Eiffel Tower - Darkroom Door

I've had a wonderful time playing around with another new Darkroom Door photo stamp - Eiffel Tower.  I've used Lesley Riley's Transfer Artist Paper (TAP) to transfer the Eiffel Tower image onto fabric and then stamped the remaining images from Darkroom Door's Tour Eiffel stamp set directly onto fabric.  I embellished the floral Eiffel Tower fabric with scraps of lace, ribbon, silk, a button and a paper flower.  

This work was then incorporated into a bag that I stitch from a lovely piece of silk.  

My romantic dream of visiting Paris one day continues to grow stronger!  But for now I'll enjoy the pleasure of working with this wonderful image!

Canal - Darkroom Door

I'm hoping to explore and discover some of the wonder of Venice one day.  As a child, I was mesmerised by my parents recollections of their time visiting this amazing place.  When I received 'Canal', a new photo stamp by Darkroom Door, I thought it would be the perfect backdrop to use with Darkroom Door's Venetian Vol 1 stamp set.  Nearly all of the stamping was done on only one layer of card.

The only layered pieces are in the top right corner where I've layered a sentiment from Darkroom Door's Venetian wordstrip, an inchie from Darkroom Door's Travel Inchies stamp set (which have both been mounted onto dimensional tape) and a compass sticker (Tim Holtz) affixed to a button with a strip of ribbon and gemstone.  To finish this piece off I've added a strip of black ric-rac along the bottom section of the card.

Creativity - Darkroom Door

Fun, fun, fun!!!!  Darkroom Door's new quote stamps, 'Creativity' is a great reminder of all those wonderful things that creativity brings.  

This piece started with a plain matchbox which was altered with glimmer mist, stencils, text, paint, fabric and Darkroom Door's 'Fancy Flourish' eclectic stamp.  I then worked on a piece of canvas paper in the much the same way and when happy with the background, stamped the quote directly onto the canvas.

This piece was embellished with dried flowers, washi tape, fabric, paper flower and staples along with images from Darkroom Door's Seaside Vol 2 stamp set.

I love this quote and it seemed to give me the freedom to do all that it states as I put this piece together.  It was a really fun experience!  I hope this inspires you to be more creative and experimental too!

Fancy Flourish - Darkroom Door

A very vintage Christmas to you!  

It's never too early to get started on handmade Christmas decorations is it?  I know I always have the greatest intention to create handmade ornaments for loved ones each year, but find myself in a last minute frenzy to get them completed in time.  I'm thrilled to have made such an early start!

Darkroom Door's new eclectic stamp, 'Fancy Flourish' was just the inspiration I needed to set to work on ornament making.  I stamped the flourish a number of times and then fussy-cut around each image.  I layered the flourishes onto a small crocheted doily and then added an image and words from Darkroom Door's Dear Santa montage sheet and wordstrips.  I added a little bling around the edges of the Santa image with glitter glue.

The ornament was then embellished with wire, beads, bells, fabric and a section of the holly stamp found in Darkroom Door's Yuletide Vol 2 stamp set.

How about you?  Have you made an early start towards having a lovely handmade Christmas this year?

Pocket Watch - Darkroom Door

I've had the loveliest time creating this romantic gift using one of Darkroom Door's new Eclectic Stamps, 'Pocket Watch'.  

I've create a three dimensional pocket watch that opens to reveal a romantic photograph from Darkroom Door's Love Letters photochips (which could easily be exchanged with a wedding photo of your beloved).  Darkroom Door's Ornate Elements stamp set provided the perfect 'etched silver' effect for the outside of the pocket watch.

The small glass bottles not only provide the structure to allow the pocket watch to be free standing, but are also wonderful vessels to fill with treasures!  The first bottle is filled with gold sand, twigs and embellished with silk fabric, dried flowers and a note from Darkroom Door's Love Letters Vol 2 stamp set.  The second bottle is entrusted to hold a love letter (written on the back of a postcard also found in the Love Letters Vol 2 stamp set) and finished with a touch of glitter.  The final bottle is filled with glitter and embellished with washi tape, a pearl bead, pin and an inchie image of the Eiffel Tower from Darkroom Door's Travel Inchies stamp set.

Oscar Wilde - Darkroom Door

Darkroom Door has a new collection of stamps, 'Quotes'.  This quote from Oscar Wilde, 'Sensational', inspires me to be a journal keeper... I've created the cover for what I thought could become a tag journal - the perfect size for travel!  

I've stamped the quote onto a piece of silk (and heat set the ink).  There's layers of canvas, fabrics, lace, washi tape and atlas paper affixed to the tag to create the background.  The collage was then completed with Darkroom Door stamped images, dried foliage, a pen nib, vintage postage stamps and a button (with compass image stamped upon it).

I used the following Darkroom Door stamp sets:  Travel Inchies, Correspondence and Montmarte

Now to go find something sensational to write about!

Miniature Travels - Darkroom Door

'Voyage of Love'

Darkroom Door's latest inchie stamp set 'Travel Inchies' is fabulous fun!  I enjoy working with tiny, miniature sized things, so this set of travel inspired inches has brought much inspiration (and an even greater desire to adventure up to the northern hemisphere again one day!).

This first ATC includes some layering of vintage atlas papers and a lovely washi tape to create the background.  I stamped the inchies on white paper and created the tea stained look with Ranger's Old Paper Distress Marker and an Aquash brush.  I stamped the compass inchie onto a wooden button too.  The photograph is from Darkroom Door's London montage collage sheet, cut to an inchie size.  I embellished this piece with airmail twine, an English postage stamp, words for Darkroom Door's Prague Vol 2 Wordstrip and also cut the flag from an USA postage stamp.

'Explorer'

This next ATC has been created for Darkroom Door's Anything Goes ATC swap for September, so if you participate, you might find one of these in your new collection of ATC's!

Once again I've used a page from a vintage atlas to create the background and painted a layer of Pearl White paint over it.  I stamped the London Bridge directly onto the ATC and added a piece of vintage paper to it. The other inches were stamped onto various papers and a jigsaw piece.  I used some other Darkroom Door stamp sets to further embellish this piece:  London Vol 2, Steampunk, Photography and Montmarte.  To complete this piece, I added another word from Darkroom Door's Prague Vol 2 wordstrip, an English vintage postage stamp, hand stitching, a staple, small tag and some airmail twine.

If you've never worked with inchies before, this stamp set is a great starting point, especially if you have travel adventures to scrapbook!  

I'll be back soon with some more Darkroom Door goodness!

Resuming

After an intensely busy term at school, it's been lovely to rest and relax this past week.  I hadn't been able to find the creative energy to play in the 'studio' until yesterday.  Even then I had to push through the doubt and fling away the perfectionism to get to the point of freeing myself up enough to play for the pure fun of it.  This little bird spoke to me as I splashed the paint around and let me know that it was time to 'resume the work' and be playful!  

This piece has grown into a series of six!  

Do you want to see more?

Edwardian Ladies - Darkroom Door

The Edwardian Ladies collage stamp by Darkroom Door is a delight to work with!  I stamped the image directly onto a white shipping tag with Versafine Onxy Black ink, heat set it and then coloured the image with Distress Makers and an Aquash brush to create a watercolour effect.  Then it was simply a matter of adding lovely layers of vintage paper, fabrics, lace, washi tape and some gorgeous velvet flowers.

Henry & Harriet - Darkroom Door

I've been having a great time with Henry & Harriet (a new Darkroom Door collage stamp) at my house this week!  I've had some TAP (transfer artist paper) by Lesley Riley tucked away for quite sometime and thought it was time to have a play with it.  I stamped Henry and Harriet onto a piece of TAP and then ironed it onto some sage green raw silk.  I was really impressed with how much detail was transferred.  The piece then evolved into a necklace as I stitched and added layers of fabric, lace, paper and found objects.

I was very blessed to be able to attend the Craft Fair in Perth a few weeks ago and some of the fabrics I purchased were wrapped around these lovely tags.  They are definitely worth recycling as they are really sturdy, but still able to be put through my sewing machine.  I roughly covered the tag with gesso and then set to work stamping and layering fabric, paper, found objects and stitching.

I think the Darkroom Door stamping sets, Love Letters Vol 1 and Vol 2 were the perfect compliment to Henry and Harriet, especially the sentiment... 'LOVE does not consist in gazing at each other, but looking together in the same direction.'

Shadow 6 Up Frame - Darkroom Door

Oooohhh, Darkroom Door's Shadow 6 Up frame stamp is so much fun to work with!  For this first card, I roughly inked up the stamp, missing small sections of the rubber, and then stamped in onto textured card to give a more weathered look.  I then punched a square hole into one section of the frame to create a window.

I added a number of stamped images from Darkroom Door's stamp sets:  Seashells and Seaside Vol 2 and embellished the work with vintage buttons, a pearl, a shell, thread, lace, washi tape and a section cut from an old map. I used 3D mounting tape on my work, adding a section of map under the window and affixed it to black card.

London was the next theme in mind as I continued to play with the Shadow 6 Up frame.  This time I stamped the compass (Sail Away), pattern (Ornate Elements) and postcard (Champs Elysee) images onto three sections of the stamp and then inked the remaining blocks to create a mix of patterned and solid blocks.  You need to be pretty organised and work fairly quickly so that the ink doesn't dry out!

The card was then embellished with images from London Vol 1 filmstrip and London montage.  I stamped the United Kingdom section of the World Map background stamp onto the back of a Scrabble tile and Trafalgar Square label (London Vol 1 stamp set).  The number from the small tag is from the Ornate Elements stamp set.  A few other treasure were added to complete this card:  silk fabric, eyelets, game spinner, vintage text, a wooden jigsaw piece and pen nibs.

Darkroom Door's Shadow 6 Up frame stamp is extremely versatile and great one to add to your collection!  I really love it!

In My Heart

'In My Heart'

Emotional connection is what I experienced most whilst creating this piece.  I'm discovering in a richer way, that this is actually what is of most importance to me in the process of art making.  There's much buried in my heart - faith, joy, frustration, fear of rejection, fear, fear, fear!, love, hope, resentment, excitement (and much more of course), but nearly always prayerfulness and it most often ends in thankfulness to God, for without Him I would be lost in a very dark and lonely place.  Connecting emotionally as I create, is helping me to release those bound up emotions, search for truth and pray through them for God's guidance, healing, peace, love and joy.

I worked slow (as I usually do) and found myself in a place of remembrance.... remembering the amazing and creative lives of my mother and grandmothers; reflecting upon the wonderful gift they have given me - the joy of living a creative life - what a heritage!  I miss each of them terribly, but am so thankful that each one of them continues to play a huge part in who I am today and the art that I make.  I am incredibly blessed!

I'm also very thankful for the many artists who are so willing to impart their knowledge, skills, time and talents to those around them, both locally and globally.  Something I find truly remarkable, is that often times these artists may never even know the incredible impact they have had on others and their art making.  

A number of years ago, Lesley Riley turned my art making right around, allowing me to steer it in another direction.  Did she have any idea of the impact she made on me back then?  No, she didn't, but I have since told her once or twice.  I was participating in her class, as quiet as a mouse and soaking in with wonder all that she was teaching.  I felt a greater sense of freedom in the way I approached my work and was thrilled to discover new possibilities for art making.  I'm still learning so much from Lesley, and I don't think I would have broken through some of the boundaries that were necessary to smash in order to create this piece.  So thank you Lesley, and thank you to all those creative souls that are willing to mentor, teach and share their creative lives with others.  You may never know the impact that you have on someone's creative life, but I pray you will be blessed in some way because of it!

Musical Cherubs - Darkroom Door

I think this new Darkroom Door frame stamp may well be one of my absolute favourites!!!

For this first piece, 'Always Find A Song', I stamped Darkroom Doors new frame stamp 'Musical Cherub', directly onto a piece of vintage sheet music that I had previously painted with a light layer of gesso.  I then stamped the sentiment found in Darkroom Door's stamp set 'Chorus', into the centre of the frame and added the copyright number to the frame from some of the remaining sheet music.  I then had a lovely time embellishing this piece with some pressed hydrangea flowers, silk fabric, sheet music and cross stitches.  

For this next piece, I stamped the Musical Cherubs frame onto a scrap of white paper and trimmed around both the inside and outside edges of the frame and layered it over a lovely image from Darkroom Doors 'Love Letters Collection Vol 2' stamp set using 3D mounting tape.  I stamped 'Paris' found on the postcard of the same stamp set and placed it behind the lower section of the frame.

The frame was then added to a number of layered papers, including sheet music and embellished with Darkroom Door's postal stamp found in the 'Love Letters Collection Vol 1' stamp set and a floral image found on the 'Art De Fleur' montage sheet.  Lace, silk fabric strips, buttons, flowers and pearls were then used to complete this collage.

A Dashing Good Time with Darkroom Door

He's dashing, isn't he!!!  I've been having a lovely time playing with Darkroom Door's Gazette background stamp.  I created the background to this piece by stamping 'Gazette' with VersaFine Smoky Grey ink onto white paper and then once again stamping it onto another piece of paper, without re-inking the stamp, to get a more faded effect.  After that, it was just a matter of cutting the papers up to create this composition.  

Other Darkroom Door products used to complete this project are:  Dashing Gents, Champs Elysee, Steampunk stamp set, Regal frame and Love Letters montage.

Outburst of the Soul - Darkroom Door

I love this thought that, 'Music is the outburst of the soul'.  I love to sing and I especially love those moments when I really lose myself in the melody or lyrics of a song.  I find myself all goose bumpy and emotional and lost in the wonder of it all.  There's nothing like it!  It's fun to sing with my beloved too and it's such an amazing way to connect with someone.

I've been having a lovely 'dress-making' time as I played around with the new Darkroom Door background stamp, Postage Stamps.  I've simply stamped the background onto some white paper with pink ink, scrunched it up a bit and created the shape of a skirt.  I scalloped the bottom edge of the skirt with scissors and added a little layer of lace underneath the skirt.  Then I hand cut a torso shape to go with it, adding a swipe of ink around the edges of the skirt and bodice.

I've also used words and images from two of Darkroom Door's stamp sets to create the background :  'Chorus' and 'Champs Elysée'.  Finally, I added some additional music inspired bits n bobs and  a bit of lace complete the collage.

Now it's time to turn up the music and have a little sing-a-long!  It's good for the soul!

For Rosemary - Mothers Day with Darkroom Door

My lovely mother-in-law,  Rosemary, is a very skilled dressmaker and I wanted to create something extra special for her, as it's 'our' very first Mothers Day since I married Joel!  Darkroom Door's Dressmaker stamp set was the perfect starting point in creating this card for her.

There's quite a lot of layering of papers and inks and paint in this piece. 

I've created this effect on the dressform by stamping the bust section a second time on scrap paper with pink ink, cutting it out and over-stamping it with Darkroom Door's Floral background stamp and swiping ink around the edges to create dimension.

There's some fussy cutting too!

And a tiny bit of hand stitching, lace, tulle and a pearl button were the finishing touches!

Having been 'motherless and grand-motherless' for some now, it's pretty exciting to have a mum to once again make special things for!  

The Darkroom Door products I have used for this piece are:

Procrastination, Perfection, Persistence!

Looks can be deceiving, but I have actually been working on a Mothers Day card for Darkroom Door this morning.  It's not coming together easily and I'm constantly distracted by thoughts of what I might eat next!  Why???  The cooler weather perhaps?  Or maybe it's the bad habits formed in holiday time when I can visit the fridge as regularly as I wish?  Most likely it's my constant struggle to let go of perfection, flee from procrastination and just get on with the creative challenge at hand!?  Whatever it is, I've not been choosing food wisely this past week, but today I intentionally found some yummy, healthy goodness for at least one snack!  And it looked so good, I just had to take a photo!

Time to get back to the studio!  Time to stop the procrastination and keep working at it!  

Hopefully there'll be a Mothers Day card to share before the end of the day!

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

Paperbark, Australian Animals and Darkroom Door

I've had the most wonderful time playing with Darkroom Door's new Australian Animals Vol. 2 stamp set, along with some paperbark taken from the paperbark tree in my front yard.  It's the first time I've experimented with paperbark and the texture is quite remarkable.  Although the bark is quite fragile, I was really pleased with the way I was able to stamp and stitch with it.

The Dress...

I layered some pieces of paperbark together onto white textured card to create the skirt and bodice of the dress.  I then stamped the kangaroo onto another small section of paperbark and stitched it in place.  The straps of the dress were formed from black cotton thread and gunmetal coloured beads.  I made a knot between each bead and stitched the strap into place on the card.  

The rest of the embellishing was kept simple... I layered the dress onto textured cream card, added a zigzag stitch down the right side with black thread, affixed the postage stamp and then stamped the word  'Sydney' from Darkroom Door's Sydney Vol. 1 stamp set to the lower lefthand corner with Brilliance Lightning Black ink.  A quick swipe of the edges of the card with Lightning black ink and this project was complete!

A close-up of the stamped paperbark... the texture is awesome!

How much can a koala bear?  Aren't they just one of the cutest animals on earth!

Once again I went for a little wander in the garden... I was actually looking for gum leaves, but they were way too big, so I was very pleased to find these leaves and nuts on my Dad's bottlebrush tree.  They're just the perfect size for this project!

I stamped the koala, also found in Darkroom Door's Australian Animals Vol. 2 set, onto white textured card with Onxy black VersaFine ink.  The lower edge of the card had been punched with a doily pattern.  I mounted this onto a piece of kraft card along with some paperbark and stitched it in place with straight and zigzag stitches.  Next, I added the leaves, twigs and nuts (stitching some of the twigs in place).  Final embellishments:  another piece of paperbark stapled to the top left corner and the word 'hugs' from Darkroom Door's Simply Circles rubber stamp set (which was stamped on white card with Brilliance Lightning Black ink).  Finally a quick swipe of black and lightning black ink around the edges of the card added finishing touch!

Darkroom Door products I have used for these projects:

A Moment of Time - Darkroom Door

Here's an ATC I've created using some of Darkroom Door's new Sydney paper products combined with their Photography stamp set.

I layered some vintage numerical table paper onto an ATC sized card and roughly covered it with gesso.  When dry, I stamped the quote from the photography stamp set onto the left hand side of the ATC with black ink and stamped the filmstrip edge with Brilliance pearlescent gamma green ink on the right hand edge.

Next I layered some silk fabric scraps and a section of the Sydney Vol 2 filmstrip, stitching the image into place with orange thread and stamepd the word 'proof' with gamma green ink onto the image.  I then sewed a section of the Sydney wordstrip onto the ATC and added additional stitching around the edges of the card to complete it.

Darkroom Door products I have used for this project:

Photography stamp set (Essentials 3)

Sydney Vol 2 filmstrip

Sydney wordstrip

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