Happy as a Clam and Stuff Like That!

Love is in the air in the spring; or maybe it's pollen!  Whatever it is, pairs start pairing at this time of year.  I met Mr. Wonderful in the spring semester several lifetimes ago.  We fell in love at the "college in the Northwoods" where he rowed the canoe in the lake, singing songs of admiration.  Well actually, he did row the canoe but sang The Bear in Tennis Shoes while walking me home.  He's really quite lucky I gave him a second date, he's no Frank Sinatra.

Spring Crafting:

Pastel colors replace the red and bright blues in the craft room as Easter approached.  My banner of silly phrase tags made an appearance.  I love the old adages and think these little sweeties really are 'the bee's knees' when we put cuteness on a scale of ten.

The graphics for this set all came from the same book so you see repeat characters in the tags.  I like to carry the same theme along with the tags.  If you look you'll see that the scrapbook papers are coordinated and the color of the next tag is always in an accent on the previous one on the garland, or in this case, on the peg.

Lest I spend more money than I make buying garnishes (embellishments), I cut my own trims and use lots of my scraps.  Straight edged stickers with phrases also get trimmed with the scrapping scissors, cute counts!

Raising images off the tag using foamies  that I cut in strips and glue stick on or dots with stickum on each side gives a fun effect.

In this tag I used the background flower and cut it to put in the little girl's hand, an easy way to carry the theme on.

You can see that the tree is off the top; I do this frequently when placing the graphics.  The boy and girl are running off the sides too.  If you see a graphic that you like, angle it, use the top corners, it isn't a rule that it must fit on the tag.  Take a look at the You've Got Mail post for more tag making ideas.

I pin tags on measuring tape swagged on the wall, hang them from doorknobs, link them on pegs, and use them  for a wide range of decorating themes.  My Route 66 tags hung down a ribbon of musical notes in a three foot vertical banner on the side of my filing cabinet.  Tags are still one of my favorite things to make.