Creativity and Imagination

I enjoyed using my creativity and imagination to create this industrial looking page and pretty steampunk butterflies. I also had fun raiding my hubby’s tool supplies for the metal pins and washers for this page (grin!). I hope that you like it too!

To create an industrial look, I started by applying modelling paste using a Metal Grid and also a Clock background stencil from That’s Crafty! When the paste was dry, I covered the entire page in Neutral Gray Liquitex acrylic paint. I painted some Iridescent Bright Silver Liquitex Ink over and around the stencilled modeling paste and then I applied some Midnight Sparkle and Silver Grey metallic wax lustres over the top which emphasised the texture and detail of the metal grid and clocks. I also splattered the page with the same silver Liquitex ink and a copper spray to give a grungy look. Once dry, I stencilled roses onto the page using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and a blending tool positioning them in between the metal grids and clocks. I stamped some cogs/gears using black Archival Ink and a Docrafts Steampunk stamp set and then I splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

To create my steampunk butterflies I used a wonderful butterfly stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps that I recently won over at the Paperbabe Stamp Challenge. This stamp set allows you to layer all the different butterfly parts so it looks more detailed and realistic, you can even create different butterfly poses to produce flight and movement. As this is my first time using these stamps, I kept it simple and started by stamping the larger wing background layer stamp using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink onto white cardstock. Then I stamped the same cog/gear stamp, that I used on my page, over the top using a VersaMark Watermark stamp pad and covered them with copper Papermania embossing powder. I removed any excess powder and used my heat gun to melt it until it turned glossy. Then I stamped the detailed wing layer stamp from the same Paperbabe Stamp set using the VersaMark ink lining up the stamps so that they fit together, covered the wings with silver Papermania embossing powder and melted it with my heat gun. I cut the butterfly out of the cardstock, edged them with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and outlined the cog/gear detail using a black Derwent Graphik marker so they stood out more. I used a metal split pin, from my hubby’s tool supplies (grin!) to create the butterfly body by simply sliding the paper butterfly into the pin and then I stuck them to the page using Glossy Accents.

The “Creativity” and “Imagination” wording is created using Tim Holtz idea-ology Label Letter stickers which are edged with a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish, I added some copper gems, some metal split lock washers, nuts, and internal tooth lock washers using Glossy Accents to stick them all in place. These metal pieces are from my hubby’s tool kit supplies and I did ask before I used them and I think they add a lovely industrial and steampunk feel to my page (grin!).

I have had a few questions about my art journal pages recently – how I photograph them, do I scan them and what I do with them, do I bind them into a book or journal?

My pages are always photographed outside in the garden in natural light and although I crop the photos to show just the actual page for my blog posts, my pages are actually all contained in a spiral bound pad. Once the journal is complete I make decorative covers on the front and back of the book. I like to look through the pages to remember what I’ve been up to and I also have a book stand in my craft room where a different page is displayed everyday from one of my Art Journals; it’s lovely to look at the page and recall the memories associated with it!

If you want to see and find out more about my art journal books then check out my post here.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m joining the T Gang and sharing a recent visit to Dahlia’s Kitchen where we had ice cream milkshakes, I have chocolate or banana milkshakes to choose from – yum! Of course they have other beverages if you would prefer – Happy T Day!

Do you remember this water feature? Well, as promised, I found out what it is…it is an old commercial potato peeling machine that has been mounted on stilts (grin!). Doesn’t it look fabulous up-cycled!

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 Bleubeard & Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover, who is hosting the Count your blessings challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I feel very blessed to be able to use my creativity and imagination when creating my art journal pages.

I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps too – thank you for the beautiful stamps!

Over at Stamps and Stencils, their challenge is Industrial/Grungy and I had fun using both stamps and stencils on this page to join their theme.

Using embossing powders to create my butterflies, I’m also joining the How can you resist? challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my Industrial inspired and styled Mixed Media page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at The Artistic Stamper with my Creativity and Imagination art journal page.

I’m pleased to join SanDee & amelie’s Steampunk Challenges for their AnythingGoes – Steampunk/Industrial challenge as I had fun creating this industrial 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:

• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Neutral Gray)
• Liquitex Ink! (Iridescent Bright Silver)
• Craf-T Products Luster Rub-ons Kit #4 (Midnight Sparkle, Silver Grey)
• Michelle Marsden Crafts Scrumptious Precious Metal Spritzer (Copper)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Copper, Silver)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199, Sanguine 188 B)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• That’s Crafty! Dinky Stencils (Metal Grid Background TC041, Clock Background TC048)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Paperbabe Stamps (Butterfly Pieridae Stamp Set)
• White cardstock
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Label Letters #TH93072)
• Metal split pins, split lock washers, nuts, internal tooth lock washers
• Docrafts Forever Friends Adhesive Dome Borders (Opulent FFS351111)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

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Don’t blend in

One of the things I love about Art Journaling is experimenting and trying out new techniques, so for this happy page my idea was to try to create some transparent bubbles floating across the page. Now you may wonder why I was thinking of bubbles, well it just so happens that I saw some bubble wands in our local supermarket and as I didn’t purchase one, I thought I’d just create my own (grin!).

I also had fun using three different types of book papers which included both text and pictures from a variety of books, so this is also a reminder that there is still another week to join the Use Book Paper challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, it would be lovely to see you there!

I started this page by stamping some white tissue paper with a postage mark stamp, a Script stamp and a Believe stamp from different stamp sets all by Kaisercraft, using black Archival Ink. Then I collaged ripped pieces of these tissue papers with some torn pieces of dressmaker tissue paper from a sewing pattern and two different book papers using Liquitex matte gel medium. The book papers are recycled from my old pocket dictionary that I had at school and also an old reading book that had seen better days which I bought from a charity shop (thrift store). For the circles, I drew around two different sized paint pots with a pencil and then I used Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelatos to outline them and Earl Grey and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos to shade them first using my finger to smudge the colours and then using a baby wipe to remove some of the colour until I achieved the look I was after. Even though I used some artistic license with the dark colour palette, I really like their translucency almost as if they were bubbles floating up the page (grin!). Then I used book papers again, this time I fussy cut the flowers which are all peonies from an old Garden book, stuck them down using Liquitex matte gel medium and when dry outlined them using a black Uni Pin marker. To finish I added the wording from a Kaisercraft sticker set and outlined it using a black Uni Pin marker, it reads “Don’t blend in when you were born to stand out”.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I was trying to think of something that linked to bubbles and I remembered a cream tea that we had at Alices Tearoom some time ago. So here’s our pot of green tea for two, isn’t the china beautiful …

… and here are a selection of cakes that we had, the one with Alice on the top has blue bubblegum icing – I must admit though, I didn’t care for the bubblegum taste that much preferring the Rocky Road and Chocolate Oreo cakes that are also on the plate (grin!).

If you are not familiar with Alices Tearoom, check out my previous posts here and here and here.

I’m saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang – Happy T Day!

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 as well as Try it on Tuesday, here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Chris from Pearshapedcrafting, who is hosting the Arts for Art’s Sake challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I had fun using my Faber-Castell Gelatos, which I haven’t used in a while, to create my bubbles.

I’m joining the Get Sentimental challenge over at A Vintage Journey because a contrasting background and bright coloured flowers depicts the sentiment beautifully on my bubble inspired Mixed Media Style page.

I’m also joining Country View Challenges and their In The Summer Garden challenge as the peony flowers on my page can be found in the summer garden.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Close to Nature so I’m pleased to join this challenge with the beautiful flowers I added to my page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with “Don’t’ blend in” art journal page.

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

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

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Iced Coffee, Earl Grey, Coconut)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Provincial CS243, Script CS752, Vintage-Believe CS832)
• White tissue paper
• Style Sewing Pattern – tissue paper
• The Pocket Oxford Dictionary
• David Copperfield
• Oxford Book of Garden Plants
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Agapanthus

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge which runs for the next two weeks is Use Book Paper, so we would like to see some book, newspaper or magazine print papers of some sort on your creations.

My Design Team teamies have created some amazing inspirational pieces for you too, please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look. I decided to use book pages to create the background for my Agapanthus art journal page – I hope you like it!

I selected some Flora and Fauna pages from a Pear’s Encyclopaedia, cut them into rectangles and collaged them onto the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Then I stamped some faux stitching around the edges of each collage piece using black Archival Ink and some new stamps by Urban Stamps which the bargain price of £1 each set at a local craft store. I also stamped a small stitched flower and a frame from the same stamp sets using the black ink again. Then I covered some of the page with a thin coating of white gesso using my finger to add a bit of depth. The agapanthus flowers are from a napkin which I separated into a single napkin layer, fussy cut and stuck in place using the Liquitex Matte Gel Medium; I love the way the napkin has melted into the background so that the text and stamping shows through. Next I created the butterflies with another new stamp set, this time from Kaisercraft, by stamping them onto Daler Rowney Mixed Media Paper using a VersaMark Watermark stamp pad, covering them with black Papermania embossing powder, shaking off the excess and also tapping the paper to make sure any stray powder was removed. I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder by sweeping the gun over the stamped images, until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. I also covered some antennas, for the butterflies, that I made from wire with the black embossing powder following the same process whilst making sure I did not touch them until they were cooled as using the heat gun meant the metal wire got very hot. The butterflies are coloured using Sherbet Lemon, Sun Yellow, Tangerine, Poppy Red, Fuchsia, Violet and Antique White Derwent Inktense pencils; I picked the colour off the tip of the pencils with a wet paintbrush and then applied the colour to the butterfly wings. To finish, I stamped the sentiment from the same Kaisercraft stamp set, using black Archival Ink, into one of the frames, it reads “You are the reason I smile” and arranged the butterflies with the antennas so that their wings were folded upwards to add dimension to the page; they are stuck in place using glue dots.

As you probably know, we have been sorting out and replanting our flower beds – you can see some photos of our beds here. We have also been visiting local garden centres – Barton Grange has the best displays.

These glass agapanthus inspired my page; they can be found outside the garden centre, aren’t they amazing!

I love the blue agapanthus and bought some for our garden, I planted them into some pots so they are easier to over winter.

The water feature is beautiful too, don’t you think? …

… and inside we saw these pretty butterflies, which made me smile! So of course butterflies and the wording also feature on my page too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, we popped into Light Ash Farm on the way home for my favourite cup of green tea and a huge piece of Lemon and Poppy Seed cake (yum!) – 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 Chris from Pearshapedcrafting, who is hosting the Arts for Art’s Sake challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I had fun using my new stamp sets to create this page.

Over at Moo Mania and More the theme is Butterflies so I’m pleased to join their challenge too.

Being inspired by agapanthus and butterflies which make me smile, I’m also joining the Get Sentimental challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my Art Journaling and Mixed Media Style page.

Over at Paperbabe Stamps and their challenge is It Flies so I’m happy to join them with the butterflies that I created for my page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the In The Summer Garden challenge over at Country View Challenges with my Agapanthus 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:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Sherbet Lemon 0100, Sun Yellow 0200, Tangerine 0300, Poppy Red 0400, Fuchsia 0700, Violet 0800, Antique White 2300)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamp (Craft Collections – Pastels PMA907222 and PMA907223)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Ma Cherié CS241)
• Pear’s Cyclopaedia 2007-2008 Edition
• Caspari Napkin (Royal Horticultural Society – Agapanthus)
• Thin metal wire
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix 2 Mini Craft Dots

Give Your Dreams Wings

For the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge is Things with Wings, I hope you are inspired by our new theme and will join us! You’ll find some amazing inspiration created by my Design Team teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too (grin!).

There are so many possibilities for our new theme so today I have created a mixed media page using different techniques to highlight some of my favourite things with wings!

I started this page by stamping a pretty floral stamp from Docrafts and two butterfly stamps, one from Crafter’s Companion and the other from Graphic 45 by Hampton Art, using a VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad. I covered them with white Stampendous embossing powder, shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and also tapped the page to ensure any stray powder was removed. Then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder by sweeping the gun over the stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. Next I added Lavender, Strawberry and Elderberry Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger which I had wet with water. To tone down the Lavender colour I added Coconut Faber-Castell Gelato over the top blending the colours with my finger. I applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool mainly around the edges of the page to give a worn vintage look and then I stamped a Dragonfly from Eco Green Crafts and some other floral images from the same Docrafts stamp set using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink. The small butterflies flowing up the page and wording “Give your dreams wings” are from a Kaisercraft sticker set; they are all edged with the Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool, then stuck to the page and covered with a layer of Liquitex matte gel medium. The butterfly, bird, flowers and branches are fussy cut from a wallpaper sample; I coloured the flowers and branches using the Vintage Photo Distress Ink and stuck them all in place using the Liquitex matte gel medium again. I also added a blue circular disc depicting a flower and a postage stamp depicting butterflies from a Graphic 45 sticker set. I outlined and added more details to the wallpaper images and stickers using a black Uni Pin marker and then to finish, I splattered the background with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

Visiting Lytham Hall is always fun and after a walk around the grounds with our dear friends, we usually head to the café for a cuppa (grin!). As T stands for Tuesday here’s my green tea and my friend’s Earl Grey tea.

As you may know from my previous posts, the cafe at Lytham Hall use mismatched china; isn’t this saucer beautiful!

After our cuppa we headed to the Vegetable Gardens which provides the café with some fresh produce. It’s a lovely place to wander around and admire all the different fruit and veg that is growing.

I smiled when I saw this happy couple; it seems that even the scarecrows are joining us at T Stands for Tuesday with their cuppa (grin!) – Happy T Day!

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 Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations who is hosting the Inspired by … challenge over at Art Journal Journey as my inspiration for this page was things with wings.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Written Word (add some text in some form) challenge over at Country View Challenges with the “Give your dreams wings” quote that I added to my page.

Over at PaperBabe Stamps their challenge is Anything Goes so I’m pleased to be able to join them too.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Bright and Cheerful challenge with my cheery art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join a new challenge today, the June Link Party #40 over at Cropstop Blog with my art journal page as I included a few products from companies that they carry in their store.

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

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

• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Lavender, Strawberry, Elderberry, Coconut)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies stamp set (Just for You – Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
• Docrafts Creativity Essential A5 clear stamp set (Floral Icons DCE907123)
• Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Art Stamps (Petal Party #04309)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Set (Fly Free SS289)
• Wallpaper sample
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Sticker Set (Seasons Decorative Stickers 450629)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Great Opportunities

Over at Try it On Tuesday we have a masculine theme for the next two weeks called For the Boys. Maybe your creations could be for a baby boy, boys, teenagers, adults, sons, dads or grandfathers, if you need more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from our Design Team.

I created a masculine page with an industrial look using some inks, stamps, stencils, design paper, stickers and recycled magazine images.

I started by building up layers of colour using Antique Linen, Vintage Photo and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks. I did this by applying the ink pads to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page then drying each colour with a heat gun before applying the next. I stamped some cogs from a Steampunk stamp set from Docrafts using Toffee Crunch Memento Ink and then a ruler and also a bingo card stamp from Tim Holtz using black Archival Ink. Then I stenciled some Geometric Tile squares around the edge of the page using a Dutch Doobadoo mask and black Archival Ink.  Next I fussy cut the lightbulbs, clocks and metal semicircle door from a couple of old magazines and, like all of the paper elements, edged them with black Faber-Castell marker and stuck them in place using a UHU Stic. The world map pieces are cut from a sheet of design paper by Kaisercraft and the “402” is a Salvage Sticker by Tim Holtz which I embellished with two brown brads. To finish, I added the wording using double-sided foam tape which reads “each day holds the possibility for great opportunities”.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a recent visit to Dahlia’s Kitchen which is a restaurant nearby, it’s attached to a garden centre so it was fun morning out (grin!).

As it was a hot sunny day we sat outside on their new patio near this beautiful water feature made from recycled metal, it looks a bit industrial like my page although I’m not sure what it is – any ideas?

I went with my sister who had a strawberry milkshake, I had my usual pot of green tea and we shared a huge piece of ginger and lemon cake which was delicious – 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 be able to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations who is hosting the Inspired by … challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my masculine inspired page.

I’m also pleased to join the Written Word (add some text in some form) challenge over at Country View Challenges with the inspirational wording I added to my page.

As I enjoyed stenciling the black square design around the edge of this page, I’m also joining the lovely Astrid who is hosting A Vintage Journey this month where the challenge is Stencil It. My masculine inspired page fits their challenge focus with it’s Industrial and Mixed Media Style.

I’m also happy to join in the fun over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Anything But A Card challenge with my art journal page.

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Hickory Smoke)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Toffee Crunch)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Dutch Doobadoo Dutch Mask Art A5 (Geometric Tiles)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Tim Holtz {Components} Collection (COM013 CAR)
• Old Magazines
• Kaisercraft Timeless Collection 12×12 Design Paper (Postmarks P853)
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Little Yellow Bicycle Cardstock Stickers (Fresh Verse PD-140)
• Craft Sensations (Brads CRO550/A)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Nature’s Beauty

Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Nature’s Beauty and the Design Team have some amazing inspiration for you, whether it is flowers, plants, animals or scenes of nature.

My art journal page today is a scene capturing the peacefulness and serenity of dragonflies over water, which for me, encapsulates nature’s beauty.

I started by painting diluted Shabby Shutters and Salty Ocean Distress Ink onto the background by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block and applying it to the page with a paintbrush to create a watercolour effect. Then I used a Distressed Dots stencil from That Special Touch of Mica Masks by Creative Expressions to apply Mowed Lawn and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks using a blending tool. I stamped some foliage using an Eco Green stamp set made from recycled rubber and a Tan Spectrum Aqua Marker. Then I added some Pébéo modelling paste using the Distressed Dot stencil to add more dimension and when the paste was dry, coloured it with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint. I fussy cut the grasses, leaves and iris from a wallpaper sample and stuck them onto the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. To add more detail and definition I doodled outlines on them with a black Uni Pin marker and white Uniball gel pen, then added some shadows using a Slate Spectrum Aqua Marker. The dragonflies are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel and I positioned them so that one is sitting on a leaf and the other is flying off into the distance. I stamped some bees from a Graphic 45 stamp set by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink and coloured them using a yellow Spectrum Aqua marker. To finish, I added two stickers with the words “peaceful” and “serenity” which I thought captured the scene; they are edged with the Tan Spectrum Aqua marker and stuck in place using double-sided tape.

As it is T for Tuesday, I’m sharing the enjoyable time that we had at the local Pavilion Café in Ashton Gardens with our friends. Ashton Gardens is a municipal park which was established in 1874, it is situated in the centre of St. Anne’s on the Sea and is a lovely place to explore with its various display gardens including the most beautiful Rose Garden. The café building is a replica of the former bowling club pavilion known as the Ashton Institute.

This café always has a yummy array of cakes to choose from …

… and there is lovely art displayed on the walls which you can buy if you want to.

As T Stands for Tuesday, maybe you would like a green tea, hot chocolate or glass of water (of course they had coffee too, sorry I forgot to take a photo of our friends selection which included a cappuccino which I know you may prefer – grin!). As well as our drinks we enjoyed a bacon butty and a slice of salted caramel cake – yum! Wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison/Craftytrog, who is hosting the Recycle and Collage challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the recycled rubber art stamp set and wallpaper that I collaged to create this page!

With the stamped bees that I included on my nature page, I’m pleased to join The Birds & the Bees challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

As I used and altered the wallpaper for my page, I’m pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Pimp it up! (reuse or alter something) challenge.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Add Some Texture challenge with all the texture I created with the Distress Inks, stencils, modelling paste and wallpaper.

With the circles that I stencilled onto my page, I’m also pleased to join the Going Round in Circles challenge over at That’s Crafty Challenge.

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, Chipped Sapphire)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Tan, Slate, Yellow)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Stamps (Petal Party #04309)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Distressed Dots)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Cling Mounted Rubber Stamps (Birdsong ICO151))
• Wallpaper sample – recycled
• Royal & Langnickel Tip of the Brush (Insect Collection #TIP1484 Rub-on)
• Little Yellow Bicycle Cardstock Stickers (PD-140)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Hot Chocolate is like …

Hot chocolate is top on my list of warming drinks this time of year and with it getting colder I thought I would create a winter themed page with a warming mug of hot chocolate and a lovely quote I recently found.

I started by covering the page with a piece of tissue paper with circles on it which had been in my craft stash for a while; the circles were stamped using an old cardboard tube with some leftover blue/green acrylic paint from another project. I stuck the tissue paper to the page using a UHU Stic. Next I stamped hearts into the centre of each circle and also a circle and heart design stamp onto the background using black Archival Ink, both stamps are from Sugarloaf Inc. I added Milled Lavender, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress Inks and left the page to dry. Then I covered the whole page with a thin layer of white gesso using a baby wipe. Next I used four different stencils and blue inks to add layers of patterns; this included a stencil called Moroccan from the That Special Touch of Mica range by Creative Expressions using Salty Ocean Distress Ink, a Heart Cluster mini stencil from Creative Expressions using Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink, a cross stencil from Craft Sensations using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and a Swoosh stencil from Creative Expressions using Summer Sky Memento Ink. The snowflakes are stamps from a Winter Woodland stamp set that was free with a magazine, they are stamped using the same Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire inks. I also used the snowflake stamps again to stamp white acrylic paint which I applied to the stamps using a brayer. With the background completed I added the quote using some black Label Letter stickers by Tim Holtz and edged them using a Poppy Red Derwent Inktense pencil and a black Uni Pin marker. The quote pays homage to how I feel about hot chocolate it reads:

Hot chocolate is like a hug from the inside.

Then I selected some glittery red paper from a Designer Paper Pack and punched out some snowflakes using a Woodware paper punch. I also punched some black paper snowflakes too which I offset under the red snowflakes to provide a shadow. They are stuck to the page using a UHU Stic. Next I drew a mug on the same red paper, cut it out and edged it using the same red Derwent Inktense pencil and a wet paintbrush.  Before I stuck the mug to the page using double-sided tape, I drew around where it was to be placed on the page and used an Ink Black Derwent Inktense pencil to create a shadow under it so it stood out more. I embellished the mug using a black snowflake, a white glitter foam snowflake and three red gemstones. To finish, I added two smaller red foam glitter snowflakes and some red gemstones to the background and then I edged the page with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

It’s been sunny here of late but very cold too, so when out walking with our friends we have been going to a local café on the beachfront and having a hot chocolate! As T Stands for Tuesday I’m pleased to join the T Gang and wish you all a Happy T Day!

As you can see we enjoyed a toasted teacake with our hot chocolate too (grin!). For those of you not familiar with toasted teacakes, here are some facts you may find interesting:

• Teacakes are a sweetened yeasted bread type roll which usually have dried fruit in, and it is usually split, toasted, buttered, and served with tea.
• Teacakes originated in the North of England and are very popular in Lancashire where I live.
• Teacakes have regional differences for example in East Lancashire, certain areas of Yorkshire and Cumbria a teacake is plain unless you ask for a “currant teacake” and this plain teacake is a specialty of the area and is still split and served toasted with butter and also sometimes jam (jelly).
• Sometimes the plain teacakes are confused with English Muffins however they are not the same thing. An English Muffin here in the UK is the same as in the US and is usually a breakfast item often served as Eggs Benedict or with smoked salmon.
• We often have toasted teacakes with a cuppa mid morning for elevenses.

Here’s the pretty view from the Waters Edge café over the beach – beautiful!

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:

Hot chocolate and the quote I used ties in nicely with the  “101 Ways To Keep Warm” challenge over at Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Chris.

I was inspired to use the four different stencils to create this page after seeing the design teams artwork over at Country View Challenges which they had created for their “Stencils” challenge.

As I used stamps and the hot chocolate quote, I’m also pleased to join a new challenge today over at The Artistic Stamper where this month’s creative challenge is “Use a Quote”.

It makes me happy to be able to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their “Food and/or Drink” challenge with my hot chocolate inspired page.

With my colourful blue and red page I’m pleased to join the lovely design team over at Try it on Tuesday and their “Colourful” Challenge and I’m also just have enough time to join in the fun over at Moo Mania & More and their “Put A Stencil On It” 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Milled Lavender, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Summer Sky)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Poppy Red 0400, Ink Black 2200)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood mounted stamps (Heart Tile 26631, Hearts & Circles 26645)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan, Swoosh)
• Craft Expressions Mini Stencils (Heart Clusters CEMSHEART)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Winter Woodland Clear Stamp Set – free with Craft Beautiful Dec 2017 magazine
• White tissue paper – stamped with circles
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Label Letters #TH93072)
• The Works Designer Paper Pack (The Night Before Christmas HCPAP003X15)
• Leon (X-Large Coloured Paper Pad)
• Woodware Craft Collection Paper Punch (Large Snowflake SL120118)
• Poundland (Christmas Craft Pack)
• Docrafts Papermania Eleganza Adhesive Stones (3mm Red PMA351607)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape