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

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You are my …

We attended our friend’s wedding this weekend and what an amazing time we had! The venue was perfect and the bride and groom looked stunning and it was wonderful to spend time with some of my dearest friends too. So I created a page to celebrate this magical day with one of my favourite quotes by E. E Cummings which reads

“You are my sun, my moon and all of my stars”.

Don’t forget that there is still another week to join the Add a Quote challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, it would be lovely to see you there!

I chose a blue and white colour palette to match the wedding invitation that we received; stamping Chipped Sapphire and Salty Ocean Distress ink pads onto the CD, spritzing with water and pressing the CD onto the page to leave an imprint. I did this several times to build up the intensity of the colour until I was happy. Next I used a star stencil to apply the two Distress Inks, again using a blending tool and then covered them with a thin layer of white gesso to dull the colour and push the star design into the background. I used black Archival Ink and the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink to add a planet and star constellation stamp from a stamp set called Stargazer by Kaisercraft, layering the images to add more depth and interest. Then I drew around the CD using a black Uni Pin marker outlining the CD imprints and added a sun stamp from the same stamp set using the Chipped Sapphire ink again. Next I added some silver circles and stars which are outline stickers and outlined them all using a black Uni Pin marker, which took quite a while (grin!). The quote by E.E. Cummings is also from the same Stargazer stamp set and is stamped onto some blue design paper using black Archival Ink. I cut it out and edged it with one of the silver outline stickers and stuck it in place using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I added some clear jewel gems in varying sizes to the silver circle and stars to add a little sparkle.

The venue was so pretty with the old barn buildings and pretty gardens! I even cried a tear at the ceremony as it was so beautiful with the vows they had prepared especially for each other and with the fabulous violinists playing romantic music and also the personalised readings – it was truly amazing!

You could tell the bride had planned the wedding well, as there were so many thoughtful details that we discovered throughout the day including sweets “Take a little, eat a lot, enjoy these treats, we tied the knot” …

… flip flops “Here’s a little treat for your dancing feet” and blankets “To have and to hold incase you are cold”.

We decided to enjoy the day and company rather than take too many photos, but as T Stands for Tuesday is celebrating its 5th Anniversary here’s a fun photo of someone’s red wine (grin!). There was quite a drink selection on offer – iced water, gin and elderflower tonic (my choice – yum!), beers (hubby’s choice – yum!), champagne and a selection of white, rosé and red wines. We were also served tea and coffee if you would prefer –  Happy 5th Anniversary T Day wishes!

Maybe you will join me in a little dance around the fountain too (grin!) …

… and in case you are wondering here is my sun, my moon and all of my stars; we had such a wonderful time!

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 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 Kaisercraft stamp set and also experimenting by using the CD as a stamp.

Inspired by my dearest friends, I’m also joining the Get Sentimental challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my Art Journaling and Mixed Media Style page.

I’m also pleased to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Use inks anyway you want challenge as I used inks and stamping to create this art journal page.

With the silver accents and sparkly gems, I’m also pleased to join Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Add A Little Sparkle 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 (Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• CD – old
• Creative Stencils Craft Essentials (Stars MAOB0004)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Stargazer CS327)
• Poundland Design Pad (Pure Frozen CRO701/16P4)
• Starform Outline Stickers (Silver Circles 1144)
• Crelando Relief Sticker Set (12 Sheets IAN289011)
• The Works (Jewel Stickers)
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Winter to Spring

I started this page sometime ago; it’s been sitting on my craft table these past three weeks waiting patiently for me, which is quite ironic given the quote I had chosen to use (grin!).

You may remember we had snow and storms during February/March despite the fact that spring should be just around the corner, which inspired my design.

I started by covering half of the page with a piece of paper depicting snowflakes from a design pad and the other half with a piece of magazine cover depicting cherry blossom, they are stuck into place using a UHU Stic. Then I stamped a star border from Dovecraft and also the “Winter” and “Spring” wording using an alphabet stamp set from Hampton Art and VersaMark Watermark stamp pad which I covered with Stampendous white 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. Then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. Next I added some silver stars to the edges and centre of the page which are outline stickers. For the central image I used the VersaMark ink and white embossing powder again to add blossoms and snowflakes to the opposite sides of a piece of mixed media paper. Then I coloured the paper using Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress Inks with a blending tool. I used my Big Shot to die cut a panel and some round shapes from this paper and also a smaller panel from an American Crafts design pad. I edged them all using the Distress Inks and a blending tool and also a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stamped an Art Deco lady in the centre of the smaller panel using black Archival Ink to represent Mother Nature. I also stamped the quote onto the leftover mixed media paper and cut the words out; they are edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck to the page using a UHU Gluepen. The quote is by Ralph Waldo Emerson and reads “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience”. To finish, I added some silver snowflakes, pink paper blossoms and clear jewel stickers to add some sparkle.

As you can see we didn’t get much snow during the storms. We live right by the sea and I think because of our location, being in a flat part of the country and surrounded on three sides by hills and mountains (Lake District, Pennines and Welsh Mountains) we miss out on the snow as it falls in those places before it gets to us. We found that Storm Emma was the worst thing with very high winds which increased the chill factor – brrrr!

With the cold weather of late and having been unwell with the flu, I have found myself wishing for warmer weather so let’s hope Spring is here soon!

Also I really appreciate all your kindness and get well wishes for my dad who is much better now, thank you!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Rosie from Rosie’s Bastelwelt who is hosting the Spring challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

With the focal images being stamped I’m also happy to be able to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Springtime challenge.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Allsorts Challenge Blog and their Bring on the Bling challenge with my sparkly and blingy art journal page.

With all the pink blossoms on my art journal page, I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Floral Frenzy 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:

• Tsukeniko VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Dovecraft Studio G Designer Clears Stamps (DCRS86)
• Hampton Art Mini Wood Peg Rubber Stamps (Alphabet Set #1037)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamps (Blossom Spray CRP136)
• BoBunny Stamps (Snow Day 13705563)
• Craft Sensations Clear Stamps (CR0274/16PL4)
• Spellbinders Nestabilities (Labels Thirty S5-157, Unknown)
• Old Magazine
• Poundland Design Pad (Pure Frozen CR0701/16PL4)
• Crelando Relief Stickers (12 Sheets IAN289011)
• The Works (Mini Paper Flower Embellishments)
• The Works (Jewel Stickers)
• The Works (Christmas Embellishments)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers)
• UHU Stic
• UHU Gluepen
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Vintage Christmas

Tidings of Comfort and Joy!

I hope you’re having a wonderful Christmastime and wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Today’s page is inspired by Christmastime and all things vintage! I started by covering the page with a music sheet from a book of Christmas carols that I picked up in a charity shop (thrift store); you may know the carol and I liked that the title referenced both Christmas and the New Year. I ripped the page into three pieces and stuck them down along with some gold, gold star and gold holly tissue papers using a UHU Stic. When the glue had dried I added Toffee Crunch and Rich Cocoa Memento Inks to the edge of the page and papers using a blending tool. Next I stamped a snowflake design from the Woodware Craft Collection using Emboss ink, then I covered it with white Stampendous embossing powder and shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper. I also tapped the page to make sure any stray powder was removed and then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I swept the gun over the stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder changed to a glossy finish becoming smooth and dimensional. The gold trees are relief stickers by Crelando and the vintage images are cut using serrated scissors from an old magazine and a 12×12” paper sheet of Tags from the Glistening Season collection from Pion Designs; they are edged with the Toffee Crunch ink and arranged on the page using double-sided tape and some fabric washi tape. The “December 25” sign is a Victorian Christmas 3D sticker from Docrafts Papermania which I stuck down with a glass candy cane decoration. The candy cane is from an incomplete set of wine charms purchased at a charity shop; wine charms are small ornaments that you attach to a wine glass at a party so you know which glass is yours. I also tied some white paper twine to a round wooden tree tag and added it to the page. The white ribbon is recycled from a Christmas cracker and I tied it into a bow. To finish, I added lots of glittery gold snowflakes which are stickers.

I’d also like to thank the Allsorts Challenge Blog for my early Christmas present of the Pion Design paper and the Toffee Crunch Memento Ink that I used to create this page. I won them over at their challenge from Swedish House Crafts, along with some other goodies too (grin!).

I love Christmas music and play it at every opportunity this time of year (grin!), so I was really pleased to find a book of carols in my local charity shop. The carol I used for my page is “God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen”, if you are interested:

• This carol is also known as “Tidings of Comfort and Joy”.
• It is a traditional English Christmas carol which is thought to date back to the 16^th Century. It was first published by William Sandys in 1833.
• This carol is referred to in A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, 1843:  “… at the first sound of ‘God bless you, merry gentlemen! May nothing you dismay!’, Scrooge seized the ruler with such energy of action that the singer fled in terror, leaving the keyhole to the fog and even more congenial frost.”
• There have been many covers of this carol including Bing Crosby in 1947,  Nat King Cole in 1960, Nancy Sinatra in 1991, Mariah Carey in 1994, Glee in 2010 and many more. Each of the names is a link to their version of the carol – now I’m wondering which one you would choose to listen too?

I received a lovely surprise from my hubby, look what was waiting for me at elevenses with my cup of green tea – a yummy gingerbread Christmas Tree (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and wishing you all a very Christmassy T Day!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Sheila from Orange Esmeralda who is hosting the “Let’s Celebrate” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my Vintage Christmas celebration!

I’m joining the Christmas” fun over at Country View Challenges where the theme is “Christmas with optional Reds, Greens and Rust”.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge the theme is “Party!” so I’m pleased to join them with my Vintage Christmas party!

I’m pleased to join the “Winter Wonderland” challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my vintage style page inspired by Christmastime, snow, carols and vintage wintry scenes.

I’m also joining the “Believe” challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge with my vintage Christmas page as my design and colour palette was influenced by their inspirational photo – Merry Christmas!

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:

• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Toffee Crunch, Rich Cocoa)
• Emboss Embossing Ink Pad (Clear)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Snowflakes FRS027)
• Tissue Paper (Gold, Gold Star, Gold Holly)
• The Oxford Book of Carols
• Pion Design Glistening Season 12×12” sheet (Tags – PD6612)
• Old Magazine
• Poundland (Fabric Tape 156456-GE16)
• The Works (Pack of 9 Wooden Tags)
• Docrafts Papermania Victorian Christmas (3D Christmas Stickers PMA805801)
• Wilko (Paper Twine)
• Re-cycled ribbon (White)
• Crelando Relief Stickers Christmas designs (12 Sheets IAN289011)
• The Pier (Wine Charms PLU2010838)
• Christmas-Craft (Glitter Embellishments Gold XCR0037)
• Fun Cut Scissors – serrated
• UHU Stic
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape

Christmas Greetings!

I always look forward to Christmastime and I love sending cards to wish family and friends happiness and good cheer (grin!). I am very thankful when I receive cards too and have created a page to celebrate this by using some of the pretty Christmas postage stamps from the cards that I have received.

I started by stamping different postmarks and texts using Memento Inks to create the background for the page. The stamps included a set of The Works Clear Stamps, the Tropical Travelogue stamp set from Graphic 45 by Hampton Art, the Birdsong stamp set from 7 Gypsies also by Hampton Art and finally the Letters to Santa stamp set from Docrafts Papermania. The Memento Ink colours I used were Love Letters, Pistachio, London Fog and Teal Zeal. Next I cut the envelopes containing the postage stamps to shape, using a pair of scissors with a serrated edge, and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. The silver frames and borders are outline stickers, some of which I coloured black using a Sharpie permanent marker and black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.  I also added some postal mark outline stickers and embellished the postage stamps and frames using some snowflake and star stickers. Then I edged inside and around some of the frames using a Derwent Graphik marker and also around the edges of the page using the black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The red glitter star embellishments and small clear, red, and black gems finished the page.

You may have seen some of the Christmas cards I made this year in previous posts. I also make sweet treats to give to friends instead of Christmas cards. As you can see, I made quite a few bags this year which were for all our Love My Beach friends.

Each bag contains 3 pieces of Maltesers Fudge and a piece of Maltesers Tiffin (Maltesers are also known as Malt Balls).

I was curious to find out more about Christmas cards, if you’re interested here are the facts I discovered:

• Sir Henry Cole and John Horsley invented the Christmas card in 1843 and sold them for a shilling. In 2000, an original Cole and Horsely’s card fetched £20,000 when it was auctioned in the UK which can be seen here.
• A few years after the first card was made, the UK Parliament passed the Postal Act which allowed people to send letters and cards for just a penny.
• Early Christmas cards tended to be flowers, fairies and exotic designs and rarely showed the religious or wintry scenes we see today.
• In America, a German printer Louis Prang started mass producing cards in 1875 and until then, they were considered a luxury that only the rich could afford. By 1881, over 5 million cards were being produced every year in the US.
• In Victorian England, the Post Office delivered cards on Christmas Day in the UK. Postmen were often known as robins because of their bright red uniforms and robins became a popular card Christmas card motif.
• Every year in the UK alone, an estimated 1.8 billion Christmas cards are sent and received. The average UK household sends out about 50 cards each Christmas.
• 45% of all cards sent are for Christmas but only 15% of these Christmas cards are bought by men.
• Designing and making personal Christmas cards is one of the most popular craft hobbies in the UK.
• An estimated £50 million is raised for charities by selling their Christmas cards each year.

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 Sheila from Orange Esmeralda who is hosting the “Let’s Celebrate” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my celebration of Christmas Greetings!

I’m joining the “Christmas” fun over at Moo Mania & More and sending Christmas Greetings!

As the challenge over at Country View Challenges is “Christmas with optional Reds, Greens and Rust” I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge too.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge the theme is “Party!” so I’m pleased to join them with my Christmas Greetings celebration!

May this Christmas bring you love and joy. Season’s Greetings and a Happy New Year!

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:

• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Love Letters, Pistachio, London Fog, Teal Zeal)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• The Works (Clear Stamps CRO274TW4)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Vintage cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Clear Stamps (Letters to Santa PMA907917)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Postage Stamps Silver ANT810103, Straight Line Borders Silver ANT8101017)
• Crelando Relief Stickers Christmas designs (12 Sheets IAN289011)
• Christmas-Craft (Glitter Embellishments XRR0038)
• Oaktree UK Eleganza Craft Stickers (3mm 418 Gems Red No. 16)
• Poundland (Design Gems 175751)
• UHU Stic

Happy Holidays!

I created this page to wish all my friends here in blog-land Happy Holidays and, if you celebrate, a very Merry Christmas too!

I started by using some relief sticker surrounds to add detail to the page. Firstly using them as a stencil by sticking them down and applying Festive Berries and Peeled Paint Distress Inks with a blending tool.  I also used the blending tool to add a circular pattern with the Peeled Paint ink.  I then wiped the ink from the relief stickers with a piece of kitchen towel, removed them and reapplied them to different areas of the page to add more depth and interest. I love the white against this red and green colour combination. As the Distress Ink reactivates when wet I added some water droplets with a paintbrush and used kitchen roll to dry them which removed some of the ink. Next I added the snowflakes which are glittery Wall Stickers and the “Happy Holidays” writing and baubles, which are rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel. The little reindeer are Christmas decorations which I spotted whilst out shopping which I couldn’t resist buying them as they looked so cute (grin!). I stuck them to the page using a UHU glue pen and also a gold Brad; I did this by punching a hole through the page and wrapping ribbon around the brad before fastening it. I also covered the back of the brad with a piece of masking tape to protect my next journal page. I added red Stickles on one of the reindeer noses and Dovecraft 3D Black Pearl Effects on the other reindeer’s nose and also their eyes. A stitched ribbon tag which says “Merry Christmas” that I stuck down using double-sided foam tape finishes the page.

Every year I make a Christmas cake, I love baking and always make my own almond paste (marzipan) and fondant icing as well. My cake decoration changes each year and this year it is decorated with white stars and poinsettias (grin!).

I always make a light fruit cake rather than the traditional rich fruit cake. My recipe is a take on a Dundee Fruit Cake and contains no citrus/mixed peel and has dried sultanas, currants, pineapple, dates, apricots and cherries in it which are soaked in brandy for a week before I make it so they are nice and plump – yum!

We always cut our cake the week before Christmas and it’s lovely with a cuppa for elevensies! So I’m pleased to join the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day! Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas! Jo x

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 Sheila from Orange Esmeralda who is hosting the “Let’s Celebrate” challenge over at Art Journal Journey – Merry Christmas!

I’m joining the “Twinkle, Twinkle” fun over at Try it on Tuesday as my glittery snowflakes twinkle on the page – Merry Christmas!

As I created this page to celebrate and wish you a Merry Christmas, I’m also joining the “Christmas” Challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

The challenge over at Country View Challenges is “Christmas with optional Reds, Greens and Rust” so my page matches this theme perfectly – Merry Christmas!

Over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge the theme is “Stitch It” so I’m pleased to join them with my stitched Merry Christmas embellishment – Happy Holidays!

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 (Festive Berries, Peeled Paint)
• Crelando Relief Sticker Set (Christmas 12 Sheets IAN289011)
• Home Bargains (Wall Stickers 16221)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Retro Christmas Trees #ROY1666)
• Melinera (Christmas Decorations IAN288732)
• Docrafts Create Christmas (Stitched Ribbon Tags PMA157921)
• Craft Sensations (Brads CR0550/A)
• Ranger Stickles (Christmas Red)
• Dovecraft 3D Pearl Effects (Brights – Black)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Glue Pen
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Let It Snow

I love Christmas and I find that December gives me the perfect excuse to create as many Christmassy journal pages as I can (grin!). I hope you like my latest creation.

I started by stamping snowflakes over the page using Dovecraft embossing ink which I covered with white Stampendous embossing powder. I shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and tapped the page against the table to make sure I had removed any stray powder. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder, sweeping the gun over the images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long, until the embossing powder changed to a glossy finish becoming smooth and dimensional. Next I applied Chipped Sapphire, Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks using a blending tool starting at the top of the page with the darkest colour of Chipped Sapphire, and finishing with the lighter colour of Cracked Pistachio, at the bottom. As the white snowflakes were on a white page, it was fun seeing them stand out as I added more layers of the Distress Inks to intensify the colours. Then I used a wood mounted snowflake stamp which I wet with a baby wipe and pressed onto the page so that it reactivated the Distress Ink. On removing the stamp I used some kitchen paper to absorb the wet ink leaving a pretty snowflake impression on the page. I added some shiny silver snowflakes to the centre of each impression which are from a Relief Sticker Set by Crelando and also some large 3D silver snowflakes which are wall stickers. Then I used some outline stickers to add the silver stars and dots for some extra detail and shine. The snowman is fussy cut from an old Christmas card and stuck to the page using a UHU Stic. To create the ground I used the negative image surround from the outline stickers, ripping it to fit the page. To finish, I added the “Let It Snow” wording which is a foam sticker from a Christmas craft pack and some white dots using a Uni Posca paint pen.

Living by the sea, we don’t usually have much snow, although snow is forecast for this weekend (grin!). This had me reminiscing about some heavy snowfall (for the UK) that we had for about a week when we lived in the South of England.  I found these pictures to share with you.

Our garden was like a winter wonderland with all the snow …

… and the snow-covered trees looked so beautiful 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 Sheila from Orange Esmeralda who is hosting the “Let’s Celebrate” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my snowy celebration.

Over at Try it on Tuesday they have a “Twinkle, Twinkle” challenge where you are asked to include stars, sparkles, glitter and shiny things.

I’m also pleased to join Moo Mania & More for their “Get the heat on – (Heat Embossing)” challenge as I included the heat embossed snowflakes on my page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the “Winter Wonderland” challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my “Mixed Media” style page. I was inspired by the description provided to their Creative Guides of “Let’s see some snow, snowmen …” so I included both of these in my design.

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is “Icy Inspiration” so I drew inspiration from the dark blue colour, snowman and snowy pictures on the mood board provided to create my 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 (Chipped Sapphire, Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio)
• Dovecraft Premium Embossing Stamp Pad (Clear)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque DP100)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (White)
• Clear Impressions clear stamp set (Woodland Christmas)
• Practical Publishing Embossing Folder & Stamp Set (Winter Wonderland)
• Papercraft 4 You Mary Hughes wood mounted rubber stamp (Snowflake)
• Crelando Relief Sticker Set (12 Sheets – Christmas)
• Home Bargains (Wall Stickers 16216)
• Poundland (Christmas Gift Pack 171319-MC16)
• Outline Stickers (Time Silver 90493S)
• UHU Stic