Merry Moose Winter Wonderland

Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday for the next two weeks is Winter Wonderland, where you will find some amazing creations from my Design Team teamies!

For my art journal page, I had so much fun creating a winter wonderland for my Merry Moose. I fell in love with this Merry Moose die set from Tim Holtz as soon as I saw it and finally succumbed to purchasing it last week, so I just couldn’t wait to use it and it didn’t disappoint – I love it (grin!).

To start, I stamped the pretty snowflakes using the Simon Says Stamp Frozen Fractals stamp set and Versamark Watermark ink which I covered with white Stampendous embossing powder. I shook and tapped any excess powder off the page and then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder until it became smooth and dimensional with a glossy finish. Next I positioned a circular stencil onto the page to depict the sun and also a hand cut paper template to mask out the foreground. Then I painted the sky background using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour paint set; I did this by wetting the page with water first and then applying Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine and Turquoise Blue colours using my paintbrush, gradually shading and blending the paints so that they were lighter around the sun. When dry, I splattered the page with white acrylic paint and then I defined the edge of the foreground more using Paris Dusk and Danube Blue Memento Inks and a blending tool. I removed the foreground mask and also added another line of snow using a mask and the same inks. I added some colour to the snowflakes in the foreground by painting them with the Ultramarine and Turquoise Blue watercolours too. For the sun I applied a light wash of Lemon Yellow watercolour paint and when dry, I covered it with some Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink to add some shine. The wording is stamped using the blue Memento Inks again and overlaid with the Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink and I added a little of the Turquoise Blue watercolour paint to the letters so that it colour matched the background more.

The trees are die cut using the Merry Moose Thinlets by Tim Holtz from Sizzix and my Big Shot Machine. I used some brown wood effect paper from Tim Holtz and also some blue glittery paper for the dripping snow dies; they are stuck to the page using a Zig Memory glue pen. Next I added a puffy snow effect using Inkylicious Fluffy Puffy Stuff which you apply and then heat with a heat gun to make it 3-dimensional; it was so much fun seeing the snow come to life (grin!). I also die cut some snowflakes out of the same blue glitter paper and embellished them with the Fluffy Puffy Stuff too and then stuck them to the page. I really need to use the fluffy puffy stuff again, just so I can write fluffy puffy some more (double grin!).

To finish, I added the Merry Moose which is die cut three times, once out of cream linen finish card stock and then twice out of white card stock; I layered them together so the linen finish was on the top. I masked off his antlers and then coloured him using Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Inks blending the colours with a blending tool. Then I removed the masking tape and coloured the antlers with Antique Linen Distress Ink. I stuck him in place and then decided that he needed a scarf to keep him warm, so I used the harness die cut from the Thinlet set and fashioned one together using the blue glitter paper and white card stock which I coloured with the Paris Dusk Memento Ink. It was fiddly to make but I think it completes his look beautifully, don’t you (grin!).

We have been lucky enough to see moose several times in the wild on our travels to America and so I love everything moose! We have a few moose items around the house from our travels too including these beautiful mugs which we were purchased at Booth Bay in Maine. Today they are filled with hot chocolate that has Pumpkin Spice syrup in it and topped with whipped cream – yum! As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and wishing you all a very 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 join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my modern Christmas page!

I’m also joining in the fun over at Moo Mania & More and their Tic, Tac, Toe theme (Designer Paper – Glistening Season from Tim Holtz Paper Stash, Die-Cut – Merry Moose, Circles – on the scarf and the sun).

I’m also pleased to join A Vintage Journey and their Paper Stash challenge this month as I was inspired by my new Tim Holtz Merry Moose Thinlets so used the linen and glitter papers that have been in my craft stash for a while as well as the Tim Holtz Paper Stash pad to create my Mixed Media style page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Winter Wonderland so I’m pleased to join this challenge with my Merry Moose Winter Wonderland page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Baby It’s Cold Outside challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with as it must be cold with my Merry Moose wearing his scarf (grin!).

With the embossing powder that I used for my pretty stamped snowflakes, I’m also joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Resist It challenge too.

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

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

• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Stampendous Embossing Powder Basics (Detail White Opaque DP100)
• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine, Turquoise Blue, Lemon Yellow)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Paris Dusk, Danube Blue)
• Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment Ink (Platinum Planet)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Antique Linen)
• Faber-Castell Craft Stamper Big Brush Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Derwent Graphic Marker (black 0.05mm)
• Inkylicious (Fluffy Puffy Stuff)
• Simon Says Stamp Clear Stamp Set (Frozen Fractals SSS101694)
• Inkylicious Stencil (Sun & Moons)
• Winter Wonderland Stamp Set (free with Craft Stampers magazine No:62)
• Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix Thinlets (Merry Moose 663103)
• Dovecraft Cutting Dies (Merry Christmas DCDIE052X16)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Paper Stash (Halloween #TH93712)
• Blue Glitter Paper
• Cream Linen Card Stock
• White Card Stock
• Zig Memory System Chisel Tip Glue Pen
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• Ranger Heat Gun
• Sizzix Big Shot

Gift It … for Simon Says Stamp

Hi everyone!

I’m really enjoying my time in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This week the theme is Gift It.

I’ve made packs of note cards for my friends, but you could also make a gift tag, gift bag or even wrapping paper etc.

I created two packs of note cards; these gift sets consist of a pink or blue wallet containing two note card designs with matching envelopes.  If you are interested to find out how I made everything, the details are below.

For the note cards, I started by cutting a panel out of white cardstock slightly smaller than 6×4 inch to fit my blank cards using my Fiskars paper trimmer. Then for the first design I stamped the circles from the Altenew Halftone Circles Stamp Set using Picked Raspberry, Mermaid Lagoon and Mustard Seed Distress Ink onto the panels. The sentiment is from the same stamp set and stamped using black Ranger Archival Ink.

Next I die cut a flower from white card stock using Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Thinlets and my Big Shot machine, then I stuck the flower in place using a Zig glue pen. When the glue was dry, I outlined the flower with a black fine line marker to make it stand out more.

For the second note card design I followed the same process but I used Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks for the circle stamping, one of the other sentiments from the same stamp set and also a different flower thinlet.

To finish, I edged the panels using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then I stuck each panel onto a blank card that I also made from the white card stock, using double-sided tape.

As these note cards are a gift I also created a wallet to present them in. The wallets are made from either Simon Says Stamp Cornflower Blue or Cotton Candy card stock which I scored to create fold lines on my Fiskars paper trimmer using a scoring tool.

I adorned them using the same stamp set and inks and die cuts but rather than repeating the card design, I created the die cut flowers out of white cardstock stamped using the circle stamps and Distress Inks, stuck them to the front of the wallet and outlined them so they stood out more. I then I stamped the sentiment using the black Archival Ink.

I inserted the card into the wallets with the matching envelopes – I hope my friends like them (grin!).

As I included bursts of colour as part of my gift set design, I’m also pleased to join Stamps and Stencils and their Remember, Remember 5th November challenge too.

I enjoyed making these gift sets and I hope that you will be inspired to join the Gift It challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

As this is my last week in the Designer Spotlight this month with Simon Says  Stamp, I’d like to thank everyone for all your kind comments and support throughout the month and also say a special thank you to Simon Says Stamp for giving me the opportunity to design for them; I’ve had the most wonderful time!

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

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

• Crafter’s Companion Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Fiskars Paper Trimmer
• Altenew Halftone Circles Clear Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad Mini Kit 1 (Picked Raspberry, Mermaid Lagoon, Mustard Seed)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad Mini Kit 2 (Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Thinlets
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Zig Chisel Tip Glue Pen
• Faber-Castell Fineline Artist Pens
• Faber-Castell Craft Stamper Big Brush Pen (Black)
• Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# Cornflower Blue
• Simon Says Stamp Card Stock 100# Cotton Candy
• Docrafts Clear Stamp Block Papermania
• Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy Cleaner

Good Wishes for Christmas

I’m so delighted to be guest designing over at Swedish House Crafts today!

With the Christmas season almost upon us, I created an art journal page inspired by the Glistening Season Pion Design papers, a Gummiapan stamp, some of my favourite colours of Tsukineko Inks and also some pretty Swedish House Crafts Fabric Flowers – I hope you like it!

If you would like to see how this page came together, the full process is detailed below.

To start I tried out a new technique which was great fun; I stamped the Reed Plant stamp from Gummiapan onto the background of the page using Versamark Watermark ink which I dried using a heat gun (I found drying the ink with a heat gun achieved better watermark images). Then I applied Paris Dusk and Teal Zeal Memento Inks using a blending tool, gradually building up the colour which made the reed images that I had stamped appear (grin!).

Next I stamped the Gummiapan stamp over the page again using the Paris Dusk and Teal Zeal Memento Inks. As I wanted more of a grungy vintage look, I dragged Rich Cocoa Memento ink pad over the edges of the page, then I applied the same ink to a blending mat, spritzed with water and pressed the mat onto the page. I also flicked some of this watered down ink using a paintbrush onto the page, along with some splatters of Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint.

With my background complete, I cut out some of the tags and images from the Glistening Seasons Pion Design paper and used scissors and Rich Cocoa and Toffee Crunch Memento Ink to distress the edges. Then I arranged these papers onto the page with some pieces of doily and die cut foliage using double-sided tape; for the foliage I used the reverse side of the Pion Design paper which was a lovely silver-grey colour and also some dark green paper from my craft stash.

I used the reverse side of the Pion Design paper again to create my snowflakes along with some blue vellum that was left over from a previous project using a die cut and my Big Shot machine. I also created a wreath and little fir-tree twigs from the remnants of the holly die cuts which was fun and a bit fiddly (grin!).

To finish the page, I added the snowflakes, wreath and twigs to the page along with some little blue gems, a bow, the blue Swedish House Crafts Fabric Flowers and three hearts which were cut from the Pion Design paper.

I’d like to thank Swedish House Crafts for having me as part of their Guest Design Team – Happy Crafting!

The Glistening Season paper design, that I used on my page, reminded me of some Christmas displays at a Garden Centre that we visit every year with family, isn’t this winter scene beautiful!

These little gnomes were really cute too …

… and not forgetting Santa Claus (grin!).

It’s hard to believe that there are only five weeks left until Christmas, but before I get carried away with thinking about Christmas … I just wanted to wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating today!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my vintage Christmas page!

I’m joining in the fun over at Moo Mania & More and their Tic, Tac, Toe theme (Designer Paper – Glistening Season from Pion Design, Die-Cut – foliage and snowflakes, Circles – snowflakes and gems).

I’m also pleased to join A Vintage Journey and this month’s Paper Stash challenge as I was inspired by the pretty Glistening Season Pion Design papers to create my Vintage style page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Winter Wonderland so I’m pleased to join this challenge with my wintry Christmas page.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral Christmas focal papers (I hope you don’t mind the pop of colour from my blue wintry background).

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Baby It’s Cold Outside challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my frosty snowy art journal page.

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:

• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Paris Dusk, Team Zeal, Rich Cocoa)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Gummiapan Stamps (Reed Plant
• Foliage Dies – Spellbinders (unknown), Cut & Create (Holly, Wreath)
• Snowflake Dies – Dovecraft (Merry Christmas DCDIE052X16)
• Pion Design Glistening Season Collection (Tags – PD6612)
• Doily
• Dark green paper
• Blue Vellum
• Swedish House Crafts (Fabric Flower Spots)
• Blue round gems
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Stix2 double-sided tape and mini glue dots
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Let It Snow … for Simon Says Stamp

Hi everyone! It’s lovely to be in the Designer Spotlight over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge this month. Thank you for all your kind comments and support last week!

This week the theme is Let It Snow.

I was inspired by Simon Says Stamp (SSS) Frozen Fractals and Tim Holtz Urban Tapestry stamp sets to create a mixed media panel that could be made into a card or in this case used as the centre piece for my art journal page.

To create the panel, I started by cutting a piece of mixed media paper to A5 size, and then I stamped the pretty white snowflakes using the SSS Frozen Fractals stamp set, Versamark Watermark ink and white Stampendous embossing powder. I coloured it using Milled Lavender, Chipped Sapphire and Salty Ocean Distress Ink by spritzing the panel with water then applying the inks. The bird and foliage are from the Urban Tapestry stamp set and they are stamped using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and a brown Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

Next I created the die cut ivy and berries using Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Thinlets, white cardstock and two different blue shades of vellum.

The ivy is coloured using Moss, Leaf Green, Bud Green and Chocolate Spectrum Aqua Markers and detailed using a black fine line marker. I layered the coloured ivy leaves and vellum berries over the white die cut pieces, so they were slightly off centre making the white cardstock look like a coating of snow.

To continue the snowy theme, I doodled snow onto the branch and foliage using a white Uniball gel pen. To finish the panel, I embellished it with SSS Frozen Fractals sequins and added some Icicle Stickles to add some sparkle to both the centre of the sequins and the die cut berries.

As I wanted to use the panel as the centre piece for my art journal page, I also created a wood effect background. Firstly I applied a thin wash of Ground Espresso Distress Ink to the page using a paintbrush and then I used the same ink to stamp snowflakes using the SSS Frozen Fractals stamp set again. I also used a blending tool to stencil the Ground Espresso ink using a Mini Specimen Template by The Crafter’s Workshop. Then I sprinkled Dark Brown and Sandstone Brusho powders onto the page and applied glossy gel medium over the top using a paintbrush, making sure I dragged the paintbrush vertically down the page to create the wood grain effect.

I mounted the panel onto the page using double-sided tape and added the wording, some more die cut berries, SSS Frozen Fractals Sequins and Icicle Stickles, which finished the page.

This page reminds me of Christmas a few years ago and the lovely woodland walk that we went on with my family; as you can see I was very happy to see the snow!

What could be better than a steaming cup of hot chocolate to warm you up after a walk in the snow – I’m wishing the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday a very Happy T Day !

I enjoyed creating my art journal page for the Let it Snow challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join Art Journal Journey and the lovely Erika for her Vintage or Modern challenge this month with my Let it snow page.

I’m also joining Moo Mania & More and their Tic, Tac, Toe theme (Designer Paper – vellum, Die-Cut – foliage, Circles – sequins and stencilling).

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

• Simon Says Stamp Frozen Fractals Clears Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Urban Tapestry Cling Rubber Stamps
• Docrafts Clear Stamp Block Papermania
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Stampendous Embossing Powder Basics (White)
• Ranger Heat Gun
• Ranger Inkssentials MINI MISTER Spray Bottle Tool
• Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad (Milled Lavender)
• Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad (Chipped Sapphire)
• Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad (Salty Ocean)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa)
• Faber-Castell Craft Stamper Big Brush Pen (Nougat)
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Garden Greens Thinlets
• Crafter’s Companion Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Crafter’s Companion Floral Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker
• Zig Chisel Tip Glue Pen
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Simon Says Stamp Frozen Fractals Sequins
• Ranger Inkessentials Glossy Accents
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle)
• Tim Holtz Distress Mini Ink Pad (Ground Espresso)
• The Crafter’s Workshop Mini Specimens 6 x 6 Template
• Ranger Ink Blending Tool Applicator Foam
• Ranger Multi Medium Gloss
• Fiskars Paper Trimmer
• Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy Cleaner

Friends and Family

Its time for a new challenge over at Try it On Tuesday and our theme for the next two weeks, is Friends and Family.

You’ll find some beautiful inspiration from my Design Team teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too. My art journal page today celebrate Friends, Family and Life – I hope you like it!

I started by stencilling the background of leaves using a Falling Leaves stencil from Newton’s Nook and six different colours of Distress Ink. I blended and shaded the colours so that the Vintage Photo and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink were around the edges of the page, then as I worked towards the centre I added Seedless Preserves, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and finally finished with Mustard Seed Distress Ink in the centre of the page. I also positioned the stencil so that the larger leaves were around the outside of the page and the smaller leaves were in the centre. Then I stamped a maple leaf stamp and oak leaf stamp from Tim Holtz Autumn Blueprints stamp set onto the page using black Archival Ink. I coloured the leaves and also the leaf names using the Seedless Preserve, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed Distress Ink with a paintbrush. Then I shaded under the bottom edge of each leaf using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to give them a shadow so they had a 3D look. Next I added some Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers which read “let life surprise you”, “live your life” and “life is good”. I drew boxes and arrows around them to match the blueprint design of the leaves using a black Derwent Graphik marker. The large sentiment which reads “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful” is a Pocket Card from Tim Holtz and is stuck to the page using double-sided  foam tape. I also added the words “Thankful”, “Friends” and “Family” using Tim Holtz Letter Labels and used the Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to add a shadow under them which finished the page.

The bands and shades of colour on my page reminds me of the beautiful mat that our forever friend’s bought us for our wedding anniversary present; it travelled back from America with us and now sits in my hallway at the bottom of the stairs. It is such a happy reminder of the time we spent with them (grin!).

On our wedding anniversary we also had an amazing Maine lobster dinner at their house too, which was so delicious!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and sharing our drinks, red wine, iced water or a beer which as you can see is served in my special Red Sox Beer cooler (grin!) – 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 join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey as this page celebrates happy memories with friends and family!

As I incorporate squares into the design of this page with the frames of colour from the stencilled background, stamped Autumn BluePrint leaf images and also the sentiments, I’m pleased to join the Square It challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge with my art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the November Link Party #45 – Anything Goes over at Cropstop Blog with my page of fall leaves too.

Don’t forget that over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge the theme is Thanks/Thanksgiving this week, it would be lovely to see you there!

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 (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Seedless Preserves, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Newton’s Nook Designs Purr-fect Stencil (Falling Leaves NN1709T01)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stamper’s Anonymous (Autumn Blueprint CMS133)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193, Label Letters #TH93072)
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Thanks/Thanksgiving … for Simon Says Stamp

Hi everyone!

I am enjoying being in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your kind comments and support last week!

This week the theme is Thanks/Thanksgiving.

My art journal page was inspired by my recent holiday/vacation to America. We went to Maine to stay with our dearest friends so I included the spectacular fall colours that we saw and also the words “count your blessings” as this holiday gave me so much to be thankful for (grin!).

I started by creating a page of fall colour using Tim Holtz Leaf Prints stamp set and eleven different colours of Memento Ink.

It was fun stamping and layering all the leaves and it’s a lovely reminder of the fall colours that we saw on our holiday too. I also covered the maple leaves that I had stamped using the Love Letter and Potter’s Clay Memento Inks with Ranger Glossy Accents to add some lovely shine.

For the bunting, I cut some rectangles of Simon Says Stamp Cream Card stock and Tim Holtz paper.

I created the bottom of the bunting by drawing and then cutting a V shape, then I layered them together with some letters die cut from Authentique paper and stuck them together using a Zig Glue Pen.

They are arranged and stuck in place with glue dots over a piece of Tim Holtz idea-ology paper string which I stuck to the page using the Glossy Accents. Then to finish, I added a couple of gumdrop gems.

I always count my blessings especially this time of year; I have so much to be thankful for (grin!) and I’m wishing those of you who celebrate a Happy Thanksgiving!

I thought you may like to see some of the fall colours from my holiday that inspired my page when we stayed with our friends.

Here’s one of the beautiful views of the fall trees and the rusty ferns that we saw whilst walking in the woodland around the lake house where we stayed …

… and of course I had to included this photo of the fall colours around the lake – I don’t think I will ever tire of their amazing reflections (grin!).

I enjoyed creating my art journal page for the Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

• Tim Holtz Cling Rubber Stamps Leaf Prints CMS273
• Tsukineko Memento Dew Drops Ink Pads – Gum Drops (Dandelion, Cottage Ivy, Grape Jelly, Rich Cocoa)
• Tsukineko Memento Dew Drops Ink Pads – Snow Cones (Toffee Crunch, Love Letter, Morocco, Pistachio, Elderberry)
• Tsukineko Memento Dew Drops Ink Pads – Sorbet Scoops (Potter’s Clay, London Fog)
• Ranger Inkessentials Glossy Accents
• Simon Says Stamp Cream Off White Card Stock
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Mini Paper Stash Halloween TH93712
• Fiskars Paper Trimmer
• Authentique Paper nearest match being Authentique Nostalgia Paper Pad
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Airmail Paper String TH83026
• Faber-Castell Craft Stamper Big Brush Pen (Nougat)
• Zig Chisel Tip Glue Pen
• Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy Cleaner

Go Red Sox!

We really enjoyed learning all about baseball whilst in America and watching the Boston Red Sox in the playoffs on TV. On our return we continued to follow the games being played and were delighted when they won the World Series – Go Red Sox!

For the background I stamped with a Hessian stamp using Pistachio Memento Ink and a Sketchy stamp using Potter’s Clay Memento Ink; both the stamps are by Kaisercraft and I chose the colours to depict the grass and sand of the baseball field. Next I added some vintage baseball images and words which are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel. To depict the baseballs, I drew circles with baseball stitching using a black Uni Pin marker around some of the edges of the page. The stars are stencilled using Pébéo modelling paste and coloured using Red Cherry Faber-Castell Gelato. To finish, I added some Boston Red Sox images which are coloured using a red Uni Posca Paint Pen and stuck into place using a glue stick or double-sided foam tape.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my Punkin Beer by Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in its Boston Red Sox bottle cooler; while we stayed with our friends it became a tradition for me to always have this cooler as they won the first time I used it so I was told it bought the Red Sox good luck (grin!). This photo was taken while on the party boat on the lake and you can find more photos of our time on the boat here if you are interested. My sandwich is turkey salad – yum! Happy T Day!

My post is a little shorter this week as yesterday I started my month of guest designing over at Simon Says Stamp for their Monday Challenge. Thank you to everyone for their kind comments on yesterday’s post, your support is very much appreciated!

I’m so excited and honoured to be in the Designer Spotlight and this week’s Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is Make Your Own Background, it would be fabulous to see you there (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey as this page captures happy memories and I’m sure that she will join me to celebrate their win of the World Series – Go Red Sox!

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my Go Red Sox! art journal page.

As I’m thankful that the Red Sox won the World Series, this page is also a reminder that there is still another week to join the Thankful challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

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:

• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Pistachio, Potter’s Clay)
• Uni Pin Marker (Black 0.5mm, 0.8mm)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Red Cherry)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Red)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Hessian CS153, Sketchy CS878)
• Creative Stencils Craft Essentials (Stars MAOB0004)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Baseball College #ROY875, Summer Sentiments #ROY505)
• Recycled white card
• Red Sox images
• Pritt Stick
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Make your own background … for Simon Says Stamp

Hi everyone! I am so delighted and honoured to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

This week the theme is Make Your Own Background.

As it is the first Monday of the month Simon Says Stamp are featuring Carabelle Studios Products, so I had fun using some of their products to create this art journal page and you’ll find the details of how I created this page below.

I had fun making my own background and to start I added some pieces of torn dictionary pages to add some interest. Then I spritzed the page with water and applied three Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolour paints (paint colours were No.34, No.64 and No.139) using a paintbrush.

Next I applied some white gesso using my finger and then I used a Carabelle Studio stencil, called Sur Fond De Mosaïque, to add Picked Raspberry and also Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink using a blending tool. I added more of the same watercolour paints to further define the edges of the colours and to finish my background, I stamped a Carabelle Studio stamp, called Background Avec Des Lettres, using black Archival Ink.

For the flowers, I stamped the Carabelle Studio Fleurs Dalex Cling Stamp Set using black Archival Ink onto white cardstock.

I coloured them using Spectrum Aqua Markers which I blended with a wet paintbrush; the colours were Yellow, Gold, Sunflower, Bud Green and Leaf Green. Then I cut them out which took some time (grin!).

I also used the same white cardstock to create the Inspire wording, which I drew using some magazine letters as a template, cut out and coloured using the yellow shades of Spectrum Aqua Markers and a white Uni Posca Paint Pen creating an ombré effect.

The flowers, wording and “Channel your inner Picasso” are edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush Pen and a black fine line marker, and then they are stuck into place using a Zig Glue Pen. To finish, I coloured the stamens of the flowers using a white Uni Posca Paint Pen and then outlined them with the black fine line marker.

I had such fun creating my page for this challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration check out the amazing creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge (grin!).

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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

Here is a list of the materials over at Simon Says Stamp that were used to create this art journal page:

• Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi 18 Color Set
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad (Picked Raspberry)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Carabelle Studio Fleurs Dalex Cling Stamp
• Crafter’s Companion Floral Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker
• Crafter’s Companion Primary Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker
• Faber-Castell Craft Stamper Big Brush Pen (Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Crafter’s Companion Ultra Smooth Premium White Cardstock
• Zig Chisel Tip Glue Pen
• Ranger Inkssentials MINI MISTER Spray Bottle Tool
• Docrafts 5 x 7 Clear Stamp Block Papermania
• Lawn Fawn Stamp Shammy Cleaner
• Ranger Ink Blending Tool Applicator Foam

Hello Lake Life

I love boats so living the Lake Life with our friends in Maine was an amazing experience! My page today captures the serenity of the lake, fall colours and also a Loon, which is a type of water bird that we saw on one of our boat trips around the lake (grin!).

I started by applying Hickory Smoke Distress Ink onto the page by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block and scraping the block over the page so the ink caught on the texture of the paper. I then applied water over the top using a paintbrush to disperse some of the colour across the page. Next I painted Salty Ocean Distress Ink across the page, keeping my brushstrokes horizontal, so it looked like water; to do this I applied the ink to an acrylic block again and picked the ink up with a paintbrush. We saw lots of beautiful fall colours reflected in the lake on our boat trips so I also added Mustard Seed, Fired Brick and Seedless Perserves Distress Ink the same way as I did the Hickory Smoke ink. Then I toned down the colours using Pébéo white gesso which I applied with my finger to vary the coverage; this softened the colours and produced a rippled effect so it looked like the water of the lake. The wording “Hello Lake Life” is a Pocket Card from Tim Holtz idea-ology collection, I added the letters to produce the word “Lake” by stamping black Archival Ink onto some card using an alphabet stamp by Dovecraft, cutting it out and sticking it onto the card. The Loon is cut from a notelet that my friend gave me and was used for the food shopping list. I defined the Loon markings, underlined the word “lake” and exaggerated the stripes on the wording using a black Derwent Graphik marker and a white Uniball gel pen so they stood out more. The fall leaves around the edge of the page are napkin which I ripped and stuck into place using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium; once dry I edged them with a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also stuck a couple of the leaves onto some recycled white card and when they were dry I cut them out and edged them with the sanguine marker. I arranged them on the page under the Pocket Card and added some cream jute flowers using Glossy Accents which finished the page.

I thought you may like to go boating with us, here is the view of the lake from the house and you can see the boat on the left-hand side.

It’s a pontoon party boat and is very luxurious …

… with it’s sofa type seating, as you can see my hubby was sitting very comfortably (grin!).

It afforded wonderful lake views with …

… some breathtaking reflections of the fall colours.

We even saw a Loon, which is called a Great Northern Diver here in the UK, who entertained us firstly by diving under the water and then by preening. We found out late one night that their call is quite distinctive and loud too (grin!).

I hope you enjoyed the boat trip and I think that the lake life would suit us very well, don’t you (double 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 from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey as this page captures happy memories of our Lake Life holiday.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my Lake Life art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the September Link Party #44 – Anything Goes over at Cropstop Blog with my page as I included some products from companies that they carry in their store.

I’m thankful for experiencing the Lake Life with our friends, so this page is also a reminder that you still have time to join the Thankful challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

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, Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, Fired Brick, Seedless Preserves)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.3mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Loon notelet – shopping list
• Party Creations Napkins (Autumn’s Elegance)
• The Works (Jute Shapes U-83162)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pritt Stick
• Stix2 (Mini Craft Dots)
• The Range double-sided foam tape
• Ranger Glossy Accents