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 22 April 2018

Spring Blossom

Hello all!  I hope you're enjoying a gentle Sunday.  Now that we've finally had a taste of springtime here in the UK, I thought I should probably share a couple of the samples from the third of my recent PaperArtsy stamp releases, EAB06 The Spring Edition.  Well, it's not really that recent any longer, but you know what I mean.  And since today is Earth Day, it seems only right to head to the natural world for these...


It's another pair of tags (if you saw No Small Dreams or Lose Sight of the Shore, you'll know I often work in pairs or sets when I'm creating samples).  We're still in the official launch colour palette, and this time I was playing with some of the charming new stamps by Kay Carley.  These delightful springtime trees are from EKC16.







I love tree blossom.  We've got lots of May trees blooming already in our area, but most of the blossom is yet to come.  It may be my favourite form of flower, I think - and part of that beauty comes from its impermanence - it's always with us for far too short a time.

And although white blossom is my favourite, blossom-time is one of the times when pink is also very welcome in my world, so the launch palette worked really well in this case!









The backgrounds of these tags are done in my "soft crackle" technique.  The background layer of paint was one of Seth's new blues, over which I applied PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze as normal.

When the glaze is dry, I then use a natural sponge to apply my top coat - in this case Fresco Chalky Finish in Chalk, a lovely soft white - and let that dry too.  








Then I do another soft sponged coat of paint over the top of that.  This softens the look of the crackle and gives a subtle aged look to the background.

Once the soft crackle was done, I blended on watery washes of the blues to give me spring skies, and then stamped some of the grasses in Venice Blue and in Mushroom.











The trees themselves are stamped in Watering Can Archival and clear embossed, and then I used the Mulberry Fresco paint and a water brush to colour in the blossoms.














It's great to have the two sizes of tree on the one plate.  As you can see, the large on is perfect for a standard size 8 tag in portrait, and the smaller one works beautifully in landscape.














But you could also use them within one scene to create depth, by using the large one in the foreground and smaller ones "further off" in the background.  You could have a whole Chekhovian cherry orchard!











I tried out a few Archival ink colours for the Charles Lanman quote, and in the end I think it was a secondary stamping in Plum Archival which did the trick.















And for the long Mark Twain quote which is the main feature of the landscape tag, it's Vanilla White Wow embossing powder applied with Versamark ink over a Mulberry-painted background.









I've used the whole quote - it's long but so lovely, and oh, how I know the feeling! - but there are plenty of phrases and sections which you could use by themselves.


Some simple white doodled borders frame the tags, and they're finished off with some seam binding dyed with the same Mulberry paint and fastened with white twine.







I hope you're enjoying some spring sunshine and some spring blossom wherever you are today, at least if you're the right side of the planet for that.

And whatever season you're in, I wish you a very happy Earth Day.

It's still pretty quiet here on the blog, but I'm gearing up behind the scenes for a busier May on the crafting front.

I promise there are more good things coming your way in the not too distant future...  Thanks so much for dropping by and I'll see you again soon.

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.
Marcel Proust

26 comments:

Helen said...

wow, these tags are gorgeous - I love the purply colours on top of the soft blue background; and the white embossing on the quote is quite literally, brilliant; I love how it stands out.

Julia said...

Your colour combination for these tags is really dreamy, perfect for the quotes and the lovely blossom tress. I have a cherry blossom tree in my garden, it has bloomed and it is on its way out. So short but oh so pretty.
I love your soft crackle technique, the tags are really beautiful. x

Fliss said...

Beautiful Spring tags Alison and I really love the colours on there as they're one of my favourite shade combinations (most of my clothes are blue and mauve or plum too!)
Hope you've had a lovely Sunday and the weather down here on the South Coast has been almost like summer over the last few days.
Fliss xx

Jane said...

These are just delightful Alison, I love the way you have stamped the words, just like blossom. Enjoy your evening xx

Patty O'Malley said...

Wonderful tags!

Meggymay said...

Wonderful quotes on your beautiful Springtime tags Alison.
Yvonne xx

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

I too love how there are two sizes of trees, so generous making it much more versatile having less restrictions. Your colours remind me so much of what I have seen around me over the past few days, beautiful Skies and the first signs of blossom. The plum archival was a perfect choice.
Happy Earth Day Alison, I hope you have found time to enjoy a relaxing Sunday.
Creative wishes Tracey x

Valerie-Jael said...

Your tags are wonderful. Spring and the beautiful blossoms just now are a great source of inspiration. Have a good, new week, hugs, Valerie

craftytrog said...

A beautiful pair of tags Alison!
Happy Earth Day!
Alison xx

Redanne said...

Oh how beautiful these tags are Alison, perfect for Earth Day! The blossom trees are gorgeous in the Mulberry Fresco and I adore the Mark Twain quote! The blossom is fully out around here and quite the spectacle. Anne xx

froebelsternchen said...

I love these dreamy tags Alison - wonderful colour combination and full of amazing and meaningful detail! You have such a beautiful and unique style! Happy belated Earthday!
Hugs, Susi

Marci said...

My favorite time of year and these tags and your quote stamps are lovely.

Annie said...

Stunning tags Alison and I love the colours accompanied by those beautiful stamps x Great quote too

Hugs Annie xx

Dorthe said...

Gorgeous is your tags, of the blooming trees, maybe a Japanese cherry tree , - so love the muted tones, dear Alison, and your quotes fitting so lovely here, too.
Also the backgrounds are very beautiful ,and sets time for a little romance, under the trees.
Hugs, Dorthe, xx

Craftyfield said...

The pinkish hue is a bit of a departure from your usual Vintage tones but the colour combination of these lovely tags are perfect for spring. I love the soft effect background too. xx

Lys said...

Delightful tags, what better to celebrate the Earth day! I love the delicate blue and purple, and the quote is as usual finely chosen.

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Oh so perfectly Spring...love the purples against the blue, and of course the Mark Twain quote. Love the tiny flowers too.

Chrissy said...

So very pretty Alison..love the colours and lovely quote..

Luv CHRISSYxx

SewPaperPaint said...

Oh I love how you've used these stamps!!! And I'm fascinated by your white on lavender sentiment strips - wow! Love love! Hugs, Autumn

Mrs.B said...

Beautiful tags Alison, love the colour combination with the Mulberry and the white embossed quote looks stunning.
Avril xx

sally said...

I love those blossom trees! The white on pink word strips are a clever twist too :-)


Sally xx

rachel said...

These are both stunning Alison - I am struck by the colours - so pretty together! Love them! Hugs rachel x

pearshapedcrafting said...

Wow! These are beautiful - love the gorgeous skies you created! Your quotes sum it up brilliantly! Chrisx

Sandy said...

I wish you would teach video classes - they ought to be a hit!
sandy xx

Cocofolies said...

Loving so much all your tags, Alison.
These ones are delightful xxx

Etsuko said...

I love these tags beautiful colours and images. xx