Back in action...

Hello all!  I know, I know - I haven't been here on the blog for ages... but this time I've actually been taking a break from all social media, and in fact from creating too.  I'd planned a short break, and it ended up being much longer than intended for one reason or another.  But I'm gradually working my way back into the swing of things.  Here are a couple of tags to get things going...

I'm mostly going to aim for shorter blogposts than I used to but try to publish more frequently again.  That whole War-and-Peace-length thing is simply too time-consuming to create when there's so much else going on (and I still find that "new" Blogger is not nearly as functional as it used to be, so it all takes longer too).  

So here are a few background details of these tags, a little bit of making-of information, and some nice angles and close-ups for you to enjoy...

I can't get my head around full-on Halloween making yet - it's not even quite October! - but there's definitely an autumnal feel to these tags and just a slight sense of the uncanny starting to creep in... 

I used my favourite Tim Holtz technique for the backgrounds - wrinkle-free distress ink splotches.  

I started with Pumice Stone and Weathered Wood; next layer Uncharted Mariner and Hickory Smoke; a bit of Faded Jeans, then Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs...

... and last of all some Stormy Sky Ink and Oxide mixed to splatter with. Walnut Stain around the edges and we're done.

Time for the collage stages (and a slightly brighter day for the photographs).  The @tim_holtz Paper Dolls take centre stage...

... each of the pairs fixing you with those unnerving stares.

 There are some Idea-ology Gauge Dials...

... tiny Snippets labels and Number Strips, Quote Chips and various other bits of ephemera...

... a touch of hoarded Tissue Tape for them to stand or lean on...

... and some Aquilegia flower heads gathered from the garden, bound with rusty wire.

So I think that will do for now...  there are some other projects to catch up on, so I'll work on getting those shared here.

And we're about to head into Inktober, so if I find the time to join in with that, I'll be sharing what I get up to here too.  I hope you're all doing well, and happy crafting until I see you again.

"Lord, what fools these mortals be!"

Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare