Tag Tuesday-Travel

This week the theme for Tag Tuesday is TRAVEL

When thinking about travel, the first thing that came to mind was suitcases. I found some lovely images on The Graphics Fairy, and decided to use this one with labels on. The background is-you guessed it-gelli plate printing, and I used another image from The Graphics Fairy of the world . The borders are Washi tape, which I have quite a collection of, but hardly ever use!

If you want to know more about gelli printing, and are not bored with me going on about it, you can read about it on my blog here.
This is an appropriate tag for the summer holidays! I am taking a break from blogging for the month of August to relax and maybe even take a trip.
See you in September!

Dorchester on Thames

A couple of months ago, you may recall that I went to the Oxfordshire Arts Trail and visited the village of Dorchester on Thames. You can read about it in my blog post here The village was so pretty that I wanted to go back and walk round it and take some photos.  This is exactly what I did at the weekend, and found it to be as picturesque as I had remembered. When we entered the Abbey grounds, the bells were ringing out a quarter peal, to celebrate the birth of Prince George, who was born this week.

The abbey is a lovely building. I was particularly taken by the stained glass windows, but I also loved the stone carved knights.

                                                         

This thatched cottage is in the abbey grounds, and is for sale!

Another beautiful thatched cottage. It may not surprise you to know that Midsomer Murders has been filmed here.

Tag Tuesday-Fish

This week the  theme on Tag Tuesday is FISH

For my tag I used images of fish from The Graphics Fairy and coloured them in. I put them into an ocean to swim, which is made out of cut strips of Gelli prints. I am finding it an interesting challenge to use the Gelli plate for my tags and to see what I can make with them.

You can see what I have been doing with the Gelli plate on my blog here

Gelli Plate Printing-Third Time

I have been doing more Gelli Plate printing.To be honest I think it is a bit addictive! Click the link to an earlier blog post here to find out more about Gelli Plates.

I decided to use black paper to print on this time round, and was pleased with the effects. From the Gelli Arts Facebook page I have learned a lot about techniques and there are far too many ideas there! The main thing I did differently this time, was to leave the paint on the Gelli Plate between pulls and not to keep cleaning it. This means that colours from earlier layers come through adding extra interest and texture.

I used a stencil here.

And a stencil here.

Wooden print block onto wet paint.

The same print block used as a stamp.

The same again here, a wood block stencil stamped into wet paint.

And used as a stamp

Books I am reading at the moment

We are in the middle of a heat wave in the UK, and have had a few weeks of glorious sunshine. It is just the weather for reading in the shade in the garden with a nice cold drink, and dreaming of future projects.

I am reading two very different books at the moment. The first is Collage Unleashed by Tracie Bautista. I really like this book, it is full of mixed media ideas for collage. Tracie Bautista creates pieces using everyday objects around in the house, such as paper towels,and childrens' crayons as well as more traditional art materials. Her introduction speaks for itself " I am inspired by everything and everyone that enters my path. I find art in everything and everything finds its way into my art" . It is another must have mixed media techniques book for your bookshelves!

  

My second book is a creative patchwork book, Flower Power Patchwork by Anne-Pia Godske Rasmussen.  I find myself naturally drawn to Scandinavian style, and the Danish            creations in this book are stunning, with beautiful, vibrant photographs.

Tag Tuesday-The Roaring Twenties

 On Tag Tuesday  this week, we have a theme of The Roaring Twenties.I decided to make  a tag of

A Flapper's bedroom

In our alphabet challenge I was very taken by the idea of keeping a theme running throughout your own tags, so I have decided to use my Gelli plate (click for link in my blog and explanation and samples) on my tags. 

With a Gelli plate background, I added some of the things found in a Flapper's bedroom, when she is getting ready for a night out. Her dress and hat are ready to put on, and her pearls, and a splash of perfume while she listens to a record on her gramophone. The she will go out to dance the night away and drink cocktails.

English Summer Day

The River Thames at Shiplake, looking at its best on an English summer day.

Tag Tuesday-Italy

For Tag Tuesday we have now finished our alphabet theme and have returned to a weekly theme.

This week's theme is Italy

For my Italy tag I printed the colours of the Italian flag using my gelli plate ( I just can't stop using it now I have started!). I used an old Italian menu-my husband travels around the world for business and often brings me back things I can use in  my art work. I cut the colours into strips for added texture and put on ribbons and buttons.  Michelangelo's Pieta statue was a late addition, from a very old magazine (1960s) . It was photographed on an Italian recipe book. If you want to read more about gelli plates and see my experiments with them click the link to my blog here

The Herb Farm-Seed heads

I found these beautiful seed heads at The Herb Farm.

Second Time Printing With Gelli Plate

This is my second time printing with my Gelli Plate. For information about it click the link here.

I used cut outs from a punch as a resist

 I used a Martha Stewart combing tool

  Here I used leaves from my garden

Tag Tuesday-Letter Z

We have reached the end of our alphabet challenge on Tag Tuesday.

Here is my final alphabet tag.

For my Z tag I have done

Z is for Zinnia

Zinnias are such a pretty flower, and luckily they begin with Z ! This is not an exact representation of what they look like, but they are colourful and have lots of layers of petals.

I used my new Gelli plate- which I am using all the time now! You can read about it and see my experiments with it on my blog here. I used flower cut outs from a punch as resist and then added the cut out flowers (made from  an old gardening catalogue-see I knew it would come in handy!)

The Herb Farm

I visited The Herb Farm, our local garden centre,  which specialises in all kinds of herbs. The gardens are beautifully laid out and very pleasant to walk in. There is a cafe for light lunches and cakes, lots of plants to buy, and a gift shop.