Monday, March 28, 2022

The Goddess of Spring

 

Today is my friend Sally's birthday.  I will be taking her to the lunch of her choice.  I may be late visiting since I plan to be gone from about 11:00 a.m. to around 5:00 p.m. my time.  After lunch of her choice, I will be taking her for cake and ice cream.

Additionally, today I'm once again joining Valerie at Bastelmania, our host this month at Art Journal Journey.  I'm sure you know by now her theme is Spring.

I started this nearly a month ago, but was quite unhappy with the results I got.

I decided to take a photo of this very large stamp.  I stamped SEVEN times and the image above was the best I could get.  I was very, very frustrated and had wasted two pages of cardstock I stamped on both sides of the paper in the process.  Sorry if this looks fuzzy.  The clear cover that shows what the stamp looks like is coming loose from the wood block.  This was a gift and I suspect the reason the lady gave it to me was because she couldn't get it to stamp to her satisfaction.

I decided to take the bull by the horns and try to get this image stamped properly.  Instead of using a stamp pad, as I did with the brown image, I grabbed a make-up wedge and my black dye reinker.  I spread the reinker over the entire stamp.  I then laid the cardstock over the stamp where it was on my table.  I used the back of my hand to press all over the stamp, even putting dents in the edges where the stamp ended.  When I was satisfied I had created a stamped image that was as good as I could get,

I give you the Goddess of Spring.  

There is some question as to who really is the Goddess of Spring.  According to the web site Goddesses Guide there are at least 23 spring goddess listed there.  The most well known however, are the Greek Goddess Persephone, the Celtic Goddess Ostara, the Eastern European Goddess Dziewanna, and the Nordic Goddess Freya.
 
I am so very proud of the "stamped" image.
 
It turned out better than I actually expected.


Only a tiny portion of the upper left part of the image wasn't as crisp as the rest.  I'm sure it was because I didn't put enough ink on that small portion.

As I explained, I created this image using a reinker and a make-up wedge.  I then laid the 110 lb cardstock over the top.  When finished, I cut the image to size and sewed four lengths of green twill tape to the image using variegated thread.  To say I am happy with this entry would be an understatement.

Thank you beyond belief for stopping by today.  Please also join Bleubeard and me at Art Journal Journey where we share our interpretation of Valerie's theme Spring.

 

23 thoughtful remarks:

Elephant's Child said...

Happy Birthday Sally - and I love the results of your perseverance/stubborness. Well done.

Mia said...

I am glad you did it, Elizabeth. It is a great stamp. And I love your page. Hugs, my friend.

Iris Flavia said...

It looks great! Hope you enjoyed the Birthday-celebration.

Mae Travels said...

I hope you enjoy your outing! Lunch followed by ice cream and cake sounds wonderful as a birthday celebration. I hope you show us some photos of your day.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

Barbara said...

It’s a lovely stamp image in your final result, but I truly like the brown one too. It has a mysterious ethereal quality.

My name is Erika. said...

I stamp that way lots of time. I find it hard with large stamps to get enough even pressure otherwise, just like you did. This is a great stamp, and the Goddess of spring makes page idea for Valerie's challenge. I do like the trim frame you stitched around it too. It looks great. Hope the week starts off well for you, and I will see you this evening for T. Have fun celebrating Kathy's birthday. hugs-Erika

Annie said...

Well done Elizabeth! I’ve stamped that way, BUT still using the ink pad...and it’s still a challenge. I would never have thought to use the reinker and a makeup sponge. Thanks for this tip! I love how you’ve framed the image with twill tape and stitching!

Divers and Sundry said...

Happy Birthday to Sally! I look forward to photos :)

CJ Kennedy said...

You did a great job of getting a clear image. That's a really pretty stamp and the goddess in the upper left looks very Greek/Roman. Happy Birthday to Sally 💐🎂Have fun celebrating.

Valerie-Jael said...

Beautiful piece, love the stitching and well done on persevering to get such a great image. Thanksy or another page for my challenge at AJJ. Coud you please link me this evening or when you are back home? Have a great time with Sally, hugs, Valerie

Cloudia said...

Applause

da tabbies o trout towne said...

very nice piece Elizabeth !! sending happy birthday wishes to your friend Sally; hope you both have a great afternoon :) ♥♥

kathyinozarks said...

Happy Birthday to Sally-tell her I am sending hugs from the lake Have a great time out.
I love your final result-it is a lovely stamp, sometimes those large ones with different depths are difficult to do.
Happy Monday

Jeanie said...

Much improved, Elizabeth! I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating Sally's birthday -- and that she does, too!

Serena Lewis said...

I'm sure you and Sally will have enjoyed a lovely time out for her birthday.

I'm glad you found a work-around for the stamp as it did look so much better. I totally understood your initial frustration with it. I like the addition of the green twill tape. A lovely piece, all in all.

I hope you enjoy the new week, Elizabeth. x

Serena Lewis said...

My second try at commenting. Apparently, there was an error during the Publishing process with the first one.

I'm sure you and Sally would have enjoyed a lovely time out for her birthday.

I'm glad you found a work-around for the stamp as it did look so much better. I totally understood your initial frustration with it. I like the addition of the green twill tape. A lovely piece, all in all.

I hope you enjoy the new week, Elizabeth. x

Serena Lewis said...

And I see that both comments went through regardless of the Error message telling me it failed and to try again. lol

pearshapedcrafting said...

Sometimes pressing on to a stamp is the only way to get a decent image! It clearly works here! Happy Birthday to Sally - I hope you both have a wonderful day! Hugs, Chrisx

Sandra Cox said...

Your Goddess of Spring is purrfect!
Glad you took care of Sally on her birthday. You're a good friend.

Lowcarb team member said...

Happy Birthday to Sally.
I like your Goddess of Spring :)

All the best Jan

Meggymay said...

It is a beautiful stamp you chose to use on this page and the result looks fantastic.
I hope you had a lovely day with Sally celebrating her Birthday.
Yvonne xx

Neet said...

Your perseverance certainly paid off and I do not think anyone could have got a better image than the one you eventually got. Sometimes these stamps are very difficult and I think collage ones are noted for it.
A tip I was given was to ink the stamp well (several taps of the ink pad on the stamp) and then when you press it on the card you leave it there without moving your hands/fingers and let the ink soak into the card.
You might give it a try next time, it certainly helped me.
Hugs, Neet xxx

NatureFootstep said...

stamping is not as easy as I belived it to be. :(