom of each tag using archival ink. I always use archival ink anytime I want to color or mist on top of the stamped image so that the ink doesn't run or smudge. After the ink dried, I colored the tags even more with a blending tool and fired brick, victorian velvet and pumice stone Distress Inks. I used my heat tool to speed up the drying time then I added heavy white gesso with a craft knife and stencil to add texture to the tags.
Some alternatives to gesso: glitter glue or acrylic paint! Try flicking some off a paint brush to create random spatters.
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| Tim Holtz's mini blueprint stamps were the perfect size for my tags. Make sure to chose a stamp that will fill up the bottom third of the tag. |
I added color to the stamped images with Copic markers in varying shades of red, yellow and green and then dripped some Marion Smith Designs Color Lab mist in merlot (see my previous blog post where I talk about Color Lab). I used a paper towel to soak up some of the extra color mist and then rubbed that color mist onto corners of the tags (waste not, want not).
After that I added a finer mist of color with my Tim Holtz Airbrush tool and a red Copic marker and a black Zig marker. I finely misted the black and did some heavier misting with the red.
If you don't have Copic markers, try watercolor pencils or basic colored pencils. If you don't have color mists or the airbrush tool, don't worry! Load up a paintbrush with some watercolor (don't water it down too much so it stays nice and vibrant) or acrylic paint and flick it onto the tags to create splatters.
I do highly recommend getting some color mists from your local craft store if you don't already have them. They are inexpensive and you can use them in so many fun projects: make your own color splatter/splash artwork for home decor, color easter eggs, personalize the cover of a plain notebook and turn it into a journal, color crinkle ribbon for other crafty projects (see below) and so much more! Seriously! Just Google color mists and see what you come up with. There are even DIY/make your own color mists if you are feeling adventurous enough. If not, you can easily find Tim Holtz Distress Sprays (non-shimmery) and Heidi Swapp Color Shine mists (has shimmery mica) in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store. Just shake and spray…or splatter…or paint with them!
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| I do all of my misting in an old cardboard box lined with paper towels. It keeps the color mist from getting everywhere and cleanup is a breeze! Make sure that if you take your ribbon or flowers out of the box to dry, to set them on a clean paper towel so you don't accidentally color your table. Some mists like the ones from Tim Holtz are water soluble and wash off easily but others like Dylusions are permanent and will stain. |
I wanted to tie a small bow at the top of each tag to give them a little element of girliness so I pulled out enough crinkle ribbon for all of my tags and colored it with the merlot Color Lab mist and the new abandoned coral Distress Spray. Make sure to wad up your crinkle ribbon real good so it gets that lovely, crinkly-vintage look then set it aside to dry. I also colored some small white paper roses with the galaxy color mist from Color Lab.
Crinkle ribbon is just seam binding. It's great because you can color the ribbon to exactly match the rest of your project and once it's dry, the wrinkles and crinkles stay. Super fun! Trust me when I say there is nothing worse to an über crafter than ribbon that's a bit off in color. If you can still find it in your local craft store, Tim Holtz has a great crinkle ribbon. I usually find it at Joann's and always buy a pack or two when I go. Otherwise, I've seen a lot of people posting about spools of Hug Snug.
If you just want to go with plain old ribbon, use some in a contrasting color. My tags are mostly red so I would choose black for this project.
The paper roses can be found in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store. I bought these from Michael's but Hobby Lobby also carries a nice selection. You can also buy them in a rainbow of colors if you don't want to color your own.
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| The Tim Holtz Distress Inks are great for any crafty project and come in a rainbow of hues. The more you apply, the darker and more vibrant the color becomes. And they are water soluble and mistake proof! If you feel you added too much color, spritz with water and dab with a paper towel. It's that easy! |
Then I cut off a small piece of cluny (cotton) lace for each tag and colored each pice with a little bit of the pumice stone Distress Ink.
I folded each piece of lace in half and layered it behind the banners. Using a red brad, I attached the banner and lace to the tag. I also added foam mounting squares to the back of the banner for added dimension.
The cluny lace ribbon, brads and foam mounting squares can be found in the ribbon and scrapbooking sections of your local craft store.
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| These beauties are ready to pArty! Add them to your decor, your dessert table, gift bags, etc. |
Once the flowers and crinkle ribbon were dry, I attached some jute twine to the top of each tag then tied the crinkle ribbon around the jute and glued on a flower using an adhesive glue dot. I also added a Tim Holtz skull and crossbones embellishment to one of the tags, adhering it with Glossy Aceents. (For those of you who don't watch Pretty Little Liars, quite a few people have died on the show!)
Adhesive glue dots are great as there is no drying time. Make sure that your flower is completely dry before trying to adhere the glue dot to it, otherwise it won't stick. Glue dots can be found in the scrapbooking section of your local craft store along with the Tim Holtz skull and cross bones embellishments and the Glossy Accents, a dimensional liquid for decorating that doubles as a great adhesive. Another great heavy duty adhesive is gel medium. You can find this in the painting section of the craft store. Make sure to get a gel medium that dries clear.
I hope you enjoyed this picture tutorial! Stay tuned for my next blog post--it will include fun food ideas for your next Pretty Little Liars party.
Don't feel like searching your local craft store for the needed supplies? Check out Scrapbook.com--I routinely buy scrapbooking and crafting supplies from them and you will find much of what I used in their online store. If you live in Arizona, you can even hold your order for pickup in their warehouse.
Products Used:
- Prima: Art Basics - heavy gesso in white
- The Paper Studio: Spare Parts - brads in red; Ribbon - cluny lace
- Marion Smith Designs: Color Lab - merlot, galaxy (both of these recipes are in the Color Lab Kit)
- Silhouette America: Sketch pens - bright red
- Zig: Writer - pure black
- Copic: Sketch - crimson, lipstick, cadmium yellow, bronze, sepia, colorless blender
- Ranger Ink: Archival Ink - jet black; Glossy Accents
- Tim Holtz: Stamper's Anonymous Mini Blueprints- #4 or vintage things strip; Ideaology - crinkle ribbon, crossbones; Distress Ink: fired brick, victorian velvet, pumice stone, black soot; Distress Spray: abandoned coral; Aribrush Tool; Blending Tool
- Crafter's Workshop: 12x12 stencil - well rounded
- Recollections: Mini Paper Roses - white; Cardstock - cream; Foam Mounting Squares - small
- Zots: Adhesive Glue Dots - medium
- Other: jute twine; old manilla folder
Product Substitutions:
- Die Cut Machine (tags, banner) = pre-cut tags/banners, printable tags/banners or a traceable template
- Silhouette Sketch Pens = pen or marker
- Distress Ink = watercolors or tea dye
- Color Mists = watercolors
- Gesso = glitter glue or acrylic paint
- Copic Markers = watercolor pencils or basic colored pencils
- Crinkle Ribbon = seam binding or basic ribbon
- Glossy Accents = gel medium (I suggest Golden or Prima)
Other Tools You May Want on Hand:
- Paintbrushes
- Mini Mister or Spray Bottle
- Pipette or Dropper (for a more controlled splatter)
- Scissors and/or craft knife
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Non-Stick Craft Mat
- Heat Tool
- Self Healing Craft Mat (in case you want extra protection for your workspace when you pierce your brad through the papers!)
- Paper Towels
- Old Cardboard Box
Kisses!
-A(drienne)
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