Category Archives: Mixed Media

First Signs of Spring at Country View Challenges

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I’m so excited and honoured to have joined the wonderfully talented Design Team over at Country View Challenges . It’s such an inspirational blog and being part of this team is a dream come true – thanks so much for your warm and friendly welcome!

At Country View Challenges our challenge for February is First Signs of Spring, which is being hosted this month by the lovely Miriam.

I love celebrating the different seasons and creating this blossom and birdsong art journal page was so uplifting (grin!).

When I thought of birdsong, I knew that I had to use these beautiful images from my new Forest Paper Pad by Stamperia; this included the forest panel on the left hand side of the page, the pretty bird tag and the square nest image. They were cut out and edged with a Dark Sepia marker and/or some Black Soot Distress Ink. To make them look more Spring-like, I added additional colours by painting Distress Inks over parts of the images; it’s important not to add too much water when doing this otherwise you could ruin the image. I used Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron ink to add more vibrancy to the green areas of the forest panel and to the bird’s feathers, and also to add green leaves to the bare trees and colour the leaves on the nest image. I painted some Mustard Seed ink to add more vibrancy to the yellow feathers of the bird and also to add some colour to the nest. Then finally I painted the eggs using Speckled Egg ink and left them all to dry.

For the background, I coloured the page with splashes and drips of Hickory Smoke, Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink. I did this by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page.

Then I brayered some white gesso over the top to push the colours into the background more and then splattered the page with white acrylic paint. I stencilled dots vertically down the page using a Halftone Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz and Ranger Crackle Paste; this is the first time I have used this paste and it was so easy to apply with a palette knife – I love the results (grin!).  

Next I stuck the Stamperia paper pieces in place using double-sided tape. Then I created the blossoms and leaves using Tim Holtz Thinlits and some white linen card stock which I had coloured using Distress Inks. The blossoms were coloured with Mustard Seed and Fossilised Amber ink and die cut using a Tattered Florals Thinlit set. The leaves using Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron and Forest Moss Distress Ink and cut using a Garden Greens Thinlits set. After shaping the flower petals and adding a gold pearl to the centre of each flower, I arranged them onto the page using glue dots. To finish, I added the “blossom” and “birdsong” wording which was created from some Field Notes Ephemera by Tim Holtz, an alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink.

For more inspiration you’ll find some amazing First Signs of Spring creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I hope you are inspired to join us too, and if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use at Country View Crafts (grin!).

The birds in our garden have been very active of late. We’ve even seen the Great Tits that are on my page, but we have noticed that this pair of Coal Tits visit our bird feeders more frequently.

This made me smile, can you think of a good caption for this photo? Maybe the bird is saying “Hello, is anyone there?” or “It’s really dark in here” (grin!).

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well!

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:

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the stencilled lines of dots that are on my page.

I’m joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques I used, including the fun way that I coloured the paper images so they became more Spring-like.

I’m also happy to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too.

I also pleased to be able to join in the fun at Love to Craft Challenge Blog and enter my spring blossom and birdsong page in their LTCCB #55 – February Anything Goes challenge.

So Delicate at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog

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I’m so pleased and honoured to be Guest Designer over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog for their So Delicate challenge.

Jenny is hosting, here’s what she has to say about this challenge:
“Although it’s not always evident in my projects, I have a real passion for delicate laces, fragile flowers, fine stitching, intricate artwork and exquisite architecture. For this challenge create something delicate or a vintage/shabby chic project that features delicate things in it.”

I enjoyed using different techniques and mediums to create this delicate page starting with the delicately painted background. I covered the background with water first and then added Kuretake watercolours over the top using a paintbrush; the colours I used were Ultramarine Pale, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green and a mixture of Black and White.

The elegant lace flower heads were stamped using one of my favourite stamps from Carabelle Studio and black Archival Ink. The flower heads were coloured using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then I added lots of sparkle using some Silver Stickles from Ranger.

For the wording and butterflies, I coloured some white tissue paper using Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I did this by stamping the ink pads onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the tissue paper over the top. When dry, I die cut the letters for the wording using Alphanumeric Label Thinlits set and the butterflies using Springtime Sidekick Thinlits set from Tim Holtz.

I glued the wording onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium which was a bit fiddly as the letters were so fine; it reads “be still and listen, the earth is singing”. To finish, I arranged the butterflies around the page using some glue dots. I love how the tissue paper butterflies and wording look so fragile and delicate (grin!).

Thanks so much to The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog  for having me as Guest Designer! I hope that you are inspired by the So Delicate challenge too and are able to join in the fun (grin!).

There are so many delicate things to observe in nature and as I live by the sea, my watercolour background was inspired by this sea view with its pale colours and soft lighting; this was taken whilst walking along the beach near our house .

The lace flower heads, touches of green and pretty butterflies on my page were inspired by our garden. It reminded me of all the Painted Lady butterflies that visited last summer; here are a couple on the lavender (grin!).

I hope that you’re staying safe and well! x

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:

  • Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green, Black, White)
  • Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (Dans la nature, il y a … SA60175
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
  • Ranger Stickles (Silver)
  • Recycled white tissue paper
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Chipped Sapphire)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlit (Alphanumeric Label 664177)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Sidekick Thinlit (Springtime 662711)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Stix2 glue dots
Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like it The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog , 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 over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge as I used one of my favourite flower stamp sets.

As I used my favourite Carabelle Studio stamp set to create the lace flowers on my page, I’m also pleased to be able to join Stamping Sensations and their Favourite Stamps challenge too.

I’m also joining the Beautiful Blooms challenge over at the Allsorts Challenge with the pretty sparkly flowers on my page.

I’m happy to join in the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my delicate nature page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too.

I’m joining the MIUCB #45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my page too.

Vintage Squares

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Do you have things in your craft stash that you haven’t used because they’re too precious?

This year, one of my goals is to use these items on my pages. So here’s my first one which features some papers from a Vintage Design Pad that I’ve had for a while now; I wanted to showcase them so decided on this square grid design (grin!).

I started by tearing the vintage papers, some recycled Kraft book pages and sheet music into squares and sticking them onto the page in a grid design using a glue stick. I drew lines around them using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. Next I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer over the papers and left it to dry. Then I added the delicate silk flowers over the squares and some vintage lace along the bottom of the page.

For the wording I used a Small Talk sticker from Tim Holtz; it reads “it’s always the small pieces that make the big picture” which seemed to fit the square grid design perfectly.

The squares reminded me of this local building, which was built in 1878, with it’s magnificent lion that seems to be roaring – I thought Iris may like this (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday and to continue the square theme, I’m sharing my mug of tea with a shortbread jam square; it’s a tray bake of raspberry jam sandwiched between two layers of shortbread – Happy T Day wishes!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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:

  • The Works Design Paper (Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7)
  • Kraft notebook pages – recycled
  • Sheet Music
  • Pritt Stick
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • The Range (Lace Flower Stickers, Crafting Lace)
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as this page was created to showcase some of my favourite vintage papers.

I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with my vintage square design.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their So Delicate challenge with the delicate flowers and lace on this vintage page.

I’m joining the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my square grid patterned page.

I’m also joining the Make Your Own Background challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the vintage paper background that I created.

I’m happy to join in the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my vintage page too.

Frosty Winter

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As we live by the sea we don’t get many frosty mornings, but we have seen both frost and snow this month which inspired this frosty winter page.  

I started by recycling a piece of kitchen towel which I had used to mop up blue inks by tearing it into pieces and sticking them in place using some Liquitex matte gel medium; I used the wet gel medium to reactivate the inks which gave some of the white areas a slight bluish tinge. Next I arranged the pretty blue flower images and wording which were from a Paper Collection by Craft Sensations; the wording reads “A beautiful thing is never perfect”.

I continued the frosty theme by adding some glittery silver snowflakes, some Silver Ranger Stickles and also some round blue gems using Ranger Glossy Accents which finished the page.

As we walked along the promenade by the beach, we were surprised to still see a thick frost still lingering in the shadows behind the wall. The jagged edges inspired me to arrange the square corners of the images/wording diagonally across the page.

The flower and plant images that I included on my page were inspired by the frosty silhouette of the palm tree that we found on the slate in our front garden one morning – so amazing (grin!).

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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:

  • Recycled kitchen towel that was used to mop up Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (After Midnight), Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg) , DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Docrafts Create Christmas Glitterations (Snowflakes – Silver PMA818917)
  • Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Blue Round Gems)
  • Ranger Glossy Accents
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as seeing the snow and frost is always one of my favourite things

I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the square of wording on my page.

I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their So Delicate challenge with the delicate wispy edges of the kitchen roll background and pretty snowflakes.

I’m also joining the Make Your Own Background challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the frosty background I created.

I’m pleased to join the MITCB #45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my frosty page too.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their We’re On A Roll challenge with the round blue gems on my page.

Don’t forget that you still have over a week to join our Winter Blues challenge at Try it on Tuesday too; it would be lovely to see you there!

Winter Blues

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Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Winter Blues, where we are asking you to use the colour blue.

This was the perfect challenge for me as blue happens to be my favourite colour (grin!). I hope you like my wintry blue journal page and are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by colouring the background using After Midnight Dylusions Spray Ink and Speckled Egg Distress Ink. When dry, I covered the page with Pébéo clear gesso; this stopped the inks reactivating and bleeding into the next layers of media that I added. Next I splattered the page with white acrylic paint and left it to dry. For the snowflakes, I die cut them using a Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some blue and white mottled paper from Craft Sensations. They were arranged around the edges of the page using Liquitex matte gel medium.

The pretty winter scene of the hares was a recycled Christmas card and the quote was from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet. I thought the quote was perfect to combat those winter blues; it’s by Ralph Waldo Emerson and reads “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year”.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the amazing Winter Blues creations from my Design Teamies too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my new Assam Tea. This is a loose leaf tea and has a delicately rich and malty flavour – Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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:

  • Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (After Midnight)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg)
  • Pébéo Clear Gesso
  • Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
  • Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Paper Snowflakes Mini 661599)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Recycled Christmas Card
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Wandering Ivy SS352)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I blue is my favourite colour.

I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the square Christmas card on my page.

I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the uplifting quote that I used on my page.

I’m also joining the Layer It Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the snowflakes, image and quote that I layered on my page.

I’m pleased to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my blue wintry page too.

Grateful Heart

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I had fun creating this journal page to join some of my favourite challenge blogs and the words I included resonated with me and seemed perfect for the New Year – “start each day with a grateful heart”.

On my craft desk, I always have a piece of paper that I use to test stamp images, inks and markers before using them on my pages, so for today’s page I recycled one of them. I ripped the paper into different shapes and stuck them randomly onto my page using a glue stick and Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I painted some Pébéo white gesso and Cadmium Yellow Acrylic paint around them using a paintbrush. When dry, I edged them with a Cold Grey and then a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. Next I added some shadows and contrast around the paper pieces using a Gold Champagne Faber-Castell Gelato and also a Gold Daler-Rowney Acrylic marker; applying each of them and then smudging the colour with my finger. Then I splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

For the heart, I created a stencil by drawing a heart onto some paper and cutting it out. Then I stamped the square postage sheet design through it onto some white card, using a Woodware stamp and some black Archival Ink. I cut the heart out and added some colour using a Gold Champagne Faber-Castell Gelato. Before sticking it down, I outlined the heart shape on the page using a black marker so it stood out more.

To finish, I added the flowers and wording which were from a sticker sheet from Kaisercraft.

Here’s a canvas sign that I have in my craft room, I love the sentiments it contains and the top one “have a grateful heart” reminded me on my page (grin!).  I fell in love with this sign as soon as I saw it and the words are a wonderful reminder of how live life to the full!

Hope that you’re 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.

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

  • White paper – Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (SA60175), Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black), Concord & 9th Clear Stamps (Sophisticated Script), Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black)
  • Pritt Stick
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199)
  • Faber-Castell Gelatos (Gold Champagne)
  • Daler-Rowney Acrylic Paint Marker (Gold)
  • White paper and cardstock
  • Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Postage Sheets FRS076)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Golden Grove SS343)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I created this page to join some of my favourite challenges including AJJ!

I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the postage stamp squares making up the heart on my page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #135 – Picture Inspiration challenge as the colours and design of my page were inspired by the ladies clothing.

I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the positive quote I used on my page.

I’m also joining the Layer It Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the layers of papers, colours, heart and flowers on my page design.

I’m pleased to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Grateful Heart page too.

Don’t forget that there is still time to join our Uplifting or Positive Quote challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there!

Angel Wings

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Happy memories spring to mind when I see a certain Christmas decoration as it reminds me of my sister saying the happy quote that’s on my page – I hope it makes you smile!

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join our Uplifting or Positive Quote challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

I started by colouring the background using Antique Linen Distress Ink through an Iso Fun stencil from Paperbabe Stamps. The wording was stamped using black Archival Ink and a fabulous alphabet stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps.

I drew the angel wings onto a book page and fussy cut them out. Before sticking them onto the page, I created some shadows around their edges so that they stood out more, by applying some Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelato with a paintbrush. Next I created lots of feather shaped pieces to layer over the wings; they are cut from some Sheet Music and edged using Mustard and Willow Inktense pencils and also a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and black Uni Pin marker. I arranged them over the wings using double-sided tape and added some pieces of lace between the layers to add more texture.

Then I stencilled a border around the edge of the page using the Iso Fun stencil again and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink; I splattered some water over the top and left it a few minutes before mopping it up with a piece of kitchen towel which gave a lovely bleached effect. To finish the page and add some sparkle, I added the metallic copper gems.

Here’s the Christmas decoration that inspired my page, both me and my sister bought one of these whilst out shopping; when she saw them my sister said “every time a bell rings an angel gets her wings” so I always smile when I see it and remember her words.

Some of you were asking about the angels that I included on my post last week. They are acrylic LED figurines, one has a harp and the other a violin; I’ll try and remember to take a better photo of them next Christmas so you can see the detail. Their lights are battery operated and rotate through a series of colours – so very pretty!

As I’m showing these angels with my poinsettia cocktail again, I’m joining the T Party over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T day everyone!

Hope that you’re 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.

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

  • Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (Iso Fun)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo)
  • Paperbabes Stamps Stamp Set (Fun Alphabet Outline)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Faber-Castell Gelatos (Iced Chai)
  • Book Pages – text and sheet music
  • Pritt Stick
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Derwent Inktense Pencils (Mustard 1700, Willow 1900)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
  • The Range (Crafting Lace CR0546)
  • Docrafts Adhesive Dome Borders (Forever Friends Opulent FFS35111)
Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as they provide me with inspiration 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 over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I used my favourite Christmas quote on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the happy quote I used on my vintage angel wings page.

I’m happy to be able to join the MIUCB#45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my Angel Wings page and bleached effect border.

I’m pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #135 – Picture Inspiration challenge with the colours and abstract patterns (inspired from those on the dresses) that I used on my art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the MLCCB#30 – Anything Christmas Goes challenge over at Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog with my Angel Wings art journal page that was inspired by a Christmas decoration and a well known Christmas quote from the film “It’s a wonderful life”.

I’m also joining Challenge #85 – Anything Christmas Goes over at The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge blog with my Christmas quote and vintage angel wings design.

Believe

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Over at Try it on Tuesday our first challenge of 2021 is Add an Uplifting or Positive Quote.

Adding a positive quote to my page was such a lovely way to start the year; I hope that you are inspired to join us too, and I can’t wait to see the quotes that you add!

I started by colouring circles for the background using Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks through a Sun and Moon stencil from Inkylicious. I also used an Iso Fun stencil from Paperbabe Stamps to add some patterned detail to some of the circles using the same inks. The wording was stamped using black Archival Ink and my favourite Script stamp set from Concord & 9th. I added some highlights to the letters using a white Uniball gel pen; it reads “all things are possible if you believe”.

For the pretty fairy, I stamped a Frost Fairy stamp from Paperbabe Stamps that I won – thanks so much! I stamped the fairy using black Archival Ink and then I had fun colouring her with my new Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers; the dress was coloured using Ice Grey Blend and Dark Red Blend, her hair using Pink Violet Blend, skin using Fair Skin Blend, lips using Pale Pink Blend, eyes using Alpine Green Blend and her wings were highlighted using True Blue Blend. I also added more detail using a black Uni Pin fine line marker and white Uniball gel pen, then I fussy cut the fairy out and coloured the two starbursts using Fossilised Amber Distress Ink.

I was really pleased with how she turned out and thought she would be perfect for the quote I’d chosen; she was stuck onto the page using a glue stick. To finish, I stamped some starbursts onto the background from the same Frost Fairy stamp set using black Archival Ink.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the uplifting and positive quotes my Design Teamies have added to their amazing creations (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our New Year’s drinks which are Poinsettia cocktails; they are made with 1 part Cointreau (orange liqueur), 3 parts prosecco and 3 parts cranberry juice. Happy T Day – cheers!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!
Wishing you all the very best for 2021 – Happy New Year! x

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:

  • Inkylicious! Stencil & Template Set (Sun & Moon)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry)
  • Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (Iso Fun)
  • Concord & 9th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
  • Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Frost Fairy)
  • Spectrum Noir TriBlend Markers (Ice Grey Blend, Dark Red Blend, Pink Violet Blend, Fair Skin Blend, Pale Pink Blend, Alpine Green Blend, True Blue Blend)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
  • Pritt Stick
Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as they provide me with inspiration 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 over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I used my favourite script stamp set from Concord & 9th for the quote on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page – thank you for the crafting goodies (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the Use a New/Unused Product challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog as I used my new Frost Fairy stamp and Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers for this page.

I’m so happy to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Believe art journal page too.

I’m also joining the Sparkle and Shine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too with my bright sparkly fairy page.

Celebrating the New Year

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I created this page to welcome the New Year with fireworks lighting up the sky and a row of very pretty houses (grin!). I hope that 2021 is a better year for everyone and as the words say “may love and laughter light your days and warm your heart”.

I started by painting the background with purple and silver acrylic paints to create my night sky, making sure the brush strokes were pulled from the edges to the centre of the page so it looked like explosions of light.

Next I stencilled the fireworks using a Creative Expressions stencil and Ranger Texture Paste. The wording was from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet and I die cut the “2021” using a Folk Alphabet die set from Docrafts.

To finish, I fussy cut the houses from an old Christmas card and arranged them onto the page using double-sided tape.

These houses are so beautifully drawn and wonderfully detailed. The front doors reminded me of my family’s tradition of welcoming the New Year; on New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight one of us knocks on the front door and when invited in, enters the house carrying a piece of coal which is said to bring good luck for the coming year (grin!).

This tradition stems from when, on the stroke of midnight people opened the back door (to let the old year out) and asked the first dark haired man to be seen, to come through the front door carrying salt, coal and bread. This meant that the following year everyone in the house will have enough to eat (bread), enough money (salt) and be warm enough (coal).

Do you have any New Year traditions?

Wishing you all the very best for 2021 – Happy New Year!
Stay safe! x

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:

  • Liquitex Basics Acrylic (Dioxazine Purple)
  • Poundland Metallic Acrylic (Silver)
  • Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Fireworks)
  • Ranger Texture Paste
  • Old Christmas Card
  • White Cardstock
  • Docrafts X-Cut A5 Die Set (Folk Alphabet XCU 503286)
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Pen & Ink SS360)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
  • Stix2 double-sided tape
Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as they provide me with inspiration 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 over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I love to celebrate the New Year and recycled one of my favourite Christmas cards to create this page.

I’m joining the Celebrate challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog as I’m celebrating the New Year with my page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Squares challenge with all the squares detailed on the houses especially the windows.

I’m pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my 2021 page.

I’m pleased to join the Sparkle and Shine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too with all the shine from the silver metallic paint in the background and sparkle from the glittery snow on the houses.

Tis the season to be … fluffy

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As you probably know by now I love robins so I just couldn’t resist using this beautiful robin image, it reminded me of the fun saying “tis the season to be …fluffy”.

I coloured the page using an Earl Grey Faber-Castell Gelato to match the grey background of the robin image. The Gelato was scribbled onto the background and smudged with my finger which I had wet with a little water. The robin image was fussy cut from an old magazine that a dear friend gifted me for art journaling. Once stuck in place using a glue stick, I trimmed the image to fit the page. I arranged some of the trimmed pieces of leaves around the edges of page creating my wintry scene. For the wording I used some silver glitter stickers and then to finish, I splattered the page with both white and metallic silver acrylic paints.

As T Stands for Tuesday and to wish you all a Happy T Day, I’m sharing another fluffy robin that is on my winter mug.

If you’re wondering why robins sometimes look fluffy, it’s because on chilly days they puff out their feathers to keep warm. This puffing fluffs out their down feathers, giving some insulation to help the robin maintain its body temperature. So when winter’s here – “tis the season to be …fluffy (grin!).

Over Christmas we’ve also been enjoying this chocolate Yule Log from a local bakery, it was so very yummy! Not too sweet and covered in a thick layer of chocolate, and if you look closely…

…there’s even a little robin on the top (double grin!).

I hope you’ve had a safe and happy Christmas. Wishing you all the very best for 2021!

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:

  • Faber-Castell Gelatos (Earl Grey)
  • Old magazine
  • Pritt Stick
  • The Range (Alphabet Stickers – Silver Glitter)
  • Poundland Metallic Acrylic (Silver)
  • Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as they provide me with inspiration 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 Tracey over at Art Journal Journey and her Meaning of challenge this month as I created this page to celebrate the winter season and fluffy robins.

I’m joining the Celebrate challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog as I’m celebrating the winter season with my fluffy robin page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the fun LTSCB #140 – Winter Wonderland challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my fluffy robin sitting in his winter wonderland.

I’m also pleased to join the Sparkle and Shine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too with all the sparkle from the glitter letters and silver metallic paint on my page.

I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my “tis the season to be … fluffy” robin page.

I’m happy to join the MIUCB #44 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Clean and Simple challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the techniques for my simply constructed page too.