Zigzag Ziggurat & Zentangle Alphatag

My "Z" tag for the Baroque Guild Alphatag swap is based around a Ziggurat (an Assyrian/Babylonian temple tower or staged tower in which each storey is smaller than that below it) of parcels with a zigzag pattern for the background. The inspiration for the pile of parcels came from The Gift of Christmas stamp sheet which I originally used but wasn't happy with as I wanted something more tactile. I was going to put a large "Z" at the top of the pile but it didn't look right at all - my husband suggested a star & that reminded me of the Christmas Auraknot Star that I've been drawing (see PEP tangles), hence I acquired another "Z" in the form of Zentangle. It is actually quite apt in terms of the Ziggurat for it is quite likely that the Zoroastrian priests or Magi who followed the star to Bethlehem for Jesus's birth spotted that star on one of their nightly scans of the sky from the top of one of their Ziggurat towers. (See here for Zoroastrianism and my fellow Alphatagger, Vronnie at Vroncards, who used the wise men for her "Z" tag).

front of tag

close-up of upper section showing Zentangle star
& overstamping of patterned paper on parcels

close-up of lower section showing the patterned
paper parcels tied with different metallic threads

close-up showing dimension of wet embossed
"Z" plus zigzag background

close-up showing dimension  & layering
of Zentangle star plus zigzag background

back of tag 

close-up showing paper pierced scallops & inked edges
of theme panel plus textured pearlescent ivory cardstock

The parcels were made by wrapping oddments of the patterned paper around different sizes of thick cardstock & then tying assorted colours of metallic thread round them. The paper for the top two parcels wasn't particularly patterned so these were overstamped before wrapping. The creasing of the patterned paper when folding such small pieces occasioned some 'white cracking' which was "removed' by running the tip of a Coloursoft pencil in an appropriate colour along the sides of the parcels.

For the star shape I drew around a large star gem & enlarged it to the size I wanted & then tangled with a brown fineliner using the Auraknot pattern skipping two points (see here for a detailed explanation). A brown Coloursoft pencil with a paper stump was used for the shading. Two of the stars were offset & layered in order to achieve the ten-pointed dimensional star as above.

Recipe
Stamps Elusive Images UA4HC0177  ATC Art Plate (zigzag pattern); Chocolate Baroque UA4 SP0150 Texture Blocks (overstamping patterned paper) & UA6GW0211 Celebrations Alphabet ("Z" letters).
Inks Chestnut ColorBox Pigment "Cat's Eye" (tone on tone backgroud stamping, Memento Tangelo (overstamping patterned paper), Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink (inking various cardstock edges), Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Stewart Gill Metallic Copper Embossing Powder ("Z" letters).
Pencils/Markers etc... Staedtler Triplus Fineliner & Derwent Coloursoft pencils with paper stump, Signo uni-ball copper gel pen.
Cardstock Brown, cream & textured pearlescent ivory from stash.
Paper Graphicus Guild Membership Pack.
Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.
Punches EK Success (small circle), Woodware (scalloped squares).
The gems & ribbon are from stash. 

The Holly.........

Some of you know that we live on a Brecon hillside with part of our garden being woodland. The photo above shows the bank rising up to the wooded area & the stump you see is what remains of one of the many holly bushes (more like trees). We're on our fifth stump now - this was the first before we managed to extract it - working on dry days & as fast as we can before the snowfalls start.

As far as artwork is concerned I've managed a couple of tangle tiles which you can see HERE.

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.

White on White Winter Wonderland Alphatag

I decided to make my "W" Baroque Guild Alphatag a white on white seasonal one using an old snowflake mandala stamp from the time when Glenda's company was known as Elusive Images. In the back of my mind I thought I also had a Chocolate Baroque themeplate including the words "winter wonderland." I was particularly pleased when I found it (a retired set aptly named "Winter Wonderland") for it also has a variety of snowflakes which proved perfect for my background wet embossing.

front of tag

close-up of upper section showing wet embossed words
on parchment paper & snowflake background

close-up of lower section showing glittered
snowflake layers & wet embossed background

angled view showing dimensional layering of snowflake
mandala & shine of wet embossed background

back of tag

close-up showing paper pierced scallops & inked edges of
theme panel plus wet embossed background stamping

Recipe

Stamps Elusive Images UDLCW0028 Jolly Holly Snowflake (snowflake mandala); Chocolate Baroque UA6SP0267 Winter Wonderland (words & background on front) & UDLSP0121 Holly Ivy Mix (snowflakes on back).

Inks Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Stampendous Detail White Embossing Powder (snowflake mandala, wording, front & back background stamping); Brilliance Moonlight White (inking various cardstock edges).

Pens/Markers etc... VersaMarker Watermark Pen, White Pentel K118 Hybrid Gel Grip Pen, Signo uni-ball silver gel pen.

Cardstock Several textures of white from stash.

Paper Parchment paper from stash.

Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.

Punch Woodware (scalloped squares).

The  gems & shimmer dots are Papermania whilst the large white brad & ribbon are from stash. The iridescent loose glitter is also from stash.

Zentangle Inspired Artwork

My final MCC project HERE on PEP tangles

Victorian Vintage Valentine Alphatag

It's quite amazing to think there are only four letters left for our Baroque Guild Alphatag swap. For this one I actually started out working on vignettes but they rapidly turned themselves into a Victorian Vintage Valentine.

Interestingly I found I was consolidating some of my discoveries (see here, here & here) with watercolour paper during my tangling course: both my main image & the two small roses are coloured using Walnut Stain Distress Ink (inkpad & Marker) but the lady is on hot press & the small roses are on cold press watercolour paper (see below for specific details). On the cold press paper I could manipulate & move the ink about far more freely than I could on the hot press. I suspect this will vary between the brands of watercolour papers too. A working knowledge of not only different materials but different brands of the same materials is really being brought home to me.

front of tag

close-up of upper section showing tone on tone
background stamping

 close-up of main image - angled to show glittering
pearl jewellery, hair & hat adornments

close-up showing wet embossed letter "V" & watercoloured
roses plus both pleated & unpleated lace trimming 

back of tag

close-up showing paper pierced & inked scallops of
theme panel plus tone on tone stamping

The lace around my image was pleated & secured by snipping from the bottom up to each eyelet & then making a tiny pleat as I secured each section onto the image panel using a combination of red line tape in small strips & tacky glue. Another die-cut oval (this time from some sturdy cardboard) the same size as my image panel was then attached across the whole of the back to provide both a neat & a flat finish for attaching the whole panel to the tag,

Recipe
Stamps Chocolate Baroque UDLGW0093 Ornate Alphabet (letter "V"), UDLGW0095 Rose Set (small roses), UA6SP0141 Victorian Ladies Accessories (image) & UA4SP0242 Harlequin Rose (tone on tone stamping).
Inks VersaFine Vintage Sepia (background stamping), Walnut Stain Distress Ink (images & inking various cardstock edges), Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Stampendous Detail White Embossing Powder (letter "V").
Markers Walnut Stain Distress Marker, Sakura Stardust Gelly Roll Pen, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner, White Pentel K118 Hybrid Gel Grip Pen.
Cardstock Dark brown & white from stash,  Daler-Rowney Langton 300gsm Hot Pressed Extra Smooth watercolour paper & Winsor & Newton Cotman 190gsm Cold Pressed/NOT Grain Fin Watercolour Paper.
Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates, Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Ovals Small.
Punch Woodware (scalloped squares).
The pearl hearts, lace & ribbon are all from stash.

Umbels & Ultramarine Alphatag

The inspiration for my "U" Baroque Guild Alphatag came from the scenery along Brecon Canal where my husband & I often (weather permitting) walk. There are numerous hedgerows to one side which act like a screen through which the Beacons Mountains are visible.  Both these hedgerows & the canal banks are full of tall umbellifers (plants of the Umbelliferae order where the flower-clusters or umbels have stalks nearly equal in length springing from a common centre so as to form a flat or curved surface). I've imagined my plants silvery with one of the early frosts approaching the winter months & my sky is a pale wintery one, appropriately created utilizing the colour ultramarine.

front of tag 

close-up of upper section

close-up of lower section

angled view showing wet embossing
& the different silvers of flower-clusters

back of tag

close-up showing paper pierced scallops & inked edges
of theme panel plus tone on tone background stamping

The cloudy sky was watercoloured using Aquatone watercolour sticks (mixing Ultramarine, Chinese White & Ivory Black) on watercolour paper. The mountains were sponged with the Distress Stain, misted & dabbed with a paper towel to soften the effect. I wanted a contrast in the silvers on the floral image so used an ordinary silver gel pen for colouring the stalks & leaves plus a silver  Sakura Stardust pen for the flower-clusters.

Recipe

Stamps Chocolate Baroque UA4SP0176 Wild Meadow.

Inks Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Stampendous Detail Silver Embossing Powder (focal images), Pumice Stone Distress Stain, Brilliance Starlight Silver (tone on tone stamping on back & inking various cardstock edges).
Pencils/Markers etc… Derwent Aquatone watercolour sticks, Signo uni-ball silver gel pen, Sakura Stardust gel pen, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.

Cardstock Winsor & Newton Cotman 190gsm Cold Pressed/NOT Grain Fin Watercolour Paper; assorted pale blues from stash.

Dies Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.
Punches Woodware (scalloped square).
The gems & ribbon are from stash.