Wonderful Life

Outside our kitchen window we always have one of our seasonal garden flags displayed that our dear friends gifted us. I’ve been meaning to create an art journal page based on our summer flag for a while now, so over the weekend I got creative and this is the page that resulted – I hope you like it (grin!).

I started by applying Salty Ocean and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink using a blending tool through a doily stencil to create the circular pattern; the stencil only detailed one quarter of the doily so I stencilled it four times joining the pattern together to create a whole circle. I ensured that the blending tool was wet when applying this ink to give a washed out effect and I also graduated the ink from dark blue to light blue from the left-hand side to the right-hand side of the page to give a hombre effect. To further emphasis the hombre effect, I applied more of the Salty Ocean ink on the left-hand side of the page using a blending tool and also by stamping the ink pad directly to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page.

When dry, I added strips of a dotty lime green washi tape and some torn pieces of a dark green striped washi tape. The pretty flowers that I stuck over the washi tape are cut from a strip of stickers from Kaisercraft. Next I stamped the background with a Music Sheet stamp from Woodware Craft Collection using Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink and also splattered the page with some Ground Espresso Distress Ink.

I created the bird using my new Feathered Friends Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and some linen textured cardstock that I had coloured using Ground Espresso, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke and Salty Ocean Distress Ink. The quotes are from the same Kaisercraft sticker sheet and were edged with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; they read “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful”, “Happy” and “Love this life” which finished the page.

This is our summer garden flag that inspired my page design; it is such a bright and happy design and makes me smile when I see it everyday (grin!).

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well! x

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 the lovely Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with the faux doily background and pieces of washi tape which represent my fabric garden flag.

I’m pleased to join in the Summer Fields challenge over at Country View Challenges with my summery art journal page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their It’s A Man Thing challenge with the blue, green and brown masculine colours on this page.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our monthly Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge over at Creative Artiste too!

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

• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Chipped Sapphire, Ground Espresso, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke)
• The Works The Craft Place (Spotted Paper Tapes)
• Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection Patterned Craft Tape (Spots & Stripes Festive PMA462302)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Secret Garden SS283)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Music Sheet JGS111)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Ground Espresso)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Feathered Friends 664433)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Pritt Stick
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)