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...

Friday 29 January 2016

Be Brave

Hello everybody.  It's lovely to see you again in a busy week here at Words and Pictures.  I'm glad you enjoyed my altered vintage bottles.

I'm here today because it's Tag Friday over at A Vintage Journey - that extra Friday in a month which means that the Creative Guides just get out their tags and play.  There are some amazing tags by my fabulous fellow Creative Guides for you to enjoy over at the Tag Friday post at A Vintage Journey - well worth a few minutes of your time during a coffee break some time today.






Tag Friday is always a favourite for me.  Usually I use it as an excuse to just play with my favourite inks and stamps, but this time I've used it to be brave with a different colour palette.

With this layered tag, I've definitely been influenced by some of the fabulous Polish crafters I follow - check out JaMajka, Dorota, or Ewa at Cynkowe Poletko (Zinc Plot) as well as the Russian, Elena Morgun.

If you've never seen their work, you're in for a treat.  I would blame my Eastern European (Czech) heritage for loving all these Polish crafters (and there are more...) but I think it's just that they make very beautiful things!





But really the major influence on this particular tag is another Pole -  Czekoczyna a.k.a. Kasia Krzyminska, whose work I've admired for a long time.

It's unsurprising she should be an influence at the moment, given that she's co-ordinating the Wanderlust 2016 course which I'm very much enjoying when I get the time.  She's also teaching some of the classes.









Of course, it's not unheard of for me to use these kinds of colours (check out this tag in a bag if you don't believe me - and there have been other occasions too), so it's actually the use of the black which feels more iconoclastic to me...

In terms of texture, layers and composition, I guess it's still me though.












I started with some papers from the Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby stack (no longer around, sadly).  One of my resolutions is to use some of my hoarded paper stash, so I'm trying to be good.

I applied Ranger Transparent Matte texture paste through the Burlap Layering Stencil.











Once that was dry, I gesso'd lightly over the whole thing and started adding some inky colour (Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry mainly) by unscrewing the Distress Spray lids and scribbling with the ends of the spray hoses.










Sometimes I spritzed with water for softer colour, and sometimes I dried it so that the scribbles would be nice and bold.  Scribbling was one of the things I found I loved when making my Wanderlust Travel Journal, so you can expect to see more of it round here I think.














The photo is, of course, one of the Idea-ology Photobooth pictures.














The determined gleam in her eye dictated the words chosen from the Small Talk stickers.

And it was when I had those black word stickers that I decided to be braver myself and add some more black detailing.











So I used my favourite alphabet stamp from the Documented set and stamped it in Jet Black Archival.  And I did some spritzing with the Black Soot Distress Marker too.  (I think that's a Prima screw head at the top of the smaller tag, just in case you're interested.)










It's really very rare for me to stamp in black... I'm almost always a brown stamper (Coffee, Sepia or Potting Soil? - that's usually the main question).  Or sometimes I'll push the boat out with Olive, Cobalt or Watering Can.  But black is scary - even in these tiny amounts!














Once that was there, though, I felt brave enough to skim the shabbied edges of the tags too - and I do quite like the bolder grungy look it gives.














There are some Idea-ology flowers with added skeleton leaves tucked in around the place.













And I added some wisps of cheesecloth - some before inking and some after...














... so some of them are inkily colourful, and others wisp delicately away in white.












... and of course there's some dyed crinkle ribbon to top the whole thing off.









So, there you have it... A Vintage Journey's Tag Friday - sometimes an excuse to play in my comfort zone, but today a chance to push the boundaries of that zone a little wider.  I'd love to know what you think.

I'm back once more before we wave goodbye to January but, in the meantime, have a wonderful weekend whatever you're up to.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak.  Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
Winston Churchill

Be brave enough to live life creatively.  The creative place where no one else has ever been.
Alan Alda



49 comments:

Anonymous said...

The hints of black and stamping in black works an absolute treat on this shabby tag and I hope it encourages you to dip into black every now and then.
There is a gorgeous freshness to your tag.
Wishes
Lynne

experiments in paper said...

Oh, Alison.....WOW!! Your newest foray into a different palette is brilliant. You've kept enough of your signature work to know that it is indeed Butterfly. I am so impressed with your push into different techniques and colors! Love all your textures as well...and how you've married the photo to your sentiment is so perfect. Thank you for pushing the personal envelope and such incredible inspiration! xxx Lynn

maria's knutselplezier said...

This looks wonderful again , Alison, I love the colours and the structure on your tag, great words and beautiful image!! I love yur style!!

Greetings
Maria

Helen said...

Your tags are always fabulous - I know you usually use a brown shade for your stamping, but black is good!! Have a great weekend.

Mona Pendleton said...

Beautiful tag Alison! Love the inky background and vintage image!

Vintagehandmade said...

Wow, Alison, what a spectacular shabby tag with such brilliant textures and awesome colour combo! Grungy and elegant at the same time! Marvelous design! Hugs! Branka xxx

Brenda Brown said...

Love the new influences here Alison and the layered effects you have created. A beautiful tag xx
hugs Brenda xxx

Rupa Swaminathan said...

Beautiful layers Alison. I haven't seen this color palette from you...something so different but you have kept the vintage style intact.

brenda said...

As always a lovely piece of artwork Alison. And yes you are right, some of our European friends offer wonderful inspiration.

B x

Astrid Maclean said...

Great tag Alison and I always love it when you explore colour in different ways!

Hazel Agnew said...

First of all, I love the "sit down and listen" quote. I must do better! The colours are refreshingly different but also manage to maintain the olde worlde feel! Tidied up the other day and found my skeleton leaves, so could try this out! Love the wispy bits too! Aren't these old photos so fascinating. Sometimes feel that I am invading their privacy by using them....as long as we do our best for them, then I suppose that it's ok! Another inspiring tag Alison.....by the way, do you use them or collect them? X

A Pink said...

What a fabulous tag! Alison and good on ya for being brave - though it's hard to tell you took yourself out oof your comfort zone with the result .
Really love what you have done and you worked that black perfectly !
Off now to view some of your other creations so sorry if i fill your inbox but I have time today so I'm catching up .
hugs x

Pamellia said...

Gorgeous Alison! I love the shabby feel that this tag has, with all the layers and bits of cheesecloth. Love it!! hugs :)

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Gorgeous texture with that paper and embossing! LOVE the cheesecloth too and the layers!

Nikki Acton said...

Oh Alison you know how love your 'go to' colour palette but this change is wonderful - love your influences, but you really have made it your own. xx

S@ndy Diller said...

What a delight this tag is Alison. Love the layers and texture on it.
S@ndy xx

Terry said...

Love the two deliciously layered tags, Alison! The texture and embossing is gorgeous. Love this! Hugs!

Kay Wallace said...

I love it when there is a 5th Friday in the month, Alison, because the DT gets to strut their stuff with not restrictions other than it's a tag! Your piece today is beautiful and so respectful of the past. I love it!

SewPaperPaint said...

I can definitely see how these girls influenced this piece, but still feel this represents your style, although in a different palette. I love the two tags layered together, I totally need to do this more. The entire collage is wonderful and the subtle bits of bright colors are thrilling to me!

Inky and Quirky Designs said...

Such a beautiful tag Alison,stunning in its delicacy. I shall look forward to having a little nose at those blogs you mentioned, I love finding new inspiration ;)
Hugs
Donna xxx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Well! This is it - my new favourite! I love, nay, adore this Alison! Hugs, Chrisx

Deb said...

Beautiful tag Alison and whoever or where ever you got your inspiration from, the end result is totally Alison! Love your colour palette and the scribbles and brava on adding the black, it looks fabulous. Thanks so much as always for sharing it, Deb xo

Corrie Herriman said...

A little different to what you normally do but lovely all the same !
Corrie x

rachel said...

this is so very beautiful Alison - the layers look amazing and I adore the colour bursts - beautiful image too - brilliant! Love the texture too! Have a great weekend! Hugs rachel x

Lys said...

I love the results of the Eastern influence, Alison! New, fresh and still so Butterfly!

Meggymay said...

Oh my , love this change in the colours you used, its a beautiful tag with your special touch.
Yvonne xx

Redanne said...

Great choice of colours Alison, your tag is beautiful! I love the 'two tag' idea and all the wonderful texture you have created too. Anne xx

Princess Judy Palmer said...

WHo is this mysterious person using black>?! I have to say I thought you were referring to the boldly colored scribbles but once you mentioned black I realized that you were right. You don't do black. I like this bit of dabbling with it. It pops and makes this different.

Art By Wanda said...

Gorgeous!!!!!!!!

Julia said...

This scribbling is very intriguing. I love the effect. The finished project is totally vintage and dreamy, I love it.

Lauren Hatwell said...

OOoh! Loving all that texture. Very impressed by your use of bright colour and how you've really made it work for you without compromising your personal style. Lx

Amanda said...

Stunning layers,texture and colours, fantastic piece
Love
Amanda x

Willy said...

Wow beautiful tag, love the bright colors!!

Jenny Marples said...

It's always lovely to see you step outside your comfort zone and I love the 'dribbles' of hot colour with the muted paler shades. Jenny x

Sandy said...

So wonederful - love your dabs of color. And for the 1.0000th time, thanks for the tutorial. As my Nanny used to say -"Be brave and carry on!"
Sandy xx

Jackie PN said...

Absolutely I can see the "Pole" influence here on your tag,but "Alison Style" shies through most brilliantly! I so love the way you layered this tag, and the colors you chose! brilliant!
Jackie xoxo

Gaby Bee said...

Gorgeous tag, Alison. Love all the layers and texture on it. Beautifully done!

Gaby xo

Barbara said...

Beautiful tag, love when you use the unusual color! BArbara

Jennie Atkinson said...

Gorgeous ! x

Hettie said...

These are stunning. I love all the delicate layers.
Beautiful.
xx

Evelyn Walter said...

Oh, Alison, I LOVE this tag!! the hint of pink and orange is so gorgeous! xxx Evelyn

Mrs.B said...

Beautiful tag Alison and I love the little bursts of colour with the scribbles of ink.
Avril xx

Deborah Wainwright said...

Wonderfully shabby look to this tag, a different palette for you, which I love too. I agree about the wonderful inspiration from our European friends; wonderful creations which connect us no matter where we are in the world. Hugs Debs xx

sarascloset said...

What do I think?? Well, I think it's not surprising you can make these colors look soft and delicate, paired with the black. Bright colors on their own, but soft as you've presented them. I do like it! I love the shabby look and your Polish inspiration--you do it well! And you are creating faster than I can scroll down the page--I love to read every word! Your posts are as much a treat as your artwork! Hugs!

Dorthe said...

Oh Alison, again the amazing background you have created, with so much texture, and the sharp colours, witch here with all the white are feeling softer kind of. Love all the cheece cloth and the "old" photo, from T.H. giving this tag a mixed feeling between old and new, which I really LIKE . So gorgeous!!
Dorthe, xxo

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Wow, wow, wow, that's a breathtaking creation. Love every detail.

Julie Lee said...

I'm sorry I'm so late with commenting! Playing 'catch up' again! I really love this tag, especially the use of cheesecloth - one of those really fabulous textiles to work with because the wisps and strands look incredible. I too love the determination on the face of your focal image. I recall a self-help book called 'Feel the Fear and do it Anyway' or something like that! I know it can be a bit of a cliché, but I think we sometimes just have to do that if we want progress in our lives - no matter how old we may be! This tag is a wonderful incentive to be courageous! xx

Maggie said...

Gorgeous Tag Alison the colours textures and fibres all together are fabulous ingredients. I like this style.

MaggieH

Cocofolies said...

Also LOVE this one... Also pinned it on my Inspirational tags boards!
It's simply wonderful, and I love to bits your scribbled background on the two using these shades of distress inks, so beautiful!!!
I also had time to do a bit of scribbling in one of my Wanderlust journals, will try to blog post that at some moment! :) Coco xxx