Monday 16 April 2012

A Sea Of Greens. . . . . . . .

The new challenge over at the Artful Times blog is to make anything with the theme of 'a sea of greens'. This was a very wide remit and I had to think for quite a while about this one! I wanted to incorporate a range of greens in a background and in the stamping that I added to or on the background. I enjoy making backgrounds and was also eager to use some new stamps which I had bought at the wonderful Alexandra Palace show which I went to with my sister Sandie. We had a fab day and couldn't believe it when we were told the show would close in 15 minutes!

Back to the challenge before I go off at another tangent! I decided to make a tag and put as much texture and interest into the piece as I possibly could. That way, using just greens would not become monochrome and boring! (Naturally, I couldn't just stick to green and there is some glossy accents in there too!).

I also like to show my work at Simon Says Stamp And Show. Their latest challenge is 'anything goes' so my tag would hopefully fit that remit too!

So, here's what I used and how I made my tag:

The elements I made to construct my tag. The beaded pin is by Prima - I couldn't resist buying a set of these! Clearly, some elements are already partly made here - I forgot to take the photos at an earlier stage!

The finished tag - the photo is a little dark I'm afraid! The tag was put through an embossing folder, coloured with Distress Inks and Dylusion Ink Sprays and some details were embossed using silver detail powder. I chose this embossing folder because I believe it matches the 'headdress' in my stamped image. The colours on her face aren't as good in this photo as they are in real life - they range from blues through to green and although pale they are very ethereal.

Here you can see the stamped face which was coloured with distress markers and a water brush. The frame was stamped with a background stamp and then inked with Distress Ink. The edge was embossed with detail silver powder and then the frame was covered with glossy accents. I like the way the ink under the GA seems to glisten. Some of the leaves were die cut and then inked, the others were stamped onto inked paper and cut out. All the leaves were embossed on the edges with silver detail powder. Some Walnut Distress Ink finished the edges of the leaves and tag. I added the red elements so the greens stood out. The leaves were flicked with water to add an aged appearance.


This image shows the embossed silver ring around the tag hole and I added a small silver charm for extra detail. This is similar to part of the stamp image which I removed in order to fit the face into the frame. The ribbons were added to soften the tag. The 'brads' on the frame were embossed with the same silver detail powder used elsewhere on the tag.

17 comments:

  1. THAT is simply gorgeous!! I adore that!

    Glad you enjoyed the Ally Pally . I REALLY wanted to gobutility sadly just couldn't manage. However I have vowed to go in September.....supposing it kills me lol!!!

    Thanks for sharing

    Jackie xx

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  2. Amazing tag Julia. So much depth to it. Just love the silver highlights & that yummy prima pin. You have the balance just right. Sx

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  3. A gorgeous tag Julia, love the texture

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  4. Another stunner Julia. Love the touch of colour in the pin and the silver detail. xx

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  5. Wonderful ! and love the way you share how it all comes together
    Thank you for joining us again at Artful Times
    Von x♥x

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  6. Thank you for the journey through your tag, I love the first photograph especially with all the elements laid out.
    It is a beautiful tag and so textural.
    Thanks for joining us at Artful Times - Hugs, neet x

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  7. Wow Julia, what a gorgeous tag. I love the way you've used the sliver embossing powder it really lifts the whole tag. I also love the embossing folder you've chosen.

    Thanks for being green and playing along with Artful Times this week.

    Sam xxx

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  8. Julia that is a lovely!!!!!! I love it all- the sliver edging on the leaves and the pin

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  9. Wow, that's a fantastic tag. Love the silver embossing.

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  10. The silver embossing looks amazing Julia, gorgeous tag! x

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  11. Hi Julia. Yep got your comment ok...Any chance i can get to sneak in an Iron Maiden reference then i will lol....saw them 5 times last year and had a blast...met lots of new mates and some old ones too .

    Anyway...enough of that.

    As i said that idea came to me when i was reading the instructions for lesson 5. The colors were done to match the watch strap.

    Shame its such a bad photo though....

    Jackie

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  12. Hi Julia what a beautiful tag, I absolutely love the detail in your embossing folder. The colours and the way you have put this together are fabulous. Thank you so much for sharing....happy crafting....Annie :)

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  13. How beautiful! Love how you've enhanced the embossing and added all those goodies with the frame.

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  14. Julia, I love how you show all your items before assembling. It makes the 'finished' photo so much more of a grand presentation! Love the embossed goodness of this tag. :)

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  15. Love LOVE LOVE the silver work around the leaves, such a small but essential detail. So much work has gone into this its unreal - its lovely, really lovely. Cx

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  16. Two fabulous green tags Julia and as usual fabulous detail in every respect.
    ~Glad I didn't miss them!
    Avril xx

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Juliax