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.

Some More Tangling Homework

Playing with some letters amongst other things on PEP tangles

Terracotta Tone on Tone Alphatag

It isn't until I start working with something that I can see if an idea will gel to become a concrete creation. I lost count of how many times I started again with my "T" Baroque Guild Alphatag - trying to work with ideas from triangles & thistles to tangerine & text. Finally, one of my triangle attempts reminded me of ancient terracotta vases & I decided to pursue that idea as I had a vase image.

I actually had some help from my husband who saw me puzzling over how to arrange my vases on the stamped background. He asked if I had an image of an  architectural column. Absolutely perfect - sometimes you just need a different perspective - with a little bit of doctoring: cutting in half & trimming off parts - I could see my way forwards with the tag. Once again I am applying artistic licence to my creation for I doubt if these images would have existed together in ancient times - but they do in the museum of my imagination.

front of tag

angled view showing dimensional shaping
& shine of wet embossed vases

close-up of upper section 

close-up of central section

close-up of lower section

back of tag

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

Recipe
Stamps Elusive Images E0445 (vase); Chocolate Baroque UA4GW0145 Antiquities (architectural columns & background mosaic patterning), UA4SP0365 Echoes of Italy (crackle background), UA4SP0184 Filigree Fusion (tone on tone stamping for back of tag).
Inks VersaFine Onyx Black with Stewart Gill Ultrafine Embossing Powder (vases); VersaFine Onyx Black (artchitectureal colums);  Memento Desert Sand (mosaic patterning, tone on tone stamping & inking some cardstock edges) & Potters Clay (crackle background).
Markers Memento Tuxedo Black Dual Marker, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.
Cardstock Browns & creams in various finishes from stash.
Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.
Punch Woodware (scalloped square).
The gems are Kanban & the ribbon is from stash.

The vase image is a wood mounted Elusive Images stamp bearing a copyright label for 2005; it  still had the price label on which means that I have never inked it & I honestly cannot remember when it was bought, though it must have been after 2008 as that is when I started stamping. Elusive Images was the name of Glenda's company before it became Chocolate Baroque in 2011. I shall be joining in Judith's Forgotten Friday with this tag.

Sponged Starling Silhouette at Sunrise Alphatag

The Baroque Guild Alphatag swap has brought home to me how often I think in alphabetical terms when sorting or arranging things; it tends to be almost automatic for me to arrange books or CDs A-Z by author or composer.

The bird image was wet embossed first in order to act as a resist so that I could sponge the sunrise background over it. I added both stencilled & gem stars to create an illusion of the night sky giving way to the dawn as the starling sings lustily. I also have some swirls decorating the back of my tag.

front of tag

close-up showing sponging & stencilled stars
plus star gems

close-up showing shine & dimension
of wet embossed image

back of tag

close-up showing shine of wet embossed letter "S"
plus pearlescence of cardstock

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

Recipe
Stamps Chocolate Baroque UDLSP0219 Let Your Heart Sing (bird image & swirls); Elusive Images Sketchy Alphabet (lettter "S").
Inks VersaFine Onyx Black with Stampendous Detail Black Embossing Powder (bird image), ColorBox Pigment Pinwheel (sponging & stencilling), VersaMark watermark stamp pad with Stewart Gill Ultrafine Embossing Powder (letter "S"), Memento Grape Jelly (tone on tone stamping).
Markers Memento Tuxedo Black Dual Marker, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.
Cardstock White & mauves in various finishes from stash.
Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.
Punch Woodware (scalloped oval).
Template Crafter's Workshop Mini Punchinella.
The tiny star gems are Papermania & the ribbon is from stash.

It's a very long time since I used this bird image (2008 I think) so I shall join in Judith's Forgotten Friday 64 with this tag.

Tangled Hearts

Knotwork with hearts & initials

PEP tangles: Celtic Knot Anniversary Card

Ribboned Rectangles of Rowan Resist Alphatag

I have applied a little artistic licence for the Rowan leaves in my "R" Baroque Guild Alphatag as I'm not certain that my leaves have quite the correct shape to them - I'm calling these stylized leaves whereas my berries & the tree shapes seem to be authentic. Nonetheless, I used the Rowan's natural autumnal colours for the leaves.

I created rectangular segments within the tag utilizing ribbon. For the application of colour to the whole tag I wanted to used a resist technique where areas are coloured with wax or oil based pencils (in my case the oil based Faber-Castell Polychromos pencils)  & then burnished with a Derwent Burnisher in order to seal them with a layer of colourless wax. These areas will then resist any water based medium applied - I used Tumbled Glass Distress Stain for watercolouring the background.

front of tag

close-up of leaves
rectangle

close-up of berries rectangle

close-up of trees rectangle

back of tag

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

Recipe
Stamps Chocolate Baroque UA4SP0364 Woodland Dreams.
Inks Chestnut Memories Dye (images), Vintage Photo Distress Ink (inking various cardstock edges & tone on tone stamping), Tumbled Glass Distress Stain (watercolouring background).
Pencils, Markers etc... Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils, Derwent Burnisher, White Pentel K118 Hybrid Gel Grip Pen, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.
Cardstock Winsor & Newton Cotman 190gsm Cold Pressed/NOT Grain Fin Watercolour Paper; brown & pale blue cardstock from stash.
Die Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates.
Punch Woodware (scalloped squares).
The ribbon, brads & gems are from stash.

The stamp set has never been used (it dates from some time in 2011) so I shall join in Judith's Forgotten Friday 63 with this tag.

Quirky Quartet of Quicksilver Qs Alphatag

Collages of Alphatags to date can be viewed HERE.

We are reaching some interesting letters in the Baroque Guild Alphatag Swap. My "Q" tag somehow grew from a quartet into double that &, after my husband suggested quirky, I found I had nine Qs:

1. Quartet - four squares
2. Question
3. Quatrefoil (four-leaf image)
4. Quill - the shaft of the feather
5. Quercus - oak
6. Quicksilver - mercury is called quicksilver as it resembles liquid silver. My liquid silver is represented by the silver embossing & colouring of the four images, using a silver gel pan to tangle the background pattern & the silver ink used to stamp feathers (quills) on the back.
7. Quiltz - the name of the tangle I used for the background
8. Quadrilateral - square shapes
9. Quirky

front of tag 

close-up to show dimension & shine plus
colouring of focal images

close- up of lower section showing letter embellishing
plus detail of Quiltz tangle background pattern 

back of tag

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

The four-leaved clover, acorns & smaller feather were all watercoloured using a damp paint brush & colour from a silver Sakura Stardust pen. The metallic backing of the 'Crystal Effects' sticker is a piece of aluminium foil.

Recipe

Stamps Chocolate Baroque  UDLSP0200 Lily (four-leaved clover), UDLSP0220 Dawn Chorus (larger feather) & UDLSP0221 Wise Owl (smaller feather); Elusive Images UDL HC0181 Sketchy Alphabet (Question Mark).

Inks Emboss Tinted Stamp Pad with Stampendous Detail Silver Embossing Powder (question mark, four-leaved clover, acorns & smaller feather), Black Soot Distress Ink (inking various cardstock edges), Encore Silver (larger feathers on back).

Markers etc... Signo uni-ball gel rollerball pen, Sakura Stardust gel pen, Staedtler Triplus Fineliner.

Cardstock White & an assortment of blacks in various finishes from stash.

Dies Sizzix Movers & Shapers L Die - Tag & Bookplates; Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Squares Small; Spellbinders Shapeabilities Sprightly Sprockets & Ironwork Motifs.

Punch Woodware (scalloped squares).

The 'Crystal Effects' sticker is Dovecraft; the  gem & ribbon are from stash.

It's a very long time since I used either of the feather stamps & the four-leaved clover hasn't been used at all since it was purchased in May 2011 so I shall join in Judith's Forgotten Friday 62 with this tag.