The Frosty Air of Night

Hello all!  This is the three-quarter mark... Tag 9 of the Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas.

Linda's inspiration tag is a wonderful wintry scene that I've reinvented with a couple of my favourite techniques, though I've given one of them a slight twist.

I seem to be entirely stuck on the greenery - it often plays a part in my versions of the 12 Tags, but it's been completely universal through the collection this year.

The deer are also playing a major role in the set of tags, so this tag is pretty representative of the whole collection, though really it's all about that night sky as far as I'm concerned.

I did my usual favourite smooshing technique onto a gesso'd tag, but I mixed Distress Paint and Distress Stain on the mat to do it (both in Chipped Sapphire).















I absolutely love the resulting swirl of shapes and splotches and blotches - like the Northern Lights but in nice subtle colours that I like!













And it got even better after it had had some snowy splatter (both stamped and spattered).

Once that sky was in place the rest really was plain sailing...










The deer is cut from textured card and inked with Black Soot around the edges.  A little extra Chipped Sapphire DI scribbled under his feet gives him a safe footing in the snow.















The trees are cut from the same soft green woodgrain paper I used on Tag 6, The Snowflakes Come Down.  Again, a little scribbled ink gives them somewhere to stand.














I love these delicate die-cuts, and I especially love that they don't cover up too much of my sky!













Up at the top there are some pinecones - I've gone for some real ones rather than the die-cut sort - in nice dark brown tones to match the deer. I added some of the lovely frosted berries to the mix, as well as a metal snowflake charm.












And there are some more of my beloved fir branches, some cut from the same Anna Marie Designs paper as the trees, and some punched out of some darker card with a Tim Holtz punch.











Given my obsession with that inky painty sky, the words from the Christmas Clippings were an easy pick.  They had to draw attention to it.

Some white twine at the top, and we're done.  So, really a very simple tag, but oh how it makes me happy!  I hope you like it too.






Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I know it's a crazily busy time of year for most of us, so I really appreciate your visits.  Time spent at the craft table feels like a real indulgence... but if you can't indulge yourself at Christmas, when can you?  I hope also to squeeze in some visiting over the next few days, so I'll see you soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.

The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.
From Dance Dance Dance by Haruki Murakami

I'd like to share this as my Tag 9 in the Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas, sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique