A Leaf In Time Journal Spread by Lynne Moncrieff

 Hello

On Monday, That's Crafty! appeared on The Craft Store TV and amongst the products demoed by the fabulous Jo Channon, were my Carved Leaves and Mark Making stamp sets so I thought I would share a spread from a book featuring those stamps alongside a few That's Crafty! favourite products.

(The Idea-ology Collage Paper I used is no longer available but any printed tissue paper could be substituted or even better would be to stamp a variety of botanical style stamps onto tissue paper)

Supplies

That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Carved Leaves Set 1

That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Mark Making Stamps Set 1
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Mark Making Stamps Set 2
That's Crafty! Mediums White Gesso
That's Crafty! Mediums Walnut Ink Crystals (substitute with Walnut Ink Powder)
That's Crafty! Mediums Acrylic Liquid Wax
That's Crafty! Surfaces Teabag Paper
That's Crafty! Pearl Inks: Tree Bark, Copper, Bronze
Idea-ology Tim Holtz Collage Paper (substitute with any printed tissue paper)
Archival Ink Pad Jet Black
Extras: Cotton sewing thread, Needle, Scraps of eco dyed papers, skeleton leaf, cotton rag paper

Instructions

This spread started with Walnut Ink sprayed to the top of the pages, allowing to drip downwards and leaving to dry before adhering the Collage Paper to the cotton rag paper. To do so, first, an application of Liquid Acrylic Wax to the cotton rag before laying down the collage paper. Then another application of the Acrylic Wax on top of the collage paper, allowing to dry before applying Gesso.  

For the left page, the frame from Mark Making stamps, was stamped directly onto the page. As the facing page has a leaf as the focal, I did not want a leaf to appear on this page. Set inside the frame is a piece of eco dyed paper which was coated with Liquid Acrylic Wax. To this, forming primitive, messy stitches. The circle, simply a piece of leftover waxed thread (used to bind this book). To the left and right sides of the frame, more Mark Making stamps with a brush dipped into Copper and Bronze Pearl Inks and used to detail the stamped images. 

After misting a piece of teabag paper with walnut ink, it was a matter of stamping with black ink one of the Carved Leaves before cutting out and layering onto the skeleton leaf. Just to add that for the skeleton leaf and the stamped leaf, it was once again Liquid Acrylic Wax that was used to adhere them. 

Another Mark Making stamp appears to the right side of the leaf and again, with a paintbrush and the Pearl Inks, adding some of the Pearl Inks to the stamped leaf and also to the centres of the stamped Marks. Pearl Ink details were also added to the other Mark Making stamps which appear on both pages. 

To bring a cohesiveness with the facing page, a few stitches appear on a scrap piece of paper, layered to the stem of the stamped leaf. 

You could be asking why I stamped the Carved Leaves stamp onto teabag paper and not simply cardstock. Other than I never need an excuse to work with teabag paper, there is the beautiful tactile quality it brings to any project and with this spread (and the book as a whole), I wanted that tactile experience of the Liquid Acrylic Wax, stitches, skeleton leaf and another layer of interest brought by using teabag paper. 

Many thanks for taking the time to visit today.

Wishes

Lynne