A Day At The Beach (Willow And Sage)

Hello
Last year, I was given the unexpected opportunity to come up with a packaging idea for Willow and Sage magazine and since then, I have found myself enjoying, thinking up ideas to submit to them. If it hadn’t been for that opportunity I would never have thought to submit to this publication.
I stumbled across some cute baskets, easy to assemble, I could see so many possibilities for their use. Armed with two of those baskets and a bundle of Red Lead stamps, two of their wooden word charms and PaperArtsy Fresco chalk paint and a few other supplies, I set about making this gift packaging idea for bath/beauty products.
If you read Willow and Sage, I provide ideas for what I could imagine contained within the baskets.

The shell, which has been stamped onto directly, is a scoop for bath crystals.

Red Lead wooden word charms are so useful, for all types of projects and easy to paint.  By painting them, the engraved words are highlighted.

Each side of both baskets stamped with Red Lead stamps.

The muslin bags, again stamped with Red Lead sentiments, stamped onto fabric scraps.


The baskets are sold with horrible ribbon, really quite nasty (!) but that is okay because I like being able to make handles that are more suited to the theme of the baskets.  For this one, a piece of driftwood from my lovely friend Dorthe – a piece of driftwood from Denmark.

It certainly isn’t weather for days at the beach here in Scotland, unless wrapped up in the coziest of clothes!
Wishes
Lynne

Sweet Dreams (Willow & Sage)

Hello
One of the surprises in 2016 was being published in Stampington & Co’s Willow and Sage, a magazine devoted to homemade bath/beauty products.
Before I began stamping, I enjoyed blending my own aromatherapy essential oils and one day, I would really like to try making lip balms, soaps, etc but that time isn’t for now so imagine my delight when opportunity knocked on my door (actually, my laptop!) when I was approached to create packaging idea for this magazine which they, thankfully liked and published (posts can be seen HERE and HERE).  In the Winter 2017 issue  I was once again grateful to find myself published, this time taking the packaging idea further by making lavender sachets.
The springboard for this idea was, believe it or not, packaging!  When my friend Vickie mailed a gift to me, inside the box was some interesting white fabric style paper, I can only describe it as not dissimilar to tumble dryer laundry sheets but firmer and a generous size.  I was sure it would contain lavender buds but also allow the scent to emit.  I managed to make five sachets in total.
First, the bundle of three, tied together with re-cycled sari silk chiffon ribbon.  Maybe I am easily pleased but there is so much joy in knowing you have the most perfect stamp for an occasion.  I remembered the Lavender stamp from Character Constructions Mad Tea Party No. 8, it could not be more perfect to stamp onto the re-cycled tag which I painted with Gessso, with a small sprig of lavender as a sweet detail.

This is the trio of sachets.

Willow and Sage is not a stamping magazine but I knew the sachets needed something, the fabric paper was too plain and yet I didn’t want to stamp anything too dominant.  It suddenly dawned on me, I had Stampington & Co stamps designed by Christine Adolph.  I used Trims 4 images


For one of the sachets, a lovely scrap of grosgrain ribbon stitched to the sachet, allowing the lavender sprig to be held in place.

All the stamping was done before filling the sachets with the dried lavender buds.

I wanted a subtle effect to the stamping and the timing was just right as my ink pad was becoming dry and ordinarily I would have re-inked but it gave me the subtle effect i wanted.

This sachet could be presented in the white paper pocket and when removed, it can be suspended from the loop, formed from grosgrain ribbon.

Thank you so much for your visits. With struggling to keep up with blog visits and Facebook, I did consider if I should put my blog posts on hold. It seems cheeky to try and schedule blog posts when I am struggling so much to keep up with all of you wonderful people. My concern is, if I step away for a designated period of time, that time will lengthen and then I would probably never return to keeping the blog active.
Your words of support mean a great deal to me.
Wishes
Lynne

Nature’s Retreat (Willow and Sage)

Hello
Amongst all the amazing art adventures in 2016, one would have to be articles I had in Willow and Sage.
Although I would love to dabble with bath and body products (before I discovered rubber stamps, I enjoyed blending aromatherapy oils) and I was obviously aware of Stampington & Co’s Willow and Sage magazine, it wasn’t one I was ever considering submitting to until an invitation was handed to me to submit. To have an article in the Summer 2016 issue was momentous enough but to follow that with an article in Autumn and then Winter issues, no wonder I felt overwhelmed!
In the Autumn issue of Willow and Sage, my article centres around presentation with a rustic appearance with two pockets/pouches and soap bar wraps.
I worked with:-
Zen – Character Constructions Theatre of Dreams Plate No. 8
Wellbeing Word Block – Darkroom Door
PaperArtsy Crunchy Wax Paper was exactly what I needed for this rustic quality I was aiming for.
The packaging was split into two themes, one which was all about calm, relaxing, being zen,while, in contrast, words such as energy and renew were stamped to form tags for two of the soap bar wraps.Embellishments were quite minimal, any incorporated were wood, such as this peg and wooden leaf
with jute twine enhancing the theme.
I have so much catching-up to do that I might not achieve it all but every now and then I am going to try and post a project which is new to the blog but old in terms of when it was made or published.
I really want to get back on track with keeping my blog active and as importantly, visiting your blogs on a regular basis.
Thank you for your visit and thank you to Christen Hammons at Stampington & Co Willow and Sage for this opportunity.
Wishes
Lynne

Giveaway Winners Announced

Hello
Thank you to all of you who joined my recent Giveaway, a chance to win a digital issue of Willow and Sage.
I added the names here to the Facebook names. The winning names are:-

Dorthe Hansen
Ann Lavin

Congratulations to both of you! I will make contact with you so that we can arrange for you to receive the digital issues.
Thanks again to all of you and to Stampington & Company for generously providing two copies of Willow and Sage. Hopefully it will not be too long before I share another Giveaway.
Wishes
Lynne

Honey, It’s Bath Time! (published Willow & Sage)

Hello Everyone
Earlier this year, a wonderful and completely unexpected opportunity came my way from Stampington & Co which resulted in me being published in Willow & Sage.
Willow & Sage is a magazine I haven’t mentioned before because it specialises in handmade bath and beauty products, something I would love to dabble in one of those days but at the moment, it is an area I haven’t dipped into and therefore, have never submitted to this title. That’s one of the reasons that the opportunity was such a bolt out of the blue for me.
My article in the Summer issue is all about packaging. With bath products in mind, with ingredients of honey or lavender, I set about creating a set with peat pots which would contain bath bombs and a soap bar wrap, all of which would be tucked inside a kraft bag.
I am sure you understand that I do not feel comfortable sharing instructions, what with them being published in Willow and Sage but I will share some photos.
A bath bomb would nestle comfortably in the peat pot, amongst the scrunched raffia.Throughout, the colour palette is that of lavender and the natural colours of burlap, jute and the peat pots.A little stamped tag.  You can probably guess what the tag is made from!A soap bar wrap, with the same supplies as those on the peat pots other than switching the style of the burlap flower.
The gift bag.  Apologies for the strange angle of the photograph and it also does not show that the gift bag is a decent size, after all it had to house all of the above.Thank you to Natalie Way and Christen Hammons for this wonderful opportunity and to Catherine Moore from Character Constructions and Suzanne Melvin from Oxford Impressions, whose stamps I used.
Thank you so much to you, for taking the time to visit this post.
Wishes
Lynne