Autumn In Paris, With Maude (Published!)

Hello Everyone
Squeezing in this post before Sunday’s DT post for That’s Crafty.
This post is where I turn the clock back, this time back to July when I received the July/Aug/Sept issue of The Stampers’ Sampler.  As well as feature articles, which I will share another time, I was thrilled to have two pieces in the Spotlights section.
The two hangings used the same technique to form the background, where I used Rusting Powder to transform a piece of cotton fabric into a gorgeous piece of rusted fabric, making use of a mask to create pattern. What makes it all the sweeter is when a submission that is published represents a DT I am part of, in this instance The Stampsmith.
The stamps used are Maude, which is a single stamp and Say It With Flair and Paris which are stamp plates. They are available to purchase directly from The Stampsmith on-line store.
The first hanging is called Dream and sees Maude as the focal.
Aside from the smell of vinegar, used to activate the Rusting Powder, I have to tell you that I love the effect.
Torn fabric forms the handle for hanging.  I say this time and again but I love stamping onto fabric and although it is only a small detail, to my mind, stamping adds another level of interest to what would otherwise be a boring bit of fabric to  hang the panel with.Dream and Inspire are from the Say It With Flair plate.The title of the second hanging is Autumn In Paris.
I remember the first time I ever saw this stamp plate, it was a Craft Stamper article and I fell in love with the stamps. I had barely started stamping and if someone had told me that I would one day own this set then that would have been joy enough but if someone had told me that one day I would be on The Stampsmith DT then I would have chuckled in their face as I would not have taken it seriously but add to that, someone telling me that not only would I own the stamps, be on the DT but also have the art published in an American stamping publication then I believe I would have fallen off my chair!  Dreams can come true. Maybe we just need to trust in them a wee bit more than we do.
Thank You for your visit to this post.
I will return on Sunday with the first of my That’s Crafty DT posts for November.
Wishes
Lynne

Rest Your Weary Head

Hello Everyone
To start the week, a quick post where I am sharing a gift I made back in June for my dear friend Dorthe’s birthday.

The gift I decided to make for Dorthe was a pillow which would use the beautiful Portia from The Stampsmith’s Cleopatra and Friends as the focal.
I didn’t take a note of the dimensions of the pillow, it is large enough to be resting on a small chair.
For the focal, I returned to an idea I had first used on a tote bag for The Stampsmith. That time around I used Juliet but for Portia it was the same idea of stamping her onto a stained doily although this time I embellished the edge with beads and not handmade ribbon roses.Torn vintage lace was stained and the only other embellishment was the addition of two vintage buttons.
Thank You for visiting this post.
Here’s to a creative week for all of us.
Wishes
Lynne

The Princess of France – petite notebook

Hello Everyone
To start this week on my Blog I have a quick post to share and unusually for me, only one photograph.
I always focused on photo real stamps from The Stampsmith (excluding the beautiful Ophelia) so it came as a surprise to me just how much pleasure I would have stamping with Estelle’s non-photo real stamps.
With the Princess of France from the Julia and Friends plate. I set about altering a petite notebook to send to the lovely Marie (Lost Bird Studio). This is such a pretty and feminine stamp.The Princess of France was stamped onto TAP then transferred to canvas.  It was a matter of vintage French book text (beautifully aged already without the aid of Distress Inks) adhered to the notebook with the addition of tea stained vintage lace and seam binding also stained with tea (different tea).
Many Thanks for your visit today.
Oh, one last thing to mention. TSC new challenge theme is underway. The lovely Paula has selected the theme of World Traveller.
Wishes
Lynne

The Romance Of The Ballet

Hello Everyone
Tomorrow I will be here to share my That’s Crafty DT project but I decided to share a quick post with you this evening.
Re-winding a couple of months to when I received a copy of Stampington & co’s 400 More Ideas and I was so happy to see a tag I had submitted to Take Ten make it into this annual publication.
The Stampsmith’s Ballerina #1 is the focal on this tag.  You might recognise that I re-cycled Prima packaging which I painted with emulsion paint.   If you own or have seen this stamp then you will notice that I cut away the background as I only wanted the actual ballerina. I submitted this a wee while ago and did not look at the photograph until the moment I received the magazine. Annoyingly the interference seen on the ballerina’s dress in particular, wasn’t actually there in real life but as I do not request any submitted artwork to be returned I cannot take the photograph again.
Thank you for visiting this post.  As I said, I will return tomorrow with a scheduled post.  I know tennis is not everyone’s cup of tea but hopefully tomorrow I will be relaxing (or possibly not!) as I watch Andy Murray.
Wishes
Lynne

Aged & Distressed (Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
This scheduled post is a continuation of a post from a wee while back when I shared this card that was published in Take Ten (Spring issue).  I’d intended to share some of the other cards included in the feature article yet that post was dated 5th April and here we are with June rapidly approaching!
The feature, which included five Stampsmith cards and two Crafty Individual, was titled Distressed Tags.  All seven cards featured tags which I’d stained and all had a similar colour palette. I always have to pinch myself when I get something in print but when it is a feature it is really beyond any expectations I would dream of having.
For this post I will share two of the four remaining cards.  All four cards are in the style of variation on a theme with the stamped images from The Stampsmith’s Olivia and Friends stamped onto tags which had previously been stained with tea (by making up batches it is a time saver as I always have them to hand).This fragment is one of the Cartolina Postale stamps which I’d stamped onto watercolour paper that had previously been prepared with Gesso and washes of watersoluble crayons.  The Gesso can act as a lovely resist which adds a nice distressed appearance and it also has a lovely chalky touch to it.  One of the other cards. A snippet of stained seam binding embellishes the tag.Another of the Cartolina Postale stamps, this time stamped onto one of the torn off bottoms of one of the stained tags – we never like to waste anything, do we?!If you have visited this post then thank you so much. With being unsure when I can reciprocate visits, your visits/comments mean even more to me.
Wishes
Lynne

Beloved (TSC#42)

Hello Everyone
The first of a new month means a new challenge theme at The Stampsmith Challenge. For the month of May the theme is this…..
a Tic Tac Toe board.  We are asking that you select one straight line from the board and incorporate those elements into your entry.
To enter TSC you must include at least one Stampsmith stamp on your artwork. It is well worth entering as the prize available is $21 to spend on stamps of your choice at The Stampsmith on-line store. All rules and samples by the other DT members can be viewed at TSC Blog.
The line I selected was the diagonal one with:- metal, stitches and pink.
Metal – the metal hanger
Stitches – the panel is stitched around the edges
Pink – The cotton fabric (of course you know where I sourced it from!) was painted delicate tones of pink before stamping. There is also pink in some of the lace I used and lastly I used pink watersoluble crayons to tint the transferred image.
The fabric has a pretty shimmer as I used Twikling H20s to paint the cotton.  Lots of lace added to the bottom edge of the panel.The image was transferred onto cotton using TAP.  In the past I’ve used inexpensive t-shirt transfers but TAP most definitely transfers to a far superior level, especially when using photo real stamps.  As you can see in this photograph, the weave of the cotton is visible (this was macro setting) but the detail of the stamp is still remarkable.
Tea stained vintage lace was gathered with a marcasite brooch embellishing it.We hope you will join us this month with the Tic Tac Toe board, have fun with this.
Wishes
Lynne

A Classic Beauty (Published in Take Ten)

Hello Everyone
I was thrilled (to say the very least!)  to receive a complimentary issue of Stampington & co’s Take Ten (Spring issue) especially as the cards were a feature.  Seven cards were included in the feature but as I want this scheduled post to be a short one I will only share one of the cards and explain a bit more of the feature in another post.
If you visit The Stampsmith Blog then you might possibly have seen the card there as I used it as a DT upload. Keeping on a Stampsmith note for the moment, remember, TSC is underway for April. If you click the link on my sidebar it will take you to TSC where you can read all the entry details and details of the prize available.
Beautiful Portia is from The Stampsmith’s Cleopatra and Friends plate.Unusually there is only one photograph, no detailed photographs. The reason, I did not take any at the time of photographing the card prior to submitting and as I never request for submissions to be returned, this is it, one photograph but it is clear enough for you to see the details.
It is possible at the time of this post being published that I have been very quiet and you’ve not seen me visit your Blogs. If that is the case, then hopefully over the weekend I will manage to catch-up with you.
My next scheduled post is for Sunday, how quickly those 7 days pass and once again it will be time for a That’s Crafty post. In the meantime, have a lovely weekend and know that your visits are always appreciated, even moreso when I am absent from blogland.
Wishes
Lynne

Sleep, Sweet Miranda

Hello Everyone
I return today with what is an unusually short post.
This is a DT post for The Stampsmith although I will admit that this is another from the vaults as the item was created as far back in December when I made it as one of the gifts sent to a friend, a lavender sachet.
It is interesting that I selected Miranda from the Julia and Friends stamp plate for the focal on the lavender sachet, after all, lavender is renowned for its properties to help induce sleep.Miranda was stamped onto TAP before transferring to canvas and then of course the fun started adding creamy white lace to the sachet and a shabby seam binding bow.
Thank You for your visit to this post, the last post for the month of February.  I wonder what March will have in store for all of us.
Wishes
Lynne

Her Delicate Heart

Hello Everyone
It has been too long since I last shared a DT sample for The Stampsmith.  This is a canvas I altered at the start of the year, turning to my ever faithful Ophelia.  There are several versions of Ophelia, the one used on this canvas is the medium size version.
Ophelia was stamped onto painted cardstock then layered with an epoxy frame. To the canvas I applied layers of paint and created a frame with Tissue Tape with the addition of torn lace which had previously been stained with tea bags it creates a romantic backdrop for the corrugated heart which is adorned with seam binding stained the same colour as the lace and the addition of three MOP heart shaped buttons. A corner embellishment that matches the epoxy frame. The February Stampsmith Challenge is well underway now. All details on the challenge theme, rules and prize are available at TSC Blog and you can also see the team’s samples on display.
Thank You for taking the time to visit this post especially if you visited earlier in the day.
Wishes
Lynne

The Blush Of Her Cheeks

Hello Everyone
Thank You for such positive comments on the circus canvas. Maybe I need to dabble in colour a little bit more often!
For this post I’d say it is more in keeping with my normal style in that pink is on display and also lace! The card I am sharing is DT art for The Stampsmith.  I made this card many months ago when I first received the beautiful Olivia and Friends stamp plate. At the time of making the card I had been staining nearly everything in sight including tags and lace and so I reached for one of those tags to stamp Olivia onto. I knew I wanted to use one of the Cartolina Postale stamps to form the background and by luck a sheet of watercolour paper I had in my stash was a perfect match for the tag and the lace.   The watercolour paper had been prepared with various media including Gesso, paints and watersoluble crayons.  When I make up such sheets I work in a very random fashion, translated that means I cannot always remember what exactly I’ve used!The actual card was simply embellished with some lace, a paper flower and on Olivia’s dress you might have spotted the tiniest piece of lace with a pearl.
If you are interested, the Re-use/Re-cycle challenge is well underway at TSC blog and you will also read something that might be of interest to you as TSC is looking for Guest Artists. This is a wonderful opportunity for any of you who have a love for The Stampsmith stamps. To find out how to apply the details are there to be read at TSC blog.
If you live in the U.K. then I hope the snow isn’t spoiling your fun too much and you are managing to keep safe and warm.
Thank You for taking the time to visit this post, I always appreciate your visits and your comments.
Wishes
Lynne