A Dog Tag Monday by Liz Wheeler

Happy Monday lovely That's Crafty! Creatives.

Today's project is all about the Gel Press and a quirky stamp by Art by Marlene. 

I spent the day on Saturday making backgrounds on my Gel Press plate with a pal, and it inspired me to use one for today's project. The Jigsaw Plate is such a fun little plate to work with, and it means you can build up a fabulous unique design.

I used a selection of Versafine Clair Ink Pads to ink the gel plate, starting with Summertime. I used a medium brayer to pick up some ink from the pad then applied a light coat to the gel plate. I then placed the Circle Grid mini stencil on top of the ink and applied a contrast ink in Fantasia. Removing the stencil I then used white card to lift the impression.

I created seven jigsaw pieces in total using the following colours: Paradise, Pinecone, Purple Delight, Verdant, Morning Mist along with the Circle Grid and Fancy Lattice stencils. These were then cut out and I edged each with Fallen Leaves.

I used a piece of black card as a base then glued six of the jigsaw pieces together in 3 rows of 2. I placed my That's Crafty! MDF Tag onto the centre of the glued pieces and drew around the outline. I cut this shape out (with a slight border) and glued onto my tag with That's Crafty! Multi Purpose Glue. I cut the excess away with my craft knife.

I edged the tag with the Fallen Leaves ink pad and a sponge. 

For the focal point I inked the jigsaw piece gel plate and used the stencil in the same way as the background, but pulled two impressions so they were fitting together on the card. I then stamped Art by Marlene Unlikely Friends Dog stamp with Fallen Leaves on top of the gel plate background and cut out. Again I edged with Fallen Leaves to give it some depth. I used a glitter gel pen in orange to highlight a few areas of the doggy.

To pull it all together I added 3 layers of cardboard offcuts to to the base of the spare jigsaw piece, and glued to the tag at a quirky angle. I then added 2 layers of cardboard offcuts to the dog and layered on top of the jigsaw piece. For the final touch I added a tassel from my stash.

I am so pleased how the dog tag worked out, and love the combination of colours and patterns in the background. Hope you all have a wonderful crafty day x