Taking Flight

Hello all!  I'm here with a pair of tags today, just for fun - and with a jolt of colour to brighten up these chilly days.  It's still a combination of my favourite blues and browns, but really pushing into the rusty-orange end of the spectrum.  I think I got infected by the Rusty Alcohol tag!

I'll make no apology for reverting to my favourite imagery either - the meadow flowers, the birds taking flight - it's what I need at the moment.  And I'm taking permission from my recent art journalling spread to create what I need.

The background is a combination of Distress Inks and Oxides.  When you're smooshing inks on the craft mat, you might as well make two tags while you're at it.















There's some Faded Jeans involved up in the sky area...















... and some Rusty Hinge, Antique Linen and maybe Walnut Stain involved lower down.









I also used the Rusty Hinge DI to add some really intense spots of colour in places.  (Click on the photos to see them full size.)

I love how it really pops against the chalkier Oxide effects, and provides such contrast with the blue tones.








I stamped with a combination of inks mixed directly on the stamp - some Oxide, some Archival, some DI.  Darker toned Walnut Stain and Coffee take their place towards the foot of the stems, and brighter Rusty Hinge and Sepia at the tips.















I used clear embossing powder to give the delicate stems a little more presence against the busy background.













The birds are stamped in Jet Black Archival, and then there's some Wow Bark embossing powder over the top of that.













It gives them more substance, and also that fabulous gleam when the light catches them, so that there's almost a sense of movement in the wings as you move the tag in the light.













The words are from the Idea-ology Small Talk stickers, with just a sweep of Antique Linen DI over them to soften the whiteness of the lettering.













The original white font was sticking out too much and drawing the eye away from the mellow glow of the sunlit meadow, but the Antique Linen drops it back just the right amount.













Some fine twine tops off the tags, and I used my dip pen to add some walnut ink borders around the edges of the tags.

Rustic simplicity right to the end.







Thanks so much for dropping in today.  I hope you've enjoyed walking in this wintry meadow at dawn with me.  See you soon, and happy crafting in the meantime.

Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.
Leonarda da Vinci

At Country View Challenges there's a theme of Landscapes/Cityscapes

I'd like to play along at the Fashionable Stamping Challenges where Anything Goes

Anything Goes  at the Bleeding Art Challenge Blog too -  with four kinds of ink, paint spatter and lots of embossing powder, these should be mixed media enough

I'm also joining in at the Three Muses Challenge where the theme is Birds (thanks to Anne for the heads-up!)