Hello everyone! Welcome to Day 1 of Waffle Flower Crafts June, 2014 Release! All products will be available for purchase on June 5th. We are kicking it off with a basic but super versatile tag stamp set and two die sets.

Introducing Surface – Tag

Stamp Set & Die Sets

I knew that we needed tag stamps and dies right from the beginning. But the questions were:

1. After the Simply Tags: Everyday set I've done, what would be the next BEST thing to have? 2. There have been so many different takes on tags ever since. How do we make something NEW that can also COMPLEMENT the tag dies that we already have?

As always, I went back to basics. Tags provide us with a small surface that is also big enough to try a new product, play with a new technique or just create for fun. We had the following goals in mind when I was putting this tag set together:

Basic shapes and patterns

We have a rectangle tag shape and a smaller tag with a half-circle top. We utilized dashed lines, polka dots and scallops for the stamps and dies.

Unique accents

Instead of a regular tag hole reinforcer (which can be purchased alone for $1.99), we have a special hole reinforcer in our Die Starter Kit. There are many fun ways we can use this die that we will share today and during the next few weeks. We have a tag hole reinforcer stamp in our Surface – Tag Stamp Set. It can be used to add some color contrast to a stamped or die cut tag as well as to create a necklace look. Please see the cheat sheet below.

Unique functions

The Flexible Tag Hole Cutter included in our Starter Kit was an experiment. The die cuts out a hole in the middle of the big skinny tag if aligned lengthwise. It didn't turn out the way I imagined but I happened to discover some fun ways to use it while I was playing with it. More on this later. By not having the tag hole built in the die, we can use  the die cut tag as a layering piece for our projects. We will have more add-on kits for it but in this release, we are having the Scallop Add-on.

Can be used in at least three different ways.

With all of these unique features we have, it was a breeze to come up with three ways to use the tags. We will be sharing sketches and fun uses for these tags today and in the next few weeks.

Easy to Use

We have made our stamps and dies to coordinate with each other. Some of them are designed to be stamped first and some of them are designed to be die cut first. We've spent time in experimenting on the combinations and trying to make them as easy to use as possible. Please find more details below.

Examples

I believe we have achieved the above goals and have gone beyond. let's start with the stamp cheat sheet, shall we?

Stamp Cheat Sheet

Die Cut Examples

Simple cutouts from the tag dies: When combined together: white layers – Starter Kit yellow layers - Scallop Add-on 

Stamps and Dies Combined

Both of the tags are designed to be stamped first and then die cut. The big dashed line tag is easy to visualize because we have an open die, right? How about the smaller tag? We knew that big solid stamps can be tricky to stamp. So we want to make sure that we have a crisp image before we make the effort to cut it out, right? But an open die will leave debossed edges on our die cuts. This especially shows on smaller dies. So we needed a nice solid die, right? And here is my take: Put the die on the stamped image and it will line up nicely as shown below. You will see a tiny hint of the stamped tag all around the die when cutting it out. This also makes it more forgiving to our stamping. Did you see the double-edge I had on the brown tag at the lower right corner? It will not show up on our finished die cut at all! See it at the bottom decorated with just a piece of washi tape. So easy yet so pretty, right? And the tag hole will cut out nicely as well:  

Card Examples

This card shows clearly the size of the tag in comparison to a standard A2 size card: 4-1/4" x 5-1/2". A little twist on a simple tag card, using Surface – Tag Stamp Set only. Using Surface – Tag Die - Starter Kit and the birthday sentiment from Surface – Tag Stamp Set. Did I mention that this hole reinforcer is fun? This is a great way to use some of our left over ribbon pieces. I'm saving my Surface – Tag Die - Scallop Add-on projects for later because they are too awesome! Haha! Let's see the sets!!

Surface – Tag Stamp Set

$15.99

Surface – Tag Die - Starter Kit

$11.99  

Surface – Tag Die - Scallop Add-on

$16.99

Tag Hole Reinforcer Die

$1.99 This die is exactly the same as the one in the Scallop Add-on set. Use it for any tag dies that you may already have that have tag holes between 1/8" - 1/2". Aren't they fun? I can't wait to see what you guys will create with them!

Today’s Giveaway!

Surface – Tag Stamp Set

We want to make sure there are many opportunities to win, so we came up with 12 chances to enter. You do not need to do them all to enter.

1 comment = 1 entry! When the drawing time comes, we will use the total number of comments to draw from. This means that if you are following via Email, Facebook and Pinterest, you will need to leave 3 comments. If you are already a follower, just leave a comment telling us that you did:)

* Leave a comment, 1 entry. * Follow the blog via RSS, Feedly or Blog Lovin’ and comment here, 1 entry. * Subscribe to our Blog Updates email and comment here, 1 entry. * Subscribe to our monthly Store News email and comment here, 1 entry. * Like Waffle Flower Crafts on Facebook and comment here, 1 entry * Post to our Facebook Wall with the name of today's  giveaway prize and comment here, 1 entry. * Follow us on Instagram and comment here, 1 entry. <-- New Dedicated Store Account * Follow us on YouTube and comment here, 1 entry. * Follow us on Twitter and comment here, 1 entry. * Follow us on Pinterest and comment here, 1 entry. * Pin this post to Pinterest and comment here, 1 entry. * Join our Flick Group and comment here, 1 entry.

Enter before 11:59pm Eastern on June 4, 2014. The winner will be announced on the blog on June 5.

Thank you for stopping by! Join us tomorrow for a beautiful flower set! Happy Crafting!