A heart full of love

Hello all, lovely to have your company here at Words and Pictures for a while.

I'm adding another of my Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas to the mix today... This is a wonderful inspiration challenge, sponsored by the Funkie Junkie Boutique, with Linda Coughlin - the Funkie Junkie herself - providing weekly tags of inspiration for us to play with.

Complete all 12 by the 17th December, and you'll be entered in the prize draw.  Linda's already onto Number 11, but this is my take on her Tag 9.

There's so much beautiful work on this tag that inspired me... the hanging shapes, echoed lower down the tag, the lovely stripes on her stars, the beautiful woodgrain background.

But, partly for fun, and partly because I'm working away from home at the moment, and so don't have access to my full stash, I've made a number of adaptations.








To be honest, I was a bit stuck for a while on this one... I went through a number of backgrounds, shapes, colours and variations, none of which really pleased me.  It took a little bubble of fun in my heart to break through the barriers, and I love where it's ended up.

 

I don't have my BigShot with me (there were limits to what I could fit in the suitcase) so rather than an embossed woodgrain, I've worked with my current favourite toys, the PaperArtsy Fresco paints and crackle glaze for my background.

And with no die-cutting potential, I decided to forego the decorative flourish at the top and, since I had to do my cutting by hand, I picked the shape I find easiest to cut - hearts!






I used the template I cut when I created my Thankful Heart, and then cut an even smaller version to echo it.  If you look at the back, some of you will immediately spot that I used the corrugated cup holder from a well known coffee outlet!  They're painted and inked to highlight the ridges.

The little wooden cogs I found on ebay - very cute, and they come in lots of sizes.

I'm also entering this for the Frilly and Funkie challenge Chipboard and Metal - close to the deadline, but I should make it.

So the little hearts at the top are cut from chipboard, painted with the Old Gold Fresco paint, stamped with part of a flourish, and then distressed with some gesso.

And they're attached with one of my metal elements - the lovely Idea-ology pin.






Another substitution: instead of the word ticket "Hope" on Linda's tag, I've gone with a metal Idea-ology Wordstick "Love" to go with the hearts.  I added some French Roast (dark brown) paint down into the letters, and a fingerful of Old Gold to the surface to tone in with the rest of the tag.














The leaf is a leftover from the Thankful Heart, stamped in paint onto some waxy bread paper, and it seemed a perfect alternative to the holly leaves Linda used.  But I wanted some extra substance, so I added some frayed ribbon "leaves" too.

The mesh ribbon is a straight lift from the Funkie Junkie tag, as well as actually coming from the Funkie Junkie Boutique!




The ribbon leaves and the ribbons at the top are all seam binding that I've dyed with Distress Inks, crinkled up and left to dry for the lovely effect it gives.

So that's about that... just to say that I do have a heart full of love at the moment - in a very good place, so yet another thing to be thankful for.

Also, as always, I'm deeply thankful for your visits, support and feedback - so grateful for finding this community full of such generous, creative, inspirational people...  I love it here!

I'm entering this in the following:
As Tag 9 in the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas
At Frilly and Funkie for the Chipboard and Metal challenge
At The Shabby Tea Room, where they're asking us to play with Just Neutrals
Simon Says Stamp and Show are looking for A Project With Heart

A heart full of love
A heart full of song
Song lyrics from Les Miserables