Friends

I enjoyed creating this page and would like to dedicate it to three of my best friends who are going through hard times at the moment.

Having only the quote in mind, I sought inspiration for my page from some great blog challenges that I wanted to join. I always find that these challenges really capture my imagination and I have such a fun time incorporating them all into my design, and this page was no exception (grin!).

I started by colouring the background with Faber-Castell Gelatos; I did this by scribbling Bubble Gum, Orange Soda and Lemon gelatos onto my page and then smudging them with my finger. These bright colours make me happy as they remind me of some flowers that were bought for me recently so they are perfect for Yvonne‘s theme of “Colour in my World” over at Art Journal Journey. I kept the gelatos thick for the next technique, where I used a baby wipe through two different stencils to remove some of the gelato colour.

I like the way the bubbles and crosses are twinkling over the page and to enhance this look I added some Wink of Stella clear glitter to each bubble, which was inspired by Monday’s “Shimmer and Shine” challenge over at Simon Says Stamp. Next I stamped the heart and circle design by Sugarloaf Inc. using black Archival Ink, I love this stamp it’s one of my favourites. Then I added more shiny elements in the form of Designer Vinyls by Craftime which have a black high gloss finish and detail intricate designs of friends at play. These images were inspired by the “My Friend” theme over at Try it on Tuesday and works perfectly with the quote. I printed the word “Friends” from my computer, fussy cut the letters out, coloured them black with a Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. They are outlined with Dovecraft black Pearl Effects and more shimmer was added to the centre of each letter using the Wink of Stella glitter brush. Then I used an alphabet stamp set from Docrafts with black Archival Ink, to stamp the rest of the quote, which reads:

“Friends fill your life with joy, your soul with sunshine and your heart with love”.

I added more shimmer and shine using some pretty glitter butterflies from Poundland and also some glossy hearts and flowers from the same Designer Vinyl set. Then I stamped a border by Hampton Art around the edge of the page using the black Archival Ink and added the neon orange border over the top which is from a pack of 3D Border Glitterations by Docrafts Papermania; I really like the glitter effect and their transparency as you can still see the stamped border beneath them. To finish, I added a black Glitterations border on the inner edge of the orange border to frame the page with a sparkly black line too.

Here are the beautiful flowers that coloured my world, they were a gift from a family member who stayed with us recently, I chose similar colours for my page as they make me so happy when I see them – aren’t they stunning!

I love creating my art journal pages using mixed media so I’m also pleased to join the “Anything Mixed Media Goes” challenge over at Mixed Media World.

I also really enjoyed incorporating some of my favourite stamps for the background, border and quote on my page, and taking inspiration from Majo who used quotes on her artwork over at Craft Stamper, I thought it would be fun to join their “Anything Goes” Stamping Challenge!

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Faber-Castell Gelato (Bubble Gum, Orange Soda, Lemon)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Zig Memory System Wink of Stella Brush (GL Clear 999)
• Dovecraft Pearl Effects (Brights – Black DCBS92PD)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Point Marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Anita’s Sugarloaf Inc. wood mounted rubber stamp (26645)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Alpha Folk DCE907115)
• Hampton Art Doodlebug Inc. cling mounted rubber stamps (Borders ICO160)
• “Friends” computer printout
• Craftime Designer Vinyls (B/W Boy & Girl PBDV02)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations 3D Borders (Neon Orange PMA818103)
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• UHU Glue Pen