Those Streets Which Whisper Their Secrets

Hello Everyone
Lovely to have you visit.
For this post I am sharing a card with Prague as a theme. I have been the lucky owner of both Prague Vol 1 and Vol 2 from Darkroom Door (Prague Vol. 2) for a long time now, they really are beautiful stamps.
This card I am sharing was made with a person in mind, for her birthday as it is a place she has visited.
This card isn’t minimalist by any means, there is quite a lot taking place starting with the background (sorry, no photograph) which is cardstock that I stained with a mix of Distress Stain in Antique Linen and Caran d’ache watersoluble crayons then I stamped the large street scene repeatedly, roughly masking as I stamped. This scene is so fine in its detail.  Some travels scenes are very distinctive but I like the fact that this scene doesn’t need to represent Prague, it could almost be a scene from any old town/city.
To add a little touch of depth to the image you can see that I layered a mica tile, something I can be found to do often.Tea stained lace tucked beneath this stamped element.  I stamped all the elements onto stained cardstock.At the side of the card it appears once again, this time layered with a fragment of the most beautiful handmade paper which I received from the lovely Nicola.  This paper is so beautiful I could not bring myself to use too large a piece.Moving over to the other side of the card, is this beautiful beaded drop.  This was cut from a length of beaded trim and to my mind it is a representation of the beauty of Czech glass.A stained tag with random stamping to form some pattern on the tag before stamping this sentiment with a decorative stamped element topping the tag.

Finally the lamp-post. Thank you for visiting this post, my last post for the month of January.
January has come and gone too quickly. I had great intentions to share my Giveaway with you during this month but it will now  be in February. The beginning of the month will be quite busy on my Blog. I hope you will visit me during the month of February and that I am able to catch-up with your beautiful Blogs to see what you have all been busy creating.
Wishes
Lynne

Under The Sea (Published!)

Hello Everyone
Back in December I was thrilled to receive my copy of Take Ten (Winter)  as I knew I had some cards published (with one other feature being a surprise, I will share that another time).
The cards I submitted all featured stamps from Oxford Impressions, The Deep (this set can be purchased directly from Oxford Impressions at Austen Gallery or in the U.K. from That’s Crafty.  Take Ten collected the four cards into a feature called, Under The Sea.  I will only share two of the four cards but if you are interested then you can see what the other two cards look like if you click this link.
If you do not happen to purchase Take Ten then the idea is that cards should be made within ten minutes (or less), the clue is in the title! My four cards all worked to what they call, a variation on a theme, in this instance the theme being under the sea, I used Kraft cardstock for the base of each card and elements are repeated throughout the cards and also the surface I stamped onto, which they outlined in the text in their feature.
and the second card, with this little gathering of stained gauze in the corner.
I wanted the cards to be quite tactile, a mix of different textures with some of the cards also featuring wooden beads and shell buttons and and crochet lace.  Thank you so much for your visit to this post. I always appreciate the time you take to stop by and visit my Blog.
Wishes
Lynne

Gratitude Part II

Hello Everyone
This month is flying past and I certainly didn’t intend to leave this post so late in the month.  This is Part II to a post I shared earlier in the month, sharing cards I received at Christmastime.
It would be really lovely if you visit my friends’ blogs although I imagine you already know the talented artist friends and their blogs.
Picking up where I left off, I am sharing in alphabetical order.
This oh so pretty gift was from the lovely Ira.  The shimmer on the corrugated cardboard is gorgeous.From Lynn I received this beautiful ornament and not only that, vintage laces. Next I am sharing beautiful cards received from Marie, Hazel and Chris.  Aren’t they all so pretty!Martina gifted me this rich in texture (and colour) canvas.  The photograph doesn’t begin to do the colours justice.  Some of the texture comes from paper flowers, leaves, holly, a cupid and relief pattern using texture paste and the colours shimmer in real life.From sweet Nicola this most beautiful card. I wish you could hold this card in your hand to feel the softness of the leaves and ribbon. They say life is in the details well look at the details on this card.  The pretty flower buds in the centre of the snowflakes and the sparkle on the angel especially her wings and that gorgeous piece of lace peeking between the ribbon.It is as though taking a trip around the world, we have stopped off in the Netherlands with Ira, Lynn in America, Marie also in America (or Germany), Hazel and Chris who live in the U.K., then we have Martina in Germany, Nicola who hails from Dublin and now we are visiting Australia where sweet Suzy resides.Isn’t this such a serene card with her lovely use of Tissue Tape and machine stitching.
The final photograph to share displays the beautiful cards received from Terry, Lucy and Karen.Thank you to each and every one of you for your beautiful cards and gifts. You all certainly made me feel special this Christmas.
Wishes
Lynne

Her Beautiful Heart

Hello Everyone
Let me share with you a sneaky peek of my That’s Crafty DT project for this week.
This week sees me playing with Lesley Riley’s TAP which is a beautiful product to work with.  I used it in conjunction with a photo real stamp.  That is the beauty of TAP it can be used for stamping, drawing, painting, with use in your printer and the image transferred to a variety of surfaces.The full project with a list of the other supplies I used and instructions can be viewed at the That’s Crafty blog.
Thank you for your visit and for your visits this past week, especially the wonderful comments left for me to read on the The Bliss of Reading post.
Have a lovely Sunday.
Wishes
Lynne

Scent of a Woman

Hello Everyone
It is about time I shared with you a sample made for Crafty Individuals with one of their newer Elements set, CI-401 which depicts three Flapper along with various labels and sentiments.
Initially my plan was to use a Gelli print made some months ago but once I had all the elements gathered in front of me I realised I needed to up-size to a 8″x8″ card using the Gelli print as a mat in the middle of the card.
It was the colour of the Gelli print which determined the colour palette for the card as a whole.With the Gelli print being 6″x6″ in size it left me with a 2″ margin around the cardbase so I painted the card with Fresco Finish then layered pieces of Tissue Tape around the border. I still wasn’t satisfied as it looked too flat so out came the lace, making a ruffle for the top edge.
The Flappers had to be the centre of attention on this card so after painting and stamping a Crafty Individuals Shabby Tag I stamped the Flappers then stamped again onto painted cardstock, fussy cut and layered over the initial image.Another tag makes an appearance. This tag is from the multi pack also sold at Crafty Individuals. Once again the tag was painted and then second generation stamping before stamping that lovely perfume label. A metal frame with an Eiffel Tower charm and perfume atomizer charm adorn the tag.Scattered here and there are various words and labels, this one is tucked to the side of the large tag.This label is from CI-401.
Behind the label you can see a lace border.  This is from, in my opinion, a must have Elemets set which contains three different lace stamps.  For this card I stamped the lace onto mulberry paper which brings a nice tactile quality. So that is my card featuring CI-401 along with many other Crafty Individuals stamps. You can view all the stamps at their on-line store.
Thank you for your time spent here. With the weekend just around the corner my next scheduled post is for Sunday when I share my That’s Crafty DT post.
Have a lovely weekend.
Wishes
Lynne

Freedom on Their Wings

Hello Everyone
Spending time doing some blog housekeeping when I came across a drafted post from a long, long, time ago where I used the beautiful Butterfly Trio stamp from Redlead Paperworks.  If the cards look familiar it might be that you are a Follower of Redlead Paperworks over at Facebook as one, or possibly both,  were displayed there last year however the cards were made a long time before that.
I had to re-write the post as it was so old and made reference to items posted at the time of drafting.
The cards have not been in my possession for a long time which is a pity as I would have re-taken the photographs to try and capture the soft pink tones with hint of shimmer on the watercolour paper.  Caran d’ache watersoluble crayons and Twinkling H20s provide the soft colour palette on the watercolour paper.   I used a texture cardbase which worked lovely with the paint splatters and subtle colours.
One butterfly, the middle butterfly was stamped again, fussy cut and layered for dimension.
The second card has deeper tones but again sees the use of stained scrim and jute string.This is the single butterfly which was layered.The butterfly was stamped onto the panel and then stamped again on scrap watercolour paper, layering onto the panel without adhering the wings. Text and script stamps are from Stampington & co. I liked the French text combined with the butterflies.
Normal service will resume very shortly when I return to my DT work and share a DT sample with you but so long as I am in housekeeping mode, you never know when a blast from the past might be posted here!
Many thanks as always for your visits which mean so much.
Wishes
Lynne

The Bliss Of Reading (Published)

Hello Everyone
Back in December it was a surprise to see that delivered along with two magazines I was expecting, Take Ten and Sew Somerset (more on those another time) there was also a copy of Somerset Studio Gallery. To my huge delight I had two pieces published!
My submission was all about the bliss of reading and featured a beautiful stamp from the Oxford Impressions’ Soul of the Rose (this stamp plate is also available in the U.K. from That’s Crafty.) a stamp that speaks to me as I am a Bookworm.  In my family my Mum and I are the readers with my Dad and sister not sharing our passion.  I have always found comfort in being surrounded by books and it is my Mum I have to thank  for nurturing this love.  Although I was lucky enough to have books bought for me she would take me, when I was a little child, to the local Library.  It is very special that to this day my Mum and I will share books, in the whole we have the same tastes and how we love to have our chats about the books we have read and reading. I treasure that.
This piece that was published was an altered book cover which I hope conveys my love of reading and the bliss that I find in those times when I hold a book in my hands.
The addition of stamped pens on either side of the stamped image and also two vintage pen nibs were added to the collage.
The texture of various paints can be seen to the side of the pen, I also added dabs of Crackle paint to bring more texture to the piece. Bliss, that surely says it all. Being published is made all the sweeter when it is shared with friends.  In this issue of Somerset Studio Gallery I was thrilled to see my lovely friend Marjie was published and my other friends Lynn Stevens and Nancy Maxwell James, Each of those artists have their own unique style and on seeing their art in Somerset Studio Gallery, I easily picked out the art that belonged to those amazing artists.
As always, a thank you to you for taking the time to visit this latest post. Have a wonderful week and I hope to catch-up with you very soon.
Wishes
Lynne

The Bird Will Sing For You

Hello Everyone
Sunday rolls around once more which means it is time for my That’s Crafty DT project
This is my sneaky peek of my project, the full project which can be viewed at the That’s Crafty Blog along with the supply list and instructions.
Thank you for taking the time to visit this Sunday.
Wishes
Lynne

Spread Your Wings And Fly

Hello Everyone
If you are a regular of my Blog you will start to see me sharing samples for Darkroom Door. Darkroom Door stamps and paper products (and so much more)  and available directly from Darkroom Door but if you live in the U.K. I received the following stockists’ links
Artist Trading Post and Snazzy’s
With a friend’s birthday in mind I reached for Little Dreams, a stamp set I have owned for some time now. I sifted through a bundle of Gelli prints and found this one which used a mix of sage (Fresco Finish) and a mix of two golds, copper and bronze acrylics.  Try as I might I have been unable to capture the colours in the photograph, daylight has been so dismal but you can see the pattern I achieved with the use of lace.
This is a beautiful stamp and I had fun with her wings as I then re-inked that part of the stamp and stamped onto mulberry paper (thank you Nicola) to provide a touch of whimsy to the image. Maybe this photographs shows off the wings …. There is a pretty lace stamp in this set and something I like to do is mix stamped lace with real lace, tea dye lace in this instance.  The stamped lace was stamped onto another Gelli print.I actually used quite a few stamps from the Little Dreams set, including the script stamp, always like when script stamps are included in stamp sets are they are just so useful. You can see another piece of the stamped lace, this time onto the mulberry paper, creates such a lovely texture on the edge of the focal image. The stamped script panel was topped with some tea/coffee stained seam binding and one rose sipped from a length of rose ribbon. I wanted to convey to my friend that on her birthday and beyond, to wish for her dreams to come true so I included two different dream stamps, one nestled inside a metal frame (a frame used for jewellery) and another … Now before I say gooddbye I have a say Thank You to my friends who took the time to Like and comment on my post over on my Facebook page. The response for me was overwhelming as I didn’t expect any comments so thank you so much for your support and for sharing in my excitement.
Thank You for visiting this scheduled post. Those past few days I have once again fallen behind with visiting your Blogs but I will try and visit you very soon if I haven’t done so already. I do miss visiting your posts when I am unable to do so.
Wishes
Lynne

Petra’s Thoughtfulness

Hello Everyone
A small post to share a beautiful tag I received from sweet Petra.
Petra’s gift arrived as a complete surprise.  She was so thoughtful, sending me a magazine that she thought I might not have read.  In fact her thoughtfulness touched me all that day and beyond, it was such a lovely gesture.
Isn’t that such a lovely tag, which I am lucky enough to have on display and will treasure.
If you have not visited Petra’s Blog then you can visit her HERE.Alongside her adorable real art she also has me in awe of her digital art capabilities.
Petra, thank you so very much.
Wishes
Lynne