This pair of tags uses quotes from the EAB16 Magic & Wonder set... and I figure we can use all the magic and wonder we can get at the moment.
To me, there has always been something fantastical and other-worldly about fungi... they're neither plant nor animal, not flora nor fauna, but a whole order unto themselves. And some of them behave in very weird and wonderful ways, playing a vital role in all sorts of natural processes without us even being aware of it.
So when I was looking for some stamps to partner the fairies I wanted to use with these particular quotes, the Scrapcosy mushrooms also by PaperArtsy seemed like the perfect choice.
The backgrounds are done very simply by sponging on the Fresco paints with a natural sponge. You get such lovely soft stippled effects this way.
The colours include Lavender and Wisteria, along with Lawn and Granny Smith.
The fungi are stamped in a combination of Potting Soil and Coffee Archivals and painted in the smoky neutrals of Chalk, Eggshell, Taupe and French Roast.
I used my stamp platform so that I could stamp the mushrooms, paint them in my chosen shades...
... and then stamp again to retrieve all that lovely shading and detail. It's such a satisfying process!
The fairies are played by Paper Dolls with some of the lovely acetate Idea-ology wings attached.
But these tags are really all about the words for me. The quotes are embossed in Wow Primary Bark, applied over an Archival ink stamping. (I find you get slightly better detail with Archival than with a sticky embossing ink when you've got a stamp like this.)
You can't have a quote set about Magic & Wonder without some words from the master of fairytales himself, Hans Christian Andersen.
I'm not sure he's right about a fairytale at the moment - seems like we're in more of a disaster movie a lot of the time! Still, maybe there'll be a happy ending.
And this extraordinary quote by Eckhart von Hochheim, commonly known as Meister (Master) Eckhart, a German philosopher born in 1260, has exactly the kind of uplifting optimism I need at the moment.
What if, out of this catastrophic crisis, we were able to imagine and create for ourselves a better way of going about our lives? Less in thrall to materialism, more in tune with nature; less driven by money, more concerned with compassion.
Suppose we were able to start something new - that would be the start of a happier ending, wouldn't it?
Enough of that for now. I hope you enjoyed seeing these samples in more detail than I was able to share them on launch night, and I hope you are still finding magic & wonder in this extraordinary world of ours, even in these dark hours. Stay safe, stay well and I'll see you again soon.
Just a quick fungi-connected afterthought before the quotes... Cross promotion is not something I do very often, but if any of you are fans of science fiction or the wonders of nature - especially the fascination of fungi - or simply like a really good read, can I just draw your attention to a newly published book, Living with Annie, by a very good friend of mine.
If you'd like to know more, click the link and "Look Inside" to read an extract; and if you scroll down to the reviews you'll find one there by someone called "Alison" (!). If it seems like your kind of thing then I highly recommend it.
When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters -- one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity.
John F. Kennedy
In every crisis, doubt or confusion, take the higher path - the path of compassion, courage, understanding and love.
Amit Ray
I'd like to share these over at Tag Tuesday where for the next fortnight Anything Goes
At the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge they would like us to Create A Scene
32 comments:
Hi Alison, your tags are beautiful, and remind me of much loved fairy tale books and happy childhood dreams. Wonderful colours, too. Thanks for joining us at Tag Tuesday again, much appreciated. Have a good week in spite of the crisis. Hugs, Valerie
Beautiful tags. Happy Tuesday. Be safe
Much🕊love
Such pretty tags in gorgeous colours. I love the lilac tops you have achieved with Lavender and Wisteria - just the names of those colours conures up beauty for me. I adore fungi and these mushrooms you have shown us are beautifully done - I never thought of doing that with my Misti. I will try to remember that from now on, it is a great tip. In fact I like the photos of them on their own before anything was added, they look so good.
Something else I never thought of is putting wings behind those girls - perfect and such a good idea. And the words ... well, need I say anything?
Hugs, Neet xx
I applaud you for paying homage to fungi. For me, I don't have the same love and affection for it. I had to deal with mold (or in your case, mould) when my basement flooded. Twice! There was black mold, green mold, and white mold. All affect your breathing and must be removed immediately, or the spores get in your air vents and ducts.
I realize mushrooms are a special (and often edible) form of fungi, so I applaud you for using them in your tags today. In addition to your fabulous stamping and coloring, your paper dolls were also the perfect pieces They fit so well on the tags and were the perfect size for the mushrooms, too. These are two beautiful tags, and of course, the quotes were memorable, too.
What magical mushrooms and fairies and what faubus and poignant words, both in your post and with the stamping sentiments x. Beautiful tags, both of them. Yes wouldn't it be marvellous if something great and good could come out of all this? Stay safe and well too Alison x.
They are indeed magical tags Alison! I love the girls with their wings and those fabulous mushrooms! The quotes are of course perfect with these images! I share your optimism that something good must surely come out of all this! I read all of the extract and definitely want to read more - need hubby to allow me access to Amazon!!! Take care, hugs, Chrisx
As a believer in Fairies, don’t we all have them living at the bottom of our garden? These are real magical tags, beautiful.
Love
Amanda x
Such beautiful tags and I love the quotes ~ Pretty soft colors and wonderful details. Enjoy your week!
Love these tags and the sentiments especially the first one on the left,
and suddenly you know: It's time to start something new and trust the magic of new beginnings, LOVE IT. Thanks for sharing your wonderful work Alison, I enjoy being a part of your blog. :) Hugs from Victoria, BC
It's great to have you on board for the creative journey, Suzy, and always lovely to read your comments, thank you. As you don't have an active blog I never get to repay ypur visits, but I'm so happy you enjoy dropping in. And yes, the Eckhart quote is wonderful, isn't it? So glad you like it. Ax
I loved seeing the mushrooms evolve as the layers of stamping and painting brought them to life. I always struggle stamping on acrylic paints :)
Your quotes make the tags come to life, such beautiful words in a world like this :)
Christine
Those tags are magical. I like your fairies but using the mushrooms is very clever. I read your ink colors at first and I thought you really colored it with potty soil. Whoop, that's what I get for reading at night. And I am going to go check out that book on Amazon once it finish this comment. Take care. Hugs-Erika
Your tags are beautiful Alison! I love the mushrooms, the lovely soft colour and the pretty fairies, and you have certainly chosen the perfect quotes for these tags. Love every little detail. Take care and stay safe. hugs xx
these tags are stunning! so well made! thank you for linking to tag tuesday! xo
Two very beautiful tags!!!
Always such a pleasure to view your amazing work Alison, love the fungi and the gorgeous fairies, tags are gorgeous.... oh 'Living with Annie" well haha ask my hubby what it's like 'living with the real annie' ..big hugs and stay safe and well.xxx
AWESOME creations, love how your painted your mushrooms & restamped the details! Great quotes!
An adorable pair of tags Alison! I'll check out that book too.
Alison xx
Both tags are beautiful, your colouring of the fungi is just perfect and adding the wings to the paper dolls is just magical.
I went over and after reading the reviews, I was so intrigued I had to buy the book and now look forward to reading it! Thanks for telling us about it. Anne xx
These are gorgeous Alison, they remind me of the Cottingley fairies. As always your quotes are perfect for your images. Take care and have a fun week, Sue xx
Such lovely and whimsical - nay, magical tags.... satisfies the inner fungiphile for certain! So clever how you did them - quite realistic! Love your backgrounds as well, and the little sprites, looking just a bit mischievous in the most fun sense of the word. But, I too, am most taken with your words. One of my favorite sets ever from you, and that is saying something! Have just purchased the book - sounds quite wonderful, complex and interwoven, and just the thing to engage my brain, to give grist to the ponderings of where we are, how we got here, and more importantly (at least in the states), how we regain social, adult discourse. Many thanks for the recommendation, and as always, the inspiration. xxx Lynn
I just love your mushrooms and Fairies Alison,I love the colours and stippled colouring with your sponge, must try that,and I LOVE splatters they look like fairy dust, beautiful tags..
Luv CHRISSYxx
I absolutely adore these tags... (Just pinned them on my favourite inspirational Tags board on Pinterest :) They are totally charming, and your quotes are simply wonderful on them! I have these mushrooms by Scrapcosy and some lovely TH children images, I think I could try to create some similar tags one day, thank you for your share of all the details as usual dear Alison.
Great make, and another great words stamp!!
I'm asking when is your birthday... soon I think. I'm not too sure, I can't find the date in our mails :(
Hugs, xx
I love the way you’ve colored the fungi they look so beautiful, as always, your work captures my attention, thank you for sharing x
Such pretty fairy scenes! The mushrooms look fabulous and capture the fairy magic beautifully 😁. I'm so loving the quotes too, the Hans Christian Andersen one made me smile - perfect! Hope you are having a lovely week and sending you Happy Birthday wishes for this week! Keep well! Hugs, Jo x
So glad I stopped by today Alison! what beautiful tags! I too love mushrooms for their woodsy/fairy/magical feel! Your sentiments are wonderful here - expressing perfectly the little scenes you have created! Julia xx
Lovely tags, Alison. I love your process of stamp-paint-re-stamp, it does give a great result. Personally I love mushrooms, especially in my plate! x
Wow I love your tags Alison and how you made them too!! Thanks for joining us at Tag Tuesday.
Pinky
Two magical tags, they each have wonderful quotes added that go so well with the scenes you creates.
Stay well and safe.
Yvonne xx
Hello dear Alison, and thankyou for the sweetest fairy-tales . They are gorgeous, with the fungi and the butterfly wings so wonderful used. I need to find mine again. Lovely spring colors and I love the distress effect with the white splashes .
Hope your weekend is cosy . Hugs, Dorthe
So sweet, love them. I agree about the fungi, they are so magical. There are Red caps in our park but we never know when they will show their faces, some years they do and other years there's no sign of them but when they do appear there are loads of them and it's quite a sight to see. Happy crafting, Angela xXx
Wuuuut??? This new English friend I've made who teaches Shakespeareans to sound worthy, who I'd been wishing that I could have told my Dad all about her (he died last year just short of 92 and taught college Theatre Arts for 33 years along with English and Public Speaking -- and one summer during college was in a WPA-financed Shakespearean troupe with Lawrence Luckingbill as they pontificated through the Ozarks in tights! ha! and he would have loved hearing all about you, too!), this new British friend I've made who makes gorgeous art and has such a kind soul -- she designs stamps for Paper Artsy????? WUUUT??? Gobsmack me now, I did not know that! The quotes on your art are your stamps! Oh my goodness. Well, I have immediately gone and purchased a couple sets at Topflight -- House & Home and Happiness. I wavered on getting the Happiness a bit -- I find the Ghandi goal frankly impossible, and Whitman's always been too intense for me but I do like that quote. I had to have the Woolf quote, it spoke to my Pisces soul and although she was an Aquarian I feel certain she had some Pisces-cusp traits. ;-) Well, I have rambled on enough for now. Be well and safe, XOX
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