Birds and blossom

This page was inspired by all the bird activity in our garden and the beautiful apple blossom on our apple trees (smile!).

I started by covering the page with some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Spray. Next I added some Pébéo texture paste through a Lace Tim Holtz stencil and when dry I removed some of it using a craft knife to create a grungy worn lace look. The dots were added using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and a Dot Fade stencil by Tim Holtz. I stamped the birds and sentiment onto some recycled white tissue paper using a couple of Stampendous stamps and black Archival Ink.

The stamped images were stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium and I arranged them onto the page with some Dogwood blossom rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel.

We’ve had lots of blossom on our apple trees so hopefully we’ll get lots of fruit this year too!

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 Matilde from http://craftowanie.blogspot.com/ is hosting this month at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge with the birds on my page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #168 – Anything Goes challenge with my bird and blossom page.

Stamping Sensations and their Anything stamped with option of Floral and Fauna challenge as I included stamped birds and sentiment along with the pretty blossoms on my page.

Not A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page.

We Love Stamping and their For a Lady (or Girl) challenge with my pink blossom and bird page.

Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my pretty blossom and bird art journal page.

Celebrate Summer

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges sharing a mini art journal page for this month’s Monochromatic challenge to celebrate summer.

With all the fabulous summer sunshine we’ve been enjoying recently, my monochromatic page features shades of yellow and was created using Tim Holtz products.

I started by preparing the chipboard page with a layer of white gesso and then I coloured the page various shades of yellow using Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, and Scattered Straw Distress Inks. Then I sprayed some White Linen Dylusions Spray Ink over the top and left it to dry. I applied some Ranger texture paste through a stencil from a #16 mini stencil set by Tim Holtz; the wet texture paste reactivated the inks turning it yellow so I sprayed some more of the White Linen Dylusions Spray Ink over the top. When dry, I stencilled some numbers and letters around the texture paste using the two other Tim Holtz stencils from the #16 set and some Fossilized Amber ink. For the flowers, I used a stamping platform to stamp the flower heads and stems onto some mixed media paper using a Flower Garden stamp set and the Fossilized Amber ink. They were coloured using the Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber inks which I applied like watercolour paint, then I cut them out and stuck them in place using matte gel medium. For the wording, I die cut the letters from some mixed media paper, which I had coloured with the Fossilized Amber ink, using an Alphanumeric Label Thinlits set. The letters were stuck onto two banners which were die cut from white cardstock using a Tag Collection Framelits set. To finish, I splattered some white DecoArt acrylic paint over the page.

I hope you are inspired to join our Monochromatic challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts (grin!).

The colours, flowers and wording on this page were inspired by a visit to the Garden Hub Plant Centre at Lytham Hall whilst out walking.

Where we saw these gorgeous yellow cone shaped flowers called Echinacea.

There were also handwritten chalkboard signs displayed amongst the flowers, including this one which inspired the “Celebrate Summer” wording on my page (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 the materials from Country View Crafts that I used to create this art journal page:

• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Mustard Seed
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Fossilized Amber
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Scattered Straw
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Sprays – White Linen
• Ranger – Texture Paste – 3 Pack
• MTHS016 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil – Mini Stencil Set #16
• CMS215 Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Cling Mounted Stamp Set – Flower Garden Stamp Set
• 660200 Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (White & Gray)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Alphanumeric Label)
• 658784 Sizzix Framelits Die Set 8PK – Tag Collection By Tim Holtz
• DecoArt Acrylic (White)

Challenges As well as Country View 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 Neet from Hickydorums; she has chosen Type as her theme so I’m joining with the typed die cuts that I used on my page. Shimmering Summer Fun Challenge over at The Funky Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my shimmery and summery yellow shabby chic page. The Birthday Celebration! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge who are marking their 11th Birthday with my summer celebration page – thanks for all the challenge fun over the years and wishing you all a very Happy Birthday! Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #149 – Anything Goes with my summer page. MIUCB #52 – Anything Goes + Mixed Media over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my happy summer page.

Hope

This time of year I always find myself thinking of friends both past and present, so my page today is inspired by friendships and the hope that “may your heart be filled with joy”!

I started by painting the background with purple and white acrylic paint and when dry I added some white gesso over the top using a brayer. Then I sprayed some White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray over the page and left it to dry. Next I added the two flower stickers which were from a Romance of Flowers Stickeroos sheet by Penny Black and then I layered some of the remanents stickers from the same sheet with some border stickers from Kaisercraft. The wording was from another Kaisercraft sticker sheet and I added some gold foil butterflies and gold border outline stickers. To finish, I splattered some black DecoArt acrylic paint over the page.

The background colour of my page reminded me of our Streptocarpus which was gifted to us by a dear friend (thank you so much); this plant has been flowering since April and doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon (grin!)

I hope you are 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:

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic (Dioxazine Purple)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen)
• Penny Black Stickeroos (Romance of Flowers 10-209)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Bombay Sunset SS339, Christmas Edition SS346)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Straight Line Borders Gold, Butterflies Gold)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)

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 Alison from Words & Pictures; she has chosen Summer Countryside as her theme so I’m joining in the fun with my page detailing the hazy purple of summer sunsets and the flowers and butterflies that could be found in the countryside. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #147 – Anything Goes with my hope art journal page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Lazy Days of Summer challenge with the summery purple sunset colour, flowers and butterflies. LTCCB #60 – July Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my summery page.

Using one stencil

Today I’m sharing an art journal page for this month’s Use a stencil (or two) challenge over at Country View Challenges.

I created this page using the same stencil a few different ways; firstly by applying crackle paste and then some Distress Ink through the stencil and also by using the stencil like a stamp by covering it with ink and pressing it onto my page. 

I started by applying Ranger Crackle Paste through an Interlocking Circles stencil from Creative Expressions and left it to dry. Then I added some Bundled Sage Distress Ink and a mixture of Pickled Raspberry Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray; spritzing with water to disperse the inks over the page. When dry, I splattered the page with the inks too.

Next I applied some Forest Moss Distress Ink using a paintbrush so it spread inbetween the cracks highlighting the crackle effect more. I used the stencil for the second time to apply some Bundled Sage Distress Ink using a blending tool. Then I pressed the Forest Moss Distress Ink pad onto the stencil, spritzed it with water and pressed the stencil onto the page, like you would a stamp; I also used a brayer over the inked stencil so it was firmly pressed against the paper transferring the stencil pattern.

I used some Tim Holtz products to finish the page; the pretty rose flowers were from a new Worn Wallpaper Scraps set and the “lovely” wording was created using a Shadow Words Thinlits set and some pink Classic Kraft cardstock.

I hope you are inspired to join our Use a stencil (or two) challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts (grin!).

I created this page to capture these beautiful Wild Prickly Roses (Rosa Acicularis) which we saw in the hedgerows on one of our walks recently (grin!).

There was an abundance of flowers and the fragrance was divine; I’ve since found out that they are very hardy and attract lots of wildlife, both in summer with their flowering blooms and in winter when the flowers turn into rosehips.

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

• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil – Interlocking Circles
• Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Crackle 3.9 Fl Oz (116 Ml)
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Bundled Sage
• Tim Holtz® Distress Reinker – Picked Raspberry
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Sprays – White Linen
• Tim Holtz® Distress – Sprayer 4 Oz
• TH94122 Tim Holtz® Idea-Ology™ – Worn Wallpaper Scraps
• Stix2 glue dots
• 660200 Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (White & Gray)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Cut Words)
• TH93585 Tim Holtz® Idea-Ology™ | Paperie Collage Mini Stash 8″X8″ Paper Pad- Classic Kraft
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Challenges As well as Country View 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 Alison from Words & Pictures; she has chosen Summer Countryside as her theme so I’m joining with my wild prickly rose page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #147 – Anything Goes with my art journal page. LTSCB #147 – Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my summer rose page.

Parisian Café

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges where I’m sharing this mini art journal page for this month’s We will always have Paris challenge.

I had fun creating this grungy Parisian Café page using a new Andy Skinner stamp and some French Fancy Mixed Media Transfers that I’ve had in my craft stash for a while (grin!).

I started by covering the chipboard background with some white gesso and then I used some sandpaper to distress the surface by rubbing it horizontally across the page. I sprayed the page using White Linen Dylusions Spray and Pumice Stone Distress Oxide Spray and left it to dry. Next I stamped a Grunge Wallpaper stamp by Andy Skinner using a Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad and covered the ink with Broken China Distress Glaze which I melted using a heat gun. I edged the page using a black Faber-Castell marker and smudged the ink with my finger. The Eiffel Tower was fussy cut from some design paper and was stuck in place using a glue stick. I added some of the French Fancy Mixed Media transfers by Andy Skinner and then two oval glass embellishments of a butterfly and some roses, which finished the page.

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

This challenge reminded me of the Parisian Cafés that lined the streets of Paris and of course the Eiffel Tower – c’est magnifique!

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:

• Ranger Dylusions Ink Sprays – White Linen
• Ranger – Tim Holtz® – Distress® Oxide® Spray – Pumice Stone
• Creative Expressions – Rubber Stamp By Andy Skinner – Grunge Wallpaper
• VersaMark Watermark Stamp Pad
• Tim Holtz® – Distress Embossing Glaze – Broken China
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Andy Skinner Mixed Media Transfers (French Fancy CEAST002)
• Docrafts Papermania (Mini Chipboard Album 15x15cm)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Travel Memories)
• Pritt Stick
• Oval Glass Embellishments
• Stix2 glue dots

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Elle from Empire of the Cat this month and her Language theme with the French language on my page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #143 – Anything Goes with my Paris page. LTSCB#154 – Anything Goes over at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my mini art journal page. Feminine challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and also at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my pretty Paris page.

Paris

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:

• Stamperia – Around The World 8×8 Inch Paper Pack
• Stamperia – 15 X 20cm Thick Stencil – Sir Vagabond Wallpaper And Compass
• Ranger – Texture Paste – 3 Pack
• DecoArt – Glamour Dust Glitter Paint – Sapphire Blue – 2oz
• 660200 Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (White & Gray)
• Sizzix Die Set by Sarah Guilar (Doodle Alphabet & Numbers 663408)
• 664359 -Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 10PK – Floral Layers
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Sprays – White Linen
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink Spray (Abandoned Coral)
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Fossilized Amber
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Mowed Lawn
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Forest Moss
• Pritt Stick
• Mixed Media Paper
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

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.

Birds & Bees

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges where I’m sharing a mixed media page for this month’s The Birds and The Bees challenge.

 I created this spring scene using lots of new crafting goodies, including a Sizzix Floral Layers Thinlits for the blossom and a Pink Ink Designs Beehive Buzz stamp and die set for the bees. I also used my new Tim Holtz Typewriter Embossing Folder for the wording which was on my birthday list thanks to the lovely Tracey who used it on one of her journal covers – thank you for the inspiration!

Like the birds in my garden, the birds and bees on my page are enjoying spring with the blue skies and pretty blossoms.

I started by covering the background with Speckled Egg and Twisted Citron Distress Paint using a Brayer and then some white gesso. When dry, I added the birds and sheet music which were from some Aviary Collage Paper by Tim Holtz and were stuck in place using a glue stick.

Next I coloured some mixed media paper for the die cut flowers and leaves; for the blossoms I used Abandoned Coral Distress Ink Spray and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray, for the stamens Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and for the leaves Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink. I cut them out using the Sizzix Floral Layers Thinlits set, layered the die cut pieces together, edged them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and arranged them onto the page using gel medium.

I stamped the bees onto the page and also onto some mixed media paper using black Archival Ink and the Beehive Buzz set from Pink Ink Designs. They were coloured using Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo Distress Inks, die cut using the Beehive Buzz dies and then stuck in place using glue dots.

The wording was created using the Typewriter Embossing Folder from Tim Holtz. I embossed the letters onto some card and cut them out to make small panels. Then I coloured the card around each of the letters using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and stuck them in place using glue dots which finished the page.

I hope that you are enjoying The Birds and The Bees challenge over at Country View Challenges too; it would be lovely to see you there! Don’t forget that when you link to this challenge that Birds and/or Bees need to be the main focus of your design in order to have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts website (grin!).

With the sunny days we’ve been having it’s becoming very busy on the beachfront, so we have been mindful to walk more in land; this has allowed us to appreciate all the pretty spring blossoms in people’s gardens – Happy Spring everyone!

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:

• 664359 -Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 10PK – Floral Layers
• Pink Ink Designs – Stamp & Die Set – A Cut Above – Beehive Buzz
• 664760 – Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folder – Typewriter By Tim Holtz
• Ranger – Tim Holtz® -Distress Paint – Speckled Egg
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Paint Dabber – Twisted Citron
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Sprays – White Linen
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Fossilized Amber
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Mowed Lawn
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Forest Moss
• 660200 Sizzix Big Shot Machine Only (White & Gray)
• Ranger Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black – 90mm X 62mm
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink Spray (Abandoned Coral)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Aviary #TH93706)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia )
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Pritt Stick
• Mixed Media Paper
• Stix2 glue dots
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Challenges 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 page which was inspired by springtime birds and bees. LTSCB#144 – Spring Forward challenge over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my springtime page. Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #141 – Anything Goes with my birds and bees page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Layer It challenge with the layers of colour, collage paper and die cuts on this page. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page too.

To my Valentine

As it’s Valentine’s Day this weekend, today’s page is To My Valentine – Happy Valentine’s Day!

I started by covering the page with some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink using a blending tool and then I sprayed some White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray over the top.

When dry, I splattered the Picked Raspberry and White Linen inks over the page making sure that I dried each of the inks with my heat gun to stop them blending into the background too much. Next I stamped a couple of Clearly In Love stamps from Penny Black over the background using Lilac Roses Memento Ink.

I used an Organic Thinlits die cut from Tim Holtz to cut some recycled gold paper, arranging them around the page using Liquitex matte gel medium; I used a new technique for this which involved applying the gel medium to the back of the die cut pieces, placing them and then dabbing them down onto the page using a piece of tissue paper which removed the excess gel medium beautifully. I added the cherub heart image and some small hearts that I had cut from the gold paper and some burgundy cardstock using a paper punch. Some pearl gems and a satin ribbon bow finished the page.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Falling in Love challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there!

Me and my hubby would usually be volunteering at our local Beer Festival this weekend which for obvious reasons has been cancelled this year. An online festival has been arranged instead so we’ll joining in the fun and drinking some of our own home-brewed beer. Here we are at last year’s festival – wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry)
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen)
• Penny Black Stamp Set (Clearly In Love 30-009)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Lilac Roses)
• Recycled gold paper
• Tim Holtz Sissix Thinlits (Organic 664153)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Cherub heart image and burgundy cardstock
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Heart Punch – thank you CJ!
• Pearl Gem Stickers
• Satin Ribbon
• Stix2 glue dots

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the gold die cut and punched pieces on my page. I’m joining the LTSCB #142 – Love is … challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my love-themed art journal page. With the pink, red and white colours, hearts and roses that I included on my paper-crafted art journal page, I’m also pleased to be able to join #181 – Photo Inspiration over at Time Out Challenges.

Frosty Winter

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!

Winter Blues

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Winter Blues, where we are asking you to use the colour blue.

This was the perfect challenge for me as blue happens to be my favourite colour (grin!). I hope you like my wintry blue journal page and are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by colouring the background using After Midnight Dylusions Spray Ink and Speckled Egg Distress Ink. When dry, I covered the page with Pébéo clear gesso; this stopped the inks reactivating and bleeding into the next layers of media that I added. Next I splattered the page with white acrylic paint and left it to dry. For the snowflakes, I die cut them using a Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some blue and white mottled paper from Craft Sensations. They were arranged around the edges of the page using Liquitex matte gel medium.

The pretty winter scene of the hares was a recycled Christmas card and the quote was from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet. I thought the quote was perfect to combat those winter blues; it’s by Ralph Waldo Emerson and reads “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year”.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the amazing Winter Blues creations from my Design Teamies too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my new Assam Tea. This is a loose leaf tea and has a delicately rich and malty flavour – 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:

• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (After Midnight)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg)
• Pébéo Clear Gesso
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Paper Snowflakes Mini 661599)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Recycled Christmas Card
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Wandering Ivy SS352)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I blue is my favourite colour. I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the square Christmas card on my page. I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the uplifting quote that I used on my page. I’m also joining the Layer It Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the snowflakes, image and quote that I layered on my page. I’m pleased to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my blue wintry page too.