Tag Archives: DecoArt

Paris

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It’s a new month which means we have a new challenge at Country View Challenges for March which is We will always have Paris.

This challenge is being hosted this by the lovely Craftyfield; please ensure the main focus of your designs is Paris or anything that says “France” – think fashion, wine, lavender fields of Provence, old adverts etc.

I started by diagonally ripping a piece of design paper featuring Paris from an Around the World Paper Pack by Stamperia and sticking them in place using a glue stick. Then I mixed some Ranger Texture Paste with some Sapphire Blue Glamour Dust paint from DecoArt and some Mowed Lawn Distress Ink so that it matched the blue/green colour on the paper. It was stencilled across the white area of the page using a stencil from Samperia.

Next I coloured some mixed media paper for the wording, hearts and die cut flowers and leaves; I used Abandoned Coral Distress Ink Spray and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray for the wording, hearts and blossoms, Fossilised Amber Distress Ink for the flower stamens and Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink for the leaves. When the papers were dry I cut them out using two Sizzix Thinlits sets by Sarah Guilar; the wording and hearts using a Doodle Alphabet & Numbers set and the flowers using the Floral Layers set. I layered the flower pieces together and then stuck everything in place using gel medium which finished the page.

For more inspiration please see the amazing We will always have Paris creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I hope you are inspired to join us too, if you do, you’ll also have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts (grin!).

Paris is a beautiful place to visit and as this theme brought back memories of when we visited in springtime, I added the spring blossoms to my page. I remember the magical Eiffel Tower with its wonderful iron lattice-work; it looks so spectacular all lit up and twinkling at night too, apparently there are 20,000 light bulbs which are used to make the Eiffel Tower sparkle.

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

Challenges

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

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Elle from Empire of the Cat and her Language theme as I used heart symbols from my Alphabet Die Set to mean “love” and the blossoms to represent Spring.

Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #143 – Anything Goes with my Paris page.

MIUCB#49 – Anything Goes + Layering over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the layered paper and stencil background and layered die cut blossoms on my art journal page.

Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Paris page too.

Make a Rainbow

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Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday for the next 2 weeks is Make a Rainbow.

For my art journal page, I created a rainbow coloured background of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet with matching die cut flowers. I hope that you are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

For the rainbow background, I painted Kuretake Watercolour paints in the vertical panels onto the page. I did this by applying water to the page first and then adding Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine, Indigo and Cobalt Violet watercolour paint over the top. Then I splattered the page using white and also black acrylic paint and when dry, I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer to push back the bright rainbow colours into the background more. The different flowers were die cut using three sets of Wildflower Thinlits from Tim Holtz; they were cut from coloured papers and also white cardstock. I layered the coloured and white flower die cuts together so they were slightly off centre and then I arranged them onto the page using a Zig glue pen. The letters for the “rainbow” wording were created the same way using a Docrafts Alphabet die cut set which finished the page.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the wonderful Make a Rainbow creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!).

It’s always magical seeing rainbows and whilst creating this page it reminded me of this one; taken through my craft room window last year.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big welcome to the T Gang and sharing my cuppa with one of my yummy birthday cupcakes that I made (it’s a sponge cake filled with vanilla buttercream and jam then topped with the icing) – wishing you a very Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying 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 the materials that were used to create this art journal page:

  • Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine, Indigo, Cobalt Violet)
  • Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Ranger Brayer (Small Roller)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Wildflowers #1 66190, Wildflower # 2 661808, Wildflower Stems #3 665221)
  • Leon X-Large Coloured Paper Pad
  • White Cardstock
  • Zig Memory System 2-way Glue Pen – Chisel Tip
  • Docrafts X-Cut A5 Die Cut Set (Folk Alphabet)
Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today which are:

Art Journal Journey where the theme is Inspired By in honour of Eileen from The Artful Crafter’s Blog who picked the theme and was supposed to host this month but sadly passed away shortly after her heart surgery last month – she is greatly missed! I’m so pleased to be able to remember her by joining AJJ with my pages this month which was inspired by rainbow wishes (grin!).

MIUCB#48 – Anything Goes + optional No Stamping challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my rainbow page which contains no stamping.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Not a Card challenge with my rainbow art journal page.

Hello Spring

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Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Hello Spring.

With all the bird activity in our garden, it feels like spring is finally here so my page design includes blue skies, birdsong and nesting birds. I hope you’re inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by adding some drops of Speckled Egg Distress Ink, from a re-inker bottle, and then spreading them over the page using an old plastic gift card. When dry, I applied some white gesso over the top using a brayer and then I splattered the page with the Speckled Egg ink. Next I added the birds, foliage and sheet music which were from some Aviary Collage Paper by Tim Holtz; they were stuck in place using a glue stick. I splattered some black DecoArt acrylic paint over background and left it to dry, and then I stamped a documented stamp from Tim Holtz using Vintage Photo Distress Archival Ink. The large “nest and eggs” panel, the nest image in the top left-hand corner, the row of alphabet letters and the fussy cut letters making up the “Hello Spring” wording were all Poster Cards from Tim Holtz. I edged them all using the Vintage Photo ink and they were stuck in place using double-sided tape. To finish, I added a Clippings sticker from Tim Holtz which reads “The pretty little birds chirped”.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the wonderful Hello Spring creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, today we are enjoying our cuppa with some homemade chocolate crispy nests – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

I always make these chocolate treats this time of year; they are Rice Crispies covered with chocolate, filled with a chocolate fudge icing and topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate covered raisins and mini chocolate eggs – yum!

Hope that you’re all staying 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 the materials that were used to create this art journal page:

  • Tim Holtz Distress Re-Inker (Speckled Egg)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Aviary #TH93706)
  • Pritt Stick
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink (Vintage Photo)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape and foam tape
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Sticker Book (Clippings #TH94030)
Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today which are:

Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #140 – Anything Goes with my Hello Spring page.

LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Spring page.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog and their Spring/Easter Mood Board challenge as I included with the eggs and blue skies on my page.

MIUCB #47 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Inlaid Die Cut challenge over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the techniques I used to create this spring page.

Easter/Spring challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my Hello Spring art journal page.

Oh, what a beautiful day

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Inspired by the warm, sunny days we’ve been enjoying lately, I created this sunshiny page to say “Oh, what a beautiful day!”

This page was created in my mini chipboard art journal using some leftovers, recycling and lots of washi tapes which I don’t seem to use that often.

I started by covering the background with pieces of blue and green washi tapes to create the blue sunshiny sky and green grassy foreground. When it was completely covered, I applied a thin layer of Liquitex matte gel medium to hold all the washi tapes in place and left it to dry.

To mute the background colours, I applied some white gesso over the top using a brayer and when dry, I differentiated between the sky and foreground using a black Faber-Castell marker which I smudged with my finger. Next I drew and cut the flower pieces from some sheet music and stuck them into place, like all the paper elements, using Liquitex matte gel medium. The centre of the flower was created using a couple of beads which were recycled from an old necklace and stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents. The hearts were leftovers; they were created using a Falling Hearts Thinlits set from Tim Holtz and some cardstock that was coloured using Fired Brick and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. The wording was a sticker from Kaisercraft and all the paper elements were outlined using a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I stamped the circles using some recycled cardboard tubes and white DecoArt acrylic paint.

I’m really enjoying creating these smaller journal pages and I love that these chipboard pages are made from recycled paper too. The chipboard makes the pages very sturdy so they stand up beautifully making them easy to display. As T Stands for Tuesday, here’s my drink of cranberry juice mixed with water that I enjoyed whilst crafting – Happy T Day everyone!  

Hoping that you’re all staying 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 the materials that were used to create this art journal page:

  • Docrafts Papermania Bare Basics  Chipboard Album (Square 15x15cm)
  • Assorted blue and green washi tapes
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Pébéo white gesso
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
  • Sheet Music
  • Recycled old necklace
  • Ranger Glossy Accents
  • Leftover hearts (Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Set – Falling Hearts 664415, White cardstock, Distress Ink – Fired Brick, Picked Raspberry)
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Golden Grove SS343)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Paint (White)
  • Recycled cardboard tubes
Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today, they are:

The lovely Sheila’s Single Flower challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the single flower that I created for my mini page (15x15cm).

Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #140 – Anything Goes with my mini art journal page.

LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my washi tape stamped page.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Whatever the Weather challenge with my beautiful day page.

Pretty in Pink

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I’m still having fun recycling and using leftovers to create my art journal pages, so today I’m sharing one that I created using a pretty pink flower image that I recycled from an old magazine.

I started by covering the page with white acrylic paint and then I added the text using my favourite Script stamp by Kaisercraft and black Archival Ink. Next I arranged the recycled flower image and some pieces of black design paper using a glue stick. I applied some white gesso using a brayer to the black paper pieces to push them into the background more. The wording were Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz; they read “there is beauty in simplicity”, “find the beautiful” and “always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder”. To finish, I added the pink gemstones to add some sparkle.

Although this is a different flower, the spiky petals of the flower on my page reminded me of the mesembryanthemum flowers that we have in our garden each year. My family have nicknamed these flowers “pretties” and as we grow them from seed we will start propagating them this month – yay!

Hoping that you’re all staying 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 the materials that were used to create this art journal page:

  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Paint (White)
  • Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Script CS752)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Recycled image from old magazine
  • Craft Sensations Design Pad (Travel Memories 154898)
  • Pébéo white gesso
  • Ranger (Mini Brayer Roller)
  • Tim Holtz Idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
  • Hobbycraft Gem Stones (Rose 5666091006)
Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today, they are:

The lovely Sheila’s Single Flower challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the single flower image that I added to my page.

Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #139 – Picture Inspiration as the flower image on my page resembles the succulent’s shape on their picture.

LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my stamped and collaged art journal page.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Recycle challenge as my flower image was recycled from a magazine.

Enjoy the journey

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Today I’m over at Country View Challenges where I’m sharing this mini art journal page as my second project for this month’s Silhouettes challenge.

I’m enjoying my new creative journey at Country View Challenges and this page is to celebrate and thank you for all your support and kind comments last month (grin!). I used lots of Tim Holtz products to create this page including the new Wildflower Stems #3 Thinlits set for the delicate flower silhouettes.

 I started by covering the chipboard background with a couple of coats of white gesso and then I created the circles by applying Ranger Crackle Texture Paste through a stencil from a Sun and Moons Template & Stencil set, and then left it to dry overnight. Next I used the corresponding templates and applied Fossilized Amber Distress Ink around the circles and then some Hickory Smoke Distress Ink using a blending tool. To fix the background colours I painted some clear gesso over the top of the inks. When dry, I edged the page using a black Faber-Castell marker smudging the ink with my finger and then I splattered the page using DecoArt black acrylic paint. To continue the grungy look, I applied some Specimen rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz over the background and then I splattered the page with DecoArt white acrylic paint.

The silhouette flowers were die cut using Wildflower Stems #3 Thinlits set from some textured polka dot paper from Tim Holtz. I coloured them using a black Faber-Castell marker and then I stuck them in place using gel medium.

To finish, I added the wording which was a Quote Chip from Tim Holtz. 

I hope that you are enjoying our Silhouettes challenge over at Country View Challenges too; it would be lovely to see you there, and if you do join us then you may have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts website too (grin!).

This is the view from our house; it was taken when the moon was particularly low in the sky and it reminded me of my page (grin!).

I’m also joining the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday with my cuppa which I’m enjoying a Coffee Renoir; this is choux pastry filled with pastry cream and whipped cream, and covered in coffee icing – so yummy!

Hoping 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.

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the Beautiful Blossoms challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with all my silhouette flowers page.

I’m joining the Anything Goes challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with my vintage silhouette page.

I’m also joining the Art Journal challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too with my mini art journal page.

I’m also joining the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their MIUCB #47 – Anything Goes + Inlaid Die Cut challenge with the background techniques I used to create this page.

May all your wishes come true

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It’s time for our first challenge of the year over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, this is a monthly challenge and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I had fun creating this mixed media page using my favourite Frost Fairy stamp from Paperbabe Stamps; she seems to be casting a spell – may all your wishes come true!

I started by applying black DecoArt acrylic paint to the edges of the page and blending it towards the centre. When dry, I applied the gold stars over the top using Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad, a Sparkles stencil by Tim Holtz and Gold Ranger embossing powder. The centre of the page was coloured using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the wording was created using foam letter stickers.

The Frost Fairy from Paperbabe Stamps was stamped using black Archival Ink onto some mixed media paper. Then I coloured her using Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers; the dress was coloured using Green Turquoise Blend, the ribbon using Yellow Gold Blend, her hair using Dark Red Blend, her skin using a Fair Skin Blend marker, her lips using Pale Pink Blend, her eyes using True Blue Blend and her wings using Iced Grey Blend. I also added more detail using a black Uni Pin fine line marker and white Uniball gel pen. Then I cut her out and added the Gold Ranger embossing powder using a Versamark Watermark Pen to create the stars. She was stuck in place using a glue stick which finished the page.

All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge. For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. I hope you are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

I was reminded of this beautiful glass angel that we bought when we visited Prague, there is room to place a tealight behind her and being made from glass she looks so delicate and pretty (grin!).

I hope that you are 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.

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

  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Sparkles THS132)
  • Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
  • Ranger Embossing Powder (Gold)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
  • Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (MLD Frost Fairy)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Spectrum Noir TriBlend Markers (Green Turquoise Blend, Yellow Gold Blend, Dark Red Blend, Fair Skin Blend, Pale Pink Blend, True Blue Blend, Iced Grey Blend)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
  • Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
  • Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Pen)
  • Pritt Stick
  • Simply Creative Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter SCSTK025)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the golden stars that I included on my page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Groundhog Day over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as I couldn’t resist using my Frost Fairy stamp and TriBlends again (you may remember on my Believe page that I created last month) and of course the background may look familiar too, it’s from an ATC that I created in December, I just had to create it on a bigger scale (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pattern of stencilled stars on my page.

I’m also joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques I used; I’m still perfecting my colouring and blending techniques using the TriBlend markers.

First Signs of Spring at Country View Challenges

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I’m so excited and honoured to have joined the wonderfully talented Design Team over at Country View Challenges . It’s such an inspirational blog and being part of this team is a dream come true – thanks so much for your warm and friendly welcome!

At Country View Challenges our challenge for February is First Signs of Spring, which is being hosted this month by the lovely Miriam.

I love celebrating the different seasons and creating this blossom and birdsong art journal page was so uplifting (grin!).

When I thought of birdsong, I knew that I had to use these beautiful images from my new Forest Paper Pad by Stamperia; this included the forest panel on the left hand side of the page, the pretty bird tag and the square nest image. They were cut out and edged with a Dark Sepia marker and/or some Black Soot Distress Ink. To make them look more Spring-like, I added additional colours by painting Distress Inks over parts of the images; it’s important not to add too much water when doing this otherwise you could ruin the image. I used Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron ink to add more vibrancy to the green areas of the forest panel and to the bird’s feathers, and also to add green leaves to the bare trees and colour the leaves on the nest image. I painted some Mustard Seed ink to add more vibrancy to the yellow feathers of the bird and also to add some colour to the nest. Then finally I painted the eggs using Speckled Egg ink and left them all to dry.

For the background, I coloured the page with splashes and drips of Hickory Smoke, Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink. I did this by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page.

Then I brayered some white gesso over the top to push the colours into the background more and then splattered the page with white acrylic paint. I stencilled dots vertically down the page using a Halftone Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz and Ranger Crackle Paste; this is the first time I have used this paste and it was so easy to apply with a palette knife – I love the results (grin!).  

Next I stuck the Stamperia paper pieces in place using double-sided tape. Then I created the blossoms and leaves using Tim Holtz Thinlits and some white linen card stock which I had coloured using Distress Inks. The blossoms were coloured with Mustard Seed and Fossilised Amber ink and die cut using a Tattered Florals Thinlit set. The leaves using Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron and Forest Moss Distress Ink and cut using a Garden Greens Thinlits set. After shaping the flower petals and adding a gold pearl to the centre of each flower, I arranged them onto the page using glue dots. To finish, I added the “blossom” and “birdsong” wording which was created from some Field Notes Ephemera by Tim Holtz, an alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink.

For more inspiration you’ll find some amazing First Signs of Spring creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I hope you are inspired to join us too, and if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use at Country View Crafts (grin!).

The birds in our garden have been very active of late. We’ve even seen the Great Tits that are on my page, but we have noticed that this pair of Coal Tits visit our bird feeders more frequently.

This made me smile, can you think of a good caption for this photo? Maybe the bird is saying “Hello, is anyone there?” or “It’s really dark in here” (grin!).

Hoping 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.

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the stencilled lines of dots that are on my page.

I’m joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques I used, including the fun way that I coloured the paper images so they became more Spring-like.

I’m also happy to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too.

I also pleased to be able to join in the fun at Love to Craft Challenge Blog and enter my spring blossom and birdsong page in their LTCCB #55 – February Anything Goes challenge.

Frosty Winter

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As we live by the sea we don’t get many frosty mornings, but we have seen both frost and snow this month which inspired this frosty winter page.  

I started by recycling a piece of kitchen towel which I had used to mop up blue inks by tearing it into pieces and sticking them in place using some Liquitex matte gel medium; I used the wet gel medium to reactivate the inks which gave some of the white areas a slight bluish tinge. Next I arranged the pretty blue flower images and wording which were from a Paper Collection by Craft Sensations; the wording reads “A beautiful thing is never perfect”.

I continued the frosty theme by adding some glittery silver snowflakes, some Silver Ranger Stickles and also some round blue gems using Ranger Glossy Accents which finished the page.

As we walked along the promenade by the beach, we were surprised to still see a thick frost still lingering in the shadows behind the wall. The jagged edges inspired me to arrange the square corners of the images/wording diagonally across the page.

The flower and plant images that I included on my page were inspired by the frosty silhouette of the palm tree that we found on the slate in our front garden one morning – so amazing (grin!).

Hope that you’re all staying 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 the materials that were used to create this art journal page:

  • Recycled kitchen towel that was used to mop up Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (After Midnight), Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg) , DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Docrafts Create Christmas Glitterations (Snowflakes – Silver PMA818917)
  • Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Blue Round Gems)
  • Ranger Glossy Accents
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as seeing the snow and frost is always one of my favourite things

I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the square of wording on my page.

I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their So Delicate challenge with the delicate wispy edges of the kitchen roll background and pretty snowflakes.

I’m also joining the Make Your Own Background challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the frosty background I created.

I’m pleased to join the MITCB #45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my frosty page too.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their We’re On A Roll challenge with the round blue gems on my page.

Don’t forget that you still have over a week to join our Winter Blues challenge at Try it on Tuesday too; it would be lovely to see you there!

Merry Little Christmas Au Revoir at A Vintage Journey

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Over at A Vintage Journey our challenge this month is Merry Little Christmas which is sadly our very last challenge. It’s been an honour and a pleasure to be part of such a wonderful team and blog – thank you so much for all your inspiration and support over the years!

We have come together to create small ATC creations to share some Christmas cheer and also to say “au revoir”. So if you would like to participate in our challenge one last time please create an ATC project depicting a Merry Little Christmas and/or Au Revoir theme; we hope to see you there!

Creating ATCs is a first for me, who’d have thought that I’d have so much fun creating these mini artworks (grin!). Here are my Merry Little Christmas ATCs that I created to wish you all happiness this Christmas!

Using some old playing cards as my base, I started by covering them with scraps of Botanicals or Halloween Collage paper from Tim Holtz using Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer and when dry, I added Vintage Photo Distress Ink with a blending tool.

I applied another layer of white gesso over the top and then added some holly leaves and berries. The holly leaves were die cut using a Holiday Greens Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some white paper which I had coloured using Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Ink. The berries were also die cut from some white paper which had been coloured with Festive Berries Distress Ink. When they were stuck in place using matte gel medium, I splattered the ATC with some white acrylic paint.

The stars are stencilled using a Sparkle stencil from Tim Holtz and VersaMark Watermark ink which I covered with gold Ranger embossing powder. I also edged the ATC with the embossing powder before heating everything with a heat gun. The glittery snowflakes were cut using a Mini Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some glittery paper. To finish, I added the wording from a Christmas sticker book by Tim Holtz.

Here’s my Au Revior ATC which I created to celebrate A Vintage Journey; including all the amazing participants of our challenges and my fellow Creative Guides. The quote “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened” (Dr. Seuss) that I included seemed appropriate as it’s so bittersweet to see A Vintage Journey end.

To create this mixed media ATC, I started by covering an old playing card firstly with white gesso and then with black DecoArt acrylic paint. I used the Sparkles stencil by Tim Holtz, VersaMark Watermark ink and gold Ranger Embossing powder again. Then I added one of the badges from A Vintage Journey, that I had printed and distressed using some Vintage Photo Distress Ink, to top and tail my ATC design. The Dr. Seuss quote was created using a label machine and the red hearts were cut from some cardstock using a Falling Hearts Thinlits set from Tim Holtz. To finish, I added some the white wording which were from a Small Talk Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz.

I hope you are inspired to join in the Merry Little Christmas and/or Au Revoir challenge themes and for more inspiration you’ll find some amazing ATCs and beautiful heartfelt words from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey too.

I have really enjoyed my time at A Vintage Journey, from joining in the challenges to becoming a Creative Guide something that I always wished for. I have made some wonderful friends along the way, thank you for being part of my creative journey – it’s been a blast! x

Of course I seem to have been singing “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” all month too and my favourite version has to be by Judy Garland from the musical Meet Me In St. Louis (1944) – the lyrics seem very pertinent for this year too.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

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

Here is a list of all the materials used to create these ATCs:

  • Old playing cards
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Botanical #TH93705, Halloween #TH93712)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles, Festive Berries)
  • Recycled white paper
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Holiday Greens 658759, Paper Snowflakes Mini 661599, Falling Hearts 664415)
  • The Range (5×5 Dies Holly)
  • Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Sparkles THS132)
  • Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
  • Ranger Embossing Powder (Gold)
  • Glitter wallpaper
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology (Christmas Sticker Book #TH93999)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • A Vintage Journey Badge – computer printed
  • Dymo LetraTag Label Maker and Labels
  • Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO241/GE)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Tiny Text #TH93695)
Challenges

I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my Christmas ATCs.

I’m pleased to join the Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – December Anything Christmas Goes with my Merry Little Christmas ATCs.

I’m pleased to be able to join the A Time to be Grateful over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as I am thankful to have been part of such a fabulous challenge blog and team.

I’m also pleased to join the Fun With Dies challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with all the Tim Holtz Thinlets sets that I used to created my ATCs.