Fall in Love

Hello all... hope you're all having a lovely Sunday!  I'm here to share my version of Tim Holtz's fantastic February tag.  A bit of a journey from the original this one, with a lot of improvising - some of it voluntary, some of it necessary because of not having the proper ingredients.

Firstly, I'm really not a "red" crafter - or at least I haven't got there yet. (Given that this whole crafty business came completely out of the blue, I'm never going to say never about anything to do with it!)

But, for now, I decided I'd stick with the neutrals of my comfort zone, with the addition of the dramatic black of Tim's tag, which I loved.

Secondly, the only Blueprint set I've got (so far) is the Autumn one of the leaves.  I was trying to work out how one could incorporate autumnal leaves into a Valentine when the happy wordplay available in the American word for Autumn flashed into my head.  So, here we have "Fall in Love" .

(See, it really wouldn't work in UK English: "Autumn in Love" - that's not a thing, except perhaps the title of a really gloopy made-for-tv afternoon movie.  Yes: two people in the autumn of their years; to begin with, they spar with one another over various neighbourly disputes, then there's a softening into affection, then one of them becomes ill and the other nurses them through it, and in the end they see out their days together.)




I used Picket Fence and Antique Linen in my background, following Tim's instructions, and while I really liked the subtlety of the result, I found that it wasn't holding its own against the stronger other elements.

So in the long run, I added to the tree theme of the tag with some woodgrain stamping which gives the background a bit more weight.







I haven't got the Kraft Core Seasonal Impressions, where the cardstock comes ready embossed, but I did pick up the Valentine Background texture fade for a song very early on in my crafty journey.

It's only been out to play once before, so it was time for it to do some more work.









I love the sanded card so much that I added an extra bit - another little hug and kiss attached to the side of the tag.










So, to the leaf (well, leaves, really, since they're in layers)...  I played for a while with proper autumnal colours, having lots of fun playing with the distress markers on watercolour paper.

But again, in the end, it wasn't really floating my boat when I played with assembling the tag.

So I decided to foreground the colours I'd enjoyed in my background, and started blending Antique Linen and Scattered Straw.  Love the technique of nib to nib blending with the markers!

There's also some Vintage Photo and a hint of Rusty Hinge in the webbing of the leaf.














I'm very happy with the delicate colours of this version.  And it means I've got some lovely autumnal leaves ready to play with at some point in the future.









You can't quite layer up the leaf image in the way you can with the playing card, but I liked the look of the three layers anyway, with the added dimension.

Cutting padded tape to fit along the narrow stem of the leaf was quite a game - an 18 Certificate for the language employed at this point!











I've no cash keys, but I do have little ornate oval frames that I'm very fond of.  And sadly my Chitchat stickers don't have the word FALL, or I'd've happily used them.

Instead, I stamped my punning sentiment and inked the edges.  I used Ranger Crackle Accents to fill in the frame and left it overnight to do its thing.







There's no two-tone paper string in my stash either, but I do have the neutral Solids.

I took one strand each of black, brown and cream, which toned in perfectly with the palette of the tag, and twisted them into place.

And the hand is stamped onto card with some more Antique Linen watercoloured onto it, and then outlined with black pen, since I don't have the vial labels.

I love Tim's positioning of it pointing to the sentiment (or, in my case, the pun) in the charm...






Finally, I created the tissue tape ribbon as in Tim's original, but - having missed out on the cash key - I decided to add some typewriter key charms instead... an X and an O, what else?

I love that they're right next to the embossed words "hugs and kisses" - happy accidents are so useful.







While we're on the subject of happy accidents, I'm also rather taken with the reflections of tree branches in the type charms in these photographs.

The little pin says "elements" on it - for all the elements I've had to adapt for this tag!!




So, there it is...  I'm loving how inventive everyone's being with this February tag, there are some amazing pieces out there, well worth hopping round for a look.

For now though let me say a big thank you for spending some time here at Words and Pictures - it's always a joy to have your company.  Happy Crafting til we meet again...










Falling in love is one of the hardest things to do, because you can never be certain that someone will catch you.
Anonymous


First best is falling in love. Second best is being in love. Least best is falling out of love. But any of it is better than never having been in love.
Maya Angelou


Wise men say, "Only fools rush in",
But I can't help falling in love with you.
From Can't help falling in love, sung by Elvis Presley, written by  Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss


I'm entering this as my February tag in Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2013
At Anything But a Card they'd like us to Share the Love