Changing Seasons {with Eclectica³ EDY by Alison Bomber}

Hello everyone, Alison here from Words and Pictures, with a project using Darcy's fabulous new stamps... and oh, I had fun with this one!

I started out with just one tag in mind, but before I knew it there were four seasonal variations in front of me.

I started with crackled backgrounds: French Roast underneath, then a layer of Crackle Glaze and then Nougat over the top, with the Crackle Glaze doing its usual magic.  I stamped the trees from EDY06 in Potting Soil Archival and clear embossed them, so that they would hold their own whatever I put over the top. 

 I used one of the lovely borders to create my landscape so the trees had somewhere to sit.

I applied my sky (mainly done with washes of Ice Blue, Sky and a hint of Beach Hut in the mix in summer) and grass colours mainly with a natural sponge, blending darker colours over the lighter ones from the edges to create layers and depth.

In Spring, there's just a light sponging of Limelight and Hey Pesto for the new leaf growth, and there's just a touch of Nougat to highlight the tree blossom.  Adorable little spring buds are popping up around the foot of the tree. ( from EDY05)

In Summer, the flowers have bloomed beautifully - with Nougat and Beach Hut "petals", and the grasses are growing wild and free.

Up in the tree, the blossoms have given way to big bold leaves, now darkening with some added Hyde Park for that rich fertile green of summer.

Come Autumn and those same leaves are turning to Autumn Fire mingled with Hey Pesto, and there are glossy Cinnamon conkers in the tree (no idea what species this is!).  The mushrooms sprouting from between the tree roots have variations on the same colour tones, while the grasses are also on the turn.  I stamped the stems of the flowers upside down to get some extra grassy texture.

By Winter, everything else has faded away and the bare boughs of the tree are revealed in stark beauty against the wintry Antarctic sky.

The words are stamped on a strip cut from my first tag which hadn't had the tree embossed and so all went belly up when I tried to restamp the tree over the top and missed my mark.  Still, that gave me a lovely background for the sentiment on the finished project!

All mounted on corrugated cardboard (of course!), and some natural raffia toppings... and there you have it.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I'll see you again soon.  Alison. 

A huge thank you to Alison from all at PaperArtsy HQ. This is a fabulous board which I had the pleasure of seeing in real life. How clever to create 4 different seasons with the one tree. I just love the story you weave as the colours change, bringing life to each of the tags. 

If you would like to join in our weekly challenge with any of this week's guest who have blogged since Sunday night, then join in to link up your creativity HERE you will go in the draw to win PA stamps of your choice! You need to link your entry by17:00 (London time) Sunday 23rd Feb 2014