The Spring

Posted on April 6, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

I always like to experiment and try out new design ideas when I create my art journal pages, so with a few Blog Challenges in mind I created this neutral coloured page to depict spring – I hope you like it!

I started by covering the page with Neutral Gray and Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint using a paintbrush. Then I layered some paper scraps, sheet music and some pretty script paper together; I ripped some of the edges to give them a grungy look, edged them all using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them in place using a glue stick. Next I added two pieces of Collage Paper from Tim Holtz and then I splattered the whole page with the Neutral Gray and Parchment Liquitex acrylic paints and also some black DecoArt acrylic paint. To finish, I added the three birds and “The Spring” wording which are fussy cut from a couple of leaflets and also three white embellishments.

It was my birthday last week and I received some wonderful gifts, including the pretty white embellishments that I used on this page. They were a birthday gift off my sister along with some other crafting goodies and old sheet music that I remember her playing when I was young (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 happy to join the Neutral Zone challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my Mixed Media Style page.

I’m happy to be able to join the Easter and/or Spring challenge over at Country View Challenges with my spring page.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral coloured page.

As I used more than three mediums (including acrylic paint, TH tissue paper and leaflets), I’m pleased to be join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog and their Creative Artisite Challenge #48 – Anything Mixed Media Goes 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 Heavy Body Acrylic (Neutral Gray)
Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Halloween #TH93727)
Paper scraps
Script paper
Recycled leaflets
White embellishments
UHU Stic
Stix2 double-sided tape and mini glue dots

Tea & Biscuit Club Arundel

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

Today we are celebrating a shop in Arundel called The Tea & Biscuit Club which we visited last month when staying with family. We have been enjoying some “Christmas Pudding” tea that we bought to enjoy over the winter season so I decided to create this art journal page to capture our happy memories!

I started by covering the page with some Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint and as we visited Arundel during winter, I choose some fir tree and berry branches to decorate the background. These were from a Branches stamp set by Inkadinkadoo and I stamped them using Cottage Ivy and Toffee Crunch Memento Ink and also Peeled Paint Distress Ink. I added the large round shop logo to the page, which was recycled from the paper bag that we received when we purchased our tea. Then I arranged some pretty flowers and tags which are Anthology Collectable die cuts from Kaisercraft; the flowers look similar to the flowers from the tea plant. I also added some stars and a square winter scene from a decoupage set as we visited the shop at winter time; they are all edged with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck in place using double-sided tape.

The Tea and Biscuit Club is a speciality tea shop in Arundel which is located on the High Street.

It is very welcoming and sells many teas and accessories.

It has teas from around the world with over 60 blends of black, green, white, herbal and fruit infusions. They blend the tea themselves and you can choose which tea you want from the jars they have on the counter – they all smell delicious!

We wanted a tea to drink over Christmas and during the winter month with cinnamon and orange flavours, so we chose their “Christmas Pudding” tea. This is a Christmas spiced black tea with a zesty fruit infusion creating a very festive aromatic blend – it tastes yummy!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my drink related page and photos and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

By the way, the “biscuit” referred to in the shop name is a British biscuit and is similar to an American cookie. In case you are wondering, the term “biscuit” can be applied to two different products:

In the UK, a biscuit is typically hard, flat and unleavened, it is crunchy and may be topped with chocolate or have currants in it and is often served with a hot drink like tea, in fact you often dunk a biscuit in your cup of tea.
In the US, however, a biscuit is typically a soft, leavened savoury quick bread, a bit like a British scone (in texture) and might be served with bacon and eggs on it or smothered in gravy and you tend to have it for breakfast.

So in summary, a British biscuit is an American cookie and an American biscuit is a British scone and the American scone is something else entirely (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison/Craftytrog and her Geometric Shapes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the circular, square and star shapes that I included on my page.

As this page captures the winter season, I’m joining the Cold and Frosty Colours challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

I’m happy to join the Put Your Stamp On It challenge over at A Vintage Journey as I was inspired by happy memories of this tea shop in Arundel to create my Art Journaling Style page; this included using some stamps.

To create this page I recycled the label from the paper bag that we received when we purchased our tea, so I’m pleased to join the Recycle Something challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral coloured 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:

Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy, Toffee Crunch)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
Inkadinkadoo Stamp Set (Branches 65-32007)
Recycled label from gift bag
Kaisercraft Collectables (Anthology C7938)
The Works 3D Decoupage Book (Sweet Winter Season)
Stix2 double-sided tape

Happy January

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

I love the snow so had the idea of creating an all white page with some fabulous new Tim Holtz Thinlets and this lovely black and white photo of a little girl in the snow – Happy January everyone!

I started by covering the background in snowfall, firstly by layering a snowflake stamp and a snow dot stamp by Sheena Douglas using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, London Fog Memento Ink and Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink. Then I stamped the circular snow stamps from BoBunny using Black Archival Ink by stamping the image on a piece of card first then onto the page to create a lighter image. With the background finished, I added the photo of the pretty little girl in the snow which is recycled from an old magazine and mounted onto a piece of card. As you may have noticed, the circular BoBunny stamps in the background have words on them which say “Frozen, Love, Snow, Sled, Winter” which seemed the perfect match for the little girl image.

I added the word “January” which is also recycled, this time from an old calendar. Then I decorated the page with some snowflakes from a Tonic Studios die set, a Spellbinders leaf swirl die and lots of Tim Holtz foliage and Tim Holtz tree thinlets, all of which are cut out of white card stock using my Big Shot machine. The Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets that I used to create the foliage included Garden Greens and also a new addition to my craft stash, the Holiday Greens Thinlet set (grin!).

The trees were also created using a new set of Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets called Woodlands (double grin!).

Some of the die cuts are coloured using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker and a silver metallic pen, and I also used some Inkylicious Fluffy Puffy Stuff to add some texture; simply added the Fluffy Puffy Stuff to the die cut and then comes the fun part, heat it with a heat gun which makes it puffy and 3-dimensional. To finish the die cuts, I also added some glitter using Icicle Stickles and then I arranged and layered them onto the page using some glue dots and a Zig Memory System glue pen.

This page captures the magic of a beautiful decoration that we had on display over Christmas, I think it looks so pretty with the snow and trees …

… whether it is lit up or not (grin!).

Challenges

The lovely Alison/Craftytrog is hosting her Geometric Shapes challenge over at Art Journal Journey so I’m pleased to be able to join in the fun with all the circular snow stamps that I used on my page.

As this page captures the snow and frost of January days, I’m joining the Cold and Frosty Colours challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral Happy January art journal page.

Inspired to create this page by my love of snow, I’m happy to join the Put Your Stamp On It challenge over at A Vintage Journey as I used more than one stamp for the background of my Mixed Media Style page.

I’m pleased to join the “New” (Fresh Start) challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as my page was created to using new die cut sets.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge their challenge is Use Something New challenge so I’m pleased to join them as I used some new Tim Holtz products to create this page.

Don’t forget that you still have well over a week to join the Something Old … Something New challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, 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 (Hickory Smoke)
Tsukineko Memento Ink (London Fog)
Tsukineko Brilliance Ink (Platinum Planet)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
Script Metallic Pen (Silver)
Inkylicious (Fluffy Puffy Stuff)
Stickles (Icicles)
Sheena by Sheena Douglas Clear Stamp Set (Winter Woodland) – Creative Stamping Magazine Issue 62
BoBunny Stamps (Snow Days Clear Stamps 13705563)
Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 1792e)
Spellbinders – Swirl Leaf Die
Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206, Holiday Greens 658759, Woodlands 660978)
White Card Stock
Old Magazine – image
Old Calender – wording
Recycled white card
Stix2 double-sided tape and mini glue dots
Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Something Old … Something New

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

I’m so excited as it’s our first challenge of 2019 over at Try it on Tuesday and it’s Something Old … Something New. You could use something new on your creation, or something you haven’t used in a while, just be sure to add an explanation to your blog post about what you have chosen to use.

For more inspiration and to see what “somethings” the design team have used to inspire you, please pop over to Try it on Tuesday.

I created my art journal page using “something new”; two new products that I just couldn’t wait to use (grin!) which were a Documented stamp set from Tim Holtz and also a pack of Anthology Collectables die cuts from Kaisercraft.

I started by adding Antique Linen, Rusty Hinge and Old Paper Distress Ink to the page by applying the ink pads to a blending mat, spritzing with water and then pressing the mat onto the page. Next I added some of the Documented stamps from Tim Holtz using black Archival Ink and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink to the background, and then a Mini Specimens stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop using Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Ink. With the background complete, I arranged the Anthology Collectables die cuts from Kaisercraft onto the page; they are edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck in place using double-sided tape. I love this set of vintage images and inspirational sentiments; they seem perfect to start the New Year!

I had so much fun using these new products to create my page and I’m sure that I will be using them again very soon (grin!).

I love using sentiments on my pages and so I often take photos of those that I see when I’m out and about, so because T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing some drink related signs that I captured. This sign can be found at John F. Kennedy Airport – the coffee lovers in the T Gang will appreciate this one (grin!).

This is from a local store in Blackpool and made me smile when I saw it due to the song reference (double grin!).

I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang 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 join the lovely Alison/Craftytrog and her Geometric Shapes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the circular and square-shaped Kaisercraft Collectables that I added to my page.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral coloured page.

Over at A Vintage Journey their challenge is Put Your Stamp On It so I’m pleased to join this challenge too as I used my set of Tim Holtz stamps on my Mixed Media and Vintage Style page.

I’m also joining in the fun “New” (Fresh Start) challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as my page was created using two products that are new to my craft stash.

I’m joining in the Use Something New challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too with the new products that I used to create this 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:

Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke, Rusty Hinge, Old Paper, Vintage Photo, Black Soot)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
The Crafter’s Workshop TCW Rebekah Meier Designs 6×6 Stencil (Mini Specimens TCW4545)
Kaisercraft Collectables (Anthology C7938)
Stix2 double-sided tape

Robin Poem

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

This vintage page was inspired by a dear friend who gave me some pretty cream and gold napkins (thanks very much!), the new bird feeders that we have in our garden and a beautiful poem that I found which celebrates robins across the different seasons – I hope you like it!

I started by covering the page with one of the pretty napkins that my friend gave me using a glue stick and Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to stick it into place. Then I added some pieces of bright gold doily using a Zig Memory System 2-way glue pen. The circular bird image and poem are die cut using a circular and square die from a book page that was in an old Christmas book. They are layered over the top of the gold doily along with a tag that I recycled from an old Christmas card which matched the circular bird image beautifully. Next I added the lace around the edges of the page and embellished them with some gold gems. To finish, I added a white bow to the tag which I made from ribbon that I recycled from a Christmas cracker and also a 3D sticker of a white rose.

I loved this poem as soon as I read it, it’s by an anonymous author who writes:

Robin sang sweetly
When the days were bright
“Thanks! Thanks for Summer!”
He sang with all his might.

Robin sang sweetly
In the Autumn Days
“There is fruit for everyone,
Let all give praise.”

In the cold and wintry weather
Still hear his song.
“Someone must sing”, said Robin,
“Or Winter will seem long.”

When the Spring came back again
He sang: “I told you so!
Keep on singing through the Winter;
It will always go!”

Here’s a close up of the napkin, the design is so beautiful with the holly leaves, ferns, mistletoe, wrens and robins.

Our new bird feeders are attracting lots of different birds, including our resident robin who seems to be enjoying both the fat balls and seed.

As we haven’t managed to capture a picture of our robin as yet, I thought I would share the garden flag that was kindly sent to us from our friends in America; this is our winter robin flag, isn’t it gorgeous!

Garden flags are not really seen here in the UK, they are far more popular in America. I loved the ones that we saw when we visited America this year, so our dear friends kindly bought us a flag for each season with a different robin on it – a perfect gift (grin!).

As this is my last post of 2018, I also wanted to thank you for all your support and kindness this year! You have made it very special and I am very grateful for your friendship and all your lovely comments – thanks so much! Wishing you all the fun of the Holiday Season and a very Happy New Year!

Challenges

Bleubeard and Elizabeth who blog at Altered Book Lover are hosting My Favorite Season, or ‘Tis the Season challenge over at Art Journal Journey, so I’m pleased to join them with my page which showcases a poem that celebrates all the seasons as I love them all (grin!).

I’m so happy to be able to join the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral vintage robin page.

I’m also pleased to join the Christmas challenge over at Country View Challenges with my vintage Christmassy page as robins capture the Christmas season for me.

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page 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:

RSPB Napkin from my dear friend – thank you!
Woolworths (Gold Doyleys) – from Charity Shop
A Golden Christmas Treasury – book from Charity Shop
Recycled tag from old Christmas Card
The Works Die Cutting – circles and squares
The Range (Crafting Lace CR0546)
Poundland (504 Gems 128133)
Recycled white ribbon from a Christmas cracker
Docrafts Papermania 3D Christmas Stickers (Victorian Christmas PMA805801)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
Stix2 double-sided tape and mini glue dots
The Range double-sided foam tape

Good Wishes for Christmas

Posted on November 22, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

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

30th Wedding Anniversary

Posted on October 8, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

As it’s our 30^th Wedding Anniversary or Pearl Wedding Anniversary, I thought I’d celebrate by creating another page, this time using pearls and also cream and peach colour tones to reflect the colour scheme at our wedding.

Thank you to everyone who left Happy Anniversary wishes on my previous post, that’s so kind of you (grin!).

I started by stamping the butterflies using a layering stamp set by Paperbabe Stamps called Butterfly Pieridae. Firstly, I stamped the butterfly wings with the background stamp using Peach Spectrum Aqua Marker and also Scattered Straw Distress Ink; I masked some of the wings that I stamped to create the different butterfly positions. Then I stamped three separate stamps to define the butterfly using Black Archival Ink this included the wing detail, the butterfly’s body and also the antennae. Next I stamped some hearts from the same Paperbabe stamp set using the Peach Spectrum Aqua Marker and the Scattered Straw Distress Ink again. Then I applied Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint through a Flourish Stencil from That’s Crafty using a sponge over the background. When dry, I added some torn pieces of Dictionary page using a glue stick; the words I chose were “wedding”, “marriage” and “anniversary”, and I outlined them using a black Derwent Graphik marker so they stood out more. I also cut some hearts from the dictionary pages using a paper punch; they are edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck down using a glue stick. The central heart is created using a doily, some gold glitter stickers, pearl gems, pearl roses and two pearl hearts; each of which were individually placed to build up the design, it is stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents. Then I added the gold glitter flowers and wording using the same stickers that I had used on the doily heart. To finish, I added some cream coloured felt swirls and embellished them with the pearl gems and roses.

It doesn’t seem like yesterday that we got married and the years seem to have flown by, well they do say “time flies when you’re having fun” and we certainly have had lots of fun over the years. So as T Stands for Tuesday we are toasting our anniversary with a glass of champagne – cheers and Happy T Day!

Sending Happy 30^th Anniversary wishes to Erika and her hubby too!

I’m pleased to join the lovely Linda, who is hosting Creature Comforts challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my Happy Anniversary page.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral coloured wedding anniversary page.

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

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 (Peach)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
Paperbabe Stamps (Butterfly Pieridae Stamp Set)
That’s Crafty! 8x8ins Stencil (Flourish TC8024)
The Oxford Pocket Dictionary
Woodware Craft Collection Paper Doily (Heart JL961)
Self-Adhesive Felt Border (Scrolls FE196)
The Range (Adhesive Pearls LCDOT002, Alphabet & Number Stickers Glitter SCSTK013)
Home Bargains (Special Occasion – Mini Decorative Stickers 22740, Sweet Hearts 22809, Sticker Mania – Gel Stone Stickers 74749)
Poundworld (Pearl Embellishments 137920-A)
Craft Sensations (Ivory Deco Flowers CR0736-GE)
Ranger Glossy Accents
Pritt Stick

You melt my heart

Posted on October 5, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

I created this page with my hubby in mind, as we are celebrating our 30^th Wedding Anniversary in a few days (grin!). The colours I used were also inspired by the turquoise pools and glazier photos of the Austrian Mountains over at Apple Apricot, I love these colours and had fun creating this page.

I started by stamping a Script stamp from Kaisercraft onto the page using black Archival Ink. Then I applied Emboss ink using a blending tool through a heart stencil from Creative Expressions and covered it with white Stampendous embossing powder. I shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and also tapped the page to make sure any stray powder was removed and then I used a heat gun to gently melt the embossing powder until it became glossy and dimensional. I repeated this process for all the embossing powder and enamel which included: a crackle stamp from BoBunny which I stamped using the Emboss ink and covered with white Stampendous embossing powder; a Serpentine Background stamp from Art Impressions using Emboss ink and Chunky Silver Stampendous Frantage embossing enamel; and stamping the Emboss ink pad directly to the edges of the page then adding the Chunky Silver embossing enamel. I also sprinkled some of the enamel pieces onto the page and heated it from a height to stop it blowing away until it adhered to the page, and then I moved my heat gun closer to melt it fully. With the background heat embossing finished, I applied some Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain and left it to dry. Then I added some white gesso using my finger and when dry I applied more of the Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain and also some diluted Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink using a paintbrush to layer and blend the colours together; the gesso gave the ink colours more of a chalky look which I was after.

For the heart, I used a wooden heart tag which I covered in Emboss ink and the Chunky Silver Stampendous Frantage embossing enamel. I used a heat gun to melt the embossing enamel to a smooth glossy finish and before the enamel had cooled fully, I imprinted it using the Serpentine Background stamp again, being careful not to touch the enamel with my fingers as it gets super hot. I also covered a metal key embellishment with the same embossing enamel using the Emboss ink. They are all stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents.

For the dragonfly “love…” trails, I stamped some white tissue paper with a stamp from Craft Sensations using the black Archival Ink and covered it with black Papermania embossing powder. I was careful with the heat gun as the embossing powder melted very quickly due to it being on tissue paper. I repeated this process for the “You melt my heart” which is from a BoBunny stamp set. They are all fussy cut from the tissue paper and stuck in place using a UHU Stic. Then I attached the dragonfly brads and also some black round brads by pushing them through the page and fastening them into place; I also covered the back of the brads with masking tape to protect my next journal page. To finish, I splattered the page with Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain, some diluted Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink and also black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.

Here’s me and my hubby, it’s been a wonderful 30 years and he has always and will forever “melt my heart” (grin!).

If I remember correctly we won’t be the only ones celebrating our 30^th Wedding Anniversary in October so will Erika and her hubby – Happy Anniversary!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Linda, who is hosting Creature Comforts challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my art journal page as to love and be loved brings me comfort.

I had fun creating this page with all the different inks and stains so I’m joining the Inktober challenge over at The Artistic Stamper too.

With the quote and all the stamping I used to create this page, I’m also joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Quote Away challenge.

I’m also pleased to join Topic 17 Colour Challenge is A Box of Eggs over at PaperArtsy with the blue and green pastel shades that I used for this page.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday the challenge is Celebrating Stamping & STAMPtember®! so I’m pleased to join them too.

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.

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)
Tsukineko Emboss Embossing Stamp Pad (Clear)
Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Cracked Pistachio)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mermaid Lagoon)
Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
Stampendous Frantage embossing enamel (Chunky Silver)
Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Heart Cluster CEMSHEART)
BoBunny Stamps (Rough it up #12105155, Snow Day #13705563)
Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Serpentine Background T-2773)
Craft Sensations (Clear Stamps CRO274/16R1)
White tissue paper
The Works (Chalkboard Tags)
The Range (Key Embellishments CRO954)
Brads (Dragonflies – Black, Round – Black)
Ranger Glossy Accents
UHU Stic

Delicious Autumn

Posted on September 28, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

Autumn is one of my favourite months and finding this pretty tissue of a robin sat amongst autumn leaves I decided to create a page using some leaves that I had pressed and a beautiful quote from a poem by George Eliot.

I started by ripping the tissue into pieces around the robin, leaf and branch images and adhering them to the page using a glue stick and matte gel medium. Next I applied DecoArt crackle glaze using a palette knife in between the tissue pieces and left it to dry overnight.

To highlight the crackle effect, I painted Yellow Ochre from my Kuratake watercolour paint set onto the page and also Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker by scribbling the pen onto an acrylic block and picking the ink up with a paintbrush. I also added droplets of Carbon Black Liquitex Ink and then applied water with a paintbrush making it spread between the cracks. I repeated this process using Black Soot Distress Ink too. For the wording, I used my new label maker, which was fun (grin!). The quote is from a poem by George Eliot who wrote “Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns”. I distressed the edges of the labels with scissors and used Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Inks to edge and colour them; once they were stuck in place I outlined them using a black Uni Pin marker. Then I added some leaves to the branches which I collected last year and had dried and pressed; they are stuck down using wood adhesive. To finish, I applied some little dots of Pumpkin Liquid Pearls to add a pop of bright autumnal colour.

I love the quote from George Eliot too; wouldn’t it be amazing to be a bird and fly about the earth experiencing one autumn after the other (grin!). There is so much I enjoy about autumn especially the colours of autumn which can be seen in this beautiful view of the River Yarrow when we visited Duxbury Woods.

One of my favourite places for autumn/fall foliage with its amazing reds, oranges and yellows is New England. This photo was taken a few years ago, it’s lovely to be transported back there and maybe it is possible to chase those successive autumns after all!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Yvonne from Meggy’s way, who is hosting A World of Fantasy challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my successive autumn wishes, wouldn’t it be amazing to experience one autumn after another!

I’m pleased to join their Back To Nature challenge over at A Vintage Journey, as their brief for this challenge inspired me to use the leaves that I had collected last year and dried. I hope you like my Art Journaling and Mixed Media style page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Forever Autumn so I’m pleased to join this challenge with my Delicious Autumn page.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my seasonal nature page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my autumnal 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:

DecoArt Medium Crackle Glaze
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Yellow Ochre)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
Liquitex ink! (Carbon Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo)
Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
IHR Ideal Home Range tissues (Red Robin PT89600)
Dymo LetraTag Personal Label Maker LT-100H
Dymo LetraTag Tape 12mm (White Paper)
Dried and pressed leaves
Ranger Liquid Pearls (Pumpkin)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Pritt Stick
Evo-Stik Wood Adhesive

Happy Days

Posted on August 16, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

Recently a good friend very kindly gave us a Food Dehydrator that she no longer uses so I thought I would create a page to remember this kindness and also the lovely apples we have been drying and eating – Happy Days!

I started by applying Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint and white gesso using a sponge through a mosaic stencil from the Tim Holtz idea-ology collection. The round mosaic pattern reminded me of the trays in the dehydrator machine. Then I used some different stamps to add more detail to the background which included a blossom stamp from Stampendous using black Archival Ink, a foliage stamp from Kaisercraft using Shabby Shutters Distress Ink, and also a stitched flower stamp from Urban Stamps using Old Paper Distress Ink. Then I ripped three pieces of wallpaper; I really like the apple blossom design to remember the apples that we dried. They are edged, like all the paper pieces, using a Cold Grey Big Brush Faber-Castell marker and stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I added some pieces of spotted and flower design pink fabric washi tape to the wallpaper pieces to add some interest and colour. The apple is fussy cut from a magazine and is backed with recycled card; I layered it onto the page with a small piece of wallpaper and some worded stickers from Kaisercraft, which read “Happy Days” and “Grateful” as I am grateful for my friend’s kindness. They are stuck in place using a glue stick and outlined with a black Uni Pin marker, and I added a shadow at the base of the apple using Cold Grey and Black Faber-Castell Big Brush markers which I smudged with my finger. Next I used a stitched circle die set and my Big Shot machine to cut circles from a Kilner Jar label and stuck them to the page using a glue stick and also some double-sided foam tape; this is relevant as I bought a larger Kilner Jar, as the one pictured below was a bit too small, to store my dried apples in. Then to finish, I added some white Hessian flowers which matched the wallpaper design beautifully.

On our first attempt of using the dehydrator we made the most amazing dried apples; you need to slice them thinly and pop them into some water with lemon juice in to stop them going brown. We then used a tea towel to remove any excess water, placed them on the drying racks and sprinkled them with cinnamon and dried them in the dyhydrator.

After 8 hours of drying they were ready and we stored them in a Kilner Jar to eat as and when needed. They are very moreish and have an intense apple flavour – yum!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Bleubeard & Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover, who is hosting the Count your blessings challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I feel very blessed to have received such kindness and have such lovely treats to eat.

As this page is a happy memory of summer, I’m also joining the Summertime challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral coloured page.

I’m pleased to join the Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps; I used the sketch to position my apple and sentiments (grin!).

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Back to School challenge with my apple inspired page; synonymous with an apple for the teacher or for me a snack in my school bag.

Happy Days is also a song, do you remember it? I use to love watching the TV show when I was growing up too (grin!). You still have time to join the Inspired by a song 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: