A Journal by Lynne Moncrieff

Hello

It has been a busy time at That's Crafty, with many new products released on HOCHANDA on Friday. Amongst the new releases, more stamps from me, including two new Affirmations stamp sets, we are now at numbers 11 and 12 and brand new, Word Flowers stamps.

With this book, I wanted to showcase the use of both sizes of the Word Flower stamps and to show them being used as a whole stamp but also only inking up the flower head or the word.

This is the book closed, further photos throughout this post.

Supplies
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Sets Lynne's Word Flowers Set 3
That's Crafty Clear Stamp Set Lynne's Affirmations Set 11
That's Crafty! Flat Matte Sprays: Blackberry, Raspberry, Walnut 
That's Crafty! Surfaces Teabag Paper 
That's Crafty Surfaces Mixed Media Paper/Card Kit (Rice Paper)
That's Crafty! Lustre Spray Aubergine
Memorial Tuxedo Black Ink Pad
Mister Bottle
Gel Medium
Sewing Machine
Walnut Thread and Black Thread
Handmade Paper Concertina Book
Wooden Button (stained with Summer Fruits teabag before adding vinegar which altered the colour to a deep blue/black)

Instructions

Stain handmade paper concertina booklet with sprays, misting paper with water prior to the Flat Matte Sprays. Allow to dry flat overnight. Also stain teabag paper, rice paper, handmade paper  at the same time.

Tear one panel from the concertina booklet, create folds, in other words, play around with the construction of the booklet, machine stitching to form a different style of booklet than what you started with! There is no right or wrong, enjoying folding corners and making a pocket by machine stitching the sides.

Create flaps by machine stitching long pieces of stained handmade paper, topping with fragments of stained teabag paper.  For the front cover, first adhere panel of stained teabag paper and piece of stained rice paper. Machine stitch panel of stained handmade paper.

Begin stamping. Ink up small Word Flower "growing" from Set 3.

Next, create a flower border around this sole flower, this time only inking up the flower head and some of the stem.

Sometimes I like to stamp without using an acrylic block. As I was stamping into an already formed book with lots of layers and texture, I find it easier to use my hands than a block. You will see that on either side of the stem there is ink, that is because I was taking the stamp to the ink pad and for me it is a bonus to then have extra marks on the project, otherwise I would have removed the ink marks from the stamp, prior to stamping. I know your eyes would be drawn to this so wanted to explain why I continued to stamp with those extra ink marks.

Continue stamping on other pages of the book.  Ink up "growing" from the larger Word Flower from Set 3, stamping the word onto handmade paper panel stained with spray. 

Onto the page with the folded over corner, which forms a pocket, stamp a flower with stem, this is the Word Flower "flourish". 

The word "flourish" belonging to this very same stamp, was stamped onto the inside corner of the pocket.

On other pages of the book, stamp Affirmations onto handmade paper which has been slightly stained.

Add touches of stained Teabag paper to edges and here and there, giving texture and colour to the pages.

Tucked inside the pocket are some handmade paper panels, stained of course with Flat Matte Sprays and Lustres. To bind the wee bundle of panels together, simply using pieces of soft handmade paper, stained, adhered to the top of each panel, almost forming a hinge effect.

Thank You for the lovely feedback on the new stamps, it is greatly appreciated.

Until next week,
Wishes
Lynne