Let it Snow Polar Bear card

It was fun creating this polar bear Christmas card and I used some of my favourite die cuts and techniques to create this snowy wonderland. It looked so cold that I dressed the polar bear in a red scarf to keep him warm (grin!).

I started by creating a master board for the background by applying a thick layer of Navy, Swedish Blue and white acrylic paints onto a piece of mixed media paper and then placing some scrunched up cling film (plastic food wrap) over the top. I moved the cling film around to disperse the paints and then I left it to dry. When I peeled the cling film off it left some wonderful patterns and texture which formed my snowy winter wonderland background. I used a Snowflake stencil from Ranger to stencil some snowflakes over the master board using Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink too.

Next I cut a panel from the master board to fit the greetings card. Then I cut some snowflakes from white tissue paper using a Tonic Studios die cut set and stuck them onto the card using Liquitex matte gel medium. I love how the tissue paper and gel medium made the snowflakes look transparent.

The polar bear was created using a Theodore Thinlits set from Tim Holtz which is one of my favourites. The pieces were cut from white card stock, white and cream linen textured card stock and black card stock, edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker and then layered together. His ears were coloured with a Putty Promarker and I created his scarf using a piece of red felt. To finish, I added some silver glitter stickers which reads “Let it snow”.

This card reminded me of this beautiful little polar bear Christmas decoration which also lights up and changes colour (grin!).

I hope that you’re all stay safe and well!

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:

• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Navy, Swedish Blue)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Cling film
• Ranger Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley Stencil (Snowflake – Large DYS63742)
• Tsukineko Brilliance Ink (Platinum Planet)
• White Tissue Paper
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 1792e)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock)
• White Cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Theodore 664410)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Putty 0618)
• Pritt Stick
• Red Felt
• Stix2 glue dots
• Poundland (Christmas Glitter Stickers)

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as they provide me with inspiration 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 LTSCB #140 – Winter Wonderland challenge over at the Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my polar bear walking in his snowy winter wonderland. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my polar bear Christmas card. I’m also pleased to join the Let It Snow challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Let it Snow Christmas card. I’m happy to join the # 119 Non-Traditional Christmas Colours challenge over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with the blues, white and red colours that I used to create this polar bear card too. As I used a couple of my favourite techniques to create the snowy background for this card, I’m also pleased to join the Favourite Technique challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I’m also pleased to join the Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – December Anything Christmas Goes with my fun polar bear Christmas card too. I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my Christmas card.

Robins all the time

My sister kindly bought me a beautiful rusty style robin garden decoration, as you may know I love robins and it really makes my day when I see them in our garden so this was the perfect gift. I wanted to capture it along with the words she wrote on the note that she gave me with this gift which reads “now you can have robins in your garden all the time” (grin!).

For the background I stamped the pink blossoms using black Archival Ink and a blossom stamp from Stampendous; they are painted using Twisted Citron Distress Ink for the leaves and a mixture of Fired Brick Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray for the flowers with additional touches of Putty colour from a Winsor & Newton Promarker. I applied Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink using a blending tool through a doily stencil randomly around the flowers then I spritzed the stenciling with water to re-activate the ink to give a washed out effect.

For the robins, I drew around my robin garden decoration using a pencil onto some mixed media paper and then spread Ranger Texture Paste in-between the drawn lines using a palette knife to create the rust texture. Once dry, I gradually coloured the texture paste to build up the rust effect using quite a few layers of Sanguine and Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush markers and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. Next I cut the robins out of the mixed media paper and I applied some Orange Soda and Mango Faber-Castell Gelatos by scraping them over the raised areas of texture paste and smudging the colour with my finger which finished the rust effect wonderfully.

For the sign, I cut a piece of white cardstock to size and stuck the message that my sister had written on one side of the card. I coloured the other side using a Sanguine and Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and attached the four seasons stickers from Graphic 45 over the top. I then framed the front and the back edges with texture paste using a palette knife and I also used the texture paste to cover a brad too. When dry, I add a piece of cotton string to the sign and then coloured both the string and the texture paste using the Sanguine and Dark Sepia markers and then the Orange Soda and Mango Gelatos to create a rusty effect.

Next I attached the sign by the string to the page using the brad; this allows it to be turned over to reveal the message from my sister which reads “now you can have robins in your garden all the time!!”; which is why I chose to list all the seasons on the other side (grin!).

The robins look so pretty in my garden; I have placed them just outside my kitchen window so I can see them all the time and as you can see they are so beautifully rusty – perfect!

I hope that you are all staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

With rusty texture that I created, I’m pleased to join the Texture challenge over at Art Journal Journey that I’m hosting this month; thanks to everyone who has joined so far!

I’m so happy to join the Staying In The Background challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the pretty stamped and stenciled background that I created on this page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #128 – Dimensions challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the rusty elements and signage dimension on my page.

I’m joining the Complimentary Colours challenge over at Country View Challenges with the blue background and rusty orange of the robins.

I’m also pleased to join the Animal Antics challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the robins and butterflies on this page.

I’m also joining the Favourite Stencil (and why) challenge over at the As You Like It Challenge with my stencilled background; I love the pretty doily pattern that this stencil creates as it looks so delicate, this stencil is also versatile as it can be joined together to create one whole doily or just used randomly as I did on this page.

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

• Stampendous! Stamps (Cling Blossom Spray CRP136)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Twisted Citron, Fired Brick, Blueprint Sketch, Rusty Hinge)
• Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Putty 0618)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Daler Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Robin garden decoration
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (Sanguine 188 B, Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Orange Soda, Mango)
• Pritt Stick
• White cardstock
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Stickers (Seasons Decorative Stickers 4501629)
• Message from gift
• Recycled string
• Craft Sensations (Brads CRO550/A)

Never Apart

It’s a new month so we are launching our September challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

At Creative Artiste we are also saying a big hello and welcome to the very talented Tracey who has joined our Design Team, she is such an inspiration – please check out her amazing first creation over at our blog!

I had fun playing around with mixed media to create this art journal page which was inspired by one of my dearest friend’s in America.

Nan sent me some more happy mail recently and as I love art journaling so much, I created this page inspired by our friendship and card that she sent – thanks so much and I hope you like it!

For the background I applied Ranger Texture Paste through a Vintage Diamond mini stencil from Creative Expressions. When dry, I splattered the page with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

To create the flowers, I used my stamping platform to stamp some mixed media paper using a Flower Garden stamp by Tim Holtz and black Archival Ink. Then I coloured the flowers using Derwent Inktense pencils; I used a Fuchsia pencil for the petals and Sun Yellow, Tangerine, Mustard and Willow for the stamens. Then I cut the flowers out and arranged them onto the page with some flower stems which I die cut using a Wildflower Stems Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; they are cut from some recycled note paper which I coloured using Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint Distress Ink. As me and Nan are like two peas in a pod, I thought the wording was very appropriate, it’s a Kaisercraft sticker and reads “We are never apart, maybe in distance, but never in heart”. To finish, I added some little hearts that I punched from a piece of pink cardstock that Nan kindly sent me (grin!).

I hope that you are inspired to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too.

Here’s the beautiful card and envelope that Nan kindly sent. Nan painted the pretty pink flowers as she had seen them around her neighbourhood, so I included similar flowers on my page. Like Nan, I used my intense pencils to colour my flowers, although I stamped them as my drawing skills are not as awesome as Nans (grin!). As you can see there were some crafting goodies included too – thanks so much, so thoughtful!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join in the Texture challenge that I’m guest hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey with all the texture that I created on my art journal page; I hope you’ll join in the fun too, it would be lovely to see you there (grin!).

I’m also joining in the Stamp It! fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the stamped flowers that I included on my page.

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

• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Vintage Diamond)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass, Mowed lawn, Peeled Paint)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Tim Holtz Stamping Platform
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Stamp Set (Flower Garden CMS215)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Fuchsia 0700, Sun Yellow 0200, Tangerine 0300, Mustard 1700, Willow 1900)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
• Pritt Stick
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Wildflower SS335)
• Sizzix Adhesive Backed Cardstock (Pink) – thank you Nan!
• Heart Paper Punch – thank you CJ!

Summer Fun

I received another lovely surprise in the post, a gorgeous summer vibe card from my dear friend Nan. She knows how much I love the beach and ice cream so her card is perfect – thanks so much!

My page was inspired by Nan’s fabulous card design with the pastel-shade colours, the beach and summer vibe, the words/text, and of course the ice cream (grin!).

I coloured the background using Spectrum Aqua markers by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing the block or dripping the ink onto the page. I mopped up wet ink with a piece of kitchen towel so the colours merged into each other; the Spectrum Aqua colours I applied were Yellow, Sea Green, Topaz, Aquamarine, Orange, Crimson, Purple and Gold. My hubby says it looks like melted ice cream (grin!).

When dry I added lots of words related to summer which are rub-on transfers. I stamped the beach huts onto some mixed media paper using black Archival Ink and then coloured them with Uni Posca paint pens; the colours I used were Violet, Pink, Yellow, Light Blue, Red, Orange and Light Green. I fussy cut them out and stuck them to the page using a glue stick. The little tags were cut from white linen textured card stock using Tag Collection Framelits from Tim Holtz and edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

I added some little hearts to the tags which were cut from some different colours of Sizzix adhesive backed cardstock that was kindly sent to me by Nan, using a heart punch kindly gifted by CJ – thank you both! To finish, I added some black brads to the tags and then some ice-lolly/popsicle stickers.

With Nan’s amazing writing and adornments, my hubby instantly knew who the card was from when he saw the envelope on the door mat; he was all smiles when he told me something had arrived in the post (grin!). On opening it he noticed the ice cream van straight away, not surprising as he loves ice cream so much (double grin!). It’s so kind and thoughtful of Nan and very much appreciated – thanks very much!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month; the hearts on my tiny tags were inspired by Alison’s journal pages – thank you!

I’m joining in the fun I do like to be beside the seaside challenge over at Country View Challenges with my summer beach vibe page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #126 – Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too.

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

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Markers (Yellow, Sea Green, Topaz, Aquamarine, Orange, Crimson, Purple, Gold)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Summer Sentiments #ROY-505)
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Hobbycraft Clear Stamp (Beach Huts 50254HC)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (Violet, Pink, Yellow, Light Blue, Red, Orange, Light Green)
• Pritt Stick
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock CR0240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pen (Black 199)
• Heart punch – thanks CJ!
• Sizzix adhesive backed cardstock – thanks Nan!
• Home Bargains (Puffy Sticker Sheets – Sweet Like … 14227)

Creative Card Making at A Vintage Journey

Today I’m over at A Vintage Journey with our Monthly Creative Card Making tutorial.

I’m sharing how I created some Mixed Media cards that are suitable for different occasions such as birthdays, to say thank you or even just simply to say hello (grin!).

I was really pleased with the design and how they came together!

You may have already guessed that I used one of my favourite smooshing techniques using inks to create a Masterboard background.

It was fun making the Masterboard with all the layers of stamping and stencilling, and when it was complete I cut it into four background panels.

I kept the design simple by adding a pretty white flower and butterfly die cut and some inspirational wording; I really like how they contrast against the colourful inky background.

Please check out my full tutorial over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find lots more photos and details of how they came together.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the #117 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the splatters, border and sentiment that I included on these cards.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Flower Power challenge too with the flowers that I added to my cards.

I’m also happy to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the butterflies on these cards.

I’m joining in the Create A Scene challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my pretty flower and butterfly nature scenes.

Of course some of you may remember me using the leftovers pieces of this Masterboard on my Happy Easter page and ….

…. Easter cards too (grin!).

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

Stay safe and keep well! x

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

• Daler-Rowney A4 Mixed Media Paper
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Black Soot)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Interlocking Circles CEMSINTER)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Black Soot)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Stamps (Old Receipt #966980)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Layering Mini Stencil (Set 16 THMST016)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Sidekick Die Cut (Springtime 662711)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dial Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• White cardstock
• X-Press It! double-sided tape

Just for you – Card

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 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 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

Wedding Card

Today I’m sharing the wedding card that I made for our dear friends who got married last Saturday – I hope you like it!

I started by creating a square card using white cardstock which has a glossy finish on one side, then I cut a square piece of Daler Rowney Mixed Media paper that was slightly smaller so it left a 5mm (3/16”) border when placed on top of the card. Next I stamped some tree branches from a Kaisercraft stamp set and also two lovebirds in a birdcage 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 paper to make sure 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 applied three different Distress Inks using a blending tool to give an ombré look, which emphasised the melted embossing powder beautifully. The ink colours I used were Chipped Sapphire at the top of the card, Salty Ocean in the middle and Peacock Feathers at the bottom; I blended the colours together so one colour merged with the next. I then flicked some water onto the paper using my fingers to re-activate the ink then dabbed with a piece of kitchen towel to leave a mottled effect – I love the dreamy look this created. I edged the paper with the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink using a blending tool and stuck it onto the card using double-sided tape. To finish, I added the sentiment topper and lots of tiny pearls to the tree branches.

For their wedding present we gifted them some money towards their honeymoon, so I created a little card wallet using a card and envelope from the Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection which I stamped using black Archival Ink; the stamps I used for the outside were an alphabet stamp from Dovecraft, a scroll stamp from Penny Black and a heart stamp from Hallmark Cards.

For the inside I used the same scroll and heart stamps and some Destination and Travel stamps from Royal & Langnickel – such fun!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Use inks anyway you want challenge as I enjoyed using my Distress Inks with the stamped white embossing to create this card.

As I created an ombré effect with my blue inks, I’m also pleased to in the fun over at Stamps and Stencils and their Ombré challenge.

With the sparkly look I created using the Distress Ink background, white embossing and pearls, I’m also pleased to join Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Add A Little Sparkle challenge.

Over at the That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog, their challenge is Close to Nature so I’m happy to join them with the pretty branches and bird detail on my card.

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 wedding card:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Magnolia Grove CS822)
• Dovecraft Clear Stamps (Birdcage DCCS015)
• White cardstock
• Daler Rowney Mixed Media paper
• Card Topper
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• Stix 2 double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

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

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

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