A Spot Of Afternoon Tea

Hello
To start this week I thought I would share another postcard made for the Postcard Swap I am participating in. For the month of March we had the freedom to select our own theme so I made use of the beautiful Oxford Impressions’ Afternoon Tea. Strange that I own this set as I do not drink tea and rarely do I drink coffee however if hot chocolate is on the menu then I will happily drink that.
This pot was  bought for me many years ago. My Mum spied it outside an antique shop and knew that even though it may have lost its lid it wouldn’t stop me from loving it. Tea, coffee and import stamped to form little tag shapes overhanging the edge. This stamp reminds me of a jar/pot so I layered it over a memo pin to which I added the stamped sentiment. Aged Mahogany was inked on all edges. On 1st May I will return with a new challenge theme for The Stampsmith Challenge. If you want to enter the April challenge you still have a few hours left to play.
Thank you for visiting and I hope to see you soon.
Wishes
Lynne

A Place For Her Thoughts and Dreams

Hello Everyone
I know, two posts in one day!
June at Dezinaworld has an exquisite image sheet available, Veils of Lace. Although all the images are stunning, when I viewed this sheet I was keen to use a particular image on a notebook.
The notebook is a great size at 7″x5″. I covered with artist sheet canvas which I painted and stamped with a text stamp from Oxford Impressions before layering lace.  I dyed gimp a grey/green colour, mixing your own dyes is fun and costs so little money. I liked the idea of a bookmark so used a length of satin ribbon, you can see its tail in the photograph below. An ornate frame was used to create a focal for the Dezinaworld image adding a pearl bead and tiny key.
If you are interested in having the Veils of Lace image sheet for use in your own artwork then click the link at the top of the post to take you to June’s Dezinaworld blog.
If you have already visited today then thank you for taking the trouble to visit once more.
Wishes
Lynne

What’s In A Name

Hello Everyone
I would like to share a prize I recently won from Rhonda Cable. Rhonda hosted a most unusual Giveaway as the winner would receive not only an altered bottle but a personalised altered bottle. The bottle was to contain information on the meaning of the winner’s name.
A vintage woman graces the front of the bottle with Rhonda embellishing it with a bottle stopper that shimmers and chain which is decorated with gems, buttons, etc.
All I knew of my name’s origin is that it is Welsh and most commonly a man’s name, spelling Lyn or Lynn.  From Rhonda I learnt it is derived from the Welsh “Llyn” which means lake in Welsh. Now this is interesting as I do not like water, not quite a phobia, more a discomfort of looking at a vast spread of the ocean and what lurks beneath and I have a slight fear of being in a swimming pool but my Mum loves water, really loves it and takes comfort from looking at images of water, it was my Mum who picked my name, my Dad going with the flow, yet she did not know until now its meaning. It was fascinating to discover the different aspects to my name and what struck me is that many were the same as for being a Gemini, which I am with my birthday in May, of course, Rhonda couldn’t possibly have known that.
This is such a personal prize, very much a talking point for anyone I have shown it to and something that will most definitely be treasured for a lifetime.
Rhonda, thank you so much for this gift which I will hold dear.
If you have not visited Rhonda’s Blog then why not visit. The link is at the top of this post. There you will discover her amazing altered art and much more.
If you are interested in having such an altered name bottle either for yourself or perhaps as a gift, this would be such a special gift if a loved one was celebrating a very special birthday, then you might be interested to know that Rhonda can be contacted for such a commission.
I hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Thank you for visiting.
Wishes
Lynne

Fly Towards Bliss

Hello Everyone
If you are a Follower of this Blog then you possibly saw the post, last week, where I showed the new releases from Crafty Individuals. One of the new stamps is CI-347On first view the word elegance came to mind, butterflies always have a sense of the elegance about them and with this stamp having the elaborate scroll design it would work well for an opulent style project with rich, jewel colours however I wanted to go in a different direction.
Crafty Individuals Supplies
CI-347
CI-329 Fly
The style I wanted was rustic but with a pretty, feminine feel to it with the fabric and mini wooden pegs bringing a slightly country cottage feel to this wall hanging.
It isn’t the first time I have said this, it shows the high standard of Crafty Individuals stamps when they can be stamped onto a surface that has texture yet all the detail remains.  I stamped onto fabric (re-cycled curtain fabric) overlaying  Mica to add another dimension.I literally use any scraps that are to hand, even the smallest piece of paper,  such as the piece Fly is stamped onto.The fabric I won as part of Maria’s Giveaway was perfect for the top of the hanging, adding a dash of colour and cottage style chic. A pressed flowers adorns a band of laceIf you are looking for a challenge then the Time For Summer Crafty Individuals Challenge is still open. It is worthwhile entering as the Top 5 winners can select a CI stamp of their choice. All details available at Jean’s Crafty Individuals’ Blog.
(I am editing this as I just spied the Frilly and Funkie: RePurpose Challenge:-
I re-purposed a cardboard box for the base and curtain fabric which I stamped onto and the gauze was re-purposed which I tea-stained.)
Thank you for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

They Say She Had The Midas Touch (FSC#20)

Hello
We have a new challenge theme at Fashionable Stamping Challenge, dry/heat embossing. You can incorporate both dry and heat embossing on your entry or as I have done select only one method, your choice. All we ask is that you have lots of fun and please include stamping on your entry and no digi’s. As always there is a wonderful prize so it is well worth entering the challenge. Click the link above to take you to the FSC Blog to read all the details and to view my wonderful DT sisters’ incredible samples.
For my DT sample I reached for The Stampsmith’s Ophelia. With this being such a classical stamp I wanted to bring that sense of the classical and also richness to this wall hanging. Heat embossing is something I rarely do so it was fun to return to this technique but I did wonder for a moment if I had any embossing powders, luckily I had a scattering of metallic colours and Distress e.p. in Antique Linen.
Ophelia was embossed in gold and then around the edges it was a mixture of everything.Seeing how I selected heat embossing I wanted to not only emboss on paper so I used a base of rusted fabric which I had already in my supplies, prepared some time ago (a great time saver). I embossed one of the stamps from Cartolina Postale  several times on the base in copper and at the top and bottom the script was embossed with gold. The other edges I used gold e.p. to add richness.
Returning to the main image, I selected only the postal mark from one of the Cartolina Postale stamps, stamping onto mica and embossing. Now it is your turn to share your dry/heat embossing artwork with us at Fashionable Stamping Challenge. We all look forward to seeing the art that you create.
Happy Stamping and thank you so much for visiting.
Lynne

Read All About It!

Hello Everyone
It must surely be a week since I last posted an Oxford Impressions’ London Telegraph piece of art so I thought I would share an altered spoon I made quite a few weeks ago.
Sometimes you are just looking for something different to alter and it had been a wee while since I last altered a spoon also the shape of one of the stamps fitted snuggly into the bowl of the spoon.
I did not measure the spoon but it is of a reasonable size, probably the size if not bigger of a table spoon, which was required to fit in all the detail I wanted.It probably goes without saying that I used scraps!The London Telegram text stamp was used to cover the spoon and the text was ideal for running down the length of the handle. The same stamp was stamped onto shrink plastic to form an embellishment which was tied onto the handle along with a charm of Big Ben (I bought this from The Fruit Pixie who sells some wonderful charms, especially Steampunk charms)There are still a few more London Telegraph projects to share so I hope you are not becoming bored of this set!
Although I may not be managing to visit you quite as often at the moment it doesn’t mean that I do not appreciate the visits made to Adorn and the lovely comments left for me to read, so thank you.
Wishes
Lynne

Time To Get Inky (New Crafty Individuals Stamps)

This post has been up-dated to announce that the stamps are now available over at the Crafty Individuals store where you will also find information on how to receive CI-339 free with orders over £28.
Hello
It is time to announce the latest stamps released by Crafty Individuals. As at the time of writing they are not available on the CI website but Malcolm has said that they will be there any time now and that it was okay with me to share the 6 new stamps with you.
They are CI-344, CI-345, CI-346, CI-347, CI-348 and CI-339
CI-344 has a seaside feel, with a seagull perched on top of suitcases
CI-345 has a more elegant appearance to it with bird and vase of flowersCI-346 has wonderful detail of an elegant lady in a fabulous dress with collage elements of Order of Dance and decorative background.
CI-347 sees a trio of butterflies with scroll designsFinally we have
CI-348 is an Elements set consisting of a menu, wine bottles and decorative element
CI-339 Hickory Dickory Dock. Mice are running up the side of the sheet music and there is a Grandfather clock also in this collage stamp.
As I said at the top of the post, those stamps should be available to purchase from the CI site very soon.
Did you know there is some Crafty Individuals Blog Candy available. Visit Jean’s Blog and read the details to have the chance of winning a gorgeous collection of CI goodies.
Thanks for visiting and I wonder if this preview has tempted you to buy some new rubber!
Wishes
Lynne

The Love They Cherish

Hello
If you are a fan of Crafty Individuals then keep your eyes peeled for an announcement of forthcoming new stamp releases. To ensure you don’t miss out on this news you could sign up for the Crafty Individuals Newsletter.
Elements set CI-341 was released earlier in the year, a set containing beautiful vintage perfume labels. I used two stamps from this set on the card I am sharing with you, a card I made for my parents’ 54th wedding anniversary which they celebrated in March.Crafty Individuals Supply List
CI-341
CI-256 (Cherish)
Die-Cut Frame
People & Places Book
I’ve always liked this particular image from the People & Places Book and it seemed to suit an anniversary card, especially the era my parents were married.
The CI die-cut frames so useful to pair up with their images.  Cherish is from CI-256I then stamped one of the perfume labels to create a little stamped accent on the card, topping with a shabby bow. CI-342, another Elements set containing hearts (and more) was used to stamp onto the pattern paper. Stamping it with Milled Lavender resulted in the stamping not showing on the photograph but it does add another subtle layer to the lovely paper. This was the first time I used CI-341 but I know I will use it time and time again as it is just so versatile.
Thank you for visiting this drafted post. I know I have been absent from visiting you to view your art but hope to do so soon.
Wishes
Lynne

Summer Flowers On A Summer’s Day

Hello
The Crafty Individuals Challenge Time For Summer is now underway. My main project for the challenge was the altered quadruple mailer that I uploaded last week, for this post I am sharing a fabric collage featuring one of their newer stamps, CI-337
Crafty Individuals Supplies Used
CI-337 and Shabby Tag
This stamp has quite a summery feel to it.
I wanted this wall hanging to have texture and dimension so I stamped CI-337 onto Stampbord before carefully layering onto the same image which had been stamped onto the Shabby Tag.  You might be able to see on the main photograph that I added interest by stamping the Postcard element onto scrap and also the teeny piece of stamped pink twill again layering to the main stamped image.The top half of the tag sees CI-337 repeatedly stamped with Distress Inks in two colours.This is a drafted post but I hope to be able to catch-up with your artwork soon.
As always, thank you for taking the time to visit and comment.
Wishes
Lynne

This Fashionable Lady

Hello
This is a drafted post which I have edited as I wanted to say that the amazing comments for my Titanic suitcase mean so much to me. When something is so iconic you hope you do not cause offence and that the right note is struck.
With the Easter projects behind me I am now picking up where I left off with Oxford Impressions’ London Telegraph stamps.
The elegant lady is the focal on this fabric wall hanging with the vintage advertisement for Celebrated Hats stamped onto the base fabric panel.The fabric (the usual curtain lining that I like to dye), seam binding and vintage lace were dyed either in a bath of tea or sprayed with my homemade spray inks that I like to mix. Various pieces of lace edge the wall hanging.Why this set is particularly appealing, it can be used for full-on Steampunk artwork or it can be used for a more gentle, merely dipping your toes into the Steampunk waters. If you are a U.K. stamper who doesn’t like to purchase from overseas then this set can be purchased from The Craft Barn.
Thank you for visiting.
Wishes
Lynne