Let the tags begin!

This is the 4th year I have participated in Tim Hotlz's 12 tags of Xmas. Sometimes I just enjoy creating something where someone else has worked out all the kinks and I just get to play with tools and new techniques. or at least I like to tell myself that...

This year started off with my Sizzix SideKick "eatting" my Festive Garland die. Nothing goes off without a hitch! Here I was all smug knowing my room had just had a major overhaul and reorganization. I wouldn't be wasting tooo much time working on my tags. Boy, was I wrong. 2 hours wasted getting that SideKick apart.

You might thing I salvaged the machine to save the die but you'd be wrong! the die was worth more. go figure! took me a while to break the case apart and free the die (while kicking myself cause I only have THREE Sizzix machines and of course Murphy's Law, I choose this one and the gear decided to strip.) only lost a cutting pad when I finally got it apart and realized that was the only way to remove the sandwich of dies/pads. ugh! there was NO budging it.

on to the tags!

check out tim's version of the day 1 tag

and here's a full shot of mine


I made a few changes to mine:
Kraft core cardstock was substituted for regular cardstock on the embellishments. T

The background tag I again used Kraft cardstock but covered the surface in a layer of Martha Stewart's new pearl paint in Aquamarine to minic the ability to sand through to the Kraft core like the Core'dinations Kraft Core cardstock.

I opted for a Swarovski snowflake with the bead charms at the top and used a vintage 1953 music paper for diecutting the banner. The pinecones got a bit of mica snow instead of white paint and stickles.