2017 #4 Through The Arched Window {by Lin Brown}

2017 Topic 4: Doors, Windows, Architecture

It's been a while since we've had a post from Lin using stamps other than her own. She'll be the first to admit she's a massive Lynne Perrella fan, and when we demo together, Lynne P's stamps are often what she grabs first when she's working in the 'vintage' genre.

Before Lin starts, this is probably a good time to share some ink pad tests I did recently with Lynne Perrella stamps to find out which achieved the most detail for stamps with super-fine detail such as these.

My conclusion is, if it's new or juicy, use a brayer to apply ink to your stamp, otherwise if your ink is too wet or too liberally applied you will simply lose all the detail in the stamped image. The best performing ink (directly applied to stamp from the pad) for me was an old Versafine (Onyx Black) - Picture B. You can see the notes above for more info.

Don't forget, smooth card-stock is also vital. ~ Leandra

I'll hand over to Lin with her gorgeous, and very clever project...enjoy!

Hi everyone Lin Brown from Yoursartfully here.

It's so nice to be back here on the PA blog tonight sharing my take on the current theme of Doors, Windows and Architecture. I decided to alter a book which I purchased from a charity shop a while ago. I fell in love with this book as it is about Samuel Pepys and is not only an interesting book about the man himself, it is jam packed with illustrations of buildings and maps.......perfect for this theme!

I knew that this topic would suit me down to the ground as I have a bit of a passion for arches so let me take you through my arched window to my project (if anyone remembers watching "Play School" when they were growing up, that phrase will mean more to you than anyone else). 

When I started this project I had the idea in my head that it would feature an arch as the focal point to the front cover but I also wanted to try to create a brick wall effect for the background.

Grunge Paste is my go to product for texture, I was able to stamp into it with a brickwork style stamp from one of my new stamp sets ELB31 to create this effect. I also love how with the addition of a little water, I was able to smooth out some of the texture as I knew I wanted to stamp some fine script on my faux wall for added interest.

I am still amazed after all this time that Grunge Paste texture is not  affected by adding a few drops of paint to tint it and I was thrilled with pop of colour achieved by adding a couple of drops of Turquoise Fresco Finish Paint.

You may notice that I covered my arch with fabric. I always use Egyptian cotton for this and although it has a very fine weave, you can see how well a spot of dry brushed paint can highlight the texture of the fabric.

There were so many fabulous Lynne Perrella stamps that feature buildings, I was spoilt for choice but this one from LPC015 happened to be the perfect size for my arch....

The inside of the book wasn't the easiest thing to photograph but I hope that you can see that there are actually four layers to create my landscaped effect.

For me, layers are important. Usually I'm talking about layers of paint but this time it's layers of pages which vary in height. I was particularly pleased with how this came together but it really was luck more than anything as the book already had a map of the river Thames in it, so that enabled me to place buildings both in front and above the river.

Originally, my idea was to completely cover the adjoining page with with bricks (I used the Verdant Moon stencil from Stencil Girl) but when I started to re-position the stencil, it dawned on me that this was definitely a case of less is more. By leaving this empty space, it will allow me to add some journaling which I think will enhance this page.

My final photograph is a close up shot of all the things I love. Contrast of colour and contrast of texture. Notice how the addition of a little bit of Archival ink applied to the Grunge Paste really enhances the texture.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of altering this book and am looking forward to continuing to work in it. It's been a while since I altered a book and I do love to have what I call an "on going" project. Something that I can just pick up and spend ten minutes on if I want to or if the mood takes me, I could spend all day adding to it. I think my next addition to this book will be to add some fold out pages featuring more buildings. Maybe my Altered Book will inspire you to alter one for yourself.....I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

Thank you for joining me this evening.

Lin
Blog: Yoursartfully
Twitter: @Yoursartfully

Flipping amazing how you made the texture look like bricks with that stamp and the GP!!It worked a treat! I can see that as my first experiment to try on the back of this post! You are just too clever ! ~ Leandra

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