Tags and a Blizzard

We're having a blizzard today. They say we should get 18-25 inches of snow! 

Not sure how exciting that is, but I am excited to have a low key Tuesday at home. Something about a big snowstorm makes you just want to relax and not worry about things like laundry or how clean the house is. It is a great day to sleep in, read a book and watch some movies (as long as we don't lose power that is). 

I'll let you know how much snow we actually get and how much shoveling that will mean!

That's the not so nice part about a snowstorm.

So Sunday afternoon I played around in my happy place. I find I am most productive if I give myself an assignment. I don't mean to make that sound so ominous. Its just that I decide what I want to work on. I'm not very good at gear changing mid-way through some studio time. I'm ok picking up a project partially done and then changing to another type of project that is also partially finished, but to start on blank canvases in multiple formats, that slams my creativity door shut. Sunday I decided to make some tags.

This tag contains all types of media. The shamrocks are embossed on some green metal and then have a dirty rag of paint rubbed over them. The measuring tape is actually a Tim Holtz embossing folder on black paper and then lightened with a metallic purple ink pad. The Celtic pieces are made by using Spellbinder's dies on paper. Then they are inked with metallic gold ink and also with some brown dye ink. I then added some stenciled bronze paint to the background (other than the shamrocks) and also some gem pieces.

This photo to me looks like its a bit warped...not the photo but that the way the image was photographed. The colors are definitely a little off too...they look a little darker and bolder in real life.  Tough time of year to photograph without the sun and natural light to give you more true colors.

Here's another tag. The photo doesn't show the 2 ends which are cut with a pinking shear type paper scissor.

There is painting and inking here also. I used some more of the black tape measure embossed piece here. I doodled the white flowers and the stamped words are from Impression Obsessions. I traced the raven/crow from a Stencil Girl stencil and then cut it out.

Not sure if either of these tags are quite finished or what I will do with them.  I am thinking of making a tag book so they might go in there.  Those questions will have to be answered at a later date.

So I started this book the other evening:

It is a very light and easy read. So far enjoyable, but nothing wildly unique. I'll let you know because i am hoping to spend some reading time as the wind blows and the snow swirls around today.

And this book arrived yesterday in the mail.

I love reading Kristen Nichols' blog and her house, which occasionally shows up on her blog,  is amazing. She lives in a colonial, a couple hundred year old home in Western Massachusetts which she has painted with bright colors and created some gorgeous painted walls.Some of them almost look like tapestries. 

I'm hoping this book teaches me a few of her tricks. 

That's all for me today.

Stay warm.

Hope you have some fabulous sun too.