Love is in the Air

The new challenge theme over at Try it on Tuesday is Love is in the Air – think Hearts, Valentine’s Day, Love etc.

This challenge runs for the next two weeks and I hope you will join in the fun with your Love is in the Air creations, I look forward to seeing you there (grin!).

My art journal page today is a mixed media collage and it involved lots of fussy cutting which I love (grin!). I started this page by stamping a heart background stamp onto the page using Rich Cocoa Memento ink and stencilling a Vintage trellis design from Dutch Doobadoo using Angel Pink Memento Ink with a blending tool.

Next I fussy cut the heart branches, birds and birdcages from an 8×8” sheet of design paper. The design paper was two-sided so I also fussy cut lots of hearts and swirls from the other side. Once all the fussy cutting was complete, I stuck a sheet of napkin, with a pretty lace, music and cupid design, over the top of the stamped and stencilled background using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium; I chose Memento Ink as they do not reactivate when wet so the inks do not bleed into the gel medium or napkin. As I covered the napkin with a layer of gel medium, I collaged the pieces of heart branches, swirls and birds on top while it was still wet. I ensured that the design flowed by matching up the lines and layering the images together and also covered all of these pieces with a layer of gel medium too and left it to dry.

Once dry, I coloured all of the hearts using a Blossom Spectrum Aqua Marker which I applied like watercolour; I did this by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block and using a wet paintbrush to gradually shade the colour. I really like the way the colour intensifies as it shades across the hearts. I also added more definition around the hearts using white and brown Uni Posca paint pens. Next I added the red lettering which is from a Die-cut & Paper Pack set by Docrafts Papermania and then added some shadows to the whole design by applying diluted Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker with a paintbrush. To finish, I embellished the tree branches and swirls with some small red gem stones to add a little sparkle.

I really enjoyed creating this page and over on Try it on Tuesday the Design Team have created some fabulous creations for this challenge, so please pop over and take a look.

As we have had some high winds of late, instead of walking with friends on the beach we have taken refuge by walking in the grounds of Lytham Hall. This of course means that we went to the café there and this is the saucer that my cup was partnered with, it reminded me of the birds on my page (grin!).

You can see how my green tea was served here, in a pretty teacup along with the saucer and of course I had my usual slice of delicious ginger cake which I just couldn’t resist – yum (grin!). 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 I found out about Challenge Blogs like Try it on Tuesday 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 Rike for rike’s art, who is hosting the Animals A-Z challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the “L is for Lovebirds” that I included on my page.

As I included red on my page, I’m also joining in the fun over at The Artistic Stamper and their challenge is Roses are Red (use the colour Red) challenge.

I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Love is in the Air Challenge.

As I used the reds, pinks and hearts on my art journal page, I’m also pleased to join the Photo Inspiration 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 (Rich Cocoa, Angel Pink)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Blossom)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (White, Brown)
• Hobbycraft clear stamp (A6 Heart Background 50351HC)
• Dutch Doobadoo A5 Dutch Mask Art (Vintage)
• Dunelm Napkins (Grace 30220549)
• 8×8” Design Paper Sheet – free gift from local craft store
• Docrafts Papermania A4 Ultimate Die Cut & Paper Pack (Folk Christmas PMA160933)
• Docrafts Papermania 3mm Adhesive Stones (Red 351607)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium