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Today’s post will be a little lengthy, so get a hot beverage and get comfy!  I have a lot I want to share with you!

Let’s play name that tool!  Do you know what this is? Well, it’s the Tag Maker from Making Memories and it is one of my all time favorite tools.  Why do I love it so much you ask?  Here is a quick run-down…

-The rims are the perfect finishing touch to sentiments when it doesn’t look right (or it’s just too much) to add a cardstock mat.  The metallic silver is neutral and goes with everything!

-You can turn anything into a tag.  Literally! Cork, photos, patterned paper, transparencies, mesh, fabric (velvet looks incredible!), felt, mulberry paper, vellum.  I could go on and on!

-The rims come in 6 fabulous basic shapes: circle, oval, square, rectangle, heart & tag. AND there are three sizes of each shape.  Some of them even coordinate with the new stamp sets & scalloped punches!  (See more details below)

-Each package of rims comes with its own clear template, so no guessing what size to crop your tag material!

-You can store them in CD cases.  Have one case for each shape.  You can fit all three sizes of the rims in one case, and the template can be stored with them for easy reference.

-You can use the rims just plain to outline a window in the front of your cards.

-they look so professional & polished!

-A very easy way to make durable tags for items around the house (I have used them to label all of the baskets in my studio)

-Also a great addition to gift bags

-You can use them to make keepsake Christmas ornaments or luggage tags.  The metal edge rim adds durability.

-The rims are perfecly flat AND light-weight, making them perfect for sending in the mail without any extra postage.

-You can paint the rims with acrylic paint to match your project perfectly, or you can color them with solvent based markers (Copics or Sharpies are good ones to try.  As a side note, Copics will be available on Friday at Ellen’s store, and on sale might I add!)

-The rims edge is about 1/8-inch wide.  You can add a little pattern with detailed stamps (StazOn or Palette inks work best).

-They are cheap as far as embellishments go. $4 for a package of 12 rims (or 33-cents each).

-Once you have "filled" your rim with paper, you can easily create a ribbon slide using your slot punch.

And guess what, Papertrey will know be carrying the full line!  They will be added to the website on Saturday, along with the new releases.

So here are a few things I think you should know about the Tag Maker rims…

They have a flat finished  front side and the back features a raised edge with space in between to "hold" the paper (or other material) you decide to turn into a tag.  The raised edge is flattened after you have finshed your inserting.

There are two ways you can flatten the rims after you have inserted your paper.  You can use the Tag Maker tool (pictured at the top of this post) which features a slit lined with two flat metal plates.  You just insert the tag into the slit and clamp the handles together and the matal plates crimp the tag shut.  It is pretty effortless.  Then you just remove the tag from the tool and you are done! (You can also run the rims through your Cuttlebug or other die-cutting machine to flatten the rims.  For the CB, [from bottom to top] you use A plate, C plate, tag rim, B plate)

If you don’t want to invest in the tool, then you can easily use a hammer.  You just tap lightly all around the backside of the rim, untill all of the edges have been flattened down.  It takes a little bit longer, but isn’t a big deal at all. (You can see the small spot I hammered flat in the photo here)

To get your paper (or other material) the correct size for your rim, you can use the handy template they include in the package.  Just place it over the image, centering it exactly where you want it.  Trace over the lines with pencil and cut out with scissors.  (Always cut slightly INSIDE the pencil lines for a perfect fit!)

If you don’t like the idea of cutting by hand or the thought of inserting, you can try this other method that I do quite often.  I use a punch or die to cut my paper.  Sometimes to purposely be larger than the rim, or often I can get lucky and find somthing that coordinates perfectly with the rim.  (This example uses the 1.5-inch circle punch with the medium circle rim.) 

I then flatten the rim with nothing inserted into it.  I apply a thin bead of Mono Metal Liquid Glue to the back of the rim and adhere it on top of my circle.  You only need a very fine bead of glue to do the job, and it dries quite fast.

Many of the rims coordinate with the Marvy Scalloped Punches & new Spellbinder Scalloped Dies (Ellen will be starting her pre-order on Friday for the new dies, Papertrey will begin on August 1st).  All of the following descriptions refer to the pictures from left to right…

PUNCHES: extra jumbo, super jumbo & mega scalloped circle punches.  (I do not have the circle scalloped dies from Spellbinders yet, but I assume there would be coordinating sizes within their set as well)

RIMS: small, medium & large circle

PUNCHES: extra jumbo, mega & giga scalloped square punches

RIMS: small, medium & large square

DIES:  The square scalloped dies from Spellbinders are a perfect match!

RIMS: small, medium & large square

PUNCHES: extra jumbo, mega & giga scalloped heart punches. (There are currently no scalloped heart dies from Spellbinders, but I have heard rumors that they are in the works)

RIMS: small, medium & large heart.  (These are slightly off, but still look really adorable together)

The oval & rectangle rims are not the correct propaortions to fit specifically inside a scalloped punch, but they still have hundreds of uses.

So all of this brings me to my project today.  I used a medium circle rim with white cardstock and the "hello" sentiment from Paper Tray.  The bracket(s) are from the new circle set!  There are 8 little bitty stamps in this set that are so fun to play around with!  I stamped the stitches border (also from the new circle set) with white pigment ink onto rust cardstock and punched it out with the super jumbo scalloped circle punch.  The metal rimmed tag was adhered to the scalloped circle and brads & ribbon were added.  This was SUCH a simple card and could be changed & re-invented in so many ways to fit any theme or occassion.  A "good skeleton" I like to say. 

Stay tuned tomorrow for some more tips & details revealed!