The Storms of Life by Lynne Moncrieff

Welcome to my first D.T. post of 2020.

The start of a new year intrigues me, as I wonder what products I will be drawn towards this year, will my attention focus more on books or will I continue to dabble with a variety of surfaces which thankfully, being on the That's Crafty! D.T., with their range of surfaces to play with, I will never be bored!  I am interested to see if I will continue to immerse myself in nature or whether a new direction will come calling.

For this first post, I worked with a few firm favourites: MDF Surfaces, Liquid Acrylic Wax, Walnut Ink Crystals and Pearl Inks (all That's Crafty!) with a new, to me, stamp, Seth Apter Mini EM40.  I don't know Seth Apter's inspiration for this design but for me, there is a great energy in this design and on this first inking of it, to me it speaks strongly of the elements, of natural energy whether an energy deep within the earth or from the sky. It was this connection that had me seeking a particular Affirmation from Set 7.

Supplies

That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Lynne's Affirmations Set 7
That's Crafty! Surfaces MDF 8" x 8" Pack of 3
That's Crafty! Liquid Acrylic Wax
That's Crafty! Walnut Ink Crystals
That's Crafty! Gesso White
That's Crafty! Pearl Ink: Black 
That's Crafty! Multi-Surface Paint: Black
PaperArtsy Eclectica EM40 Designed by Seth Apter
PaperArtsy Infusions Black Knight, Rusty Car
Gel Medium
Palette Knife
Archival Ink: Jet Black
Extras: eco dyed rice paper and self-fill teabag, old book text, rusty washers

Instructions

Begin by preparing the MDF with Gesso. In my stash I had a sheet of rice paper which had been stained when I dried eco dyed papers/textiles on top of it. The colours were nice enough but they were subtle. The paper was adhered to the MDF panel with Liquid Acrylic Wax and then, a top coat applied, as it dried, the colours began to intensify.

Once the panel was thoroughly dry, white Gesso was applied, randomly, allowing the original layer to peek through. Beside me, I laid out a spray bottle of walnut ink, Black Multi-Surface Paint and  Black Pearl Ink along with a palette knife and piece of cloth.

Walnut Ink was sprayed onto the panel, allowing to drip downwards and then blotting with the cloth.

A horizontal line of Black paint was applied, pulling it downwards with a palette knife. To this, a few drops of Pearl Ink in Black again,

pulling along the horizontal line and also pulling downwards.

A drop added to craft mat, dipping the cloth into this and then dabbing onto the panel, towards left side.

Onto a piece of old book text, Infusions were applied, misting with water. Once dry, adhered to the panel with Liquid Acrylic Wax and then applying a top coat.
(sorry for poor photo quality!)

Stamp Seth Apter Mini onto eco dyed self-fill tea bag.

Tear into half, layering with another piece of eco dyed book text, layer this onto the book page.  Adhere rusted washers onto stamped element.

Stamp Affirmation onto piece of blank margin of book page, again it had been eco dyed/rusted.

Thank You for stopping by.

Wishes
Lynne