Tag Tuesday -- Three

Thank you all for visiting my blog this year. have a wonderful 2015.
On Tag Tuesday the word is three, so I have chosen to do three wise owls. I inked the background, and then used a brass stencil and sprayed over it to get a dark background to the trees. I painted some owls and then coloured them with distress pens, and added some leaves and grass to finish off the bottom of the tag.

Every Inchie Monday the complete 2013 and 2014 inchies

Here are my inchies for the last two years

Mixed media inchies for 2014

Mixed media inchies for 2013

                                                                  Sewn inchies for 2014

Every Inchie Monday -- Magical

On Every Inchie Monday, our last inch of the year is 'magical. For the card one, I have stamped and shrunk a fairy perched on some flowers, and added an extra, so that my whole display is symmetrical. The second one is a picture of three very tiny fairies. For my sewn one I have sewn a unicorn's head out of soft leather added a main and sewn the horn down with silver thread,

Tag Tuesday -- A very vintage Christmas

A very quick tag today, as I should be making mince pies and cheese biscuits. I would of course rather make a tag. The background is inked acetate , and the images are from Somerset Studio, Tim Holtz and my stash.

Every Inchie Monday -- Zig Zag

Two very quick inchies today for Every Inchie Monday, as I have had a rotten cold, and am way behind with Christmas arrangements. Will have to go shopping today to get the rest of the presents.
My sewn inchie was done on the machine, and the stamped one inked in colour and embossed with a clear powder,

Tag Tuesday -- Christmas Angels

On Tag Tuesday we are continuing our Christmas theme with Christmas angels. I have made two tags. The pale green one is inked deli paper stuck onto the tag, and the angels cut out with a die cutter. The stars are embellished with silver. A bit of greenery finished it off. The second one I used another tag that I had painted with green and copper. The angels like the other one are from Crafty Individuals. Again I added some greenery and a little gold robin,

Every Inchie Monday -- Yellow

A lovely cheerful easy one this week on Every Inchie Monday. It's yellow, so I just went for the easy option and stuck to the colour yellow for two of mine, and couldn't resist making a sunflower with one of my dies.

Tag Tuesday -- Christmas greenery

On Tag Tuesday we have now started on out Christmas themes. The first one is Christmas greenery. I started with colouring my tag with green and gold paint, added a small strip of music and then cut out my die cuts. These I coloured with distress inks. Made a distressed pine cone, I am not very good at making these, looks more like a brown rose. I finished off with some red swirls and some stickles on the leaves and holly berries.

Every Inchie Monday -- Yo Yo

On Every Inchie Monday the word is Yo Yo. I used to love playing with yo yo's, but trying to draw one was a lot  harder, the sewn one even worse. The sewn one I made with shiny gold fabric ( Must have been a special version) and it looks a bit like a cake. Why did I try to do one at that angle !!!! Why do I make my life difficult ??

Artful Times DT piece -- Wrapping paper

We are asking our ladies on Artful Times to make some wrapping paper. I have made some on brown paper, but it will not scan as I used inks with mica in, and it just comes out as a shiny blur.
So back to the deli paper, which takes inks beautifully, even with mica in. I used various colours of Glimmer mists, and then stamped and embossed some Christmas stars, words and trees. I used silver embossing powder on the green one, and white on the red.

Tag Tuesday -- Let's Dance

Lets dance is the theme on Tag Tuesday, not a subject I am very happy with. I have six left feet, and can't dance a step. I printed off two images and added them to inked and stenciled tags. Added some stamping and some words, and called it a day. I am so behind with Christmas preparations and sorting the new house out, I really shouldn't be doing art work at all. I ended up making two, as I had a tag all ready from another project.

Every Inchie Monday -- Xenon

What a difficult one this was on Every Inchie Monday. Apart from the easy option, I went for this on the card one, I found the sewing one very difficult. It is in case you couldn't think what it was, is a xenon headlight. I was told by my husband that it's a modern one with the row of small lights at the bottom as well as the main headlight. I hasten to add he was not impressed by my attempt and said that he hoped I had told you all what it was SUPPOSED to be. The main headlights coloured foil, but the scanner doesn't show it up
Gosh am I pleased the x's are over with. And will somebody please take the dictionary off Trillian.

Tag Tuesday -- America

America is the theme on Tag Tuesday this week. I have inked a tag with distress inks and then stamped various images on the tag, and on a separate piece of card. I used a die cut for the flag.

Every Inchie Monday -- X -Axis

I have been away at the Harrogate knitting and stitching show, and am therefore a bit late doing my inchie.
Not an easy one on Every Inchie Monday this week. For my sewn one I made a grid with black cotton, and the X axis in Green, with the Y axis in orange.
The card one is a drawn diagram of the earths X axis. Not that I really understand it all.

Artful Times -- Triptych

For my DT piece on Artful Times I decided to do something I had wanted to do for a long time. I wanted to use an old photograph of my late brother and myself as small children. I also had a couple of us that were taken on the same day in 2006. My brother was making a speech at my 2nd wedding.
He sadly died in 2008
I have used a wooden triptych frame. which I painted with Fresco paints, and then with crackle glaze, and then some more paint. I mounted the photos on some hand made paper, and added a clock and some cogs, to denote the passage of time.
On the back I stamped various appropriate words and quotes. The middle one which has caught the light reads:  Memories are treasures that we keep locked deep within the storehouse of our souls, to keep our hearts warm when we are lonely

Tag Tuesday -- Skylines

On tag Tuesday it's skylines. I immediately thought of my London skyline dies, so cut out all of them. I was going to make all three and then make up my mind which one to use. This proved impossible so have used all three. I inked three different backgrounds for the sky, and then adhered the die cuts. I then used various stamps to fill in the background. This I found quite difficult, perhaps I should have just left them as they were.

Every Inchie Monday -- Weapon

On Every Inchie Monday the word is weapon. So much to choose from, but not easy to portray on an inch. I have made for the sewn one a catapult ( an very early weapon) Made from some twigs, a piece of fine leather, and some beads to fire from it. It wouldn't kill a midge if it was in front of it. For the other, I have used the ultimate weapon, a nuclear bomb.

Tag Tuesday -- Circles

A very quick tag this week, as I am still trying to find some of my craft stuff and organize the studio. It still looks like a corporation fill in tip. For the circle challenge on Tag Tuesday, I used embossing paste through a stencil. and rubbed some distress ink over the top. I then used another stencil to put some red circles on the right hand side with distress ink. I then added the circular pictures of the little girls.

Every Inchie Monday -- Wheat

Wheat is the challenge on Every Inchie Monday this week. I have drawn a wheat kernel, showing the structure, and a few ears of wheat. For the sewn one, I used bullion knots for the ears of wheat and stem stitch for the stalks.

Artful Times -- Use some part of a newspaper, a page from a book or magazine.

For my DT piece on Artful Times this time I have made a vintage tag. I coloured the tag with distress inks, and then used some embossing paste in the corners to give some texture. I coloured it with distress stains before applying. I added a torn page from an old German book as the main background. The image was added with a few appropriate words. I then added the flowers and some lace.

Tag Tuesday -- Crown it

The theme on Tag Tuesday gave me the incentive to do two more pages for my crown tag book. The backgrounds are backing paper, which were then collaged with various pictures of the Queen, and crowns. Most of the crowns on the second one are charms. I love the saying by Fredrick the Great
 " A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in"

Every Inchie Monday -- Violet

This week on Every Inchie Monday, it's violet, so I decided to draw a flower, and sew with the colour.

Tag Tuesday -- Fright Night

Halloween again, and Fright Night is the theme on Tag Tuesday this week
 I have made two tags with children on, as they seem to get more enjoyment on the 31st than anyone. I inked the backgrounds, and adhered the images and die cuts. I think the images are from Lisa's altered art.

Every Inchie Monday -- Vegetables

On Every Inchie Monday this week we have a much easier word than the last two. For my vegetables I have tried to sew a head of broccoli, with carrots and tomatoes for the drawn ones. I thought I had better put the carrots in, as lots of folks consider tomatoes to be fruit.

Artful Times DT piece -- Poppies. Tag Tuesday -- Poetry

At long last we have moved, and are now very slowly emerging from a sea of boxes. The removal men said they had never moved anyone with so many. They were somewhat speechless when they saw the 300 plus that we had already taken over, a third of them for my studio. My computer and scanner are now functioning, so I couldn't resist doing a tag for this week. The theme is poetry, and as poppies seem to be the flower of the year, I have made one using some poetry from the 1st World War, and a poppy die cut.
On the background I used some texture paste through a stencil. painted it black, and then lightly rubbed it with sandpaper.

The poem says:
We cherish too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies

I was going to use

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

There are three more verses, but even the one wouldn't fit on my tag.

There are two more verses, and even the one wouldn't fit on my tag.

Every Inchie Monday -- Umbra

This week another very unusual word on Every Inchie Monday, for us to get our brains working. I went for the easy option on both of mine, as moving house has taken over. The moving firm said they had never seen so many boxes. Now to find room to unpack them all

Tag Tuesday -- Autumn Extravaganza

On Tag Tuesday Glorious Autumn is this weeks challenge.  I used a previously stamped piece of tissue paper for the background of the tag, a bit cut off a failed piece of work in the middle, which was sprayed inks through a stencil. I then adhered some pressed Autumn leaves from last year, plus a bit torn out of a gardening magazine at the bottom. After I had scanned it, I placed an acrylic tag on the top to preserve the leaves.

Every Inchie Monday -- Ungual

Where does Trillian find these words for us to illustrate on Every Inchie Monday. I had to look this one up, and then had trouble trying to do one in stitch. As I am so short of time with the house move on Friday I stamped the hooves of  a rhino and embossed in black. The sewn one is a bears claw in brown leather and stitched claws. Notice I said stamped the hooves not stamped on the hooves of a rhino, I think I would have been in big trouble if I had, not that there are many roaming around Wales.