Challenge: 12 Tags of Christmas - Funkie Junkie Style - Week #4

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 I can hardly believe that it's Monday again and time for Week #4 of the 12 Christmas tags challenge.  How does the time fly by so fast?  I had a busy week...finished my taxes, shipped over 50 orders from the Boutique, cleaned my house and entertained house guests for the weekend, all the while training for a 60+ mile bike ride, which I cycled in on Saturday.  So Sunday, it was back to the craft table to finish a couple of DT pieces due this coming week plus come up with the design for Tag #4 to inspire you (I hope you are playing along).

This was a tough one.  It's funny how sometimes a piece will come together easily and other times it will be such a struggle.  This was the latter.  I think I fiddled around with it for over 3 hours!  I knew I wanted to use some of the yummy designer paper from the Maja Design It's Christmas Time collection but didn't have a design in mind.  I started by cutting/tearing two strips of the paper to use for my background and had the brainstorm of running a strip of embossing paste lengthwise along each edge and then dry embossing it when it was dry.  I thought it would add a nice texture to tie piece.  So I mixed up a blog of white embossing paste (probably about 2 tbsp) and mixed in about 3 drops of Iced Spruce reinker.  I spread it along the edges and smoothed it out with a credit card.  When dry, I embossed it with the one of the border texture fades from the Valentine's Backgrounds and Borders set.  The burlap squares were a quick and easy idea, brushing them with a dab of gesso to add more of a country look.  I started to cut the letters with the new foil cardstock and the Vintage Marketplace strip die, but then remembered these Cirque Industrious Sticker letters which I absolutely love and which match the Industrious borders.  I ended up using both and really like the way it looks.

I used the Tattered Poinsettia and the Mini Poinsettia dies to cut more of the Maja designs papers.  I topped off my flowers with some pretty silver end caps from my jewelry making supplies.

That's all folks.  Now it's your turn.  Hope you will play along.  If this is your first time to join in, please read all the challenge requirements here.  You can play any time through December 22nd and you can play in any order.  Just get it done and link it up!  Hope to see you playing along this week.

These products are available a The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

25 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	50 Jumbo Manila Shipping Tags 8x4" #12	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste - White	Ranger Tim Holtz Seasonal Distress Ink Reinker - Iced Spruce	Maja Design Scrapbook Paper - It′s Christmas Time
Sizzix Alterations Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia BIGz Die	Tim Holtz Mini Cardinal and Poinsettia Sizzix Alterations Movers and Shapers Dies	Natural Jute Mesh (Burlap)	Claudine Hellmuth Gesso	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Industrious Stickers - Cirque
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Industrious Stickers - Borders