Friends and Family

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

Its time for a new challenge over at Try it On Tuesday and our theme for the next two weeks, is Friends and Family.

You’ll find some beautiful inspiration from my Design Team teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too. My art journal page today celebrate Friends, Family and Life – I hope you like it!

I started by stencilling the background of leaves using a Falling Leaves stencil from Newton’s Nook and six different colours of Distress Ink. I blended and shaded the colours so that the Vintage Photo and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink were around the edges of the page, then as I worked towards the centre I added Seedless Preserves, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and finally finished with Mustard Seed Distress Ink in the centre of the page. I also positioned the stencil so that the larger leaves were around the outside of the page and the smaller leaves were in the centre. Then I stamped a maple leaf stamp and oak leaf stamp from Tim Holtz Autumn Blueprints stamp set onto the page using black Archival Ink. I coloured the leaves and also the leaf names using the Seedless Preserve, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed Distress Ink with a paintbrush. Then I shaded under the bottom edge of each leaf using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to give them a shadow so they had a 3D look. Next I added some Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers which read “let life surprise you”, “live your life” and “life is good”. I drew boxes and arrows around them to match the blueprint design of the leaves using a black Derwent Graphik marker. The large sentiment which reads “Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful” is a Pocket Card from Tim Holtz and is stuck to the page using double-sided foam tape. I also added the words “Thankful”, “Friends” and “Family” using Tim Holtz Letter Labels and used the Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to add a shadow under them which finished the page.

The bands and shades of colour on my page reminds me of the beautiful mat that our forever friend’s bought us for our wedding anniversary present; it travelled back from America with us and now sits in my hallway at the bottom of the stairs. It is such a happy reminder of the time we spent with them (grin!).

On our wedding anniversary we also had an amazing Maine lobster dinner at their house too, which was so delicious!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and sharing our drinks, red wine, iced water or a beer which as you can see is served in my special Red Sox Beer cooler (grin!) – 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 Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey as this page celebrates happy memories with friends and family!

As I incorporate squares into the design of this page with the frames of colour from the stencilled background, stamped Autumn BluePrint leaf images and also the sentiments, I’m pleased to join the Square It challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge with my art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the November Link Party #45 – Anything Goes over at Cropstop Blog with my page of fall leaves too.

Don’t forget that over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge the theme is Thanks/Thanksgiving this week, 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:

Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Seedless Preserves, Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
Newton’s Nook Designs Purr-fect Stencil (Falling Leaves NN1709T01)
Tim Holtz Collection Stamper’s Anonymous (Autumn Blueprint CMS133)
Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193, Label Letters #TH93072)
The Range double-sided foam tape

Hello Lake Life

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

I love boats so living the Lake Life with our friends in Maine was an amazing experience! My page today captures the serenity of the lake, fall colours and also a Loon, which is a type of water bird that we saw on one of our boat trips around the lake (grin!).

I started by applying Hickory Smoke Distress Ink onto the page by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block and scraping the block over the page so the ink caught on the texture of the paper. I then applied water over the top using a paintbrush to disperse some of the colour across the page. Next I painted Salty Ocean Distress Ink across the page, keeping my brushstrokes horizontal, so it looked like water; to do this I applied the ink to an acrylic block again and picked the ink up with a paintbrush. We saw lots of beautiful fall colours reflected in the lake on our boat trips so I also added Mustard Seed, Fired Brick and Seedless Perserves Distress Ink the same way as I did the Hickory Smoke ink. Then I toned down the colours using Pébéo white gesso which I applied with my finger to vary the coverage; this softened the colours and produced a rippled effect so it looked like the water of the lake. The wording “Hello Lake Life” is a Pocket Card from Tim Holtz idea-ology collection, I added the letters to produce the word “Lake” by stamping black Archival Ink onto some card using an alphabet stamp by Dovecraft, cutting it out and sticking it onto the card. The Loon is cut from a notelet that my friend gave me and was used for the food shopping list. I defined the Loon markings, underlined the word “lake” and exaggerated the stripes on the wording using a black Derwent Graphik marker and a white Uniball gel pen so they stood out more. The fall leaves around the edge of the page are napkin which I ripped and stuck into place using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium; once dry I edged them with a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also stuck a couple of the leaves onto some recycled white card and when they were dry I cut them out and edged them with the sanguine marker. I arranged them on the page under the Pocket Card and added some cream jute flowers using Glossy Accents which finished the page.

I thought you may like to go boating with us, here is the view of the lake from the house and you can see the boat on the left-hand side.

It’s a pontoon party boat and is very luxurious …

… with it’s sofa type seating, as you can see my hubby was sitting very comfortably (grin!).

It afforded wonderful lake views with …

… some breathtaking reflections of the fall colours.

We even saw a Loon, which is called a Great Northern Diver here in the UK, who entertained us firstly by diving under the water and then by preening. We found out late one night that their call is quite distinctive and loud too (grin!).

I hope you enjoyed the boat trip and I think that the lake life would suit us very well, don’t you (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 Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey as this page captures happy memories of our Lake Life holiday.

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

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.

I’m thankful for experiencing the Lake Life with our friends, so this page is also a reminder that you still have time to join the Thankful challenge at Try it on Tuesday 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 (Hickory Smoke, Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, Fired Brick, Seedless Preserves)
Pébéo White Gesso
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.3mm)
Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
Loon notelet – shopping list
Party Creations Napkins (Autumn’s Elegance)
The Works (Jute Shapes U-83162)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Pritt Stick
Stix2 (Mini Craft Dots)
The Range double-sided foam tape
Ranger Glossy Accents

Autumn Critters

Posted on September 24, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

As it was the Autumn Equinox last weekend it’s now officially autumn – yay! I really enjoyed summer but I love autumn too, so I found myself inspired by some critters depicted on some seasonal gifts that I had seen in our local shops.

I started by covering the page with Aquamarine Spectrum Aqua marker ink that I applied to an acrylic block, spritzed with water and pressed onto the page. I then divided the page into four quadrants and started to create a different background for each of my little critters, which are foam stickers. To create a home for the fox, I stamped lots of ferns from a Royal & Langnickel stamp set using Orange and Terracotta Spectrum Aqua markers and London Fog Memento Ink. The owl is sitting in some silver birch trees that I stamped using the same London Fog Memento Ink and I also outlined and doodled the bark detail onto the trees using a Uni Pin black marker. The golden leaves are stamped using a Gold Spectrum Aqua marker ink and a leaf stamp from Royal & Langnickel, and I outlined them and added more detail using the black Uni Pin marker. I used the same Royal & Langnickel stamp set to stamp the leaves for the hedgehog; this time I used the London Fog Memento Ink and three different colours of Spectrum Aqua markers which were Gold, Sepia and Crimson. Lastly for the squirrel, I used a stamp set by Craft Impressions to stamp lots of pine cones again using London Fog Memento Ink and also a Sepia Spectrum Aqua Marker and Sanguine and Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush Markers. Using the same stamp set I added a few pine branches using London Fog and Pistachio Memento Ink. Next I separated the quadrants using washi tape which I outlined using a Uni Pin marker, and then I added some star gems. The autumnal wording is cut from a magazine and stuck in place using a UHU Stic. To finish, I used some small gems to add a little sparkle choosing a different colour for each quadrant.

I just couldn’t resist creating my autumn critter page especially having seen these lovely glasses with beautiful animal designs on them and …

… these amazing sugar, tea, coffee and biscuit/cookie jars in a local store. I hope like me that you enjoyed your summer days and are looking forward to autumn too!

My drinking glasses and assortment of tea and coffee jars means that I am able to join in the fun over at T Stands for Tuesday – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the lovely Yvonne from Meggy’s way, who is hosting A World of Fantasy challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my autumn critter imaginary friends (grin!).

I’m also joining the Forever Autumn challenge over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog with my autumnal art journal page.

With my gems adding some bling and sparkle to my art journal page, I’m pleased to join Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Bling It On challenge.

Over at Paperbabe Stamps, their challenge is Stars so I’m pleased to join in the fun with the star gems that I added to my page.

I’m also pleased to join the September Link Party #43 – 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:

Spectrum Aqua Artist’s marker (Aquamarine, Orange, Terracotta, Gold, Crimson, Sepia)
Tsukineko Memento Dye Ink (London Fog, Pistachio)
Faber-Castell Big Brush artist pen (Sanguine 188 B, Dark Sepia 175 B)
Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Pressed Leaves)
Craft Impressions clear stamp set (Winter Wonderland)
Old magazine
B&M Hobby World (Woodland Friends Foam Stickers 289338)
Quality Toys Group (Washi Tape 2544960)
The Range Adhesive Craft Gems (Assorted Shapes CR0869)
UHU Stic

Just for you – Card

Posted on August 24, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

Excited to use my new Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour paint set again, I created some cards using my favourite stamps and embossing powders (grin!).

I started by cutting a panel of mixed media paper to fit a white 6×4” card which I made from white cardstock. I embossed white doily shapes and black butterflies onto the panel by first stamping a Doily by Kaisercraft using VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad and applying white Stampendous embossing powder over the top. Then I shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and tapped the tag against the table to make sure I’ve removed any stray powder. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a craft heat gun to melt the embossing powder until the embossing powder melted into a glossy finish. I repeated the same process for the butterflies using a stamp designed by Graphic 45 Hampton Art using the VersaMark Watermark stamp pad again and this time I used black Papermania embossing powder. I added a filigree leaf stamp by Crafter’s Companion using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink and also a Script stamp by Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink. Next I painted the watercolour to the background by first wetting the paper and then adding Sap Green Light, Viridian and Lemon Yellow watercolour paint with a paintbrush and once dry I painted the filigree leaves with the same colours. I also added some Yellow Ochre watercolour paint to the centre of the card to break up the white space, then when the card was dry I splattered it with black DecoArt acylic paint. The “Just for you” is from the same stamp set from Crafter’s Companion and is stamped using black Archival Ink. I edged the paper panel with black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker and stuck it on the 6×4” card using double-sided tape. Then to finish, I added silver glitter details to the butterfly wings using Ranger Stickles and also some glittery heart decorations using Glossy Accents.

Just discovered this gladioli in our garden this morning, isn’t it beautiful! I may just use this colour combination on one of these cards as I created several panels of the same design for painting later (grin!).

Here’s my new Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour paint set, the box is lovely!

You may remember this set of watercolours from a previous post; I’ve been so impressed with them so far, the colours are amazing!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my watercolour card.

Over at A Vintage Journey the challenge is How can you resist? so as I used embossing powders with my new watercolour paints, I’m pleased to join challenge this challenge too with my Mixed Media Style card.

Using my favourite Kaisercraft Doily stamp on my card means I’m also able to join in the fun over at Stamping Sensations and their Use your ‘current’ favourite stamp challenge.

With all the stamping and the butterflies on my card, I’m also happy to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their It’s A Bugs Life challenge.

As butterflies are part of the animal kingdom, I’m pleased to join the Animal Magic challenge over at That’s Crafty! too.

I’m also pleased to join the August Link Party #42 – Anything Goes over at Cropstop Blog with my card 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 card:

Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Sap Green Light, Viridian, Lemon Yellow, Yellow Ochre)
Tsukineko VeraMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
Kaisercraft clear stamp (Doily CS297, Script CS752)
Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies stamp set (Just for You – Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
Daler Rowney Mixed Media paper
White Cardstock
Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
Ranger Stickles (Silver)
Stix2 double-sided tape

Earth’s Music

Posted on August 3, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

Today I was inspired by nature and my lovely friend Alison from Craftytrog’s Arty Adventures who is undertaking a challenge to create 5 minute journal pages – thank you!

I wanted to use some leftover papers and paints in my craft area so with the drying time of paints and glues and my finishing touches, I cannot claim this is a 5 minute page – my time actually ran out after the stencilling (grin!). I had so much fun though and it is one of the simplest and quickest pages I have created which makes me happy – see what you think!

For the background I added some leftover book papers that were on my craft desk, it’s from some old books and some of it was die cut from a previous project. I used a UHU Stic to stick it onto the page and then I stamped some clocks from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink. Next I used Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Red Liquitex acrylic paints and also white and black DecoArt arcylic paints to colour the background; some of which were already in my paint palette. I mixed the paints to create a pale yellow and also an orange colour and applied them to the page using a baby wipe concentrating the yellow near the centre of the page and the orange around the edges. I used up any leftover paint by applying it through a trellis stencil by Creative Expressions with a sponge and then. I die cut some flowers from sheet music using Sizzix Wildflower Thinlets by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot Machine. When the paint was dry I stamped a crackle stamp by BoBunny around the edges of the page using black Archival Ink. I stuck the sheet music flowers in place using Liquitex matte gel medium and once the gel medium was dry, I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I added a quote by George Santayana using Letter Labels by Tim Holtz which I thought matched the sheet music flower beautifully, it reads “The earth has music for those who listen”.

I love nature and when I die cut some of the Thinlet wildflowers for this page they reminded me of some of the flowers in my new garden border. This included the Achillea and Rudbeckia …

… and also the poppies; we have quite a few this year and the seed flower heads provide some lovely structure to the border too.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Bleubeard & Elizabeth at Altered Book Lover, who is hosting the Count your blessings challenge over at Art Journal Journey as nature makes me happy and when I look at my garden I feel blessed.

As I enjoyed using the stamps as part of my design, I’m joining the Anything Goes Challenge over at The Artistic Stamper with my art journal page.

I’m joining the Wild Thing challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the wildflowers dies that I added to my art journal page.

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

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Make your own Background challenge with the layered book pages, stamping, paint and stencilling that I used to create my background for this art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the July Link Party #41 over at Cropstop Blog with my art journal page as I included some products from companies that they carry in their store.

Over at Try it on Tuesday the theme is Use Book Paper and there is a few days left to join in the fun, I hope 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:

Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red)
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Provincial CS243)
Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Ornate Trellis CEMSTRELLIS)
BoBunny Stamp (Rough it up 12105155)
Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz Alterations (Wildflowers 66190)
Book papers – leftovers
Bosworth Violin Studies – Sheet Music
Tim Holtz Idea-ology (Label Letters #TH93072)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
UHU Stic

Give Your Dreams Wings

Posted on June 26, 2018 by Let's Art Journal

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations who is hosting the Inspired by … challenge over at Art Journal Journey as my inspiration for this page was things with wings.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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