Tuesday 5 February 2013

E is for......

Greetings everyone. I loved all the D's last week, such a variety! Thank you for your kind comments on mine. I continue my 'smelly' journey through the herbs and oils with Eucalyptus. Such a wonderful plant, native to Australia with over 600 varieties. This accounts for the fact that leaves can be long and slender or round, but they have a beautiful blue/green  colouring much loved in flower arrangements here in the UK. I had a Eucalyptus tree once in my garden but our very bad storm in 1987 nearly blew it into our conservatory - phew! Poor tree got uprooted and I haven't had one since. However I use the essential oil a great deal. It is marvelous for coughs and colds due to its anbacterial, antifungal, antimicrobial, antiviral, anti inflammatory and decongestant properties. It is also good for healing cuts and abrasions and on insect bites and stings. As a muscle rub it will help to aleviate the pain from rheumatism, lumbago and sprains and stiff muscles. It has a very refreshing smell and can help to stimulate a tired mind and rejuvenate the spirit if you have been unwell. It is lovely to have a bowl of hot water with the oil in it around the house if you are suffering the effects of a cold or have been generally unwell. You can find it in a lot of over the counter medicines such as cough sweets and vapour rubs.

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For my tag I used a variety of pink inks and cosmic shimmer on the background which I spritzed with water. Then I decided to do a pen and ink sketch of a basket of Eucalyptus leaves (I'm not very good at this as you can see!) which I attached with sticky fixers for dimension. Then I took the wrappers from some cough sweets made the waxy bows with little water-coloured 'lozenges' in the centres. I was going to go for very mixed media and use the actual sweets but as I want to store the tags in a book I thought they might not last long! The E is etched onto a metal disc and then I dyed the ribbon to match at the top. Hope you all have a good week and stay clear of coughs and colds! x

15 comments:

  1. Gorgeous Tag Barb - Cute Idea to use the sweetie wrappers as bows. I love your Alphabet theme and as it happens Eucalyptus. We have one in a very large pot in the front of the house and it has been know to blow over - in fact it is blowing a gale outside and knowing my luck so far today I had better keep an eye on it!!

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  2. Love it! The colors and illustration work great together!

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  3. Beautiful tag. I used to have a eucalyptus in my garden in England but it got too big. Might try another one now I've got much more room here in France. Love the sweetie wrappers! Carolyn x

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  4. When I was living in Israel there was a little river flowing through the town with Eucalyptus trees along the banks, and the perfume was so beautiful, especially during the hot nights! Great tag, Valerie

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  5. Gorgeous tag - I love those soft colours. The trees are beautiful, I've always wanted one, they have such beautiful bark. I had no idea it was so good for you either!

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  6. I'm really loving this Barb! :0) Mo

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  7. beautiful tag love the colours :)

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  8. A gorgeous tag, love the pen and ink sketch, colours are just right, Jane xx

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  9. Gorgeous tag, Fabulous colours & design.. Hugs May x x x

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  10. Gorgeous tag, bet it smells nice too. Always wanted a eucalyptus tree.

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  11. I LOVE your sketch of the eucalyptus, Barb, and the color scheme is exquisite. This is one of my favorite aromatic herbs, so I'm probably a little biased. Blessings!

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  12. Another unusual word for the letter E. Lovely tag. I could do with some muscle rub as I have just been diagnosed with a Frozen Shoulder. Hugs Mrs A.

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  13. I agree with the above comments! Lovely tag, especially the pen and ink sketch. I love the addition of cough sweet wrappers!I am enjoying your information about the herbs and oils too.
    Jane x

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  14. The way this is photographed on dark purple is so striking overall. It is eye candy from cough candies [or the idea of 'cough'] made into art. Wonderful! *smiles* Norma, x

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  15. Great work with different techniques on this lovely aromatic tag! We use eucalyptus oil a lot - especially when we are in Papua New Guinea, it is so versatile as you suggest- many antibacterial/antifungal uses. We also use the oil to take off the sticky mess which is sometimes left after removing a self adhesive label on a purchased item.

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