Xanthophyll & Xylem Alphatag

I had a look at what the letter "X" might entail when the Baroque Guild Alphatag swap first began & decided that I could make a tag based upon the word xanthophyll (a compound responsible for the yellow colour of autumnal leaves) using an assortment of Chocolate Baroque leaf stamps. It was my fellow Alphatagger Sarah's mentioning that she'd not used xylem (woody tissue) for her tag that gave me the idea to incorporate that & the whole concept crystallized when I caught sight of this (see photo above) a couple of weeks ago in the woodland forming part of our back garden.

front of tag

angled view showing dimensional shaping of leaves 

close-up of upper section

close-up of lower section showing background
stamping & shine of wet embossed "X"

close-up showing dimensional shaping of
punched oak leaf embellishments 

back of tag 

close-up showing paper pierced scallops & inked edges
of theme panel plus overstamping of patterned paper

The leaves for the garland were stamped in Van Dyke Brown (Nick Bantock) onto the watercolour paper & water coloured using a damp brush which I'd dipped into some Scattered Straw Distress Marker ink scribbled onto an acrylic block. As moisture touches the Van Dyke Brown stamped imprint (so far it's the only one of Nick Bantock's inkpads that I've used in this way) a number of browns & greens emerge. For the "X" I double inked the stamp, first with VersaMark & then the Van Dyke Brown, prior to adding the clear embossing powder for heat setting. I find this gives a smoother finish than when using the Van Dyke Brown alone with  embossing powder. The background was made by stamping the large leaf image (starting at the top) using VersaMark in rows & masking each successive row as I went down the tag so as to create a layered effect.

Recipe
Stamps Chocolate Baroque UDLSP0121 Holly Ivy Mix (large leaf), UDLSP0234 Autumn Hedgerow (oak leaf), UDLSP0235 Nature Table (maple leaf) & UA6GW0349 Teeny Weeny Meadow (tree); Elusive Images UDLHC0181 Sketchy Alphabet (letter "X").
Inks Nick Bantock Vandyke Brown (tree, leaves on front & back, letter "X" & inking various card stock edges); VersaMark watermark stamp pad: by itself for tag front background stamping & together with Vandyke Brown plus Stewart Gill Ultrafine Embossing Powder for the letter "X".
Markers etc... Scattered Straw Distress Marker, Signo uni-ball copper gel pen.
Cardstock An assortment of greens plus yellow from stash, Winsor & Newton Cotman 190gsm Cold Presset/NOT Grain Fin Watercolour Paper.
Paper Graphicus Guild Membership Pack.
Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.
Punches Woodware (scalloped squares, oak & maple leaves).
The ribbon is from stash.