Be transformed

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a lovely weekend, even if you're not at CHA (major event envy here!!)...


From my Artistic Stamper hanging, we move to Artistic Outpost time here at Words and Pictures, and a mixed media tag.


It's been on my desk for a couple of weeks, being used to mop up ink and paint remainders and spillages, so I can't be precise about all the ingredients I'm afraid!

I know I started by putting a thick coat of gesso onto the tag and pressing an embossing folder into it to create the texture.

Then I just set it aside and grabbed it any time I had some blue-greens that needed mopping up!

Today it was finally time to let it take centre stage...













There are Distress Inks and Stains, Fresco Paint, a touch of Gelato, maybe even some Dylusions, and probably some other stuff too.












There even seems to be some crackle in there - no recollection of that at all, so maybe the gesso just cracked under the strain!












I added some background stamping using the text from the Bluebird plate.  You can see it just hovering in places...














Now to the words at the heart of this tag.

I stamped this wonderful sentiment from the Chalkboard Wisdom plate onto some plain white tissue paper using Cornflower and Aquamarine Archival inks blended on the stamp.  Then I glued it down with matte medium.

I think this could pretty much stand as my life motto - I've never quite fitted in (or much wanted to most of the time), and unexpected life transformations seem to occur pretty regularly - so it seems an appropriate New Year's thought... a reminder to continue the processes of transformation and renewal in life and in crafting.

The mixed media layers and randomness are something I'm keen to pursue further this year craft-wise - less control, more excitement (as with this week's icon which took such an unexpected journey), so that crafting resolution is pretty much built into the tag too.




I think that makes this a perfect entry for the New Year's Resolutions challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  I don't seem to have time for many challenges any more, but when there's such a good fit at one of my favourite challenge sites... well, it would be rude not to play!





As well as the quote, there are some delicious little wooden butterflies - the larger ones are by Studio Calico, the tiny ones from the fabulous UHK Gallery, a Polish site well worth a visit.











I painted them white, stamped the Bluebird text again, in Olive Archival this time, and then inked and chalked the edges until I liked how they looked.

I debated zhuzhing them up with some Glossy Accents, Shimmerz, or Dry Glitter, but in the end decided I'd rather stick with the shabby chic matte look.









Lots of seam binding at the top, coloured with Distress Paints as well as some Distress Ink.  

I love using the Distress Paints for dyeing the ribbon - it gives it a chalky opaque look rather than the usual translucent effect of just the Inks or Stains.







And that's really pretty much that.  It does please me as a finished piece... mainly because it pretty much made itself, so now I can just enjoy it.  Hope you do too.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Hope you have a great week ahead and I'll see you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.

Do not conform to the pattern of the world.  Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
From The Bible, Romans 12:2

Good resolutions are like babies crying in church.  They should be carried out immediately.
Charles M Sheldon




I'd like to enter this as a New Year's Resolution over at Frilly and Funkie