Friday 6 December 2013

Funkie Junkie 12 Tags Number 2 - Brother and Sister

Hello there! Well Christmas is drawing ever nearer and I'm doing my best to complete the twelve tags of Christmas inspired by the very talented Linda Coughlin  at The Funkie Junkie Boutique! Please Click Here for details of the shop and Here for the Challenge and rules! It's a great way to gain inspiration for Christmas makes from Linda's lovely designs and there's still a chance to win a prize: you have until December 22nd, midnight, eastern time so do pop over and give it a look.
The tag I'd like to enter today is Number 2. Here is Linda's original. I'm so behind I'm not doing the tags in any order. I'm going with the ones that give me immediate inspiration. They're all so lovely I'm sure they all will in time! What I loved about Linda's tag was the beautiful golden deer. I loved it so much I bought the Tim Holtz die. Now I can't give you step by steps this time, I'm afraid, as my daughter had the camera all day to do a photo-shoot for college, but here is my deer and I will take the tag detail by detail and explore how I did it and what it means to me.
As soon as I saw Linda's tag, I was reminded of a fairy story I read to my children called 'Brother and Sister'. In it a pair of children of royal birth are abandoned in the woods by their wicked step-mother. They stop to drink by a brook, which sings to them, warning them that if they drink of it they will be turned into wild beasts. They resist for a while, but eventually the boy drinks and is turned into a deer. His sister protects him until he is wounded  by a prince hunting in the forest. Well, I expect you can guess how it all ends! Once again it is about the loyalty of a young girl just like Gerda in 'The Snow Queen' so females don't get an entirely bad press in fairy tales! I covered my die-cut deer in Versamark and then applied several coats of gold embossing powder. When they were melted I stamped with Music Stamp from the Paper Artsy Sarah Nauman, 007 Eclectica plate, making sure I covered it in Versamark first. Because the deer in the story is a prince in disguise I gave him a crown from some Dresden gold foil cut to size and a little gauze scarf with a green gem at the throat.
 I used a colour combo a bit out of my comfort zone in this one! I broke open the Frayed Burlap, which I don't often use! I swiped my tag, made from card and a Tim Holtz tag die, through Frayed Burlap Distress ink sprinkled with gold Perfect Pearls powder and spritzed with water, repeating the process until I had a look I liked. I don't have the AO Midwinter stamps that Linda used, which were perfect for her composition, so after drying with my heat gun, I stencilled the trees from my favourite Clear Snaps stencil in Paper Artsy Fresco, Nougat. I was pleased with the snowy, misty effect and the way the trees glimmered through in gold and frayed burlap.
I added a pediment die to the top and bottom of the tag and edged with Wendy Vecchi Potting Soil Archival ink. I added to the snowy effect with lots of dobs of Gesso, including on the gauze. In this photo you can see the Champagne Crushed Glass Glitter in the left corner. I didn't have any of the beautiful cheesecloth or Tim Holtz linen ribbon that Linda used so I substituted some gauze, which I dyed with Festive Berries Distress Ink and some copper Perfect Pearls. I painted the hemp thread with some Gesso too. It is difficult to see in the photos how the trees shimmer with gold and how the Shabby Rose Frantage glitters on the musical snowflakes!
I used the sentiment from the Artistic Outpost, Snowy Woods plate stamped with Potting Soil and clear embossed. The little snowflakes were stamped from an X-cut snowflake stamp and painted with Nougat before being stamped with the music from Eclectica.
Here is the finished tag. I attached my deer with little foam pads. They were slightly visible so I melted some Frantage around them and - hey presto - vanished! Thank you, Linda for your inspiration and thanks to my visitors and followers so much for stopping by and looking at another of my twelve tags with a Christmas story behind it! I have another one ready for tomorrow, so I would really appreciate it if you could drop by - I understand how pushed for time everyone must be, though, as the Festive Season gathers momentum.

16 comments:

  1. Lovely tag. The deer is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very very nice Julie Ann. Love the deer too, it is a very iconic image these last couple of years :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is really lovely Julie Ann! Love how you used the pediment die & the pieces of tulle. It looks great used as a scarf for the deer. Clever use of the frantage too!

    Hugs
    Lesley Xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. A gorgeous takeon thetag ....I am behind! Just finished no 2 ...not blogged yet , now that is behind! Hugs trace x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love your tag, especially the golden deer, and the fairy story is nice, too. Valerie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Julie Ann, I love so many things on your tag where do I start, the pediment die looks really good on the top and love the way you have done the base so it looks like it just pulls out for added effect. I like the warm colouring of the rose frantage together with the nougat paint. You like me have used the champagne crushed glass which again blends in perfectly. So many textures its just lovely, then of course the fairy story to go with - perfect. Hugs Mo x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Aren't you a tease not showing the whole until the end! The pediment dies look brilliant here Julie Ann and all your inking and embellishing looks fabulous. Love the musical deer! Nicola x

    ReplyDelete
  8. I so like the use of the die at the top of the tag, it surely makes the tag extra, extra special and what a gorgeous misty effect you achieved - very serene.
    Wishes
    Lynne

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the die cut deer and the colours make it feel like winter wonderland x

    ReplyDelete
  10. A lovely tag, the gold deer looks wonderful against the wintry background.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Another beauty Julie Ann! I love how you used the pediment die.
    Alison xxx

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love the top of this tag Julie Ann. In fact I love he whole of this tag! You are getting through them quickly. I need to get a move on!
    Hugs
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Another beautiful tag - you do have the touch! (and the talent)
    sandy

    ReplyDelete
  14. I absolutely LOVE the way you used the Pediments die for the top and bottom of the tag - what a fabulous look it gives your tag! I think you won't regret purchasing that Reindeer Flight die. I used it all the time - especially love the standing deer and yours looks wonderful stamped with the music into the EP. The glass glitter is the perfect touch to bring the vintage color palette all together and give it a bit of bling without sacrificing the vintage feel. Super take on Tag #2!

    Hugs,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete
  15. Wow wow wow absolutely gorgeous tag, I love the soft colours and the deer is truly stunning with the stamped embossed body and of course the beautiful crown. I love the pediment die, I bought mine earlier this year but not used it yet, I really should and they look fabulous on this tag. I initially bought it as Linda Caine used it on a tag for paperartsy designer month. Loving the glass glitter, I have to admit I love my frantage. Hugs Kezzy :-) xxxxx p.s I'm going to look up that story as I have never heard of it :-) xxxxx

    ReplyDelete

Due to high level of spam recently I have enabled comment moderation on this blog, so any comments will be moderated before appearing on the blog.