Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Aerospace Ephemera: aluminum dymo tags

I had a million cups of tea today, so I am up late crafting & posting (again) :0). This card is as far away from blue as I could get today, lol. Though Kim has me intrigued with the new "pink:" purely pomegranate.

I'm so excited (!!!!!) about the metal accent on this card (my weird take on ephemera: the aluminum phrase tags.) Here's why I'm unnaturally thrilled:

I bought a dymo label maker that takes aluminum rolls. (Gotta play the how much game: I got it on ebay for a steal--regularly $300.00 plus tax I got it for $58.00 +shipping). However, the aluminum tape that came with it was too hard, and I was heartbroken that it wouldn't take the letters (and believe me I TRIED!). So, I emailed the only company I could find that sells the tape online to ask how to purchase their aluminum tape, but they never got back to me (GRRRRR!). A year later and I've just recently found the softer tape and can finally punch phrases out. Now I just have to think of something clever to say!

I had been thinking about this type of label maker for a long time, because I'd used one, when I worked in aerospace, to tag airplane parts that I deburred (took the sharp edges off). Now, I am much happier to be deburring ephemera! (The raw edges of the tags just need a little sanding so no one gets cut on them.)

CARD INGREDIENTS: This is done with 'Sahara sand' card stock, 'always artichoke' ink and 'not quite navy' accent cardstock, the ribbon is the new double-stitched "in colour ribbon" from Stampin Up (blue bayou--of course.) The stamp sets used are "Artfully Asian" and "Basket full of Fun" (The latter is a retired hostess set.) This little pail is embossed with silver e.p. and the flowers are embossed in chocolate chip. There's crystals effects on some of them for shine.

Here's a pic of my beloved label maker in case you're curious:

7 comments:

Margaret McDonald said...

so cool. I have a regular Dymo that has 2 wheels - one for vertical letters & one for horizontal.

Michelle said...

Gorgeous card! I love the metal tape, what a great idea!! I wonder if metal repair tape would work? Hmmmm. I like your blue cards. Keep 'em coming!

Anonymous said...

Metal is my friend!!!! Love the design...

Anonymous said...

Wow again...you have so many wonderful ideas...so much imagination!
Kathy

Donna C. said...

Where can one get that metal tape. I LOVE the effect!

Donna
http://rubystamper.blogspot.com

mel m. m. mccarthy said...

Hi Donna,

Thanks! I found a decent price for the label maker here (I don't think the acrylic tape label makers can punch the aluminum, but I could be wrong):

http://www.pcconnection.com/ProductDetail?sku=6176533&oext=1038A&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=6176533

I've had to buy my tape fromt he aerospace company I used to work for, but found some here:

http://www.nextag.com/dymo-embossing-tape/search-html

I did find though that some of the tape is just too hard to take the embossing, so I'd advise buying an experimental roll before stocking up. :0) Mel

Unknown said...

Hey, amazing paper craft work, I loved it! Thanks for sharing..keep it up!
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