Saturday, September 8, 2012

Paint Chip Gift Tags - Tutorial

I'm probably not the first person to think of this, but I can say that I haven't run across this idea anywhere yet.  It struck me when I was in the paint chip aisle yesterday that all those little orange rectangles would make mighty cute gift tags.  With some stamps and some glitter, this could be FABULOUS! 

You could make tags like these for Christmas, Easter, Birthdays, or any other gift-giving occasion, really.  You'd just need a cute stamp for that season and some appropriately colored paint chips. 

Here's what you'll need:
  • Paint chips (I used rectangular ones from Glidden in the color Pumpkin Patch (GLO03) which I guiltily absconded from my local Home Depot)
  • Rubber stamp(s) (I found these in the dollar bin at JoAnn's)
  • Black acrylic paint
  • Fine glitter (not pictured...oops!)
  • A sponge brush
  • Scissors (not pictured)
  • A round hole punch
  • A paper plate to hold the paint (not pictured)
  • A piece of paper to sprinkle the glitter onto (not pictured)
  • Cute ribbon, cord, or string
  • Optional: baby wipes and a tiny paint brush
Steps:
Cut off all the writing on the paint chip, then cut it to the desired size.  I cut some in half to make two, and some I left big to make one tag. 
Cut the corners off of one end to make the tag shape.  I suppose you could use a ruler to make it precise, but I didn't bother.
Punch a hole for the string.
Stamp the design using a thick-ish layer of the paint.  Err on the side of too much paint, because too little will result in the glitter not sticking. Push down gently all over the stamp to get a more even print. (Use a baby wipe right away to wipe off any errant smudges, and use a tiny paintbrush if you need to fill in anywhere that didn't come out.)
Immediately sprinkle glitter over the stamped image so the glitter will stick, then shake off the excess glitter.  Set it aside to dry while you make the rest of your tags.
Attach the string once the paint is dry.  I thought that skinny black bric-brac looked the cutest for Halloween after trying a few different things, so I didn't use the twine pictured above.
All set!  Now, go put some yummy treats in a brown paper lunch bag, fold the top down twice, and staple one of these cuties on!

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