Wednesday 26 March 2014

Botanical Tag {with Eclectica³ and Hot Picks Stamps by Brenda Brown}

Hi everyone, my name is Brenda and I have been having great fun creating some of my most favourite makes – I call them extended tags. I love all things vintage and tags for me are the perfect size to create small pieces of art. I also love creating collage and I thought I would share some of what I do when making one.


I have 6 key design factors that I focus on and beside each of them I have put the decisions I made
for this tag-
Theme – Botanical – flowers, nature, warm summer days.
Colour – browns, pinks and greens
Background – textured and layered.
Focal Point – Large stamp – flowering bloom, very dominant.
Collage Elements – butterflies - kept to the rule of 3
Composition – simple, vertical flow, unity of parts.

I started with just one key image which I knew would be the focal point and provide me with a botanical theme and feelings of warm lazy days of summer. I wanted my colour palette to reflect my vintage style as well as the botanical theme.

I first stamped this gorgeous bloom from HP 1111,using plum archival ink and then I set about the painting. 
HP 1111

I love to mix products to create tones and shades of colour and here I have used Rose and Stone Fresco Finish paints and Aged Mahogany distress ink for the bloom. For the stem and leaves I used Hey Pesto, Guacamole and Stone. I cut out the image, edged it with walnut stain to give it that vintage look and stamped over the green areas using the music stamp from ESN07
ESN 07

The last step was to cover it with satin glaze which makes the light shine differently on it, and provides a subtle contrast to the background.


I then prepared the tag, first covering the card with book pages and tissue wrap, drying it off and sanding the edges. With blending foam I layered over Chocolate Pudding, London Night and Nougat Fresco Finish paints and dried it. Over this I dabbed Nougat and Snowflake to lighten it and dried and then dabbed over Rose mixed with Aged Mahogany to get some fabulous pinky tones. 

When this layer was dry I took a babywipe and knocked back some very small areas so that you can see the tissue wrap and lower colours come through, this really helps to create some depth and further interest.

Finally I used the harlequin stamp from Ink and Dog Letters 5 and snowflake paint to start to bring in some pattern and over that I stamped the small numbers (from ESN 07) using black archival ink.

Ink and Dog Letters5
This creates a great multi-layered background and is a fabulous contrast to the large and quite imposing bloom.


To finish I distressed and inked the edges of the tag and gathered three butterflies as collage elements to add to the design but when I put it all together the stalk looked too long so I added the small phrase to bring it back into balance. Where the elements have been placed creates a vertical layout where the eyes are kept within the tag and can move up and down and back to the gorgeous flower head. The paper at the bottom ‘grounds’ the focal image so that it doesn’t look as though it is floating in mid air and I purposefully placed two of the butterflies at different intervals to create more interest.

To create an extended tag I used the new Chatsworth papers and cut a rectangle 9 x 19 cms, I shaped the top to look like a tag and distressed and inked the edges. This gives me additional space at the bottom to add further collage details and I used the lovely Lin Brown quote from ELB 01


ELB 01
Finallypositioned one of the butterflies as a bridge taking the eyes from the bottom up the project again.


Thanks for taking the time to look at my offering today. Have fun designing and creating.
Brenda.


A huge thanks to Brenda from all at PaperArtsy, it is so lovely to have you here. This is a truly beautiful tag. I love the 'extended' element, it really gives the tag more impact. The subtle colours and texture of the background are the perfect setting for the large bloom. 

If you would like to join in our weekly challenge with any of this week's guests 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 30th March 2014

31 comments:

Helen said...

That's gorgeous Brenda! Your work is always so wonderful and thus us NI exception

massofhair said...

Hi Brenda great to see you as a GD! Fab tag up to your usual amazing standards. Love the focal image & reading your process. Thanks for sharing:-) xxx

Julie Lee said...

Really interesting to have this glimpse into your design tips. This is a truly beautiful tag. Julie Ann xxx

Amanda said...

Brilliant tag Brenda love all the techniques.
Love
Amanda x

Lucy Edmondson said...

How lovely to see you pop up here, Brenda! Your tag is exquisite. Being familiar already with your beautiful work I have always thought your sense of composition is wonderful and it is great to see the process you have followed, and see it so well explained,

Lucy x

Ruth said...

Absolutely beautiful, colours and vintage....right up my street. Thanks, definitely inspired.

Astrid Maclean said...

Gorgeous tag Brenda, love the subtle vintage colours you have used, contrasting with that stunning bright flower! It has a real summery feel to it, lovely!

Unknown said...

I love how you shared your design process-love the tag too!

craftytrog said...

It's beautiful Brenda, great step-by-step!
Alison xxx

Keren Baker said...

Love this- and loved your design process too! Beautiful tag!

Deborah Wainwright said...

Really great Tag that flower is amazing great to see you here xxx

Redanne said...

Wow Brenda that central bloom is fabulous and I love the wonderful subtle background you have created on your extended tag. I enjoyed seeing the how to and your thought processes behind your beautiful creation. Anne xx

Craftyfield said...

So interesting to see how you work, ans people useful for people who aren't quite sure where to start (like me) !

craftimamma said...

Lovely to see how you built up the layers of paint and tissue, etc., for the background and I love the stamping over the stem and leaves of the focal image. Good to see you as a guest DT Brenda!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Silvia(Barnie) said...

A wonderful tag, love every detail.

Deborah said...

A truly gorgeous tag!

Etsuko said...

Beautiful tag, fab design and great tutorial. Very interested. xx

Jennie Atkinson said...

Fabulous extended tag Brenda! I love the background and that bloom is just stunning. Fabulous to see you GD for Paper Artsy!! xx

Jane said...

Stunning work Brenda and so interesting to hear your design ideas...it's great to see how people plan their creations. The background has so much texture and the flower is beautiful. A superb GD post hugs xx

Linda M. Cain said...

Simply gorgeous!!!

~Linda

Sid said...

Great tag !!

Maggie said...

Stunning tag and yes I am there on a lovely summers day... thanks for sharing step by step and your ideas of how the tag came about.

MaggieH

1CardCreator said...

Gorgeous tag and thank you for explaining the breakdown of how you plan it out, totally fascinating! ~Diane

Cocofolies said...

I love LOVE this tag by Brenda, really awesome as all she creates! Coco x

Terry said...

Love your plan of action and the end result is spectacular! That bold red flower is amazing as are all the design factors! Lovely botanical tag, Brenda! Hugs!

Words and Pictures said...

Really gorgeous, Brenda - such lovely depth to the background, and the flower really pops - so lovely to see you here too!!
Alison xx

Anonymous said...

Hello Brenda, sorry for being so late seeing this. It is a beautiful tag, the background looks amazing. Thank you for explaining your process so well, it's very helpful.

Unknown said...

Fab! xx

Gillian .... said...

Great to see your art here Brenda,love the depth to the background layers, beautiful all round tag, cheered me up. x

Kezzy said...

Wow wow wow absolutely gorgeous stunning tag, I really love the flower, such an amazing pop of colour. The background is fabulous and the stamps used are awesome :-) Kezzy xxx

Marjie Kemper said...

What a gorgeous creation, and I appreciate Brenda spelling out the 6 key features. All those layered FF paints are exquisite!