That's Crafty!: It's Always the Small Parts by Amanda Pink

Hi Everyone

Today I'm sharing a mixed media tag thats grungy and rusty but also has a touch of vintage thanks to a young chap called Samuel Everston who worked as a Trainee Manager in a mechanics workshop and was known to be a bit of a 'thinker'.

I've worked with a 'mash up' of products from various companies and designers including That's Crafty!, Stamperia, PaperArtsy, Ranger, DecoArt, Tim Holtz and Seth Apter, all of which are listed (with links to where you can find them in the shop) at the foot of this post.

The tag itself is actually two tags adhered together. They are That's Crafty's own design tags called 'MDF Cog Tags'. As the photo below shows the pack contains 2 MDF Cog shaped tags with assorted MDF cogs and gears, nuts and brackets. The tags can be used together (as I have done) or individually and they can be altered in many different ways as the MDF is of the quality that it can stand up to probably any paper or creative medium thrown at it (so to speak).

After removing both tags from their carrier sheets I painted the 'solid cog' tag with acrylic paint (a mix of brown and black) and covered the 'open cog' tag with one of Stamperia's rice papers sanding back any excess with a sanding block /nail file and sealing with matte medium.

Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paste applied roughly around the sides of the tag and the cog top created some grungy texture.

PaperArtsy 'Rusty Car' Infusions added a rich depth of rusty colour to the crackle paste and did a great job of emphasising the cracks, while PaperArtsy's 'Green Patina' Fresco Finish paint (one of Seth Apters colours) roughly scuffed around the tag complimented and accented the rusty tones.

Tim's crackle paste applied through one of his layering stencils (Grime THS130) continued the grungy texture through into the main body of the tag.

A combination of some of the small MDF from the pack and a That's Crafty! Greyboard large cog made a real feature of the cog design at the top of the tag especially when 'rusted up' with Tim Holtz Distress Grit Paste coloured with a mix of DecoArt paints accented as before with Seth's PaperArtsy 'Green Patina' fresco finish paint. An old rusty hex nut from my own 'boardwalk booty' stash finished off the stacked cogs.

A couple of That's Crafty! MDF ATC frames adhered together, cracked and coloured in the same way as the sides of the tag helped balance out the interest at the bottom of the tag.

Aren't those 'Rusty Car' infused cracks grungilicious?

The 'open window' of the ATC frame allowed for a small cluster of cogs to be added in one of the corners - some That's Crafty! greyboard cogs painted black, some Tim Holtz Ideology mini cogs. A couple of 'rusted' MDF flat corner brackets from the pack fixed the frames in place with the help of some brads (and adhesive of course!)

The frame feature provided the perfect seat for the young chap Samuel Evertson. He liked to sit there on his work breaks pondering over the working day and indeed life itself.

Recent work and life events had led him to think more and more that

'Its always the small pieces that make the big picture'.