Friendship Notes @ Somerset Life

Hello
Turning the clock back…. to when Stampington & Co’s Somerset Life had a challenge call, relating to The Art of the Letter.  In the Oct/Nov/Dec 2017 issue of Somerset Life, my submission was published.
The idea, to limit myself to only work with a few supplies, with old book pages being the basis of each note/letter.
Glassine envelopes were the perfect pockets, allowing the letter tucked inside to peek through.Darkroom Door photo images provided the sense of friendship, setting the tone for each note/letter.Delicate details on the front of the pockets: scraps of ribbon and fabric, lace flowers and sweet paper flowers (a gift from lovely Dorthe).PaperArtsy paints created a wash of colour on the book pages also slightly obscuring the text.The idea is that on the other side, there is room for a hand-written note.

It was lovely to have this idea published.
Wishes
Lynne

French Laundry… Lavender Sachets @ Somerset Life

Hello
Friends of my blog will know that for a long time, I have been a fan of Character Constructions stamps (I think my first ever blog post featured a project with Character Constructions stamps).  I never tire of them.  As with any stamp that is designed to the highest level, there will always be new ways of working with them.
This idea is a simple way of making paper lavender sachets, appearing in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2017 issue of Stampington & Co’s Somerset Life magazine.  Sadly, Stampington & Co had to make the difficult decision to retire several of their titles, including Somerset Life.  I will be ever thankful for the opportunity to be published in such an exquisite magazine.
I adore this stamp from Catherine Moore.The wooden peg and buttons are adorable.The stamp above and below, are from the Blue Daisy collection.Each lavender sachet was tucked inside a Kraft pocket,the bundle of them presented in this bag…again, decorated with Character Constructions French Laundry stamps.
Thank you for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Creative Girl Tote Bags (Somerset Life)

Hello
Turning the clock back to the Jul/Aug/Sept 2017 issue of Somerset Life when I had a trio of Creative Girl tote bags published.
The bags were made in answer to a challenge call for canvas bags, something which I’ve enjoyed altering since I began to rubber stamp.  They are literally a blank canvas for any style.
Red Lead stencils which are listed in the Supplies within the article  and stamps from PaperArtsy JOFY and also from Red Lead and Paperbag Studios.
Each page was decorated on both sides.  The instructions are within the article but it’s no mystery to see that the bags were pained (PaperArtsy Frescos)
Side one

Side two
Normally I like to add bits of this ‘n’ that but that wasn’t the style I had in mind for the totes, I wanted the stamps and stencilled sentiments to be the focus.Side two
This bag simply had a black re-cycled silk sari ribbon bow.Flipped over to the rear side and “artful spirit” is the stencilled sentiment.It was fun to work on the bags especially as my colour choice isn’t or I should say, wasn’t as they were made some many months ago. Being published is obviously the cherry on the icing, on the cake!
Wishes
Lynne

Words of Positivity Ornaments (Somerset Life)

Hello
At the beginning of the year, in the Jan/Feb/March issue of Somerset Life, I had an article published, featuring some ornaments made with a message of positivity on each one. Two bundles of three ornaments per bundle with stamped sentiments all from Red Lead.  The actual ornaments are Relics & Artifacts Chandelier Pendants, That’s Crafty stock some of the designs.

I wanted a soft, pastel colour palette and for them to work as a group.  Of course, I used PaperArtsy Fresco Finish chalk acrylics although the layer of ICE Resin does make the chalk effect redundant.

Simple touches to embellish,

such as rhinestones, freshwater potato pearls.

In the article I write about where such ornaments could be displayed

The second collection, again featuring Red Lead stamps…

I am such a fan of their Little Labels stamps, they always seem such a perfect choice no matter the project.

Dry brushing of the wire hanging enhances the shabby chic mood of the ornaments.

Thank You to Stampington & Co for publishing the ornaments and for Red Lead who provided the beautiful and inspirational stamps, as I continue to be an on-going Guest Designer role with them.
Thank You for your visit to this post.
Wishes
Lynne

Art Girl Journals (Somerset Life)

Hello
In the Apr/May/June issue of Somerset Life, one of the articles I had  published, this bundle of journals.  I didn’t take the time to look at my photos when the journals were still in my possession, it was only when organising this blog post recently, when looking at the photos, the colours are not true and I have fiddled around but cannot capture the warmth of the kraft colour of the journals. Decided to share them anyway.
Products from two of my favourite companies, RedLead and PaperArtsy, appear.  PaperArtsy Eclectica Everything Art ( at That’s Crafty).  Red Lead collage sheets and various stamps and some from their Labels collections.

I kept a simple palette of the kraft journals, white Gesso and accent of black.

Inside the cover of each, I stencilled or stamped, art related sentiments, all available from Red Lead (if you have this copy of Somerset Life then you will see some of the inside pages they shared within the article)

Two smaller journals.

Red Lead have the most stunning collection of images to select from.

I wanted a simple packaging idea for the notebooks and it doesn’t get as simple as glassine paper and bakers twine, the journals all bundled together with

each journal also tucked inside its own glassine pocket, again simply adorned with the wonderful Red Lead Art Girl label (I so love this label).

Have a lovely week!
Wishes
Lynne

Art Isn’t Black & White: Red Lead Art House Kit (@ Somerset Life)

Hello
In the Apr/May/June issue of Somerset Life, one of the articles I have, is centred around a Red Lead art house, as an Art Kit idea.  Red Lead sell a few different styles, the same shape with slight variations in the items included, etc.  The Art Houses could form pencil/pen/paintbrush storage,   a home for a pretty plant or something completely different, like an art kit. There are no rules!
I’ve no idea why I don’t have more photos of the actual house.  The sides were stencilled, with Red Lead stencils.  For the front, the kit already has the “windows”.  I layered the same Red Lead collage image behind each window.  The thought behind the repetition of the image is the many sides of artists.

I focused on black and white embellishments to include in the art kit,

ribbons, buttons, clips, fabric and twine and the washi ribbon attached to the wooden spool.

The Frescos used to paint the Art House also appear on the cover of the mini watercolour paper pad.  Darkroom Door Word Blocks are great favourites of mine, this is the Creativity Word Block which is about the best one you could ever have in your stash.

Stamped labels which are Red Lead stamps, were attached to wee bundles of papers such as tissue, Red Lead collage images, etc.

When I packed the Art House Kit, it was fun, finding ways to including/attach as many items as possible. Suspending and attaching items upon items.

A wooden peg, painted and one of the words on the Word Block, clipped to a bundle of stamped Art Journaling style stamps, also from Red Lead.

This was the first time I had submitted an Art Kit to Somerset Life, it was great fun and to have it published, the cherry on the cake especially as, since first reading Somerset Life, Art Kits were always something I liked to spend time pouring over the photographs.
Thank you so much for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

My Little Pretties (@ Somerset Life)

Hello
I have no idea where time is disappearing to!
Here I am sharing items which appear in an Oct/Nov/Dec issue of Somerset Life !!!
Somerset Life has been a favourite Stampington & Co title for the longest time,  a reader long, long before I first submitted, fulfilling an area in my creative life, as a reader and now someone who has submitted/published a few times, that is beautifully unique, it truly captures creative living.
I cannot even remember when I submitted this collection of pretties, possibly one year ago, in answer to a Tag challenge call.
As happens more often than not with me, they came about by chance.  I found myself with excess Gesso, grabbed some tags and swiped the Gesso onto them.  When I bundled them up, I happened to gather them along with some pink/red lace.  Suddenly, from that action, I had the idea of creating pretty tag ladies.  Those are moments that  make me happy LOL.
In that moment I had no doubt I would be inking up Character Constructions stamps.

She is one of my absolute, all time favourite Character Constructions stamps, I never tire of her.  It was wonderful to see her available on the That’s Crafty site.  You can find her HERE.

All stamping is done directly onto the tag, zero fussy cutting on this project! This was all about the fun of adding the wee touches, such as the fabric formed into a simple bow for her hair.

They were presented as a bundle, tied with torn fabric that I had used on the tags, that is one of the reasons I kept to a limited colour palette, making them more attractive when viewed as a collective bundle.

A stamped butterfly alights on her arm, wishing her a pretty day.

This pretty holds out a welcoming flower.


It was fun to adorn her hair with roses cut from lace rose trim.

The wee birdie sings sweetly to her.

A sentiment adorns the rear of each tag with a fragment of fabric.

Catherine Moore’s Character Constructions stamps allow me to dip into pretty with a touch of whimsy and can be light relief from when I have been immersed in my dreich and drippy (!) projects LOL.
Thank you so much for your visit to this post.  I continue to read through all the comments you generously leave for me to read.
Wishes
Lynne

Love Tokens (Somerset Life)

Hello
To start this new week, I thought I would share some Love Tokens, a collection which appears as an article in Somerset Life., obviously I am absolutely thrilled!
Supplies
All paper doll elements are Character Constructions stamps
Love/Valentine themed sentiments are Redlead Paperworks
Heart is from Oxford Impression, With Love (also available from That’s Crafty)

The How-to for making this collection appears within the article so you will appreciate why I do not want to share those details here.

Friends of my blog will recognise this mischievous face as I have inked her up countless times since the release of the Paris Flea collection in 2016.  I cannot imagine I will ever tire of her.

A love sentiment on the rear of each tag.

A new favourite rests beside an old favourite, one of my oldest Character Constructions stamps, she is from the French Laundry collection.

Each tag has a kraft pocket.

Variations of the first two tags, making four in total.

Red and white are not colours I find appealing but I wanted this collection to have a Retro Valentine feel as opposed to shabby chic Valentine.

Gathered and bundled,

with another Redlead stamp featuring on the tag.

Thank you so much for your visit.
Have a lovely week.
Wishes
Lynne

Snowflake Wishes (Somerset Life)

Hello
After my Spools of Positivity pendants were published in Somerset Life, I seemed to still have the urge to work with wooden craft spools expect this time the idea was  for festive/winter ornaments.  It’s funny that end results can be completely different yet one project can be a springboard for another.  To have this collection also published in Somerset Life, well it sure does mean a great deal to me (understatement!)
Either gathered as a collection or displayed individually, they would catch the light from the winter sun, just as a snowflake does. The details are quite classic in style – pearl beads and crystals.To create variety I worked with different size and style of wooden craft spools.  This ornament is so dinky in size it could easily be a pendant.  Even with the chains to suspend them, they are light enough for a bundle of them to festoon a Christmas tree.Dresden Trim (Sandra Evertson) trims this ornament.A That’s Crafty snowflake, layeredto some pretty tulle which has a subtle shimmer to it.A simple presentation idea.Thank you so much for your visit to this blog post. I am still struggling to visit blogs but hope to stop by to say Hello to you soon.
Wishes
Lynne

The Gift of Giving (Somerset Life)

Hello
In the latest issue of Somerset Life, one of my articles features festive packaging.  Although Somerset Life is not a dedicated stamping magazine, it is a lifestyle magazine the tags in the article all feature Crafty Individuals Festive Curly Sentiments, generous sized sentiments which can be the focal on festive cards or tags.All the cardstock and papers were painted/stained, also utilising mop up/under paper.
I mixed a variety of metallics:- brass, gold, copper, platinum.
Tiny accents of pearl stickers, rhinestones and tiny pieces of lovely crushed velvet ribbon with the gorgeous copper fabric gifted from my dear friend Dorthe.So, even though this post relates to the festivities, I am still not convinced that Christmas is galloping towards us. Where has this year gone?!!!
Wishes
Lynne