Weekend Nostalgia and All Tagged Out...

Bonsoir Mademoiselles...et Monsieurs! (they are out there...)

I hope you are enjoying your weekend...A socialite I am not tonight, alas, as my Saturday evening finds me knee-high in the chaotic - but oh so satisfactory - aftermath of quite a crafty session. On Wednesday I showed you all a pile of tags in the making and a promise to show the out come. So after four days of stressed distressing and distressing stress and enough tweakamanic endeavours that would do even NASA proud, behold...mission accomplished.

My love of vintage has once again taken me captive and I went full out on a hanging with a background constructed from the tags. I have mounted them on an old hardback book cover which worked liked a dream. I plumped for earthy vintage tones using some Graphic 45 papers as a guide, then took each tag and just let them evolve...embossing on paper, and metal, paper to canvas transfer, corrugated card, gesso book page, collage, stamping - the full works!

Then I set to work on the decoration. I have used scans from my own collection of vintage postcards and photographs for all the images. I have aged them and set them on little pieces of wood.The two darling little girls are housed in a mini-frame coloured with alcohol ink covered by a mica scrap for a glass front effect. I love them to bits. The young lady is edged with Viva Gold...I say it every time - but it is wonder-stuff. I used DI's to age the smaller paper flowers and made all the others myself.

I have stamped the sentiment onto a scrap of linen and glued it to card ready to mount - but I discovered it fitted perfectly inside a memory frame! How cool is that? So I used alcohol inks again to colour the silver frame and get the right tone. The key was also silver but remedied that with a good dose of Distress powder and fire ( well, heat gun). The two glass fragments have been coloured with alcohol inks and then stamped on the other side with Stazon.

Here you can see more of the rose, key and metal tag. I used copper metal for the tag, embossed it and then altered it with three different alcohol inks. Finished it with an edging tool and a sanding block to reduce the shine and reveal more of the texture. I think I could make a mini work just with that tag, the rose and the girls...did I say I adore them...oh yes. The word Memories is stamped on a piece of mica - again with Stazon. I have found it works much better for me doing it the 'wrong way'. I lay my inked up stamp on my table and then press the mica onto the stamp. Less slipping and sliding around!

From then on I carried on added the finer details such as vintage lace, ribbon, beads, braid - all the goodies we so love to peruse. It turned out to be a real labour of love and took a fair bit of patience and energy. I knew exactly what I wanted and I could see my destination...but you have to walk the distance too. But it is that challenge that makes this creative art form so captivating and fulfilling. I just adore the whole creative process - the initial thought, then a concept, generating substance to work with, then selecting, filtering and finishing.

As said the book cover was just perfect. All I did was cut it off an old book from a charity shop and edge it with Viva Gold. It was dirt cheap, the perfect colour, size, strength and look I needed. Job done! So don't be afraid to rummage around in those boxes at Jumble Sales girls!

So that what how it was done and that is also me done for the weekend. Phew...need to go and restore some sense of sanity in my craft room and then - sofa, hubby and cuppa. I might not be out partying - but this is a pretty fine Saturday to me!

I am also entering my piece into a number of challenges:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Tags
A Spoon Full of Sugar -  Not a Card
Fab 'n' Funky - Own Embellishment
C.R.A.F.T. - Not a Card

This is me clocking off...until whenever!
Sarah