Smiles and Goals

At the start of the New Year I like to look back at what we have achieved and also set new goals for the year, so I don’t forget this year I’ve captured them on this art journal page – I hope you like it!

My background was created using three different colours of Liquitex acrylic paints; these were Christmas Green, Vivid Lime Green and Bright Aqua Green. My first layer of paint was a mixture of Christmas Green and Aqua Green, I covered the whole page using a paintbrush. Then I added patches of all three paints to the page, blending the paints together at the edges so they merged together. Next I used a different stencil to apply each of the paints with a sponge; a diamond stencil for the Christmas Green, a circle stencil for the Lime Green and a hexagon stencil for the Aqua Green. Then I stamped a Script stamp by Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink over the page and added splatters of white DecoArt acrylic paint. I die cut some black card with a geometric design on it, that I had recycled from some cookie packaging, using Tim Holtz Sizzix Wildflower thinlets and stuck them to the page using a Zig Memory System glue pen. Then I stamped some little butterflies onto the page and also onto some white card stock using black Archival Ink. I fussy cut the butterflies out of the card stock and then stuck them over the butterflies that I had stamped on the page. The two sentiment cards are cut from a 12x12in design paper by Kaisercraft; the sentiments seemed perfect as they depict looking back at achievements for 2018 and looking forward at goals for 2019; which I wrote on the reverse of each card. As I wanted them to be easily removed so I could look at the information I had written on the reverse, they are attached to the page using some photo corners which I coloured black using a Faber-Castell Big Brush marker (grin!).

Looking back, I have lots to be thankful for during 2018 which includes celebrating significant milestones like my birthday and our Wedding Anniversary, getting things done like our garden renovations, making new friends and meeting up with old friends like on our trip to America.

2018 has been a really special year for me with regards to blogging too as I was lucky enough to join the amazing Design Team at Try it on Tuesday, as well as hosting and guest designing at different Blog Challenges and making some wonderful new friends along the way –  I had so much fun, and if you are interested you can find all my blogging awards and achievements here. A big thank you to everyone involved in making 2018 so special!

I definitely found the sentiment “I’ll look back on this & smile” to be true!

I’m sure 2019 will be as much fun and as always I’ll be sharing these moments with you on my blog throughout the year as I capture them on my art journal pages, so I’m looking forward to fulfilling the sentiment “Smile, Laugh, Love, Live, Grow, Happy Today”.

Wishing you all the very best for 2019 too!

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/Craftytrog and the Geometric Shapes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the different geometric shapes that can be found stencilled in the background and within the papers I used to create this page.

As it’s a new start to the year, I’m pleased to be able to join a new challenge blog today; over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog, their theme is Anything Goes + optional twist of Sentiment As Main Focus so I’m joining in the fun with my art journal page (grin!).

I’m happy to join the Put Your Stamp On It challenge over at A Vintage Journey as I used stamps in the background and for the pretty butterflies on this page; I was inspired by the New Year to capture my goals and create my Art Journaling style page.

I’m pleased to join the “New” (Fresh Start) challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as my page was created to capture Smiles of 2018 and my New Year Goals for the coming year (grin!).

I’m joining in the Let’s Party! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as my page celebrates past achievements and looks forward to 2019!

I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Something New challenge as I used new design paper from Kaisercraft to create this page.

Over at The Artistic Stamper, their challenge is Anything Goes, so I’m pleased to join this challenge too as my page fits their criteria of matching the theme and including stamping 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 Artist Color Acrylic (Christmas Green)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green, Bright Aqua Green)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Vintage Diamonds CEMSDIAM)
• Circle Stencil
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlets (Wildflowers 66190)
• Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies stamp set (Just for You – Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
• Recycled Card – Cookie packaging
• White Card Stock
• Kaisercraft Hello Today Collection (New P1665)
• Poundland (Fairy Stickers 29236)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

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Trick or Treat … and a special T Day Meet

For the next two weeks our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday is Trick or Treat …It’s Halloween, so it’s time to join us with your Halloween creations.

I had so much fun creating my spooky art journal page by layering lots of colours using stencils/stamps and getting messy with black ink drips (grin!).  I hope you’ll join in the fun too and if you need more inspiration please check out the wonderful Design Team creations over at Try it on Tuesday!

I started by layering different stencils by Craft Sensations and using Distress Inks to create the background; this included a number stencil using Antique Linen ink, a Chevron stencil using Hickory Smoke ink, a rose stencil using Rusty Hinge ink, a clock and a cogs stencil using Vintage Photo and Brushed Corduroy ink. Then I stamped a Diamond Background stamp from Art Impressions and a homemade grid stamp using black Archival Ink and applied white gesso over the top to tone them down a little. Next I added the lines and drips of Carbon Black Liquitex Ink and I also splattered the page with the ink; I love the grungy look this gave the page. The filigree swirls, crow and birdcage are all stamped with black Archival Ink using a stamp set by 7 Gypsies from Hampton Art, and the trick or treat wording is stamped using the same ink and an alphabet stamp set, also by Hampton Art. To finish, I added some drops of Pumpkin Liquid Pearls by Ranger to the filigree swirls, crow, birdcage and wording.

Talking of treats, as you may be aware we have recently been on holiday in Maine, USA for the last couple of weeks visiting our friends. We were visiting Portsmouth in New Hampshire so I just couldn’t miss the opportunity to meet up with my lovely blog friend Erika aka BioArtGal – yay!

As T Stands for Tuesday, we purposely chose a Tuesday to meet up and honour T Day (grin!). I’m saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

We met at the Portsmouth Brewery for a pint and a catch up, thank you Erika for choosing such a fabulous place to meet! My hubby joined us too and we all got on so well that we chatted for some time over a beer or two and then decided to have dinner together – I can highly recommend their yummy pastrami sandwich!

We sat in a booth that had this beautiful wall art above it …

… and found that they had a large beer selection; myself and Erika had the Murphy’s Law Red Ale and my hubby had the Dirty Blonde Ale.

The actual brewery can be seen through the glass as you sit and enjoy your food and drink …

… and even the toilet/restroom doors are made from recycled metal brewing vessels – so cool!

Erika even kindly gifted me a bag of crafting goodies too, I can’t wait to use them! Thank you so much for your kindness and wonderful company, we had the most amazing time!

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 Linda from heARTfullyinspiredby Linda, who is hosting the Creature Comforts challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my creepy Halloween page.

I’m joining the Inktober challenge over at The Artistic Stamper with all the layers of inks and stamping I used to create this page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Spookilicious so I’m also pleased to join this challenge with my spooky Trick or Treat page.

Over at Stamps and Stencils their challenge is Spooky Fun with an Autumnal Twist so I’m joining in the Halloween autumnal fun too with my Trick or Treat page.

I’m also joining the Shades of Autumn challenge over at Stamping Sensations as I used autumnal tones to create my page.

With my Halloween inspired art journal page, I’m pleased to join over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything But A Card challenge.

I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my spooky Halloween page too.

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Brushed Corduroy)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Liquitex Ink! (Carbon Black)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Vintage cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Diamond Background T-3335)
• Homemade Stamp – wooden block and Drywall Tape
• Hampton Art Ki (Alphabet Stamp Set WM1037)
• Ranger Liquid Pearls (Pumpkin)

You melt my heart

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

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

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

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

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

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

Challenges

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s been a while …for Stamps & Stencils

Hello everyone, I’m so excited to be over at Stamps & Stencils as Guest Designer for their It’s been a while… challenge this month. Sue is the host for this challenge and kindly provided the following brief:

Being creative often leads you in different directions and sometimes it isn’t until you start that you know where you are heading. For this challenge I thought that as we’ve not done it for a while it would be good to let your creative spirit wander and have a theme of Anything Goes. Your project must be mixed media and include stamping and/or stencilling but apart from that it’s up to you !

I am often inspired by things I see and do, so my art journal page is inspired by rainbow colours and sunshine to mark the end of summer. Here’s a sneak peek of the page I have created for this challenge, the full version can be found here at Stamps & Stencils along with my tutorial.

Thanks so much to the team at Stamps & Stencils for having me as Guest Designer this month. I hope that you are inspired by their It’s been a while… challenge too and are able to join in the fun!

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 Gelatos (Boysenberry, Snow Cone, Lemon, Watermelon, Guava, Buttercream, Earl Grey)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Acrylic Paint (Black, White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Finnabair Clear Stamp (Sponge #961909)
• Gummpanian Stamps (Collage Numbers 14030103, Worn Rings 2 11050601)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Dina Wakley Media Stencil (Wheels MDS45588)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Royal & Langnickel rub-on transfers (Motivate Sentiments #ROY510)
• Homemade decoupage paper (white tissue paper stamped using a Sheet Music stamp from Woodware Craft Collection and black Archival Ink)
• Book pages – Pear’s Cyclopedia 2007-2008 Edition
• Hobbycraft Decorative Tapes (Assorted Black & White 5971481007)
• The Works (3 Washi Tapes)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Days like today make me happy

Today’s new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Slap it on… this could be paint, colour, texture, collage or like me washi tapes. It’s all about having fun and getting messy.

There is some amazing inspiration from the Design Team this month too, so please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to take a look.

Inspired by our new theme and discussions about washi tape collections, thanks to Eileen and Halle, I decided to have some fun and use all my washi tapes to create this page. So in no particular order I picked a washi tape and then simply tore off a piece of tape and randomly slapped it onto the page to form the background. Using all my washi tape stash was great fun and created quite a mess on my craft desk, I even included my Christmas, fabric and metallic ones too; I love the way it turned out with all the different patterns and styles. Next I die cut two stitched edged circles using my Big Shot Machine and stuck the butterflies and wording onto them which are from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet. I thought the words were appropriate for this page, they read “Days like today make me happy” and “Love”. I thought the circles needed something more so I quickly placed some stripes of washi tape onto a piece of recycled card and used a Garden Greens Sizzix Thinlet by Tim Holtz to cut out the leaves. They are stuck onto the circles using a glue stick and then to finish I stuck the circles to the page using double-sided tape.

Last week Eileen and Halle asked us to share our washi tape collection at T Stands for Tuesday so here is mine (grin!). As I don’t use washi tapes that much, I don’t have too many, although I have been inspired to use more of them lately. I’ve used them on this page as well as on my previous post, so thanks for the inspiration ladies!

With family staying last week, we have been out and about enjoying ourselves and as such I have quite a few options for T Day this week which could have included a fun photo of a VW Beetle, taken at a local car show (also on my previous post).

We also have green tea at the Wyreside Café …

…or perhaps a cooling beer or glass of ice water with lemon at The Royal Oak in Garstang.

Whatever your drink preference, thanks for stopping by and wishing you a Happy T Day!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Yvonne from Meggy’s way, who is hosting A World of Fantasy challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my washi tape adventure art journal page.

As this page includes circles, I’m also joining the Circles challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

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:

• The Works (Washi Tapes x 6 packs, Spotted Paper Tapes, Fabric Tapes, Enjoy the Ride Wash Tape))
• Poundland (3 Washi Tapes 137660, Washi Tapes 156456 x 3 tapes, Fabric Tape 156456-GE16, Set of 4 Metallic Tapes)
• Quality Toys Group Made by Me (Washi Tape 2544960)
• Crelando (Decorative Tape x 4 packs)
• Wilko (Glitter Tape)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Tape (Assorted Black & White 5971481007)
• Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection (Patterned Craft Tape Spots & Stripes PMA462302, Woven Fabric Tape Midnight Blush PMA462213)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Cutting Dies)
• Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Bright Colours CRO730/R)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fly Free SS289)
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Creative Discoveries

I always enjoy getting creative and my journal pages are often inspired by things I see and do, so today I used my imagination to create a page to celebrate Creative Discoveries.

I started by painting Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink and Aquamarine Spectrum Aqua marker to the page by applying the inks to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and using a paintbrush. I also scribbled the Aquamarine Spectrum Aqua marker onto the acrylic block, added a little water and then used a dry paintbrush to drag the ink over the page, which created a lovely marbling effect. I repeated this process using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker too. Next I stamped the black flowers and dots from a Woodware Craft Collection stamp set using black Archival Ink so they flowed in lines over the page. Then I used a Distressed Dots stencil from Creative Expressions to apply Pébéo modelling paste mixed with Pébéo white gesso. When the paste had dried, I added some stickers of a flower, a pear and some sparkly dots, along with various embellishments by Little Yellow Bicycle, this included; two fabric banners; three pink flower dots which have either “Free”, “Yourself” or “Beautiful” written in the centre; two different sentiments which read “Hello, World” and “You can find me here” which I thought were relevant to my art journaling; some letter stickers which I used to make the word “creative” which I mounted onto some card and stuck to the page using double-sided foam tape; and a fabric “Discoveries”.

When we visit Blackpool we always make new discoveries, like this lovely street art near one of my favourite art shops.

There are quite a few other art installations in this area including this amazing panel which is just around the corner at Winter Gardens and it can be found alongside these:

 

 

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Yvonne from Meggy’s way, who is hosting A World of Fantasy challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my imaginative page of Creative Discoveries.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my Creative Discoveries art journal page.

My lovely friend Bleubeard and Elizabeth suggested that I join Sami over at Colourfulworld with my street art, so I’m also pleased to join the Monday Mural fun 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 (Cracked Pistachio)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Aquamarine)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Woodware Craft Collection Wood Set (Flower Style FRSWS003)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Distressed Dots)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Soft Sweetness 154897)
• Recycled white card
• Home Bargains (Room Décor Embellishments)
• Little Yellow Bicycle (Fabric Favourites PD-220, Cardstock Stickers PD-140)
• The Range double-sided foam tape

St. Thomas

With the Jazz & Blues Festival held in Blackpool last month and also the Inspired by a song theme over at Try it on Tuesday, I have found myself reminiscing about some of my favourite songs of late.

When it comes to music, I have quite an eclectic taste and always listen to music whilst crafting so I created a page which reminds me of a song called St. Thomas; it is an instrumental piece of music and has a Caribbean tropical vibe which influenced my page.

I started by covering the page in Raw Sienna Rowney Georgian Water Colour paint using a baby wipe and once dry, I stencilled leaves using Tea Dye Distress Ink and also a trellis pattern using Vintage Photo Distress Ink; I was thinking of sand on tropical shores when I chose this colour palette. Then I covered the page with some Pébéo white gesso using my finger to give a sun-bleached look. Next I applied some sheet music washi tape to the page which depicts the instrumental music and also some colourful polka dot paper washi tape to depict the happiness of the music and tropical vibe. I grouped different colours of washi tape together which were orange, purple and pink and also yellow, green and blue; they are layered on top of each other and then finished with a piece of the sheet music washi tape on the very top. I outlined them using a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uniball pen to make them stand out more from the background. The tropical flowers are fussy cut from a wallpaper sample and stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium; once dry I added more detail using the black Uni Pin marker and white Uniball pen and also threaded some bright pink stamens, which I threaded through the page securing them on the back with tape, to give their centres a 3D look. I added some pink metallic stickers with tropical leaves, palm trees and flamingos on them and outlined them with the black marker, white gel pen and then an orange, purple or dark green Uni Posca paint pen. I stamped two butterflies using a Graphic 45 stamp set by Hampton Art and black Archival Ink and then I added some white cardboard letters to spell out the title of the song which I decorated with dots using orange, purple, pink, yellow, light green and light blue Uni Posca paint pens to match the colourful washi tapes I had used.

I love the St. Thomas music, this is the Jazz version and although you may not recognise the name, when you hear the music you will probably know the song (grin!).

I have to say I love this steel drum (or steel pan) version more, it fills me with happiness when I hear it and makes me want to dance (grin!). I particularly like this version by Joseph Peck and play it on loop all the time! I have to say a big shout out and THANK YOU to my lovely friend Bleubeard & Elizabeth who introduced me to this fabulous musician and often mentions him on her blog. I love steel drum/steel pan, so quickly fell in love with his amazing music too (double grin!).

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Bleubeard & Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover, who is hosting the Count your blessings challenge over at Art Journal Journey. My page celebrates music and it is a blessing to have blog friends like Bleubeard & Elizabeth who kindly introduced me to this amazing musician!

What could be better than tropical shores on a summer day so I’m joining in the fun over at Moo Mania and More and their theme is Summertime challenge too.

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Tape It Up challenge with the sheet music and colourful paper washi tapes that I used on my art journal page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Sun, Sea and Sand challenge over at Country View Challenges with my tropical vibe art journal page.

Don’t forget there is well cover a week to join our Inspired by a song challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

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

• Rowney Georgian Water Colour (Raw Sienna)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm & 0.5mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Orange, Purple, Dark Green, Pink, Yellow, Light Green, Light Blue)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 77106)
• Dutch Doobadoo Dutch Mask Art A5 (Vintage)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Wallpaper sample
• Hobbycraft Decorative Tape (Assorted Black & White 5971471007)
• The Works The Craft Place (Spotted Paper Tapes)
• Craft Sensations (Paper Flowers CRO344/R)
• The Range (Craft Stickers CR1243)
• Hobbycraft (Alphabet Cardboard Stickers)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Masking tape