It was in the ocean…. (@That’s Crafty)

Hello
I had fun working on this project for That’s Crafty.  This is only a sneaky peek, if you would like to, you can view the full project along with instructions, etc, HERE.

Thank you so much for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Sisters of Laguna Beach Part II (Somerset Studio)

Hello Everyone
This post follows directly on from the previous.

(Stamps and image of bathing beauty – all from Redlead Paperworks)Then we have Cybil who leads a more solitary existence by the seashore. I am sure you have spotted her, she is slightly serious of face and has the deepest frown lines etched into her forehead from squinting up at the beaming sun.  This young woman seems contentto stroll along the shoreline, as she whiles away the hours,  always to be seen clutching a seashell in her handas she listens to the song of the sea. It is often said that she can be heard singing along to themelody of the sea.
The final and eldest sister left to introduce is Daphne.She is dark of hair but fair of skin and will not dare take a step outside unless she dons her sunhat which of course is fashioned in the shape of a seashell. Many might snicker behind their hands as Daphne passes by as she favours a bathing costume from an era long before she was born but for Daphne, she is brimming over with happiness which surely does float like the waves of the ocean that she simply holds her head aloft as she walks on by towards her beloved ocean. It has been said that Daphne has a penchant for the young fishermen as she lingers beside their boats but I will let you into a little secret, Daphne is eager for another pearl to add to her collection and knows that with a mere flutter of her dark lashes, a beautiful oyster will be passed her way and it might just be her lucky day to discover a shimmering pearl nestled inside. Whether today is her lucky day or not, Daphne’s happiness will never be known to wane because she knows that the ocean will always be there to bring happiness to her life.
Thank you so much for your visit.
Wishes
Lynne

Sisters of Laguna Beach Part I (Somerset Studio)

Hello Everyone
Regular visitors will probably know by now that I like to submit to Stampington & Co. Somerset Studio was actually one of the first publications I submitted to (alongside The Stampers’ Sampler and Take Ten).  They have an Annual Colour Challenge Call and I was really keen to submit when they announced their colour for what would be their Jan/Feb 2016 issue.  It wasn’t because the colour was one I liked to work with, probably quite the opposite which is why I liked the challenge of dipping into …. Laguna Teal …. yikes, Teal!!! So utterly outwith my comfort zone but I decided not to take the easy way out especially as I almost immediately knew what I wanted to submit, a 3D assemblage style piece featuring Tando rowing boats as I had the perfect Redlead Paperworks collage images and stamps with a beachy theme.
This was one of those times when I could have happily created more and more! In total four rowing boat assemblages were submitted, one of which was a stand-alone (HERE) with the others a trio relating to the Sisters of Laguna Beach. I am limiting this post to only one of the assemblages otherwise it would be too photo-heavy.
There is a wee tale to go with the artwork, this is Sisters of Laguna Beach Part I.

Let me introduce you to the sisters of Laguna Beach.  Beloved mermaids of the ocean they dip and dive amongst the waves, in fact many say that they live beneath the ocean,  although deep in their hearts they know this is a fanciful notion.  However, where is the harm in a fanciful notion or two, so they are happy to play along with the yarns that everyone is eager to tell,  whispers that the sisters were all born with webbed feet and skin that would shimmer in the colours of the deep blue ocean.  Let me share a little secret with you….. those girls are mere mortals just like the rest of us. We have Maude, the baby of the family who is always to be found by the side of the sister next to her in age, Isabella, known to one and all as Issy.  You could set your watch by the time that they set off on their daily walk along by the sea with Maudegrasping Issy around the waist, as though they were mermaids joined at the hip.
At the beach,if, during their stroll, their feet are ever to become trapped amongst the fishing nets cast aside by the local fishermen, they simply fall down onto the sand, peals of laughter escaping from them as they disentangle themselves.
As they continue their walkalong the sea,they are dusted with a light coating of sand with starfish nestled between their toes but for Maude and Issy, they have not a care in the world as they walk  beside their beloved ocean.Another day I will introduce to you to Cybil.
When I mailed this and the other submissions, my dream was that if even one of the assemblages caught their eye at the Somerset Studio offices during their art selection, then I would be so, so happy but to have all four submissions printed, it was beyond wonderful!  I also have to thank the lovely Chris and Sharon who are Redlead Paperworks because I am just so lucky to have their products to play with.
I haven’t been able to spend as much time on-line recently which means I haven’t been able to visit your blogs.  Here’s hoping normal service will be resumed shortly!  Hope you are all well and finding enough creative time in your lives.  Thank You always for visits, comments both here and on Facebook.
Wishes
Lynne

Her Happiness Floated

Hello Everyone
Some time ago I started an assemblage but like many projects, during my time of zero crafting, it lay in an unfinished state.
I have to say thank you to Chris and Sharon from Redlead Paperworks for allowing me to continue to play with their fabulous products.
Redlead Paperworks Supplies:-
Collage image – Ancestor Collage Sheet 113.  Redlead stock beautiful collage sheets in a range of themes and Redlead also now have a small selection of digital collage sheets available at Etsy.
Her happiness Floated stamp

Let me introduce Daphne. She is dark of hair but fair of skin and will not dare take a step outside unless she dons her sunhat which of course is fashioned in the shape of a seashell.Many might snicker behind their hands as Daphne passes by as she favours a bathing costume from an era long before she was bornbut for Daphne, she is brimming over with happiness which surely does float like the waves of the oceanthat she simply holds her head aloft as she walks on by towards her beloved ocean.It has been said that Daphne has a penchant for the young fishermen as she lingers beside their boats but I will let you into a little secret.  Daphne is eager for another pearl to add to her collection and knows that with a mere flutter of her dark, feathery lashes, a beautiful oyster will be passed her way and it might just be her lucky day to discover a shimmering pearl nestled inside.Whether today is her lucky day or not, Daphne’s happiness will never be known to wane because she knows that the ocean will always be there to bring happiness to her life.

(A lovely big thank you to my dear friend Dorthe who gifted me the sweetest starfish embellishments.   It was the perfect addition to this assemblage.  It is possible that the piece of driftwood was also gifted to me, from Dorthe, which she gathers from her walks along by her beloved sea).
I hope, for all of you, that your happiness floats like the waves of the ocean.
Wishes
Lynne

Pearl Dances Amongst The Waves

Hello Everyone
Redlead Paperworks are known for their stamps and stencils but they also have a stunning collection of collage sheets whether for Halloween, Christmas, Nature or why not have a look at their Ancestor collage sheets.
When I laid eyes on Redlead Paperworks’ Ancestor Collage Sheet No. 8 I so wanted to work with one image in particular, a girl who I came to call Pearl.
If you are interested in the Redlead products used on this canvas then I will give you a link for the stamp used.  The sentiment I used comes from a stamp which has two other sentiments on it, great value and can be found HERE.
To see Pearl dance amongst the waves, it has been said there are those who whisper that she is a Mermaid Child and if you were to find yourself swimming alongside Pearl then she surely would turn her green eyes upon you and swear upon the sea that she is a Mermaid but if you were to take a moment to look a little deeper into her eyes, is that not a mischievous glint.
It is true that Pearl wishes with all her heart that she were a child of the sea because it is where she finds joy. Running down to the ocean she whiles away the summer days bobbing atop the waves, where the seaweed entangles itself amongst the tendrils of her hair so that you do not know where her hair ends and the sea begins.
Her happiness most certainly floated, like the waves of the ocean. 
The end result is not what I had in my mind as I planned on working with colour. Let me show you a photograph of the initial texture I created and also the paints I laid down onto the deep edged canvas, colours which were eventually made to be more muted in tone. I also changed the orientation of the canvas.
A froth of gauze to mimic the froth atop the ocean’s waves and a flutter of mica flakes, the sunlight glinting on the waterand a scattering of pearls.This sentiment was so perfect for this image of PearlI will leave Pearl to catch the final waves of the Summer.Many Thanks for visiting my first post of this brand new week.
Maybe you are savouring the final days of Summer or maybe you have already waved goodbye to Summer, which appears to be the case in my little corner of the world.
Wishes
Lynne

Playing By The Shore

Hello
Recently I shared a Journal I decorated using one of Trishia’s French Kissed Postcard scans that she made available as a freebie in the month of February and which I entered into her Kissed Again competition (read all the details on her FKP Blog). She has also been sharing some unloved digital scans, one of which was a vintage bathing belle. Well I couldn’t resist playing with this image and here is the postcard I created.I gathered little bits of this and that and to support the image I used stamps from Oxford Impressions’ By The Sea. This stamp set has a vintage bathing theme so they were perfect.Trishia is also hosting another competition called Love Me Two, so lots of fun over at the FKP Blog.
Wishes
Lynne

Hey There Lifeguard!

I had today’s post all planned but as the sun is shining in my part of the world I decided to share some more of the bathing beauties from Divas D’Este’s Vintage Bathing Beauties CS (see the recent post “Let’s Dip Our Toes In The Water”).
When I select the CS I want to work with my next decision is what do I actually want to print it onto, photo, canvas, transparency, image transfer,  sometimes that is the most difficult part of the decision making. This CS was printed onto photo paper.
For all the cards I used Crafty Individuals paper pad,”The Seaside”.
I decided to keep embellishments to a minimum and make as much use as possible from the papers, here cutting around the shells to create a frame for the image. A bow tied from painted gauze adorns the top corner.
On the second card pattern paper torn and inked to form a border at the top of the card, a Prima flower with a scrap of the painted gauze.Bon Voyage (Crafty Individuals) stamped and tucked slightly underneath the image.
The third card inspired the title as she struck me as posing in front of the lifeguard, trying with all her might to catch his eye. I wonder if she succeeded!You know by now that I like to make use of every scrap, here the shells were cut from the cover of the paper pad!and used to create some decoupaging by cutting out a second shell and layering it over the first layer, tucking some hessian and gauze in-between.The fourth card is separate from the above as it is not DT art for Divas D’Este but as it is a bathing belle card and uses the same papers as above it made sense to include it in this post. You might recognise the stamps as they have been used relatively recently. They are all from Crafty Individuals. The stamped border uses stamps from one of their Elements sets (these Elements sets are very useful to have whether it be the seaside, postmarks, etc.)  A teeny stamped shell and scrap of gauze tucked into the bottom corner.  The bathing belle was stamped onto paper from The Seaside pack. I like when papers are subtle enough that stamping shows up clearly.
One project remains which I will save for a rainy day, or a sunny day, I don’t suppose it matters! In the meantime, if you plan on stepping out into the sun, please remember and take care. Lynne x

Last Days of Summer

Probably not the most suitable time of the year to display beach related art but I look at it this way, somewhere in the world it has to be summer lol
You may  recognise that this image is from ARTchix Seaside Cuties (received as part of August DT package from The Altered Element) . Although I used some of the images in previous posts, Life’s A Beach and A Day At The Seaside I still had several remaining.
 Once the blush pink acrylic paint had dried I added Picket Fence Crackle paint then sponged Tea Dye ink into the cracks. Stamped 2 tickets and the Hotel advertisement and ripped a piece of striped fabric, layering all onto the canvas. The Basic Grey die cut, although supposed to be a branch with leaves, to my eyes, also had a look of seaweed. Cut out the Seaside Cutie, matting to card for stability and tucked it into the “seaweed”, finally adding shells, some of which I broke and layered onto the “shingle” on the image.

Summertime

and the livin’ is easy. That is one of my favourite songs although not one of my favourite seasons. For The Stampsmith DT artwork, this week I wanted something very simple and unfussy, quite a change for me lol. You might remember Jo, (as I named her) from “Introducing The Bennington Girls” post where I filled the tile book Penny Bennington gifted to me with some of The Stampsmith Flappers. “Jo” comes from  Flappers No 2, which is an A4 sheet of images.
Bunting is all the rage at the moment so I handcut some from polka dot paper (when cutting keep them attached), adding flat back pearls to each flag. The word tile was perfect for this image.

A Day at the Seaside

Dawn (Crafty Dawn) and I set the theme for our second swap as Vintage Seaside and to add a bit of a challenge to incorporate – green, material and shells. As I had so many images left from the ARTchix Seaside Cuties sheet I used 2 on this altered matchbox.

As this is not DT artwork I will keep the details as simple as possible!
Painted with Gesso, cream and copper paints and stamped shells and seahorses (Oxford Impressions) with Pearl Adirondack dabber. Sponge Pistachio acrylic and Old White Patina onto drawer.  Edged the images and top and bottom of matchbox with Deko Ice. Used dyed gauze to wrap around the box and tie into a bow, adding Mother of Peal Mica Flakes.
Above photo shows the rear of the box. Added pieces of hessian type material and jute ribbon (available from The Altered Element) and word tiles.
With our swaps we also include little bits and pieces.
Found it difficult to find small items with a beach theme but some of the items are shells, Bingo marker, mini canvas, seed beads and sequins in a little bottle, handmade paper beads, jute ribbon, etc.  It reminded me of my days at Primary School when the teacher would set us the challenge of finding as many items around the home which fit into a matchbox. Anyone else do this?