Oriental Fish – Card

I often make cards for family and friends but I don’t tend to share them on my blog, but I was so excited to get creative with my fabulous new stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps that I thought I’d share this one with you today to see what you thought.

I was lucky enough to win a voucher on one of the Paperbabe Stamps challenges to spend in their shop so I chose their Oriental Zen Stamp Set – thanks so much!

I started by cutting some white card to make a square shape when folded, then on the front of the card I stamped the concentric circles stamp from the stamp set using Spiced Marmalade and Festive Berries Distress Ink; applying the Spiced Marmalade ink to the stamp first then adding patches of Festive Berries Ink and stamping them onto the card. I then cut a semi-circle of textured paper which I recycled from an old birthday card using my circle cutter. Then I smooshed it with some blue Distress Inks to create a water effect by applying Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean ink to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the paper. I also edged the semi-circle with these two blue inks using a blending tool. I added some gold cherry blossom outline stickers to the card and then layered the blue semi-circle over the top using double-sided tape. Next I stamped the beautiful fish which is from the same stamp set using the Spiced Marmalade and Festive Berries Distress Ink onto plain white card and fussy cut them out. They are stuck in place using a UHU Stic and I added the bubbles and splash marks from the same stamp set using the blue inks. To finish, I added some glittery Icicle Sparkles by Ranger to the bubbles and a “Love” topper from an Eastern Promise set that I had in my craft stash.

Here’s all the materials including the stamp set that I chose from Paperbabe Stamps and I have to say I love it (grin!). I’m sure I’ll be using it again very soon as I need to make quite a few birthday cards this month. I also wanted to say a big “Thank you” to Kim from Paperbabe Stamps and I hope that you and the Design Team like the card that I made!

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:

As I created this card using lots of stamping I’m very pleased to be able to join Stamping Sensations and their Anything Goes challenge.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where their theme is Bright and Cheerful with my bright and cheerful coloured card.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their June Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

I’m also joining the Sketch … challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as I used their sketch, which I rotated to the left, as a template for my card design – I hope you like it!

I’m also pleased to join the Cropstop Blog and their June Link Party #40, thanks for the invite Esther!

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 (Spiced Marmalade, Festive Berries, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean)
• Paperbabe Stamps (Oriental Zen Stamp Set)
• Cardstock (White 200 GSM)
• Textured paper – recycled birthday card
• Francoise Collection Outline Stickers (Gold 2238)
• Hunkydory Luxury Topper Collection (Eastern Promise EAST104)
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle)
• UHU Stic
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape

Mr. Finch

I’m really enjoyed creating the masculine page that I posted on Tuesday so I thought I would continue with the masculine theme and create a page with the additional inspiration of the goldfinches that we have seen a number of times this year, both in our garden and on our walks. So here’s my fun steampunk page which showcases the fabulous Mr. Finch (grin!).

I started by covering the page with Peeled Paint and Antique Linen Distress Ink using a blending tool and then spritzing the page with water to give a soft covering of colour. While the background was still wet I used a stamp from BoBunny to add the crackle texture mainly around the edges of the page using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink; the wet page blended the inks so the stamp looks smudged in places which I love. Then I used a stencil from Craft Sensations to add the numbers using Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and a blending tool. The black wheels are also stencilled using a Dina Wakley stencil from Ranger and I varied the depth of the Black Soot Distress Ink that I applied to give more of a distressed look and to add some dimension. I then splattered the page with the Black Soot Distress Ink using a paintbrush. The fountain pen and pocket watch are rub-on transfers by Royal and Langnickel and I also applied some leftover black letters from a Letraset transfer set to use them up. Next I fussy cut the roses from some design paper and stuck them in place, like all of the paper elements, using Liquitex matte gel medium.

For my steampunk Mr. Finch, I used a bird stamp from Stampendous, a Steampunk stamp set by Docrafts and black Archival Ink. I started by stamping the bird onto thick paper and fussy cutting it out, and then I distressed this image by covering it with some watered down white gesso using a baby wipe. Once dry I stamped the cog images over his breast and head and also a feather image over his back and wings to add more texture. I also stamped his steampunk style top hat and his wheels onto another piece of design paper; his wheels are from the Penny Farthing stamp which I stamped twice and then fussy cut out. I added three strips of music washi tape horizontally on the page and then I layered his wheels, body and hat together so Mr. Finch is rolling along one of these strips.

Inspired by seeing the goldfinches, I painted his cog design and added detail to his feathers using Iridescent Gold Liquitex Ink. As goldfinches also have red feathers on their heads that look like a mask, I also thought it would be fun to paint the goggles on his top hat with a Poppy Red Derwent Inktense pencil. I used a black Derwent marker, white gel pen and also the gold Liquitex Ink and red Inktense pencil to add further colour and detail to the design including his mask, hat, wheels and cogs. For his eye I added a black gem and coloured some of it white using a Uniball gel pen. Next I die cut three small labels using my Big Shot machine and stamped “Explore” using black Archival Ink. Once stuck in place, I coloured the edges using the red Inktense pencil and gold Liquitex Ink and then outlined them using a black Derwent marker and a white Uniball gel pen to frame the words, and then I embellished them with some round black brads. To finish, I splattered black and white DecoArt acrylic paint and also gold Liquitex Ink using a paintbrush over the page.

Here is one of the goldfinches that we saw on one of our walks along by the sand dunes, isn’t he magnificent!

If you are interested here are some facts about this bird:

• There are just three species of goldfinches in the world – our European goldfinch, the widespread American goldfinch and Lawrence’s goldfinch which is found in the southwest USA.
• The European goldfinch is a highly coloured finch with a bright red face and yellow wing patch.
• They are very sociable birds, often seen in large groups and have a delightful liquid twittering song and call. The collective name for goldfinches is a charm and is derived from the old English c’irm which describes the birds’ twittering song.
• The shape of their beak allows them to extract seeds from thistles and teasels.

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 I took inspiration from seeing the goldfinches to create steampunk page.

With the focal image of Mr. Finch being created using different stamps, I’m happy to be able to join Stamping Sensations and their Anything Goes challenge.

I’m so pleased to join the lovely Maura who is on the design team and is co-hosting over at SanDee & amelie’s Steampunk Challenges this month for their Anything Goes – Steampunk/Industrial challenge.

Over at A Vintage Journey this month the challenge is Stencil It so I’m pleased to join this challenge with my goldfinch inspired page fits their challenge focus with its Steampunk and Mixed Media Style.

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

I’m joining in the fun at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Anything But A Card challenge with Mr. Finch art journal page.

I’m also joining the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their June Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included) with my unique, one of a kind Mr. Finch.

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 (Peeled Paint, Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke, Frayed Burlap, Black Soot)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Liquitex Inks! (Iridescent Bright Gold)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Inktense Pencil (Poppy Red 0400)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Dina Wakley Media Stencil (Wheels MDS45588)
• BoBunny Stamp (Rough it up 12105155)
• Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamps (Jumbo Songbird CRS5029)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator (A-2 Fancy Ribbon Threader S5-135)
• Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Journey MIN- CCS104)
• American Crafts (DIY Shop)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Soft Colours CRO730/R, Authentic Vintage CRO730/R)
• Royal & Langnickel Create-A-Collage Rub-on Transfers (Men’s Accessories #ROY-853)
• Letraset Transfers (Helvetica Bold Condensed 5mm DCO251)
• Hobbycraft (Assorted Black & White Decorative Tape 5971481007)
• Poundland (Design Gems 175751)
• Brads (Round Black)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Peacock Butterfly

This page is inspired by the beautiful Peacock butterfly that we saw whilst walking along the Lancaster canal.

I started by painting the page with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint varying the tone of colour across the page by adding some Pébéo white gesso. When dry I stamped a pretty blossoms stamp from Stampendous over the page using black Archival Ink. Then I applied some Pébéo white gesso over the stamped blossoms and re-stamped them layering the image over the top to give the page more depth. I also stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft using the black Archival Ink again. Next I fussy cut some squares, rectangles and faux embroidered shapes from some design paper, edged them with a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and arranged them on the page using a UHU Stic with: a white doily; a postcard; cards depicting a Peacock Butterfly on the front and information about the butterfly on the back; and a lace flower. The letters for the “Peacock Butterfly” wording are fussy cut from some design paper and stuck in place using the UHU Stic too. I added lots of mini decorative pearls to the centre of the blossoms which finished the page.

This Peacock butterfly was sitting on a thistle by the canal and I always marvel at its patterned wings and beautiful iridescent colours.  If you are interested here are some fun facts about this butterfly:

• Peacock butterflies are found in British Isles, Europe and temperate Asia as far east as Japan and are not the same genus as the “American Peacock butterfly”.
• This butterfly is one of the larger species of butterflies with the males being smaller than the females. However males and females have the same wing patterns, so other than size they look exactly the same.
• Peacock butterflies are easily to recognize by the beautiful purple eyespots on the hind wings and this specific colouration of their wings provides protection against predators by confusing or even scaring them away.
• The edges of its wings are dark and look like dead leaves and the underside of its wings are a dull brown which ensures excellent camouflage when butterfly rests on the bark of the trees.
• The Peacock butterfly is strong flyer and it can travel long distances. It has a nomadic instinct so instead of having a permanent home, it travels all the time.
• The Peacock butterfly has a long lifespan, living for around 11 months.

By far my favourite fact is, that when viewed up-side down, the pattern of the Peacock’s wings resembles the face of an owl (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our drink of ice-cold water that we always take on our walks – 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 with my Peacock Butterfly inspired page.

I’m pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Written Word (add text in some form) challenge, which on this page includes the “Peacock Butterfly” wording that I created from the fussy cut letters and also the text from the Script stamp, postcard and Collectors Cards.

With it being the first Tuesday of the month, I’m pleased to join the Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutrals page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge their challenge is A Stitch in Time so I’m happy to join them with the faux stitched embroidery and pretty crocheted lace flower that I used as part of my design for this art journal page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge.

I’m also pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their June Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

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 (Parchment)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Stampendous cling rubber stamp (Blossom Spray CRP136)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Travel Memories 154898)
• The Works Design Pad (Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7)
• Dovecraft Premium Paper Doilies (Painted Blooms DCDLS010)
• Collectors Card (Butterflies & Roses)
• The Works (Lace Flower Stickers)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Find Inspiration in Nature

My art journal pages are often inspired by nature which is why I chose the Flora and Fauna theme for this month over at Art Journal Journey. I had so much fun creating the background and steampunk vibe flowers for this page – I hope you like it too!

Taking inspiration from the beautiful red sunsets we see in nature, I started by covering the page in a mixture of Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red and Apricot Liquitex acrylic paint, varying the blending slightly to give different shades of colour. I added some torn book pages using Liquitex matte gel medium and some washi tapes, and then I applied a thin layer of the same acrylic paints over the top using my finger to achieve a translucent look. When dry, I applied some white DecoArt acrylic paint using a brayer and also a circular Worn Rings stamp from Gummiapan, making sure I washed the stamp as soon as I had finished so the paint didn’t dry and ruin it. I then splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush. The flowers are fussy cut from an old flower book that I found in a charity shop (thrift store) and arranged on the page with three stamps from the Vintage Circles Woodware Craft Selection Stamp Set using black Archival Ink. I used Liquitex matte gel medium to stick the flowers in place and once it was dry I outlined them with a black Derwent Graphik marker so that the stamping was incorporated into the flower design.

Both the fussy cutting and outlining took some time to complete and it really made a difference to the flowers as you can see on this before and after photo. The bees and wording which reads “Find inspiration in nature” are both Royal & Langnickel rub-on transfers and I added more detail to the bumblebees using a Derwent Graphik marker. To finish, I stamped some circles of white DecoArt acrylic paint using a bottle cap and added some more splatters of black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.

Everytime we visit Garstang we see these beautiful metal flowers and the yellow ones reminded me those on my page today – aren’t they stunning!

I like that they stay in bloom all year round for us to enjoy, no matter what the weather … grin!

Challenges

I’m joining Art Journal Journey and the Flora and Fauna theme with my flowers and bees; there is just one more week to join in the fun (grin!). I’ve really enjoyed seeing all your fabulous creations that you have linked to this theme so far, thank you!

I’m pleased to join Moo Mania and More for their Even More Flowers challenge with my flowery page.

I’m joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges where the theme is Floral, which has been chosen by the lovely Avril, with my Vintage styled flowers, .

I really like the Vintage look of my new Woodware Stamp Set that I used on this page against the mixed media background which also included stamping, so I’m also pleased to join the Backgrounds challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

Stamping Sensations challenge is Close to Nature so I’m very happy to be able to join them with my “Find inspiration in Nature” page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use More Than One Stamp challenge as I used more than one stamp to create this art journal page.

My page reminds me of a classical music piece called “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov and I can just imagine my bees flying around my page to this music exploring the Steampunk Style world of flowers that I created, so I’m also joining A Vintage Journey for their Words and Music challenge.

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m also pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their May Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

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 (Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Apricot)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.5mm)
• Gummiapan Stamp (Worn Rings 2 11050601)
• Woodware Craft Collection Magic Singles (Vintage Circles FRS665)
• The Oxford Book of Garden Flowers
• Quality Toys Group (Washi Tape 2544960)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (TIP1642G, Motivate Sentiments #ROY510, )
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Tyger

Inspired by some Urban Street Art in Blackpool and a wonderful poem by William Blake, I created this Tiger art journal page (grin!).

I started by mixing some Liquitex acrylic paints to produce an orange and dark purple colour and along with some yellow Liquitex acrylic I stippled them onto the page using a paintbrush; as this is a high density acrylic this produced some lovely texture. They are applied so that purple was at the top of the page, orange in the middle and yellow at the bottom to give an ombré effect that matched some of the street art we had seen. To intensify the colours and give more of a spray effect, I applied purple, orange and yellow Brusho Powders over the top of the acrylics and spritzed with water, watching the colours burst on the page and whilst they were blending I used my heat gun to dry them. Next I drew a border around the page using a black Derwent Graphic marker and stamped some hexagonal shapes so they flowed vertically on the page using black Archival Ink. The tiger is fussy cut from an old book of poems that I purchased from a charity shop (thrift store) and is stuck onto the page using a UHU Stic. I used some recycled black paper and also the leftovers from the tiger image to create leaves using Tim Holtz Garden Greens thinlets and my Big Shot machine. They are held in place with sewing machine stitching along each of the main stems which was fun technique to try considering my page is attached within a book (grin!).

Next I added yellow, orange and black beads using Glossy Accents and then cut the title, first verse and author of the poem from the same book as the tiger image. The poem is called The Tyger and is by William Blake, the verse reads: “Tyger! Tyger! burning bright in the forests of the night, what immortal hand or eye, dare frame thy fearful symmetry?”. I cut them out in an abstract pattern to match the page design, edged them all with black Faber-Castell marker and stuck them in place using a UHU Stic. To finish, I added more detail with a white Uniball gel pen and black Derwent Graphic marker which included some white dots in the centre of the larger hexagonal shapes and also some faux stitching around the border.

Blackpool has some amazing Urban Street Art and this is the fabulous tiger than inspired my page, you can see the ombre effect and of course the majestic tiger. This was created by Otto Schade when he took part in the 2016 Sand, Sea and Spray Festival in Blackpool.

There are a number of other artworks in the same area .

This mural just around the corner and it was created at the same 2016 festival and is a self-portrait based collaboration of Bane & Pest (also known as the Color Nomads) and Smile1.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the urban street art in Blackpool, there are still others to see which I’ll be sure to share, as I find that they are such wonderful inspiration for my art journal pages (grin!).

Challenges

With the leaves and tiger that I included on this page, I’m joining the Flora and Fauna challenge over at Art Journal Journey that I’m hosting this month. I hope you are inspired to join us, it would be lovely to see you there!

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Ombré challenge with my brightly coloured ombré background.

I’m pleased to join the lovely Tracey and the rest of the DT over at That’s Crafty! Challenges for their A Stitch in Time challenge as I used both machine and faux stitching on my page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their For the Boys challenge with my William Blake inspired art journal page.

As I used die cuts to create the leaves on my page, I’m also reminding you of our Stencil, Die Cuts or Both theme over at Try it on Tuesday which runs until Monday/tomorrow evening and be sure to check out our fun new challenge on Tuesday!

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 (Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Navy, White)
• Colourcraft Brusho Crystals (Purple, Orange, Yellow)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.1mm, 0.8mm)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Cards & Stamp Sets (Capsule Geometric Krafts PMA105308)
• Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz (Garden Greens 661206)
• 100 Great Poems
• Recycled black paper
• Brighton Bead Shop (Assorted Seed Beads)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic

Violet Butterfly

Yellow and violet are colours that are prevalent in my garden at the moment with all the pretty spring flowers that are in bloom. So with a number of challenges in mind, I created this journal page using a yellow and violet colour combination, some recycled materials and a lovely new Postcard Butterfly stamp that I just couldn’t wait to use (grin!).

I started by recycling some book pages which I ripped and stuck to my page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I used a yellow pastel coloured acrylic paint which I diluted further with white gesso and painted over the whole page varying the shade of the colour. Next I mixed some pastel purple acrylic paint with white gesso and stamped it onto the page using some recycled bubble wrap; to do this I wrapped the bubble wrap around an acrylic block which gave a stronger and cleaner stamped finish as I dipped it in the paint and applied it to the page. Next I added some leftover pieces of butterfly decoupage paper using Liquitex matte gel medium and when the gel medium was dry I outlined all the collaged pieces with a black Derwent marker. Then I stamped some Ground Espresso Distress Ink using corrugated cardboard from some packaging in a criss cross pattern and covered the whole page with splatters of white and black DecoArt acrylic paint. I stamped a Butterfly Postcard stamp from Stampendous using black Archival Ink onto a piece of yellow and white paper and also the butterfly image from the same stamp onto some purple paper that I recycled from an old notebook. I fussy cut the images out and along with some yellow leaves, a piece of recycled beige card from some packaging and a spotted purple card leftover from card making, I edged them with the Ground Espresso Distress Ink and a blending tool then stuck them onto the page using glue dots, double-sided tape and foam tape. To add some shine to the purple butterfly wings I covered the black dots with Glossy Accents. Then I added some purple flowers and metal vintage embellishments which I accessorised with some tiny yellow and violet pearls, which finished the page.

We have quite a few yellow flowers in our garden including daffodils and forsythia as well as purple crocus and hyacinths, and both of these colours can be found in these pretty pansies that are in our planters which we can see from our kitchen window.

This variety has quite big flowers, aren’t the colours of this yellow one amazing!

If you are interested, here are some fun facts about pansies:

• The pansy is a member of theViola family.
• Their name comes from the French word, pensée, which means thought or remembrance.
• Pansies are one of the oldest cultivated flowers and are also one of the most popular plants in our gardens.
• In the language of flowers, the pansy represents thoughts of lovers and in the 19th century this flower was used in love potions.
• Pansies are edible and their petals have a mint flavour; they are often added to salads and desserts.
• The flower is used as a natural dye.

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, who is hosting the Recycle and Collage challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I used stamps recycled from packaging and recycled book pages, packaging and leftovers to create this page!

With the stamped butterfly as my focal image and butterflies being part of the animal kingdom, I’m also happy to be able to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Animals challenge.

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m also joining in the fun at the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their April Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

I’m also joining the Color Wheel! challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge as I used a complimentary pair of colours, which are opposite each other on the colour wheel, yellow and violet to create my mixed media art journal page.

I was also inspired by Corrie’s use of book pages on her Design Team creation over at Country View Challenges so I’m also joining their Pimp It Up! (reuse or alter something) 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:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Aldi Script Ready Mixed Paint (Pastels – yellow, purple)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Stamps made from bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard recycled from packaging
• Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamps (Butterfly Post CRP147)
• First Edition Deco Maché Decoupage papers (Vintage Butterfly FEDEC112)
• Paper Bundle from local craft shop (Yellow and white circles)
• Recycled purple memo paper
• Recycled beige card from packaging
• Leftover purple dot card from card making
• The Handmade Paper Company (Nature’s Touch of Art)
• Wilko (Flower Embellishments) leftover pieces
• Poundworld DécoTime (Vintage Stickers 54748)
• Trimcraft (Adhesive Pearls SCDOT056)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Wilko (Sticky Dots)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Mother’s Day Card

There’s still another week to join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday with our Mum’s the Word challenge, where you are asked to be inspired by all things mother related such as a mother’s birthday, quotes for mothers, mother and child, animal families, Mother’s Day or any other way you would like to interpret this special mother theme!

Although Mother’s Day is celebrated throughout the world, here in the UK it is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent whereas in many other countries it is celebrated on the second Sunday of May. As I’m in the UK, we celebrated Mother’s Day this last Sunday so I’m sharing the Mother’s Day card I created for my mum for the Mum’s the Word challenge (grin!).

I started by using a lattice die from Spellbinders to cut a piece of white cardstock using my Big Shot die cutting machine. I stuck the lattice onto a white 6×4 card using Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I stamped two roses onto some mixed media paper using a stamp from Urban Stamps and black Archival Ink. They are painted using a Scarlet Spectrum Aqua marker, I did this by scribbling the marker on an acrylic block and picking the ink up with a wet paintbrush and gradually building up the layers of colour; I love the pretty watercolour effect that this produced. Then I fussy cut the roses and arranged them on the card with some leaves which I die cut from green design paper from Crafter’s Companion using Garden Greens Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine. The leaves are edged with a Moss Spectrum Aqua marker and stuck to the card using a Zig Memory System glue pen. I added a piece of satin ribbon along the left-hand side which I tied into a bow and a strip of clear gems. To finish, I added a few single clear gems and also the wording which are Peel-off stickers that I coloured using a black Sharpie permanent marker.

I do hope you will join us at Try it on Tuesday and if you pop over to the main blog you’ll find some amazing Mum’s the Word inspiration from my fellow Design Team members, as well as who is in our Top 5 for the previous Vintage Challenge.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the following challenges too:

• Moo Mania & More and their Colour Effect challenge with the scarlet watercolour effect I created for the roses on this card.
• Country View Challenges and their Postcards (6×4) challenge as my card is postcard-sized.
• Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge as my feminine Mother’s Day card also fits their Girl Power challenge.
• As I stamped the roses for this card, I’m pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their March Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included) challenge.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this lunch I had whilst out with my parents around this time last year. We had a delicious ham and cheese toastie each and I had a ginger beer, my dad had a white coffee and my mum a cappuccino. I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and sending you all Happy T Day wishes!

My post is brief today as I haven’t had much time for blogging this last week due to family illness. I’d like to thank everyone for their kind wishes regarding my dad, he is doing much better and is now back home which is a great relief to all our family and friends. I hope to find the time to visit you all soon and in the meantime thanks for your understanding and wishing you every happiness! Jo x

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

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this card:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Scarlet)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker Pen (Black)
• Spellbinders Die (Unknown)
• Docrafts Papermania 4×4” Urban Stamps (Birthday Rose PMA907221)
• Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz (Garden Greens 661206)
• White card stock
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Crafter’s Companion Luxury Designer Paper Pad (Angelica & Adam Collection A&A-PAP6-M)
• Dovecraft Essentials Peel-Off Stickers (Family G DCPO-17)
• Poundland (Design Gems 175751)
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided foam tape

Watching the Sunset

As you may be aware we love walking along our local beach and on one late afternoon we saw the most spectacular sunset. The colours of the clouds were so amazing that I was inspired to use the yellows and different shades of pink to create today’s page.

For the background I used Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed Distress Inks; first by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block, diluting with water and applying the diluted ink to the page with a blending tool and then by using the blending tool to add the ink directly from the ink pad to build up areas of colour in cloud like patterns. Then I dripped water onto the page which reactivated the ink so I could remove it with a piece of kitchen towel. I used the same Distress Inks to stamp a circle and heart stamp design from Sugarloaf Inc. Next I created a circle stencil and stamped a splatter stamp, from Gummiapan, through it using black Archival Ink. Then using the same black ink I added a dot stamp by Art Impressions and a series of images from an Urban Stamp set which included small hearts, the word love and zigzag faux stitching. I also splattered black and white DecoArt acrylic paint over the page using a paintbrush. I added a glittery pink heart foam sticker as it was quite romantic watching the sun go down, and also a polka dot yellow bird as we often see birds on our walks along the beach. Then to finish, I added some wooden flowers which are stuck into place using Glossy Accents and finally some rhinestone flower stickers.

Here’s the sunset that inspired my page, isn’t it stunning! The beauty of the sunset was captivating; it looked so magical that it didn’t look real. I snapped this picture using my phone and we stayed quite a while, despite the cold, watching the sun go down (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 Rike from rike’s art who is hosting the Animals A-Z challenge over at Art Journal Journey, as B is for Bird on my sunset page!

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their February Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

As I created my art journal page with love to remember the romantic sunset we watched, I’m also joining the Valentine’s challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

I’m also joining the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge and their Photo Inspiration challenge as I used the LOVE, pink colour, hearts and fabric influence from the heart designs on my page.

I’m also pleased to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is It Must Be Love, with my romantic sunset inspired 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 (Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood-mounted stamp (26645)
• Gummiapan Stamp (A lot of Splats 11050106)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamp (Craft Collections – Pastels PMA907223)
• Woodware Craft Collection Francoise Collection Stamp Set (Flower Style Wood Set FRSWS003)
• Home Bargains (Foam Sticker Shapes 57884)
• Craft  for Occasions (C2026)
• White card
• The Works (Craft Flowers)
• The Works (Rhinestone Flower Stickers)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic

A Sprinkle of Magic

I couldn’t wait to use my new Big Shot die cutting machine which I received for Christmas so I created this page (grin!).

You may have seen that I referred to it in my last post and I was amazed at how many of you guessed correctly (double grin!). I’d also like to thank everyone for all their lovely wishes of congratulations when I became a member of the Try it on Tuesday Design Team too, I’m overwhelmed by your kindness, thank you!

To create the background, I added Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye and Milled Lavender Distress Inks by applying the ink pads to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. Then I stamped a couple of snowflake designs from BoBunny using London Fog, Toffee Crunch and Lulu Lavender Memento Inks. Next I created all the lovely leaves from different design papers using my new Big Shot; I chose a blue colour palette to give a wintry and frosty feel to the page. I used a holly die to create the leaves and had such fun using the Big Shot to produce them all, as you can see I made quite a few (grin!). I edged each of the leaves with a grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to make them stand out a bit more from the background, which took quite some time! Then I layered them onto the page using glue dots or double-sided foam tape and a Zig Memory System glue pen. Once in place I also curled the leaves so they looked more dimensional. The pretty bird and fence posts are fussy cut from last year’s calendar and are edged with grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; the calendar features British Birds and this one is called a Great Tit which frequents woodland and gardens alike. They are stuck down using a UHU Stic and I added some of the leaves around them too. Next I added a pretty winter scene tag by Pion Designs, a sticker from Graphic 45 and also some words which I cut from an old magazine, mounted onto a piece of thick paper and stuck into place using double-sided foam tape. The words read “A sprinkle of magic” which reminds me of frost and snow this time of year. To finish, I added Icicle Sparkles to the snow on the fence posts and lots of blue gems using Glossy Accents.

I had so much fun using my Big Shot and having never used a die cutting machine before, I had a fun adventure finding out how it worked and how to use it (grin!). I have a very limited supply of dies at the moment but couldn’t wait to get creative so made do with what I had and I love the page that resulted!

If you have any suggestions of brands or actual dies that you would recommend and couldn’t live without, then please let me know by leaving a comment below. This will help me decide what to put on my wish list as I really don’t know where to start (double grin!).

As I included my cuppa in the photo above, I’m pleased to join Bleubeard and Elizabeth and the rest of the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – sending you all Happy T day wishes!

If you are wondering, here’s the photo of my craft room from my last post, you can see my new Big Shot on the left-hand side (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 Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the New Year, New Adventures challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my winter page that I created on my Big Shot adventure (grin!).

With my wintry page I’m pleased to join Moo Mania & More and their Frosty Winter challenge .

With the blue colours that I used to create this page, I’m also happy to join Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Winter Blues challenge.

Including stamping means I’m also able to join in the fun over at The Artistic Stamper and their Anything Goes challenge.

I’m also pleased to be able to join Country View Challenges and this month’s Anything Goes challenge.

As I used stamping and other mixed media to create my art journal page, I’m pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their January Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included). 

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 (Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye, Milled Lavender)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (London Fog, Toffee Crunch, Lulu Lavender)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• BoBunny Stamps (Snow Day #13705563)
• The Range Festive Collection (5×5 Dies Holly)
• Poundland Design Pad (Pure Frozen CRO701/16PL4, Contemporary Christmas CRO701K/P4)
• Festive Silhouettes free with magazine (Luxury Stamp Set and Foiled Paper)
• Poundland (Glitter Sheets 116432)
• British Birds Calendar 2017 – recycled
• Pion Design Glistening Season 12×12” paper sheet (Tags – PD6612)
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Stickers (Place in Time 4500617)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Blue Round Gems 566538101)
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (The Dual Action Glue Pen)
• UHU Stic
• Wilko (Sticky Dots)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Christmas Robins

I love robins and Christmas gives me the perfect reason to transform our beach room into a robin wonderland (grin!). So I’m sharing a robin Christmas card that I created for my mum and dad; it has extra relevance as my mum always embroiders me a robin themed Christmas card and also makes us a Christmas pudding every year so I thought I’d return the favour (double grin!).

For the robins and holly leaves, I used a Clear Magic Stamp Set called Robins from the Woodware Craft Collection and I used Spectrum Aqua markers to colour them. I started with white card stock to create my 6×6″ card, and then I created a holly border by painstakingly stamping the tiny two leaf and berry stamp many times using black Archival Ink. The holly leaves are coloured with Bud Green and Evergreen Spectrum Aqua markers and the berries with Scarlet and Crimson aqua markers. For the focal panel, I used another piece of card stock and stamped a Christmas pudding and single robin image and also a single robin stamp, both using black Archival Ink. Then I took a piece of red and white striped sparkly paper and cut it to size so it covered the bottom half of the card. Then I positioned the paper over the card and stamped the Christmas pudding stamp again on the top of the paper. I cut it out leaving a Christmas pudding and plate shaped hole in the paper which I lined up with the stamped image on the card so it looked like a tablecloth. Next I coloured the robins with Desert, Terracotta, Chestnut, Chocolate, Scarlet, Crimson and Burgundy Spectrum Aqua markers using a wet paintbrush to blend the colours. The Christmas pudding and plate are coloured the same way; for the Christmas pudding I used the Terracotta, Chestnut and Chocolate aqua markers and for the plate I used Charcoal and Peach aqua markers. I also used a gold aqua marker to colour the beaks of the robins. Then I stamped “Merry Christmas” with a Holiday Ribbon wood mounted stamp by Hero Arts onto thin card stock using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink and stuck it over the corner of the focal panel using double-sided tape. To finish, I positioned the panel in the centre of the card using double-sided foam tape so it was surrounded by the holly border.

My beach room (front room) is decorated with robins and this is my latest robin addition, she is called Rosy and she’s having fun hanging off one of the wall lights (grin!). This year we also received two homemade Christmas puddings from my mum and although it’s not a favourite of mine, (unlike my hubby who loves Christmas pudding), I like mine served hot with custard – what about you?

If you are Interested here are some interesting facts about Christmas Pudding:

• Christmas Pudding originated in England and dates back to Medieval times in the 1420s.
• They are a type of suet pudding and contain sugar, treacle, suet, raisins and spices.
• Christmas Pudding is also known as “Plum Pudding” or “Plum Duff” although the pudding has no plums, instead it contains raisins which in old Victorian times were called plums.
• Figgy pudding is a type of Christmas pudding which was originally made with figs.
• Putting a silver six-pence coin is an age-old custom that is said to bring luck to the person that finds it.
• These puddings are traditionally steamed in a cloth, however like many people these days, my mum uses a basin.
• Brandy is sometimes poured over the pudding and set alight to make a spectacular display, my mum still likes to do this at Christmastime.
• Christmas Pudding can be served hot or cold with hard sauce, brandy butter, rum butter, cream, custard or my mum’s white brandy sauce (grin!).

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my art 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 “Christmas” Challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my Merry Christmas card.

I’m joining in the fun again over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their “Celebrate” challenge as this card is sent with love to celebrate Christmas.

I’m joining the “Christmas” challenge over at Country View Challenges with my Christmas card which includes their optional reds and greens as part of the card design.

As stamps were used to create this card, I’m also pleased to be able to join in the “December Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included)” at the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge.

I’m also joining the “Christmas” challenge over at The Artistic Stamper with my robin stamp designed card.

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is “Christmas/Winter Holidays” so my Christmas card is perfect for this 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:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Bud Green, Evergreen, Desert, Terracotta, Chestnut, Chocolate, Scarlet, Crimson, Burgundy, Charcoal, Peach, Gold)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Stamps (Robins FRCL030)
• Hero Arts wood-mounted rubber stamps (Holiday Ribbons LL036)
• White card stock
• The Works Designer Paper Pack (The Night Before Christmas)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape