Tag Tuesday-Locks and Keys

The theme for this week's Tag Tuesday is Locks and Keys.

I am rather late with my tag this week. I have had such a busy time, during the past week I have been to Oxford, London, Somerset and Devon! Back home again now, and time to catch up with my tag.

I decided to do a tag about the Ceremony of the Keys, which takes place at the Tower of London every night at seven minutes to ten o'clock, without fail. It is a custom going back more than 600 years, and started in 1340. The gates to the Tower of London have to be locked to protect the Crown Jewels, belonging to the Queen.

I used a gelli printed background for my tag, adding images of the Tower of London,  Queen Elizabeth's crown (the Imperial State Crown) and a yeoman of the guard (or beefeater), and of course a raven. I wanted to print patterns using some real keys, but couldn't get it to work how I wanted, so I printed with acrylic silver paint and filled in the middle.  I photographed my tag on an official guidebook to the Tower of London.

A close up of my tag

 How I imagine Queen Elizabeth's keys to look, but I don't think hers are all rusty!

Tag Tuesday-Spring Flowers

Spring Flowers is the theme for this week's Tag Tuesday.

Well, we have had a real Spring here over the past few days, with

glorious sunshine, Spring flowers, birds, bees and butterflies all around.

 It couldn't last long, and today it is back to cold and windy-it's not

 raining all day long though, hooray! At the weekend we went 

to our favourite waterside cafe by the River Thames, now it is no

longer flooded, and sat outside in the sunshine!

This put me perfectly in the mood to make my Spring Flowers

tag. 

I used a stencil of cherry blossom and birds, and chose a black background to make the pink and green gel pens pop. The birds were collaged from flower paper, as they didn't stand out very well the first time. I added some sweet flower (card) buttons that I bought 

recently. The borders are made of floral and bee strips. For the outside frame I used green origami paper, which has images of rabbits and flowers on. I thought my floral scarf was a suitable background to photograph my Spring Flowers tag.

Tag Tuesday-Pretty in Pink

For my Pretty in Pink tag, I used an image from The Graphics Fairy, which I have been

saving for the right occasion. The charming ballerina, dressed in pink, is called Mademoiselle Zaine Richard. I have given her a backing made of hessian, and framed her with  tulle, decorated with pink buttons and sequins. I found a shocking pink bag to use as a backing for my photograph.

Creative Deli Pack

Look what the postman just brought for me! A Creative Deli Pack, which I sent off for from Shelagh Folgate's website , you can find a link to it on her blog here. Shelagh has put together a pack to use with a gelli plate,it includes Deli paper, fabrics and papers and some other things to use when printing with a gelli plate.

Sewing Box

I have made a sewing box, somewhere to keep all my  little bits and pieces for sewing . I used a wooden box, which I painted with matt vinyl white paint. I used images from The The Graphics Fairy, which I printed off and decoupaged to the top of the lid, the inside of the lid, and the inside of the box.

Tag Tuesday-Maps, Charts and Diagrams

This week, the theme for Tag Tuesday is Maps, Charts and Diagrams.

My tag is a simple one this week. I used card stock with a printed map, or maybe it is a ship's chart. Onto this I stamped images of a ship, compass, anchor and the word TRAVEL, using  the new stamps I bought to do the tag. The edging is washi tape feauturing clocks. The tag is photographed on an old atlas.

Spring Flowers from The Graphics Fairy

Although it is not officially Spring, some  Spring flowers are appearing, and when the sun shines,

it feels that Winter is on its way out.

Here are some beautiful flower images from The Graphics Fairy, which Karen says come

from an Antique Botanical Wildflower Book, Circa 1860.

 I was reminded of a couple of quotations by Shakespeare about daffodils, both from The Winter's Tale.

When daffodils begin to peer,
With heigh! the doxy over the dale,
Why, then comes in the sweet o' the year;
For the red blood reigns in the winter's pale.
The Winter's Tale (4.3.1-4)



                 Daffodils,
That come before the swallow dares, and take
The winds of March with beauty; violets dim,
The Winter's Tale (4.4.133-50)