Hello all and a slightly belated happy New Year! (Anyone singing along after that post title is revealing their age!) Just squeaking in under the promised wire (to share the rest of the Advent Countdown tags before the end of the 12 Days of Christmas - 6th January)... here are the remaining December tags, with a shot of the whole collection at the end.
Here's a sneak peek of the final arrival...
The last of the juniper berry backgrounds (using my PaperArtsy EAB28 Juniper Edition) were the last of the red and green collection...
These two don't actually belong together as a pair, but they got made and posted at the same time. Each of them does have a partner in the collection - you'll see them united at the end of the post.
Some more juniper berries to finish things off... and we all know who appears at the end of the Advent Countdown!
The making and posting wasn't quite daily, but when you work with pairs, trios and groups, you end up with enough to cover the full 25 day Advent Countdown even if you're not making something every single day!
Some of these pairs and trios were made together. Some collections came about from a bunch of backgrounds all made at the same time, but then each individual tag was finished off separately - but usually done to "match" whatever had gone before. Batch making does save thinking time!
Thanks so much for stopping by. I know for lots of you Christmas is a dim and distant memory now, but I'm enjoying the final days of peace and quiet by the tree before it comes down.
Chaos is about to kick in, as I'm heading to the UK for three months of work with the Royal Shakespeare Company again. I'll be packing a travelling stash, of course, but I don't know how much time or energy I'll have for creating. Working on a show is always pretty demanding, and I'm going to miss the Czech countryside very much (and my mother too!)... but digging deep into Shakespeare again is going to be a really stimulating and satisfying way to start the year.
I hope that 2023 is offering you the right balance of peace and excitement, and I wish you all the very best year possible.
Celebrate endings, for they precede new beginnings.
Jonathan Lockwood Huie
And now we welcome the New Year... full of things that have never been.
Rainer Maria Rilke
Just beautiful, Alison! It's wonderful to be able to see the whole collection. I love the backgrounds you create and now I'm going to head back through some TH videos and his 3 compendium books to see if I can figure out the process! Might as well get started on next year's holiday creations while I have all my supplies out.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cindy, for your lovely comment, and I hope this message reaches you. It's basically the Tim Holtz "wrinkle-free distress technique" I use, and it is definitely around with him demo-ing on youtube from years ago, as well as in some of his ink demos during the lockdowns.
ReplyDeleteI use ink pads rather than sprays. Smoosh the ink pad(s) onto the mat, then spritz with a little water, then dip and dab the tag(s) into the droplets, drying between layers, until you're happy with the look.
I work with a non-stick craft mat, a floppy one like a baking sheet - like the Ranger non-stick craft sheet, but mine's a cheaper (and larger) version. And the tags are plain manila tags, again like the Ranger ones, but cheaper.
Hope that helps for now and have fun playing, but keep an eye out on the blog and over at IG if you follow me there, as I do have plans for online classes later in the year.
Alison x
Your tags are just fabulous Alison. Blue and white always work together so well when it comes to winter scenes. I'm glad you could share these before the holiday season officially ends. hugs-Erika
ReplyDeleteThanks so much! I'll review it because I know I did it several years ago in his Creative Chemistry classes (2012!). I follow you on all social media and I will be interested in hearing about the online courses.
ReplyDeleteWonderful collection of Christmas tags, I always love your layering- so incredibly beautiful ♥
ReplyDeleteBeautiful tags Butterfly! My faves are the blue ones. ;) Think I need that Unchartered Mariner ink. All the best in 2023. Hope all goes well with Shakespeare. Hugs.
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