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...

Thursday 27 March 2014

Spring Quartet

Hello everyone, thanks so much for dropping in.  It's lovely to see you - well, you know what I mean!

I'm here with my creations inspired by the glorious March tags Tim Holtz offered us at the beginning of the month.  I was completely bowled over by his inspiration tags this month - so, so beautiful! - so I went for a pretty close version to start with, learning from the subtle techniques on offer.  Here they are...


But I had such fun doing it (plus I wasn't happy with my Distress Marker colouring on the nests) that I decided to do a whole other pair, and this time I stuck to a mainly neutral palette, with a touch of honey, just to see how that would be.  So here are those...


You don't need me to tell you how it's done - all of Tim's clear and detailed instructions are right here.  So I'm just going to do some compare and contrast photos of some of my favourite bits.

It was love at first sight for me for the new Wallflower vibe in all of the Holtz collections (across the Alterations, Paperie and Idea-ology).  

I'm afraid there's been some heavy spending (thank goodness for the discount earned at The Funkie Junkie Boutique by playing along with Linda's 12 Tags of Christmas!!), and this stamp set was right at the head of the list.  I was so happy to see it in action on Tim's tags.








The layered egg is beyond cool!  I love it.


I love that you can have any colour you want as the base layer.


And then speckle with other colours to your heart's content.


Not perfect over-stamping... but I'm thinking there'll be lots of practice in the future, and we all know what that makes!















I loved the multi-colour stamping on the feather...


Blending ink colours on one stamping is something I quite often do (did it on the eggs too!), and I love the effect of doing it with bolder colour contrasts than I would usually go for.


Though, of course, on my neutral tags, it was back to business pretty much as normal!


I'm one of the people Tim mentions when he's demoing the marker spritzer - the ones who picked one of them up, somewhere, at some point, and have had it hanging around for years, with very occasional use.  


Sadly mine's bright red rather than sexy black!











Not quite happy with the string on my "ghost" versions... 











I wanted to use a paler colour, but this is more heavy-duty than the regular twine, so the effect is a bit heftier than I'd like.









The Stormy Sky DP of the colour version of the word band becomes Antique Linen on the neutral tags.









And I picked the smaller fonts for the "ghost" tags, which have a lighter appearance than the larger letters of the single word Word Bands.










I used the matching twines at the top to secure some strands of raffia for a natural look.

So there you have it, my Spring Quartet (apologies for the abysmal pun, but I'm sure you'll understand that it was irresistible!).











These were such a joy to make - smudge-stamping, shadow-stamping, spritzing and all.

Thank you, Tim, for another outstanding month of inspiration and education - what a killer combination!




Live as if you were to die tomorrow.  Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi

I'd like to enter these as my March tags in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2014.

61 comments:

Artyjen said...

Oooh! gorgeous.....:)
xoxo Sioux

Jennie Atkinson said...

Both stunning sets Alison, but I love the honey coloured second set - just gorgeous! xx

Netty said...

I love them all, especially where you dabbed blue on the eggs. With twine have found if you split it down the middle (in half) and then fray it with your fingers it produces a nice effect......(just a thought) Hugs Annette x

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

Amanda said...

Lovely Alison, I really like the blue eggs, but at least it led to 2 beautiful sets!
Love
Amanda x

Lisa Minckler said...

I for one love the puns AND the tags!! If I can't find it at home, I always know a beautiful blog to find Spring at. TFS your inspiration :)

rachel said...

wonderful tags Alison xx

barbarayaya62 said...

Great double interpretation! I love both!!!! BArbarayaya

Deborah said...

Both sets are terrific but the touch of blue on the first ones just edges them in front for me. I have some layered egg stamps from green pepper press (4 layers if I remember correctly) - will need to dig them out with Easter fast approaching!

Julie Lee said...

I love all four tags, but your second pair, the honey ones are my faves! I have fallen head over heels with the way you did those eggs! I love, love, love the subtle tones and texture of birds' eggs. I love the raffia and twine additions too. Beautiful work, as always! Julie Ann xxx

Helen said...

I can't possibly choose between them they are all gorgeous!! Fantastic tags.

Fliss said...

These are just gorgeous and a feast for the eyes Alison as is your post below which I managed to miss.
Hugs, Fliss xx

SiódmyAnioł said...

Beautiful,wonderful colors!

Redanne said...

I would have great difficulty in choosing a favourite from these sets, I just love them both, they look fantastic in both colour tones. Anne x

Corrie Herriman said...

Beautiful tags, Alison !
Corrie x

Paper Profusion said...

Both sets so beautiful as always Alison. The first, with the blue, just nudge ahead for me but it's a close race! The rafia at top reminds me of a scarecrow - keeping any egg poachers away no doubt! Nicola x

catherine said...

Fabulous takes on this months tags Alison. They are beautiful
x catherine

Meggymay said...

Both sets look fantastic, it would be impossible to say which pair looked better.
Yvonne

craftimamma said...

Absolutely wonderful Alison! I love both versions!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Terry said...

Wasn't March a lovely tag? Fabulous take on Tim's tag, Alison! We both had tissue tape on our minds! Hugs!

Astrid Maclean said...

Both sets look great Alison, but I have to say, my preferred one is the first, I just love that touch of blue, - it brings it more to life for me....

Unknown said...

Close indeed, you knocked it clear out of the park Alison. I love this stamp set and hopefully I'll get to play with it soon. Wonderful inspiration and both tags are gorgeous. Love the raffia too. :-) Hugs

Marci said...

A lovely "Spring Quartet". Great stamping!

Marci said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Inkypinkycraft said...

gorgeous tags Alison x loved these too.x hugs x

Inkypinkycraft said...

gorgeous tags Alison x loved these too.x hugs x

Lin said...

what beautiful tags Alison!! such lovely calm colours..love them xx

Unknown said...

Both sets are beautiful in their own right! Gorgeous! Chris xxx

Cestina said...

Ooh that's a hard call! I think the second set just sneaks in ahead, partly because I like the left-hand feather better. But of course the word "Collections" speaks to me....xx

cathylynn said...

All four tags are awesome! Appears that you have a grand time creating them! Fabulous!
Hugs, Cathy-Lynn

Candy C said...

Alison...as always, your tags are gorgeous. I think you did a fabulous job on all of them. <3 Candy

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

What a great soft toned spring tags, Alison...lovely...

Have a nice weekend, Alie :-)

Dorthe said...

Dear Alison, your tags are both beautiful, with the tecnique of first and second stamp- the second so soft ,and lovely. I though prefer the one where you used the touches of blue, first I love that robins egg blue, and I think the tags looks more allive with the extra little colour.
Hugs from Dorthe

maria's knutselplezier said...

Wow Alison, your tags are really stunning , I love the natural look of them I really would like to live in your neighbourhood and follow some workshops with you but, unfortunatly it's only a dream!!!

Greetings
Maria

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Both sets are gorgeous, great take on Tim's tags. My personal favorite is the second one.

Anonymous said...

They're ALL gorgeous!

Cocofolies said...

My favorite is the multi-coloured one haha.. :) But truly said, they are all fabulous Alison!!! I'm sad, I didn't succeed to do Tim's tag this month.. but yours are more than beautiful. Hugs, have a wonderful week-end! Coco xx

maj. said...

Just gorgeous, Alison!!!

Asia King (aka Joanna K) said...

Great tags Alison, lovely 'shadow' look of the 2nd generation impressions. This is such a cool technique! xx

Annie said...

Gorgeous tags Alison...I really like this technique. .....so cool !! Hope I have timetable have a play on Sunday

Crafty hugs Annie x

Kay Wallace said...

All are absolutely beautiful, Alison but, being partial to blue hues, that gets my vote! Love the softness in all the tags!

Margaret said...

Oh, these are amazing! I love the subtle differences!
I can see why you were so drawn to the egg and nest images!!

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

I would love the red version! Both lots of these tags are wonderful!!! Gorgeous!

Anonymous said...

You did an awesome job with these tags! Wow! Tim would be proud! The photos are great and helpful too! TFS

Kelly said...

The tags are so beautiful and perfect! You need to sell your artwork, very talented lady! lol I will be peeking while I can for the next 2 months but may not always get to comment, I do adore your work Alison and thanks for always stopping by my blog!
Hugs Kelly

craftytrog said...

They're beautiful Alison! xxx

Sandy said...

Right on perfect!
Sandy xx

Julia said...

They are perfect! I love this March tag and love your version. Beutiful work. X

Ozawa said...

Wow! I love them very much!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Just adore both sets! Chrisx

House of Bears said...

We do love coming to look at your art. It's always so beautiful and inspiring, these tags are no exception. We love the subtle colours and attention to detail. X

Anna-Karin said...

That stamp set was at the top of my list too! Love your tags, the warm colours are wonderful.

Hettie said...

These are beautiful Alison. Love them all. Spring Quartet indeed.
Hugs
xx

Almo said...

All of these tags are gorgeous Alison, mine were mark 2, but I was not brave enough to post my first set. Love the raffia finishing touch. Mo x

Dianne said...

SQUAWK, hate to say it Miss Butterfly but I love it better then Tim's :), and this is defiantly one of my favorite stamp sets, close to my bird heart, it is my favorite tag Tim has done, it's wonderful to see all the tags this month, thanks for sharing, hope you have a wonderful week, I had to FB your ATB, I've got my beer mats a gessoed up, thanks for being a wonderful mentor, ((( BIG HUGS )))..

Basement Stamper said...

Love your tags and that speckled egg is gorgeous!

Jools Robertson said...

These are stunning, absolutely love the natural colour tones
The very subtle ghost version is just beautiful

Jools x

Jenny Marples said...

Gorgeous versions of Tim's tag. Love seeing them in the sunlight too. Jenny x

Kasia said...

Beautiful spring tags, Alison!

Princess Judy Palmer said...

Wow! Love the tags and I really like the direction Tim is taking this year. It suits you so well too!

I thought the multicolored colored feather was quite different for you but I liked it. The more neutral ones are definitely more your style. But it is good to think outside the nest sometimes. Great tags!!

Tracy said...

Yummylicious and adore your speckled egg!! xxx

Kezzy said...

Wow both sets of tags are gorgeous, I didn't get my stamp set in time to play, I only managed to get it last week as they had been sold out for ages. I really love the pop of colour and your distress colouring looks amazing, but I do love the neutrals just as much. :-) Kezzy xxx