Beloved (TSC#42)

Hello Everyone
The first of a new month means a new challenge theme at The Stampsmith Challenge. For the month of May the theme is this…..
a Tic Tac Toe board.  We are asking that you select one straight line from the board and incorporate those elements into your entry.
To enter TSC you must include at least one Stampsmith stamp on your artwork. It is well worth entering as the prize available is $21 to spend on stamps of your choice at The Stampsmith on-line store. All rules and samples by the other DT members can be viewed at TSC Blog.
The line I selected was the diagonal one with:- metal, stitches and pink.
Metal – the metal hanger
Stitches – the panel is stitched around the edges
Pink – The cotton fabric (of course you know where I sourced it from!) was painted delicate tones of pink before stamping. There is also pink in some of the lace I used and lastly I used pink watersoluble crayons to tint the transferred image.
The fabric has a pretty shimmer as I used Twikling H20s to paint the cotton.  Lots of lace added to the bottom edge of the panel.The image was transferred onto cotton using TAP.  In the past I’ve used inexpensive t-shirt transfers but TAP most definitely transfers to a far superior level, especially when using photo real stamps.  As you can see in this photograph, the weave of the cotton is visible (this was macro setting) but the detail of the stamp is still remarkable.
Tea stained vintage lace was gathered with a marcasite brooch embellishing it.We hope you will join us this month with the Tic Tac Toe board, have fun with this.
Wishes
Lynne

This Face That Tells A Story (TSC#33 – Anything Goes)

Update:- I’ve only found out myself that there are to be two winners for the month of August so well worth checking out the details at TSC Blog. 

Hello Everyone
Is it only me or are you shocked that it is now August, I have no idea how we have managed to reach the eighth month of the year already! Anyway, a new month also means a new challenge over at The Stampsmith Challenge. For challenge #33 we are saying Anything Goes. As always please remember to include at least one Stampsmith stamp. 
My lovely friend Dorthe showed great patience as she waited for her birthday gift to arrive from me. As she has now received her birthday parcel I can share one of the gifts I made for her. If you visit my Blog regularly you will recognise this face as Portia, this time I made a piece of wearable art for Dorthe, or instead of wearing it can be pinned to a tote bag.
You would last see Portia on the canvas I shared on Sunday. Portia is available on the Cleopatra and Friends plate. I’m becoming very fond of this stamp.If you are interested in joining us then you will find all the details at TSC Blog (link at top of post). Over there you will also see the winner for July’s prize draw and the Top 3 selected entries for Christmas In July and as well as that you can see what the other DTs created for August.
Thank you for visiting today. I always appreciate your visits and it is lovely to sit and read the comments you leave for me.
Wishes
Lynne

Their Beauty Captivated

My first Dezinaworld DT projects for 2012 focuses on Faces 2, a really stunning image sheet, as you can see, brimming with images. The possibilities for these images are endless, whether cards, tags, altered art, jewellery, etc.A Scandalous Beauty stamp plate by Oxford Impressions’ contained the perfect stamps, repeatedly stamping onto the painted cardstock and also onto the die cut frame (Crafty Individuals) which had been inked with Antique Linen to create stamped backdrop for the femmes.  Dimension is achieved by using silicone glue as an alternative to regular glue when adhering the frame.
The image was layered onto French writing scrapbook paper.A piece of lace and two drop pearls added for a little bit of detail.The other card was made in a similar manner At the stage of re-sizing I always try to ensure I fill up the A4 space. It helps if I have an approximate idea of the projects I will be creating, in this instance cards and jewellery. For these projects I used the larger size of Faces 2 for the cards and for the brooch I copied and reduced in size Faces 2 again.
A brooch with this beautiful image layered over French Book text – la beaute.
As I can imagine those women as having been showgirls I had to use my Great Aunt’s feather fan and  programme from Folies Bergere. You might well recognise these items as it isn’t the first time I’ve used them as a backdrop.
I am sure she never would have believed, in 1938 when she watched this show that in 2012 her Great Niece would be using them in photographs for her Blog.
Wishes
Lynne

Dream A Little Dream With Me

Today I have come over all Dreamy as this week’s DT artwork for Dezinaworld uses the sheet of images aptly titled Dreamy. There are 12 images on this sheet, excellent value for money for only $1. June always has special offers and her on-going Dollar Sale plus Freebies so her site is always worth a visit.
I selected two images to create separate projects but in a way they work together as one is an altered box,  suitable for presenting a piece of jewellery or as a jewellery box for small pieces of jewellery and the second is a brooch.This woman brought to mind the glamour of Venice where there is always a sense of mystery and I definitely see mystery within her eyes. The box was altered with paint, stamping directly onto the box (stamps used are Oxford Impressions’ Venezia)then Decoupaint Patina in Old White and Antique Gold randomly sponged on and also sanded as I wanted it to look a bit time-worn. I re-sized Dreamy then printed onto canvas printer paper. Here you can see the texture of the paper. Lace adds a frame around the image before decorating the box. Around the lid of the box I stamped Venezia before attaching a white tassel.The second project is a brooch. June asked me to note how I made this brooch.
I adhered to greyboard. Victorian Velvet was sponged onto the edges. I coated the image with dimensional adhesive (Glossy Accents, Diamond Glaze, etc) leaving it overnight. The piece was then “cracked” and I gently tapped on some Tattered Rose. One further coat of the dimensional adhesive left to dry overnight again. You could easily add another layer but I didn’t want to lose the appearance of the cracks. I wanted the appearance of a piece of jewellery that has the imperfections of time.
This image is incredibly beautiful, conveying that sense of when we have  our little daydreams. Various sized pieces of lace create the brooch with a brooch pin sewn to the back and to decorate the brooch, a teeny key and pearl bead.These are the last of my Dezinaworld DT artwork for September. My first month has been such a joy and I cannot thank you enough for being so supportive with my latest role for June. Lynne x

The Delicate Nature of Being a Woman

For this week’s The Stampsmith DT art I decided to stamp onto Stampbord once again (see post “Amidst The Flowers of Summer”). This time I have used a 1″ square piece to create a Stampbord and lace brooch.
Many of The Stampsmith stamps are very generous in size. To make sure the stamp was suitable I stamped onto scrap paper before stamping onto the Stampbord. Ophelia worked beautifully. If you own the smallest sized Ophelia available then of course more of the image will fit the square.
Archival Sepia is the ink I used, heat setting it before sponging Tattered Rose ink with Sepia Glossy Accents coating the Stampbord. I chose not to use the scratch tools on this piece.Three  pieces of lace back the Stampbord with cream and pink beads stitched on.
With photo real stamps I know how easy it can be to get into a routine of stamping onto glossy cardstock. With a project such as this I wanted to show that there are lots of possibilities with these stamps and as with any stamping sometimes it can be a failure and other times a success, it is about experimenting and having fun along the way.
The latest The Stampsmith Challenge is underway, a sketch challenge. The sketch is available on my post dated 15th August or over at TSC blog (see sidebar).
Lynne x

She Always Made An Effort To Look Her Very Best

Yes, it is that time of the week again.
There was absolutely no hesitation as to what I would make for Pink Saturday this week. Earlier in the week I received fabulous Crafty Individuals products. One of their  latest products is a pendant kit which I was eager to try out.
I paired this up with an image from their Domino sheet of images, a sheet brimming with 20 images.
The pendant comes in three parts – pendant, chain and glass. I like the addition of ribbon on necklaces/pendants so substituted ribbon for the chain. I had the perfect colour of ribbon (part of the gift-wrap from my gift from Chris, she always giftwraps so beautifully). Clips could easily be attached to the end of the ribbon but for this I like the idea of tying it into a bow, possibly tied to the side.
This was my first time using the pendants and what struck me is that the recess is deep enough to add little pieces of lace and I even managed to layer up two teeny sized paper flowers to place in her hair. For this pendant I wanted to use the whole image but creating a  collage using papers, images and words would look beautiful.
I will of course be linking this up to Pink Saturday. Lynne x

Pretties in Pink for a Pink Saturday

When making cards using one of Crafty Individuals latest releases, CI-306 (post “Pretty Little Things”)  it struck me that the smaller stamps in this set would be perfect for jewellery.
The umbrella stamp in use with a background made from CI-307, another wonderful Elements set. The Sepia glaze gives a lovely aged appearance and of course, for me, there has to be the obligatory addition of lace.
The fan stamp appears on the second broochWith the addition of a metal fan painted to match.
This is the fan brooch pinned to a pretty top.

Before I close this post I have to say that I was overwhelmed by the comments filled with messages of congratulations for the “She Knew No Fear” fabric collage.
As it is Saturday, this means only one thing, it is Pink Saturday so linking this up to Beverley’s link party. Lynne x

Jewel

When I started to take rubber stamping seriously, Crafty Individuals stamps were amongst the first I purchased, falling in love with their vintage, collage style. I was delighted that Jean set up a Crafty Individuals Blog and that this was quickly followed by the announcement of a Crafty Individuals Challenge. The first challenge is well underway, the theme being “Simply Squares”, where at least one CI product has to be  incorporated into the artwork.
I knew what I wanted to make and which item I would be using and I have to own up and say not one CI stamp is used on this piece. On receiving some of their beautiful badges the idea came into my mind of using one to form a piece of jewellery.
Using felt and lace I built up layers. Pearl beads were stitched onto the lace and a piece of broken jewellery is the finishing touch (thanks Dot!)
I like the idea of attaching this to a handbag although not the bag that it is photographed beside, this bag is too special to have brooches pinned to it as it is a beaded bag from the 1920′s which belonged to my Great Aunt Jean.  As it has the same colours as the brooch it was a perfect backdrop to photograph it on.

She Will Steal Your Heart

As mentioned last Friday (“The Elopers”), every Friday in February I will post a piece of artwork using images from French Kissed Postcards. Last week’s altered canvas was the quirky side of romance whereas today’s artwork is old fashioned romance. I selected the hauntingly beautiful Edwardian Beauty Woman/Child. On seeing this image it conjured up a photograph of a loved one tucked inside a locket. That is where the “Aha” moment came to make a jewellery box and pendant.
If you click the link it will take you directly to this image at Trishia’s Zibbet store where you will see the full digital image and also details on it’s history.
If you would like full details on how I altered this box then pop along to  French Kissed Postcards Blog.

If  you are new to using digital images and unsure of re-sizing it might be an idea to initially print onto copier paper before printing onto your quality stock. For both images I printed onto glossy photo paper. I slightly distressed the image with an emery board.
Here is a matching pendant. I love when pendants/necklaces have ties made with ribbon or velvet. Here I used a generous length of lilac organza ribbon.
Edwardian Beauty is an image that everyone will fall in love with and would make a beautiful greetings card and there is the possibility of using this image on artwork for a Mothers Day project.  Beyond gift giving she would be captivating as part of a collage and I already have plans to use her on fabric artwork. Hopefully you have fallen in love with this image as much as I have.   Lynne x

Style Never Goes Out of Fashion

It may be said time and time again but it is absolutely true, trends may come and go but true style will always remain in fashion. Mention Haute Couture and the name that first comes to my mind is Coco Chanel. Her style remains timeless even in 2010. I decided to re-visit Coco for GSC Chestnut Theme Challenge “Haute Couture”.
By luck this image of Coco was in a magazine I was reading. With the image I made a charm, using the colours that most represent Chanel, black, cream and a hint of gold.
The glass rectangle is 3 cm x 2.5 cm (I have my BIL to thank for the glass pieces I have been using recently). Three pearls (2 are real) were attached to a head pin and once again (see “Unconditional Love”) I used ribbon instead of chain.  With the ribbon tied into a bow this piece measures approx 8.5″ from bow to tip of the third pearl.

The other week I was incredibly lucky to receive pearls and other pieces of jewellery (plus a whole array of goodies such as vintage buttons, ribbon, etc) from a friend of the family, Dot. Dot if you are reading this, again, many thanks, did I not say I would be able to make use of all the items you gifted to me. Lynne x