12 Tags - January

There is a first time for everything, right? Currently, I'm doing roughly 6 things right now while writing this post. And yes, watching hockey, house cleaning, texting, and cooking are all involved (in case you are curious). I think that's not a personal best, but if it is, then hey, another first time!
What I really mean, though, is that this is the first time I've played along with the 12 tags by Tim Holtz. I love the monthly inspiration and played along this time!
Using Tim's techniques that you can find here, I made this card for my brother's 28th birthday which is next week. So, Happy (Early) Birthday, little bro! (The card is in the mail!)
In making the card, I really stuck to the techniques and just added a few of my own touches to the elements. One thing I wanted to try was to add paint to the glittered numbers, not just ink. I was really pleased with the way it turned out! I think using the metallic paints makes a huge difference, though, since they have their own shimmery finish which compliments the distress glitter. To apply, I just added a bit with my fingers here and there and buffed it with a paper towel before it dried.
Another change I made was adding some smears of paint to the background after applying the glue and seal behind the numbers and 'eight'. This added some contrast to really make the 'eight' stand out since I used many different shades of blue on the background. Just a smear of bronze paint really made a difference.
I had a lot of fun making this card and selecting the birthday wish related words to add to the back, especially the 'happy', 'day' and 'brother'.
I hope you like the card and, just as an update, the Mommy and Me pages of my niece's book will be up soon!!