Friday 25 January 2013

Circles of Time



   Hello again....I wasn't actually going to do another post. The two projects I was supposed to be doing have stalled a bit - as I mentioned in the previous post - but I suddenly had an urge to do another tag...stick with what I know!

    I wanted to do cogs...they are all over the place in crafty blogland and I adore them. I must admit to not liking them too much at first mainly because they are usually quite a masculine feature and I am afraid my work tends to be more on the flowers/lace/vintage side. I felt there was a lack of masculine art from me and I wanted to see if I could put the pretty flowers aside and do something completely new.....

    BUT...I don't have any cogs. Like I always say though "That isn't going to stop me!"



    I do have some cogs embossed card courtesy of my wonderful sister-in-law. So out that came and I got to work cutting out a set of cogs with the craft knife. It was slow, careful, arm hurting work...At one point I nearly gave up because I felt they looked too ragged unlike the pristine gorgeous metal cogs that people use.....but needs must.
























I needed a background for the tag and the embossed clocks began to fit in with the theme which was developing in my head...of time, needing to slow down, wait and watch instead of rushing....

   I got the clock embossed card and cut it down to tag size. Dabbed brown and black acrylic paint in several places and then smooshed (technical term!) it around with a baby wipe...A technique I found out about recently and now I adore applying paint like that. I got a kind of weathered bronze effect, which I enhanced with some dabs of copper and gold metallic rub-on.

   The cut out cogs were wiped over with black acrylic paint and then given the same metallic sheen. I added some dabs of black soot DI to bring back some black in places where I had overdone the metal effect.

   I stamped a Tim Holtz quote in archival black ink on grey card and then distressed it with some Antique linen and Gathered Twigs DI.



I cut out a Digi stamp of a clock and covered it with Antique Linen and edged with Walnut Stain DI. A calendar page was used after being stuck onto card and dabbed in the same ink. The year was added too.

















Bronze brads were used to attach the Die cut hinges which had been inked in walnut stain before covering with copper metallic rub-on.




 Bronze letters spelling the word 'TIME' were added...the fallen 'E' was an accident! I actually dropped it as I was placing it and it landed at an angle. I picked it up, placed it straight and realised it looked better at an angle...As one of my favourite artists Bob Ross always said "There are no mistakes...only happy accidents" - Well, that was a very happy accident!







      I needed a tie to attach to the top of the tag....and I went with ribbon - despite my determination to do masculine. I had some twine but it didn't look right. So I got some paper ribbon and wiped along it with the Gathered Twigs DI pad. I then unravelled it, and went over it using a blending tool with Gathered inks DI - This meant there were the darker streaks from where it had been wiped with the pad and paler colour all over from the blending tool. I made the ribbon tattier by tearing a hole in one of the bows after it had been attached.



   So there is my first masculine tag - I think I like it! Hope you like it! Please leave me a comment if you do. I would love to know what you think....

      Thanks so much for being here and taking the time to read!



I am entering this tag in the following challenges -

Simon says stamp and show - What are you known for? Although the style of this tag is new to me I think I am known for my tags - They are the usual thing I post about in this blog.

Fussy and Fancy - Circles






   

18 comments:

  1. Your embossing is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO STUNNING,,,,I am falling in love with STEAMPUNk STYLE.......you are rock on this style Laura...

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  2. Laura...another beautiful tag! Love the metallic feeling to this one! Love the copper "TIME" blocks. Love the cogs...and you did a wonderful job of painstakingly cutting those out! Your tag has such a beautiful steampunk feel to it. Love the time theme and the little calendar "2013" and the other embellishments. Beautiful! Thanks for sharing your art with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

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  3. Such a great piece! Love the look, and the "happy" accident of the "e" was great.

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  4. Love the metallic look on the clock background, and the fabulous distressing on all the elements. The ripped paper ribbon is brilliant!
    Alison x

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  5. Hi Laura. Thanks for your lovely comment on my recent post! I too struggle with things and often leave a project and come back to it as you do. I'm sure it's a very common happening amongst the crafty population.
    I love the way you've created the background of your tag and guess what? You've now taught me a new trick to try as I've never tried putting paint on with a baby wipe! I must give it a go as you have achieved a wonderfully soft effect. I used to hate cogs but every now and then I find myself using them and whilst I prefer the more feminine look, I can be pleased from time to time with a more masculine look.
    I love the way you've coloured the paper ribbon. I don't have any of that so there goes another thing on my wish list!
    I think your happy accident with the letters was meant to be and it finishes your tag perfectly. Like you, I LOVE tags!
    Have a good weekend,
    Juliaxx

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  6. Lovethis tags, cogs distress browns..make me happy! This is a fab make! Hugs trace x

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  7. Gosh you have perseverance Laura to cut out the cogs - they look fab. Even though I too wouldn't normally be drawn to the more masculine dark colours I must say that your tag looks fabulous! Gorgeous texturing. Nicola x

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  8. A fabulous tag, great texture and details.

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  9. Another gorgeous make Laura! I love the way you always manage to find alternatives and make them work so well - the cogs are just amazing. I must have a go at "smooshing" - sounds like fun.

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  10. We just love your 'can do' attitude. And the fact that your alternatives always look so lovely. What a wonderful tag, especially the sentiment you chose.

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  11. Great tag Laura. You've done a grand job cutting those cogs out. It's fussy but worth it. Love the softness of the background and those letters are a joy with one placed at an angle. Hugs, Jenny x

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  12. LOVE This! You did a fabulous job with the cogs and how resourceful to use what you had. Your colors are beautiful. The concept of using acrylic paint and smooshing with a baby wipe is very intriguing to me. I may have to dig out my acrylic paints and play. Of course, now I "need" another color of Distress Ink. You've got Gathered Twigs calling to me now. Thanks for sharing the details. nise

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  13. Well, you totally rocked your first masculine tag!!! This looks AMAZING--love all the metallic elements! If you have time, I'd love for you to play along with our challenges at Inkspirational and Technique Time Tuesday! :) HUGS!

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  14. These piece of grungy goodness caught my eye...FABULOUS!!! Love the metal bits and texture from the embossing and of course the color! Wonderful, and welcome to blogland! Thank you so much for playing along with us this week at Simon Says Stamp & Show!

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  15. Hi Laura................so glad I can leave a comment this time as the last time I visited you were just starting out. I love your tag and the e on the time looks fab. I adore the cogs and all the texture created here.

    TFS

    Annie x

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  16. This is gorgeous, I love your tag. I love the clock and the letters. Thanks for sharing your creation with us at Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge. Hugs Ann xxx

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  17. Your work is infectious and wonderful!

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  18. Your art is infectious and beautiful. I love it!

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