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...

Thursday 17 December 2020

Thoughts and Tidings

Hello all, I'm sorry for the week-long absence.  As you might imagine - with having just moved to a new country and with Christmas right around the corner, plus trying to build new income streams - there's quite a lot going on.  So I'm just dropping in to share some pictures of a pair of tags which make me very happy.

When I have had a bit of spare time, I've been trying to spend it doing something constructive rather than internet-browsing... so I had a lovely time converting these Rustic Wilderness (the gorgeous new Distress green) backgrounds into this finished pair of tags.

This is the splotchy green and blue pair from the array of Rustic Wilderness backgrounds I shared recently...

I love what they've turned into thanks to the lovely pine and berry branches from the new Forest Floor stamp set.

For the berries, I stamped, added the white embossing powder and then used a brush to brush the powder away from the stems as much as possible before heating.  Then I used a brush pen in brown to give the stems a bit more presence.

I kept the embellishing very simple with some twine and wooden snowflakes...

... and the seasonal Clippings stickers provided the thoughts and tidings to go with them.

There's some background text stamping (because there has to be!) - the amazing advertisement stamp from the Professor #2 set.

And I doodled some borders with my dip pen and grey ink followed by white ink. 

I'm keeping things simple partly because I have no access to 95% of my crafting supplies (Box Mountain will stay Box Mountain until the flooring can be laid - which may well not be until the New Year)...

... but mostly because it didn't feel like they needed anything more.

The deep rich green of the Rustic Wilderness with the paler inky highlights of Speckled Egg and Broken China in the background...

... the beautiful detail of the stamps with those snowy berries and amazing pine needles...

... the simple wooden snowflakes and those Idea-ology Tokens dangling from the twine...

... seemed to me as though they were doing the job pretty well!  I hope they make you as happy as they do me.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I'll hope to see you over the festive period if not before.  Stay safe, stay well, stay cosy and creative.

No writing on the solitary, meditative dimensions of life can say anything that has not already been said better by the wind in the pine trees.
Thomas Merton

I'd like to share these at Country View Challenges where the theme is Anything Christmas

And at Tag Tuesday they're playing Christmas or Anything Goes

26 comments:

sally said...

A pleasure to see that you have been squeezing in a little art time in amongst all the craziness of the holidays & house move! Happy Christmas to you & best wishes for the coming year/life changes. Stay safe!

Sally xx

Valerie-Jael said...

Wonderful tags, so beautiful. Hope you soon get things sorted in your new environment. Thanks so much for joining us at Tag Tuesday!

Helen said...

Great to hear from you, Alison and I hope you continue to settle in well. I love the tags - the white embossing is just gorgeous! I bought some new white embossing powder recently so maybe I will get time to play during my solo Christmas!! In case we don't see you again before, have a fabulous Christmas time and stay safe. Helen xx

Chrissy said...

Stunning tags Alison they make me so happy too, I love the backgrounds and textures and love how the white stands out so beautifully..all your added details just makes one want to stare for a long time..welcome to your new country and and home and hope you and your family have a very Merry Christmas..

Luv CHRISSYxx

pearshapedcrafting said...

Oh Wow! Absolutely in love with these (if that's not too strange) those berries really stand out against that gorgeous background! Take care, hope you are feeling more settled by now! Hugs,Chrisx

My name is Erika. said...

These are my kind of festive Alison. I love the greenery and those white berries really pop. I do love this stamp set. You used it well. Of course today we got almost 40 cm of fresh snow and these have a little feel of my world. Hope all is well. Hugs-Erika

Amanda said...

No need for more perfect as they are. Hope the settling in process is going ok and Happy Christmas in your new home
Love
Amanda x

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

Really pretty festive tags Alison the white embossed berries look striking against the greenery. So sorry to have read about AVJ, a difficult year for me with little time for me I will be sad to see the challenge go but even more so the creatives behind it; so I was very happy to see your post this evening.
It will be like all your Christmas's and Birthday's rolled into one when box mountain is unleashed. Stay safe Hugs Tracey xx

Nan G said...

Beautiful tags Butterfly! So much dimension and texture. It seems the new distress green was made for you! ;) Enjoy the first of many holidays in your new home. Warm hugs and Christmas blessings.

pinky said...

Alison you are such a talented lady! There is so much to catch the eye and your tags and super gorgeous!! Thanks for sharing with us at Tag Tuesday xx

experiments in paper said...

Lovely set of tags! Merry and lively, and instill the wonder I always feel at the first snow. Love that you are keeping up your creativity, in the midst of everything you've got going! Wishing you the best of holidays in your new home, and a fantastic 2021! xxx Lynn

Fonda said...

Gorgeous tags!

Sandra Wright. said...

Such a lovely pair of Tags..I would love one , or maybe both attached to my christmas present, they are awesome.
Thank you so much for playing along in our challenge at Tag Tuesday x

Craftyfield said...

More green than usual in those tags, Alison! I blame Rustic Wilderness... Both gorgeous and with the perfect wintery feel for the season.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas, x

craftytrog said...

Gorgeous wintry tags Alison!
Glad that you have a few stash supplies handy. We all need a bit of arty down time.
Wishing you success with your income sourcing.
Have a lovely weekend,
Alison xox

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

You've been so busy I am sure, that I'm surprised you've even had time to make let alone blog. Wonderful tags. Merry merry Christmas to you!

Mac Mable said...

So glad you found some crafty tiem Alison x. Both tags sure do make me happy too. Love the deep green and the way you did the sprig and berries look so beautiful x. Have a lovely festive period in your new home and make memories and stay safe x.

Patty O'Malley said...

Beautiful tags, Alison! Best wishes in your new home!

Diana Taylor said...

Wow, your tags are beautiful, I love the white berries against that gorgeous rich green background - just stunning. I hope you continue settling in well and I can't quite believe you are creating such beauties as these with only 5% of your craft supplies to hand!
I hope you have a lovely, safe, happy and creative festive holiday in your new home.
Diana xx

Sue said...

What amazing tags Alison! The white embossing is perfect on these beautiful backgrounds. I hope you're settling in well in your new home, I bet you can't wait to climb box mountain lol. Take care and have a very merry Christmas, Sue xx

Lagene said...

Awesome tags!

Cocofolies said...

Both tags are fabulous. I absolutely adore these shades of green and blue, and these new stamps are beautiful stamped and embossed in your way! They give me joy this morning, thank you Alison, I had no time before to admire them quietly... missing my favorite blogs sometimes :)
Hugs and love, I've just received your Christmas card so thank you also for your good wishes!!!
I also wish you a warm and joyous Christmas, and all the very best for 2021, be it full of joy, peace, inspiration and creativity in your new place and home. xxxx

Paper Profusion said...

Fantastic tags Alison. Love Rustic Wilderness and your other inclusions. Wishing you a very Happy Christmas in your New Home and oodles of great new ventures in 2021. Nicola x

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Beautiful tags. Hugs, Angela xXx

sarascloset said...

These are stunning, Alison! Those colors knock my socks off and I love the snowy feel to this pair. They are very reminiscent of the woodsy scene on your e-card you sent. Thank you so much for that; it very much brightened my day! I am hesitant to open such things, but I took a chance this morning and was pleasantly surprised!

Neet said...

These are so different and so lovely. I love green and white together and the embossing powder you have used really is pure white. Two wonderful tags - a surprise to see something to me because I just didn't think you would have time to make something with the move and Christmas.
Thank you
Hugs, Neet xx