Tag Tuesday - Green

Over the years I've dabbled with various different crafts and most enjoyment has come from textile related crafts.  For my green tag, I have raided my supplies and woven snippets together, then added machine and hand stitching together with some beading. 

Snippets include

• Wensleydale curls
• merino fibres
• silk fibres
• stranded cotton
• wool and other yarns
• metallic thread
• perle thread
• sweet wrapper
• suede strip
• suede-like rounded thread
• mulberry paper
• tissue paper
• sheer fabric
• cotton fabric
• scrim

A button completes the tag.

I missed making the purple tag.  I think I was overwhelmed by all my purple stuff as it's one of my favourite colours and didn't know what medium to choose.  Green is much less in abundance and I decided to use a bit of everything!  Now that I have made this green tag, I can go back and use the same idea for purple.

Tag Tuesday - Camping

I've been on several camping holidays over the years but have chosen last year's trip to Herm, one of the Channel Islands, to make into a tag for this week.  The island is just a mile and a half long and half a mile wide with wonderful unspoilt beaches.

We travelled by ferry to Guernsey, stayed overnight, and took the smaller ferry to Herm the next day.  No cars are allowed on the island, but thankfully, there is transport for your luggage so we didn't have to carry our camping gear across the island.  It may not be far, but there is a steep hill to climb.

 The top photo shows the view from inside our tent looking out over the sea.  The second photo shows our plot which was probably one of the best on the site for views.  I was working on a weaving/crochet project just before we went so I took it with me and the yarns have been incorporated into my tag - the blue yarn in the sky of the top photo and the green bamboo yarn on the bottom photo.  Whilst we were on Guernsey waiting for our ferry, I went into a department store where they had a 75% off sale and bought some yarn to weave into cushion covers - a small piece of this is the string of the tag.  I have recently finished weaving the cushion covers and am sewing them up.

The background to the tag is a Guernsey £1 note and I have just realised I have put 2012 instead of 2011 oops.  I'll amend it but it's too late for this post before the Tag Tuesday deadline.  Please have a look at the tags the others have made.  Camping invokes fond memories for some but for others it has been something to endure.

Tag Tuesday - Diamond Jubilee

This week I liked the suggestion of using the queen on postage stamps for my Diamond Jubilee tag.  Looking through my stamp collection I picked out the loose definitive stamps, some of which were pre-decimal with a young Queen Elizabeth II and some decimal with a different portrait of the Queen. 

I dismissed the idea of a general mosaic of stamps as I wanted it to be Jubilee themed and was lucky enough to have the stamps needed for writing 1952 in pre-decimal stamps and 2012 in decimal.

As well as English stamps, I've been able to incorporate a Scottish one and a Welsh one, unfortunately I didn't have any to represent Northern Ireland.  To complete the theme I printed the Jubilee logo and used a crown rubber stamp.

 

The background is textured wallpaper with sheer fabrics and I've also attached somebeads and individual onion seed heads.

Tag Tuesday - Found Objects

Whenever I'm at the seaside I love collecting shells with the plan to create something with them, however, most of the time they just get added to my shell stash.  I've always been aware that different shells can be found on different beaches but over the last few years I've noticed something new.  One time recenlty, there were lots of broken shells with sea-worn edges just like the broken glass you find on the beach.  Last year I found lots of limpet shells with their peaks cut off.  It is some of these I have used in my tag.

I thought this fabric was ideal - it's got a turquoise/green colouring in the bottom third and blue at the top.   I was disappointed that the shells which I had sewn on blended into the background and so glued the other two on.  These two now represent shells swept onto the beach and the bottom three are tumbling in the surf. 

Tag Tuesday - Gardening

I've been neglecting tag making and the rainbow scrap challenge lately due to other commitments both craft and non-craft.  A nudge to get going again was what I needed and so I made two gardening tags yesterday.

The first is loosely based on my Chelsea Pinks competition entry for my local Embroiderers Guild a few years ago.  As I was rummaging in my scrap box for some green scrim, I found a small piece of knitting which used the same yarn as I'd used in Chelsea Pinks and also a photo printed onto a sheer which was perfect to use.

My second tag shows some of the photos I took whilst visiting the Chelsea Flower Show a few years ago and are of design features I liked.  As the show opens this week it seemed apt to incorporate them into a gardening tag.

 I'm not going to the show this year but if you're going I'm sure you'll have a lovely day out.  I'll be watching some of the television coverage.

Tag Tuesday - Valentine

As well as the customs and traditions of Valentine's day this week's theme encompasses marriage, anniversaries and more hearts if we wish.  I chose to celebrate my grandparents' golden wedding anniversaries and made a tag for both sets of grandparents.  Each tag has a photo of my grandparents on their wedding day as well as one at their golden wedding anniversary parties.  I converted the golden wedding photos into black and white to match the wedding days but decided to keep the photo in colour for two reasons.  Firstly, the colours are 'golden' and secondly, being in colour emphasises the passage of time. 

I don't have any wedding dress material but did have some offcuts of when I made a christening robe so used that for the background.  For privacy reasons, I have obscured the date and names.

If you haven't already, have a look at the other tags on Tag Tuesday.  There's a great variety and everyone seems to enjoy taking part in the challenge.

Tag Tuesday - Hearts

This week's theme is hearts and I have used a heart from a collagraphy session at college a few years ago.   I made some hearts - some were patterned and others were in the negative with a pattern surround.  I've already used several of them on greetings cards but have a few left and thought this one would  be ideal as a tag.

To add some extra interest I have sewn beads onto the plain heart.

TAG Tuesday - Lace

This week's tag is a reminder of one of my pieces I made for my City and Guild Embroidery Course.   It was called A Metre of Mushrooms as it was a metre wide and the design came from one of my paintings of some mushrooms - hence the words on the tag.  The photos on the tag are of the design (top photo) and the finished piece.  The background of the tag uses leftover lace, other leftovers from the project used for the tag are beads for the tassel and top, and wool for the 'string'.

TAG Tuesday

With a different theme each week it’s going to be difficult to create them in the same style but I would like to use photos I’ve taken in the past and old family photos, together with words for as many of the tags as possible.

When I first saw the vintage theme I immediately thought of a photo of my grandmother taken in 1967 as I have a piece of fabric from the dress she was wearing.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t remember where it was so my next thought was a photo of my grandparents with their three wheeled car.  I don’t know when it was taken but it would have been at least 40 years ago.  However, I couldn’t find it but I came across one of my dad in a toy car with his mother and grandmother.  This one was taken over 70 years ago.  The tag actually came from my grandparents house so is quite old itself, at least 30 years.  The buttons are old cloth covered ones which I think came from my other grandparents’ house.  I tried several arrangements with the buttons but wasn’t happy until I decided to use name tabs.  

I’ve since found the dress fabric and will be making that tag as well.  Here it is in progress.

 

I started this challenge during the third week and wanted to complete the set by making tags for the first two themes – snow and snow sports and games.

For snow, I have used a photo taken in my garden showing footprints in the snowfall.   Ribbon, beads  and words are used as embellishments. 

 

I also have some photos of frosted spiders webs that I took to use as a design source which I’ll use for another tag. Here it is in progress.

 

The second week’s theme was snow sports and games.  For this one I have used a photo of my youngest son playing with snowballs.  We don’t usually get much snow where we live but in 2008 it snowed over the Easter holidays in the April.  My son is wearing a scarf that I knitted for him.  I don’t have any of the main wool left but used the same wool at the ends of the scarf for the tassels on the tag.   It’s embellished with some words, beads and hand embroidery.  

 

I’m also in the middle of making one with photos of my other son taken in 2009 sliding down a hill on a skateboard without its wheels.

I’m having fun making these tags and will certainly make some relating to lace – the next theme.

I hope you like them.

Red and White - Rainbow Scrap Challenge and TAG Tuesday

This weekend has been a red and white one.  Yesterday was red as I was working on a piece for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge.  I tried using some crumbs but didn't get on very well and have put that idea on hold for the moment.  Instead I cut strips from the fat quarters where they'd had odd bits already cut from them.  Matching the same width sized strips I sewed them together and produced this, finishing it this morning.

 I'm going to see how I get on in the next few months to see how many 12x12 squares I make before I decide what to turn them all into - bag, wallhanging, small quilt, bed quilt?

This afternoon has been white.  Another challenge I've found is making tags at TAG Tuesday.  There are lots of inspirational tags from other crafters.  Unfortunately, the group is full but Carolyn, the host, has suggested that I play along on my own blog. Others are in the same situation and Carolyn has created a list on the side of the blog with links to ours so that everyone can have a look at the tags we have created.  Each week a new theme starts on Tuesday and this week's theme is white.  I cut a tag from pelmet vilene and bonded three white fabrics to it.  The white label has been made from tyvek onto which I soldered the word 'white'.  Embellished with some hand stitching, buttons, ribbon and beads I finished the edges with a machine buttonhole stitch.  I'm really pleased with my first tag and looking forward to making another one next week.