The Singing Ringing Tree

As you may remember, I was surprised that I had never featured The Singing Ringing Tree before on one of my posts. We visited this sculpture a couple of years ago for my birthday, so it inspired this page – I hope you like it (grin!).

I started by adding the image of The Singing Ringing Tree, which was from an old magazine, using a glue stick; it was edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I coloured the white areas of the page by stamping a Steampunk Background stamp and the “Explore, Discover, Journey” wording using Hickory Smoke Distress Archival Ink and adding some Hickory Smoke and Salty Ocean Distress Ink. The letters were die cut using Alphanumeric Bold Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and were cut from some silver corrugated cardstock. I covered the letters using Silver Grey lustre wax and black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to give it a grungy metallic appearance. Before sticking them in place I added some Pébéo white gesso over the stamped areas to push the colour back and then I stuck the letters down using Liquitex matte gel medium. I outlined the right-hand side of the letters using a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more and then to finish, I added three metal music notes using Ranger Glossy Accents.

Reminded of our visit, I also found some of our photos to share with you (grin!). The singing ringing tree is located a little way from the road so we parked and then walked to the sculpture; Panopticon means “structure providing a comprehensive view”.

It was a short trek to The Singing Ringing Tree which is a wind powered sound sculpture resembling a tree and set in the landscape of the Pennine Hill range overlooking Burnley in Lancashire.

This 3-metre (10 ft) tall sculpture was designed by architects Mike Tonkin and Anna Liu of Tonkin Liu and has amazing views across the Pennine Moors.

It comprises of galvanised steel pipes; some are structural and others are cut across their width to produce sound by harnessing the energy of the wind.

It was a windy day when we visited so we got to hear the haunting sounds of The Singing Ringing Tree, if you are interested to hear the sounds and see more of the view please check out this video.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a photo that you may remember of me with my cup of green tea and a Chorley cake which was actually bought the same day that we visited this sculpture – Happy T Day!

You can find out more about Chorley Cakes which are a sweet treat here in Lancashire on my previous post Use Your Scraps; the title of this post also reminded me to wish Elizabeth a very Happy bEARTHday for later this week!

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.

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

• Old magazine image
• Pritt Stick
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke, Salty Ocean)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamps (Steampunk Background DCE907128)
• Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Traveller MIN-CCS103)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Hickory Smoke)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Die Set (Alphanumeric Bold 665205)
• Wilkos (Corrugated Cardstock – Silver)
• Craf-T Products Lustre Rub-ons (Color Kit #4 – Silver Grey)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• The Works (Metal Musical Notes)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

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 The Singing Ringing Tree. Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #142 – Anything Goes with my page. LTCCB#57 – April Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my Singing Ringing Tree mixed media page.

Make a Rainbow

Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday for the next 2 weeks is Make a Rainbow.

For my art journal page, I created a rainbow coloured background of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet with matching die cut flowers. I hope that you are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

For the rainbow background, I painted Kuretake Watercolour paints in the vertical panels onto the page. I did this by applying water to the page first and then adding Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine, Indigo and Cobalt Violet watercolour paint over the top. Then I splattered the page using white and also black acrylic paint and when dry, I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer to push back the bright rainbow colours into the background more. The different flowers were die cut using three sets of Wildflower Thinlits from Tim Holtz; they were cut from coloured papers and also white cardstock. I layered the coloured and white flower die cuts together so they were slightly off centre and then I arranged them onto the page using a Zig glue pen. The letters for the “rainbow” wording were created the same way using a Docrafts Alphabet die cut set which finished the page.

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

It’s always magical seeing rainbows and whilst creating this page it reminded me of this one; taken through my craft room window last year.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big welcome to the T Gang and sharing my cuppa with one of my yummy birthday cupcakes that I made (it’s a sponge cake filled with vanilla buttercream and jam then topped with the icing) – wishing you 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.

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

• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine, Indigo, Cobalt Violet)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Brayer (Small Roller)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Wildflowers #1 66190, Wildflower # 2 661808, Wildflower Stems #3 665221)
• Leon X-Large Coloured Paper Pad
• White Cardstock
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue Pen – Chisel Tip
• Docrafts X-Cut A5 Die Cut Set (Folk Alphabet)

Challenges As well as Try it on Tuesday, 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 pages this month which was inspired by rainbow wishes (grin!). MIUCB#48 – Anything Goes + optional No Stamping challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my rainbow page which contains no stamping. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Not a Card challenge with my rainbow art journal page.

Past Birthday Treats

As it was my birthday over Easter weekend and we can’t celebrate like we normally do, I decided to relive memories of past birthdays by creating this page.

You may recognise some of them from previous posts; I had so much fun looking back and remembering these birthday treats (grin!)

As my birthday is in April which is known for April showers and spring blossom, I chose a colour scheme of grey, blue and pink and created my background to look like a mixture of light and dark clouds. I did this by covering the background with Kingfisher, Peacock Blue, Charcoal and Blossom Spectrum Aqua markers; I gradually built up the layers of colour by scribbling the Aqua markers onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing the block onto the page. Using black Archival Ink, I stamped the circles using a Docrafts stamp set and then the wording using some alphabet stamp sets from Dovecraft. I coloured the stamped leaves, buttons and hearts using the same Spectrum Aqua Markers blending them like watercolour. The butterfly and wording were recycled from an old birthday card, it reads:

“Wishes as bright as butterfly’s wings for laughter and sunshine and wonderful things,
Wishes for quiet and calm, peaceful hours for memories as sweet as meadow flowers,
These are the wishes, wished just for you … for happiness today and all the year through”.

To finish, I added some embellishments relevant to each of the birthday treats:

• As we usually go to the cinema for my birthday, I included the film “Beauty and the Beast” and added a glittery heart.
• We always enjoy walking somewhere local and Cockerham Sands was particularly memorable; as it’s by the sea I added the fish and starfish beads.
• A meal with our dearest friends is a must, so The Gurkha restaurant which specialises in Nepalese and other Asian cuisine was added along with a pretty flower made from oriental fabric.
• Notarianni is an ice cream parlour that we always enjoy visiting so this was accompanied by sticker of an ice cream.
• We often have a fun time exploring different places, so I added Liverpool which is a great destination for a “Happy Birthday!”
• A trip to a local café such as The Blackbird Café with its pretty birdcage décor which I captured by adding the glass embellishment.
• I added a tree to depict our visit to a sculpture called The Singing Ringing Tree. I was surprised that I have never featured the Singing Ringing Tree on one of my posts before which we visited a couple of years ago, so I’ll be creating a page and sharing this with you later this month  (stay tuned – grin!).
• Of course I couldn’t create a page without Coco’s Soul Food and for this I added a tropical wooden flower.

As some of you will know we normally have a week of birthday celebrations and I had fun looking back at previous birthday photos; these beautiful views were taken at Cockerham Sands.

Here we are having a wonderful time in Liverpool …

… and of course some of the lovely food we have enjoyed too; from left to right there’s Notarianni Ice cream Parlour, The Blackbird Café and Coco’s Soul Food.

I still very much enjoyed my birthday this year as we’ve had some beautiful sunny days, which meant we could still enjoy catching up with our dear friends over a takeaway and some bubbly in their garden (grin!). Of course we spent time with little Ellie too which is always a delight – yay!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this yummy pink prosecco which was a lovely surprise from my dear friends, thank you so much – cheers and Happy T Day everyone!

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.

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

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Kingfisher, Peacock Blue, Charcoal, Blossom)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Docrafts Papermania 4×4 Clear Stamp (Bellissima Christmas PMA907942)
• Dovecraft Upper and Lower Case Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Recycled Birthday Card
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
• The Works (Hearts, Sea Life Beads, Glass Embellishments, Craft Flowers)
• Twilleys of Stamford Crafties (Chinese Flowers Cerise 2912/160)
• Wilko Foam Stickers
• Craft for Occasions (Happy Birthday C2090)
• Poundland (3D Glitter Embellishments – Tree)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

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 will be greatly missed! I’m so pleased to be able to remember her by joining AJJ with my page which was inspired by past birthdays. Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #141 – Anything Goes with my birthday page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Layer It challenge with the layers of colour and recycled birthday card on this page. LTSCB#144 – Spring Forward challenge over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my spring birthday page. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page. LTCCB #57 – April Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Craft Challenge Blog with my mixed media page.

Hello Spring

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Hello Spring.

With all the bird activity in our garden, it feels like spring is finally here so my page design includes blue skies, birdsong and nesting birds. I hope you’re inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by adding some drops of Speckled Egg Distress Ink, from a re-inker bottle, and then spreading them over the page using an old plastic gift card. When dry, I applied some white gesso over the top using a brayer and then I splattered the page with the Speckled Egg ink. Next I added the birds, foliage and sheet music which were from some Aviary Collage Paper by Tim Holtz; they were stuck in place using a glue stick. I splattered some black DecoArt acrylic paint over background and left it to dry, and then I stamped a documented stamp from Tim Holtz using Vintage Photo Distress Archival Ink. The large “nest and eggs” panel, the nest image in the top left-hand corner, the row of alphabet letters and the fussy cut letters making up the “Hello Spring” wording were all Poster Cards from Tim Holtz. I edged them all using the Vintage Photo ink and they were stuck in place using double-sided tape. To finish, I added a Clippings sticker from Tim Holtz which reads “The pretty little birds chirped”.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday, today we are enjoying our cuppa with some homemade chocolate crispy nests – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

I always make these chocolate treats this time of year; they are Rice Crispies covered with chocolate, filled with a chocolate fudge icing and topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate covered raisins and mini chocolate eggs – yum!

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 Re-Inker (Speckled Egg)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Aviary #TH93706)
• Pritt Stick
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
• Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape and foam tape
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Sticker Book (Clippings #TH94030)

Challenges As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today which are: Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #140 – Anything Goes with my Hello Spring page. LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Spring page. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Blog and their Spring/Easter Mood Board challenge as I included with the eggs and blue skies on my page. MIUCB #47 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Inlaid Die Cut challenge over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the techniques I used to create this spring page. Easter/Spring challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my Hello Spring art journal page.

Enjoy the journey

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges where I’m sharing this mini art journal page as my second project for this month’s Silhouettes challenge.

I’m enjoying my new creative journey at Country View Challenges and this page is to celebrate and thank you for all your support and kind comments last month (grin!). I used lots of Tim Holtz products to create this page including the new Wildflower Stems #3 Thinlits set for the delicate flower silhouettes.

 I started by covering the chipboard background with a couple of coats of white gesso and then I created the circles by applying Ranger Crackle Texture Paste through a stencil from a Sun and Moons Template & Stencil set, and then left it to dry overnight. Next I used the corresponding templates and applied Fossilized Amber Distress Ink around the circles and then some Hickory Smoke Distress Ink using a blending tool. To fix the background colours I painted some clear gesso over the top of the inks. When dry, I edged the page using a black Faber-Castell marker smudging the ink with my finger and then I splattered the page using DecoArt black acrylic paint. To continue the grungy look, I applied some Specimen rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz over the background and then I splattered the page with DecoArt white acrylic paint.

The silhouette flowers were die cut using Wildflower Stems #3 Thinlits set from some textured polka dot paper from Tim Holtz. I coloured them using a black Faber-Castell marker and then I stuck them in place using gel medium.

To finish, I added the wording which was a Quote Chip from Tim Holtz. 

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

This is the view from our house; it was taken when the moon was particularly low in the sky and it reminded me of my page (grin!).

I’m also joining the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday with my cuppa which I’m enjoying a Coffee Renoir; this is choux pastry filled with pastry cream and whipped cream, and covered in coffee icing – so yummy!

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:

• 665221 – Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5PK – Wildflower Stems #3 By Tim Holtz
• 659765 Sizzix Big Shot Starter Kit (White & Gray)
• Ranger Texture Paste Opaque Crackle 3.9 Fl Oz (116 Ml)
• Ranger Tim Holtz® Distress Ink Pad – Fossilized Amber
• TH94047 Tim Holtz® Idea-Ology™ – Remnant Rubs Specimen
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke)
• Circle Masks alternative for Suns and Moon Template & Stencil Set
• Docrafts Papermania (Mini Chipboard Album 15x15cm)
• Pébéo White and Clear Gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• DecoArt Acrylic (Black, White)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Quote Chips #TH93563)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the Beautiful Blossoms challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with all my silhouette flowers page. I’m joining the Anything Goes challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with my vintage silhouette page. I’m also joining the Art Journal challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too with my mini art journal page. I’m also joining the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their MIUCB #47 – Anything Goes + Inlaid Die Cut challenge with the background techniques I used to create this page.

Spread your wings

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

I used a fun technique using a Watermark Stamp Pad to create some of the flowers on my background which gave a lovely depth to my mixed media page; I hope you like it too (grin!).  

I stamped a Floral Silhouette stamp from Penny Black onto the background of the page using Versamark Watermark ink and then I dried it using a heat gun (the heat fixed the ink and achieved better watermark images). I applied some Abandoned Coral Distress Stain and also some Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso and Black Soot Distress Archival Inks over the top, gradually building up the colour using a blending tool so the watermark flower images appeared; they are the lightest flowers on the background. Then I stamped more of the flowers using the Penny Black stamp again and the Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso inks.

The pink flowers were die cut using Wildflower Stems #1 Thinlits by Tim Holtz from some design paper and then arranged onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. I used a journal card from Kaisercraft for the wording which reads “Until you spread your wings you’ll never know how far you’ll fly!”. The top and bottom of the card was embellished using two strips of silver metal beading.

To finish, I added the pretty butterfly sticker and some silver wire to trail behind it.

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!

I seem to be drawn to pink at the moment, I even decorated my friend’s birthday cake with pink and white feather icing; this is a Victoria sponge filled with buttercream and strawberry jam. As we are still in lockdown here, I thought this would be a nice surprise to wish her a happy birthday (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.

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

• Tsukineko Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Penny Black Clear Stamp Set (Floral Silhouette 30-563)
• Tim Holtz Distress Archival Ink (Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Black Soot)
• Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Abandoned Coral)
• The Works (Design Block)
• Tm Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Wildflower Stems #1 664163)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Kaisercraft Captured Moments (Life’s Treasures CM108)
• Mark Richards Metal Bead Stickers (Silver Metals #1981)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Home Bargains You & Me Stickers (Beautiful Butterflies 22742)
• Silver wire
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the Beautiful Blossoms challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with all the beautiful stamped and die cut flowers on my page. I’m joining the Anything Goes challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with my vintage shabby chic flower page. I’m also joining the Art Journal challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too with my art journal page. I’m happy to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #138 – Anything Goes challenge with my page too. I’m also joining the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their MIUCB #47 – Anything Goes + Inlaid Die Cut challenge with the fun technique I used to create the background using the Watermark Stamp Pad.

Say it with Flowers

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Say it with flowers.

We would love to see what your flowers are saying on your projects, my page is celebrating receiving flowers and saying “remember this feeling”. I hope that you are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by applying some Speckled Egg and Antique Linen Distress Ink to the page by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. Then I stamped a Beau Collage stamp from Crafter’s Companion using the Antique Linen ink and used a Moroccan stencil by Creative Expressions as a stamp to apply some Speckled Egg ink. I die cut some flowery paper using an Organic Thinlits set from Tim Holtz and arranged them around the corners of the page along with a single hydrangea from a Floral die cut set. They were stuck in place using some Liquitex matte gel medium and when dry, I painted some shadows around these pieces using the Speckled Egg ink. The square flower image was recycled from an advertising postcard; it was edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck to the page using double-sided tape. To finish, I added the wording “remember this feeling” which was a sticker from Kaisercraft and some mini pearl gems.  

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

I love to receive flowers; it always makes me feel happy and loved (grin!).

Of course the way to my hubby’s heart is with cake (double grin!); today he’s enjoying this iced finger filled with cream for his elevenses and as T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing his cup of Ceylon tea too and wishing you 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.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg, Antique Linen)
• Crafter’s Companion Parisian Collection Clear Stamp (Beau Collage)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan)
• K & Company Die Cut Cardstock by Susan Winget (Floral)
• Paper – Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine Issue 193
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Organic 664153)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Flower Advertising Postcard
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Secret Garden SS283)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decoration Stickers 22740)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the Mostly Neutrals challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with my mostly neutral coloured flower page; I hope the grey blue works ok to join your challenge. I’m joining the Art Journal challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too with me Say it with flowers art journal page. I’m happy to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #138 – Anything Goes challenge with my Say it with flowers journal page too. I’m also pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my flower art journal page. I’m also joining the fun over at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog and their LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge with my page too.

Sweet & Cute

Using up leftovers is one of my crafting goals this year, so I used lots of leftover papers and die cuts on this page to create homes for these sweet and cute critters (grin!).

Don’t forget that there is still another week to join our Oh So Cute challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; we are so looking forward to seeing your cute creations!

I started by covering the background with some colourful leftovers papers that have been sitting on my craft desk since Christmas – eek! They were stuck in place, like all the paper elements, using a glue stick. As the papers were quite brightly coloured, I applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top using a brayer.

When dry, I added strips of bunting washi tape that my sister had kindly gifted me. The wording and stars were stickers from Craft Sensations and I outlined them all using a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more.

Next I raided my stash of leftover die cuts and created little scenes with them for those cute critters which were foam stickers.

This malt loaf may not be cute but it is sweet (grin!). I bought it as a treat, when I was food shopping for my mum and dad, from our local bakery and it was so very yummy!

If you aren’t familiar with malt loaf, it’s a type of sweet leavened bread made with malt extract which originated in Scotland in the United Kingdom. It has a chewy sticky texture, and often contains fruits such as raisins. It’s usually eaten sliced and spread with butter.

We enjoyed it (sliced with butter) for our elevenses and as T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing it today with my cuppa – 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:

• Docrafts Ultimate Die Cut & Paper Pack (Folk Christmas PMA160933)
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Bunting Washi Tape
• Craft Sensation (Creative paper Collection CRO458/GE)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Leftover die cut pieces – Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Fall Foliage 66955, Garden Greens 661206, Holiday Greens 658759, Funky Florals #1 662700), Papers (Tim Holtz idea-ology Paper Stash – Halloween #TH93712, Paper Bundle from local craft shop – green heart paper and metallic linen textured cardstock, Recycled Notepad Paper, White cardstock), Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron, Scattered Straw, Rusty Hinge)
• Hobby World Foam Craft Stickers (Forest Friends)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the metallic linen textured papers that were used for some of the leaves surrounding the cute hedgehog. I’m pleased to join the Anything But A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page. I’m happy to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #138 – Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page too. I’m also pleased to join the Favourite Technique challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, as collage, using white gesso to push back the background colour and die cutting are some of my favourite techniques. I’m also joining in the fun over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold challenge with my art journal page; the different techniques I used to create this page included collage, using white gesso to push back the background colour and die cutting.

It’s cold, let’s cuddle

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Oh So Cute.

These really cute owls were recycled from a Christmas card and with all the cold weather we’ve been having of late they are sat in a snowy wonderland. I thought the wording was cute too, it reads “It’s cold, let’s cuddle”.

I hope you’ll join us with your cute creations too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by colouring the background using Bluebird Wendy Vecchi Blendable Ink from Ranger. When dry, I splattered the page with white acrylic paint and left it to dry.

It’s one of my goals this year to recycle and use up any leftovers from previous pages, so I was pleased to recycle these cute owls which were fussy cut from the Christmas card and stuck into place using a glue stick. I arranged them with some white foliage die cuts that were leftover from last year’s Happy January page. The foliage was decorated using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker, a silver metallic pen, some Icicle Stickles from Ranger and also some Inkylicious Fluffy Puffy Stuff which added the lovely texture. The Fluffy Puffy Stuff was a fun product to use as it’s applied and then heated with a heat gun which turns it all puffy and 3-dimensional. The snowflakes were leftover too, having been previously die cut from different patterned papers and white cardstock; they were arranged onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium.

For more Oh So Cute inspiration, please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies (grin!).

So far this month, it’s been cold and we’ve had quite a few snow flurries; I was surprised one morning to find it snowing so I took this photo out of my craft room window – brrrr!

As T Stands for Tuesday and it’s cold outside, I’m sharing our hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows, and also some yummy lebkuchen – Happy T Day everyone!

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 Wendy Vecchi Blendable Ink (Bluebird)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Recycled Christmas Card
• Pritt Stick
• Leftover foliage pieces – Sizzix Thinlits Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206, Holiday Greens 658759, Woodlands 660978), White cardstock, Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233), Script Metallic Pen (Silver), Ranger Stickles (Icicles), Inkylicious (Fluffy Puffy Stuff)
• Stix2 glue dots
• Leftover Snowflakes – Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Paper Snowflakes Mini 661599), Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (falling Snowflakes 1792e), The Works (Cutting Dies – Snowflake Garland), Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE), White Cardstock, Poundland Design Paper Pad (Purple Swirls)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Challenges I’m pleased to join the Add Some Texture challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the snowy 3D texture on my page. I’m joining LTCCB #55 – February Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my cute page. I’m also joining in the fun over at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog and their LTSCB #145 – Love is … all about cuddling your partner when it’s cold as I’ve depicted here on this cute owl page.

Vintage Squares

Do you have things in your craft stash that you haven’t used because they’re too precious?

This year, one of my goals is to use these items on my pages. So here’s my first one which features some papers from a Vintage Design Pad that I’ve had for a while now; I wanted to showcase them so decided on this square grid design (grin!).

I started by tearing the vintage papers, some recycled Kraft book pages and sheet music into squares and sticking them onto the page in a grid design using a glue stick. I drew lines around them using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. Next I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer over the papers and left it to dry. Then I added the delicate silk flowers over the squares and some vintage lace along the bottom of the page.

For the wording I used a Small Talk sticker from Tim Holtz; it reads “it’s always the small pieces that make the big picture” which seemed to fit the square grid design perfectly.

The squares reminded me of this local building, which was built in 1878, with it’s magnificent lion that seems to be roaring – I thought Iris may like this (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday and to continue the square theme, I’m sharing my mug of tea with a shortbread jam square; it’s a tray bake of raspberry jam sandwiched between two layers of shortbread – Happy T Day wishes!

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:

• The Works Design Paper (Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7)
• Kraft notebook pages – recycled
• Sheet Music
• Pritt Stick
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• The Range (Lace Flower Stickers, Crafting Lace)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as this page was created to showcase some of my favourite vintage papers. I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with my vintage square design. I’m pleased to join in the fun over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their So Delicate challenge with the delicate flowers and lace on this vintage page. I’m joining the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my square grid patterned page. I’m also joining the Make Your Own Background challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the vintage paper background that I created. I’m happy to join in the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my vintage page too.