Building a Quirky Mixed Media Tag with the Zinski Journal Face Stamp Set

I'm a huge fan of making tags, so when I sat down with the Art Inspirations – Created by Zinski Collection, it probably won't come as a surprise that I made another one!

This is the fourth post in my series featuring these stamps, and this time I'm playing with the Journal Face stamp set. It's one of those sets that invites you to experiment, mix things up and see where the stamping takes you.

I'm not always very good at stopping once I've started layering, but that's part of the fun!

Spotlight on the Journal Face Stamp set

If you’re newer to layering stamps, this is a lovely one to start with because nothing needs to line up perfectly - it’s meant to feel a little quirky and free.

The Journal Face stamp set has lots of possibilities for creating your own quirky character. You can mix and match the different elements, add extra details and change things around to suit the look you're after.

For this tag, I played around with the hat and body, adding a few extra details along the way. I love that slightly quirky feel, and there's plenty of room to make each character your own.

If you enjoy building up stamped images in layers, this set is great fun to experiment with. And if things don't line up perfectly, well, that just adds to the character!

Creating the background

I started with a large 4" x 10" mixed media tag and built up the background using Distress Oxide Sprays in Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberry and Uncharted Mariner.

I placed the tag on a spare piece of card to catch the overspray. As it turned out, that little decision came in handy later – but more about that in a minute!

Once the background was dry, I stamped the pennant and teardrop shapes from the set, then added some white splatters to finish it off. I know splatters can be a bit divisive, but I do love the effect they give to a background.

Building the character

I stamped the face onto watercolour card and started putting her outfit together, playing with the size of the hat and extending the body to create a taller, more whimsical character.

I coloured the stamped elements using Zig Clean Color pens, then added a little sparkle with Wink of Stella.

Once everything was cut out, I attached the pieces to the tag using 3D foam pads to give the character a bit of dimension.

I was just about to add the sentiment when I decided she needed a little something extra to bring everything together. And, as you might have guessed, I couldn't resist adding more layers!

I stamped a bow and a few flowers, cut them out and layered them around the character.

For the sentiment, I stamped “She is” and “strong” onto strips of card, then added a few white pen highlights to finish the tag.

From leftover card to art journal page

Remember the spare card I used to catch the overspray? The middle had been left with a lovely clean space, and it seemed a shame not to use it.

So, naturally, it became the starting point for an A4 art journal page!

You can see how I created the art journal page in this post HERE . 

I love it when one project leads to another, especially when it means making use of something that might otherwise have ended up in the bin. Sometimes those unexpected extras turn out to be just as much fun as the original project.

Now I'm curious: are you a less is more crafter, or do you love adding layer upon layer like I do?

If you'd like to see the other projects I've made using the Created by Zinski Collection, just pop Zinski into the search bar at the top of the blog and you'll find the other posts in the series.

Until next time, take care,

Lou
xxx