Once upon a dream

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Make It Feminine.

I had fun creating this feminine art journal page using some pretty Sleeping Beauty papers from Stamperia.

I started by adding some Bronze Distress Paint to the upper and lower edges of the page. I arranged three paper pieces onto the page, this included an 8×8″ page of Sleeping Beauty in the garden, a panel of a window, stairs and cat on the right-hand side, and some patterned paper on the left; all were from the same paper pad. Then I extended some of the swirl design across the panels using a Derwent fine line marker.

Next I applied Ranger Glossy Accents to the emphasise some of the details; this included the glass of the arched window on the right, all the flowers, the pond and the archways and lattice railings. The larger roses and the “I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream” wording, which I framed using a chipboard frame, was from the same paper pad; they were fussy cut and I applied Ranger Glossy Accents to all the flowers. To finish, I added some gold glittery starburst stickers to add more sparkle.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the wonderful feminine creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!). I hope you are inspired to join our challenge; it would be lovely to see you there!

The “I know you. I walked with you once upon a dream” wording on my page reminded me of this haunting song from the 2014 movie Maleficent. This fabulous movie retells the story of Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of the antagonist, Maleficent.

Of course you may prefer the sweeter version of this song from the original 1959 Sleeping Beauty Disney soundtrack instead.

I 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.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Wendy from wendyscraftjournal is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month and has chosen Doors and/or Arches so I’m joining her with the metal arches encompassing the pond area on my page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #172 – Anything Goes challenge with my feminine page.

MIUCB#60 – Anything Goes + optional Clean & Simple over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my simple papercraft page that I embellished using different techniques.

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You make my heart smile

As it’s February, here’s the art journal page that I created to wish my hubby a Happy Valentine’s Day this year (grin!).

I started by covering the chipboard page with white tissue paper that I had been previously used to mop up some black acrylic paint; it was stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium building up the layers of tissue paper to create texture for my grungy background. Next I stuck some leftover circle outline stickers onto the background and then I applied gold metallic acrylic paint over the whole page. The hearts were die cut from red cardstock using a Sizzix Bigz Heartfelt die by Tim Holtz. Once in place I added more colour to the hearts and edged them using Derwent Inktense pencils. I stamped the hearts using an Etcetera Tim Holtz stamp and gold metallic paint applying it to the stamp using a brayer. Then I used the same stamp set to add more text to hearts and to the background using black Archival Ink. The page was splattered using black acrylic paint and to finish, I added the “You make my heart smile” wording which was from a Metallic Sticker Book by Tim Holtz.

I love this photo of me and my hubby who always makes my heart smile!

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.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Bleubeard & Elizabeth from Altered Book Lover is hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey and her challenge is What’s Your Style, so I’m joining in the fun with my grungy styled Valentine’s page.

Art Journal at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my Valentine’s art journal page.

For The Love of Mixed Media challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as my mixed media page was created for my hubby who makes my heart smile and I love very dearly.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #162 – Anything Goes challenge with my heart page.

Something Big-Something Small over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge with the large and small Valentine’s hearts on this page.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my Valentine’s page.

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join us at Try it on Tuesday for our Add Some Texture challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

Angel Wings

Happy memories spring to mind when I see a certain Christmas decoration as it reminds me of my sister saying the happy quote that’s on my page – I hope it makes you smile!

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join our Uplifting or Positive Quote challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

I started by colouring the background using Antique Linen Distress Ink through an Iso Fun stencil from Paperbabe Stamps. The wording was stamped using black Archival Ink and a fabulous alphabet stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps.

I drew the angel wings onto a book page and fussy cut them out. Before sticking them onto the page, I created some shadows around their edges so that they stood out more, by applying some Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelato with a paintbrush. Next I created lots of feather shaped pieces to layer over the wings; they are cut from some Sheet Music and edged using Mustard and Willow Inktense pencils and also a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and black Uni Pin marker. I arranged them over the wings using double-sided tape and added some pieces of lace between the layers to add more texture.

Then I stencilled a border around the edge of the page using the Iso Fun stencil again and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink; I splattered some water over the top and left it a few minutes before mopping it up with a piece of kitchen towel which gave a lovely bleached effect. To finish the page and add some sparkle, I added the metallic copper gems.

Here’s the Christmas decoration that inspired my page, both me and my sister bought one of these whilst out shopping; when she saw them my sister said “every time a bell rings an angel gets her wings” so I always smile when I see it and remember her words.

Some of you were asking about the angels that I included on my post last week. They are acrylic LED figurines, one has a harp and the other a violin; I’ll try and remember to take a better photo of them next Christmas so you can see the detail. Their lights are battery operated and rotate through a series of colours – so very pretty!

As I’m showing these angels with my poinsettia cocktail again, I’m joining the T Party over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T day everyone!

Hope 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.

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

  • Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (Iso Fun)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo)
  • Paperbabes Stamps Stamp Set (Fun Alphabet Outline)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Faber-Castell Gelatos (Iced Chai)
  • Book Pages – text and sheet music
  • Pritt Stick
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Derwent Inktense Pencils (Mustard 1700, Willow 1900)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
  • The Range (Crafting Lace CR0546)
  • Docrafts Adhesive Dome Borders (Forever Friends Opulent FFS35111)
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 the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I used my favourite Christmas quote on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the happy quote I used on my vintage angel wings page.

I’m happy to be able to join the MIUCB#45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my Angel Wings page and bleached effect border.

I’m pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #135 – Picture Inspiration challenge with the colours and abstract patterns (inspired from those on the dresses) that I used on my art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the MLCCB#30 – Anything Christmas Goes challenge over at Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog with my Angel Wings art journal page that was inspired by a Christmas decoration and a well known Christmas quote from the film “It’s a wonderful life”.

I’m also joining Challenge #85 – Anything Christmas Goes over at The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge blog with my Christmas quote and vintage angel wings design.

Thankful and Cosy this Autumn

I always count my blessing this time of year and having fallen in love with the wording “Let’s get cosy, autumn has arrived”, I was inspired to create this thankful art journal page – I hope you like it!

I started by creating lots of panels for the page which I edged with a Dark Sepia Big Brush marker and Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. The panels included: some bark and tree-ring cardstock from Docrafts; some copper leaf images with the “Cosy Autumn” wording from Craft Sensations; a cinnamon stick and baking image from a Die Cut Book; and some brown strips of lace. The paper elements were stuck down using double-sided tape and the lace using Liquitex matte gel medium. When arranged, I stencilled the herringbone design using a mixed media stencil from Paperbabe Stamps with Brushed Corduroy and Frayed Burlap Distress Ink fading the stencil pattern where the birds were to be placed.

For the leaves I used a Fall Foliage Thinlits set from Tim Holtz, they are cut from some kitchen roll that I had used to mop up some excess Brushos with. I lined them up using a glue stick onto a piece of bark cardstock from Docrafts.

I added a pair of birds sitting on an autumn branch which I fussy cut from an old nature book; the birds are Long-Tailed Tits which we sometimes see on our woodland walks. Once stuck in place using a glue stick, I extended the branches using an ordinary pencil and a Bark Derwent Intense pencil. The yellow borders, “thank you” and “love” wording and also the lace doily shapes are all stickers from Kaisercraft. Then to finish, I added the pretty cream lace flowers.

The wording and page reminded me of my new slippers which are so warm and cosy (grin!).

I hope that you are staying thankful and cosy this autumn too, keep well and stay safe! 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:

  • Docrafts Papermania Die Cut & Paper Pack (Festive Fauna)
  • Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
  • The Works Die Cut Book (Winter Feelings)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy)
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • Brown lace
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (Herringbone)
  • Recycled kitchen towel used to mop up Brushos
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Fall Foliage 660955)
  • Pritt Stick
  • Old Nature Book
  • Derwent Inktense Pencil (Bark 2000)
  • Staedler Pencil
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Golden Grove SS343, Bombay Sunset SS339)
  • The Works (Lace Flower Stickers)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Wendy K over at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge this month with the birds that I included on this page.

I’m so pleased to be able join the #131 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as my page is inspired by the panel of images, rows of leaves, bird, lace, knitted pieces, baked goods and autumnal colours.

I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything But A Card challenge with my thankful autumnal art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the LTSCB #139 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with thankful and cosy autumn page too.

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

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!

Tulips

It’s a new month so we are launching our May challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and as always the theme is:

Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I was inspired by the beautiful tulips in my garden and had fun playing around with mixed media to create this Tulip art journal page. I hope you’ll join in the fun too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by ripping and fussy cutting a tulip napkin and then I stuck the pieces into place using a glue stick. I painted around the napkin pieces with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint and while the paint was still wet I added some Vivid Green Liquitex acrylic paint using a palette knife so it matched the napkin background. When the paint was dry, I stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink and also a crackle texture stamp from BoBunny using Pistachio Memento Ink over the painted areas.

Then I added some Ranger Texture Paste using a heart stencil that I created with a Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and when dry, the hearts were coloured using Red Violet, Crimson and Magenta Spectrum Aqua markers. Next I added the “Tulips” wording using letter stickers from Kaisercraft and also a pretty blue butterfly from an Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz.

To finish, I added some shadow to the tulips with a Charcoal grey Derwent Inktense pencil and then emphasised the tulip petals using a black Uni Pin marker and white Uniball gel pen.

I hope that you are inspired 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.

This year the tulips in our garden have been beautiful.

I love all the colours and structure that they have added to our flower border.

We plan to add more tulip bulbs every year; we planted these striped tulips a few years ago …

… and these gorgeous purple tulips are the ones that we planted in November last year (grin!).

Hoping that you all stay safe and keep 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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with the Interlocking Circles on this page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Not A Card challenge with my art journal page.

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

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

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

  • Tulip Napkin
  • Pritt Stick
  • Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
  • Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green)
  • Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • BoBunny Stamp (Rough It Up 12105155)
  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Pistachio)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415)
  • Ranger Texture paste
  • Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Red Violet, Crimson, Magenta)
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
  • Stix2 Glue Dots
  • Derwent Inktense Pencil (Charcoal Grey 2100)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
  • Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)

Bluebells

As the flower border in our garden is looking so lovely with all the beautiful flowers that are in bloom, I’ve been inspired to create some flower art journal pages; this one celebrates bluebells and is the first of the flower pages that I will be sharing with you – I hope you like it!

I started by stencilling Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink using a blending tool through a mixed media stencil from Paperbabe Stamps.  Then I added some water to the page and removed it with a piece of kitchen towel which also removed some of the stencilled ink. Next I cut the bluebell stems and foliage from some green design papers and stuck them in place using a glue stick. I added some more colour to them using an Apple Green and Field Green Inktense pencil. The bluebell flower heads are die cut, using a Funky Flower Thinlet from Tim Holtz, from recycled paper that was the closest match to the actual bluebell flower colour. I stuck them in place using a Zig glue pen and then coloured the veins of the flowers using a Bright Blue Inktense pencil. I added more detail to the flowers and foliage using a white Uniball pen and a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I added a yellow butterfly which is a Botanical die cut from Tim Holtz and the wording “bluebells” which are Kaisercraft stickers.

You may remember that we have been working to improve the flower borders in our garden over the last couple of years.

As you can see the bluebells are looking particularly pretty this year and we even have small group of white bells (centre of photo) hence why I added one to my page (grin!).

Stay safe and keep well! x

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

Challenges

I’m happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with my geometric stencilled background.

I’m also happy to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the butterfly on my page.

Don’t forget that you still have over a week to join our Have fun with stencils challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

  • Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (ISO Fun)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
  • B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise 321451)
  • Studio Light Paper Pad (PPSL84)
  • Pritt Stick
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #2 662701)
  • Recycled Mixed Media Pad Cover
  • Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CR0240/GE)
  • Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
  • Inktense Derwent Pencils (Bright Blue 1000, Apple Green 1400, Field Green 1500)
  • Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.05mm)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Layers (Botanical #TH93554)
  • Stix2 Glue Dots
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Recycle Something

It’s time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and for the next two weeks we are asking you to Go Green or Recycle Something.

My art journal page was created from lots of recycled items – I hope you like it!

For the paper elements I recycled some sheet music, the patterned paper from the inside of an envelope, brown paper from the outside of some corrugated packaging, some brown package strapping and a strip of Kraft card. The leaf is from a Sweet Chestnut tree and believe it or not, there is only one (huge) leaf cut into pieces; I collected it from Lytham Hall in Autumn last year, dried it and then covered it with wood glue to preserve it and stop it from breaking up into bits. The flowers are dried gypsophila (also called Baby’s Breathe) which I saved and pressed from some cut flowers that were gifted me.

I layered and collaged them all onto my page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and added some weight over the top so the flower stalks made contact with the background and then left the gel medium to dry. Then I splattered the page with black acrylic paint and added some white gesso with my finger. The letters for the “recycle” wording were cut from an old calendar and I stuck them to a recycled navy blue tag, cut them out and arranged them onto the page. All the paper elements are outlined with a black Derwent Inktense pencil and a black marker pen. To finish the page, I added two little buttons and a metal snap button clasp using Ranger Glossy Accents.

My Design Teamies have created some amazing Go Green or Recycle Something inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, please pop over and take a look (grin!).

I had fun playing around with these recycled materials to create this page, I love how it depicts nature and it reminds me of our walks around Lytham Hall, including this view over one of the lakes. This photo was taken last year in autumn when I collected the leaf.

We often go walking around this lake with our friends and little Ellie who loves leaves, mainly chasing and eating them (grin!). We so enjoyed looking after her last week for our friends – she’s so adorable (double grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and sharing my cuppa with a yummy Salted Caramel Doughnut – wishing you all a Happy T day!

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

Challenges

I’m so happy to join in the Splatters, Splashes & Drips challenge over at Country View Challenges with the acrylic paint splatters on my page.

I’m also pleased to join in the #112 – Layers challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the layers of papers, leaves and dried flowers that I used.

I’m also joining in the Two Or More Patterned Papers challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the sheet music and patterned envelope paper that I recycled on my page.

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

  • Recycled sheet music
  • Inside of a used envelope
  • Recycled corrugated packaging and brown package strapping
  • Leftover strip of Kraft card
  • Sweet Chestnut leaf
  • Dried gypsophila also called Baby’s Breathe
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Old calendar
  • Recycled navy clothing tag
  • Derwent Inktense Pencil (Ink Black)
  • Handwriting marker pen (Black)
  • Two old buttons and metal snap button clasp
  • Ranger Glossy Accents

Love Letters

We have a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday:

Share the Love

I’m sharing the love with my “Love Letters” art journal page, which I created in a vintage style with postage stamps, pretty roses and tiny hearts (grin!).

I started by covering the page with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint and Pébéo white gesso using a palette knife. When dry, I added some Caramel, Coconut, Kiwi and Metallic Mint Faber-Castell Gelatos by scribbling them onto the page and smudging the colour with my finger which I wet using a baby wipe. I stamped some crackle texture around the edges of the page using a Bobunny stamp and black Archival Ink and then I applied some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink around the edges of the page. The rose and postal images are stickers by Penny Black which I edged with a black Derwent Inktense pencil. I added lots of postage marks using rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz and also using some postage mark stamps and black Archival Ink. I added some red hearts which were on my craft desk leftover from another project; they were cut using Tim Holtz Falling Hearts Thinlets from linen textured cardstock which I coloured with Fired Brick Distress Ink. To finish, I added the “Love Letters” wording which are Label Stickers from Tim Holtz.

For more inspiration my Design Teamies are also sharing the love over at Try it on Tuesday with their wonderful creations, please pop over and take a look!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of green tea that I enjoyed whilst catching up with a dear friend at the Blackbird Café. The rose teacup reminded me of my page and it came with a little gingerbread man, so cute and very yummy (grin!).

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 Hearts challenge over at Art Journal Journey that is being hosted by the lovely Bleubeard & Elizabeth this month.

I’m also pleased to join the Floral Frenzy challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with all the roses of my page too.

I happy to join in the fun over at Paperbabe Stamps and their #111 – Picture Inspiration challenge with the colour palette that I chose for this page.

I’m joining in 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:

  • Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Faber-Castell Gelato (Caramel, Coconut, Kiwi, Metallic Mint)
  • BoBunny Stamp Set (Rough it up 12105155)
  • Ranger Achival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Rusty Hinge, Fired Brick)
  • Penny Black Stickeroos (Vintage Roses #10-142)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology (Remnant Rubs Special Delivery #TH93188, Label Stickers #TH93072)
  • Derwent Inktense Ink Pencils (Ink Black 2200)
  • The Works Clear Stamps (CRO274/TW3) – Postage Marks
  • Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415)
  • Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Autumn/Winter Tag

Today at A Vintage Journey is Tag Friday, which only takes place when there is a fifth Friday in the month; it’s all about creating something you love so there is no particular theme, it’s time to play, experiment and have fun – it would be great to see you there!

This Merry Moose is one of my favourite Thinlets from Tim Holtz so I couldn’t resist using it to create this double-sided Mixed Media tag showing the same scene in autumn and in winter.

To start, I used a large Poster Card by Tim Holtz to create the tag by cutting off two of the corners to make a tag shape and punching a hole using my Crop-A-Dile machine. I covered both sides of the tag with some white gesso as the card had blue flowers on one side and beige postcards on the other and I wanted to tone them down a little. I then used Scattered Straw Distress Ink to colour around the edges of the beige side which I chose for autumn and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink on the blue side of the tag which seemed perfect for winter. I stamped some snowflakes using two blue Memento Inks onto the blue side of the tag and then the tree trunks on both sides of the tag using Toffee Crunch Memento Ink.

For the autumn scene: I coloured the stamped tree trunk using Dark Sepia and black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and a black Uni Pin pen; stencilled the sun and coloured it using a Sun Yellow Inktense pencil; and coloured the foreground using Forest Moss Distress Ink and a Leaf Green Inktense pencil.

For the winter scene: I coloured the tree using a Cold Grey and black Faber-Castell marker and a black Uni Pin pen; used white gesso to colour the foreground and also to stencil the moon, once dry I added some texture to the moon using Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink, a Tim Holtz stamp with Black Soot Distress Ink, a white Faber-Castell marker and also a white Uni Posca paint pen. Then I used Inkylicious Fluffy Puffy Stuff and a heat gun to create the snow.

The Merry Moose, leaves, stars and wording are all Thinlets from Tim Holtz which I die cut from some linen textured paper coloured using Distress Inks: the moose was coloured using Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso ink; the antlers using Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo ink; the leaves using Scattered Straw and Rusty Hinge ink; the stars using Scattered Straw and Mustard Seed ink; and the wording using Scattered Straw, Rusty Hinge and Chipped Sapphire ink.

To make them stand out from the background more, the autumn die cuts are edged with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and …

… the winter ones with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker and they are all stuck into place using a Zig Memory glue pen.

To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine which reinforced the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my double-sided tags together when they are finished to create a Tag Journal.

For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some fabulous tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!

I have been lucky enough to see moose a number of times in the wild whilst holidaying in America, although I have never seen any in Maine. I’m told you are more likely to see them further North in the state and we did stop to look for them at this quiet spot to no avail, maybe next time (grin!).

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 #107 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as my autumn tag encompasses the picture colours and my winter tag matches the stars too.

I’m joining the Use your scraps challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the paper scraps I used for some of the die cut pieces.

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

Over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog their theme is Anything Goes + optional twist of Watercoloring, so I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge too.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this double-sided tag:     

  • Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Chipped Sapphire, Forest Moss, Black Soot, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Rusty Hinge, Mustard Seed)
  • Stamp Set (Winter Wonderland – snowflakes, Winter Woodland – tree)
  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Bahama Blue, Danube Blue, Toffee Crunch)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B, Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199, White 101)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.3mm)
  • Inkylicious Template and Stencil (Sun and Moons)
  • Derwent Inktense Pencils (Sun Yellow 0200, Leaf Green 1600)
  • Tsukineko Brilliance Ink (Platinum Planet)
  • Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
  • Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
  • Inkylicious (Fluffy Puffy Stuff)
  • Craft Sensations Luxury Cardstock Linen Texture (White)
  • Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz (Merry Moose 663103, Garden Greens 661206, Snowy Stars 663117, Alphanumeric Label 664177)
  • Scraps of metallic yellow Linen Texture Paper and blue Glitter paper
  • Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
  • American Crafts We r Memory Keepers (Crop-A-Dile and Standard Eyelets 41582-4)