normal is boring

Normal can be a blessing after a period of upset and stress, however just doing one little thing out of the ordinary every now and then peps life up and keeps things from becoming stale. Well that’s my excuse for straying a bit away from the norm sometimes.

I’m back in the studio after a period away and very keen to get the paints and pens out again. I find comfort in these things and just having my supplies around me brings me joy. I also think that starting in a small way is easier than trying to complete a big project right from the get-go! This is why I was pleased to see a couple of tags in this month’s Sweet Treat Box from Paper Pen and Plan and a challenge to create a tag book with them.

Without a clear plan of what I would end up doing, I decided to start with a little abstract watercolour on the tags using a lovely gold watercolour paint I bought recently and hadn’t yet tried out.

A Prima text stamp added a bit of contrast and extra texture. The lines just happened naturally which I was surprised about to be honest as I usually go for circles, anyway it was quite appropriate that the text should also be placed that way on too.

Using the tag as a template I cut several more from odd bits of paper, brown paper, bags, book pages and gel prints.

I’ve seen this binding method in several places recently and it seemed like the most simple way to bind the pages together. Handily the box also came with the washi tape so of course it was obvious I’d use it here. I taped the pages together in pairs.

Then glued the pairs together back to back. A strip of fabric covered the spine and added a pretty bright splash of colour to the front too.

It just took a stitch stamp and a couple of stickers (also in the same box) to finish the front. I added a thin smear of gesso to the pages so I could add paint to them and tested out the first page with a few watersoluble crayons and more stickers. Anything but boring I think.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and I’d love to know what you’re up to as well.

Jaine xx

Finding Inspiration To Make Tags For Christmas

December 2nd is here already and I know lots of you have been making cards and decorations weeks in advance but, here in the studio, I’m only just starting to think about it which is totally like me. I’m so last minute, why change now?

Anyway, I thought I’d make some tags and show you a couple of ideas for firstly finding inspiration which, let’s face it, is sadly lacking at times and, secondly, making it quicker to make multiples of things. So lets get on with it.

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