Happy Haunting Tag

Sunday Greetings! I am in HAPPY spirits today and hope the same for you.

I noticed Tag Tuesday's Tree challenge ends shortly, so I quickly decided to make a Halloween tag for my little art corner. I have had this Halloween tree stamp from Third Coast Stamps aptly named Sinister Tree for a decade and have only used it a few times. It's really the only scary tree stamp I have and I love the eyes, lol. I also noticed Stamping Sensations and a few other blogs challenges are themed similarly, so this was a done deal decision!

SUPPLIES:
Paper: Basic Grey Urban Couture tag and pp, Recollections heavy card stock
Stamps: Third Coast, Making Memories, Inkadinkado
Inks: VersaFine Clair, Palette Hybrids
Other: Bic Wite-Out pen, Prisma Colored pencil, embossing powder

I chose to use the largest tag from Basic Grey's Urban Couture 12x12 collection instead of die cutting one. I'm looking at it and thinking, why not try ink blending over the pattern? Lots of delicate lines and interesting movement to peek out for depth if I choose a transparent ink. So I pulled out my Palette Hybrids.

First, though, I stamped the Sinister Tree in the middle and clear-heat-embossed it. And I began blending brown inks from the bottom up to the trunk line. I noticed two circular designs on the tag, one yellow-ish that was coincidentally close to the horizon I'd created by stamping the tree. And one up higher in the sky almost up to the tag hole.

That gave me the idea of a setting sun and a rising moon, so I made sure to leave both of them bare enough to see them. I made the ink color blending change at top to a lighter blue so that the moon is dipping out of darker clouds perhaps. And I floated the setting sun in purple blending.

I carefully added white dots to the eyes with my Bic Wite-Out pen but did not do a thing to the whites of his eyes. Love how they stand out by stamping before ink blending the background.

The Happy Haunting graveyard sentiment at bottom was added after I inked the background. I colored the words with a white PrismaColor colored pencil to help it stand out and be readable.

The stamping of the 2 flying bats was done as an afterthought to make it even spookier. I decided not to heat-emboss them. This is a one-layer tag, by the way. And no masking! Gotta love silhouettes!

 This is the back of the tag. I've cut a piece of the same paper as the tag and adhered it to stiff card stock before adhering that to the tag. I inked the exposed edge of the tag back and was going to ink this paper as well, but thenI decided to leave it as is, as a reminder of what the front looked like before inking. I can always ink it later if I decide to decorate it.

Here is one last look at my tag. I REALLY love how it turned out. I think I may have finally done some justice to the Sinister Tree. And how cool was it to ink blend over patterned paper! Definitely doing that again! Also, did you notice I was back to my finger sponge daubers? The Palette Hybrid inks move and blend so much easier than Distress Inks, so for this ink the daubers are just fine and I already have a dauber for every color. The blending brushes are still da bomb, though, just sayin'. ;-)))

CHALLENGES:
1.  Tag Tuesday: Trees
2.  Stamping Sensations October Challenge: Trees and or Leaves or Autumn -- I have a stamped Sinister Tree and Autumn Halloween colors.
3.  Mix It Up Challenge #30: AG + Opt. Open Technique -- I've played the option and my technique is ink blending on patterned paper!
4.  TTCRD Oct. 1-7: AG
5.  Lost Coast Portal to Creativity Challenge #85: 31 Days of Halloween

6.  LTCCB #39: AG
7.  LTSCB #126: No Cards Allowed
8.  Simply Create Too #154: AG + Opt. Spooky/Scary
9.  Aud Sentiments Challenge #237: Halloween/Fall + A Sentiment
10. 2 Crafty Critter Crazies Challenge #31: Always AG with a Critter -- 2 big bats
11. The Creative Crafters Challenge #20: AG
12. Outlawz Festive Fridays Oct. 4-17: Anything Goes theme (Halloween)
13. Try it on Tuesday: Animal Magic - got some magic bats!
14. Crafty Calendar Challenge: October Autumn Colors / Halloween

I appreciate your visit and come again soon! Happy week ahead! xox