Tis the Season

Hello all!  It's the start of a brand new week, and I've made it to half way through my self-imposed challenge to get all of the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas done in just over 12 days (rather than the generous 12 weeks which Linda Coughlin - the Funkie Junkie herself - allows us all).

This is my sixth tag but since I'm now running out of order, it's actually Linda's eighth.  If you take a look at her original, you'll see mine is pretty much a direct CASEing of her design, but transferred into my preferred colours.

Once again - as I did for Tag 4 Let it Snow - I've exchanged the poinsettia/red combination for snowflakes/blue.

I don't have the poinsettia-making equipment nor, as regulars will know, do I go much for red around here.  It just never really feels like "me" when I use it, so I'm sticking to what I know!










I absolutely adored Linda's crackled light in her lamppost, so I followed her example for that.  I actually made the lamppost first of all, as I knew the Crackle Accents would need time to dry.













I've used the PaperArtsy White Fire paint for my silvery lamplight and I love the soft glow of it.  I left it overnight to get on with crackling.













The next morning (ie. a couple of hours ago!) I cut some snowflake masks using the Thinlits, and then spritzed Stormy Sky Distress Spray over them.  One of them flapped a bit in the draft of the spray so there's some leakage, but I'm pretty happy with the result overall.













Since I'd used White Fire in the lamp, I decided to stamp my sentiment in my favourite metallic embossing powder, Liquid Platinum.













I had a feeling it would tone in with the White Fire pretty well... it's no accident that I love both of them.

Having done the sentiment, I wanted more Liquid Platinum, so I brushed around the edges of the tag with the Versamark pad to add a textured metallic frame to echo Linda's gilded edging.












Then I thought I should probably also echo her gilded splatter so for that I used the White Fire again - very happy altogether with the wintry shimmer of it all.

I googled for a vintage winter photograph and came up with a couple of options.  I know I've seen this girl before - is she one of Tim's Found Relatives too?












Anyway, I printed out both her and the little boy, but when I tried them next to my lamppost, it was clear that I needed the bolder shapes and contrasts of the girl's photo.  Don't worry, that little chap will be stored away for future use...

I mounted her on card and inked the photo with Antique Linen and a hint of Vintage Photo (but of course).  I'm all about the holiday greenery, so this photo appeals to me no end.













And since she's gathering greenery, I wanted plenty of greenery around her.  I used my mop-up inky papers left over after Tag 9 Pine Cones Galore! to cut some fir, holly and mistletoe.











To create some more colour variation, I blended some Forest Moss onto some of them - it's a lovely earthy green which I haven't really made the most of in the past.













A couple of sparkly berries top the pile of gathered branches.  Oops, I notice the glue's still wet... well, there you go, you're practically at the craft table with me!









I've used music manuscript again on this tag (it put in appearances on Tag 1 Bare Branches and Tag 3 The Silent Night).

This time, rather than forming the background, I've used it to cut a few additional snowflakes dotted around the place.

You may notice another Tag 3 echo in the black embossing I chose to do on my lamppost to get a nice shiny wrought iron look.  It must be brand new!















Of course, I added some shadowy ground for the lamppost to stand on - Paynes Grey DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylic, applied with a water brush.













So that's my version of Tag 8.  I hope you like it.  I do - I think it's joining the Pine Cones Galore! as one of my favourites this year.  It feels pretty good to have made it to half way, plus I have a couple more already done and waiting to make their appearance here at Words and Pictures.

But after such a quiet year on the blog, it feels like overload to go for multiple posts in a day... so you'll just have to be patient, I'm afraid.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll be back tomorrow to share another tag.






A few days before Christmas Tom Garland and Dan took a bill-hook and knife and went into the woods to cut branches of scarlet-berried holly.  They tied them together with ropes and dragged them down over the fields, to the barn.  Tom cut a bough of mistletoe from the ancient hollow hawthorn which leaned over the wall by the orchard, and thick clumps of dark-berried ivy from the walls.
From The Country Child by Alison Uttley

I'd like to share this as Tag 8 in the Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas, sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique
I'd also like to enter it in the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is Let There Be Snow