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Thursday 1 May 2014

In The Garden



Hello all... how did it get to be May already?!  I can hardly believe it...

But it is May 1st, and that being so, there are new challenges starting left, right and centre.  I have two for you today here at Words and Pictures alone.

Later today I'll be sharing the new Our Creative Corner theme, but right now it's time to find out what's on the cards at The Artistic Stamper this month.

Our challenge to you this month is to share with us what's In The Garden.  You can make any kind of project; it doesn't have to include Artistic Stamper stamps, but if it does then you'll get two entries into the prize draw at the end of the month.

Do hop over to The Artistic Stamper to see inspiration from some more of the Design Team, and check out the full rules and guidelines, but here's my starter for ten.







No mistaking my inspiration - I'm still playing with the lovely double-stamping technique Tim shared with us in March, but the stamps I've used this time are from Katy Fox's Encyclopaedia Botanica.

I coloured the flowers on the stamp using Distress Markers and stamped onto to two manila tags in succession.









I used a little ink and a water brush to gently colour in the petals, while not disturbing the stamped lines too much.















Then I stamped the flowers again on a spare bit of paper and cut a mask.













I used my marker spritzer (sadly an ancient bright red one, not the new sexy black TH one!) over the mask to create the speckled sky "behind" the flowers, layering on several different colours.













The little beetle is again stamped with Distress Markers, coloured straight onto the stamp... 















... Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap and Black Soot if memory serves.












The little butterfly perched on the Idea-ology linen ribbon has been created the same way...















... and cut out to create a dimensional embellishment.












And I used Distress Paints to alter a couple of Word Sticks...













... to add a touch of metal to proceedings.














Simple raffia and a little knot of linen ribbon - well frayed of course - finish things off...














... providing an echo of the linen ribbon around the middle of the tags.






So what's In The Garden round your way?  Do pop over to The Artistic Stamper Creative Team Blog and see what's at the bottom of the garden for my team-mates, and then we'd love to see your take on the theme over the course of the month.  

As I said, I'll be back later in the morning with the new Our Creative Corner challenge but, until then, have a lovely few hours!!

Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden?
Robert Brault

I'd like to enter these in Not So Mellow Yellow at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  It's not a colour I use very often, but it seems to come out in Spring!!
And at the Stampotique Designers Challenge, they're playing with Flowers this week.  I haven't had much chance to play this month, so I'm leaping in at the last minute with this one!


44 comments:

Marci said...

These just say spring! So beautiful! Looks like sunshine.

Nan G said...

Oh my goodness! These tags just rock Spring, Alison. Love the flower stamp. Hugs

massofhair said...

Stunning Tags! Beautiful Spring colours, love all the embellishments, great texture and depth. Love your ArT Alison:-) x

Shilpa Nagaonkar said...

Delightful Spring tag, Alison!

Helen said...

Brilliant tag, Alison - love those flowers (not sure why I STILL don't have them, lol!) and the butterfly looks fabulous. happy 1st May - gulp!

Etsuko said...

Awasome tag! Pale color is very beautiful. I love these. xx

Jennie Atkinson said...

Stunning tags Alison - that technique is quite amazing (I love it too) and it works so well with the wonderful botanical stamp. Great spring colours for the 1st of May! Jennie x

chrissie said...

Wonderful tags with springtime colours and images.

Love Chrissie x

Almo said...

Oh Alison these tags are so pretty lovely and fresh. Your spritzing technique is perfect and frames the flowers beautifully. Mo x

Jenny Marples said...

Stamping and masking at it's very best here Alison. I love the softness you've achieved which compliments these flowers perfectly. Jenny x

Chrissy said...

So beautiful Alison..I love the colours and the butterflies and I even love the beetle...he just belongs there.Gorgeous tags..

luv CHRISSYxx

Cestina said...

Such a perfect quote.....

Deborah said...

These are so delicate and beautiful and I do like the blue and yellow.

craftytrog said...

Two beautiful Spring tags Alison! I can see why you're hooked on that fab technique. xxx

Sue said...

Beautiful Springlike tags Alison, I love your spritzed background xx

rachel said...

stunning tags Alison - so very pretty - love them xx

Inky and Quirky Designs said...

Beautiful...I even like the beetle and I usually hate those critters!

Donna. X

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Simply stunning! Love the greens and yellows, and the flower stamping is perfect!!!

Julie Lee said...

This just sings springtime and renewal! It's so subtle and lovely! Those little butterflies have completely stolen my heart! Julie Ann xxx

Sandy said...

Gorgeous! It seems as if everyone is coming up with the pretties tags today and yours is really top notch. Love it Alison!!
Sandy xx

Redanne said...

I think I have been totally converted to yellow with this and some other creations I have seen today. It really is lovely and Spring-like. Your tags are beautiful. Anne xx

Dorthe said...

Wonderful May tags dear Alison.
The colours and motives are clear summer signs, and so are the beetles too. Love that stamp, and how you coloured it directly ,before stamping!-love the splasches,too :-)
Hugs,Dorthe

Kay Wallace said...

A great technique with amazing results, Alison! Love the more muted colors in these tags, which definitely sets it apart from most being created with brighter colors this time of year! Your butterflies are amazing!

Evelyn Walter said...

So beautiful again! Amazing colors - so light and bright, I love this!
xxx Evelyn

thassos456 said...

Beautiful tags. Love the calm and serene colours :)

Meggymay said...

Beautiful tags, love the soft yellows of the flowers.
Yvonne

ionabunny said...

These are gorgeous. Love the subtle stamping and the word sticks. So many lovely details

Unknown said...

Love the technique by Tim and the colors are great together. These are wonderful Alison. xx

Kezzy said...

Wow truly awesome tags, I really must try and catch up with Mr Holtz tags, I haven't played this year but it seems that this year's techniques are a must and lots of happy creations seem to be buzzing around blogworld. At first I couldn't quite understand why everyone was doing 2 of everything lol. I really love the effect with this beautiful flower image. Amazing :-) Kezzy xxx

Jackie said...

Such beautiful tags .... Love the yellow it's so spring like
Thank you for joining us at stampotique designers challenge blog

Andrea Ockey Parr said...

These are absolutely stunning! You always incorporate techniques in such creative ways and these tags are no exception. I love the look you achieved. As usual, there is such great attention to detail in your pieces and I enjoy seeing the amazing things you create. Thanks for sharing these with us for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Both tags are beautiful.

Anna-Karin said...

Gorgeous tags Alison! I love those stamps you used and the colours are wonderful. The quote you share at the end is so great. We don't have a garden, but just a few hours ago we planted some grass in a pot and my son is now waiting for it to start growing (he already checked at least five times).

Anke said...

Your garden tags are so beautiful, I love the flowers and the butterflies.

Hugs
Anke

Lucy Edmondson said...

Absolutely perfect, it has a real encyclopaedia Britannica look to it,

Lucy x

Dianne said...

Hello Miss Alison, boy have I missed a lot in one week, you surely are the busies designer, the 2 tags are gorgeous, I love the idea of doing 2 tags, coloring, you have done it perfectly, I love the speckled sky and the words look beautiful and always the perfect topping, thanks for sharing...

Kasia said...

Lovely tags, Alison! Love this cute beetle :) Have a great day!

Brenda Brown said...

Beautifully Spring like. Love the flower images and subtle colours xx

barbarayaya62 said...

Hello Alison! I'm always late with the comments because I'm going through a bit complicated moment with family organization! I don't have been successful to comment on everything, I had lost these tags! They are beautiful I have already pinned, I love them, I like everything, they are fresh and sparkling !!BArbarayaya

barbarayaya62 said...

Hello Alison! I'm always late with the comments because I'm going through a bit complicated moment with family organization! I don't have been successful to comment on everything, I had lost these tags! They are beautiful I have already pinned, I love them, I like everything, they are fresh and sparkling !!BArbarayaya

Annie said...

Stunning tag Alison x I adore the wonderful colours and layout.

TFS and hugs Annie x

Kate Yetter said...

Loving the soft colors in this tag! So pretty and full of spring.

Jools Robertson said...

Two totally fabulous floral tags!
Love the colours and the stamps are gorgeous, so beautiful

Jools x

Cocofolies said...

Both tags are very beautiful, almost missing them sorry... I would have loved doing this challenge, really. I have not many Artistic Stamper stamps yet, just one set with insects, and it would have been perfect for this theme, I had the idea to do it as I really love this theme! Well, it seems I'm a bit too late for everything in that moment, going though quite a turmoil trying to juggle all the demands... :( Hope things will arrange in the future. Hugs, Coco xx