I managed to do two tags in a row. Wahoo! Below is my tag for July.

As always, I was missing many of the items necessary to duplicate Tim’s tag. I always try to make do with what I already have in my craft room because most of the time I can substitute items and even techniques. I made a video of the making of this tag. It just needs to be edited and I will add it to this post when that is done. I really enjoy doing these tags! Here’s a link to Tim’s tag and the tutorial : http://timholtz.com/12-tags-of-2015-july/
Here’s a few things that I did differently because I was missing supplies:
1. I used a different stamp set that had mini blue prints in it. Since I didn’t have the USA blueprint I decided to stamp it with some letters from one of my Tim Holtz stamp sets and add my own blueprint looking lines and arrows.
2. While I do sell the Distress Microglaze, I try not to take items that I have limited inventory on out of stock. (Which I am glad I didn’t because I am down to one as of this morning!) I had some wax laying around because I’ve been meaning to get in to encaustic wax painting. I had made my own encaustic wax using Damar Resin and Beeswax. I grabbed a chunk of wax and rubbed it over my stamped and colored images. I proceeded to watercolor over it hoping the wax layer would be sufficient. Apparently, it was too sufficient because I had rubbed all around the image and I ended up with more white background than colored background. At least now I know that is an option! I didn’t have much control over where the wax would be placed when I was rubbing with that solid block. I think that’s a good reason to get the Distress Microglaze as you will get more control with your placement. The microglaze is paste-like and you only need a tiny bit to cover and protect a space from water methods.
3. I do not own a sewing machine. I considered buying a small one for the craft room, but I am really trying to limit myself of larger tools that take up space. So, I just did faux stitching with a pen.
4. My embellishments are different. The number 4 is a grungeboard piece that I painted with a metallic distress paint. The little star is one that I had laying around, and I didn’t have any good charms to add to the top. I really wish I did because it looks a little empty up there.
5. For the spritzing, I had to make my own black marker. I applied some Black Soot ink onto an acrylic block and picked it up with my water brush. The water brush I have will not fit in the spritzer, so I had to hold it carefully and spritz. It ended up working well enough.
6. The crinkle ribbon technique had to be done differently too. I used some seam binding and ran the piece through an ink pad. It laid down the color just fine and it looks about the same in the end. I did have less control over the placement of the color though. If I had the Distress Markers, I would of had a more defined white space in the middle.
So, there’s the differences and how I overcome not having all of the supplies. I hope that might help some of you who are lacking supplies. Just try to think of another way to get it done with what you have. Thank you for stopping by!
P.S. One product I can not substitute is Distress Ink! If you need some, we have it in stock and at a great price! JUST CLICK HERE!