Wilted Violet Moments

Hello all!  Yup, I'm squeezing another post in before the month is out... (It's been a busy few days - there's a Steampunk balloon trip, a journalling face of my own, and a Bird Crazy caterpillar picnic to see if you've missed any of them.)

This time it was another irresistible bit of playtime.  I was uncertain about Wilted Violet when it bobbed up this month, not being much of a purple-type.  But on the occasions when I dip in to Seedless Preserves or Dusty Concord I do enjoy myself, so I thought I would give it a go...

Oh dear... it seems Tim knows me better than I know myself - I loved playing with it!  There have been some bolder colour experiments here lately, so maybe I shouldn't be so surprised.

I used the Wilted Violet with my two favourite new colours, Ground Espresso and Hickory Smoke (with a touch of Rusty Hinge thrown in right at the end) and I love the results.












What I found was a connection to the slight melancholy which always overtakes me at this time of year - and these colours really seemed to express it for me beautifully.









Don't get me wrong, I do love autumn, but it always feels like a time of farewells to me; a winding-down, a softening, a transition to the next state.

I'm sharing these two tags together, since I love the light and shade of them, and the subtlety of the shifting colour tones between the two.







The smaller one is actually done on a wooden tag.  I used up some leftover Fresco Chalk paint on it recently and it's been sitting on the table waiting for some more action.








I did a bit of wrinkle-free distressing using Hickory Smoke and Ground Espresso (this is before the Wilted Violet was even announced, I think!).  The pale painted background means you get a really soft subtle effect with the inks.












I stamped the flowers in Ground Espresso and clear embossed them and then used a wash of Chalk again to give them a bit more presence - and that's where the tag stalled awaiting further inspiration.












That arrived in the shape of the Wilted Violet.  Hickory Smoke does have a slightly purply tone to it once it's dry, and so it was crying out to play with the new colour when it got here.













I wanted to use rusty wire to fasten on my WordBand, so I decided a bit of Rusty Hinge would add a helpful warm tone to echo the wire.












I used the Distress Marker to add the colour and a water brush to soften and shade it.  And in places I used some Quin Gold too.













I used it both on the flowers and around the edges of the tag where there was already some clear-embossed Ground Espresso in action.













And there's more rusty wire to complete the simple topping of crinkle ribbon.













The darker tag is probably my favourite of the two (and a current favourite overall, possibly).













I put Hickory Smoke, Ground Espresso and Wilted Violet Distress Stains onto my craft mat and smooshed them onto the tag repeatedly until I liked the look of it.














It was whispering "autumn" to me quite loudly, so I grabbed some wild meadow grasses and layered them on.














They're stamped in Wilted Violet or Ground Espresso or a combination of the two and some are clear-embossed afterwards, though not all of them.














The birds are taking flight, making good their escape to warmer climes.












I've always loved this sentiment - both the thought and the delicate font.  I've only had the small version until now... very happy that this is the first outing for its larger cousin (one of my very few wood-mounted stamps - an indulgence).












It's stamped in Versamark and embossed in Vanilla White so that it pops against the background.

But then I needed one of my ivory card matted backgrounds to complete the look - so that the pale text had a "partner in crime" to echo it.













Again, a simple topping of crinkle ribbon and rusty wire... this tag really pleases me.








I hope you like the pair of them.  I've already been in action again with the Wilted Violet, but you'll have to wait a few days to see what I came up with.  Purple as a new favourite colour... who knew?!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope to see you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
From Warning by Jenny Joseph

Be eccentric now.  Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
Regina Brett







With the birds spiralling towards warmer climes, I'd like to go Up, Up And Away With A Twist (the twist being autumn colours) at Stamps and Stencils

With paints, inks, embossing powders and rusty wire on paper and on wood, I'd like to offer both tags to the Love to Create challenge in their regular Anything Mixed Media/Creative Goes theme

And the pair of tags form my second entry in Anything Goes with Autumn Colours at Mixed Media World