As it’s the end of the month January, I’m sharing my last page for the Something New challenge over at Art Journal Journey which I’ve been hosting this month, thank you so much to everyone who joined in the fun!
I created this page to remember you all and to say thank you, I really appreciate all your kind comments and support throughout the month and have thoroughly enjoyed visiting your blogs and seeing all your wonderful artwork (grin!).
I started by printing the listing of your names from Art Journal Journey and sticking them onto the page in blocks using a glue stick. Then I selected three papers from a new Docrafts paper pack and tore small pieces of the papers to collage them onto the page around the names using Liquitex matte gel medium. Once dry, I doodled along the edges using a black marker pen. Next I cut a circle from the grey paper using a die cut and my Big Shot machine and stamped the wording onto it using black Archival Ink, for the “something new” wording I used a Concord & 9th stamp set and for the “Art Journal Journey” I used a Dovecraft stamp set. To finish, I stuck some pretty little flowers, the green “so very grateful” banner and some black word stickers onto the page, all of which are from Kaisercraft; the black stickers read “you”, “amazing”, “good life”, “so pretty”, “smile”, “love” and “imagine”.
… as well as celebrating the New Year, a visit to a new café and new beginnings.
I had so much fun creating all my pages for the Something New challenge and I hope you did too. Thank you all for your participation and lovely comments, you made it such a pleasure to host this challenge!
I’d also like to say a special thanks to Bleubeard & Elizabeth and Yvonne for asking me to be a guest host, they provided such valuable support and encouragement, thanks so much!
Tomorrow is a new month and brings a new challenge at Art Journal Journey and I can’t wait to see what the new theme is and say hello to our new host – I hope to see you there!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Docrafts Papermania 12×12 Paper Pack (The Enchanted Swan PMA160332)
Pritt Stick
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Concord & 9th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
Dovecraft Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCV0050)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Kaisercraft Sticker Sheets (Fiesta! SS284, Say Aloha SS281,Wildflower SS335)
We are so pleased to launch our first challenge of 2020 over at Try it on Tuesday:
Such a cutie/ Make someone smile
So I couldn’t resist using my favourite Merry Moose Tim Holtz thinlet set as the moose is such a cutie and always makes me smile especially with his antlers decorated with New Years bunting – wishing you all a Happy New Year!
To start, I coloured the background using Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain and when dry I stencilled the stars using the same Distress Stain too. I fussy cut a star constellation design in a semi-circle shape from an American Crafts paper pad and stuck it to the bottom of the page using a glue stick.
Next I die cut the moose using the Tim Holtz thinlet set and my Big Shot machine from some linen textured paper. I coloured the moose Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and his antlers using Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I edged the moose with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck him in place using a Zig Memory System glue pen. For the bunting, I stamped a bunting image onto some coloured design paper using black Archival Ink and fussy cut them out. Then I arranged some black wax cotton around the moose antlers and stuck the bunting triangles onto it.
I also stamped the bunting onto the top of the page and onto some more of the coloured design paper; again I cut the bunting triangles out of the paper and stuck them on top of the stamped bunting images. I added the gold glittery letters to create the wording “Happy New Year” and “2020” and also three clusters of stickers from Tim Holtz which I thought were appropriate for the New Year; they read “Artist – Life is full of beauty”, “Exploring – The first step in the journey” and “Wishing – peace, happiness and love”. Then to finish, I added lots of glittery flowers and dots which are Glitterations stickers.
For more inspiration please pop over to see the amazing cutie creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday, they are sure to make you smile!
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m toasting in the New Year with a cocktail of pineapple gin and cream soda – Happy T Day! The pineapple gin was homemade by soaking pineapple fruit pieces in gin with some sugar for 4 weeks – so yummy!
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 Something New challenge over at Art Journal Journey that I’m hosting this month with my New Year page.
I’m joining the Triangles challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the triangular bunting on my page – so sorry that this is your last challenge at Moo Mania, I will miss you very much!
I’m also happy to join in the Love challenge over at Country View Challenges as I love the Merry Moose thinlet set that I used on this page and as my page says I’m wishing that 2020 is filled with peace, happiness and love.
I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge that I have chosen is:
Something New
It’s a new year, so we would like you to create an art journal page with something “new” in mind. This could include a new product or technique, or be inspired by a new job, home or hobby, new beginnings, adventure or outlook, or even a Happy New Year!
I created a page with a fresh colour palette to depict something new. I started by covering the page with stamped images from a Steampunk background stamp by Docrafts and a new stamp set from Creative Sensations using black Archival Ink; I used this ink for all the stamping on this page. Then I applied Acqua Dolce, Guava and Kiwi Faber-Castell Gelatos by scribbling them onto the paper and then smudging the colour with my finger which I wet using a baby wipe.
To add some depth to the page, I applied some white gesso with my finger and also through a star stencil, and when dry I stamped some images from a Provincial and a Stargazer stamp set, both from Kaisercraft. I also splattered the page with Titanium White and Carbon Black Liquitex Ink using a paintbrush.
Next I chose five art journal cards from Kaisercraft and stamped them with the “Something New” challenge title using a Concord & 9th stamp set and also listed some ways that you could interpret the challenge using a Dovecraft stamp set. They are stuck in place using double-sided tape and to finish I added some gold glittery stars, which were also new to my craft stash.
I chose this challenge with it being a new year and also because I normally have new crafting goodies as part of my Christmas gifts. This year didn’t disappoint as I have received some great additions to my craft stash and I plan to use some of them to join our Something New challenge.
Maybe you could use some new products as well on your pages, it could be a present or be something sitting in its packaging still waiting to be used – yes this happens to me too (grin!).
I’m looking forward to trying out a couple of new techniques on my pages for this challenge too, so watch this space.
I also thought that some of you might be setting new goals, choosing a new word for the year or even starting a new hobby so these would be perfect for this challenge too.
There are so many options, I hope that you are inspired by this month’s Something New challenge too and will join in the fun here at Art Journal Journey – I can’t wait to visit you and see your creations (grin!).
Wishing you all the best for 2020!
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:
Over Christmas we have been enjoying some Christmas Pudding loose leaf tea, so I couldn’t resist creating a page using the packaging and a beautiful Christmas Pudding card that I received from a dear friend a couple of years ago.
For the background I smooshed some Peeled Paint and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks onto the page by stamping the ink pads onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the paper. Then I stamped the page with holly leaves using Cottage Ivy and Pistachio Memento Ink and added some leftover pieces of green polka dot washi tape. Next I die cut the snowflakes from some recycled white card, covered them with Versamark ink and some glittery Wow! embossing powder; heating them with my heat gun until the powder turned glossy. I arranged them around the edges of the page and added the large Christmas pudding which was an old Christmas card.
I also added the Christmas pudding tea packaging, some die cut holly leaves and berries and also pieces of tartan which are from a Tim Holtz Christmas sticker book. To finish, I added some baubles suspended by strands of silver which are all stickers.
Here’s the lovely shop that we bought the tea from in Arundel which you may remember me featuring in a post last year called The Tea & Biscuit Club.
Their Christmas Pudding tea is a Christmas spiced black tea with a zesty fruit infusion creating a very festive aromatic blend – it tastes yummy!
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m pleased to share this tea related post with the T Gang! Happy T Day and I hope you all had a lovely Christmastime.
Wishing you a New Year filled with peace, love and happiness!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
I’m also pleased to be able to join in the fun at Paperbabe Stamps and their #109 – Sketch challenge; I flipped the sketch so the “Paperbabe Stamps” is represented by the “Christmas Pudding” wording and the flower is represented by the other tea packaging and holly leaves.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Festive Berries)
Washi Tape
Docrafts Clear Stamp (Christmas Selection)
Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy, Pistachio)
White card – recycled
Tonic Studios Die Set (Falling Snowflake Trio 1792e )
Wow! Glitter Embossing Powder (Singing in the rain)
Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
Christmas Pudding Card – recycled
Pritt Stick
Christmas Pudding Tea Packaging – recycled
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
X-Press It! double-sided tape
White paper – recycled
The Range (5×5 Dies Holly)
Tim Holtz idea-ology (Christmas Sticker Book #TH93999)
I love all things Christmas so I have another Christmas page which this time is inspired by the new reindeer street mural that was recently created by the wonderful artist Banksy. This time, he is highlighting the homeless at Christmastime.
For the background I stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft using London Fog Memento Ink and a wreath stamp using Black Archival Ink onto the page, and then I covered the page using Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Ink with a blending tool. Then I used a star stencil to remove some of the Distress Ink with a baby wipe and used the star stencil again to stencil the stars (in a Banksy style) using Black Soot Distress Ink, using a white Uniball gel pen to highlight some of the edge. Next I splattered the page with white gesso, black acrylic paint and Aged Mahogany Distress Ink.
The reindeer and snowflakes are glitter stickers which add some lovely texture and sparkle; it’s hard to see this on the photos. To finish, I added some white snowflake gems, red enamel dots and a fabric “Merry Christmas” tag.
Just a reminder that there is still another week to join our Christmas is coming challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there.
If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s the Banksy street mural which recently appeared in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter over the weekend. It was reported that it was later vandalised with two red noses being added which then resulted in it being covered with Perspex to protect it.
When I think of street art, Banksy always springs to mind and you may remember me featuring his work on my blog before, I love his pieces! Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist who has been active since the 1990s. His street art style is a distinctive stenciling technique and often his works are controversial having a political and social message combined with satirical dark humour.
As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my drink of ginger beer at a café in Lytham after a walk with our friends – wishing you a very Happy T Day!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
For the next two weeks our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Christmas is coming.
My art journal page features traditional Christmas red and green colours and Christmas trees; I love all things Christmas so I can’t wait to see your Christmas creations (grin!).
For the background, I stamped a Lattice stamp using Aged Mahogany Distress Ink over the whole page and then spritzed the page with water. When dry I added pieces of green polka dot washi tape to create the Christmas tree, added some red gemstones and then the numbers and trunk which are stickers from Kaisercraft. Next I die cut the letters to create the “Christmas is coming” wording out of white card; they are coloured using a green pen, stuck in place using Zig glue pen and more detail was added using a white Uniball gel pen. I used another sticker set to add the snowflake discs and create the tags, layering them together with the trees and stars and adding a bow of red and white twine. I also added some wording from a Tim Holtz Christmas sticker book which reads “the best tree”, “the magic tree”, “Christmas time has come at last” and “25th of December”. To finish, I added some green and white glittery snowflakes and also some red gems to the tags and snowflake discs.
There’s some amazing inspiration from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over to take a look.
The numbered tree that I’ve created on this page could be used to count down the days until Christmas. I’m not sure where this year has gone now that December is here and oh my, there are only 15 days left until Christmas!
Another way this page could be used is as a calendar marking off the dates until Christmas Day is here. I think my friends have the best idea though, with the reward of a chocolate each day from this fabulous advent calendar! I may just have to get one of these next year – looks so yummy (grin!).
I noticed this advent calendar when we were visiting little Ellie, doesn’t she look adorable after her recent visit for her trim at the doggie parlour (double grin!).
Oh, and not forgetting hot chocolate for T Stands for Tuesday . This time of year we often enjoy a cup with a scrummy Lebkuchen which are only on sale at Christmastime. These ones are dipped in dark chocolate – delicious! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang – 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 glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as 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 joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Traditional Christmas challenge with the traditional red and green Christmas colours on my page.
I’m also pleased to be able to join the Stars challenge over at Country View Challenges with the stars on the tags and the snowflakes star shapes I included on this page.
I’m also joining in the Stars challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the stars on the tags and the snowflakes star shapes I included on this page too.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Our new theme for the next two weeks at Try it on Tuesday is Inspired by a Song/Christmas Carol.
My page was inspired by the song ‘12 Days of Christmas’. I’m so excited to find out which song you have chosen to inspire your creations, please be sure to let us know.
I started by dividing the page into 12 equal sections; each
sections is coloured and then stamped with a Sheet Music stamp using a
different colour of Distress Ink; in numerical order the colours were Shabby
Shutters, Festive Berries, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Fossilized Amber,
Spiced Marmalade, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Abandoned Coral, Picked
Raspberry, Twisted Citron and Fired Brick. They are all edged using a Postage
Stamp border stamp and black Archival Ink and then splattered with white gesso and
black acrylic paint. I added the numbers which are die cut from black paper and
stuck into place, like all of the paper elements, using a Zig Memory glue pen.
Then I created a scene to depict each line of the song using some white mixed
media paper to either stamp with black Archival Ink or die cut the different
elements. The main characters are from a 12 Days of Christmas stamp set by
Urban Stamps and for:
A partridge in a pear tree – I
fussy cut the partridge and three pears that I had stamped and arranged them on
the page with a die cut branch from a Garden Greens Thinlet set by Tim Holtz which
I edged using a black marker pen.
Turtle Doves – I surrounded the
dove with some hearts that were created using a paper punch.
French Hens – The foreground was
created using a circle die cut which I stamped with some French wording and the
three snowflakes are die cut too.
Calling Birds – The berry branch
was from the Tim Holtz Garden Greens Thinlet set and the music notes were hand
drawn and cut out.
Gold Rings – I suspended the five
gold rings using thin strips of paper and added some bows that were stamped from
the 12 Days of Christmas stamp set and they were very fiddly to cut out (grin!).
Geese a Laying – I stamped and cut
out some extra eggs.
Swans a Swimming – I added some
extra waves and a circle die cut to depict the sun.
Maids a Milking – The flowers were
die cut using a Funky Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz.
Ladies Dancing – I created the
dance floor and little flowers using another Urban Arts stamp set.
Lords a Leaping – The foreground
and the snow fall were created using die cuts.
Pipers Piping – I used the Sheet
Music stamp again to depict the Piper’s music.
Drummers Drumming – The tiered
podium is created using a square die cut set and the stars are from the 12 Days
of Christmas stamp set.
For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from my Design Teamies.
Do you know the song 12 Days of Christmas? It’s an English Christmas carol which has a simple verse structure that is modified with the progressive addition of Christmas gifts, so that each verse is longer than the verse before. It starts:
On the first day of
Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
2 Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
… etc, etc
And ends:
On the twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 12 Drummers Drumming 11 Pipers Piping 10 Lords a Leaping 9 Ladies Dancing 8 Maids a Milking 7 Swans a Swimming 6 Geese a Laying 5 Gold Rings 4 Calling Birds 3 French Hens 2 Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree
Our local garden centre had a Christmas evening that I went along to with my sister and mum, we had a wonderful time and we all bought some Christmas gifts for family and friends.
The Christmas displays were so pretty and they even had live music which I really enjoyed (grin!).
They also treated us to a free mince pie and some mulled wine, so as T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing this treat with you too – Happy T Day!
Sending Happy Thanksgiving wishes to those of you who celebrate this week too!
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 Rike from rike’s art and her Fruit and Veggies challenge over at Art Journal Journey with ny pear tree.
I’m also happy to join in the Hand Stamped challenge hosted by the lovely Craftyfield over at Country View Challenges as I used six different stamp sets for this page including the main characters for each of the 12 scenes being hand stamped and fussy cut out.
