Becoming More

Hello all.  After the wintry chill of Taking Flight, I've got a touch of springtime sunshine for you today... a jumbo tag using some of the newest Tim Holtz dies.

This is a large MDF tag, 4 x 8.25 inches in size.  I'll share some of the process with you, as it was quite interesting how it evolved.

There were several points where I was really happy, but then had to rethink and reluctantly make changes to something I loved, so that the next step would work.  And a couple of times I was quite sad to have lost what came before.

Some day, I'll set off in the same direction, but keep some of those earlier stages unaltered, and then work out where to go next.











Having said that, I'm so happy with the finished result - though it's probably wishful thinking to have been making something so summery while there was snow falling outside!












It all started with some crackle that went slightly wrong.  I was covering up an already slightly-crackled surface which I didn't like much but, as a result of whatever was underneath, the crackle started flaking away.

I decided I'd make a virtue out of the problem, and go for a really distressed look.











I used some Distress Crayons to add tints of colour around the flaky areas.   When I spritzed it with water and used my fingers to soften the look of it, even more crackle flaked off... very distressed!

But once I was happy with the colours I sealed it all with two coats of DecoArt Ultra Matte Varnish, and there's been no more flaking since that.










I played around with the idea of adding some Paper Dolls - and I quite liked this.  I've kept the frame and dolls aside, ready to go on a slightly larger tag in future.

The gorgeous straggling flowers and weeds are cut out of watercolour paper with Tim's new Organic die.  They already look good in white, but I wanted to watercolour them, and it was that which led to the first major alteration.











Once I had the foliage part-painted, I tried it over the background, and it was all far too full-on, so I had to give my grungy background a sponged coat of gesso to knock it back, allowing those leaves to really pop.

I'm in love with the new, paler, weathered background, but I will go back and recreate the grungier version one day.












The next adjustment was to discard the frame and the dolls... they were covering up far too much of the lovely foliage and flowers for my liking.  So I needed to find an alternative...











Tim's new Tattered Butterfly die was calling out to me, so I cut one of each size out of watercolour paper and had a lovely time tinting them with Distress Stains.

But now the bold leafy foliage was drawing the eye away from the subtler colours of the butterflies' wings, so it was time for another adjustment.













I got out the sponge and the gesso again and knocked back the Organic foliage so that it would settle further into the background.

I miss the vivid brightness of the original version (another thing to go back for another time), but I do love the soft mottled look I have now. 













It definitely helps to balance the colour tonality of the whole piece, and certainly gives the butterflies more of a chance to catch the eye.

(I have to confess I was tempted to leave the butterflies off altogether once I'd glued down the flowers.  I could go for this just as it is - or with the brighter version of the foliage... though there would need to be some words added, of course.  Another future possibility for another day!)












There's some pen-work on the butterflies over the watery Distress Stains...












... the detailing done with some Walnut Ink and my dip pen, as well as with some white pen doodling.

If you look closely, you'll see they have some very fine antennae made with copper wire.














Some Walnut Stain inking around the edges highlights some of that gorgeous crackling in the background.












The Small Talk sticker phrase seemed very appropriate for butterflies... and hopefully for the changes afoot in my own life this year too.













The flowers are still beautiful, even in their less prominent role in the background.

This is going to be a much-used die, I can see.  There's already an art journal spread waiting to be blogged which also uses it.














There's a touch of white pen doodling here too, just to give the flowers a little extra life and detail.












I think it was worth knocking them back with the gesso, though, to allow these butterflies to shine... I'm pretty happy with the paint and pen work on these!















Some simple rustic twine finishes everything off, and that's your lot for now.

I do hope you're all managing to keep warm, despite the weather (or keeping cool if you're in the heatwave hemisphere). 

I hope that's added a bit of gentle warmth to your weekend, and I hope you all have a happy one, whatever you're up to.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Your company and comments on this crafty journey make me so happy.  See you again soon!

... and when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful...
Ruskin Bond









I'd like to play along at the Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge, where they are having their usual Anything Mixed Media Goes theme
At Crafty Cardmakers they would like us to Add Some Texture - done!
With the Distress Stain watercolouring on the butterflies and flowers, I'd like to join in the February Watercolour Challenge at Happy Little Stampers