May all your wishes come true

It’s time for our first challenge of the year over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, this is a monthly challenge and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I had fun creating this mixed media page using my favourite Frost Fairy stamp from Paperbabe Stamps; she seems to be casting a spell – may all your wishes come true!

I started by applying black DecoArt acrylic paint to the edges of the page and blending it towards the centre. When dry, I applied the gold stars over the top using Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad, a Sparkles stencil by Tim Holtz and Gold Ranger embossing powder. The centre of the page was coloured using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the wording was created using foam letter stickers.

The Frost Fairy from Paperbabe Stamps was stamped using black Archival Ink onto some mixed media paper. Then I coloured her using Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers; the dress was coloured using Green Turquoise Blend, the ribbon using Yellow Gold Blend, her hair using Dark Red Blend, her skin using a Fair Skin Blend marker, her lips using Pale Pink Blend, her eyes using True Blue Blend and her wings using Iced Grey Blend. I also added more detail using a black Uni Pin fine line marker and white Uniball gel pen. Then I cut her out and added the Gold Ranger embossing powder using a Versamark Watermark Pen to create the stars. She was stuck in place using a glue stick which finished the page.

All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge. For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. I hope you are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

I was reminded of this beautiful glass angel that we bought when we visited Prague, there is room to place a tealight behind her and being made from glass she looks so delicate and pretty (grin!).

I hope 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.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create these ATCs:

• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Sparkles THS132)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Ranger Embossing Powder (Gold)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (MLD Frost Fairy)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Noir TriBlend Markers (Green Turquoise Blend, Yellow Gold Blend, Dark Red Blend, Fair Skin Blend, Pale Pink Blend, True Blue Blend, Iced Grey Blend)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Pen)
• Pritt Stick
• Simply Creative Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter SCSTK025)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the golden stars that I included on my page. I’m pleased to be able to join the Groundhog Day over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as I couldn’t resist using my Frost Fairy stamp and TriBlends again (you may remember on my Believe page that I created last month) and of course the background may look familiar too, it’s from an ATC that I created in December, I just had to create it on a bigger scale (grin!). I’m also pleased to join the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pattern of stencilled stars on my page. I’m also joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques I used; I’m still perfecting my colouring and blending techniques using the TriBlend markers.

First Signs of Spring at Country View Challenges

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:

• Stamperia – Cristina Radovan – Forest 12×12 Inch Paper Pack
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Mowed Lawn
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Forest Moss
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Black Soot
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Twisted Citron
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Mustard Seed
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Fossilized Amber
• Ranger – Tim Holtz® – Distress Ink Pad – Speckled Egg
• Ranger Roller – Small Brayer 2 1/4
• THS144 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil – Halftone
• Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Crackle 3.9 Fl Oz (116 Ml)
• 659765 Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (White & Gray)
• TH94051 Tim Holtz® Idea-Ology™ – Ephemera Field Notes
• Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black – 90mm X 62mm
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175B)
• Stix2 double-sided tape and glue dots
• Creative Expressions (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Textured Finish)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Garden Greens  661206, Mini Tattered Floral 661806)
• Pearl Gemstones
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)

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

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.

Grateful Heart

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 & 9^th 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

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

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 & 9^th. 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 & 9^th 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.

Christmas Wishes

I created today’s art journal page to send you Christmas wishes – wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas filled with peace and love!

I started by covering the page with Pébéo white gesso and then I spread some clear glitter glue over the top using a palette knife. All the festive images were cut from old magazines and stuck in place using a glue stick.  I splattered white acrylic paint around the edges of the images and left it to dry.

The black circles were stamped onto some white tissue paper using a Snow Day stamp set from BoBunny, some black Archival Ink and black Papermania Embossing Powder; they were stuck down using a glue stick. I added some texture over the white background around the images by applying Ranger Texture Paste though a Sparkle stencil from Tim Holtz; I love the white on white effect that this created. When dry, I finished the page by adding the “Christmas Wishes” wording which was recycled from an old Christmas card.

One of our Christmas traditions is to treat ourselves to a Festive Feast sandwich from our local deli in town; it’s filled with stuffing, turkey, bacon, sausage, cranberry sauce and mayonnaise (grin!).

They make sandwiches to takeaway so we bought the sandwich home to enjoy with one of the beers from our homemade advent calendar. This Belgian IPA had a fruity finish and tasted of coriander and orange peel, and both the beer and the sandwich were very yummy (double grin!).

This past week, we’ve loved all of the beers that we have tried from our advent calendar so as T Stands for Tuesday, I thought I’d share some of the other beers with you and say a big hello to the T Gang – cheers and Happy T day!

This one is specially brewed for Aldi by Brewdog Brewery and there is an interesting story behind this beer. It started with Aldi supermarket selling a copy of Brewdog’s flagship beer, so Brewdog then made a beer called YALDI IPA and launched it on Twitter (Brewdog is in Scotland and “yaldi” is apparently slang for happiness). Aldi replied on Twitter to Brewdog saying “would have gone with ALD IPA, send us a crate and we’ll talk”. Apparently the customer enquiries went through the roof after their conversation on Twitter, so they got together and Aldi now sell this beer as a special edition; it’s marketed as their “own label IPA”.

Erika will be pleased that we have tried this Push Pineapple beer too; I was looking forward to trying this one myself and it didn’t disappoint! This is a Pineapple Milkshake IPA; it is called “milkshake” as it contains lactose which gives a creamier mouth feel and makes the beer sweeter as brewer’s yeast can’t ferment it. Lactose is traditionally used in stouts to give them a sweeter and creamer taste. This beer had a lovely pineapple flavoured finish too – so delicious (grin!).

Wishing you all a safe and happy Christmas!

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:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Glitter Glue (Clear)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Old magazines
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Mixed Media Stencil (Sparkle THS132)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Recycled white tissue paper
• BoBunny Stamp Set (Snow Day)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black)
• Recycled Christmas Card Topper
• X-Press It! double-sided foam 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 Tracey over at Art Journal Journey and her Meaning of challenge this month as I created this page to send you happy Christmas wishes. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my Christmas page. I’m also pleased to join the Celebrate challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog as I’m celebrating Christmas with this 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 I used to create the clean and simple white on white background. I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my Christmas Wishes page. I’m also pleased to join the Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – December Anything Christmas Goes with my Christmas page too.

Love, Peace, Joy

To join in the fun over at the 25 Days of Christmas Tags I made a tag and then decided to create an art journal page using the tag, as its colours matched my brand new Winter Holidays TriBlend Spectrum Noir marker set perfectly – I hope you like it!

I’d also like to say a special thank you to lovely Tracey from Hotchpotchcreations for her insight into alcohol markers which helped me decide on these TriBlend markers that I used for the first time on this page – such fun!

For the tag, I started by cutting a piece of Kraft cardstock using the largest tag design from the Framelits Tag Collection from Tim Holtz. I covered it with white gesso and when dry, I edged the tag using Ground Espresso Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then I splattered it with white gesso to give a snowy effect and added grungy dots using a Spritz & Speckles stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps and some Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink. The “love, peace, joy” wording were stickers from Kaisercraft and the large snowflakes were cut out of two green-blue glitter papers and some corrugated silver cardstock using a Tonic Studios die cut set. They are layered together with some pretty pearl snowflake gems from Habico and to finish I tied a piece of recycled brown ribbon to the tag.

I’m pleased to be able to join the 25 Days of Christmas Tags with my tag which was inspired by Tracey McNeely’s snowflake tag posted on Day 11 of the challenge.

For my journal page, I started by stamping the bird onto the page using a Winter Woodland stamp set and some black Archival Ink. Then I coloured the bird and branch image using the TriBlend Spectrum Noir markers; the colours I used were Green Turquoise Blend, Gold Yellow Blend, Earth Brown Blend and Alpine Green Blend. I created a template to cover the bird and branches so I could stamp the background with the “joy” wording using Hickory Smoke and Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink. Then I applied some white gesso to the stamped wording to push it into the background more. I created some 3D snow on the branches using some Fluffy Puffy Stuff from Inkylicious which is always fun to use as you heat it using a heat gun so it became fluffy and puffy (grin!). I stuck the tag in place and then I cut some little snowflakes from the glitter paper using a Thinlits set from Tim Holtz and layered them together with some of the pearl snowflake gems which finished the page.

I treated myself to these TriBlend pens recently after some discussions with Tracey and they are great to use although I still have a lot to master when applying and blending them. As this was new to me I started off small, creating this snowy bird scene which was a great learning experience. I’m looking forward to using them again soon – thanks again Tracey for all your help and insight, you’re a star!

Hoping 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 all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Kraft cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Spritz & Speckles)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Ground Espresso, Hickory Smoke)
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 1792e)
• Poundland (Glitter Paper)
• Wilkos (Corrugated Cardstock – Silver)
• Stix2 glue dots
• Habico Signature Collection (PP1100  – Pearl Snowflakes)
• Recycled brown ribbon
• Creative Stamping Magazine Issue: 62 (Sheena by Sheena Douglass – Winter Wonderland Stamp Set)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Noir TriBlend (Green Turquoise Blend, Gold Yellow Blend, Earth Brown Blend, Alpine Green Blend)
• Great Impressions Wood-mounted Stamp (Joy Background J87)
• Inkylicious (Fluffy Puffy Stuff)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Paper Snowflakes 661599)

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as I always enjoy taking part, 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 Wendy K over at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge this month with the bird that I included on this page. I’m so happy to be able to join the #132 – Frosty Feels or Cool Tones challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my frosty snowflake scene. I’m pleased to join the Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – November Anything Christmas Goes with my Christmas season page. I’m also joining in the fun at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge and their Happy Holidays challenge with my Love, Peace, Joy tag and page. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything But A Card challenge with my tag and page. I’m also joining the Challenge # 118 – Gold or Silver or Glitter over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with the silver and glitter papers that I used. I’m also pleased to join Challenge #83 – Anything Christmas Goes over at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge with my Love, Peace, Joy art journal page. I’m also pleased to join the Christmas challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too.

Hello November

As it’s November I created a page to celebrate everything autumn which includes Thanksgiving next week; this month always reminds me of all the things we have to be grateful for!

I started by covering the background with a collage of scrap paper pieces which included dictionary pages, tissue paper, sheet music, diary pages and napkin; they were stuck down using a glue stick and then covered with Liquitex matte gel medium. Next I applied Red Oxide, Crimson and Yellow Liquitex acrylic paint over the top blending the colours together to create a bright autumnal orange colour. Then I used a brayer to apply some Pébéo white gesso and when dry I added some rub-on transfers from a Specimen Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz. I used the brayer again to add some more white gesso over the top which pushed them into the background. I love the way these techniques give so much depth and interest to the background (grin!).

Next I used lots of different stamp sets with black Archival Ink which I used for all the stamping on this page. Firstly I stamped a Script stamp over the background and then a foliage stamp to create the branches and leaves, both of which are from Kaisercraft. The bird sitting on the branch was stamped from a Craft Sensations stamp set and I used the Kaisercraft foliage stamp again to add the leaves to the branch so it blended in to the scene.

I used two alphabet stamp sets to create the wording; the “Hello November” was stamped using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th and the rest of the wording was stamped using a Docrafts stamp set and reads “Thank you for reminding us we have so much to be grateful for!”.  To finish, I splattered the page with black and also white acrylic paint.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this morning’s cup of Cinnamon Orange tea, it’s pictured by my autumnal window display which is bright and cheery and inspired the colours of my page (grin) – Happy T Day everyone!

Hoping 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 all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Scrap paper pieces (Dictionary pages, tissue paper, sheet music, diary pages, napkin)
• Pritt Stick
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Colour (Red Oxide, Naphthol Crimson, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752, Magnolia Grove CS822)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Mini Brayer
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Specimen #TH94047)
• Craft Sensations Clear Stamp (CR0274/16R1)
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Alphas Trad DCE907116)
• DecoArt Acrylic Paint (Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Wendy K over at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge this month with the bird stamping that I included on this page. I’m happy to join the Celebrate challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my brightly coloured page I created to celebrate November and Thanksgiving. I’m joining the fun over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes + optional twist of Making Your Own Background with the techniques I used to create the background for this page. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything But A Card challenge with my art journal page. I’m also joining in the Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my page. I’m also pleased to join the LTSCB #139 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with page too.

Fun Starts Here

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Embossed.

This challenge is all about embossing, whether its heat embossing, embossing paste, embossing folders or embossed papers just be sure to tell use what you have used (grin!).

I was still in Halloween mode when I created this page being influenced by the Mexican celebration “Día de Muertos” (which happens to be next Monday). I used lots of embossing powder to heat emboss the white flowers, black doilies and black lace.

I started by painting magenta and green Liquitex Basics acrylic paint over the page using a dry paintbrush technique to prevent the colours blending. When dry, I covered the paints with some Pébéo white gesso and also some black DecoArt acrylic paint; I used a brayer to apply both paints letting them dry between applications.

For the white embossed flowers, I used an Oriental Zen stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps and black Archival Ink to stamp the flower design over the magenta coloured areas. I then covered the ink with white Stampendous embossing powder and heated it with my heat gun until glossy. The black doilies were stamped using a Dovecraft stamp set and the black Archival Ink and covered with black Papermania embossing powder; they were stamped over the green areas of the page.

I used the same Dovecraft stamp set, black ink and embossing powder to add the lace detail to my skull which was die cut using a Halloween Hangouts Thinlit set from Tim Holtz from white card. I mounted it onto some glittery paper and stuck it in place using a glue stick. I also added some circles that were cut from the glitter paper using a Spellbinders die set and to finish, I added a Kaisercraft sticker that reads “Fun starts here”.

I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more Embossed inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look at all the beautiful creations from my Design Teamies (grin!).

As it was my hubby’s birthday last week and T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a slice of the birthday cake that I made him and his cuppa! The cake is a Victoria sponge filled with homemade buttercream icing and cherry jam which I topped with a white and red feathered icing and his tea is Ceylon Orange Pekoe Tea – Happy T Day everyone!

Hoping that you 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 all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Quinacridone Magenta, Hooker’s Green Hue Permanent)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Ranger Mini Brayer
• Paperbabe Stamps (Oriental Zen Stamp Set)
• Dovecraft Stamp Set (Lave & Doile DCCS009)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Stampendous! Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with a Linen Texture CR0240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Halloween Hangouts 663088)
• Glitter wallpaper sample
• Pritt Stick
• Spellbinders Nestabilities Decorative Elements Die Cut System (Stately Circles S4-388) – thank you Astrid!
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Bombay Sunset SS339)

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 Chris aka Pearshapedchris, who is hosting the Hold The Line challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the outlined embossed flowers and lines of lace adorning the skull on my page. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Halloween challenge with my Mexican inspired Halloween page. I’m joining the Purple, Orange, Green! Eek! It’s Halloween! challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my “Día de Muertos” page. I’m also joining in the fun over at the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge and their Halloween Jump Start challenge with my art journal page. I’m so pleased to be able to join in the Anything Goes over at Paperbabe Stamps with my Mexican “Día de Muertos” page – thanks so much Tracey, your beautiful ATCs reminded me of “Día de Muertos”, so inspirational! I’m also joining the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes + optional twist of Distressing (ink or tool) with the dry painting technique that I used. I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Layer It Up challenge with layers of paint and embossing powders that I used for the background and layers of papers that I used for the skull.