Step Into The Garden

Hello Everyone
I am starting this week with a Gecko Galz DT project.
Last month my lovely friend Chris (rubbaluvva is her Blog, if you would like  to visit and see her beautiful creations) celebrated her birthday.  On seeing the Garden Girls image sheet I was sure the images would appeal to Chris so I set about using one of the pretty images on her birthday card.  As with all Gecko Galz DT posts I will list the supplies and brief instructions.
Supplies
Gecko Galz Garden Girls
Gecko Galz Vintage Labels
Oxford Impressions’ Le Jardin and The Fairest Flower
Distress Ink Tattered Rose and Victorian Velvet  (Ranger)
Memento London Fog.
Flowers (Prima)
My supplies:-7″x5″ cardbase, low gloss and white cardstock, vintage velvet ribbon, guipure lace, lace, vintage lace scraps, pearl stickers.
Instructions
Ink cardbase and two tags and stamp images to create background.  Ink edges. Stamp label and Belle Jardiniere onto scrap, cut out and ink edges. Adhere vintage velvet ribbon and lace to top and bottom edges of cardbase. Print Vintage Labels onto white cardstock and Garden Girls image sheet onto low gloss cardstock. Adhere a Vintage Label to each tag embellishing the tag with lace, etc.  Assemble the card adhering tags and image to cardbase with silicone glue. Adhere stamped text below the image, trimming with lace and the stamped label to top of cardbase, embellishing with paper blossoms adding a pearl sticker to each flower centre.Such a beautiful image. A little detail photograph to give you an idea of the stamped background. A decorated tagand the other.If you are a fan of Gecko Galz then you might be interested to know for the month of March there is an event taking place, Spring Fling. Later in the month it will be my turn to share my Spring Fling creation but why not visit Gecko Galz to see how Spring has inspired the other DT members and also read all the details about Spring Fling.
Thank You for visiting this post. Your visits and support are always very much appreciated by me.
Wishes
Lynne

Dancing Cheek To Cheek

Hello Everyone
This post for Crafty Individuals uses one of their new releases, a collage style stamp of a man and woman dancing.
Alongside this stamp I made use of some other Crafty Individuals stamps so here is the list of all Crafty Individuals products used:-
CI-194
CI-377
CI-350 Elements set (Lace)
CI-366 Elements set (Musical)
Shabby Tag

On this 8″x8″ card I wanted overall a very muted, almost diffused appearance so for the background I prepared it by building up layers of paint, stamping and scraps of Tissue Tape and carried on in this fashion until reasonably satisfied after five layers or so.After painting and stamping the tag I stamped the couple onto painted cardstock.  With the silhouette aspect of the collage stamp it makes for quite a bold statement and as I wanted a sense of softness I painted over the stamped couple, blending two colours to enhance the softness.  The paint also brought added texture and blended in with the painterly appearance.Another detail photograph shows the sheet music stamp tucked to the side. I have to thank my lovely friend Alison, who many of you will know (Craftytrog) as she kindly sent to me  a bundle of die cuts and here I used one layered with stamped lace at the top of the card. Not only that, she gifted me with some beautiful pins, one of which I used tucked into some stained lace and layered to the left of the tag.I have a post scheduled for Sunday but in the meantime, have a lovely weekend and thank you for visiting this post.
Wishes
Lynne

Elegance & Grace

Hello Everyone
As the last days of February are fast running out it is time I shared the  second of my February DT projects for Gecko Galz.
Whether in stamp form or image I find there is something very special about Lily Elsie and it isn’t only myself who holds this view as a lovely friend who celebrated her birthday in February also shares the same view so when I saw this Lily Elsie image on Gecko Galz All Dressed Up I knew I had to use it for her birthday card.
Below is my list of supplies and instructions
Supplies
Gecko Galz All Dress Up and Vintage Labels
Oxford Impressions The Fairest Flower and Le Jardin (Oxford Impressions Etsy Store and That’s Crafty)
Distress Ink Tattered Rose
From my stash:- low gloss and white cardstock, lace, satin flower, tag, piece from sequin embellished trim and fabric ribbon sticker.
Instructions
Prepare background with emulsion paint,  ink and Oxford Impressions stamps.  Prepare tag in the same manner. Layer lace and fabric ribbon sticker onto cardbase. Print All Dressed Up onto low gloss cardstock and Vintage Labels onto white cardstock. Select images, cut out and distress edges.   Adhere a Vintage Label to tag embellishing with a fabric flower and lace. Stain seam binding with a fruity tea bag and thread through the tag’s hole.  Layer another Vintage Label to the side of the Lily Elsie image and embellish with a piece from sequin embellished trim.  Finally tie lace into a bow and adhere to the corner of the card.The Vintage Label tucked in at the side with a scrap of vintage lace and a decorative embellishment in the form of a piece from sequin embellished trim, this trim is so precious I only use little pieces at any time. The light was extremely poor in this photograph however this is the Vintage Label which was layered onto a tag that had been painted, inked and stamped.
I have another post scheduled for tomorrow but in the meantime thank you for your visit to this post.
Wishes
Lynne

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

Hello Everyone
I hope your weekend is going well, possibly having some creative time.
I am ending this week With Love, yes it is another DT sample for Oxford Impressions using the wonderful With Love stamp plate. This plate is available from the  Oxford Impressions’ Etsy store (link below) and also from That’s Crafty.
This is a list of all the stamp plates used on the card.
Oxford Impressions Stamp Plates:-
With Love (heart, With Love and Paris
Paris Poste (couple and amour)
French Script (damask, script and lace)
Card 7″x5″
I had to use the hearts in conjunction with the stunning photo real stamp from the Paris Poste plate. I wonder who is giving the key to their heart, the man or the woman?
A painted background in a delicate colour which was then stamped with script, damask and heart stamps.  Not seen in this photograph but you can see above that I stamped the lace stamp from French Script onto painted cardstock before cutting and layering to the top of the card.I would be lost if I did not have some Crafty Individuals Shabby Tags to hand as they are so lovely to work with.  Lots of layers of paint, ink, book text and stamps were applied to the tag.Two hearts together, layered over coffee stained lace.

I will be sharing more With Love cards over the next few weeks where I have married them up with other Oxford Impressions stamp plates to create certain themed cards and also a set of notecards but for today, thank you for visiting this post. 
Wishes
Lynne

Sweet Music

Hello Everyone
At some point I will be sharing some samples using some of the newest Crafty Individuals stamps but for this post I want to re-wind to the previous stamp releases, in particular CI-366 which is an Elements set with a musical theme.
Here is a list of Crafty Individuals products I used on the 8″x8″ card.
CI-366
CI-194
Mixed Pack of Tags
I actually remembered to take a photograph of the background before I completed the  card.  I used the sheet music stamp and four stamps from the Elements set building up gradual layers of paint and stamps.  I would push back a stamped layer before creating another and worked this way for five layers, resulting in a hint of each layer.  I also incorporated scraps of Tissue Tape.Stamped this beautiful text stamp and then layered onto lace and  a lovely sticker, in the form of a scalloped trim, from a sheet of Melissa Frances stickers that my lovely friend Maria (Made By Maz) included in a Giveaway I won last year. The tags were painted and stamped and for this tag the violin was stamped onto the tag and then stamped onto scrap and layered to the main image.For the other stamped tag I stamped onto a sticker, again from the Melissa Frances sheet. If you are looking for a challenge then there is still time to enter Jean’s Crafty Individuals’ Challenge For A Friend. You can read details for entry and prize available at Jean’s Crafty Individuals’ Blog.
Thank You for visiting this scheduled post. I have another post scheduled for over the weekend but I certainly plan on catching-up with your art.
Enjoy the weekend.
Wishes
Lynne

No More Lonely Hearts

Hello Everyone
This is an Oxford Impressions’ DT post where once again I have made use of stamps from the new stamp plate,  With Love.  If this stamp plate has caught your eye and you are a U.K. stamper then you might be interested to know that this plate is available from That’s Crafty.   Not only that, new in are several other Oxford Impressions plates and you can also purchase the gorgeous Soul of the Rose from That’s Crafty.
For this card I used a few  Oxford Impressions stamp plates. Below I’ve listed the plates and the stamps I’ve used from each plate.
Stamps Used on 8″x8″ scallop cardbase
With Love – heart, scroll and love
A Scandalous Beauty – This Is A Story About Love
French Script – damask, lace and script
Paris Poste – amour
This card has love as the theme but it could easily be an Anniversary card.  The hearts go beyond being only useful for Valentine’s Day. It was fun getting messy with paints for this card. I used a mix of chalky emulsion and acrylics on the cardbase and also on the Crafty Individuals Shabby tag.
 The three hearts, on the tag, were stamped onto vintage book text which had been prepared with a wash of Gesso. As I always like to add my little bits of this ‘n’, that I painted a little tag, stamped with a few stamps before only  inking up   love  from the with love sentiment.
At the opposite end of the tag more lace and a scrap of ribbon.This sentiment from A Scandalous Beauty fitted the theme so perfectly. As you can see from the photograph above and the one below, the paints were built up in layers which I also did with the stamping. For some of the stamps, in particular Amour  and the heart, I stamped some of the ink off onto scrap paper before stamping onto the cardbase to enhance the distressed appearance.
We all know it takes a lot more time to work on a background where layers are involved but there is no denying, it is a bundle of fun!

I will be sharing, over the next few weeks, some more cards using the With Love set. This set was made with personal greetings cards in mind and at some point I will be sharing some quick notecards I have made but it shows the versatility of this set when it can be used alongside other stamps for all manner of cards.
Thank you for visiting the first post of this brand new week.  Here’s to a creative week ahead for all of us.
Wishes
Lynne

The Romantics

Hello Everyone
If you are a fan of Oxford Impressions stamps then you will be pleased to know that Suzanne has released a new stamp plate …. With LoveDo you ever find yourself in need of making a quick Thank You card or a Thinking of You card? If so then this is one of those ever useful sets that have such sentiments however Suzanne has not only included sentiments, she has also included lovely design elements to decorate  cards or envelope. On receiving this plate I was sure that a set of notecards would be my first project but as Valentine’s Day was approaching I could see that the stamps would work beautifully with stamps from other Oxford Impressions plates.
The two DT samples I made are what I would call a variation on a theme as the card and tag have the same colour palette and the same stamp for the focal.
Below is a list of the Oxford Impressions plates used :-  (note that this link will take you to the Oxford Impressions’ Etsy store.  If you are from the U.K. the prices stated will be in £ and you can also view the shipping costs to the U.K.)
With Love
French Script
Soul of The Rose
Card – 7″x5″ - I wanted a faint pattern for the background so I stamped the damask (French Script) with Tattered Rose onto delicately painted (heritage colour emulsion paint) cardstock. This paint colour is my all time favourite which I have been using for years but it looks as though the time has come for me to search out another colour as I am unable to purchase it in tester pots from my local D.I.Y. store. Have you ever had such a situation where you were unable to source something which you would always reach for amongst your supplies?
A Shabby Tag (from Crafty Individuals) became the base for a stamped collage. Vintage French book text, layers of stamping and paint were applied to the tag. If you are interested I stamped the damask and script from French Script and the heart from With Love. I wanted a stamped element to balance the photo real stamp so I stamped a heart, the banner and With Love, inking the Love section only enabling me to cut it out and add to the banner.Little bits of this ‘n’ that A romantic matching tag. Once again layers of paint, vintage text and stamping were applied to a Shabby Tag.There are two elaborate scroll designs in the With Love set, this is the smaller of the two.The heart from With Love is a lovely size for adding as a stamped embellishment. I layered it with teeny pieces of scrap lace. With All My Heart stamped onto found paper and stapled to lace which hangs from the bottom edge of the tag. Thank You for lasting the length of this post, it was certainly photo heavy!
There will be more romantic offerings beyond Valentine’s Day, maybe I should apologise for that but otherwise this post would have been far too long and it is quite long enough as it is!
Before I leave this post for today a Thank You for the well wishes, I am feeling a bit stronger each day and I am slowly managing to catch-up with your Blogs.  I was absent for 10 days or so yet it amazed me just how much incredible art  I missed in such a short time.  It shows the amazing productivity of creative people.
Whenever I have had enforced time away from visiting blogs and my working on my own blog, it makes me realise how important this part of my creative life is to me.  Visiting blogs isn’t only about viewing incredible artwork, it is also that wonderful connection with others which I missed very much.
Have a lovely day and hopefully if there has been snowfall in your area that it isn’t creating too much a hurdle for you.
Wishes
Lynne

They Dreamed Of Romance

Hello Everyone
For this post I am sharing a card for Crafty Individuals which I made at the beginning of this year, a  card which is unapologetically  romantic  with a  soft colour palette and a dreamy transparency image.  Unfortunately this Crafty Individuals image is no longer available as they no longer stock their transparency image sheets but the same image is available in the glossy paper format.
Crafty Individuals Supplies
Transparency Image (no longer available)
Shabby Tag
CI-307
CI-341
CI-342
CI-350
My initial idea was merely to decorate one of the Shabby Tags (how I love those tags and you will see them crop up again very soon) but once the tag was completed I decided it would become an element on a large card, a 8″x8″ card.The background was painted before stamping the hearts repeatedly.  The same stamps were used to create stamped embellishments along with a perfume label stamp and one of the lace stamps used to create a faux lace border.  The Shabby Tag on the left side of the card had paint applied, torn vintage text and stamping, building up layers. The end result is very muted with the text and stamping only peeking through here and there.
Can you see another piece of the stamped lace which I used to embellish the top of the tag.  The beautiful transparency was layered onto vintage text.Forever is one of those wonderful free sample stamps that Crafty Individuals are generous enough to include with on-line orders.  I keep any torn pieces from Shabby Tags I’ve used in previous projects, this is what I stamped Forever onto and attached to the edge of the main tag.Thank You for visiting this scheduled post. I am sure that tomorrow (Tuesday) I will manage to catch-up with some Blogs, I sure hope so as I am missing so much visiting your Blogs and viewing your artwork.
Wishes
Lynne

The Birds Sing Their Sweetest Song (Published in Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
Love has been the predominant theme on many of my Blog posts of late so to mix things up a little I am sharing some non-Valentine cards.
I find there is something so relaxing about making cards that include little bits and pieces.  To have even one card in print is a thrill for me so imagine my delight when four cards  I submitted to Stampington & co’s Take Ten were grouped  as a feature style article titled “Bits & Pieces”.
On all four cards I used the beautiful Oxford Impressions’ The Bird’s Nest stamp plate.  This plate is so well thought out as it includes everything from musical notes to little impressions of birds feet, a stunning cage, sentiments, etc.
All stamps are from this stamp plate including any text.  I stamped text onto found papers and then tore into pieces to use as embellishment style pieces on particular cards, such as below the eggs on the first card. A cute speckled feather, scrap of lace and cotton string adorn the card.As I wanted the cards to work as a set I repeated my colour choice of cobalt blue and sepia throughout. Embellishments were kept to a minimum so as not to detract from the beauty of the stamps and any bits ‘n’ pieces I used had a sense of nature to them such as the burlap and faded hydrangea blossom. This birdcage is glorious. The fourth card sees a beautiful sentiment as the focal. The Bird’s Nest is a stamp plate which continues to be available. At the time of drafting this post I sourced that it is available (and in stock) from That’s Crafty in the U.K.  I also want to add that included in a recent kind comment on this recent post it was stated that Soul of the Rose had been discontinued.  That is not the case. Soul of the Rose continues to be available directly from Oxford Impressions and is also sold at The Craft Barn (U.K.) but appears to be out of stock at the moment.
So here we are on the last day of January. Thank You for your visits and wonderful comments this past month especially as I have been bombarding you with lots of Valentine projects.  February will see me share my team sample for the forthcoming Crafty Individuals Challenge, yes, the wait is nearly over for a new challenge theme at the C.I. Challenge.  February will also see me return with a few more Valentine projects but not too many.
Thank You for taking the time to visit today.
Wishes
Lynne

When Cupid Strikes

Hello
Love is definitely in the air at Gecko Galz with their 30 days of Valentine’s underway.
Each day there will be a Valentine card from a DT member with supplies and instructions and if you happen to have missed any of the days then they are all on display for you to view. Today is my turn to share my Valentine with you.
As with all Gecko Galz DT projects I will share supplies and brief instructions
Supplies
Gecko Galz Digital Paper Pack Star Crossed
Gecko Galz Little Angels Image Sheet
Oxford Impressions BonBon (Valentine stamp)
Resin Corner Embellishment (Melissa Frances)
Canvas printer paper, vellum, iron-on transfer paper, vintage book text, cotton, lace and seam binding (my stash)
Instructions
Print Star Crossed paper onto canvas printer paper and vellum. Layer the canvas printer paper panel onto cardbase. Tear vellum into a strip and stamp Valentine. Layer to cardbase with lace.  Print Little Angel image sheet onto iron-on transfer paper and transfer to cotton. Embellish image with lace and corner embellishment then layer to cardbase with French book text.  Finally embellish card with seam binding (stained) tied into a shabby bow.
There are always special offers and fun taking place at Gecko Galz so well worth taking a visit.
One last thing before I leave for today – thank you for the wonderful messages of Congratulations you left for Butterfly (Alison) on her win of my Giveaway.
Everyone take care and if the snow is proving to be a hurdle for you then maybe you are managing to use it to your advantage and staying tucked up inside and having some creative time!
Wishes
Lynne