Believe in yourself

I was so inspired by Astrid’s Tissue Paper challenge over at A Vintage Journey that I created another page; there is still another week to join in the fun, it would be lovely to see you there!

This time I collaged tissue paper to create the background and distressed it, then added a beautiful butterfly and some motivational wording; I hope you like the shabby chic style that resulted.

The background is made of pieces of tissue Patch Paper collaged together using a glue stick and matte gel medium. Once dry I applied some white gesso over the top using a palette knife and then created a worn look by adding: some Coconut and Caramel Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colour with my finger; Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker which again I smudged using my finger; and finally some Frayed Burlap Distress Ink which I applied using a blending tool. Then I stamped a Tiny Dot stamp from Kaisercraft using the Frayed Burlap ink and also some black Archival Ink. For the butterfly, I chose a large pre-cut butterfly and heat embossed the edges of its wings and also its body using Versamark ink and black embossing powder. It is attached to the page using double-sided tape in the centre and also double-sided foam tape for the wings. The words are Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz and read “you are capable of becoming more than you realise”, “believe in yourself” and “with brave wings she flies”. They are all outlined using a black marker and using the same marker I drew two antennae on the butterfly which finished the page.

This page seemed to create itself and I think I was channelling butterflies as our friend that we walk with every week went on a Butterfly Tour last week, around the UK, looking for rare butterflies. When she was telling us about the Large Blue it reminded me of my page and as she is an exceptional photographer she kindly shared her photos with me which I’m pleased to be able to share with you too. This is a Large Blue which became extinct in 1979 and is being reintroduced to some areas of the UK.

Here’s some more of her amazing photos, this one is a Painted Lady …

… this is a Heath Fritillary …

… then there is a Marbled White …

… and finally a Brown Argus – I so enjoyed looking at the photos as I haven’t seen many of these butterflies before, so thanks very much K (grin!).

Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Halle of Halle’s Hobbies and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my “Believe in yourself” page.

I’m joining in the It’s a Bugs Life challenge over at Country View Challenges with my butterfly art journal page.

I’m happy to join the Spots and/or Stripes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the dots I added to the background of my page.

I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge too.

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

• Poundworld (Patch Paper DS9454)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Coconut, Caramel)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Tiny Dot CS360)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.08mm)
• Tsukineko Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• The Works (Make your own 3D Butterflies)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Pritt SticK
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

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Live simple …

June means that summer is here and as we have been having a few grey days of late, I created this brightly coloured page inspired by some motivational wording which I hope brings a smile to your face too (grin!).

With the chevrons and stamped shapes, my page is also a reminder that you have another week to join our Make a Mark challenge at Try it on Tuesday, it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by collaging the whole page with colourful design papers using Liquitex matte gel medium and then I covered the papers with some Pébéo white gesso using a palette knife. When dry, I coloured the edges of the papers with corresponding coloured Faber-Castell gelatos which included Red Cherry, Watermelon, Snow Cone and Coconut, smudging the colours with my finger which I wet with a baby wipe. Using black Archival Ink, I stamped: some hearts using a Heart Background stamp; Circles using a Worn Rings Gummiapan stamp, a recycled cardboard tube and also a plastic tube; and some geometric mini patterned dots and a hexagon pattern stamp from Docrafts. I highlighted and added more detail to these stamped images using a white Uni Posca paint pen; yes I did colour all those little hexagons white (grin!). Then I added the multi-coloured chevrons which are stickers from Kaisercraft; I outlined them with the white Uni Posca paint pen and also a black Uni Pin marker to make them stand out more. I cut out a panel from a Kaisercraft paper sheet, it reads “Live simple, dream big, laugh lots, be amazing, give love” which I thought was a great philosophy to live by. The panel was stuck in place using double-sided tape and I framed it using black Glitterations border stickers. To finish, I added strips of the black Glitterations border stickers to the right-hand side edges of the chevrons so they were more defined.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of cinnamon orange tea and some homemade French toast. It definitely feels like summer as strawberries are in season here and we’ve been having them on either American pancakes or French toast along with some golden syrup – so yummy! Wishing you a very Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Halle of Halle’s Hobbies  and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the motivational words that I included on my page. Thanks for the inspiration Halle!

I’m joining the Things with wings challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the butterflies on my page.

I’m also happy to join in the It’s a bugs life challenge over at Country View Challenges as I included butterflies on my page.

I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my summery art journal page.

I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge 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:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Red Cherry, Watermelon, Snow Cone, Coconut)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Hobbycraft A6 Clear Stamp (Heart Background 50351HC)
• Gummiapan Stamps (Worn Rings 2 11050601)
• Recycled cardboard and plastic tubes
• Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection Geometric Kraft (Mini Cards & Stamp Set PMA105306, Gift Tags and Stamp Set PMA105307)
• The Works Design Pad (Happy Spring CRO707/TW26)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284)
• Kaisercraft Paper Fly Free Collection (Confidante P1896)
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Birthday Wishes

As it’s our 10^th birthday at Try it on Tuesday and I always enjoy a lovely cocktail when it’s my birthday, I thought we could raise a glass at the Let’s Party challenge too!

You are invited to join our party which lasts for another week so have fun, be colourful and share the art that you like to create with us. To celebrate we also have our 10^th birthday party logo that you can display on your blog too.

I started with a purple background from a previous project that had gone wrong so I covered it with white gesso and when it was dry I scribbled on some Passion Fruit and Coconut Faber-Castell gelatos over the top and smudged them with my finger which I had wet with water. As gelatos reactivate when wet and I wanted to keep the next layers of colour crisp, I covered the page with Pébéo transparent gesso to fix the gelato colour in place. Next I added three pieces of sheet music using Liquitex matte gel medium and applied some DecoArt white acrylic paint over the page using a brayer. I stencilled some Vivid Lime Green Liquitex acylic paint through an Art Mask from Carabelle Studio and left it to dry. Then I applied some Red Cherry Faber-Castell gelato along the edges of the page and also to define the edges of the sheet music pieces; smudging it with my finger again. Next I cut the tag from some Kaisercraft paper using a Tim Holtz Framelits die and my Big Shot machine, and edged it with Red Cherry and Lime Faber-Castell gelatos. I tied a piece of lime green ribbon to the tag and stuck to the page using a glue stick. I created the large chevron shape on the left-hand side of the page from three pieces of washi tape and added the flowers, circular wording and circles which are stickers from Kaisercraft; some are fussy cut and edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also edged the page with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint. The cocktail image is recycled from an old birthday card; it is fussy cut and stuck in place using a glue stick. I stamped the words “happy”, “birthday wishes” and “sparkle” using a stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps and black Archival Ink. To finish, I added three mini butterflies and also some tiny red gemstones to add more sparkle.

My friend sent me this card as we always celebrate my birthday with a cocktail and she knows that a cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a cosmo happens to be one of my favourites (grin!).

If you are interested it’s made with ½oz Fresh lime juice, 1oz Cranberry juice, ½oz Cointreau, 1½oz Vodka. Place all the ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well and strain into a large cocktail glass – yum (double grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m joining the T Gang and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Challenges 

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal  and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the butterflies flying up my page – maybe wou’d like to join me for a cocktail Erica (grin!).

I’m joining in the Happy Hour challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my birthday cocktail page – cheers!

I’m pleased to join the Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #93 – Sketch as the sketch inspired my page design.

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:

• Pébéo Gesso (White, Transparent)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Passion Fruit, Coconut, Red Cherry, Lime)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Carabelle Studio Art Mask (Sur Fond de Mosaique MA60049)
• Sizzix Framelits Tim Holtz Alterations (Tag Collection 658784)
• Paperbabe Stamps (Birthday Wishes Stamp Set)
• Sheet Music
• Kaisercraft Paper Fiesta! Collection (Siesta P1859)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284, Say Aloha SS281)
• Recycled Birthday Card
• Michael’ Washi Tape
• Ribbon (Lime Green)
• Docrafts Papermania (Adhesive Stones – Red PMA351607)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pritt Stick

Let’s Party at Try it on Tuesday

We are having a special celebration at Try it on Tuesday as it’s our 10^th Birthday, so why not join us for our Let’s Party challenge. We would like you to have fun, be colourful and share the art that you like to create with us.

You are invited to join our party which lasts for the next two weeks and to celebrate, we also have our 10^th birthday party logo that you can display on your blog too. Our Design Team can’t wait for you to join us so please pop over to our blog and check out the Let’s Party creations.

To commemorate our birthday, I created a colourful art journal page inspired by the colours from our 10th Birthday Party Logo and a fabulous balloon stamp that I found just for this occasion – happy birthday celebrations everyone!

I started by collaging some leftover pieces of Collage Paper from Tim Holtz using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Then I covered the page with Lemon, Mango and Lavender Faber-Castell Gelatos by scribbling the colours onto the page and smudging them with my finger which I wet with water. The black stars are stencilled using Black Soot Distress Ink. Next I stamped the “happy”, “birthday” and “th” wording which are from a Paperbabes Stamp set, the “10” using a Papermania stamp set and the “Let’s Party” balloons onto white card using black Archival Ink; for this I used my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform which ensured that I achieved a nice dark and crisp stamped image. I fussy cut them all out and stuck them in place using a Zig Memory System glue pen along with some flower, butterflies and word stickers from Kaisercraft; the words I chose were “fun” and “memories” as we always have fun at Try it on Tuesday and we make such happy memories together. I die cut some stars from white card using Snowy Star thinlets from Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine, and I stuck them in place using the Zig glue pen. To finish, I also stuck some white dots onto the page which were saved from a previous project when I was die cutting white card using the same thinlet set; I love the crisp 3D effect.

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal  and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey as you find balloons and butterflies in the air.

As it’s a birthday party what could be better than jelly and ice cream, this is still one of my favourites so I couldn’t resist having a “Blackpool Special” at Notarianni Ice Cream parlour; this is tangerine jelly with two scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with tangerine syrup – delicious! Blackpool Football Club are know as The Tangerines because they play in a tangerine coloured strip and the manager of Notarianni’s is a massive fan, hence the sundae as a tribute.

To continue the birthday theme what could be better than sharing a pint at our local pub and as T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this pint of Apricot Fool beer which is brewed by Tiny Rebel, a brewery in Newport, South Wales. This beer is a light blonde beer tasting of apricots, it was so refreshing and was very easy to drink (grin!) – cheers and Happy T Day!

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:

• Faber-Castell Gelato (Lemon, Mango, Lavender)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Star Stencil
• Paperbabe Stamps (Birthday Wishes Stamp Set)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z Clear Stamps (Leftover Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Love to Craft Stamp Set (Let’s Celebrate LCST001)
• Tim Holtz Stamp Platform
• Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlets (Snowy Stars 663117)
• Tim Holtz Collage Paper (Botanicals #TH93705, Halloween #TH93727)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284, Fly Free SS289)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Things with Wings

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Things with Wings, so we would like to see birds, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, planes, fairies or something else with wings on your creations.

The Design Team have created some amazing inspirational pieces for you, so please pop over to our blog and take a look. I decided to go for a steampunk vibe and create time flying across my page by adding some colourful wings to some clocks – I hope you like it!

As there are lots of spring blossoms around at the moment I started this page by stamping a pretty blossom spray stamp from Stampendous using black Versafine Ink which I covered with black Papermania embossing powder and then melted with a heat gun to give a glossy finish. Then I had fun painting the page using Kuretake watercolour paints; I used Rose Madder and Sap Green for the blossoms and then Ultramarine and Turquoise Blue for the sky. Next I stamped the letters so they swept across the page from the bottom right-hand corner using a Carabelle Studio stamp and black Archival Ink. I created the butterfly clocks by using a clock from Kaisercraft Collectables, cutting clock faces from a Tim Holtz Pocket Card and adding butterfly wings from some 3D butterflies die cut shapes; they are all edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck in place using double-sided tape. To finish, I added the words which are Remnant Rubs from Tim Holtz, they read “brave”, “don’t forget to fly”, “wander” and “go where your heart take you”.

As palmiers are also known as butterfly wings (like on my page) I’m sharing my special birthday treat which is actually two palmiers sandwiched together with cream and strawberry jam – yum! As I enjoyed it with a cup of cinnamon orange Ceylon tea, I’m joining the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday– 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 Wendy from Wendy’s Art and Craft Journal  and her Having Fun challenge over at Art Journal Journey as it was fun adding wings to clocks to create this page.

I’m joining the Spring Fever challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the spring blossoms on this page.

I’m also happy to join in the Easter and/or Spring challenge over at Country View Challenges with my spring blossoms.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge too.

I’m also pleased to join the Flowers/Garden challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my spring blossom art journal page – thanks Tracey!

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 Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Rose Madder, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine, Turquiose Blue)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Stampendous cling rubber stamp (Blossom Spray CRP136)
• Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (Background avec des letters SA60233)
• Kaisercraft Collectables (Anthology CT938)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• The Works (Make your own 3D butterflies)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Special Delivery #TH93188)
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Springtime

Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday is Springtime.

As usual, you have two weeks to create your art, you can use any medium and digital is always welcome. Don’t forget to check out the wonderful inspiration provided by the Design Team over at the blog too!

Inspired by springtime flowers, I collaged the background of the page using Tim Holtz Collage Paper and some white paper that I had stamped using a lilac stamp; they are stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. As I was experimenting stamping the lilacs using Magenta, Purple, Moss, Bud Green and Chocolate Spectrum Aqua Markers to give a watercolour effect I thought I would use them on this page rather than throw them away. Then using black Versafine Ink, I stamped the “springtime” wording using an alphabet stamp and also added some clocks, both from Docrafts, as well as some bees and butterflies from Hampton Arts. The daffodils are fussy cut from an old flower book and stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. When the gel medium was dry, I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I coloured the wording using light green, yellow and pink Uni Posca paint pens and then covered each of the letters with Ranger Glossy Accents to give a 3D effect.

Whilst out walking around Glasson Dock for my birthday we saw lots of beautiful daffodils along the roadside.

These daffodils look just like the ones on my page (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing our pot of green tea that we had at a lovely café in Glasson Dock – Happy T Day everyone!

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 Wendy from Wendy’s Art and Craft Journal  and her Having Fun challenge over at Art Journal Journey as my page links to having springtime fun.

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

I’m also joining in the Beautiful Blooms challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the stamped lilacs and pretty daffodils on my page.

Over at The Artistic Stamper, their challenge is New Growth, so I’m pleased to join this challenge too with my springtime 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:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Magenta, Purple, Moss, Bud Green, Chocolate)
• Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Light Green, Pink, Yellow)
• Docrafts Papermanina Tina Higgins wooden stamp (Lilac PMA9061108)
• Docrafts Creative Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE9071102)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Vintage cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Lion White Paper
• Tim Holtz Collage Paper (Halloween #TH93727)
• Oxford Book of Flowers
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Embrace beautiful chaos

Our new challenge for the next two weeks at Try it on Tuesday is Use a stencil or two and you’ll find some amazing creations from my Design Teamies over at our blog to inspire you (grin!).

I hope that you’ll join us for this challenge by using one or more stencils to create your artwork; I must admit that I had loads of fun creating this page using four different stencils – see what you think!

To start with, I tore a book page into three pieces and stuck them to the page using a glue stick. I then painted the page with Vivid Lime Green, Bright Aqua Green and Neutral Gray Liquitex acrylic paint and left it to dry. Next I used a Tim Holtz stencil to add the Bright Aqua Green acrylic paint using a sponge and then some butterflies and circles using a Mini Specimens stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop and Black Soot Distress Ink. The white dots are Pébéo modelling paste which I applied using a craft knife through a dot stencil. When the modelling paste was dry, I added the three large flowers using a mask by Carabelle Studio and Black Soot ink blending the black ink around the edges of the flower into the background. The “embrace beautiful chaos” wording, which I thought was perfect to summarise the look and feel of this page, is a Small Talk Sticker from Tim Holtz and I outlined it using a black Uni Pin Marker. I also applied some rub-on transfers to the page so the images were broken up and depicted the “embrace beautiful chaos” wording more; they are Special Delivery Remnant Rubs from Tim Holtz. To finish, I added three different coloured gems to each of the centre of the flowers.

Last week I had an early birthday treat and spent a wonderful day in Garstang visiting the local garden centre and looking around the town’s market stalls. We also had lunch and a few pints at my favourite pub and then walked along the canal and river – perfect (grin!). I thought this picture was fun, it was taken at the garden centre and shows the amazing wall on the way out of the food hall, I think it ties nicely into my page with the beautiful and chaotic way items have been embedded into it (grin!).

My favourite of course was the teapot! As T Stands for Tuesday, 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 Wendy from Wendy’s Art and Craft Journal  and her Having Fun challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I always have fun creating art journal pages and this one was especially fun using all the different stencil techniques.

Over at Moo Mania & More their challenge is Colourful so I’m happy to join them to with the bright colours that I used to create this page.

I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge 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:

• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green, Bright Aqua Green, Neutral Gray)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Dot Stencil – unknown
• Tim Holtz Collection Layering Mini Stencil (Set 16 THMST016)
• The Crafter’s Workshop TCW Rebekah Meier Designs 6×6 Stencil (Mini Specimens TCW4545)
• Carabelle Studio Art Mask (2 Flowers)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Special Delivery #TH93188)
• B&M Crafting Goody Bag (Turquoise 321451)