I got creative to join in with a number of challenges today including the Texture challenge that I’m hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey. Thanks so much to all those who have joined in the fun so far with all your wonderful texture creations!
I’ve been meaning to use this Emily Dickinson quote on one of my pages for a while now and it seemed to match the feathers I used beautifully!
To start, I covered the page with Colbalt Blue Liquitex acrylic paint and added some Prussian Blue and white acrylic paints using a credit card to create some texture. When dry, I stamped a hexagon pattern stamp and my favourite Script stamp from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink. Then I splattered the whole page using white acrylic paint and applied some Ranger Texture Paste around the edges of the page using a Carabelle Studio Stencil.
The feathers are stickers which I outlined using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and white Uniball gel pen. For the quote, I cut the letters from white cardstock using an X-Cut die set and then stuck them in place using Liquitex matte gel medium.
The colours of the feathers on this page remind me of some flowers that were kindly gifted to me this week when we had family visiting – the orange yellow autumnal colours look fabulous!
I hope 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.
Challenges
I’m joining in the Use Your Favourite Stamp challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as I used my favourite Script stamp as part of my design.
I’m also joining the Complimentary Colours challenge over at Country View Challenges with the blue and orange complimentary colour combination on my art journal page.
I’m also pleased to join the #127 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the blue pantone background.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Liquitex Acrylic Color (Colbalt Blue)
Liquitex Artist Color (Prussian Blue)
Art Discount Acrylic (White)
Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Script CS752)
Docrafts Capsule Collection Clear Stamps – free in magazine
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Carabelle Studios Art Template A6 (Weft Fabric & Numbers TE60034)
Ranger Texture Paste
Feather Stickers
Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Black 199)
I had fun creating some texture on my art journal page using stamping, doodles, buttons, paints and decorative tape so I’m joining the Texture challenge that I’m guest hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey; it would be lovely to see you there!
I started by covering the page with Swedish Blue Liquitex and white acrylic paints using a baby wipe. When dry I stamped London Fog Memento Ink using a 4-point star background stamp and a Serpentine background stamp from Art Impressions. I also stamped black Archival Ink using a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and a homemade grid stamp which I created by sticking drywall/plasterboard tape onto a block of wood. I then stamped the edges of the page with circles using tubes/lids on my craft desk and some white acrylic paint. The two lovebirds on the branch are stamped using Onyx Black Versafine Ink.
I had fun doodling the lines cascading down the page and the large heart using a white Uniball gel pen and black Uni Pin marker and then used lots of recycled buttons to add further texture using Ranger Glossy Accents to stick them in place. The cream, blue and lilac hearts were cut from some adhesive-backed papers using a couple of paper punches; the hearts were stuck in place, outlined and I also doodled around them. I added some black Decorative Border Tape to the edges of the page and emphasised the pattern and texture by applying some Coconut Faber-Castell Gelato. Next I applied some Coconut, Fig and Metallic Blueberry Faber-Castell Gelatos to the background scribbling them vertically onto the page and then smudging the colours with my finger.
I stamped another layer of the white paint circles over the top and then I splattered the page with both black and white acrylic paint. To finish, I added three Tim Holtz stickers which read “follow your heart”, “be in love with your life” and “start each day with a grateful heart”.
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a cup on green tea in a pretty mug that matches my page with its blue colour, heart design and gingham texture (grin!). Wishing you all a very Happy T day!
I hope that you are staying safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m joining in the Oodles Of Doodles challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge it was fun adding lots of doodles as part of my design.
I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge theme that I have chosen for this month is Texture.
We would like you to have fun creating texture on your pages. As you can see from the different panels on my page there are lots of possibilities to create texture. This could be by adding texture paste, crackle paste, high density mediums like gesso, paints or embossing powder. You could also use embossing folders, layers of papers, die cuts, fabrics or chipboard pieces too. The choice is yours!
I couldn’t just choose one texture so I decided to create my page using 21 different texture panels to inspire you and as I started creating the panels they turned into little scenes, I hope you like them (grin!).
If you’re interested, here’s close up pictures and full details of how the panels that make up my page were created. There’s also a list of all materials I used at the end of this post too.
1. Foil For my first panel, I stamped a dragonfly using black Archival Ink onto some coloured foil, which is recycled from an Easter egg wrapper. I stuck it onto the panel using a glue stick and to create the worn textured look I added some black Archival Ink to emphasis the creases and then I rubbed the foil back to its base silver colour with a baby wipe. To finish I added the glittery flower.
2. Teabags & staples Using staples I attached a used teabag to the panel and then I stuck three teacups on the top which were die cut from some design paper.
3. Glass beads I coloured the panel with some Summer Sky Memento Ink and then applied Liquitex Glass Beads Texture Gel over the top with a palette knife. Whilst the medium was still wet I pressed some pretty blue glass beads into the texture gel. When dry I added the little orange fish which is a brad.
4. Dried leaves I used matte gel medium to layer together a yellow skeleton leaf, a dried beech leaf and a die cut flower, which was cut from some linen textured paper using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.
5. Fabric, threads and lace The panel was covered with some self-adhesive fabric and layered with a piece of frayed muslin, some Hessian/burlap and some threads which I topped with a lace flower.
6. Corrugated card I added a piece of corrugated card, which was recycled from some packaging, using matte gel medium then applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top. When dry, I emphasised the corrugations using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The postage stamp is from Graphic 45 and was distressed using the Dark Sepia marker, Tea Dye Distress Ink and black acrylic paint.
7. Elastic bands I applied some matte gel medium to the panel and sprinkled on some Orthodontic elastic bands that CJ kindly set to me (grin!). When dry I covered them with white gesso and highlighted the circles using a Dark Sepia marker. Then I edged the panel using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and coloured some of the circle centres using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. To finish, I added three little hearts that were in my craft stash; they were created using the Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and glossy white cardstock.
8. Crackle I covered the panel with white gesso and when it was dry I applied Earl Grey, Caramel and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger. To create the crackle I used a BoBunny stamp and some Toffee Crisp and Rich Cocoa Momento inks and Black Archival ink.
All the letters for the “texture” wording were created using an X-Cut die set; they were cut from both black and white paper and then layered together onto a panel of textured design paper.
9. Glitter I cut some different coloured glitter sheets into squares and then stuck them onto the panel using a glue stick.
10. Cork I simply stuck a piece of cork designed paper onto the panel.
11. Paint Splatter To add more texture I used some high density Liquitex paint, splattering Vivid Lime Green, Cold Grey and Bright Aqua Green onto the panel and leaving it to dry.
12. Wood This is one of my favourite techniques; I applied Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink pads vertically down the panel and used a paint brush to add some matte gel medium over the top keeping the brush strokes in a vertical direction. I repeated the process a couple of times making sure each layer dried before adding the next.
13. Texture paste I applied some Ranger Texture Paste to the panel using a Vintage Diamond stencil. When dry I coloured the panel using Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks, then emphasised the texture paste using some Midnight Sparkle lustre wax.
14. Napkin I simply covered the panel with a gold embossed napkin using a glue stick.
15. Wooden chipboard pieces and rust effect I started by sticking the cogs in place using matte gel medium. When dry I added layers of different shades of rust and brown acrylic paints which I had created by mixing Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and black acrylic paints. When dry I added more detail using Dark Sepia and a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then I added some patina by lightly stippling some Bright Aqua Green acrylic paint over the top.
16. Paper layers I covered the panel with leftover paper pieces and edged them using a black Uni Pin marker. The flower is a paper sticker and the foliage was cut using a Funky Floral Thinlet from Tim Holtz and coloured using two green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.
17. Doily and gems I added lots of texture to the panel using layers of doily which I edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia marker. They are stuck in place using double-sided tape and then embellished with some textured gemstones to add some shimmer and shine.
18. Embossing Folder, thread and buttons I used an embossing folder to add a flower design to a piece of Kraft cardstock and then coloured the raised embossed design using a white Uniball gel pen and Aqua Green Promarker. Then I wound some wax thread around the panel and attached a big button.
19. Drywall/Plasterboard Tape I added some drywall/plasterboard tape to the panel and coloured it using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray. I splattered the panel with black DecoArt acrylic paint and added some washi tape to create the foreground. Then I added the mushrooms which are from the Field Notes Ephemera Set from Tim Holtz.
20. Embossing enamel and die cut trellis The panel background was coloured using Tea Dye and Antique Linen Distress Ink and Dandelion and Pistachio Memento Ink. The trellis was die cut from white cardstock covered in black Archival Ink and Chunky Silver Stampendous embossing enamel. I added two little birds which were stamped using black Archival Ink, coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut out.
21. Tissue Paper For the final panel, I crumpled some white tissue paper and then added it to the panel using matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured it with Lemon, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna watercolour paint. The flower was cut from some Kanban cardstock using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.
Once the panels were complete I stuck them onto the page using double-sided tape; I coloured the background with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to outline the panels before sticking them in place.
Do you have a favourite panel? It’s hard for me to choose, maybe number 3 with the beads and little fish, number 6 as I love the corrugated card, number 15 with cogs and rust or number 20 as you know I adore robins (grin!).
I hope that you are inspired to join us at Art Journal Journey this month too! We are really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all the Texture that you create on your pages (grin!).
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.
Challenges
I’m joining the It’s A Wrap challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the Easter Egg wrapping, corrugated packaging and tissue paper wrap I used to create my panels.
I’m happy to be able to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.
I received another lovely surprise in the post, a gorgeous summer vibe card from my dear friend Nan. She knows how much I love the beach and ice cream so her card is perfect – thanks so much!
My page was inspired by Nan’s fabulous card design with the pastel-shade colours, the beach and summer vibe, the words/text, and of course the ice cream (grin!).
I coloured the background using Spectrum Aqua markers by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing the block or dripping the ink onto the page. I mopped up wet ink with a piece of kitchen towel so the colours merged into each other; the Spectrum Aqua colours I applied were Yellow, Sea Green, Topaz, Aquamarine, Orange, Crimson, Purple and Gold. My hubby says it looks like melted ice cream (grin!).
When dry I added lots of words related to summer which are rub-on transfers. I stamped the beach huts onto some mixed media paper using black Archival Ink and then coloured them with Uni Posca paint pens; the colours I used were Violet, Pink, Yellow, Light Blue, Red, Orange and Light Green. I fussy cut them out and stuck them to the page using a glue stick. The little tags were cut from white linen textured card stock using Tag Collection Framelits from Tim Holtz and edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.
I added some little hearts to the tags which were cut from some different colours of Sizzix adhesive backed cardstock that was kindly sent to me by Nan, using a heart punch kindly gifted by CJ – thank you both! To finish, I added some black brads to the tags and then some ice-lolly/popsicle stickers.
With Nan’s amazing writing and adornments, my hubby instantly knew who the card was from when he saw the envelope on the door mat; he was all smiles when he told me something had arrived in the post (grin!). On opening it he noticed the ice cream van straight away, not surprising as he loves ice cream so much (double grin!). It’s so kind and thoughtful of Nan and very much appreciated – thanks very much!
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.
Challenges
I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month; the hearts on my tiny tags were inspired by Alison’s journal pages – thank you!
I’m joining in the fun I do like to be beside the seaside challenge over at Country View Challenges with my summer beach vibe page.
I’m also happy to be able to join the #126 –Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.
I recently won one of the challenges over at Paperbabe Stamps so I was very excited to use the new stamp set that I chose as my prize – thanks so much!
The Paperbabes Stamp Set was “just perfect” for decorating the recycled tags on my page which I found when I was tidying my craft room; the tags were from clothing as well as towels and pottery.
I started by adding lots of the tags to the page using a glue stick and then covered them with several layers of Pébéo white gesso, letting each layer of gesso dry before adding the next.
Then I edged the tags with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker, smudging the ink with my finger. I added some washi tape to some of the tags and splattered the page then coloured the tags using Cerulean Blue Winsor & Newton watercolour paint. When the paint was dry I edged the tags and washi tape using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Using black Archival Ink, I stamped the tags using a Spritz & Speckles stamp set, also from Paperbabe Stamps and then using a Gothic Book stamp from Finnabair. I stamped the tags using a Floral Icons stamp from Docrafts and Teal Zeal Memento Ink and then I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint. To finish, I added three copper butterflies and also a Kaisercraft sticker which reads “Just Perfect”.
The washi tape and watercolours that I used for this page were part of the fabulous goodies that I received from CJ over at CJ & Ink – thanks very much!
Here’s the Spritz & Speckles stamp set that I won from Paperbabe Stamps too, I’m sure I’ll use this one a lot as it adds such lovely textures and grungy effects – thanks so much!
Hoping that you all stay safe and well! x
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with all the tags on my page.
I’m also happy to be able to join the #126 –Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.
Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Tag You’re It challenge this month over at A Vintage Journey too, it would be lovely to see you there!
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Recycled tags from clothing, towels and pottery
Pritt Stick
Pébéo White Gesso
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199)
Winsor & Newton Watercolour Paint Set (Cerulean Blue)
Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Spritz & Speckles)
Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Floral Icons DCE907123)
I had a lovely surprise in the post, some happy mail from Bleubeard and Elizabeth celebrating T Stands for Tuesday’s 7th Anniversary – thank you so much for the amazing ATC and fabulous goodies!
I created this page with some of the goodies that Bleubeard and Elizabeth sent me; creating a tag with the Fiesta napkin and reusing the envelope that everything came in to make a pocket. Those little donkey piñatas caught my eye so I used them as part of my fun design too (grin!).
I kept the background simple, using two stencils from Creative Expressions I added a floral design using Love Letter Memento Ink and a trellis design using Black Soot Distress Ink applying them with a blending tool.
For the pocket, I folded the envelope so the postage stamp and marks were showing. Then I cut it into a triangular shape and coloured it using a Lemon Faber-Castell Gelato. To hold the pocket together I used some red and white flowered washi tape and then attached it to my page using double-sided tape. At the moment it is holding all the goodies that Bleubeard and Elizabeth kindly sent to me and I’m sure it won’t stay so full for long as I’ll be using them over time as part of my page designs (grin!).
For the tag, I cut some white card stock using the largest Tag Collection Framelit by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine and then I covered the tag with the Fiesta napkin using a thin layer of Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured the right-hand side using Lemon Faber-Castell Gelato and then covered it in washi tape to match the envelope pocket. Using the Tag Collection Framelit set I cut out the tag hole reinforcement from white card which was also coloured with the Lemon Faber-Castell Gelato and covered with the washi tape. With the reinforcement glued in place, I tied some pretty recycled ribbon to the tag. The Fiesta wording and donkey piñatas were mounted onto some white card stock using the gel medium and when they were dry, I fussy cut them out and edged them with a black marker. I layered them all together using double-sided tapes and then to finish I stamped the “thank you” wording using black Archival Ink.
As you may know Bleubeard and Elizabeth kindly sent this beautiful ATC and some goodies to those of us in the T Gang at T Stands for Tuesday, which is so kind and thoughtful – thanks so much!
Of course I just adore the ATC and it makes a lovely addition to my craft room having pride of place so I see it everyday whilst I’m crafting (grin!).
As T Stands for Tuesday and I’m celebrating with a T Day Fiesta, I thought a margarita would fit the bill – cheers and Happy T day!
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.
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month pocket and tag I created for this page.
I’m also happy to be able to join the #125 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as the tag with images, Fiesta wording and little piñata donkey that I included on my page.
I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use Your Favourite Tool challenge too; many of you will know that I love nothing better than fussy cutting so with just my scissors I’m a happy bunny (grin!).
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Daisy Wheels, Ornamental )
Tsukineko Memento Ink (Love Letter)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
Gift from Bleubeard and Elizabeth – thanks so much!
Recycled envelope and postage stamp
Faber-Castell Gelatos (Lemon)
Michael’s Washi Tape
Recycled white card stock
Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
Fiesta napkin
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Recycled ribbon
Stix2 double-sided tape
X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Point (Black)
Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies (Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
It’s a new month so we are launching our August challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.
Today’s mixed media art journal page was inspired by happy summer sunflowers and the beautiful quote by John Lubbock “Like the sun colours flowers, art colours life” which resonated with me. I hope you like it and that you are inspired to join us over at Creative Artiste; it would be lovely to see you there!
I started by applying Snowcone, Boysenberry, Bubble Gum and Lime Faber-Castell Gelatos, scribbling them onto the page and then smudging the colours with my finger which I had wet with water. Then I used a baby wipe to remove some of the Gelato colours through two different sizes of honeycomb stencils which gave the page depth and contrast. I used the smaller of the two Honeycomb stencils to add Rose Bud and Paris Dusk Memento Inks using a blending tool. Next I stamped an abstract numbers stamp from Kaisercraft and a Solar & Lunar stamp from Finnabair using black Archival Ink and then I stencilled Ranger Texture Paste through a Reversed Honeycomb stencil from That’s Crafty.
I had fun creating the large sunflower, drawing the petals and cutting them out of some design paper. The petals were coloured using Lemon and Limencello Faber-Castell Gelatos and a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker which I also used to edge the petals. The centre of the sunflower was die cut from some glossy brown card stock to which I then applied Ranger Texture Paste through the Reversed Honeycomb stencil. To finish, I added the quote which I created using an alphabet X-Cut die set with some yellow paper. Like the sunflower, the letters were highlighted using Limencello Faber-Castell gelato and edged using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.
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.
We have sunflowers in our garden this year which have flowered beautifully …
… and as you can see the bees love them (grin!).
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.
I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use Your Favourite Tool challenge too as I used lots of stencils which is one of my favourite tools to use on my mixed media pages.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Tag You’re It, which is being hosted by the lovely Amanda. Here’s what it’s all about:
“We would love to see what you create with, or on, hang tags. Your hang tags can be created from any material or be any size. We would just love to see that iconic hang shape front and centre in your design. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.
Creating tags for an art journal page is always fun, so, inspired by nature I designed these layered tags – I love the way they turned out (grin!).
For the main hang tag on my art journal page design, I cut out the largest tag from Kraft card stock from the Tag Collection Framelit set by Tim Holtz. Like all the tags, I coloured the inside panel of the tag using a white Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also die cut the tag-hole reinforcement using the same Framelit set from butterfly/script design paper.
To embellish this tag I cut three panels from the same Kraft card stock and then layered papers over the top of them using a glue stick. The papers included: some embossed gold napkin; some dressmaking tissue paper which I had stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink; and some torn pieces of the butterfly/script design paper. I layered some Field Notes ephemera from Tim Holtz over the top and added some tiny leaves; the leaves were cut using some Funky Florals Thinlets by Tim Holtz from some recycled notepaper which I had coloured with Mowed lawn, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Ink. On the top and bottom panels I added the white wording “Live simple” and “Love this life” which are rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz. The three panels were stuck to the hang tag using double-sided tape.
I followed the same process to create the other tags layering them together with the ephemera and leaves – I love the pretty dragonfly! The letters creating the “Let nature be your calming breath” wording were cut from the same green paper that I used for the leaves using an Alphanumeric Labels Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and once glued in place they were outlined using a white gel pen and a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more.
I mounted all the tags on my page which was covered with the same embossed gold napkin, dressmaking tissue paper (stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink) and butterfly/script design paper that I had used on the tags. Then to finish, I splattered the whole page with some Pébéo white gesso.
I hope you are inspired to join in the Tag You’re It challenge over at A Vintage Journey too, for more inspiration you’ll find some amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!
As you may know, my favourite colour is blue and this plant in particular from my garden reminded me of my page, it’s a Salvia nemorosa called “Blue Marvel” and the bees and insects love it!
My page also reminds me of a frequent visitor to our garden, a small blue butterfly called Common Blue which has proved difficult to photograph. So I was pleased when my dear friend who we walk with, shared this photo of a Large Blue which it is related to and this is one of the rarest blue butterflies in the UK.
I hope that you’re all keeping safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with the nature inspired tags on this page.
I’m also pleased to join the Use Your Favourite Tool challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge as I wouldn’t be without my Tim Holtz Thinlets and Big Shot machine that I used to created my page.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Kraft card stock
Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (White 101, Cold Grey IV 233)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles)
Napkin
Style Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper
Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Butterfly/Script Design Paper – local craft shop
Pritt Stick
Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
Today over at A Vintage Journey it’s Tag Friday, there is no particular theme as it’s all about creating something you love, experimenting and having fun! I hope that you will join our tag challenge, it would be lovely to see you there!
Spending more time in my garden means that my art is being inspired by some of the beautiful flowers which are blooming at the moment, so today’s double-sided tag features purple poppies and rudbeckia.
The tag itself was made from a large Poster Card by Tim Holtz and I added some texture and colour to the edges of it by applying some Broken China Distress Embossing Glaze and then some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. As I planned to use Faber-Castell Gelatos on both tags, I applied some white gesso to the tag first; this enhanced the colours and made it easier to apply the Gelatos. When the gesso was dry, I scribbled Kiwi and Aqua Dolce Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top smudging the colour with my finger.
Next I removed some of the Gelato colours using a baby wipe through a Halftone stencil from Tim Holtz and I used the stencil again to add some Memento Inks; I used Cottage Ivy ink for the poppy background and Paris Dusk ink for the rudbeckia background.
I stamped a document stamp and a grunge stamp from two different Tim Holtz stamp sets using black Archival Ink and then some leaf stamps from Carabelle Studios using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink for the poppy tag and London Fog Memento Ink for the rudbeckia tag. To finish the backgrounds, I added some rub-on transfers from a Specimen Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz.
The flowers were stamped onto some Mixed Media paper using a Stamping Platform to ensure a clear crisp finish. The stamps are from a Flower Garden stamp set by Tim Holtz and are stamped using black Archival Ink. The foliage was coloured using Sap Green Kuretake watercolour paint and highlighted using Lime Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.
I had fun painting the poppy using Colbalt Violet, Black and White Kuretake watercolour paints and I coloured the edges of the petals using Amethyst Winsor & Newton Promarker. I used Lime Green and Canary Promarkers to colour the centre of the flower and a white Uniball gel pen, a black Uni Pin marker and a Cool Grey Promarker for the stamens. The flower was stuck in place using a glue stick and some glue dots and I added the “Create Art” wording which was a Quote Chip from Tim Holtz that was edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.
The rudbeckia flower was painted using Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Scarlet, Black, White and Burnt Umber Sienna Kuretake watercolour paints and a Canary Promarker. I used a black Uni Posca paint pen and a black Uni Pin marker to add the texture to the stamens. I added the “Be Brave” wording and edged both tags using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine to reinforce the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my double-sided tags together as part of my Tag Journal (grin!).
For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some fabulous tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!
These purple poppies are a welcome addition to our flower bed and were totally unplanned; I think the birds must have brought them into the garden (grin!). They have been flowering non-stop since the beginning of July. I’m featuring them again as some of you had never seen them before so I thought I’d share some more information about them:
This particular poppy is called Papaver Somniferum “Hungarian Blue” and is an heirloom variety with single flowers.
They are gorgeous purple-violet shades with dark inner markings on each petal.
They are easy to grow being ideal as a cut flower and the dried seed pods can also be used in flower arranging.
They grow to a height of 90cm.
The rudbeckia has just started flowering and adds a happy vibrant yellow to our flower bed; this particular one is Rudbeckia Fulgida ”Goldsturm” and is also known as the Golden Cone Flower or Black Eyed Susan.
I hope that you are staying safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m pleased to join the Summer challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my summer flower tags.
I’m joining in the fun at Country View Challenges and their Do What Makes You Happy Challenge with my flower tags as although I always find making tags a bit daunting I always enjoy making them; they also make me smile when I look at them as they are always on display in my craft room.
I’ve always loved this quote “remember you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine” which happens to be from a song that was sung by Snow White in the original Disney animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.
As an experiment I sprinkled Yellow, Orange and Brilliant Red Brusho Powders on the page and spritzed them with White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray and a little water. I mopped up any excess colour from the edges of the page using a piece of kitchen towel and then left the page to dry; I love how the Brushos and spray blended together to give the soft summery sherbet background. Next I stamped the quote using a Concord & 9th Sophisticated Script stamp set with black Archival Ink, I used this ink for all the stamping on this page. I added some highlights to the quote using a white Uniball gel pen and then stamped lots of tiny butterflies using a Butterfly Peiredae stamp set from Paperbabes Stamps. Next I stamped a circular filigree sun shape from Kaisercraft around the edges of the page. Then I used a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to edge the page and splattered it with black and also white acrylic paint.
For the large butterflies, I used my stamping platform to stamp the butterfly wings using black Archival Ink to get a clean finish and deepen the colour; they are stamped onto the dried kitchen towel that I used to mop up the excess background colours. I cut them out and stuck them in place using double sided tape, and then I stamped the butterflies body and antennae which are from the same Paperbabes Stamps stamp set which finished the page.
If you’re interested you can find a full list of materials that I used to create this page at the end of this post.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 by Disney and here’s Snow White singing “A Smile and A Song” where the quote is taken from.
This quote made me think of the Snow White musical teapot which sits in our display cabinet; it’s one of my hubby’s keepsakes from 1960’s America where he lived when he was a young boy. I’m pleased to share this beautiful teapot, which plays “Hi Ho, Hi Ho…” when you pick it up, with the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – 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.
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her When It’s Hot challenge this month with the hot colours on my page.
