Zestful Vibe - Darkroom Door

Oh how I've longed to visit Luna Park since I was a little girl!  Well, I may have never been there, but getting to play around with Darkroom Door's Sydney Vol 1 stamp set and the 'Luna Park' stamp in particular, has been a lot of fun!

There's quite a bit of layering in this first postcard.  I started with a page of text from a vintage book and layered it with gesso, the Polka Dot background stamp (lime and orange ink), more gesso and then inked up a star stencil randomly with lime ink.  I mounted my work onto a postcard sized card and stitched a grass like pattern with lime thread along the bottom left edge of the postcard.

Next I inked up the Luna Park stamp with VersaFine orange ink and stamped it on white paper, smudging the edges of the image with apricot ink and affixed it to the postcard.  I stencilled six more of the large stars onto white paper with lime ink and stamped these with various text found in the Sydney Vol 1 stamp set.  Four were stitched into place on the postcard and the remaining two were set aside to create the beaded embellishment.    

The word 'Sydney' was created by randomly inking Alphabet background stamp with orange and red ink and stamping it onto white paper.  The required letters were then cut out and stitched into place.

The small dot accents were created by inking up Candi dots with apricot, orange or lime ink and then they were stamped with sections of text or images found in the Sydney Vol 1 stamp set.  'Fun' is found in the Simply Circles stamp set.

The small heart circle from Simply Circles stamp set was also used to create the beaded embellishment.  Scraps of silk and ribbon were added to complete this hanging  postcard.

This second postcard began in a similar manner.  I gessoed some vintage text (one edge folder over), stamped Polka Dot background stamp with lime ink, added another layer of gesso and finally stamped the Postal 3 Up frame with black ink.  Next I created a mask using scrap paper and the Postal 3 Up frame stamp, so I could add a layer of lime ink to the centre of each frame.

Two of the buildings from Sydney Vol 1 were stamped onto white paper with black ink, trimmed to size and layered onto two sections of the frame.

I made the 'Sydney' oval label by stamping 'The Rocks' twice using lime ink.  I cut out the first image, then I swiped over the entire surface with lime ink and added the 'Sydney' stamp to the centre of it.  Next,  I cut away the outside and centre of the second image, layered it on top of the first one and stitched it into place.

The 'Sydney Definition' was stamped in orange ink along the folded panel and stitched into place.  A section from Sydney Vol 2 filmstrip was added to the third frame.  More dot accents were created using the same method as the first postcard.  A scrap of silk was stitched into place and the hanging embellishment added to complete the postcard - the heart circle can be found in the Simply Circles stamp set.

The Darkroom Door products I have used for these projects are:

Sydney Vol 1 stamp set
Sydney Vol 2 filmstrip
Simply Circles stamp set
Postal 3 Up frame
Polka Dot background
Alphabet background

Sydney - Darkroom Door

Darkroom Door has also released a fabulous collection using lovely images from Sydney, Australia. 

When I saw these images I knew the first thing I wanted to do was to create a postcard, as Sydney is a destination I'd love to visit again... soon!  It's been way to long since I've been there!

I started with a slightly textured white card (postcard size) and stamped the 'World Map' background stamp onto it using VersaMark watermark ink.  Then I swiped over the card with 'neutral grey' Pan Pastels.  I then stamped the 'light value metre' from the 'Photography' stamp set twice on the background with black ink.

Using the 'Sydney Vol 1' stamp set, I stamped the 'Sydney definition' onto a scrap of grey scrapbooking paper with black ink (stitching it into place onto the postcard with black thread) and stamped the name 'Sydney' onto the postcard using red ink.  I continued to stitch around the edges of the postcard with black and red threads.

Next I layered an image from the Sydney montage sheet and two images from the Sydney Vol 1 filmstrip, along with two vintage postage stamps, sewing things into place as I went along.  For the final touch I added two small sections of ribbon, some blank filmstrip and a section from the Sydney wordstrip to the postcard.

The Darkroom Door products I used in this project are:  

Sydney montage

Sydney Vol 1 stamp set

Sydney Vol 1 filmstrip

Sydney wordstrip

Photography stamp set (Essentials 3)

World Map background stamp

Creative Correspondence - Island Dreaming

On Sunday I discovered Hels 'Sunday Stamper' challenge and the current theme is 'dream'.  For this guy, there was not a moment that passed where he wasn't, 'Island Dreaming'.  

I, myself, have been 'island dreaming' for many a year... dreaming of one day visiting the island of Tasmania!  And my dream finally came true in November last year!  

Here I am at Dove Lake, Cradle Mountain in Tasmania, on my birthday, living my island dream!  A place full of awesome beauty and pretty chilly weather too.  There was a hint of snow on the mountain, a crispness to the air and  a little sprinkle of rain.  That's pretty much the perfect way to experience this amazing place!

Yes, there I was, at Cradle Mountain, practically right in the middle of Tasmania.  I was waiting outside this shelter for my friend Amanda, when someone said 'hello'!  It took me back a bit and a little while longer to comprehend that it was actually someone I knew and knew very well.  It was Neralie, a friend and colleague from school, also on long service leave and also travelling around Tasmania.  We both knew we were in the same part of the world, but didn't expect to bump into each other while we were travelling!  It was a lovely birthday blessing to spend time with her and her husband Craig - even if it was just for a short 15 minutes or so!

All rubber images are by Oxford Impressions (purchased in Tassie).

Creative Correspondence - 'They Bounced'

'They Bounced' Postcard

Here's my playful start to a Sunday morning... I've been pondering how to approach this week's Play Date Cafe #164 Challenge for a few days...

First thing this morning, I wander around the house picking up supplies that fit with the colour palette for the week

Cadet Blue...Chartreuse...Leather

and played around with what I'd gathered.  The cartoon image is from an old Golden book that is beyond repair, well loved by it's previous owner and thrifted by me in recent times.  I settled on making a postcard as I'm attempting to send one piece of creative correspondence out into the world each week of the year.  I think this postcard might be well received by my nephew Sean, who absolutely loves to receive things in the post!

Today I hope to relax, enjoy the feeling of good health, perhaps play a little more in the studio, spend time with my beloved and then head to church for the evening service.  

Blessings to you!