I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Wednesday 9 September 2020

A different kind of life

Hello all.  I hope you are doing well and staying safe.  Thank you so much for your lovely comments on my rusty cogs and gears - I'm glad you liked them.  I mentioned a couple of posts back that tags were mounting up as my mojo has kicked back into gear over the last few weeks, so I'm here with a pair of them today.


There's been an autumnal turn to most of the tags recently, but these are more of a "last of the summer sun" pair - still enjoying the bright greens and sunlight of August.






The main ingredient in my revived mojo has been the arrival of Speckled Egg Distress as a new colour, and it's here in force.















It's combined with some of my favourite greens and also, unusually for me, a touch of Scattered Straw.















There's some background stamping in Archival Olive with my much loved weeds from Rubber Dance's Weed Love set.













And there are also some light-catching insects from Tim's Entomology plate, embossed in Speckled Egg Distress Glaze.













This gives them that now-you-see-them, now-you-don't effect which I love.

The butterflies over the top come from a couple of Tim Holtz sets.















There are some from Papillon, a much older set but still brilliant.  And the smaller Papillon group are joined by a couple of the larger butterflies from the Entomology plate so that the tags have a balanced look.















The Paper Dolls, as usual, had strong opinions about whether they wanted to be involved or not.
















These two were the clear top candidates... they just looked right when I tried them in place.















There's some more background stamping, white-embossed - postmarks and number stamps from the Field Notes stamp set.
















I love the extra lift the tags get from the white details.













And it also matches the embossed words on the acetate strips.  This has become one of my favourite ways to add my quote stamps.













I love how you still get to see everything that's underneath, but still get the words hovering over it all.  These are from the recent EAB19 Life & Living, as well as from one of the oldest sets EAB03 Music & Silence.








I hope you like the summery feel of these, and I hope you're enjoying some of the late summer sun that we're getting here in the Czech Republic at the moment.  I'll be heading back to my full stash in the next week or so, but mainly in order to start packing it up for the permanent move.


But I'm looking forward to doing some playing with it all in between times nonetheless - I'm going to need stress relief through the sorting and packing process!!

For now, I'll love you and leave you, and hope to see you all again soon.

Well, I must endure the presence of a few caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies.
From The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

22 comments:

sally said...

Delightful end of summer pair! I’ve been inspired to get inky of late.....

Sally xx

Mac Mable said...

Fabulous late Summer tags and wonderful colours and design layouts Alison x. Good luck with the packing x.

Helen said...

gorgeous tags, and yes, a summery feel. I hope the move goes well,I can't imagine packing to move to another country but I suppose if you have to pack everything (yikes!!) it doesn't matter how far it's going.....

Redanne said...

Two real beauties, you definitely chose the right dolls, they look perfect under the see through sentiments. The faint insects in the background are beautiful embossed in the glaze, just right for that end of summer look.

Speckled Egg was a definite favourite of mine until Crackling Campfire came along - it is perfect for autumn! Safe journey back from the Czech Republic, I certainly don't envy you the packing but then I don't have a wonderful new adventure to look forward to! Keep safe and well. Anne xx

Amanda said...

A great pair of tags for the swan song to summer this year, the sun made a welcome appearance here in the UK today. Good luck with your packing, I shudder at the thought if I had to do the same thing but in a few months it will all be over and a new adventure starts
Love
Amanda x

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I just got back online after being without internet all day. I love how the quote shows the paper doll images behind. I also love the butterflies, but most of all, I love your color palette choice for these tags, dear Alison.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I forgot to mention, I had enough trouble moving from one state to another. I gave away so much stuff that I soon regretted, because I had no room for it in my sized down new home. I wish you luck with the packing and the move.

Anke said...

Traumhaft schöne Tags, liebe Alison. Ich mag Deine Kunst so sehr.

Alles Liebe
wünscht Dir
Anke

Marci said...

So green and fresh looking.

My name is Erika. said...

The white splatters really take these tags to a new level. Amazing how some white paint flecks can make such a difference in the final product. Beautiful tags Alison. Are you back in London yet or still the Czech Republic? Hugs-Erika

craftytrog said...

Beautiful tags Alison! Reminds me that I should white stamping and splatters more :-)
Alison xx

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Oh that mojo is a tricky dude. LOVE these two tags in your signature color scheme, and the quotes are wonderful in white and translucent with the cute peeps. Gorgeous tags.

experiments in paper said...

Lovely tags - I'm enamoured of the acetate as it just adds to the lightness of being that these tags evoke. That little dash of Scattered Straw is also just perfect - like an unexpected spice that completes the full taste of an already wonderful dish. Best wishes for smooth packing, and moving.... will be thinking of you! xxx Lynn

Neet said...

Two beautiful tags Alison - two very appropriate figures that go together so well. Love the background colours you have used, must get my Speckled Egg in use a bit more. I do like how you have included white stamping and the idea of the words on acetate strips is brilliant.
These two are fabulous!
Hugs, Neet xx

Craftyfield said...

You are definitely on a roll… the mojo is fighting fit and the tags have the usual quality and attention to detail you give them! I hope the packing and moving doesn't get too much and all goes smoothly. x

Lys said...

A fresh pair of tags and a welcome Summer feel still here anyway (30 ° C today). I love the white embossed details: so delightful!

Cocofolies said...

Just pinned these two beauties on my Tim Holtz inspirational board. They are so beautiful. I love the delicate glaze you get with Specckled Eggs. Gorgeous Alison!
I wish you a good travel back from the Czech Republic, I hope you are not too sad to leave your family... And goof luck for packing, unpacking and packing again!
Hugs, Corinne xx

Let's Art Journal said...

So glad to hear your mojo is back and what beautiful tags! The colours are so fresh and I love the grungy worn look that you created too 😁. Still thinking of summer with the Indian Summer forecast back here in the UK! Happy travels and wishing you well! Hugs, Jo x

Sue said...

What fabulous tags, I do like the way that you make them in pairs. Good luck with the packing, take care, and have a very happy week, Sue xx

Fliss said...

These are both so beautiful Alison. Such gorgeous textured backgrounds with so much wonderful detail. The text stamped on acetate is genius too and looks amazing.
Apologies for being mia lately. So much family drama going on that along with that and DT commitments, blogging time has vanished! Hoping for some more time really soon.
Fliss xx

Cocofolies said...

Also two gorgeous tags!!!
Sending my best wishes for your new life to come Alison, and much love xx

nwilliams6 said...

Love these, Alison, such great colors and details! Wow!!! Hugz