T Stands for Christmas Tree Gift Tag

Last week, my colleague and blog buddy, Jean from Pushing the Envelopes posted what I considered a steal-worthy design to decorate my Christmas card envelopes. Jean thought her idea was ho-hum, but I thought it was brilliant. 

She wanted me to post an example of the envelope, but I thought I would show how to use the design to make a gift tag. Besides, it provided a T Day topic and a chance to procrastinate. Who wants to keep searching through piles of paper looking for a misplaced tax document?

Making the tag is a perfect opportunity to use up your scraps. I used the Scan n Cut built-in design to cut a tag from index weight, decorative paper. The tag measure approximately 2 inches wide by 4 inches in height. You don't need a cutting machine for this project. Just do a search for free printable tag templates. You'll find lots of shapes. Print, cut, and use to trace onto your paper.

I used the paper cutter to cut a rectangle from plain cardstock approximately 1 3/4 inches wide by 3 inches in height. I also used a punch to round the corners. 

I used a pencil and drew a line along the bottom about 1 inch in length. I eyeballed the center of that line and drew a vertical line almost to the top of the rectangle. I left enough space so a foil star sticker would fit as the decoration on top of the Christmas tree.

I used an ultra fine point, green, Sharpie marker to draw the tree. You can use any kind of marker, colored pencil, or a pointed pen and ink. 

Jean had done some random flourishes to draw her tree. Her technique reminded me of the Lazy 8 drills we did in penmanship class. The Lazy 8 also looks like an elongated cursive L.

Since I'm a Southpaw (lefthanded), I turn my paper so I don't drag my hand and smear the ink as I write.

Try to keep the space between your Lazy 8s as even as you can and the loops a kind of oval shape. Gradually increase the size as you go down the triangle to create the base of the Christmas tree.

I used red, green, and blue Sharpie markers along with a gold Uniball gel pen to randomly color circles and make dots for the tree ornaments.

Give the markers several minutes to dry before you erase your pencil lines. Use glue stick or double sided tape to glue the Christmas tree design to the tag. Add ribbon or yarn for the tie. I used Baker's twine.

Ta-Da! After all that hard work relax with a cup of tea or your favorite beverage. You can also use the gift tag as an unbreakable ornament as a test to see if the kitties will bother the Christmas tree.

Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s blog to find out what the rest of the T gang is up to. If you want to play, include a beverage or beverage container in your post. Don’t forget to link your blog from Bleubeard and Elizabeth’s page.