Blue Danube

Every year we enjoy watching the famous New Year’s concert from Vienna, Austria, which features my all time favourite classical music by Strauss. This art journal page celebrates one of the most well-known waltzes by Johann Strauss called the Blue Danube and takes inspiration from the beautiful roses at this year’s concert.

Over at Try it on Tuesday, the current theme is Fire and Ice where you are asked to use hot or cold colours like the hot reds and cool blues on my page. I hope you are inspired to join in the fun, this challenge runs for another week and it would be great to see you there!

I started by tearing the edges from a piece of music sheet detailing the Blue Danube Waltz and sticking the torn pieces around the edge of my page using a UHU Stic. I aged these papers using Brushed Corduroy and Black Soot Distress Ink and a blending tool, and also a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and Derwent Graphik marker smudging the inks with my finger as I applied them. I then added a colour wash of Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink by stamping the ink pad directly onto an acrylic block and applying the ink using a paintbrush to apply the ink onto the page which I had already spritzed with water. I also pressed the ink onto the page from the acrylic block to create pools and dots of blue colour and then I dried them with a heat gun. Next I stamped a series of stamps from the Musicality stamp set by Docrafts using Danube Blue, Paris Dusk, Teal Zeal and Bahamas Blue Memento Inks ensuring that I stamped around the music sheet to completely cover the background. Then I curled the edges of the central piece of music sheet and stuck it onto the page using double-sided tape.

I used my Big Shot to die cut the leaf swirls from gold metallic paper, I also die cut the green leaves, using the Garden Greens Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz, from some green design paper. I coloured and edged them with Leaf Green Spectrum Aqua marker to intensify the colour and they are all stuck into place using glue dots and a Zig Memory System glue pen. For the roses, I used a rose stamp from the same Docrafts Musicality stamp set and black Archival Ink to stamp them onto a pale pink design paper which I backed with white card. I coloured these roses using Rose Pink, Begonia and Sunflower Spectrum Aqua markers which I applied using a paintbrush like watercolour; I did this by scribbling the inks onto an acrylic block so I could pick up the ink with a paintbrush. They are also edged with the Rose Pink Spectrum Aqua marker and layered on top of the leaves and swirls using double-sided foam tape, which finished the page.

If you haven’t seen it here’s a link to the Blue Danube Waltz being played at the New Year’s Concert Vienna Philharmonic 2018. I love the New Year’s concert and some of you may remember me featuring it last year on one of my posts, where I detailed some interesting facts about the Blue Danube and Johann Strauss too.

Before we watched this year’s concert we celebrated the first day of the year in style by having a breakfast of smoked salmon with scrambled eggs on a toasted English muffin. I also had a glass of Bucks Fizz, which is orange juice and prosecco (or sparkling white wine or champagne could be used instead); sharing this drink means that I’m joining the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – cheers and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

Over at Moo Mania & More the theme is Inspired by a Song which gave me the perfect excuse to create my Blue Danube page, thank you!

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the New Year, New Adventures challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my New Year’s adventure!

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Layer It Up challenge with my layer music sheet, dies and stamped roses.

I enjoyed using all the stamps to create this page so I’m also pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

As I used stamps for the focal images on my page, I’m also happy to be able to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Anything Goes challenge.

With my cool blue background, I’m also joining the Cold and Frosty Colours challenge over at Stamping Sensations.

Again and again I’m drawn to use my Distress Inks to create backgrounds and my Memento Inks for stamping, and as these are some of my favourite mediums I’m joining the Allsorts Challenge Blog and their Old Favourites 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy and Black Soot Chipped Sapphire)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Danube Blue, Paris Dusk, Teal Zeal, Bahama Blue)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Markers (Leaf Green, Rose Pink, Begonia, Sunflower)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.8mm)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Musicality DCE907112)
• Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens
• Swirl Leaf Die – unknown
• Music of all Nations Music Booklet
• Gold Paper
• Poundland Design Pad (Contemporary Christmas CR0701K/PL4)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Pastels & White CR0260/PW)
• Card – recycled packaging
• UHU Stic
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• Wilko Sticky Dots
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Falling Snowflakes

With the sleet and snow we had last weekend, which is rare as we live by the sea, I was inspired to create this journal page to remember the falling snowflakes that we saw!

I started by stamping a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and a Serpentine Background stamp from Art Impressions onto the page using black Archival Ink. Then I covered the page with a small amount of sea green and blue acrylic paints and also some white gesso using my finger. While the gesso was drying, I chose three decoupage papers which I folded a number of times to make them thicker so I could die cut them using my Big Shot and a trio of snowflake dies from Tonic Studios. They were quite fiddly to separate as the decoupage paper is so thin and delicate; it was well worth it though as I love the way they look layered on the page using Liquitex Matter Gel Medium to stick them down. Next I added some red border rub-on transfers from Docrafts Papermania and then I stamped the quote onto white tissue paper using the black Archival Ink. The quote is stuck onto the page using a UHU Stic and is by Aristotle, it reads:

“To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold”.

The pretty Winter Time lady is a sticker from Graphic 45 which I thought matched the quote perfectly. For the birds, I stamped a Winter Woodland stamp onto white tissue paper twice using black Archival Ink and then I covered them with black Papermania embossing powder. As you can see I reversed one of the images, which you can do when using tissue paper as the ink goes straight through to the other side; you need to act quickly though when covering it with the embossing powder. I shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper although I wasn’t to worried about stray powder or coverage as I wanted to depict snowfall obscuring the visibility of the branch and birds by using the stray powder. I heated the stamped images with a heat gun, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long as the embossing powder melts very quickly on tissue paper. Next I ripped around the edges of the embossed images and stuck them down using a UHU Stic. I also sprinkled a little of the black embossing powder directly onto the page to enhance the snowfall effect. To finish, I applied some white DecoArt acrylic paint along the tree branches using a paintbrush, then to the snowflakes using my finger and finally to the whole page by using the paintbrush again to add white paint splatters.

 Although we had sleet and snow, it was too wet for it to settle. The temperatures have been colder though so I’ve taken my Prague hat out of storage to keep me warm on our walks. This is the first UK winter I have been able to wear it, as normally it’s just not cold enough (grin!).

Here’s my hat on one snowy evening in Prague a few years ago (double grin!).

Both these snowy photos were taken in winter time in The Old Town Square where you find the most amazing Christmas Markets. The imposing church in the background is called the Týn Church or Church of Our Lady before Týn, which is a gothic church dating back to 14th century, isn’t it beautiful (grin!).

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to be able to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the New Year, New Adventures challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my snowy adventure!

As I layered lots of die cut snowflakes on top of stamps and paint, then layered the quote and bird images that I stamped onto tissue paper I’m so happy to join the Layer It Up challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.

I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Goes challenge.

I enjoyed using all the different stamps to create my page so I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

As I used some new crafting goodies (snowflakes dies, Rub-On Transfers and Graphic 45 Stickers) and techniques (die cutting decoupage paper) to create my Falling Snowflake page, I’m also joining the Ring in the New challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly 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:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Swedish Blue, Christmas Green)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Serpentine Background T-2773)
• Winter Woodland Stamp Set – free with Craft Beautiful Magazine (Dec 2017)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 1792e)
• Poundworld DécoTime (Patch Paper DS9454)
• White tissue paper
• Docrafts Papermania Rub-on Borders (First Noel PMA822103)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

Fire and Ice

Today at Try it on Tuesday we are launching a new challenge called Fire and Ice, where you are asked to use hot or cold colours. This new challenge runs for two weeks and we would love for you to join us.

I had fun creating an art journal page using hot fiery colours and icy glittery flowers (grin!).

I started by applying Pébéo modelling paste using a Swoosh stencil from Creative Expressions and a feather mask from Craft Sensations. Once the modelling paste had dried, I spritzed the page with water and sprinkled Brilliant Red, Scarlet, Orange, Yellow and Lemon Colourcraft Brusho Powders over the top and spritzed them with more water so that the Brusho colours fully covered the page. I controlled where individual colours went by adding each Brusho colour separately then spritzing the powder with water after each application; replicating flames with a red glow in the centre and oranges and yellows around the edges. I then dried the page with my heat gun and stuck a glitter adhesive border strip along the bottom edge. For the quote I cut out a circle of patterned paper and stamped the quote using an alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink. It is by William C. Hannah and reads:

“The day will be what you make it, so rise like the sun and burn”.

It is edged with a gold outline sticker and then with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and a black Derwent Graphik marker. I stuck it on top of a circle of pink tissue-thin fibrous paper which I ripped around the edges leaving some of the silky fibres intact to give a textured feathery look; they are both stuck down using double-sided tape. Then I added some pearls, gems and glittery flower embellishments around the quote and to the background of the page; sticking the flowers in place using Glossy Accents. Next I fussy cut the phoenix from an old magazine and backed it with white card and I edged with a black Derwent Graphik marker. It is stuck to the page using double-sided foam tape and I stuck some torn pieces of the pink fibrous paper to represent feathers using a Zig Memory System glue pen and added some of the pearls and gems to give it a 3D look which finished the page.

I hope you will join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday where you will find loads more inspiration from my fellow Design Team Members too.

As the quote I used inspires new adventures, I’m also pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the “New Year, New Adventures” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

We often visit the Blackbird café with our friends and as I’m featuring my favourite drink of green tea I’m pleased to join T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day! The drinks at this café are always served with a little treat on the side. If you look closely at the teaspoon you will see an Iced Gem biscuit, these little treats took me right back to my childhood (grin!).

If you haven’t come across Iced Gems before, you may be interested to know that:

• Iced Gems are tiny round biscuits (maybe 2cm diameter) with a swirl of hard icing on top.
• They were first made over 150 years ago in Reading and were apparently the result of a biscuit making accident back in the 1850s when Huntley and Palmer shrank their biscuits during the cooking process when experimenting with some new biscuit technology. They called the resulting mini biscuits Gems.
• In 1910 they added icing to these mini biscuits to create the product we know today.
• There were different ways of eating them; maybe the icing first, or the biscuit, or as I preferred both together. Leaving them to melt in your mouth was a good idea too as they were quite hard if you tried to chew them.
• Today’s iced gems have five colours of icing, white, yellow, orange, red and purple, which seem to be different from what I remember and there is also now a chocolate version too.
• They are said to be most popular in France, America, Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Sweden.

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:

• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Colourcraft Brusho Colours (Brilliant Red, Scarlet, Orange, Yellow, Lemon)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.1mm, 0.8mm)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Mask (Swoosh)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Paper bundle from local craft shop
• Fibrous light weight Mulberry paper (Pink)
• White card
• Old magazine
• The Range (Glitter Adhesive Border Strips CR0517)
• Starform Outline Stickers (Gold 1144)
• Trimcraft (Adhesive Pearls SCDOT056)
• The Range (Craft Embellishments CR0824)
• Poundland (Accessories Pack)
• Hobbycraft (Rose Gem Stones 5666091006)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Winter Robin

When we were visiting family in the South of England we discovered some new walks at a local nature reserve, where we saw lots of wildlife including robins which is one of my favourite birds.

I started by painting diluted Ground Espresso and a little bit of Hickory Smoke Distress Inks onto the page by stamping the ink pads directly onto an acrylic block and picking the ink up with a wet paintbrush. I concentrated the colour around the edges of the page and used the paintbrush bristles to add texture. Then I applied the Hickory Smoke ink again using a blending tool through a retro stencil from That Special Touch of Mica Masks by Creative Expressions. I stamped some small snowflakes from a BoBunny stamp set using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. With some new dies and my Big Shot I got to work creating some green and red paper branches using Garden Greens Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz; they are stuck to the page using a Zig Memory System glue pen. I was also very excited to receive some die sets from my lovely friend Astrid yesterday, thank you so much! I wanted to use them straight away (grin!), so I selected some square dies and used them to create some pretty edges on a recycled Robin Christmas card and also some patterned papers from Docrafts. I edged them with a grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them to the page along with some other paper embellishments from the same Docrafts pack and a robin image from another recycled Christmas card using some double-sided tape. To finish the page, I added the wording which are letter stickers from the same Docrafts pack.

Here’s one of the beautiful robins that we saw on our walk at the nature reserve (grin!).

If you are interested, here are some facts about robins:

• This robin is a European robin (Erithacus rubecula), which here in the UK is known simply as a robin or robin redbreast and they are renowned for their friendliness.
• The term robin is also applied to other birds of a similar appearance, such as the American robin which is actually a thrush and also the Australasian robins.
• Even though the film Mary Poppins is set in London, the robin that lands on Mary’s finger during “A Spoonful of Sugar” is an American robin instead of a European robin.
• Nowadays in the UK, robins are synonymous with winter and especially Christmas cards because in Victorian times, our postmen were known as robins due to their bright red uniforms and they delivered cards on Christmas day.
• The robin often tops the polls for Britain’s favourite bird and has been adopted as a nickname for eight UK football (soccer) clubs who play in red.

We saw the robin while we were walking through woodland. It was a lovely place to explore with its ponds, streams, marshes, grassland, reed beds, hedges and woodlands and it was a haven for a variety of wildlife too. We saw so many birds in the hedgerows and trees.

It was a sunny day when we visited too and we walked for miles enjoying both the scenery and wildlife.

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the New Year, New Adventures challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my page inspired by our new walking adventure and created with lots of new crafting goodies!

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Birds of a Feather challenge with my Winter Robin art journal page.

I’m pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Goes challenge.

As I’m using new dies, my new Big Shot die cutting machine as well as the Docrafts paper pack and Creative Expressions stencil which are new craft goodies, I’m also pleased to join the Ring in the New challenge over at Mixed Media Monthly.

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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso, Hickory Smoke)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Retro Christmas)
• BoBunny Stamps (Snow Day #13705563)
• Paper Pack from local craft store
• Recycled Christmas Cards
• Docrafts Papermania A4 Ulimate Die-cut & Paper Pack (Festive Fauna PMA160949)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206)
• Spellbinders Die Cut Systems (Marvelous Squares, Unknown)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (The Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape

A Sprinkle of Magic

I couldn’t wait to use my new Big Shot die cutting machine which I received for Christmas so I created this page (grin!).

You may have seen that I referred to it in my last post and I was amazed at how many of you guessed correctly (double grin!). I’d also like to thank everyone for all their lovely wishes of congratulations when I became a member of the Try it on Tuesday Design Team too, I’m overwhelmed by your kindness, thank you!

To create the background, I added Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye and Milled Lavender Distress Inks by applying the ink pads to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. Then I stamped a couple of snowflake designs from BoBunny using London Fog, Toffee Crunch and Lulu Lavender Memento Inks. Next I created all the lovely leaves from different design papers using my new Big Shot; I chose a blue colour palette to give a wintry and frosty feel to the page. I used a holly die to create the leaves and had such fun using the Big Shot to produce them all, as you can see I made quite a few (grin!). I edged each of the leaves with a grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to make them stand out a bit more from the background, which took quite some time! Then I layered them onto the page using glue dots or double-sided foam tape and a Zig Memory System glue pen. Once in place I also curled the leaves so they looked more dimensional. The pretty bird and fence posts are fussy cut from last year’s calendar and are edged with grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; the calendar features British Birds and this one is called a Great Tit which frequents woodland and gardens alike. They are stuck down using a UHU Stic and I added some of the leaves around them too. Next I added a pretty winter scene tag by Pion Designs, a sticker from Graphic 45 and also some words which I cut from an old magazine, mounted onto a piece of thick paper and stuck into place using double-sided foam tape. The words read “A sprinkle of magic” which reminds me of frost and snow this time of year. To finish, I added Icicle Sparkles to the snow on the fence posts and lots of blue gems using Glossy Accents.

I had so much fun using my Big Shot and having never used a die cutting machine before, I had a fun adventure finding out how it worked and how to use it (grin!). I have a very limited supply of dies at the moment but couldn’t wait to get creative so made do with what I had and I love the page that resulted!

If you have any suggestions of brands or actual dies that you would recommend and couldn’t live without, then please let me know by leaving a comment below. This will help me decide what to put on my wish list as I really don’t know where to start (double grin!).

As I included my cuppa in the photo above, I’m pleased to join Bleubeard and Elizabeth and the rest of the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – sending you all Happy T day wishes!

If you are wondering, here’s the photo of my craft room from my last post, you can see my new Big Shot on the left-hand side (grin!).

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the New Year, New Adventures challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my winter page that I created on my Big Shot adventure (grin!).

With my wintry page I’m pleased to join Moo Mania & More and their Frosty Winter challenge .

With the blue colours that I used to create this page, I’m also happy to join Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Winter Blues challenge.

Including stamping means I’m also able to join in the fun over at The Artistic Stamper and their Anything Goes challenge.

I’m also pleased to be able to join Country View Challenges and this month’s Anything Goes challenge.

As I used stamping and other mixed media to create my art journal page, I’m pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their January Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included). 

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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye, Milled Lavender)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (London Fog, Toffee Crunch, Lulu Lavender)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• BoBunny Stamps (Snow Day #13705563)
• The Range Festive Collection (5×5 Dies Holly)
• Poundland Design Pad (Pure Frozen CRO701/16PL4, Contemporary Christmas CRO701K/P4)
• Festive Silhouettes free with magazine (Luxury Stamp Set and Foiled Paper)
• Poundland (Glitter Sheets 116432)
• British Birds Calendar 2017 – recycled
• Pion Design Glistening Season 12×12” paper sheet (Tags – PD6612)
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Stickers (Place in Time 4500617)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Blue Round Gems 566538101)
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (The Dual Action Glue Pen)
• UHU Stic
• Wilko (Sticky Dots)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

My Favourite Things

I’m thrilled and honoured to be able to join the Design Team at Try it on Tuesday and I’d like to thank the wonderful team for inviting me. Being part of this team is very special to me as Try it on Tuesday is one of the first challenge blogs that I ever joined and I have very fond memories of when I made their “Top 5” and was subsequently asked to be a guest designer for one of the challenges!

A little about me:
I live by the sea in the North West of England with my hubby and I started Art Journaling just over 2 years ago as a way of expressing my life through words and pictures. I love using mixed media and I’m captivated by the variety of techniques and materials that can be used to create so many different styles of art. I’ve always been a creative person, and this has now become a passion of mine which I like to share with others.

Here at Try it on Tuesday we have a new challenge theme every two weeks and we would love for you to join us. Today we are launching the My Favourite Things theme where you are asked to use a favourite technique, stamp, stencil, ink or paint etc, which gave me lots of inspiration when I created this page.

I started the page using one of my favourite techniques using Spectrum Aqua Markers and an acrylic block; I did this by scribbling Sea Green, Kingfisher and Peacock Blue onto an acrylic block, spritzing the block with water then pressing it onto the page. I love the way the ink blends and imprints the page with colour creating some lovely textures. Next I selected my favourite hearts and circle stamp from Sugarloaf Inc. and stamped it on the page using Bahama Blue Memento Ink. Then I used an “Art is” stencil by The Crafter’s Workshop to stencil some black DecoArt acrylic paint using a sponge and I also splattered some of this paint over the page using a paintbrush. This stencil is a favourite of mine as I can really relate to the words which read:

When the paint had dried I used the stencil again to add Pébéo modelling paste over the top of the black paint using a palette knife. After the paste had dried I coloured it with Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool and then some Boysenberry, Snow Cone, Coconut and Kiwi Faber-Castell Gelatos by simply brushing the gelato directly over the top; gelatos are one of my favourite mediums too. Then I splattered the page using a white Uni Posca paint pen. Next I chose another of my favourite stamps to stamp the birds sitting on a branch directly onto the page and also onto a piece of patterned paper from a Design Pad from Crafter’s Companion. I fussy cut the birds out of the paper and stuck them over the stamped bird images on the page using double-sided tape. The “My Favourite Things” wording is formed from Label Letters from idea-ology by Tim Holtz which I mounted on three tags. The tags are covered with the appropriate word definition from my old school Oxford Pocket Dictionary using a UHU Stic; the edges of which are stamped with the heart and circle design from Sugarloaf Inc. using the Bahama Blue Memento Ink and Twisted Citron Distress Ink. They are edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker as well as Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool and then stuck to the page using double-sided tape. I also punched some hearts from the dictionary paper using a Tonic Studio paper punch; they are stamped, edged and stuck to the page the same way as the tags. I used the Label Letters again to add the names of the favourite things I used, to remind me of how I created this page. To finish, I stuck some paper flowers next to each of the words using Ranger Glossy Accents.

I thought you may like to see where I create my art, here’s my craft room. My hubby built the units for me and I painted them with chalk paint – I love it! My new Christmas present is on display too, can you guess what it might be (grin!).

I had fun using some of my favourite techniques, inks, paints, stamps, stencils, and labels to create this page. I hope you will join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday too, if you need more inspiration take a look at the wonderful creations from my fellow design team members.

I’m so looking forward to finding out what your favourite things are too!

How to join us:

• As long as you stay within the challenge theme you can make whatever you like such as a card, altered project, ATC, scrapbook page, tag, mixed media or anything else you might like to try, including digital art.
• Simply go to our Try it on Tuesday blog and use the “Inklinkz” tool to link directly to your post (and not just to your blog).
• Remember to incorporate our Try it on Tuesday link in your blog post too.
• You can find the full set of guidelines here.

I’m also joining the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their January Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

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:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Sea Green, Kingfisher, Peacock Blue)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Bahama Blue)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Boysenberry, Snow Cone, Coconut, Kiwi)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Twisted Citron)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• The Crafter’s Workshop 6×6” Stencil, Designs by Jamie (Mini Art Is TCW261S)
• Craft Sensations (Clear Stamps CRO274/16R1)
• Sugarloaf Inc. wood mounted rubber stamp (26645)
• Crafter’s Companion Angelica & Adam Collection (Luxury Designer paper Pad A&A-PAP6-M)
• The Pocket Oxford Doctionary
• White card
• The Works (24 Assorted Craft Tags)
• Poundworld (Gem Florettes 117128)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Label Letters #TH93072)
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch (Classic Heart Sider 858E)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

New Year Goals 2018

This time of year we always write some goals to give us focus, keep us on track and get the most from our life together which makes me and my hubby very happy (grin!). So I created a journal page to store our written goals so we know where they are and can easily look at them throughout the year.

I started by covering the page with a Vine background stamp in alternating blocks of Grape Jelly, Lilac Roses and Lulu Lavender Memento Ink and then Danube Blue and Bahama Blue Memento Ink. Then I edged the page using Navy and Purple Spectrum Aqua markers smudging the ink with a baby wipe and my finger. Next I stuck some leftover gold outline sticker surrounds on the page, mainly around the edges, to add more detail. The doves and olive branches are fussy cut from a Christmas card and are edged with a metallic gold pen. I stuck the branches down first using a UHU Stic and when the glue had dried, outlined them using a black UniPin marker and added some shadows using a Slate Spectrum Aqua Marker. I also recycled the envelope from the Christmas card, which had the most beautiful rich gold interior, to make two compartments to store the cards which detail our goals for previous years and also our current goals. They are stuck to the page using double-sided tape and adorned with the pretty doves using a UHU Stic. To finish, I added the words using gold letters and numbers to depict the year, which are peel-off alphabet stickers.

What could be better when writing your goals to have a nice cup of green tea and a slice of homemade Christmas cake (grin!). As I’m sharing my drink it reminds me to join T Stands for Tuesday and say a big hello the T Gang – sending you all Happy T Day wishes!

I’m pleased to say we made very good progress on our goals last year (grin!). I suppose they could be called New Year resolutions as we write them in January, but I have to say that we view them as goals as they are stepping points to our more long-term aspirations and we find they sometimes change and adapt during the year as we try things out.

Now I’m wondering if you have any goals or resolutions for the New Year too?

If you are interested here are some facts about New Year Resolutions:

• Making a New Year’s resolution is a tradition where a person resolves to change a trait or behaviour, accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve their life.
• It is thought making New Year Resolutions dates back to the ancient Babylonians, about 4,000 years ago when they celebrated the New Year on the first new moon after the spring equinox. The Babylonians made New Year’s resolutions to keep themselves in good standing with the gods and they made practical resolutions such as to get out of debt or to return borrowed farm equipment.
• Nowadays, the success rate for New Year’s Resolutions is low as often the goals are unrealistic, people don’t track their progress, they forget about them or too many goals are made in the first place.
• Popular resolutions are:
  • Diet, exercise and weight loss
  • Enjoy life and be more positive
  • Save money
  • Learn something new
  • Be more organised
  • Give more time and money to charity
  • Be a nicer human being
  • Make new friends
  • Spend more time with family
  • Take a trip

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the “New Year, New Adventures” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my New Year Goals journal page.

I’m joining Moo Mania & More and their “Somebody/Something/The New Year” challenge.

I’m pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their “Anything Goes” challenge.

As this mixed media page rings in our new goals for 2018, I’m also joining the “Ring in the New” challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly 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:

• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Grape Jelly, Lilac Roses, Lulu Lavender, Danube Blue, Bahama Blue)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Navy, Purple, Slate)
• Script Metallic Pen (Gold)
• UniPin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Vine Background T-2845)
• Recycled Christmas card and envelope
• Magenta Style Outline Stickers (Gold)
• Dovecraft Peel-off Stickers (Alpha Caps G DCPO-05)
• UHU Stic
• X-Press It double-sided tape

Happy New Year! 2018

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year filled with love, peace and happiness!

I went for a grunge look today and started by applying acrylic paints to the edges of the page using an old plastic gift card. The paints I used were Navy Liquitex acrylic paint, a metallic gold paint and then also some white and some black DecoArt acrylic paint. I also used the same paints to stamp stars and hearts around the edge of the page using an Urban Stamps set by Docrafts Papermania. I used up the excess paint by applying it to some white paper and also to the centre area of the page. Once the paint had dried I used the same star stamp with black Archival Ink to add more detail to the stars and border. Next I added some previously stamped white tissue paper from my craft stash, using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to stick it in place; the stamps used include a chandelier, postage marks, words, starburst, Art Deco border, numbers, scroll work and music sheet. These pre-stamped images are leftover from pages that I have created as I often stamp the image onto tissue paper and then place it on my page in order to see what it looks like first (grin!). When the gel medium had dried I applied a very thin layer of Pébéo white gesso to blend them into the background more.  Then I used some sparkly gold glitter tape to add the sun burst pattern to the page and added the “Happy New Year!” sentiment and “2018” which are foam stickers. I added shadows to them using a black Derwent Graphik marker and a black Derwent Inktense pencil. Then I splattered the page with white and also black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paint brush. The stars are made from gold outline stickers which I backed with a starry night paper from The Works and grey script paper from Craft Sensations along with some white paper which I had applied the leftover paint to earlier. I cut the stars out of the papers and stuck them down using double-sided foam tape, this finished the page.

I hope you all had a wonderful time over the holiday season! Here are our New Year drinks, a Poinsettia cocktail for me and a homemade Christmas beer for my hubby – cheers and wishing you all the very best for 2018!

With this drink related photo, I’m saying a big hello the T Gang at T Stands for Tuesday  and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad that I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with so much inspiration and it’s a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people too. The New Year brings some new exciting themes, so here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the “New Year, New Adventures” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my Happy New Year journal page.

I’m joining Moo Mania & More and their “Somebody/Something/The New Year” challenge – Happy New Year!

With “New” Year celebration, I’m also very happy to join the “Something New” challenge over at  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

I’m also pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their “Anything Goes” challenge.

As I created this mixed media page to welcome and celebrate the New Year, I’m also joining the “Ring in the New” challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly 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:

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Navy)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (2200 Ink Black)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (12 Days of Christmas – Icons PMA907909)
• White paper
• White tissue paper pre-stamped with various designs
• The Works Paper Pack (The Night Before Christmas HCPAP003X15)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Soft Colours CR0730/R)
• Wilko Glitter Tape (Gold)
• Outline Stickers (Gold Stars)
• Trimcraft Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter SCSTK013)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• The Range double-sided foam tape