12 Tags of Christmas 2021 – Day 6 with Angela Simpson and Brenda Noelke

Welcome to Day 6 of 12 Tags of Christmas 2021! Do you hear the jingle of the bells? Angela Simpson and Guest Designer Brenda Noelke are both joining us on the blog today.

Be sure to leave a little love for Angela + our Guest Designer Brenda– by commenting on this post – for a chance to win $25 to spend at ellenhutson.com, then click over to this post to enter the 12 Tags Challenge!

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Hi friends! It’s Angela here, kicking of Day 6 of the 12 Tags of Christmas with Jingle Bells, and some very jingle-y tags! This Christmas carol was one of my favorites as a kid, and I think it may have been the first one I ever learned. When brainstorming ideas for these tags, bells (not surprisingly) were one of the first things that came to mind, and I knew I wanted to add some shine for a really festive feel.

To get started, I used the Pinkfresh Studio Diagonal Stripes hot foil plate to create 3 foiled A2 panels of white cardstock. I created a panel for each of the colors I planned to make – red, blue and green, and using one of the Essentials By Ellen Farmhouse Tag dies, was able to die cut 2 from each panel for a total of 6 tags.

I also used the tag die to cut another 6 plain white tags, which I simply adhered to the back of the foiled tags in order to increase their thickness. I don’t know about you, but many of my gifts will be mailed this year, and I wanted my tags to be sturdy enough to withstand some bumping around in transit!

Next came the ink blending, where I chose a variety of red/pink, blue and green inks from Concord & 9th, Pinkfresh Studio and Catherine Pooler. Since hot foil resists dye ink applied on top, it was super easy to add the ink and create a gradient, fading out the color towards the top of each tag.

Tip: I like to wipe my panels off with a dry microfiber cloth after applying ink just to ensure the foil stays as shiny as possible, but you don’t necessarily have to do this, especially if using lighter ink colors.

With my ink blended tags complete, I moved on to creating the focal points of each, which were sentiment circles. For a Christmas carol like Jingle Bells, the Avery Elle Merry Circle Tags stamp set is a dream, because not only is there a ‘Jingle all the Way’, but also an ‘Oh What Fun’. I stamped enough sentiments for my 6 tags, again using Concord & 9th Inks.

Tip: When working with small stamps and several ink colors, I find that using little ink cubes can provide more control and precision than full-size pads.

I die cut the sentiments with a circle die, backed them with some double-sided adhesive for dimension, and placed one in the center of each of my tags. From here, all I needed to do was tie 3 small gold bells onto each tag, and loop some gold ribbon through to create bows.

Now I’d love to see your interpretation of Jingle Bells in tag form, as well as any other tags you create for the 12 Tags Challenge! Until then, thanks so much for stopping by, and happy holidays! – Angela

We have our friend Brenda Noelke teamed up with Angela! Here is how she was inspired by the Jingle Bells Christmas Carol:

For all the details about Brenda’s gorgeous tags, please hop over to her blog.

Supplies: