Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

April 21 - Tea Day - Amy pouring herself a cuppa.  Sometimes, it is just fun to celebrate a week of special days when nothing very special is happening. This last week was one of those weeks for me. Starting off last Saturday, 21 April was "Tea Day" - a celebration of the amazing drink tea is.  Tea is a wonderful drink that comes in a wide variety of different flavors, each of them having a distinct personality and character. It’s been used for everything from a simple morning libation to the central element of certain social and religious rituals.   April 22 - Sunrise at Hall's Gap, The Grampians , Victoria 22nd April was Earth Day  which is not only a celebration but a call to protect our natural environment. it is customary for  groups and individuals to mark the day with community environmental activities.    April 23 - English Language Day - Watercolour drawing and collage: Wilma Simmons  Monday 23 April was the United Nationals English Language

At Tag Tuesday, this fortnight Sandie  is hosting the Steampunk/Mechanical challenge. Although this isn't a theme I usually tackle, Sandie's tags are so fantastic and inspirational that I was motivated to create a tag this afternoon. I had some fabrics on my desk which I discharge dyed last week.and this piece with the addition of a few copper cogs reminded me of " industrial and mechanical" . The way the background fabric was created was by applying bleach gel with a roller over the top of a plastic stencil. The fabric was originally a  bluish dark grey   cotton, When the bleach had removed the colour, the process was halted with a commercial  neutralizing solution  called AntiChlor. I have been told that a vinegar solution  will also stop the discharge of colour and act as a neutraliser. The metal cogs were stitched on to the fabric by hand. Here are  a couple of great resource sites for discharging colour with bleach. - Threads Magazine artic le   

Tea eggs - hard boiled eggs cracked and soaked in spiced tea and soya sauce  stteping liquid.  Easter eggs , also called  Paschal eggs , are  decorated   eggs  that are usually used as gifts on the occasion of  Easter .  The oldest tradition is to use dyed and painted chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute chocolate eggs wrapped in colourful  foil , hand-carved wooden eggs, or plastic eggs filled with  confectionery  such as  chocolate . Although eggs, in general, were a traditional symbol of fertility and rebirth,    Christians also  say Easter eggs symbolize the  empty tomb  of  Jesus , from which Jesus  resurrected . http://discovergreece.info/the-greek-tradition-of-the-red-easter-eggs/ In addition, one ancient tradition was the staining of Easter eggs with the colour red "in memory of the  blood of Christ , shed as at that time of his crucifixion."    This custom of the Easter egg can be traced to  early Christians  of  Mesopotamia , and from there i