Wednesday 2 July 2014

Dragons Dream - The King of Hearts!

The weeks fly by here at Magpieheaven and once again it's time to dream with the Dragons! We so loved the great tags you created with stencils and the letter 'N' and the Dream Boats will soon be announced. This week it's the turn of the highly creative Sylvia to set the recipe and she's chosen 'K' and a heart! Do hop over to The Dragons' Dream TIO here and take a look at all the great inspiration the Dragons have dreamed up for you! Then please join us with your own take on the recipe. Remember to include a letter 'K' somewhere on your tag; a heart and at least one real stamped image. I love the shape of hearts, although I'm not a huge fan of the pink, girly variety! For years I've been fascinated by the design of playing cards and the role they play in 'Alice in Wonderland', so for my tag this fortnight I've chosen 'K' for the King of Hearts!
As a child I would hide away in the attic reading  'Alice in Wonderland' and 'Alice Through the Looking Glass'. I loved the humour and the description of an absurd world ruled by a King and Queen who were just part of a pack of cards and where anything might happen. Often the adult world - so logical to the grown-ups around me - seemed every bit as daft as Alice's dream world! Edward Lear and his nonsense poetry also appealed to me. I liked the idea of fantasy creatures who talked and married and sailed off to have adventures. I think what I've created on my tag this time is a kind of blend of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear. After walking into a shady wood on a hot day, our heroine hears singing. She looks up to see a curious bird above her  with a heavy, jewel-studded crown upon his human head. Has he been put under a spell; is the wood full of his subjects chirping away or is he just the result of our heroine having eaten too much trifle at lunch and fallen into a disturbed sleep? You, dear Reader, must decide!
I had so much fun with this project! I had a little bird over from my die-cutting for 'Flight from the Dolls' House', so I stamped over it with a PaperArtsy mini and drew stripy socks and little buckle shoes! For the head I used a face from a Lynne Perrella plate. With a doodled mustache and beard he cuts a slightly more masculine figure, although my son reckoned he resembled that rather feminine type of male fashionable at the court of Queen Elizabeth 1! I used my supply of Garden Greens given to me by Lucy Edmondson to create a forest for the King of Hearts who looks a little sad. Could it be that his heart is broken?

The ribbon with its tiny red hearts and cupids might be a clue! I bought this years ago from a gorgeous shop in Marylebone, devoted entirely to ribbon, trims, buttons and feathers. I wasn't crafting then, but I loved the shop so much I just had to buy something! Grunge Paste through a stencil of diamonds reminds me of a pack of cards and that red rose, made from a Tim Holtz tattered pine cone die hints at Alice again and the red roses in the Royal Garden.
The big red heart is die-cut from a PaperArtsy die, painted with London Bus and Brown Shed and edged with Gold UTEE.
It's such a long time since I played with Shrink Plastic, it was really fun to create this little winged 'locket', die-cutting the plastic, stamping on it and then watching the magic as it changed size under my heat-tool! Curiouser and Curiouser! A sprinkling of Aged Green Frantage along the edge of my tag and little spatters of it here and there completed a great afternoon spent going back in time and visiting Wonderland. Thank you for taking a look at my Dragons' Dream tag today! Please do play along if you have the time and enjoy your Summer!

16 comments:

  1. A definite Alice in Wonderland feel to your fantastic Tag Julie Ann.

    Love your story, love the stripey socks and tiddly moustache, loads of fun and fantasy.

    Beautiful ArT as always:-) xxx

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  2. This is a gorgeous tag , love all the layers and splashes of colour x

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  3. Gorgeous tag Julie Ann, fabulous layers & great design..so much wonder to look at...Love it... Hugs May x x

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  4. I love your bird king Julie Ann, another brilliant creation! xxx

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  5. What a fun tag Julie Ann,love it and the little story. Your ideas are always so original. By the way,you were right about the stencil challenge :)

    Hugs
    Donna x

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  6. great tag Julie Ann..I love the green and yellow together and King bird is brilliant!! xx

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  7. Love your storytelling and your interpretations of images. This is such a rich, flamboyant piece of work and so different from our usual expectations of hearts. He certainly is a dandy, with buckled shoes and stripy socks. A fabulous adventure Julie Ann. xx

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  8. Such an amazing tag, love the added bird and all the fabulous elements.

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  9. Your tag is wonderful Julie Ann and I loved reading your story much better than I ever enjoyed Alice in Wonderland and definitely more than Through the Looking Glass, lol! I think I must be the only person who just didn't like either book. I agree with your son and Hazel that your king does look very much like a dandy. Love all the embellishments you wove into your story too.

    Hugs
    Lesley Xx

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  10. Absolutely adore this! Your memory of reading Alice is much like mine (and the Edward Lear) My mum had a compendium of traditional stories and poems that she had as a child - it was a bit battered but I loved it - wish I had it now!!! I just love the way you added the shrink plastic too. Chrisx

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  11. My Dear Miss Julie Ann, you captured my heart, enticed me into your attic, eekksss it's a magical place, I could hear us giggling cuz :), wow the tag, sigh, it's magical too, I agree, I love his feminine look so in character, the minute my Magpie eyes spied that ribbon, I was screeching, it gorgeous and perfect for the tag, beautiful texture and depth, love the different tiny script peeking out all over, you know how much I love your signature pieces , a heart, winged locket, wow that's so create. Another brilliant production Sweety, jammed packed with inspiration, have a wonderful day, ((( BIG HUGS))), I'm sure I was just here this morning, I can't believe these 2 weeks have flew by either.......

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  12. Such a wonderful tag, it's gorgeous. For some reason, your tag reminds me of the novel Orlando, by Virginia Woolf.

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  13. I love everything about your tag and your enchanting post as well! I too am an Alice fan- and always wish to travel through the looking glass one day- perhaps I have? ") xo

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  14. Please don't mistake me for a melancholy soul, however I adore the idea of the broken heart and I also love the notion of a child having overdosed on too many sweet treats, resulting in dreams brimming with strange and magical creatures.
    Who doesn't love a dash of Alice and her friends in their lives. Every now and again I re-read the books, I have a beautiful set in boxed, hardback form which are exquisite to look at as well as to read.
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  15. He's magnificent - what a treat of a tag! Love the doodled moustache and I see exactly what you mean about the combination of Carroll and Lear (but not King Lear which would be another thing entirely!!).
    Alison xx

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  16. Wow wow wow, really love your tag, truly stunning. I love the background and the colours. I have never read or watched Alison in Wonderland so don't know the meaning but it looks amazing. I wonder if it's something I should do as it's so popular lol. ☺ Kezzy xxxxx

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