Heuchera

At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Cut It Out.

Like me, you could use die cuts that you make and colour yourself or pre-made die cuts and stickers or you could simply fussy cut something out, the choice is yours!

My page today was inspired by some beautiful heuchera flowers that are flowering in my garden at the moment (grin!).

I started covering the page with Botancial Collage Paper from Tim Holtz using a glue stick and then I covered it with white gesso to push the images back. When dry, I applied some Earl Grey, Caramel, Kiwi and Lime Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top, by scribbling them onto the page and smudging the colour with a wet finger. I then toned down the colours and added some darker shading by applying some Iced Coffee and Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelatos to the page. Next I added some Ranger Texture Paste through a brick design stencil from Craft Sensations and left it to dry. The brick design is coloured using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and the Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato. I stencilled a trellis pattern using Black Soot Distress Ink and a Moroccan stencil from Creative Expressions, then I used a baby wipe to remove some of the colour allowing white patches of the collage paper to show through which added depth and contrast to the background. The page is also splattered with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and then black and also white acrylic paint.

I used a Wildflower #2 Tim Holtz thinlet set to die cut the flowers from some linen textured cardstock and coloured the flower petals by painting on some Abandoned Coral Distress Spray Stain using a paintbrush. The leaves and stems are coloured using Olive Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers and they are stuck to the page using a Zig Memory glue pen. To finish, I added a pretty die cut butterfly from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz and the “Heuchera” wording which are letter stickers from Kaisercraft.

My Design Teamies have been busy fussy cutting and die cutting to create some amazing Cut It Out inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over and take a look.

Here are the heuchera flowers that are in bloom in our flower bed, they are so delicate with tiny flower heads.

They look very striking with their coral colour especially when they catch the sunlight!

These plants come in all sorts of leaf and flowers colours, to find out more about them check out this Heuchera link.

You may already be aware that I have been completing a series of flower art journal pages inspired by my garden. If you are interested you can see the other pages here:

• Bluebells
• Tulips
• Welsh Poppy

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a new batch of Raspberry Gin that we made, it tastes so fruity and is ideal for drinking whist sitting in the garden on a hot sunny day – Happy T Day!

You can find the Raspberry Gin recipe here and I think Halle asked about the amount of sugar added – this is just for taste so you can add as much or as little as you like (grin!).

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

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with my Heuchera flowered page.

I’m so happy to be able to join the #119 – Picture Inpiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pretty flowers on my page. Thanks so much for my win too, how exciting!

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

• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Botanical #TH93705)
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Earl grey, Caramel, Kiwi, Lime, Iced Coffee, Iced Chai)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge, Black Soot)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch Of Mica Mask (Moroccan)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflowers #2 661808)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain (Abandoned Coral)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Olive Greeb Y724, Forest Green G356)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Welsh Poppy

Today I have another page celebrating the flowers found in my garden. This time we have the Welsh poppy which are flowering so beautifully at the moment (grin!).

I started by stamping the poppy heads from a Tim Holtz Flower Garden stamp set using black Versafine Ink. Then I added some white gesso to the background using a palette knife, leaving the gesso thick in places; I left it to dry overnight. Next I painted Sap Green, Hooker’s Green and Burnt Sienna Kuretake watercolour paints over the background by applying water to the page first and then painting on the colours and letting them blend together. I added more detail to the background including: the numbers using a stencil from Craft Sensations and Black Soot Distress Ink; the text which was stamped using a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and the same Black Soot ink; and also a Solar & Lunar stamp from Finnabair using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink.

The poppy heads are coloured and shaded using Yellow and Gold Spectrum Aqua markers and also Canary, Honeycomb and Lime Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers. Then I stamped the stems and leaves using the same Flower Garden stamp set and black Archival Ink. They are shaded using Olive Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.

I added some Mini Squares using a stencil from Creative Expressions and some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. The “Welsh Poppy” wording was created using letter stickers from Kaisercraft and the huge bee was from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz which finished the page.

If you are interested you can see the other pages that were inspired by two of my spring flowering plants in my garden here:

• Bluebells
• Tulips

Like my page there are two shades of Welsh poppies in our garden, here are the golden orange ones …

… and these are the yellow ones, aren’t they beautiful (grin!).

Hoping that you are 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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with my Welsh Poppy page.

I’m so happy to be able to join the #119 – Picture Inpiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the green and yellow colour palette, poppy flowers and Mini Squares scattering the background. Thanks so much for my win too, how exciting!

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their We’re All A-Buzz challenge as I added a huge bee on my page.

I’m also joining the Oh, Man! challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the masculine styled background of my page.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Beautiful Blooms Challenge this month over at A Vintage Journey; my art journal page would be perfect for this challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too – it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Tim Holtz Collection Sampers Anonymous (Flower Garden CMS215)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Sap Green No:53, Hokker’s Green No:52, Burnt Sienna No:46)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Art 154892)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Rusty Hinge)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Solar & Lunar 966997)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Yellow, Gold)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Canary Y367, Honeycomb C547, Lime Green G178, Olive Green Y724, Forest Green G356)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Mini Squares CEMSSQUARE)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Stix2 Glue Dots

Ceylon Tea

We bought some new Ceylon Tea recently so I thought I’d have some fun and create an art journal page with the packaging that was sitting on my craft desk (grin!).

I started by mixing some yellow, red and black acrylic paints to create a medium tea colour and then applied it to the page using an old gift card. I used a wet paintbrush to move the colour around to cover the page giving it a grungy look. On the lighter painted areas of the page, I stamped a crackle effect using a BoBunny stamp and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Next I added some black flowers, oriental shapes and leaves which are rub-on transfers from Kaisercraft. I die cut the tea packaging using circular, square and flower shape doily die cuts and then I arranged them onto the page using double-sided foam tape and a glue stick. I stencilled a criss-cross lattice pattern using Ranger Texture Paste and then I splattered the page with white and also black acrylic paint. When dry, I coloured the criss-cross shapes with a white Faber-Castell Big Brush marker which finished the page. 

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m having a cup of Ceylon Tea today and joining the T Gang – Happy T Day everyone!

Ceylon tea is a popular type of black tea that is also known as Sri Lankan tea as it is produced on the island of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. This particular blend is rich amber in colour and has a zesty aroma with a fresh and bold flavour which makes it a refreshing and energising cuppa any time of the day. It’s suggested to have the following health benefits too:

• Weight loss by increasing your metabolism, which may help increase energy and help your body burn fat.
• Boosting your immune system being rich in antioxidants, which may increase white blood cells, boost the immune system, and help the body fight disease-causing viruses and harmful bacteria.
• Ceylon tea contains potassium which relaxes the tension in your blood vessels and arteries.
• Reducing blood glucose levels which may help prevent the spikes and drops that can be dangerous for people with diabetes.
• Skin elasticity as some of the antioxidants in Ceylon tea are linked to reducing collagen loss in the skin.

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

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with flowers I included on this page.

I’m pleased to join in the Tea Party challenge over at Country View Challenges with my Ceylon Tea art journal page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their We’re All A Buzz challenge with my Ceylon Tea page as this tea energises you, giving you a buzz (grin!).

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Red Medium Hue, Cadmium Yellow Medium)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• BoBunny Stamp (Rough It Up Item# 12105155)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Kaisercraft Rub-ons (Lush Collection – Black & White RB867)
• Tea box packaging
• The Works Cutting Dies (Circles 211766, Squares 211759, Circular Doily 251335)
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
• Pritt Stick
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (White 101)

Colour me beautiful

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Lovely Ladies.

We are asking that your page is not just feminine but also features a female image too. I used stamps to add the female images to the background of my page and fussy cut some old magazine images for the two lovely ladies – don’t you just love that hat!

For the background, I applied Antique Linen Distress Ink and Angel Pink Memento Ink to the page by applying the ink pads directly to the paper and pulling them vertically down the page to create stripes. Then I used a wet paintbrush to soften and blend the inks a little. Once dry, I stamped the cameos, perfume bottles and filigree over the background with a Kaisercraft stamp set using black Archival Ink. Next I applied some white gesso using my finger over some of the stamped images to push them back and add some depth to the design. My two lovely ladies and wording were fussy cut from some old magazines and stuck in place using a glue stick. I edged the wording with some black Glitterations border stickers and then stuck some striped black and white ribbon under the images. To finish, I added two large clear gemstones to the ends of the ribbon and three pretty pink acrylic daisy flowers.

I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more inspiration my Design Teamies have created some Lovely Ladies creations for you over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the lovely Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with pink flowers on this page.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I think the glamorous ladies on my page might enjoy a Poinsettia which is a cocktail made from Cranberry Juice, Orange Liqueur and Prosecco. Here we are serving them in a posh champagne glass – cheers and Happy T Day!

Hoping that you all stay 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Angel Pink)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (75 Cents CS864)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Old Magazines
• Pritt Stick
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Craft Sensations (Self-Adhesive Deco Ribbons CRO244/16R)
• Poundworld DecoTime Scrapbook Accessories (Gems Art#54745)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Home Bargains Crafty Things (Acrylic Daisy Stickers 50650)

Throw kindness around like confetti

Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday is Black and White plus One Extra Colour.

I used black, white and red to create this feminine vintage page featuring love and peace as well as a beautiful saying – “Throw kindness around like confetti”.

I started this page with by using up ink (that was leftover from my previous card making tutorial) on an Interlocking Circles stencil from Creative Expressions; using the stencil like a stamp which already had some Black Soot Distress Ink left on it. I spritzed the stencil with water and then pressed it onto the page firmly using a brayer. Then I used a baby wipe to clean the remaining ink off the stencil which added more layers of the ink to the page. The words “Peace” and “Love”, the ticket, ornate frames, postage mark, bees, text and flowers are stamped onto white tissue paper using black Archival Ink; these were all leftover from previous projects as I often stamp images onto tissue paper before using it on a page to see if they suit the design and also to decide where to place them. I then used the Interlocking Circles stencil again to add more Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool. Then I die cut some hearts from some recycled red foil cardstock using Falling Hearts Thinlets from Tim Holtz and arranged them on the page like confetti to depict the “Throw kindness around like confetti” wording which is a Small talk sticker from Tim Holtz.

As it was Easter this month we have been enjoying Hot Cross Buns so as T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cuppa with a Hot Cross Bun filled with Lancashire cheese which is a white crumbly cheese produced locally – yum! Happy T Day everyone!

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 the Interlocking Circles on this page.

I’m also joining the Mother’s Love challenge being hosted by the lovely Sara Emily over at the Frilly & Funkie Challenge Blog with the feminine vintage style, hearts and “Love” wording.

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

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

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

• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Interlocking Circles)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• White Tissue Paper stamped: Hampton Art 7 Gypsies (Birdsong ICO151); Crafter’s Companion Vintage Floral Collection (Floral Sentiments VF-ST-FSENT);  Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Art Stamps (Petal Party #40309); Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (All Aboard – Tags PMA907178); Docrafts A5 Clear Stamps (Alpha Trad DCE907116)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415)
• Recycled Foil Cardstock (Red)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)

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

Home is the place to bee

When I was sorting through some old photos on my phone, I saw one of a jug/pitcher with the wording “Home is the place to bee”. It seemed to be very appropriate given that we have to stay at home at the moment – I hope that you are keeping safe and well at home too!

I started by applying Scattered Straw and Tea Dye Distress Ink to the page by dragging the ink pads lightly over the paper and then using a wet paintbrush to disperse the colour. When dry I used a Reversed Honeycomb stencil from That’s Crafty to add the honeycomb design; first applying Tea Dye Distress Ink, then Ranger Texture Paste and then Black Soot Distress Ink making sure that each product had dried between applications. Then I stamped the wording using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th and black Archival Ink. The larger honeycombs are cut from a doodle book and coloured with Saffron, Sandstone, Honeycomb and Canary Winsor & Newton Promarkers and then stuck in place using a glue stick.

I stamped the bees which are from a Dovecraft stamp set directly onto the page and also onto some white cardstock using black Archival Ink. Then I coloured the cardstock bees with Canary and Black Promarkers, fussy cut them out and stuck them over the bees I had stamped onto the page. To finish, I added some wooden yellow and white flowers.

Here’s the jug that inspired my page, it was taken in a local store whilst Christmas shopping last year, if you look closely on the top right-hand side of the photo you will see a glass with bees on it which I bought for my sister; she loves bees! As this photo has mugs and glasses too, I’m also sharing it with the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day everyone!

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 honeycomb stencilled background.

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

Don’t forget that you still have another 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Black Soot)
• That’s Crafty Dinky Stencil (Reverse Honeycomb Background TC031)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (sophisticated Script 10056)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Animal Kingdom Suduko and Doodle Book
• Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Saffron 0739, Sandstone 0928, Honeycomb 0547, Canary Y367, Black XB)
• Pritt Stick
• Dovecrafts Premium Clear Stamps (Bee Happy DCSTP129)
• The Works (Wooden Flower Embellishments)
• Stix 2 Glue Dots