Autumn Leaves (Stampington’s Take Ten)

Hello
I have so much catching-up to do but instead of putting pressure on myself to schedule regular blog posts, I’ve realised that the sensible route is to ease myself in and see where it takes me.
I cannot explain why but 2017 found me not to be in cardmaking mode.  There I was, routinely submitting card collections to The Stampers’ Sampler and Take Ten and suddenly, the brakes were on.  It wasn’t a conscious decision on my part, just “one of those things” and it would be silly to force myself to make cards when the desire isn’t great at the moment.
I share that only because it meant that when I had cards published, it somehow meant more to me (if that were at all possible because I take no publication for granted).  I had a surprise in finding a wee card collection in Take Ten..  
Each card features a beautiful leaf stamp either from Red Lead Paperworks Autumn Beauty Leaves or Darkroom Door Word Block Stamp Wilderness or Leaves Stamp Set

I had some pieces of handmade paper which I had been treasuring for a long time and it was really this paper which ultimately set me on the path to make this collection.

With the pretty embedded petals, which I didn’t want to obscure, it worked perfectly with the Take Ten criteria of speedy cards as I didn’t need to concern myself with a background, other than some splatters.

A stamped word and fragments of tree bark and suchlike were the only additions to each card.

Autumn seems such a long way off in my corner of the world where there is still a Winter to battle through!!!
Wishes
Lynne

Vive La France (Take Ten)

Hello
Sharing a wee collection which appears in  Take Ten magazine.
Last year, some reasons outwith my control but also, I didn’t seem to be in cardmaking mode, I didn’t really manage to submit the usual volume to Take Ten (or The Stampers’ Sampler).  When  I received Paris Flea stamp collection (Character Constructions) from  Catherine Moore, I knew immediately that aside from having some paper doll fun, I wanted to also focus on the lovely French/Paris related stamps, particularly stamp plate no 7.
That’s Crafty is now stocking select Character Constructions stamps, including some of the Paris Flea collection.  They are the only U.K. stockist.  If you have any queries, then I am sure Laura at That’s Crafty will try and help you with questions re availability, etc.
They are all mini cards (3″x 4″)
For each card, I worked with some (to me) precious vintage French receipt paper, it has taken me all my time to use this book of receipts because once finished I doubt I will ever replace it, such items are something I struggle to source.
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The printing on the vintage paper determined placement of stamps – the numbers stamped alongside the printed No. on this second sample.  To utilise scrap pieces of the vintage paper, I stamped little elements, such as the postal mark and sentiment, layering onto the cardbase.

Embellishments were deliberately kept to a minimum for a few reasons.  I wanted it to be more of a stationery set as opposed to individual greeting cards. The tiny pieces of cut ribbon are only there to bring another layer of French flavour, I didn’t want any such details to smother the stamps and I did not want the paper to be obliterated by “this and that”.

Just enough room to add a flag to the Eiffel Tower!

Two of the inserts – sentiments stamped onto scraps of the paper

and one of the envelopes.

Thank you to Catherine Moore for creating such wonderful stamps and to Stampington for publishing this wee card collection and THANK YOU to you for visiting this post.
Wishes
Lynne

Love, Adore, Passion (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
Squeezing this post in before I return on Sunday with my That’s Crafty post.
This card collection came about after making a card for DT post for That’s Crafty (after receiving the Dina Wakley Collaged Hearts stamp set to play with), HERE. As is often the way of it with me, I then continued to use all the stamps in the set and decided to submit to Stampington & Company’s Take Ten (they appear in the Winter 2016 issue).  So really I have Laura from That’s Crafty to thank  for this card collection being published!  If I wasn’t on her DT I wouldn’t have received those stamps and then gone on to make cards to submit!
The first card is the one that began the collection.Simple, simple cards with stark colour palette of white/winter white, black and red.The post at That’s Crafty or the feature in Take Ten explains how I achieved the borders.Minimal embellishing, a scrap of ticking and vintage buttons.  I really wanted the hearts to do all the talking!So there we have it, simplicity in supplies and composition. I always prefer more involved projects but creating with the intention of submitting to Take Ten is a good exercise in the discipline of paring back card design to meet the ten minute criteria.  When submitting to Take Ten I have a different mindset than when I create to submit to The Stampers’ Sampler, even though there are times when submissions to Take Ten ultimately make an appearance, due to the Editor’s selection process, in Sampler.
Thank you to Devon Warren and her team for publishing this collection and thank you for visiting and enduring all the recent heart themed artwork I’ve been sharing!
Wishes
Lynne

A Wee Message Of Love (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
Last year I was lucky enough to receive a fabulous stencil from Redlead, Art Start Pinked Heart. When I was thinking about submitting some heart themed cards to Stampington’s Take Ten, I decided I wanted the stencil to feature. The downside, the cards have to be quick makes and must feature stamping.  If it weren’t for the wee bits of this ‘n’ that, they would be one layer cards.
Obviously I was so happy when I knew they were all published in Take Ten (Winter 2016), gathered as a feature, Heart-to-Heart.
Supplies
Art Start Pinked Heart stencil.
Stamp set
With the cards being so small in stature I decided not to share any detail photographs as all the details show up on the main photos.
I was aiming for a quick way to apply the paint and also achieve a dreamy quality.  One of the wonderful aspects of Frescos (Sherbert, Blush and Nougat) they dry so quickly, perfect when challenged with cards that need to be made within ten minutes or less!
On the cover of this issue it is noted as a “Fast Faux Watercolour”, I suppose the effect does have the appearance of watercolour but I was still surprised to see them categorised as that. The paints were applied with a baby wipe.
All of the sentiments are from one fabulous Redlead set (see supplies).
At times, altering the orientation of the sentiment by inking up a word at a time to best suit the layout.
Each card topped off with sweet embellishments, really just anything I found to suit the theme.Thank you to Stampington for publishing this collection and thank you for your visit to this blog post.

One last thing, if you are looking for a bargain, at the time of drafting this blog post, Redlead had many items heavily discounted, some 50-60% reduction.  Click HERE.
Wishes
Lynne

Learning To Fly (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
In the Autumn issue of Stampington & co’s Take Ten I was so pleased (note that as really, really, really pleased!) to see they had featured a collection of cards featuring Darkroom Door feather stamps, which I’d submitted.
There are four cards in the collection, in this scheduled post I am sharing three (I will confess, it is because I managed to somehow delete the photos for the fourth card!)

The idea behind this collection, beyond wanting to create cards with the beautiful Darkroom Door feather stamps, was to try to bring a sense of nature with an emphasis on textures
and to also feature words or sentiments relating to nature but are also affirmations for our own daily lives.
Maybe we should remind ourselves to give permission to allow us to fly and see where we land, to not be held back by our own fears or by words from another.Knowing from the outset that I wanted a tactile quality to each card, also not forgetting that each card needs to meet the 10 minute criteria for Take Ten, I simply stamped each feather onto muslin, fraying the edges.Rummaging around I gathered twine, burlap, beautiful textured paper, handmade paper and even fragments of bark,adding a hint of colour with paint splatters to mimic the colours of a bird’s egg.I hope you have found your wings.
Wishes and thanks for taking the time to visit this scheduled post.  Normal service will resume very soon when I return with more Christmas/winter related artwork.
Wishes
Lynne x

Nature’s Sketchbook Part II (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
Last week I shared with you Part I of this post, well here I am, ready to share the remainder of the cards which Take Ten published, all featuring beautiful stamps from Oxford Impressions’ Field Notes stamp set.
This shell stamp is lovely and considering it is a photo real stamp which are not always successful when stamped onto textured paper, all the detail of the shell has been retained.A scrap of bark which has no relation to the shell. I simply liked the texture.A piece of torn, stamped script layered with mica, stained seam binding, topped with a jute bow.Another photo real stamp.Stamped three times. Once onto the base and twice, fussy cut and layered, off-setting the angle slightly, then simply adorned with a pressed flower.I paired the two leaf stamps for this card.As with the previous card, I stamped the Gingko leaf twice, allowing me to layer onto the main image, creating dimension.The final card has a pear for the focal which I paired (should that be peared ….. Groan!) with a text stamp from another Oxford Impressions set, Le Jardin (also available from That’s Crafty).A scrap of mica highlights the stamped word, Poire.
So there we have it, the final cards in this collection and have now shared with you all the cards published in the Spring issue of Take Ten.
It always makes me so happy when I have any submissions published and I greatly appreciate Stampington’s support BUT I also appreciate and never take for granted how lucky I am to share publication news with you and artwork which makes it to print.
Wishes
Lynne

Nature’s Sketchbook Part I (published Take Ten)

Note:- After a recent post saying that Oxford Impressions Field Notes stamp set was out of retirement, I received word that it was now sold out.  There was a query about whether the set would be made available again so I contacted Suzanne.  Below you can read her note about the availability,  just in case anyone out there is interested in this beautiful stamp set.

 I am ok making them one at a time as long as the customer knows that it is a second as the shell stamp is cracked.   If anyone is interested then the stamp sets will be made one at a time, this is due to the process for creating this particular stamp set. 

Click HERE to contact Suzanne

Hello Everyone
Now, let me tell you, without a word of a lie, the paper used on the following cards is Poo paper! Yes, Poo as in POO! I do have to add that it is mixed with pine needles!  My lovely friend Darlene sent me a pad of this paper.
This collection is the most submitted under any one theme, seven in total. I never submit with any expectations, once mailed I put the artwork out of my mind but I thought, if they did catch their eye at Take Ten, maybe one would make it to print, not all seven of them in a feature. To limit the length of this blog post I am splitting the cards into groups, sharing three of them today and instead of taking up your precious time with long drawn out details I have decided to share with you detail photographs so you can get an idea of the little bits I gathered for each card.
All cards are 4″x4″ and feature Fields Notes stamp set with background script from French Script.Subtle background stamping with the handwritten script with the butterfly fussy cut to create dimension as the focal image.
A fragment of bark along with a torn piece of stamped numbers.One of the reasons I am such a fan of Oxford Impressions stamps isn’t purely that I love the designs but that each set is so cleverly thought out and for my “comfort zone” stamping, they fit perfectly, allowing me to stamp all those little elements which I get so much joy from adding here and there whether to a card, tag, canvas, etc.
Initially my thoughts had been to watercolour images, along the lines of an Edwardian ladies nature journal but I was conscious of the ten minute rule (!) for Take Ten and I never ever need an excuse to work with a neutral colour palette.
Only one of the bees was fussy cutI am partial to buttons!
The final card for this post features a beautiful dragonfly.
A wee piece of knotted jute twine and vintage crochet lace are all that adorn this card.
I will share the second instalment very soon. I am finding myself trying to do some catching-up with blog posts that I hadn’t intended to leave as long as this to share with you.
Have a lovely week and I hope to see you soon and many thanks, as always, for taking the time to visit.
Wishes
Lynne

What Fine Gentlemen (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
In the Summer issue of Take Ten I have a few cards published (can never believe how lucky I am).  One of the features is “What Fine Gentlemen”.
This collection I had completely forgotten about!  When I looked at my notes, it was 2013 they were mailed to Take Ten. Not that it matters to me if it is a quick turnaround or a longer wait, it is just brilliant that they liked them enough to publish them! I had planned to share these with you in time for Father’s Day but as you can see, I missed the boat!!!
Although it is a long time ago when I made them,  I can remember how they came about.  Amongst some craft goodies I received a set of Rebecca Sower stickers.  The stickers were nice in themselves but I saw the possibility of using them as a stamping surface.  With their vintage style it seemed they would be well suited to a masculine collection. For some time I had wanted to make a collection featuring Oxford Impressions’ photo real stamps of gents as most times it is the female photo real stamps that I play with.
All of the photo real stamps were stamped onto glossy cardstock with Archival ink and I always use a Speedball brayer. That’s my preference but I know stampers who prefer to use Staz-on.
I know I am repeating myself  but I never request the return of any submissions.  That means, if I am pushed for time, trying to get submissions into the mail, then I don’t have the time to deliberate over photographs.  The colours look a bit washed out here.  I used a soft cream cardbase with Caran d’ache NeoColor II, in deep brown, sepia and bronze to create the splatters.
The stickers had a very shiny surface so I used Staz-on, Timber Brown.  It didn’t trouble me if the stamped image wasn’t the perfect size for the actual stickers. I wanted this detail to mimic an official mark in a passport or other such documentation.  Hello Sailor! Torn cork brings texture.
I wanted all the cards to be relatively flat, the stickers are really the main embellishments but I also wanted texture, the cork suited the purpose as did a piece of torn packaging. He looked the type of gent who would smoke a pipe.The final card –  A Man of Learning.  . This stamp is without a doubt my most used masculine photo real stamp, inked up countless times since I first got the April In Paris stamp set.
Pen nibs, where would we be without a pen nib stamp in our stash!I dipped into many Oxford Impressions stamp sets for this quartet. You can source some of the stamps at That’s Crafty and of course at the Austen Gallery which is the Oxford Impressions on-line store.
Thank You to Take Ten for publishing this wee collection in the Summer issue and many thanks to you for taking the time to view them.
Wishes
Lynne

Words of a Feather (Published in Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
Many of you will know that when possible I will submit to Stampington & co publications. One of the publications I try to submit to on a regular basis is Take Ten.
For this particular collection it was the first time I had ever used one of the Artist Papers (included in many Stampington & co publications) and the first time I had submitted cards with a stencil design as the focal. It all came about when I received a beautiful feathers stencil/mask set from Redlead Paperworks. The use of the Artist Paper came about because I would be stencilling with paint and conscious of the time factor I knew I couldn’t spend time on a background. Flicking through some back issues I came across the perfect Quad Papers with almost a burlap appearance, subtle areas of text and a naturalistic colour palette – all so perfect for the feathers.
I would like to share a collection of cards featured in the Summer issue of Take Ten.
The stencilled feathers were all supported with Redlead stamps.
On each card the feathers were stencilled with a combination of metallic paints (Martha Stewart – available from That’s Crafty) with watersoluble crayons flicked onto the base to provide some texture. For this card the little stamped element in the top corner was stamped onto a piece of balsa wood.  Wings and the torn piece from a stamped nest definition were stamped onto different papers to provide variation of colour and texture.
With the detailed background and the large stencilled feather, it was simply a matter of small stamped elements to support the theme of the feathers.With the egg stamped onto mulberry paper, tearing, instead of cutting the stamped image allowed the fibres of the paper to be exposed.The white flourish is actually part of the paper design, all I added to the papers, beyond the stamping, are the  paint flicks and a jute twine bow.The fourth and final card.
A scrap of pleated Crunchy Kraft Waxed Paper (PaperArtsy) with a torn piece of stamped nest definition which I had stamped onto tissue paper.So there we have it, four simple cards and a Thank You to Stampington & co for once again publishing my submissions and a Thank You to the lovely Chris and Sharon at Redlead for providing me with such wonderful supplies to play with.
I wonder if you know that Redlead have a newsletter. If you sign up to their newsletter you will receive regular up-dates of new products, Chris and Sharon regularly share their Redlead artwork and on a regular basis they will share a free collage image.
Thank you so much for your visit. I am slowly working my way through writing up blog posts to schedule so I can start to get my blog a little bit more active than it has been.
Wishes
Lynne

Shine Bright (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
I would like to share a trio of cards with one of my absolute favourite Redlead Paperworks stamps, Shine Bright. This little girl is wonderful, such a fun stamp to play with. I teamed her up with another fabulous stamp set from Redlead, a set called Labels – She Knows All Things Are Possible which is a set I have played with on many occasions as the stamps have sentiments which are just that little bit different.
Thank You to Stampington & co’s Take Ten for publishing this trio in the Spotlights section of the Summer issue.
Paint was swiped onto each watercolour paper panel. In reality the paint was more vivid than the creamy colour which has appeared in the photograph (above).
Cutting the words into word tiles and scribbling boxes around each tile gave a more mixed media appearance than if I had simply stamped the label stamp in its original format and by altering the layout of the words it created a more balanced composition. I deliberately left the white of the watercolour paper peeking through, aiming for a loose feel and the white brings more interest than if the paint had been carefully applied. Also, with Take Ten submissions I am conscious of the time element. Submitting to Take Ten has been a wonderful exercise for me as it has made me strip back my style to fit within the criteria of this publication.  The biggest hurdle for me, I know most of you will relate to this, is that we make our own backgrounds which can at times be the most time consuming element of a card.  For submissions to Take Ten, as someone who doesn’t tend to use pattern paper, it was a matter of what do I do about the background.   I was beginning to be all splattered out! LOL – a plain cardbase which needed something injected so I would flick paint onto it but I couldn’t keep submitting cards with those backgrounds time after time!  A quick swipe of paint I realised, needed no drying time and with the hint of white shining through it adds some character and not a paint splatter in sight!The girl was stamped onto the painted background and again onto contrasting polka dot paper, layering up the dress and her boots to the main image. So there we have it, quick makes which hopefully still pack a punch with the colours and uplifting sentiments.
Stealing the words from this little girl …. I send you hope and heart.
Wishes
Lynne