Lost your Mojo? Tag it!

Lost your Mojo? Tag it!

Hi there

Thanks for popping in. Thought I’d shed a little light o a cool TV show this evening. No, not the Pottery Throwdown! That was last night on Channel 4. Actually, the young curly haired lad Cellan is from the pottery Studio I attend down here! Very excited for him. He is so clever. 23 years old. Cheering for him !!

The TV Show in question is on the Craft Store. What time? 6pm. Who’s the star ? Paul Church! He who also had curly hair once! This is what working at Clarity does for you! Anyway, we were chatting this morning, and yesterday’s lost mojo blog came up. The simple chop-it-up idea. Then it occurred to me that another thing I personally use when I hit a creative wall, and cannot move past it is the EXACT product that Paul is showcasing this evening! Our nested Tag and Plaque dies!I suppose they also chop the art up into neat shapes for you, don’t they? I often find myself looking at something I’ve stamped up, and then not knowing what next! I’m sure I’m not alone there! But as with yesterdays’s abstract cuts, the dies also break the images down in to smaller, arty pieces for you.

Let’s look at a Christmas piece I made, which was very nice, but no use to man nor beast the way I had stamped it up! It was an old NEC demo where I was showing off the 2-way Christmas bauble stamps, and clearly I was saving paper and thinking more about the technique than the output!

I’ve got loads of these (4-days worth of NEC demos! in fact!) and I’ve never thrown them away, because I felt they deserved to be remodelled. And this morning was the morning they had their makeover!

So let’s tackle this little technique from that Lost Your Mojo angle. Or that don’t know what next angle. You can do this with ANY artwork – especially something that you maybe threw in the  “Not feeling the Love yet” pile. We all have a pile of stuff we aren’t sure about, don’t we?! Tell me I’m not alone!

Work out which tag you like, and then shuffle the die round on the art until you like the angle and the chop. Again, don’t overthink it!

Which size tag is up to you. They all work beautifully. In fact, you can use 2 or 3 different sizes on the same chop if you like..and you can cut them out at the same time too..

The thing is, if you’ve lost your mojo, or your creative path with a project, the dies are a mechanical bridge, an arty way to chop up work and reload.

They also give such a crisp professional finish. I love the debossed edging!

But let’s flick a little finishing wand at these pieces, and you will see how easily you can make great cards from scraps…

Edge the tags with a black Sharpie pen, to make them stand out, and add the hanger from the bauble if it needs it.

Thread a little twine and attach to 5×5 inch matching cardblanks. The Kraft card sits well with this colourway. Stamp a festive message to the right…

And you‘ve even got matching tags! After all, that is what they are: gift tags….

I can’t believe it! I’ve made two Christmas cards for next year already! Never been so well organised! Complete with matching tags. I was in Paperchase before Christmas, buying tags and wrapping paper. Nicey but Pricey. Decided to make my own tags for next year too.

Hahaha. All the best laid plans….

The point of the blog is to show you the usefulness of the tags and plaques – especially when you need a gentle little nudge forward. For me personally, the nested Doodle Dies and the Tag dies rank with the essential shape nesting dies. And the same rules apply as yesterday with your missing Mojo:

Don’t overthink the tag chopping. It works, it really does.

Oh! And one more thing! These Dies are all HALF PRICE this evening at 6pm! So be sure to tune into the Craft Store and watch Paul work his magic with the tag dies and some superb little scenic dies. Just beautiful.

New year, new ideas. Get a stash of cardblanks, get some tape runners, get going! By October you’ll have a wonderful stash of cards good enough for a pop up shop on ETSY or the the local Craft Show. Why not? We’re an Angel Company.  You‘re allowed to get some return on your arty investment, you know! Perhaps during the coming weeks I can shed a light on the business of art, and how to sell your work. I bet there are a number of you who would like to know about that. I’m no expert. But then again, when it comes to making and selling, perhaps I am.

Love always

Barb xxx

20 thoughts on “Lost your Mojo? Tag it!

  1. Fantastic – just love all of this as I have so many oddments of things that didn’t work or have been trimmed off things that didn’t work and having spent so much time and effort couldn’t bring myself to bin that one element. I am so going to give this a try when time allows. Thank you xxx

  2. What wonderful ideas again 👍 – thank you so much for sharing. And it’s good to see you already made Christmas cards for NEXT year … what about this year 🤣! I certainly look forward to shows tonight. Alles Gute für ein erfolgreiches, glückliches und gesundes neues Jahr. Jutta

  3. Well, that’s going to save me a fortune as I have the die tags – phew ! Also the groovi versions which I’ve used a bit this year thanks to Tina (how is Tina) Cox and her zooms etc. I haven’t used them for anything but parchment though – tell a lie yes I have of course because I’ve done backing from paper. Barbara, if you want some tags etc for next year DO IT NOW! Otherwise it ain’t going to happen – how does she know (as you say all the time!) ! I’m going to start a Christmas card this week – said I would last year and did I? Look forward to the shows for good ideas ! X

  4. What good ideas from today and yesterday…another way of thinking! My trouble is I have boxes and boxes of cards as I lost my stall at the local village market last March and it still hasn’t reopened. I don’t have a clue how to get started online instead, so I look forward to any suggestions you may have. Xx

  5. Help with selling would be great, Barb. I’ve been considering a shop on Etsy. Catch up with you soon. Lots of love. Hxxx

  6. Very cool. Your dies are also great for cutting gel press prints that didn’t go quite right. Makes the fails look like a million dollars!

  7. Another fantastic idea, you are full of them Barb, I think you should go into business 🤣🤣🤣 I’ll be there tonight and tomorrow I do have some tags but not the full compliment (I sent my Bank Manager a Christmas card). Look forward to the shows xx

  8. Barbara your such a clever lady thank you .
    I struggle so much when it comes to selling anything I make.
    Apart from thinking anything I make is never good enough to sell I’d rather give things away as gifts but it would be nice to get some money back I know how good it feels when people buy things thst people have handcrafted.
    I have a B&B in Scotland I’m there from April till November last year I put some cards in the rooms and s little honestly pot and I did sell quite a few .
    Any advice from you Barbara would also be very helpful.
    Looking forward to any ideas you have
    Take care
    Best wishes Jackie xx

  9. Happy New Year Barbara and to your wonderful team.
    I love this idea. My mojo has taken a real hit. There has been so much other stuff taking over. I have not picked up any craft really since start of November. But hopefully this is all about to change 🙏 So a huge thank you. 😊 xx

  10. This snipping/chopping idea produces some great toppers out of what was considered scrap -off to play. I have also lined up some old Christmas card fronts to cut with the doodle dies to make some cards for my mom to send next year.
    I can sit & watch Paul whilst I put my dies through the machine.

  11. Fantastic Barbara, i might even start making my christmas cards love the tags, i have them already so could start straight away, thank you for the brilliant ideas from yesterday and today x

  12. Hi Barb, and yet again another doozy of inspiration. The stamping and chopping really works. Thanks for all the ideas! back to work tomorrow, trying to work out where to find the time to craft!! Take care and stay safe everyone. Bx

  13. Such a brilliant idea Barbara. I managed to tidy my craft desk over Christmas and have got quite a few unfinished projects, plus far too many inky mop-up backgrounds – I’ve got a set of the tag dies, so think they’re about to come out to play!

  14. Hi Barbara
    Happy New Year to you and the family sorry bit late joining the party. Busy tiling the kitchen after all decorating it definitely a winter job. I always use the tag dies I cover a piece of card with wrapping paper then use the dies and you have matching tags to the presses. Looks very nice. Loved the throwdown will root for your potter as well.
    Love
    Ruth & Jackie xx

  15. Fantastic idea Barbara. I do not have the dies, but have a tag puncher with 3 sizes in the one punch. So that is my saviour. Been using up scrap paper that way. After seeing what you did, I am going to use up my try outs. Thank you ,looking forward to your next episode.

  16. Thank you Barb, just what I needed and I bought a set of your tag dies before Christmas so all good to go with a renewed mojo! I would love any tips on selling as we have a Community Market the last Saturday in the month and have been tempted then the doubts set in, is my work good enough, will people buy!

  17. Fantastic idea and don’t they look great when cut and edged. I haven’t got a die machine but do have the other sort of cutting one which doesn’t get used nearly enough, so lots of ideas now.

  18. Another great idea – I have already started next years cards, the plan is one a month for Christmas and Birthdays and then all other cards will be for sale or the charity shop. My mojo is ok at present but time is limited.
    Since moving here I have built up a large stash of saleable cards but have not been able to find a venue suitable. Thought about online sales but where to start? Some tips would be invaluable.
    Take care, stay safe.

  19. Hi Barbara your tags are gorgeous. I do love those tag dies. My back is a lot better but I am taking your advice and keeping things simple in the craft room. Take care. Hugs xxx

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