I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Reach for the Stars




Hello everyone, thanks so much for stopping by today.

It's time for the monthly Artistic Outpost bloghop and, with another Designer's Choice theme, you can be sure there'll be a whole variety of projects from my fantastic team-mates.  

Here's the full itinerary:
Linda Coughlin, Alison Bomber, 

I'm sharing a tag which lots of you will recognise as doubling as my response to Tim Holtz's inspirational February tag.

It all follows Tim's tutorial pretty closely - it's just colours and shapes which have shifted... and an Artistic Outpost stamp at the centre of it, of course.









Since I'm still awaiting my hearts stencil, and since Valentine's Day is now long gone, I decided that instead I would reach for the stars... all sorts of different stars!

Tim's star stencil echoes the hearts one pretty closely, so it seemed like a good choice to replace them for my version.  









And stars also seem to go perfectly with this positive sentiment from Artistic Outpost's Typography stamp plate.... be a star in whatever you do, go on!












I had a lovely time with the background - Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Broken China Distress Stains, and then similar colours for the stencilled stars but with the deeper shades of Faded Jeans and Peacock Feathers added into the mix.











And clear embossing over Distress Inks is one of my favourite effects - I do it quite often, and I love it.














I did some extra chalking around the edges of the sentiment once it was done, and added one of the silver arrow stickers directly onto the chalkboard.












The stars are trimmed from the Star Cluster On the Edge die, cut out of Grungeboard.












They got a double dose of Distress Glitter colours - Broken China and Pumice Stone.














The topping is done very simply with Idea-ology linen ribbon, inked with Walnut Stain DI and frayed to within an inch of its life.










I added the trimmings from the linen ribbon at the top of the tag behind the clusters of stars for extra texture... I think it looks pretty cool!












Also cool is that the Industrious Stickers include a starry border... 














... to go with the arrows pointing out what you should be aiming for - perfect!!








So that's my offering for you today... 

I hope you'll take the time to visit the rest of the Artistic Outpost team - there are bound to be some real treats in store.  If you get lost along the way, you'll find all the details here.

Thanks so much for dropping in and I'll see you soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland!

I'd like to enter this as my February tag in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2014, and I'd like to Show It With Words at the Inspiration Journal

Dwell on the beauty of life.  Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.
Marcus Aurelius













Oh, and I forgot to mention yesterday that there's another chance to receive some brotherly love over at the Artistic Outpost blog... worth a visit if you missed these dashing chaps!

73 comments:

Inkypinkycraft said...

Love your take onthe tag and the colours are fab! Trace x

Amanda said...

Great take on his tag, love that you choose stars and especially in those colours.
Love
Amanda x

sally said...

Prefer this to hearts any day! I'm still struggling to like the chalkboard trend though :-( Maybe its a trend that will be short lived (she says ever hopefully)

Sally

Anke said...

WOW WOW WOW absolutely stunning, wonderful tag.

Hugs
Anke

Helen said...

I love your starry tag! I too prefer it to hearts and all that mushy stuff (lol!) seriously it's fabulous.

chrissie said...

It was terrific to read why you added things to this piece of art. Love the twinkling stars and the arrow.

Have a great day

Chrissie x

Deborah said...

Your tag is lovelier than Tim's, Alison. I love the stars.

massofhair said...

Fabtastic Tag, loving your colour palette, layers and dimension. Beautiful ArT:-) xxx

Ana K. said...

Beautiful…colour combo is much »closer to me«, stars and burlap are just details, which makes this tag so awesome!!

Brenda Brown said...

Brilliant star theme, your design and take on Tim's tag is perfect, especially with the clusters of glittery stars. The broken china and pumice stone work beautifully together love it xx

Maggie said...

Great take on Tim's Feb tag (still have mine to do!) the brothers are a great stamp set and the colours and stars set them off so well.
Enjoying the Artistic Outpost hop

MaggieH

barbarayaya62 said...

Alison your tag is totally beautiful! I love each things: Color palette, background, your stars , your quote! You are a fantastic artist! BArbarayaya

Cocofolies said...

What a gorgeous version of Tim's February tag Alison!!! I love also the Stars mask (the only one I have in fact lol!), and the colours you chose are great.. Love also your glittered stars, beautiful addition! Hugs, Coco xxx

House of Bears said...

A stunning tag from you as usual. We love the shimmery stars which really echo the sentiment. Now we want to make tags again.

rachel said...

such a fabulous take on tims tag - love it xx

Birscrea4fun said...

I like de stars en the colors, beautiful
bye bye Birgit

hazel said...

A wonderful take on Tim's tag - I love it.
xxx Hazel.

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Lovely tag Alison, the embossed stars look lovely in the backdrop. Love the chalk board focal image and dimensions stars too. The teal colours are gorgeous. Tracy x

Jan said...

Great job...love it! I am going try the stencils. Thanks for the great ideas! Jan

Marci said...

Love how you did the two colors on the glittered stars! And the scraps of frayed linen ribbon underneath just set them off, wonderfully( a word?). The colors are beautiful, the composition perfectly balanced.

Kate Yetter said...

Lovely tag! The stars are so sparkly! I love that arrow under the sentiment!
Kate

Hettie said...

Love this tag Alison. The Stars look great. And right on trend too!
Prefer yours if I am allowed to say it!
Hugs
xx

cathylynn said...

Your interruption of Tim's tag is down right awesome! Love those stars! Fabulous colors with great design.
Hugs, Cathy-Lynn

Lisa Minckler said...

I thought it was the stars and then thought, no..it's definitely the chalkboard, but then the embossing grabbed my eye and dadgummit! It's all beautifully choreographed together in you famous color trend ;)
Today I'm going to take a break and try this thin called 'relaxing.' Apparently it's all the rage. So, according to your tag...I'll do my best to be lazy!
Hugs to you Alison
Lisa x

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

You are a star and so is this tag! Love the color!!!!! Great take!

Julie Lee said...

What a great tag! I love the stars, the sentiment and the wonderful colours. I've never tried clear embossing over distress ink to my own surprise! I must give it a go. Thank you for sharing this beautiful work. Julie Ann xxx

Netty said...

Terrific take on Tim's tag, the stars are a magical touch. Great colour combo as well. Annette x

http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry said...

This is such a unique and gorgeous take on Tim's February tag! I love those glittery stars with that fabby sentiment! Love this!

Sandy said...

As usual sweet lady - beautifully created and executed. That's what I say - whatever you are, be a good one but remember well behaved women seldom make history!
Sandy xx

Anneke said...

Wonderful tag. Beautiful piece of ART.Thank you for your explanation.
Anneke.
www.annekescardart.blogspot.com

froebelsternchen said...

I love thos very unique wonderful star piece ..... awesome is this Alison... off to visit Artistic Outpost!

Shelly Hickox said...

I love your tag! I haven't done Tim's tags in ages, but you may have inspired me to do this month's. Love the star theme and colors you used!

Lisa Somerville said...

Fabulous tag, love the glittery hearts!

Gerrie Johnnic said...

Love the color, stars and saying on this amazing tag!

craftytrog said...

This is beautiful Alison, I love a bit of glitter!
Alison xxx

Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...

FABULOUS take on Tim's tag, Alison. I LOVE the colors and the stars for the embossed background are great. Your glittered stars are wonderful too. Super tag!

Hugs,
Linda

maj. said...

Adorable tag, love the beautiful colours!!!

Princess Judy Palmer said...

Another wonderful offering from you. I like the glittered to the point of puffiness that you did to the stars. That is a nice touch. I also like the arrow stickers. That helps give direction, you can go that way or this way but make it good go of it!

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Three times wow, that's a gorgeous take on Tim's tag. Love your color combination.

Juliz Design Post said...

Fabulous colour palette and enjoyed story of where each part of your creativity came from. Must give the chalkboard effect a go.
Julie x

Nan G said...

Oh my I'm so far behind in commenting on your blog! Where did the month go?! I will be getting caught up over the next few days with you. Love Tim's technique and have out the heart stencil to give it a try...one of these days. :) Fab star tag. Love those sparkly stars! Thanks for stopping by, butterfly! Hugs and Happy WOYWW! Nan G

Heather said...

A wonderful tag Alison, great techniques for a fabulous collection of stars - love the sparkling and what brilliant sentiment!!!
hugs
Heather xx

Redanne said...

Wow Alison, this is a fabulous take on Tim's tag, I love the stars, the colours and that wonderful sentiment. Anne x

Suzanne C said...

Gorgeous starry inspiration! The design is wonderful and the shimmery stars are wonderful!

Debi said...

great tag, love the blue hues, and esp the sparkly stars, Debi x

Sophie said...

Ein tolles Tag.
Ich liebe die Sterne...
Es sieht fantastisch aus.

Liebe Grüße xx

Meggymay said...

Fantastic tag and sentiment, loving the textures star background.
Yvonne

pearshapedcrafting said...

Lovely, lovely! The stars look so good - this is definitely a good one!! Enjoyed Monument Men (and George) didn't realise the extent of the destruction and loss though! Chrisx

Kathy Eddy said...

Love your tag!

Kay Wallace said...

I don't think it is humanly possible to combine any more interest and detail on one tag. This is absolutely a work or art!

maria's knutselplezier said...

Wow what a beautiful tag again ,love the way you have put all the elements together!!Move the colours too

Greeting
Maria

Gaby Bee said...

This tag looks fantastic! Love the twinkling stars and the little arrow.
Beautifully done!

Gaby xo

Anonymous said...

I love all the textures on this gorgeous tag, it looks very strokable.

Sandra's Spot said...

Sparkly and gorgeous love the textures you've created and the colour. Hugs Sandra X

May said...

Fabulous take on the tag Alison, Love the sparkle & stars...I adore the colours & your blackboard technique is perfect....Hugs May x x

Ellie Knol said...

LOVE the tag you've made!

Dianne said...

Hello Miss Alison, this tag is brilliant with all those sparkly stars,your arrow do show perfection love the colors of course, thanks for sharing and I hope you have a wonderful weekend, ((( BIG HUGS )))..

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

A great tag Alison...with the text you really can feel a star..such a genius idea! Great colours and layout...Bye bye, Alie :-)

Connie Fossenier said...

Alison...goodness this is such a creative tag..the touch of slight color on the font is so creative and lends a soft almost steampunky look..love it...sure miss playin with you gals.
connie paxman

Unknown said...

I love your offering ;) for today Alison. It's FABulous and you carried the star theme through brilliantly. Love the depth you created with the mixing of DI colors and the embossing adds such a glorious extra layer. Your pictures and detail are superb, thanks for always sharing your creative process. I adore this tag and the sentiment is a personal favorite of mine. :) Hugs, Lisa

Kim Dellow said...

So, so, so pretty! Lovely make. Kim

Meihsia Liu said...

Oh, this tag is gorgeous, Alison. I really love the beautiful background you created. The glittered stars are fantastic. What a fabulous design! :)

mark gould said...

mmmm, Tim's tag looks much better in these colours, x great take on his make Alison. x

Shirley said...

This take on Tim's tag is more me Alison. I so much prefer the stars and colours than the original. Off to check out the rest of the posts I have missed.

Warm crafty hugs from Shirl x x

Beulah Bee said...

Impressive!

Mona Pendleton said...

Gorgeous tag Alison! Love the embossed background and all the shimmery stars! Hope you have a great weekend!

Kasia said...

Your tag is beautiful! Love the stars :)

Kelly said...

Oh I love the colors on this one! Love the gray chalkboard effect and the stars, wow so gorgeous all of them. You are great a picking out sentiments, I love this one too.
Hugs Kelly

Smile_Art said...

I will always love the stars :) Beautiful work!

Unni A said...

Fantastic tag! Love the colors and the sentiment. And all the stars :) Wonderful!
Have a great weekend!
hugs, Unni

sara j said...

LOVE this! Very cool....the colors, and how you've woven the stars throughout. I've been playing with the moon and the stars a lot and am quite taken with them, so to see this makes my heart sing.

Margaret said...

This is wonderful! I LOVE the distress glitter on the stars! I think the stars fit the sentiment perfectly!

Kezzy said...

Wow wow wow truly stunning tag, I really love how you have done Tims tag with stars, especially in the blues your famous for. I really love all that beautiful distress glitter I finally have given in and bought some and wow it is awesome :-) Kezzy xxx