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Wednesday 23 April 2014

Thinking of Spring


Hello all, and welcome to Words and Pictures.

You've arrived just in time for the April Artistic Outpost bloghop, so do hop around and see what my fabulous Design Team-mates have been up to with their Artistic Outpost stamps.  Here's the full itinerary...

Linda Coughlin, Alison Bomber,

And if you haven't yet heard the big AO news, do take a look here, or at the press release.

But before you go anywhere, here's my offering for you today.

It'll come as no surprise to the regulars that I've been in Springtime mode, and playing with the wonderful Birds of a Feather plate again.  As usual with these brilliant stamps, I've been mixing and matching, so there are guest appearances from a couple of other sets too!






I started with one of the PaperArtsy Heavy Grey Boards.  They're 2mm thick, with a lovely smooth white surface on one side, so great for layering and stamping onto.  I inked very gently with Bundled Sage, Iced Spruce and Peeled Paint.

Next, I did some stencilling with the same colours, layering the Tim Holtz Honeycomb and Dot Fade, and adding some browns into the mix too.










I stamped the beautiful robin pretty much centre stage.  It's either Coffee or Potting Soil - sorry, I've forgotten which!










And the nest seemed to look just right nestled at the foot of the board.  











The adorable birds on a wire are from the Bluebird set... 

... they're ready to take off from the top or the bottom of the piece!











And a couple of little birds are also perched part way up, surrounded by the leafy vines from the Hayride plate, which are stamped in my new Leaf Green Archival ink.














There's also some lovely Gothic book text, which is another stamp from Birds of a Feather.












The wooden banners I think came from Unity Stamps - they're deliciously chunky, about 5mm deep.  

I stamped the two phrases direct onto the wood (Spring is here from Birds of a Feather, Thinking of you from Bluebird).







Although the ink has run slightly along the grain of the wood, I rather like the softening effect.

A little touch of frayed twine on each of them, and we're pretty much done.







Thanks so much for stopping by, and do hop along to see what the rest of the team have been up to... there are many delights awaiting you!  If you get lost along the way, you can find all the details here at Artistic Outpost.

The robin flew from his swinging spray of ivy on to the top of the wall and he opened his beak and sang a loud, lovely trill, merely to show off.  Nothing in the world is quite as adorably lovely as a robin when he shows off - and they are nearly always doing it.
From The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
(She's writing about a British robin, of course!)

Plenty of my favourite things here... Artistic Outpost stamps, nature images - especially that vine stamp!, wood and twine, so I'd like to pop this into A Few of My Favourite Things over at the Inspiration Journal sponsored by the Inspiration Emporium.

53 comments:

  1. just one word today dear Alison:
    m*a*g*n*i*f*i*q*u*e

    Happy day from
    Susi

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  2. This work is totally you! Wonderful as always, I love very much the little wooden details you've added! hugs BArbarayaya

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  3. Another great tag Alison, love the little wooden banners!

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  4. Really beautiful and it looks just right in the environment you placed it for the photograph.The little wooden tags are a brilliant idea

    Ages since I read the Secret Garden but I have always loved it so must venture in there again.:)

    Love Chrissie x

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  5. Love those green & brown shades Alison, a beautiful woodland scene!
    Alison xxx

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  6. stunning stamps Alison - this looks gorgeous! Rachel xx

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  7. Fabulous stamping, you really have made the most if your Spring images this year, a gorgeous design and colours xx

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  8. Wow! An absolute stunner Alison. Love the inky background and the bird and nest look just amazing.
    Fliss xx

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  9. Loving your nature tag Alison and so cleverly photographed surrounded by the green leaves. Annette x

    http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

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  10. I love greens and browns together and you have used my favourite plate beautifully. Love the wooden pieces and stamped background. Have a lovely day Alison. Tracy x

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  11. How beautiful AND it has birdies on it which are ALWAYS a firm favourite with me! Chris xxx

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  12. Wonderful colours again Alison, love the twine too of course!! Will look into that greyboard,sounds interesting to use.

    Donna. X

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  13. Wunderschön, so fein gestempelt und coloriert.
    So zart wie der Frühling :-)


    Liebe Grüße von Sophie xx

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  14. Another stunning tag Alison and I love those little wooden embellishments. Anne xx

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  15. The most wonderful spring piece dear Alison, love the stamps, you used so beautifully, and your green colours are gorgeous, great idea with the wooden tags, too.
    Hugs from Dorthe

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  16. what a stunning make Alison

    Love the background detail and the wonderful stamped images. TFS and glad to hear you arrived safely.

    Hugs Annie x

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  17. This is one of my favorite AO stamps and I love your tag. The colors and design so stunning and perfect for Earth Day! Hugs!

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  18. Lovely tag Alison! Those stamps are really gorgeous! xxx

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  19. Such a lovely tag, Alison!! Love it. <3 Candy

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  20. You can make a stamp sing GF! Beautiful Tag, and photo.

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  21. Definitely a bird watcher here, Alison, so this certainly speaks to my heart! Just a super tag with logs of interest.

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  22. what a marvelous spring tag! love the bird and pretty wooden sentiment banners!

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  23. Beautiful springtime piece Alison! Love the colors, combination of AO stamps and added stenciling!

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  24. Wonderful stamped images and make Alison, this is so beautiful!!! This AO plate is one of my regrets I must say... ;) But I can't buy all. Hugs, Coco xx

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  25. Just beautiful love the embellishments.

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  26. Your tag captures the essence of spring beautifully. Great tag.
    Love
    Amanda x

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  27. Such a sweet tweet tag Alison...great background and those tiny birds on top...lovely!
    kind regards, Alie :-)

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  28. Stunning tag! I've got to get those bird stamps, they're really gorgeous.

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  29. So beautiful and springery tag again! Love the wooden banners.
    xxx Evelyn

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  30. I really like how the center if the tag is lighter to highlight your stamping. The greens around the edges make a fabulous frame.
    Kate

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  31. Another beautiful Tag Alison. I love your colours they work so well with these stamps.
    Julie x

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  32. Lovely lovely Spring tag. Those images are just perfect aren't they.

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  33. Alison this is fabulous so earthy and organic LOVE it! hugs me x

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  34. Green! I love green! And I love that this tag is nestled in ivy for its photo op. I know you use it a lot but it really works with tag! Like, they were made to be together. Such a happy spring tag. I love the naked wood. How good of you to not cover it up this time. I feels better this way, like a breath of spring air.

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  35. Utterly charming spring tag! Love the soft greens and the beautiful wooden sentiments!

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  36. Beautiful, so fresh and bright. I love how you have built up all the layers and the use of stamps from a number of different plates. The wooden accents are perfect too. Another wonderful piece, Alison!

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  37. Gorgeous! I love the wood! Very Spring and fresh!

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  38. A fantastic piece of art - just amazing.

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  39. Yes my sweet and MUCH younger friend. Birds of a feather do flock together and as I watch our hens running around I know that this is a true statement. Plus I believe in the old time sayings and know they carry so much wisdom. Now if you will please tell me why our two goats follow the chickens all over the pasture I will be eternally grateful.
    You always inspire me to be better than I am!
    Sandy xx

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  40. beautiful work of art! Love the beautiful bird!

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  41. There's not much left to say is there lol. Love this, especially the stencilling and the Gothic text xx

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  42. Oh wow! Love it! Amazing tag, Alison! These wood elements are so lovely :)

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  43. Love the bird and the next and the signs....well all of it actually. :) It's fabulous Alison! xx

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  44. Thanks for joining us for our April Challenge at Inspiration Journal-My Favorite Things!

    You certainly are ringing in the spring with this lovely creation!

    ♥ Sue Kment

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  45. Oh Miss Alison you make my bird heart just burst with you happiness with you SUPERB creation this tag is just perfect, I love to see what you create it just moves me and inspires me, thanks for sharing...

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  46. I love your Spring tag with the fantastic colors. Wow you've been a busy lady. Sorry I'm a little behind.
    Hugs, Cathy-Lynn

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  47. So subtle and so gorgeous Alison. Jenny x

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  48. Beautiful, love the colours and such gorgeous stamps
    I love all the soft tones a pretty stencil effects

    Jools x

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  49. Wow wow wow truly awesome spring creation. The background is amazing and I love the images you used. I think its potting soil as it's slightly darker, but I could be wrong lol. I love the wooden banner, definitely a yummy embellishment and suits the whole look. Kezzy :-) xxx

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  50. Beautiful piece, Alison!
    Love the layering of stencils and stamps.
    Thanks for joining us in the Inspiration Journal monthly challenge!

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Thank so much for taking the time to stop by. It's lovely to hear what you think - every comment is so much appreciated.