Vintage Mixed Media Tags with Lindys Magical Shakers and Embossing Powders

Hi friends! Preeti Datta (Dutt Preety) on the Lindy’s blog today to show you step by step how to create a pair of Vintage Mixed Media Tags using Lindy’s Gang Magical Shakers and Embossing Powders.

Lindy’s gorgeous Magicals and Magical Shakers are superb because of their versatility. These are dye-based pigment powders, they are highly potent and can be used in multiple ways. A little goes a long way with these. We will be making our own DIY colored modeling pastes with these beautiful magical shakers. To make our Vintage Tags, we will use very few supplies. Just 4 colors of Magical Shakers and 2 embossing powders. The same ideas can be used for art journaling, canvases, cards etc. These tags can be used for gifting, within scrapbooking albums, as home decor pieces or you could even create a little tag book with old family photos.

Basic Process

To begin, die-cut two tags using thick watercolor paper (300 gsm) and a tag die. (If you don’t have a tag die, you could also cut out tags, very easily, using a paper trimmer.)

To build visual interest and add texture to the background, we will create a little collage on the background. Adhere washi tapes, torn pieces of vintage design decoupage paper and collage papers to the background using gel medium. Then, apply clear gesso on top of everything, so that it is easier to colour later on. (To create the background collage, you can use lots of different kinds of papers in your stash like scraps of scrapbook paper, tissue papers, fabric tapes, stamped papers, gift wrapping paper etc).

Next, we will create our own DIY colored modeling pastes. Take 2 little blobs of modeling paste (or any kind of texture paste/heavy white gesso or thick gel medium) and add a little bit of Lindy’s Magical Shakers to the blobs. Here, I’ve used Lindy’s Magical Shakers Time Travel Teal and Cathedral Pines Green. I want an opaque paste here with pastel shades, hence, I’ve used modeling paste. (Mixing magicals with modeling paste or heavy white gesso will yield opaque pastes with pastel shades and mixing magicals with gel mediums will yield translucent pastes with darker shades of the color.)

Now, mix the pigment powder with the modeling paste properly, so that the whole paste is an even color. This is the uniform & simple look I wanted. (We could even create a color gradient look by mixing different amounts of the magical powders into the modeling paste, the more the powder, the darker the shade of the DIY colored paste.)

Next, apply the DIY colored modeling pastes onto the tags through a couple of stencils. This will add a pop of color and create background texture & interest.

Time to create the vintage look. For this, stamp onto the tags using your favorite stamps and use brown shades of archival inks. Also, distress the edges of the tags and hole protectors using the same archival inks and a blending tool. (It is best to use archival inks at this stage because they are permanent when dry. We can add more colors on top if we like.)

Next, we prepare some die cuts for layering. Create die-cuts using your favorite dies and thick cardstock. You can use chipboards or punched out elements as well, whatever you have in your stash. We will heat emboss these die cuts multiple times to create three-dimensional looking embellishments. For the heat embossing, we will use Lindy’s Embossing Powders Twilight Bronze Slate and Midnight Copper. While heat embossing I always use Lindy’s Gripper to hold the thin die cuts, it protects my fingers from the heat & prevents the die cuts from flying away.

This is what the die cuts look like once they are heat embossed three times using Lindy’s gorgeous Embossing Powders. I love that shine! Multiple heat embossing gives them that extra dimension. I think these look like beautiful little metallic embellishments.

Now, adhere black die-cuts behind the heat embossed embellishments, a little off-center, to create a shadow effect on these metallic embellishments.

Next, color some gauze/cheesecloth using Lindy’s Magical Shakers. Mix a little of the beautiful magical powder with water and then dip the wet cheesecloth into the colored water. This colourizes the cheesecloth. Then dry it. Here, I’ve used Lindy’s Magical Shakers Guten Tag Teal and Lederhosen Laurel. 

Now, gather all the elements for layering. Create a visually pleasing composition by layering all the elements including die cuts, vintage photos, old book pages, gauze, word stickers and crystals. Adhere everything using a strong glue. To finish, create ink splatters to add cohesion to the whole piece. Create white splatter using a fan brush and watered down white acrylic paint & brown ink splatter using distress ink.

Here are some photos of the finished Vintage Mixed Media Tags…

Lindy’s Products

• Magical Shakers- Time Travel Teal, Cathedral Pines Green, Guten Tag Teal, Lederhosen Laurel 
• Embossing Powders- Twilight Bronze Slate, Midnight Copper 
• Gripper

Other Products 

• Tim Holtz Word Stickers, Design tapes, Vintage photos & Distress Inkpad; 13 Arts Stencil; Prima Marketing & Finnabair’s Soft Matte Gel, Clear Gesso, Modelling Paste, Stencil & Stamps; Tacky Glue; Fantasy Dies; Scrapman Dies; Versamark Watermark Inkpad, Dovecraft’s Embossing Heat Tool; Ranger’s Archival Inkpads & Mini Blending Tool.

Thanks a lot for your precious time
Stay Blessed!
Preeti