The Lady of Spring ~ by Lotte Kristensen

We've loved having Lotte guest design for us with her absolutely wonderful creations 

and hope she will be back very soon to do another guest stint for us. :-)

'Daffy-down-Dilly has new come to town, with her yellow petticoat and her green gown'

Well, last week there were magpies, so this week I've brought you a nursery rhyme about that harbinger of spring, the daffodil. What could be more spring-like than yellow and green?  And yes, I *do* have a thing about nursery rhymes, as well as fairy and folk tales etc. Most of all Alice in Wonderland, of course!

Materials Used:

That's Crafty! Surfaces Dinky Art Shrines

That's Crafty! Surfaces ATC Chunkies

That's Crafty! White Gesso

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paint: Slimed

Ranger Archival Ink Pad: Prickly Pear

Ranger Archival Ink Pad: Buttercup

Versafine Ink Pad: Vintage Sepia

Carabelle Studio Stamp: Washi Tape Garden SA60396

PaperArtsy Signature Collection: Lynne Perrella 001

White Cardstock

Water based felt tip pens in light green, light pink and flesh colour

Metal Cog Embellishments

First assemble the ATC Chunkie, and the box of the Dinky Art Shrine. Coat everything with one or two layers of white gesso, and then paint with slightly watered down Fresco Finish Slimed paint. On the white cardstock, lightly stipple some Archival Ink in Prickly Pear:

You may have noticed that my Chunkie and Art Shrine front look slightly darker in places - I had initially coloured the surface with an ink pad in blue, didn't like this so washed it off, but it left a little colour behind which I actually do quite like ;D  Most of my projects have been painted and re-painted, so I get naturally grungy backgrounds LOL!

Next, with the Washi Tape Garden stamp in Buttercup, stamp all the surfaces of the Chunkie and Dinky Art shrine. Also stamp the cardstock. It's a lovely subtle effect:

Stamp the Perrella lady in Versafine Vintage Sepia, once on the front of the Dinky Shrine, and then onto the prepared cardstock. Fit the frame over the cardstock, lining up the stamped images, and mark the inside with a bone folder.

Then cut to make a box shape to fit inside the Dinky Art Shrine:

Fit inside and cut away excess with a pair of small, sharp scissors, but before gluing down, colour the lady's dress with light green felt tip pen, her face in flesh colour and cheek in light pink, and the sails of the ship in light pink.

Now for stamping the Chunkie - looking at the frame of the Dinky Art Shrine, determine where the image would meet when the two are fitted together, then lay a piece of scrap cardstock over the bit not to be stamped.  

Keeping the stamp lying flat on the table, push the front of the Chunkie on top of the stamp, which should be inked up with Versafine Vintage Sepia. Turn the Chunkie around, and stamp the same bit on the lower part. Stamp the bottle image on the side, and when everything is dry, colour in the dress with the light green felt tip pen, and the umbrella and shell bag in light pink. Note that you can't use alcohol based markers, like Copics or Promarkers, with Versafine ink pads - it will smudge *badly*!!

On both sides of the Chunkie, stamp the bottle and shell:

On top of the Chunkie where the Dinky Art Shrine will stand, stamp the part of the torso that continues from the front, and when dry, colour with light green felt tip pen.

I embellished with a couple of metal cogs, but you could use something like dragon- or butterflies instead:

Well, that's it from me - a big THANK YOU to Laura and Graham, I have really enjoyed my stint as Guest Blogger, it's been great sharing some of my favourite That's Crafty! products, and being allowed to follow my flights of fancy! I hope everyone got something out of the projects :)  I also want to say thanks for all the lovely comments you kind people left - I necessarily spend a lot of time on my own when designing projects, so it's really nice to get feedback, especially when it's so favourable LOL!

I hope you will all enjoy spring, and here's hoping for a great summer too!

Lotte x