Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Stamps and Old Wives Tales.............

The challenge this week at Simon Says Stamp And Show is:-    An Old Wives Tale. I have made a page based on an old rhyme my mother taught me  ( hope it fits the criteria ). It is a childrens' clapping or skipping rhyme and there are several different versions. It apparently originated in America and was a clapping game played by black children.
The version I was taught is :-
                                                 Mary Mac
                                                 Dressed in black
                                                 Silver buttons all down her back
                                                 She likes coffee, she likes tea
                                                 She likes sitting on the Chinamans knee.
                                                 My mother said, I never should
                                                 Play with the Gypsies in the wood.
                                                 If I did, she would say
                                                 Naughty girl to disobey.
  



I have always loved the rhyme but, to me, it has a sense of foreboding about it..........Gypsies in the wood and strange Chinamen.......oooh. The stamp I have used in the top left corner I bought just because it was a bit quirky, I had no idea what I would ever use it on....till now. It so made me think of  Mary Mac. I had also only just purchased the tree stencil, after watching the very clever Louise Nelson create magic with it on the weekend, so then I had my scary 'wood'. I had so much fun doing this page, stamping and stencilling.......I don't think I have ever used so many stamps on one project before !
   
This is an American version of Mary Mac, played on a Bottleneck Slide Blues Guitar and the words have written sub-titles that have political, social, and historical references and it's kind of fun.....? You might need to turn my music off if you want to listen to this.

17 comments:

  1. this is so fab,
    I love the little girls image
    colours are grate,
    love, love, love it!
    Kat.

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  2. This is great work and I like the song who would of thought it was about boats!

    Love Dawn xx

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  3. This is absolutely stunning!!! I love the images you used and how they support the wives' tale. Very fun! : )

    Thanks so much for entering the Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge!

    -Sarah

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  4. Oh my goodness. I love your page.. Its so fun and whimsical and scary all at the same time.. And your right that stamp in the corner does look quirky.. Very unique.. Just makes your page all that more fun to look at!

    Boy does that song bring back so many memories for me.. I to sang and played the hand clapping game when I was young. Me and my sisters would see who could do it the fastest..

    Thanks for memories and sharing you great page with us..

    Hugs, Lidna

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  5. Hello! You did a great job on this. Love all the images and the ghostly woman up in the left corner...very cool. Thanks for joining us at Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. <3 Candy

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  6. OMG !!!!! Gayle you are so talented !!!!! love all the little touches you give your work ... so much care is taken I can tell.....hugz x

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  7. just love the collage of all the elements... THEY WORK !!! The pretty teacups with the masked tree... BEAUTIFUL !!!!!

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  8. i love your piece. I had never heard of Mary Mac before (till now). this is very detailed.
    your mary stamp is cool too.

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  9. I had no idea about the history of the rhyme. That is o fascinating!! Your layout has a historical feel to it. It looks steam punk to me and the steam punk is even more so if you think about the submarine history of it too. love it!

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  10. You have such a great eye for putting various pieces together, including the stamp and the children's page. I learned a lot about the history of this rhyme, too. Enjoy your holiday. Hope you have fun in your autumn sun.

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  11. No idea about the history either but the old nursery rhymes like ring a ring a rosies were all to do with the plague etc, they all have great history attached to them. I love the video too

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  12. This is wonderful!! I love all of the different elements - really a wonderful collage!
    I found when working on my piece for this theme that many of the old wives' tales were grim - which I'd never noticed before. (lol)
    Thanks for joining us at the Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge!

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  13. This is such a lovely collage piece, love the image at the top left and the hints of shimmer.

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  14. Fabulous! I know the beginning of that song from when I was a kid, but not the rest. Your tree stencil adds so much as a base, and your cut images are perfect.

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  15. I just love the mix of moods here - the sweet vintage image of the children against the darker tones - very dramatic! Great background and details - such a creative collaged piece!
    Thank you very much for taking part on our Challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show!
    Sarah

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  16. I think this is my fav page! Great job!

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  17. Gayle this is amazing !!! So many layers of goodness ..... i love it when you add texture to your work, its such an extension of your creative personality..... oh and the orange layout is to die for xo
    see you soon beautiful. steph xo

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