How does your garden grow?

Hello all!  Alison (butterfly) here with a gentle tag for you today.  I've been playing with some of the lovely new gardening stamps just released here at The Artistic Stamper.  There are some fantastic new releases.  If you haven't seen them yet, do check them out.

So here's my relaxing garden tag - a fairly simple affair, but it gives me lots of pleasure.

I started by putting Distress Ink onto a large acetate gridblock, spritzing it with water and stamping onto a watercolour paper tag.  I did some spritzing and flicking of water to create even more of a textured look.

The fork and spade from Garden #1 are stamped in a combination of Coffee and Potting Soil Archival inks and clear embossed.

I stamped the very useful "extra bit of earth" from Garden #2 next to the main image, so as to 'fade out' the earth rather than have it stop abruptly.

I added another layer by stamping the tiny bubbles from the Borders 2 plate in colours to coordinate with the background.  And there's plenty of white splatter to create more life and movement.

The sentiment is from a PaperArtsy set, and is stamped in graduated Archival inks - Cobalt, Leaf Green and Olive, I think, and then clear-embossed as usual.

I tried out a number of different embellishments, but each time I preferred the simpleness of the tag without any extras until I suddenly remembered these tiny wooden confetti circles, hiding in my stash.

I glued them in place and gave them a tiny swipe of Chalk Fresco paint from one angle.

The Distress-dyed ribbons at the top are tied with some Idea-ology paper string, and the whole thing is mounted on some distressed corrugated cardboard for that rustic look.

And that's your lot for today.  Thanks so much for stopping by - your comments and visits really mean so much.

I hope you'll come and play along in our Love challenge here at The Artistic Stamper this February.  You don't have to use Artistic Stamper stamps, but if you do you'll qualify for a double entry in the prize draw.  What have you got to lose?!  Happy crafting!

Ingredients used:
Artistic Stamper stamps - Garden #1, Garden #2, Borders #2 A6
Distress Inks - Broken China, Stormy Sky, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles
Archival Inks - Coffee, Potting Soil, Cobalt, Leaf Green, Olive
Fresco Paints - Chalk
Seam binding
From my stash - watercolour paper, paper string, corrugated cardboard, wooden confetti, sentiment stamp