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...

Sunday 14 January 2018

Believe in Adventure

Hello all!  I'm sorry I'm so quiet at the moment.  As I mentioned, there's a lot going on behind the scenes - not only craft-wise but with real world admin and planning.  January always seems to be a bit of a crazy month!  But I managed to grab some crafting time at the table, and finally used up a piece of scrap card which has been floating around for months... in fact, almost exactly a year it turns out.

I've created a pair of jumbo tags, 8.5 x 4.25 inches, all in my favourite colour combination and using some of the largest Paper Dolls.  Plenty of pictures today, but I've tried to keep the words to a minimum!


I had a piece of white card from which I'd cut the circles and coffee rings for the journal spread A Harlequin Infusion a year ago.  Yes, the not-being-able-to-throw-stuff-away maybe needs dealing with, but occasionally it pays off.  I forgot to take a picture of just the card, sadly.








I thought I'd stick the card down over a tag to make a cool background.  But then I realised that if I first used it as a stencil, I'd get two cool backgrounds!














I spread some thick gesso through the rings onto one large tag, and then glued the gesso'd card onto a second tag.

Once the gesso was dry, I spritzed and smooshed both tags with Distress Sprays - Stormy Sky, Hickory Smoke, Pumice Stone and Walnut Stain.













So you have one tag where the coffee rings are raised from the surface...














... and one where they are sunk down into the surface.















Then I added lots of lovely background stamping.

There's some architectural detailing in Watering Can Archival.















And some numbers and gears done in Potting Soil.
















The two large boys - the largest of the Paper Dolls - demanded to be included.














They're each five-and-a-half inches from top to bottom.

I like working with oppositions and pairings, as regulars know...















... so the one in the darker suit is over the lighter background...
















... and the one in the lighter suit goes over the darker background.














Then it was a question of selecting a Quote Chip to go with each boy.












They both have such confident expressions and body language... so they definitely needed some positive phrases to go with them.















I also added some pieces of Design Tape to each tag.  There's some nice vintage print...














... and I found a need for butterflies too.  This narrow strip tape is amazing with the finely detailed butterfly images.















I grabbed some gears and Typed Tokens to add metal accents.
















Again, picking the right words didn't take long.
















They're strong and positive.
















I do love these number brads too.















They have such a lovely vintage font for the numbers.















A scrap of linen ribbon tops them both off in a nice simple way.

















I hope you like them.  Of course, each tag can stand alone...










But I really like the contrasts and oppositions when you see them together... especially in those backgrounds.  I can't quite decide whether I like them with the two boys close together as in the photo here, or at opposite sides, as in the photo at the start of the post.


Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I'm away for a few days, but now that the tax (yuck!) is done, I should have a bit more time on my hands for some visiting once I return.   Happy crafting all!

The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.
Eleanor Roosevelt

I'd love to share this in the Winter Blues theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge
And I'm also playing along at That's Crafty Challenges where they are Feeling Blue this month

42 comments:

Valerie-Jael said...

Gorgeous, vintage tags, love all the beautiful details. Hugs, Valerie

Helen said...

What great tags! Glad you've found some time to be creative!

Dorthe said...

I like them posing away from each other, like in the first picture , in your article ,as like that I think I see many more of the details behind the boys-
I love them Alison, and the use of your "stencil" is fantastic !!
Hugs, Dorthe

Chrissy said...

Wonderful vintage tags Alison..love the backgrounds..

Luv CHRISSYxx

Patty O'Malley said...

Fantastic tags, Alison! Love the various elements you used for each.

froebelsternchen said...

Utterly beautiful tags with so much wonderful details and your use of stencils and colours is terrific!
oxo Susi

Annie said...

Fabulous use of your scrap piece of paper and well done for using it as a stencil and getting two tags xx Love the details and those young chaps look quite happy nestled there.

TFS and I hope you manage a little bit of relaxation too

Huge hugs Annie xx

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

Good to see you have found some crafty time Alison and what a great scrap save, you've created double the delight with fabulous textures, shape and words. Thank you for sharing over at That's Crafty and I hope you soon get some more crafty time all to yourself.
Hugs & Wishes Tracey x

Meggymay said...

Wonderful vintage tags, its good to get some crafty time in your busy daily life. Have a good time away.
Yvonne xx

Redanne said...

Such a great way to use up those left over papers Alison, I love how you used one piece as a stencil and the paper dolls are such a perfect size for your tags. Great colours and wonderful embellishments. Anne xx

Amanda said...

And that’s why you should never throw anything away. That piece has now come in to create 2 fabulous tags. Thank goodness we are all hoarders!
Love
Amanda x

Kate Yetter said...

These tags are amazing!!! I love them Alison.
Kate

My name is Erika. said...

Fabulous tags!

Macarena said...

Totally AWESOME! I love your backgrounds, both of them. Great texture and stunning effect. Love the colors, so vintage and soft. Great tags! Thank you for joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

craftytrog said...

A fab pair of tags Alison! Love the textures and composition!

Sue said...

These are fabulous Alison, you always do blues beautifully. Have a very happy week, Sue xx

A Pink said...

A stunning Duo ! Alison. Superb use of your leftovers - LOve everything about them. If only my scraps could look as good this I'd be one very happy crafter.
Hope all the back ground business goes ok .
hugs x

Andrea Ockey Parr said...

Ha, ha! If this is the kind of geniusness that results from not throwing things away, then I say hoard on! You always create such beautiful art that is soothing and emotional and just plain gorgeous on the eyes. I love how you rocked the circles here and I never cease to find inspiration when I swing by your blog. Thanks for keeping the world lovely with your skills and for sharing these with us for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

Marci said...

So atmospheric! I hope that's the right word. I really like these tags. I like them in your first photo, further apart.

Mrs.B said...

A beautiful pair of tags, and it only goes to prove you should never throw anything away - it always comes in useful at some time.
Avril xx

maj. said...

Looove these!

pearshapedcrafting said...

Great idea to use the leftover card as a stencil and then make the two fabulous tags! The background stamping is brilliant and adds so much to the finished tags! Of course the paper dolls look content with the environment you have created! Have a great week! Chrisxx

Jane Elizabeth France said...

Beauuuuuuutiful, I adore both your tags. I understand... (as I am sure a lot of crafters do)... your reluctance to throw anything, I have a corrugated card addiction!!.. my partner goes crazy when I come home with more piles of beautiful cardboard boxes, I just smell them, stroke them, admire them, then put em with the rest of my huuuuge pile... lol. X

Hazel Agnew said...

Love how you have balanced all of the elements and managed to showcase everything. Loving wandering over the tags and absorbing all the goodness! Xx

Astrid Maclean said...

A fabulous pair!! They both look right at home on their beautiful backgrounds!

hazel said...

Two brilliant tags - I love them.
xxx Hazel.

Jackie PN said...

Amazing tags Alison!! I love those coffee rings! That is a stencil you say? Or a die?I know I am always after you for the products you use, it's just that you inspire me so! ")
Love your palette and I love these Oxides as much, find I am always using these above other inks and paints!!Yay Tim!
sending hugs,
Jackie xx

Nan G said...

Fabulous tags, butterfly!

Craftyfield said...

Lovely pair of tags with lots of great details! I never throw away crafty stuff either and it is getting out of hand!

Cocofolies said...

Both tags are fantastic Alison, really beautiful!
Great use of your remainings die-cuts using this lovely set of 3 dies.
I don't do this very often... but you're right, it's a great way to create our own stencils and do beautiful (and complemantary) things with our dies.
Hugs,
(and good luck for all what you have to do these days in your own work)
Coco xx

Pamellia said...

These are fantastic Alison! I love the inverted palettes, dark on light, and light on dark... brilliant! The rich tones and subtle contrasts are wonderful and I adore how the children seem to be interacting with the background designs. Love!! hugs :)

rosaliaa said...

LOve the colours and the work

Dorthe said...

Also love ,them , very much ,now, when commenting as DT , dear Alison,- :-)
Hugs and a lovely Thursday to you.

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

PINNED...these are fabulous Alison...fabulous!!!

Fliss said...

Absolutely gorgeous tags Alison, love those amazing backgrounds. The colours are fabulous and go so well with those vintage boys.
Sorry for the lack of comments, very busy at the moment on something I can't yet share.
Fliss xx

Brenda Brown said...

Fantastic ideas and superb use of left overs with such beautiful designs. Love them both xxx

Kirsten said...

Stunning tags!

Julia said...

The positioning of the vintage photos leaning on the coffee rings on these tags is just brilliant. I love these tags. You have such amazing ideas. x

rosaliaa said...

looks amazing. Thank you for visiting me and for your lovely comments. Yes, I shared the album with that side you gave me, Thank you :)))

sarascloset said...

Fabulous pair of tags! I don't think you should deal with the not-being-able-to-throw-stuff-away because you've proven these cast offs are worth their weight in gold! You are so clever to get triple duty from one piece of paper. Your background stamping is just perfect over those inky colors! I guess you don't need to decide how you like the boys positioned since they are on tags you can admire them from a different perspective as your mood sees fit! Ha! Ha! Love this pair! Hugs!

Neet said...

I love your favourite colour combo. These tags are amazing and I lie how you have used the circles to give grounding to the boys.

The metal pieces just give the right touch to two fabulous tags.
Hugs, Neet xx

rachel said...

Love these guys alison and how they are linked to the rings - perfect and so very clever! Hugs rachel x