Paper Crafts Ideas: Getting Started with Tag Art

Tag art is a wonderful form of paper crafts that involves recycling or reusing tags, or making your own tags.

I experiemented for a while with tag art, after I did a mail art exchange with a fellow artist. The vareity of shapes that can be used for tag art intrigued me, since I had spent so much time creating Artist Trading Cards (ATCs), which adhere to a strict size.

Recycled Tag Art

The tags are typically made of paper, and be found in many different shapes.

Some shapes you may come across include

rectangular
square
round
triangle
mannequin form

When you start looking around, you will find different types of tags that you can use for this paper crafts idea.

The tag used for this paper crafts project can be recycled manila paper tags. Some of these recycled manila paper tags were used for business purposes, some have holes in them and may even have wire threaded through the hole, for attaching to an object.

Or, you can re-use more heavy-duty clothing tags, and create collages or alter them in some way, using your favorite paper crafts methods and tricks.

Another source of tags are those you find on your overnight or travel bags, placed on luggage by the airport employees. Travel tags make great travel themed paper crafts.

Basically with this paper crafts idea you can use any tag that you have recycled.

Cutting the Shapes

Tag art art can also be made from "fresh" or new card stock.

Experiment with different shapes, sizes, and thicknesses of papers. Find a shape you like and use it as a template. See how many of each template you can fit on one sheet.

For a standard tag art paper crafts project, cut out a rectangular shape that has two angled edges at the top, like a manila envelope tag. Use a small hole punch to punch a hole in the tag.

A string, yard, beaded leather, wire, or any other craft string can be used to tie onto the tag. Using string to tie into the hole is up to theartist. But, whether or not the paper crafts project will have string, it still needs a hole to look like real tag art.

Another versatile shape for the tag art project is a mannequin form shape. This shape lends itself to some interesting fashion art. Girls who love paperdolls will also like this paper crafts project.

Design Time

After you have experimented with cutting and sizing different shapes for tag art, it's time to design and decorate the tags.

The reason to make a bunch of tags first is that once you design one, you will want to do another. I have even worked on more than one of these paper craft projects at once. Their small size invite a focused design.

This paper crafts medium also invites endless ways to collage, paint, draw, and otherwise alter the tags.