Sweet Poppy Stencils "Botanicals Thistle Stem" Tag

It seems quite some time since I last made a tag, so I decided to have a play making this one. 

I started with a cream coloured blank tag.  On my glass mat, I dabbed the following Distress Oxide inks:  Dried Marigold, Rusty Hinge, Stormy Sky and Chipped Sapphire. I strized each one with a little water then ran the tag through the colours, after each colour, I used the heat gun to dry the tag.  I continued doing this till the surface was covered.

I inked the edges of the tag with "Chipped Sapphire" Distress Oxide Ink and then edged it with Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink.

Using Versafine Clair "Nocturne" I multi stamped the Sweet Poppy "Botanical Thistle Stem Stamp". I coloured the image with Van Goch Pastel Pencils and a white gel pen.

*Edited to add

I forgot to mention the spotlight area.  I used a die cut circle of plastic and Versafine Clair "Nocturne" black ink with a finger dabber to create the dark ring around the thistle and bee.
Starting in the middle and working my way outwards and rotating the tag, so that I was always working in the same direction.

I used a white gel pen around the inner edge.  I also used a white Pastel Pencil to lighten the area within the circle.

Sweet Poppy Stencil "Thistle Stem Stamp" Card

Last week, I entered an Instagram competition to "like, tag & share" their post regarding the release of their new stamps.  I was thrilled to receive a message to say that I was one of the winners.  Today I received my three stamps from the new collection.  I opted for the Foxglove, Poppy and the Thistle Stem. 

Today has been a bit busy, so I didn't get to play with the stamps till late evening.  I decided to use the "Thistle Stem" stamp first, stamping it in Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink, then colouring the image using Derwent Inktense pencils, sometimes applied with a paint brush and sometimes as a pencil.  I also used a gel pen, a 2B pencil and a Posca Pen.

In the background, I used a Sweet Poppy stencil called "Grid Plate" with "Weathered Wood" Distress Oxide Ink, blending tout he colour from right to left.

Finally, I stamped a sentiment from the Simon Says Stamp set called "Tiny Words - Birthday" in Versafine Clair "Morning Mist" grey ink.