Seeing Stars

It’s time for our new challenge this month over at Country View Challenges which is being hosted by the lovely Sue whose theme is Seeing Stars; we would like to see stars as the main focus of your projects please.

For my page I used some lovely AALL & Create stamps to create this starry page.

I started by covering the chipboard page with black DecoArt acrylic paint and left it to dry, then I added some white acrylic paint over the top allowing the black paint to show through a little. Next I stamped the stars using Peeled Paint, Barn Door and Fossilized Amber Ranger Distress Archival Inks and then I covered them in complimentary WOW! embossing powders. I used the same stamp set to add the numbers using black Archival Ink and also splattered the page with the Inks and some of the black acrylic paint. To finish, I added the wording “Shine like the stars” and “Shine brightly” which were from a Metallic Sticker Book by Tim Holtz.

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

Here’s the stamp set, ink pads, embossing powders and sticker book that I used to create my page; the shimmer and shine looks amazing close up (smile!).

I hope you’ll join us, it would be lovely to see you there and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the Country View Crafts shop! Before you enter, please read the rules!

Wishing you a happy June and I hope that you’re 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

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

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

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes theme with my starry page.

Spring is in the Air

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges sharing my second page as inspiration for this month’s Spring is Coming challenge.

I started by painting the page using Sapphire Blue Glitter Dust DecoArt paint and when dry I applied some Rustic Wilderness and Twisted Citron Distress Paint to the foreground and to create the tree shapes. Next I used a Tall Pines Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and white cardstock to create the trees and then I painted them using the Distress Paints; they were stuck in place using matte gel medium and I added some highlights using a white gel pen. Next I doodled all the pretty spring flowers using purple, white and yellow Uni Posca paint pens which took quite bit of time as there were so many layers of colour and lots of flowers (smile!). The adorable deer family was die cut from some leftover cardstock which was coloured using Vintage Photo and Tea Dye Distress Inks using Darling Deer Thinlits set by Tim Holtz; their white dots were added using a white gel pen and some clear Ranger embossing powder. The wording “Spring is in the air” was recycled and finished the page.

I hope you are inspired to join our Spring is Coming 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.

This deer is a rusty metal stake in my garden, isn’t he spectacular – we were kindly gifted it last Christmas (smile!).

I hope that you’re 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 Country View Challenges , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely  Alison the Craftytrog is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month and has chosen Play it again Sam and she is asking for pages inspired by your favourite movie or song.
As I love musicals the deer on my page reminded me of the lyric “Do, a deer, a female deer” which you may remember is from the song “Do-Re-Mi” from the Sound of Music. I used to sing this all the time when I was younger and can even still remember all words (grin!) – can you? (If not check out the video below).

Easter/Spring challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my spring page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #164 – Anything Goes challenge with my spring page.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes theme with my spring colours page.

For Men Only at Sparkles Monthly Challenge

I’m thrilled and honoured to be able to join the Design Team at Sparkles Monthly Challenge and as we launch a new challenge theme on 15^th of each month, today our theme is For Men Only.

For those of you who don’t know me, I live by the sea in the North West of England with my hubby and I started Art Journaling just over 6 years ago as a way of expressing my life through words and pictures. I really enjoy paper craft and I often make cards/tags for family and friends and I find myself drawn to papers and die sets more and more; so I’m looking forward to sharing these cards, tags and mini page creations with you at Sparkles.

For today’s page I used some amazing Stamperia Voyages Fantastique papers.

I started by collaging bicycle papers from a Stamperia Voyages Fantastique 8×8 paper pad onto the page using a glue stick and then I added three pieces of green bicycle washi tape. The man on the Penny Farthing and the clocks were cut from the same Stamperia paper, edged using Ground Espresso and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink with a blending tool and then stuck in place using double-sided tape. I also edged the whole page using the Distress Inks too. Next I arranged some chipboard cogs and numbers, which I had covered with copper embossing powder and a sprinkle of Antique Silver embossing enamel, onto the page using Ranger Glossy Accents. Then to finish, I added some copper metallic domed gem stickers.

I hope you’ll join us at Sparkles Monthly Challenge too, for more inspiration please check out the amazing For Men Only designs from my Sparkles Buddies in the Design Team too – thanks so much for having me and for the warm welcome! We would love for you to join us but please be sure to check out the rules here.

As T Stands for Tuesday and to compliment the masculine steampunk design of my page, I’m sharing this Steam Brew IPA and saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang- Happy T Day!

This beer is alcohol 4.9% vol and is described as “The delicate but nevertheless aromatic body of the triple-hopped Session Pale Ale ensures a pleasant drinking experience. The exclusive hop variety “Vic Secret” surprises with exotic and tropical, fruity notes”.

Of course when I noticed the glass I’d used, I took another photo to reveal the lion etched onto the glass as it made me think of Iris in the T Gang – Roar!

I hope that you’re 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 Sparkles Monthly Challenge , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #163 – Anything Goes challenge with my masculine page.

Rather Blustery Day challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as creating masculine pages is for some reason difficult for me – do you find this too?

Bit O’Green challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the green bicycle washi tape and hints of green as part of the paper design on my page.

Leave a little sparkle

Sorry for my absence and thank you so much for all your kind thoughts and messages with regards to my dad passing away just before Christmas.

I would also like to thank Craftyfield for kindly covering for me during my absence as it was my turn to host this month’s challenge over at Country View Challenges; to welcome in 2022 I’ve chosen the theme of A Year to Sparkle and Shine.

“We would like to see LOTS of sparkle and shine on your projects, no “token” gems or sequins please; you really need to go sprinkle that sparkle! This means that you can use lots of different sparkly and shiny products (like metallics, sparkly embossing powders, glitters, lustres, foil, glazes, mirror cardstock, mica sprays or paints etc) as part of your designs”

I created this mini art journal page as inspiration; you still have until the end of this month to join me with your sparkly creations. I do hope that you will join in the fun, it would be so lovely to see you there!

I started by applying two coats of Villainous Potion Distress Paint to my chipboard page. Then when dry, I used a stamp from a Christmas Time stamp set by Tim Holtz to add all the starbursts using VersaMark Watermark Ink and two types of Gold Ranger embossing powder.

Next I stamped the wording and added some tiny stars around the page using a new Dovecraft stamp, the Watermark Ink and Gold Ranger embossing powder. Then I stuck the cute sparkly dog in place which I had fussy cut from an old recycled Christmas card and to finish, I used a white Uniball gel pen to add some highlights and the snowy foreground.

You’ll find lots more sparkly and shiny inspiration from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I look forward to visiting you and seeing what you make and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the shop, Country View Crafts! Before you enter your project, please read the rules!

Stay safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges. , I’m pleased to join the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey and the lovely Erika from BioArtGal who is hosting this month with her Let’s Face It challenge; I think the sparkly dog’s face looks super cute on my page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #159 – Anything Goes challenge with my sparkly page.

Love To Scrap Challenge Blog and their LTSCB #153 – Anything Goes challenge with my Leave a little sparkle page.

Out with the Old, in with the New over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the new word stamp and old recycled Christmas card image that I used to create this page.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Four Legged Friends challenge with the sparkly dog I added to my page.

Anything Stamping Goes with the option of Wings challenge over at We Love Stamping with my stamped Leave a little sparkle page.

A Year to Sparkle & Shine

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m so delighted that it’s my turn to host the challenge over at Country View Challenges this month, so to welcome 2022 I have chosen the theme of A Year to Sparkle and Shine.

We would like to see LOTS of sparkle and shine on your projects, no “token” gems or sequins please; you really need to go sprinkle that sparkle! This means that you can use lots of different sparkly and shiny products (like metallics, sparkly embossing powders, glitters, lustres, foil, glazes, mirror cardstock, mica sprays or paints etc) as part of your designs.

For my very sparkly art journal page, I started by covering the background with Silver DecoArt Extreme Sheen Metallic Paint and then sprinkled some Black Sparkle Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder over the top and heated it with a heat gun. Then I added some rub-on transfers from a Numbers pack from Tim Holtz and the wording which were Metallic Alpha Stickers by Tim Holtz. To finish, I added Crystal Twinkle Stars from Creative Expressions.

Here’s all the crafting goodies from Country View Crafts that I used to create this page (grin!).

For more inspiration please see the amazing sparkly and shiny creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I look forward to visiting you and seeing what you make and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the shop! Before you enter your project though, please read the rules! 

Stay safe and well!

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

Yule Tide

It’s a new month which means we have a new challenge at Country View Challenges for December which is Christmas Anything Goes.

This challenge is perfect as I love all things Christmas and I created this Yule Tide page to celebrate and wish you a Happy December and all the very best for the festive season!

I started by covering the page with Christmas Collage Paper from Tim Holtz and then I edged the page using Gold Ranger Embossing Powder. The snowflakes were die cut from some white cardstock using a Mini Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set from Tim Holtz and then covered in the Gold Ranger Embossing Powder.

To finish, I added some word stickers which were from a Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book and read “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night”, “Baby it’s cold outside” and “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas” and also some images from a Tim Holtz Ephemera Pack which read “Special Delivery” and “December 25”; they were all edged with the Gold Ranger embossing powder before sticking them in place.

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

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

This Yule Tide page had me yearning for this chocolate Yule Log that we buy every Christmas from a local bakery, it’s so yummy – not long to wait now (double 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.

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link. You can also check out Country View Crafts as they sell many of the Tim Holtz and Ranger products that I used.

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to join the following challenges:

Yuletide Delights over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my Yule Tide page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #157 – Anything Goes challenge with my Christmas page.

Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Yule Tide page.

Challenge #106 – Anything Christmas Goes over at The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge with my Christmas art journal page.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Sparkle Mode challenge with the gold embossing powder adding sparkle to my page.

Mere colours …

As I shared a Halloween page to launch our Autumnal Colours and/or Halloween challenge over at Country View Challenges this month, my second creation is an autumnal art journal page featuring a beautiful quote by Oscar Wilde.

For the background I stuck a piece of kitchen towel onto the page which had been stained with Crackling Campfire, Rusty Hinge, Fossilized Amber, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso and Peeled Paint Distress Inks. It was stuck down using Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry, I stamped some fern images over the top using a Leaf Prints Tim Holtz stamp set and Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink. Then I used the fern stamp again to add the gold ferns using a VersaMark Watermark stamp pad and some Gold Ranger embossing powder. I edged the page using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and I stamped the quote using an old alphabet stamp set and some black Archival Ink. To finish, I used a white gel pen to make the letters stand out more; the quote is by Oscar Wilde and reads “Mere colour … can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways”.

I hope you are inspired to join our Autumnal Colours and/or Halloween 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!).

At this time of year, I always find myself thinking for our dearest friends in Maine (America) and the holidays we’ve enjoyed with them. The autumnal colours and ferns remind me of our woodland walks around their lake property.

Like the quote says, the autumnal colours speak to my soul – so breathtaking (grin!).

A few years ago, we even celebrated our wedding anniversary whilst we were there (double grin!). It seems like yesterday that me and my hubby got married but this year we find ourselves celebrating 33 years of marriage – sending my hubby all my love on our Anniversary and always! x

I hope 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.

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link. You can also check out Country View Crafts as they sell many of the Ranger and Tim Holtz products I used too.

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey and lovely Tracey from Hotchpotchcreations  who is hosting this month with her My favourite colour is October challenge with my autumnal coloured October page (15x15cm). Fall Gratitude challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog as I’m being thankful and paying homage to the autumn season with my quote and fall colours. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #153 – Anything Goes with my autumnal page. LTSCB #150 – Anything But A Card over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my autumnal mini art journal page celebrating autumn. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Not A Card challenge with my autumnal mini chipboard art journal page. Challenge #6 Mixed Media Lovers with my mixed media autumnal page; this is a new challenge so I thought I’d join in the fun!

Leave your fears behind

The new challenge for October over at Country View Challenges is Autumnal Colours and/or Halloween.

This challenge is being hosted by the lovely Corrie who “would like you to make something in yellow ochres, burnt oranges, muted greens and/or browns OR you could go all out on the oranges, greens and/or purples with a Halloween project”.

I love autumnal colours so I created this Halloween page to wish you a Happy October!

I covered the bottom of the page with Crackling Campfire Distress Ink and the top of the page using Fossilized Amber Distress Ink using a blending tool; blending the two colours together when I reached the centre of the page. Next I used two Visible Image stamp sets which were a “Leave all your fears behind” stamp set for the crow, trees and wording, and a “Learn to fly again” stamp set for the birds. Layering the different stamp images together, to create my page design, using black archival ink and black Ranger embossing powder. I finished by splattering the page with some water, to reactivate the Distress Inks so that some of the ink was removed too when I mopped up the water with some kitchen towel, which completed the grungy Halloween look.

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

I hope you are inspired to join our Autumnal Colours and/or Halloween challenge too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts (grin!).

October means that it’s time to add some Halloween pieces to my autumn display like these fun pumpkin window clings – wishing you a happy autumn and Halloween!

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.

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link. You can also check out Country View Crafts as they sell many of the Tim Holtz/Ranger and Visible Image products I used too.

Challenges As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey and lovely Tracey from Hotchpotchcreations  who is hosting this month with her My favourite colour is October challenge with my October autumnal colours/Halloween page. Challenge #144 Autumn Colours over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge with my autumnal coloured Halloween page. Touchy Feely challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the glossy texture that I created using the embossing powders on this page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #153 – Anything Goes with my autumn colours Halloween page. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my art journaling Fall/Halloween page.

Be forever happy

It’s a new month so we are launching our September challenge today over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, this is a monthly challenge and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I created a mixed media page using lots of leftovers from previous art journal pages; I hope you like it!

I started by covering the background of the page with the letters using one of stencils from a #16 mini stencil set by Tim Holtz and some leftover Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato which was applied with a baby wipe.

Next I edged 4 Poster Cards from Tim Holtz, like I did all the paper elements on this page, using a black Faber-Castell marker and arranged them onto the page using double-sided tape. Then I added lots of leftover bits and pieces; this included a piece of mixed media paper which had been coloured using green Distress Inks, some flowers and foliage that had been die cut using Tim Holtz Thinlits and coloured using Distress Inks, some ribbon, some torn paper, some tissue paper and note paper that had been stamped using Finnabair stamps and black Archival Ink, a ruler from a Kaisercraft Journal Card and some die cut pieces of trellis that had been covered with Aged Silver Stampendous Embossing Enamel.

They were arranged onto the page using a glue stick or double-sided tape, and I layered together a doily, a recycled butterfly gift tag and some leftover die cut letters and wording to read “Be forever happy”. I added some sparkly gems to the centre of the yellow flowers and a green wooden bird and then to finish, I coloured the “Aug” and “Sept” wording on the Poster Card using Tri-Blend Spectrum Noir markers.

As you can see I used lots of different mediums to create this page but all you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. I hope you are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

This page was inspired by our walks at Lytham Hall that we enjoyed over the summer (grin!).

There are lots of woodland walks so we were able to stay cool in the shade and out of the summer heat. I’m now looking forward to seeing the leaves change to their colours over the coming months with the autumn on its way.

Our walks also take us by these flower borders in the walled gardens which always look so beautiful (grin!).

I 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.

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges As well as Creative Artiste, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #151 – Anything Goes with my nature art journal page. De-stress with distressing over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my distressed grungy stencilled background, Distress Inks, and also the torn papers, trellis and ribbon. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Glimmer and Sparkle challenge with the glimmer and sparkle of the yellow flowers with their glittery gem centres. LTSCB #149 – Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my leftovers page. Mixed Media Lovers and their Challenge #5 Mixed Media Lovers as I used lots of mixed media to create this nature page; this is a new challenge blog so why not join in the fun too!

Beautiful reasons to be happy

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Keep it Simple.

We are looking for creations that are easy to make and/or simple in design – I hope you’re inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

My page was both simple in its design and easy to make (as you can see by my short tutorial today – grin!). I started by stamping the doily using a Kaisercraft stamp, Versamark Watermark stamp pad and white Stampendous embossing powder which I heated with a heat gun. Then I applied some Watermelon, Guava and Coconut Faber-Castell gelatos by scribbling them onto the page and then smudging the colour with my finger and a little water. Next I added the fairy and flower images which were Washi tape stickers and also the “There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy” wording which was a Kaisercraft sticker. To finish, I added some gemstone embellishments for more sparkle.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m also keeping it simple with my glass of ice cold water – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges As well as Try it on Tuesday, 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 quote on my page. Shimmering Summer Fun Challenge over at The Funky Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the shimmer and sparkle from the embossing powder and gemstones on my shabby chic fairy page. The Birthday Celebration! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge who are marking their 11th Birthday and also have “so many beautiful reasons to be happy” too – 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 happy fairy art journal page. Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my summery fairy page. LTCCB #61 – Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my happy summer page.