Find Yourself In Nature (The Stampers’ Sampler)

Hello
In the Apr/May/June 2017 issue of The Stampers’ Sampler, one of my features is the collection of cards I am sharing in this post, which came about after some play-time with Prima Christine Adolph rub-ons, after receiving some through my DT role with That’s Crafty .
My first introduction to the artist was via Stampington & Co, from the pages of their magazines and subsequently, when I got my hands on some of the art stamps (available from Stampington).  I paired each selected rub-on with a sentiment from various Darkroom Door Word Blocks.
Word Blocks are amongst my most favourite Darkroom Door stamps, especially Wellbeing and Wilderness.  If, like me, you love the addition of words on your projects, then the Word Blocks are musts.
Each card is approx 4″ x 2.5″.
When I was working on this collection, the gentleness of the rub-ons helped with my word selection.  Overall, I wanted a collection of cards which capture the serenity in nature.  Nature shares its many lessons with us and I wanted each card to be a moment to pause and to consider the message from Mother Nature.  Whether the freedom within the wings of a butterfly or the bliss of a new blossom or the stillness within nature.

Although they are small in stature, this does not in any way hinder the inclusion of layers of fragments.

Everything was stained with PaperArtsy Infusions, they provide that fluid,

delicately coloured background on watercolour paper and stain all the elements.

If you have used the Christine Adolph Rub-Ons, you will know that they vary in size within each pack.  Cards such as these are perfect for the smaller sized rub-ons.

To add interest to the backgrounds, I stamped Christine Adolph stamps, Trims  and Collage Cube

which helped bring a textural effect by stamping randomly.  I also stamped onto some of the fragments of Infusions stained found papers and textiles,

such as this tiny piece here, layered onto Infusions stained book page.


The foil,

catches the light beautifully!

Thank you so much for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Watch Me Fly (Somerset Studio – Affirmation Ornaments)

Hello Everyone
I am in the middle of drafting some catch-up posts, seem to have quite a bit to be sharing here!
Back in May, I was eagerly awaiting the arrival of Somerset Studio because I knew that inside would be my first ever Somerset Studio article. Now, if I were to begin to explain what this means to me, this would become a lengthy post, I’ll just say that to be published in Somerset Studio, has in itself been a dream come true but an article, that for me is one of those times when it is a dream too big for me to even dare to dream it – yes, it means that much to me! What made it all the more special, I knew my friend Vickie Kammerer also had an article within this issue. Now there is an artist who embraces colour.  Vickie does not shy away from colour, using it with such energy and creativity.
I’m sure you understand that I will not be sharing techniques for the artwork, only photos and some links for some of the products featured.

Supplies

Rubber Stamps Sentiments – Redlead Paperworks
MDF heart – That’s Crafty Alterables
(paperclay, Frescos, Fresco Crackle Glaze, White/Greyboad – also available from That’s Crafty)

The thought process behind the inspiration for the ornaments is written within the article so again, I’d be uncomfortable sharing it all here after Somerset Studio so generously sharing my article but I can tell you that each ornament was essentially created the same way, with little tweaks to bring variation and the meaning behind the ornaments if the positive force of affirmations.They are a lovely size for either indoors or outdoors although if they were for outdoor display they would probably need to be somewhere a little bit sheltered from the elements (especially Scottish rain!) and definitely a coat or two of suitable outdoor varnish.
The same wing stamps were used throughout, slightly changing their position.
Redlead have some of the very best sentiment stamps, especially words/sentiments.Sentiments stamped onto white/greyboard, to create the word tilesSo there we have it, a quick run through of the trio of affirmation ornaments. I cannot thank Somerset Studio enough for the opportunity to have an article within their pages and to always be lucky enough to play with fabulous supplies from Redlead and That’s Crafty.
Many thanks for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

The Sweetest Day Ever – Part I (The Stampers’ Sampler)

Hello Everyone
Sorry for being so quiet on my blog and also with visits to your blogs.
This scheduled post shares a trio of cards I made last year for The Stampers’ Sampler, in the hope of being published for their annual Celebrations Challenge Call. I wanted a submission that was cheerful, with a celebratory feel to it, something that I cannot say comes easily to me!
Along with this collection I submitted three canvas panels, I was so delighted when I opened The Stampers’ Sampler to see that they had combined all of my submissions into a feature The Sweetest Day Ever. Another time I will share the canvas panels.
There are four cards but I’m only sharing three because I cannot find photographs of the fourth card!
The cards look smaller than they actually are – they are 7″x5″

All Stamps and Stencils:- Redlead Paperworks
Cute As A Button (Dress)
Darlene’s Dress
Art Stencil
Other stamps from Redlead – balloon, party hat, small bunting, labels and sentiments.

I knew from the start that I wanted to work with Redlead products, create a watercolour style wash for each background and to include fabric.On each card, for nearly all the stamped elements, I stamped onto fabric.
It doesn’t really translate in the photograph but the party hat, dress, balloon, the Make A Wish sentiment label and bunting, were all stamped onto fabric.  The word Today, is stencilled onto cardstock painted to co-ordinate.
The smallest detail added to the dress, a rhinestone.I don’t know why this blog layout will not allow me to create larger sized landscape photos, this makes the cards look as though they were mini cards and not 7″x5″!This is the same dress, Darlene’s Dress is the name of this stamp, stamped onto different fabrics.  A teeny tiny fabric flower and tiny rhinestones embellish the dresses.Fabric cut to form bunting.
Again, all the elements stamped onto fabric, including the PaperArtsy bunting.  A pink pompom was added for some frivolous fun!There is a lovely sense of freedom to sometimes (and I do add, sometimes!) having fun with brighter colours.  I doubt if I would have made such a collection before, always going for vintage/shabby.  If colour is a huge part of your creative life then it is difficult for me to explain what a big step this is for me.Thank you for all the lovely comments even moreso when it is during a time I am absent from visiting your own blogs.
Wishes
Lynne

Tangled Butterfly Dreams

Hello Everyone
For my DT sample at That’s Crafty, I’ve once again found myself dipping into PaperArtsy’s Infusions.  The photograph does not do justice to the richness of the Infusions I worked with, the colours reminding me of berries:- blueberries and dark cherries.
If you are interested in seeing more photographs and details, then please click HERE.
Thank you for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Eclectic

Hello Everyone
Not so long ago, Darkroom Door released new Eclectic stamps and I was lucky enough to receive two of the new designs, Pencils and Fleur de Lis to create samples with.
Over at the Darkroom Door, there is a post focusing on the Fleur de Lis stamp.  My sample, a wooden box, can be viewed HERE along with other ideas from other team members.  With the steps and supplies used being shared on the Darkroom Door, I am sure you appreciate that I will not be sharing the steps here but I will share two photos of the box.What struck me is the generous size of this stamp. I have a few Fleur de Lis stamps but none compare to the Darkroom Door stamp.A short post to start the week but I hope to be sharing a few more posts which I’ve managed to draft.
Wishes
Lynne

Le Jardin

Hello Everyone
For That’s Crafty, this week I inked up one of my all time favourite photo real stamps from Oxford Impressions, a stamp I am always drawn to at this time of the year. Alongside an old favourite, some new favourites:- PaperArtsy Infusions, Prima IOD Mould.If you are interested, all details can be found on the post, HERE.
Wishes
Lynne

A Bloom of One’s Own (The Stampers’ Sampler)

Hello Everyone
I have some catching-up to do with items I’d planned on sharing long before now, such as the panels in this post which feature in the Jan/Feb/Mar issue of The Stampers’ Sampler.
At the time of creating the panels, JOFY stamps were still quite new to me. It was all because of this post, HERE at That’s Crafty that I continued to make some more.
Here are the other three panels.Touches of H20s catch the light beautifully and here and there, touches of mica flakes.  If I remember, I think I also used Golden medium which has beautiful gold mica flakes within it.Coils of rusty wire appear here and there on each panel.This is one of my all time favourite labels from Redlead Paperworks, layered onto some rusty mesh which is also from Redlead.
Grow A GardenAgain, on this panel, the JOFY stamps were highlighted with the H20s, working with limited colours (even though I have quite a stash of H20s!)I took no care with how I applied the H20s, working loosely.Morning DewThe backgrounds have little or no texture other than paint.  I might have added a touch of Grungepaste but on the whole, the texture on the background is purely Frescos.Another label from yet another favourite Redlead labels set. I dip into their Label sets so often, they are such a lovely sized stamp to add a little sentiment to artwork.  I am thankful that Stampington & Co liked the panels enough to publish them. There are so many incredible stamp artists, vying for space within the pages of The Stampers’ Sampler, so it is always an honour to be published.
Many thanks for your visit to this post.
Wishes
Lynne

Fly Into The World (The Stampers’ Sampler)

Hello Everyone
A very quick post to share a trio of cards which although submitted to Take Ten (criteria – create cards within ten minutes or less), make an appearance in the Jan/Feb/March issue of The Stampers’ Sampler, in the Different Point of View category.
I adore this little pixie girl but I am holding my hands aloft to declare, these cards were embarrassingly simple to make!!!
(All sentiments and the wonderful Pixie Girl are from Redlead Paperworks.)For each card I simply stamped the Pixie Girl onto the cardbase, stamping her again onto coloured cardstock and mulberry paper  – her wings are mulberry paper, with only the base of the wing adhered to her body, allowing them to flap in a passing breeze.  On each card  (I seem to have a bundle of scallop cardbases, not sure why as they are not something I tend to use) I “stamped” the painted circles, dipping a round foam brush into paint and “stamping” the circles. I likethe way it brings a hint of texture to the background.Anyway,they may be simple but I am still grateful to The Stampers’ Sampler for publishing them and to Chris and Sharon who are Redlead, for gifting me their fabulous products.
Thank you for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Dare To

Hello Everyone
Another That’s Crafty DT post where I have been playing with some of their Alterable Surfaces. As always, supplies and instructions can be viewed HERE.
Thank You for your visit and for all visits this past week.
Wishes
Lynne

Urban Butterflies Part II

Hello Everyone
The other two cards in the Urban Butterflies collection featured in The Stampers’ Sampler.
(The butterflies are from Darkroom Door Butterflies stamp set).
Layered a tag onto the cardbase and lots of crackle to give the appearance of peeling paint.The butterfly rests on the tag surrounded by industrial style stamps and a scrap of rusted mesh adds another layer of texture.
You can only see a small snippet in the lower lefthand corner, of where I stamped into Grungepaste.The final card which has already been shared on my Facebook page, after sharing from Stampington & Company’s page – what a surprise to see them select this card to post on their page.
For the appearance I was aiming for, Frescos made the work easier for me as the colours were perfect and not only that, Grungepaste and Crackle Glaze allowed textures to be achieved with such ease.The compositions might seem random but I remember playing around with the various elements, taking my time as I wanted a slight variation of the compositions for each card.  I can happily while away the time playing around with elements before adhering them.Rusty wire forms an antenna and coiled to create an industrial style detail.Many thanks for taking the time to visit, especially if you have already visited the previous blog post. I appreciate all your visits.
Wishes
Lynne