The Voice of the Sea

Hello Everyone
The first inking of some new stamps, a set which I have fallen in love with!
The full project can be viewed over at the That’s Crafty Blogwith supplies and instructions, all HERE.
Have a lovely Sunday.
Wishes
Lynne

Alphabet Soup

Hello
Just a quick post to share the news of the latest challenge theme over at the That’s Crafty challenge, which is Alphabet Soup.
For this challenge, they would like to see anything to do with the letters of the alphabet on your projects please. This Challenge will run until 7.55am on Friday 11th September 2015.
The winner of the Challenge will receive a £20 voucher to spend in our online store.

Have fun!
Lynne x

Another Day of Forever

Hello Everyone
It has been the longest time since I last posted for Darkroom Door and I have to say a huge Thank You to Rachel for mailing some fabulous stamps my way.
I did a complete U-turn on this project as when the wonderful Brushed Daisies set arrived I toyed with the idea of joyful colours but with the summer being a wash-out and the rain getting under my skin for a different DT commitment, I decided to keep the rainy day theme for one more project.The stamp element is the daisy head onlybut I wanted the flower to have a stem.  No trouble, I simple painted a stem with leaves.A piece of textured wallpaper, painted to co-ordinate with grey velvet ribbon, a scrap of seam binding and a pearlised button.Dinky Stencil Abstract Stone creates the base layer of texture.
Remember that you can sign up for the Darkroom Door newsletter and the Darkroom Door blog is always kept active, lots of inspirational art to be viewed HERE.
Thank You for taking the time to visit this post.
Wishes
Lynne

A Bird Singing Sweetly

Hello Everyone
To start this brand new week I have a scheduled post to share a card I made many weeks ago featuring beautiful Redlead Paperworks stamps, dipping into the Redlead Paperworks Song Bird Collection.
On first viewing it might look as though I stamped onto the crackled and stencilled background, which is exactly what I did do but I also decided to stamp the bird again, allowing me to layer the image, creating more dimension.  This stamp is such a lovely size.I am always happiest when gathering little bits of this ‘n’ that and creating texture.
One of the reasons I adore Redlead, other than the actual images of the stamps, is that they include all the stamps which help me build up a theme, such as relating sentiments and little extras such as the music score.
An adorable spotty feather tucked behind a wooden circle, painted and stamped to create an embellishment.More layers with a scrap of painted muslin, a delicate blue layered jute ribbon, more of the stamped music score and you know me well enough, lace will usually make a feature somewhere!Thank You to Chris and Sharon for allowing me to create with their wonderful stamps.
If your thoughts are turning towards Halloween then you might want to pop on over to Redlead where they have Halloween themed stamps, stencils, collage sheets and more ……. all waiting to tempt you!
Many thanks for taking the time to visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Nature Blooms & Grows

Hello Everyone
A sneaky peek at my post over at the That’s Crafty Blog where, in preparation for this post I had a play with some of the recently released That’s Crafty Alterables and Dinky Stencils alongside PaperArtsy stamps.The post can be viewed HERE.
Have a lovely day
Wishes
Lynne

The Keeper of Bees

Hello Everyone
Recently I shared with you a canvas panel I had made featuring the beautiful Oxford Impressions Be Happy stamps.  Since I worked on that panel I have managed to dip into this stamp set once again, this time to make a card.
If you rise early in the morning you might catch a glimpse of her but don’t expect for her to strike up a conversation with you, she simply wants to claim the morning as her own.Her daily stroll is familiar, always taking the route alongside the riverbank where she will pause to take in each flower’s unique scent and gather the blossoms.  She will often be found crafting a new floral crown.  This very morning she was seen with roses in her hair.Many in the village whisper to each other that she converses with the bees.  Should we tell them that their whispers carry truth?  They gently buzz around her, settling amongst the flowers in her hair or gathering nectar from the freshly picked blossoms overflowing in abundance in her arms.
She walks with an aimless approach, with the jingle and jangle of the bee charms which always adorn her neck but do not be fooled, she has a mission. Further down the riverbank is her destination, to the bees dwelling house.  This is where she will reap the rewards for being a friend to the bees as she settles down her basket to gather the honey they willingly gift to her.
Thank You for taking the time to visit this scheduled post.  I will hopefully catch-up with you very soon to see what beautiful art you have been creating.
Wishes
Lynne

Morning Meditations @ Take Ten

Hello Everyone
The card collection I am sharing came about all because of one simple card made as a DT post for That’s Crafty, HERE.
Now before I share the cards I have to say this, I don’t actually like them! Not that it is unusual for me not to be happy with what I make but this collection was about me deliberately making cards outwith my style, submitting the cards and sitting back to see if they would get the thumbs up at Stampington, which they did as all seven cards are featured,  Morning Meditations, in the summer issue of Take Ten.
I never viewed myself as a Take Ten cardmaker but that has been the great learning curve, submitting to this particular publication makes me think of ways to make a speedy card.
For the cards, I knew affirmations would be the focal. I have always been drawn to affirmations so for me the pairing of the Dina Wakley Handwritten Quotes and Sam Poole’s Art Sayings (both sets available from That’s Crafty) were the perfect match. It was great fun playing around with the two stamp sets, finding ways of creating my own affirmations from the stamps in front of me. I could have continued to make more and more cards!
Aside from the affirmations, I wanted texture but I essentially wanted the cards to be one layer (a wee bit cheating taking place as the Art Sayings were cut into word tiles). Darkroom Door came to the rescue. I dipped into various stamps, either Texture Stamps or Background Stamps.
So as I have openly declared that I don’t actually like them, it will make it all the more interesting to read any comments because they certainly are not vintage and they may be shabby and distressed but I cannot see any evidence of chic!
I believe that all of us who create, no matter our preferred media, we all have a wee spark of madness, good madness (!) and I always believe that we should dream big.  I don’t believe there is any harm in having the odd pipe dream or two as for me, it doesn’t matter if the dream comes true or not, it is just the fact I have those dreams, big and small.Each card was quickly painted with a different colour of paint, this one is DP Broken China. I wish I could live every day not taking one single moment for granted and I am sure there are many who do live this way but I am not quite there as yet even though I believe time is precious and becomes more precious with each passing year.
It was about October last year I made this collection and I was really struggling to create and submit, I only managed this collection because of the ease of making them.  Anyway, at that time, due to matters in my own life, staying strong was something I kept returning to and also as my thoughts were with friends who had their own struggles in their lives. Sometimes, when life throws hurdles in our path we can lose sight of the fact we do each have inner power and strength.This is for all my lovely art friends who are so kind and who all give with love.
Thank You to Take Ten for publishing this collection and to once again be published alongside so many incredible stamping artists. This was the final collection to share from the Summer issue of Take Ten but I still have some other Stampington & co publications to catch-up with on my blog posts.
Many thanks for your visit, they are always appreciated especially at this time of the year when so many of you are are busy with holiday plans, etc.
Wishes
Lynne

Soulful Day

Hello
Any fans of PaperArtsy will recognise this beautiful stamp which features on my DT project over at the That’s Crafty Blog today. I have also had a play with another of the fabulous Dinky Stencils from That’s CraftyThe full project with instructions and supplies can be viewed HERE.
Wishes
Lynne

The Influence Of Nature (Somerset Studio Gallery)

Hello Everyone
Last year, through my DT role for That’s Crafty, I received a fabulous foam stamp designed by Donna Downey for Prima. What I had overlooked was the dimensions of the stamp so on its arrival, let’s just say I was taken aback by the size of the stamp, in a good way!
This DT post HERE, is the post which became the springboard for me continuing with the theme to create another four art journal panels.  A bolder style than my usual but experimenting is always fun (mixed with trepidation!). As my approach is always, submit and let the good people at Stampington decide, I forged on and submitted the panels.  When the editor of Somerset Studio Gallery contacted me with the amazing news that all five panels were to be an Artist Spotlight in the Summer issue, imagine how happy I was!
Across the five panels I tended to work with the same supplies so if you want to review the supply list then please click the link at the top of this post to visit That’s Crafty.
Dimensions approx 4″x12″
Dancing amongst the flowers
I embrace the wind as the breeze ruffles my hair and the raindrops catch on my eyelashes.I will dance amongst the poppies this morning 
as the birds sing their sweet songs to me. Come sit with me beside the water where the poppies bloom for all to see and I will tell you of the secrets they share. They sway on the breeze …. they dance to the tune of their own making and it is their own destiny they are in charge of,so admire them for this act and remember, they have a lesson that is ours to learn. Thank You, as always for taking the time to stop by, I always appreciate your visits.
Wishes
Lynne

Friends For Life

Hello Everyone
I overlooked this card as I was sure I had shared on my Blog until I realised I’d shared it with Jean (Crafty Individuals).
Many of you will know that not so long ago Crafty Individuals released some stamps, one of which was this adorable, vintage teddy bears stamp (CI-440)When I saw this stamp it reminded me of my own love for Teddy Edward, my furry companion through my childhood and who I still have and it also made me think of a lovely friend, a blogging friend, who actually created teddy bears at one time. I was late with her birthday but knew that I had to use this stamp so in this post I am sharing the card I sent for her birthday.
Normally I have a vague notion of what I intend to do, then just letting things go with the flow, depends on what paint my eye catches or little bits of this and that. For this card I initially planned an 8″x8″ cardbase with painted and stamped cardstock as the background with a tag in the same paint colours but slightly different stamps.  So the end result was this  A4 sheet of watercolour paper  painted with four Frescos and stamped with Crafty Individual stamps in the form of doilies, teddy bears, cutting down to 8″x8″.and a tagExcept I wasn’t happy!  By chance the tag was laid on top of a plain sheet of A4 watercolour paper and even though I spent all that time on the background, I decided to go for a cleaner style of card than I set out to make but hopefully it stills has an essence of vintage to it.I didn’t want to stamp onto the tag as I wanted some extra texture but I didn’t want to stamp and fussy cut the image either so I reached for a favourite, tissue paper.I could not resist adding this CI stamp because my teddy bear was certainly my friend and the card was being sent to a friend. A little fragment of fabric peeks from the edge also.An embellishment was needed to fill that top corner space so I cut a piece of vintage crochet doily, more of that pretty fabric and a vintage button were all that was needed.
A trimming of lace and lace roses with a distressed band of the fabric to edge the bottom of the card. No splatters on the background, just simple and clean.Jean keeps the Crafty Individuals blog active so you will no doubt be able to view more teddy bear creations from the other team members along with samples featuring the other new stamps.
Did you have a favourite teddy bear and if so, is he (or she) still a part of your life?
Thank you for your time to visit this post.
Wishes
Lynne