Monday 16 January 2012

AWOL

Remember the tag from last week that sat on the top of the huge pile of tags that I made on my first official play day, well I finally got around to finishing it. I had intended to post this at the end of last week but sadly I had a bit of an allergic reaction to something and my eyes became two slits in what looked like two golf balls. To say I felt very sorry for myself would be an understatement. The worst part was actually the side of my nose where my glasses sit. It was so sore that I couldn't wear my glasses which meant that I couldn't see a flipping thing.....hence no blogging, no tweeting, no playing and if I'm honest not a lot of anything. Anyways, after a trip to the doctor who prescribed magic cream, I am now feeling much better. I still look quite shocking but at least I feel better!!!! 

So just a little recap on last weeks experiments. First of all, I painted my tag with Fresco Finish Snowflake paint, which acts like gesso. I splodged some Hey Pesto and Claret Fresco Finish paint on my craft sheet and spritzed it with quite a lot of water then dipped my tag into it. I particularly liked the colours on this tag and was quite eager to get on and play with it a bit more so rather than leaving it to dry naturally, I blasted it with my heat gun. The little white dots that you see are where the hot air blew holes in the paint!! I loved it and was tempted to let the dots get big but I knew it would be a more usable tag with smaller dots so I had to show some restraint and turn the heat gun off.

  

Now to make some embellishments for my tag. I was so pleased with my dots, I really didn't want to hide them so I figured that if I made something that you could see through, that could be kinda cool so off I went in search of acetate. I die cut an acetate birdcage using Paperartsy's Birdcage die and was just about to stamp an image of the birdcage on top when I thought that it actually looked way too shiny against the matt finish of the paint so I took a sanding block and sanded the surface to give it a bit of a frosted look. You could still see through it but I liked this much better and went ahead and stamped my birdcage using Stazon ink.

  

You can see from the reflection on the acetate that it still has a reasonable shine to it but not enough of a glare to make you want to wear your sunglasses.
Next up, my birdie embellishment. I die cut a piece of cardstock from a manila tag using Paperartsy Songbird die and coloured it with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink. Using Ranger's Jet Black Archival ink, I stamped the flowers from Hot Pick1109 and coloured them with Prismacolor pencils.


 

The Secret Garden, the birdies in the grass and the two pence stamps all came from Hot Pick 1005, which is one of my all time favourite sets of stamps. I'm really liking how the bird turned out.....he's very different from my usual birdies and I'm pretty sure I would use this style of bird again.


 
I hope it was worth the wait, I wonder how long it will take me to finish the rest of the pile of tags.......there's only about thirty of them!!!!

As I no longer have a shop to sell you guys stuff, everything I used on this tag is of course available from my lovely friends Mr & Mrs Paperartsy and I think if you're quick, you might just catch the tail end of their sale!

21 comments:

Gillian .... said...

Awwww not good that you have been unwell, glad you are on the mend. Loving the acetate bird cage and the effects of the Fresco Paints are divine, take care. x

Helen said...

Just as well you didn't have to go to work then.... love this tag, the background is fab with the dots!

DeeDee Catron said...

The wait was worth it! Love this graphic pieces!!

Gabrielle said...

Oh no! You've been poorly! Hope you're feeling betterer and betterer as the day goes on! Lurve the tag - absolutely fabulous background! The Secret Garden set is one of my faves too! So versatile!

Suze Bain said...

What a fabulous background and I love the acetate - a gorgeous tag. x

Jacqui Chimes said...

It's beautiful Lin love the acrylic paint technique and have tried it to good effect already. On a different subject can you help re puppy training - we have just got a 7 week old - great through day but cries ALL night do you Hve any tips

Jo said...

Aw sorry to hear you were poorly,must have been very frustrating. Love the colours on this tag and great to see an old fave on the stamp and die front. Liking the tip about sanding the acetate. jo xx

Von said...

Just been having a catch up with what you have been up to :) wow you sure aren't letting the grass grow beneath your feet such inspirational pieces :) such a pretty bird
Von xxx

Dragonlady said...

Hope you are feeling better now. Your tag is stunning. This is exactly the sort of stuff I am going to be trying hopefully soon - but I feel very nervous about it - I don't know why, but maybe because it is not my normal style and it will be an experiment for me. Not something I get a chance to do very often. Thank you for your wonderful inspiration.

Hugs Ali x

Crafty Loops said...

Glad you are feeling a bit better. I love this gorgeous tag. Lee x

Larisa said...

Fantastic tag! Love the background you made - it is very nice without any embellishments even... But this stamp with birds on cage is what I am mad of about!!! I wish I had the same one at me...
Very great final result of your job!

Inkypinkycraft said...

Hope yu feel super better soon,!thetag is fab, love the dots on the background, hugs trace x

Jester said...

Fabulous tag - hope you're on the mend.

Lin said...

ahh Lin poor you...isn't that just about right you get all that time for your self and can't even play :(
Hope you are feeling better now...your tag is great keep them coming!!!

take care
Linx

Aquarius said...

This gorgeous tag was well worth the wait. What a shame about your eyes though - I do hope the magic potion does the trick quickly. Take care

salamanda said...

Love what you did with tag and glad you can see again

Kirsten Alicia said...

Hi Lin, I'm glad you're feeling better. This is a gorgeous tag, I love the background.

Candy C said...

Beautiful tag! I love the background and then all of the wonderful art you have layered on it. <3 Candy

anna christensen crafts said...

I hope you are starting to feel better, this tag is gorgeous, I love that background - no wonder you didn't want to cover it up! I love the bird and cage too xx

Trish said...

Glad you are feeling better, sounds horrid! Love the tag, the background is amazing! It all works perfectly together too.

judith@poppy cottage said...

Gorgeous Lin, I love the dots, they make the background look amazing. Sorry to hear that you had a reaction to something, I hope you've made a full recovery now, Judith xx