how to :: create your own gift tags...

Yesterday I posted about my top ten gift wrapping tips... today I thought I would do a quick little how-to post on this year's gift tags.  For the past several years I've handmade my Christmas gift tags.  I do this for a few reasons... 1) it's way cheaper. 2) they're way cuter. and 3) they tie our gifts together (pun intended:)

This year I was going for a simple, vintag-ey look.  I wanted something simple that would easily coordinate with the wrapping papers I already purchased.  Initially I thought I would just use some brown ink, but then some barely-touched embossing powder caught my eye.  I decided the embossing powder was the perfect touch to add a bit of shimmer to this year's gift tags.

First I gathered my supplies... I picked out a couple of stamps from my stash... my versa mark ink pad... some Zing! copper embossing powder... my American Crafts heat gun (not pictured)... and a stack of my handy dandy shipping tags.

Next I stamped a handful of tags with the versa mark ink.  Versa mark ink is awesome.  It's kind of like a clear, heavier ink... it's awesome for creating a subtle image (almost like a watermark)... or in our case, it's perfect for embossing powder.  I stamped about 6-8 tags at a time, just to speed up the process a bit.

After stamping the tags with the versa mark ink, I carefully sprinkled my Zing! copper embossing powder on each of the tags... making sure to cover the entire image.

Then I gently tapped/shook off any excess powder... pouring any powder that was leftover back into the container.  At this point the stamped image looks kind of like a soft velvety texture.

Next I used my American Crafts ZAP! heat gun to emboss the tags.

It's so cool to see the embossed stamp turn into this awesome shimmery image.  When the heat is applied to the embossing powder, it transforms the embossing powder into a beautiful shiny, raised stamp.  I forgot how much I loved this technique.  Once the powder is embossed, they are instantly ready to go... no drying time or anything like that.

And there you have it... an assortment of beautiful gift tags all ready to go!  Love how these turned out!

Add the tags to your gift wrapping stash and you're good to go!

Wrap away!