Live a colourful life

In January we always start to fill our calendar with things to do during the year which are often the things that inspire my art journal pages (grin!). So to capture my excitement and happy feelings, I created this colourful page.

I started by covering the page with some music sheet pieces which were left over from another project using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Once the gel medium was dry I scribbled Red Cherry, Watermelon, Mango, Peach, Guava, Kiwi and Lemon Faber-Castell Gelatos over the page and used my finger which I wet using a baby wipe to smudge and blend the colour. I used a Geometric Tiles stencil from Dutch Doobadoo to remove some of the gelato colour, using a baby wipe, to create the blocks of white circles. Then I stamped three different Gummiapan stamps using black Archival Ink to create my landscape of flowers; the stamps were Worn Rings 2, A Lot of Splats and Large Rudbeckia. To finish, I added the wording “Live a colouful life”, which is from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet, and outlined it with a black Sharpie marker.

There is so much that we are looking forward to this year: spring calls as we always enjoy visiting Lytham Hall to see the snowdrops.

At the start of summer we have the St. Anne’s Carnival to look forward to and then the summer ends with the St. Anne’s International Kite Festival.

In autumn there are the International Firework Championships.

Then, in winter we always enjoy the Victorian Festivals too!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison/Craftytrog and her Geometric Shapes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the circles from the Geometric Tile stencil and Worn Ring stamp that I used to create my page.

Over at A Vintage Journey their challenge is Put Your Stamp On It  so I’m pleased to join this challenge too as I used quite a few stamps to create my happiness inspired colourful Mixed Media Style Art Journal page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the Landscapes/Cityscapes challenge over at Country View Challenges with my colourful landscape of flowers.

I enjoyed using all the stamping to create this page so I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

With the focal images being stamped, I’m also joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Anything Goes challenge.

I’m also happy to join the Anything Goes + optional twist of Sentiment As Main Focus over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my art journal page too.

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:

• Faber-Castell Gelato (Red Cherry, Watermelon, Mango, Peach, Guava, Kiwi, Lemon)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Sharpie Permanent Fine Point Marker (Black)
• Dutch Doobadoo Dutch Mask Art A5 (Geometric Tiles)
• Gummiapan Stamps (Worn Rings 2 11050601, A Lot of Splats 11050106, Large Rudbeckia 15030501)
• Music Sheet – Bosworth Violin Studies
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

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All Good Wishes for Christmas

We have been visiting with family across the UK to celebrate Christmas the last few days, so I thought I would create a Christmas page to wish you all the best for the holiday season!

I started by stamping the page with a Collage Number stamp from Gummiapan using Versamark Watermark ink which I dried using a heat gun; I find drying this ink with the heat gun achieves better watermark images than leaving it to dry naturally. Then I applied Paris Dusk and Teal Zeal Memento Inks using a blending tool to gradually build up the colours. The blue colours were a bit bright so I toned them down by dragging a Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink pad over the page giving it a lovely shimmer and frosty appearance. Then I stamped some snowflakes over the background using the Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink and also the Paris Dusk Memento Ink again. The pine branches are stamped using Pistachio and Cottage Ivy Memento Inks and the pine cones using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and I also splattered the page with white DecoArt acrylic paint. Next I used my Big Shot machine to die cut: some snowflakes by Tonic Studios out of white card stock; some green holly leaves using white cardstock which I coloured using the Cottage Ivy Memento Ink and Twisted Citron Distress Ink; some holly berries from white card stock which I coloured using Love Letter Memento Ink; and finally some berry branches from white card stock and brown design paper using Tim Holtz Garden Greens Thinlets. The white snowflakes are stuck in place using a Zig Memory glue pen and I added some silver snowflake relief stickers to the background too. I arranged the other die cuts with a recycled Christmas card, which I saved from last year as I loved the vintage design, and also a pretty white and silver snowflake sticker. To finish, I added some Christmas Red Stickles from Ranger to the holly berries to give them some glittery sparkle.

We found some lovely Christmas displays at our local garden centre this year, I love this one with the pretty snowflake lights and ceiling, and of course the owls!

This vintage style flower display looks very festive with the poinsettias and jewel colours.

It seems that upside-down trees are all the rage this year too (grin!).

We went to this local garden centre on our way to Garstang where we went to the Royal Oak for lunch. We sat in one of the little rooms off the bar which contained this beautiful stained glass window, isn’t it amazing! The drinks that are included in the window design means that I can join the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday too – Happy T Day!

Challenges

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

Bleubeard and Elizabeth who blog at Altered Book Lover are hosting My Favorite Season, or ‘Tis the Season challenge over at Art Journal Journey, so I’m pleased to join them with Christmas page!

I’m joining the Christmas Challenge over at The Artistic Stamper as I included stamping on my Christmas Wishes page.

I’m pleased to be able to join in the Christmas challenge fun over at Country View Challenges with my festive page.

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Christmas challenge with my Christmassy art journal page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Anything Goes so I’m happy to be able to join this challenge with my Christmas page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps too.

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 Ink Pad
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Paris Dusk, Teal Zeal, Pistachio, Cottage Ivy, Rich Cocoa, Love Letter)
• Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment Ink (Platinum Planet)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Twisted Citron)
• Woodland Christmas Stamp Set from Clear Impressions
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 1792e)
• Cut & Create Festive Collection (5×5 Dies Holly)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Garden Greens 661206)
• White card stock
• Poundland Design Pad (Changing Seasons CR0701/16PL1)
• Recycled Christmas card
• Crelando Relief Stickers (IAN289011)
• The Works (Christmas Embellishments)
• Ranger Stickles (Christmas Red)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Stix2 double-sided tape and mini glue dots
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Good Wishes for Christmas

I’m so delighted to be guest designing over at Swedish House Crafts today!

With the Christmas season almost upon us, I created an art journal page inspired by the Glistening Season Pion Design papers, a Gummiapan stamp, some of my favourite colours of Tsukineko Inks and also some pretty Swedish House Crafts Fabric Flowers – I hope you like it!

If you would like to see how this page came together, the full process is detailed below.

To start I tried out a new technique which was great fun; I stamped the Reed Plant stamp from Gummiapan onto the background of the page using Versamark Watermark ink which I dried using a heat gun (I found drying the ink with a heat gun achieved better watermark images). Then I applied Paris Dusk and Teal Zeal Memento Inks using a blending tool, gradually building up the colour which made the reed images that I had stamped appear (grin!).

Next I stamped the Gummiapan stamp over the page again using the Paris Dusk and Teal Zeal Memento Inks. As I wanted more of a grungy vintage look, I dragged Rich Cocoa Memento ink pad over the edges of the page, then I applied the same ink to a blending mat, spritzed with water and pressed the mat onto the page. I also flicked some of this watered down ink using a paintbrush onto the page, along with some splatters of Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint.

With my background complete, I cut out some of the tags and images from the Glistening Seasons Pion Design paper and used scissors and Rich Cocoa and Toffee Crunch Memento Ink to distress the edges. Then I arranged these papers onto the page with some pieces of doily and die cut foliage using double-sided tape; for the foliage I used the reverse side of the Pion Design paper which was a lovely silver-grey colour and also some dark green paper from my craft stash.

I used the reverse side of the Pion Design paper again to create my snowflakes along with some blue vellum that was left over from a previous project using a die cut and my Big Shot machine. I also created a wreath and little fir-tree twigs from the remnants of the holly die cuts which was fun and a bit fiddly (grin!).

To finish the page, I added the snowflakes, wreath and twigs to the page along with some little blue gems, a bow, the blue Swedish House Crafts Fabric Flowers and three hearts which were cut from the Pion Design paper.

I’d like to thank Swedish House Crafts for having me as part of their Guest Design Team – Happy Crafting!

The Glistening Season paper design, that I used on my page, reminded me of some Christmas displays at a Garden Centre that we visit every year with family, isn’t this winter scene beautiful!

These little gnomes were really cute too …

… and not forgetting Santa Claus (grin!).

It’s hard to believe that there are only five weeks left until Christmas, but before I get carried away with thinking about Christmas … I just wanted to wish a very Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who are celebrating today!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal, who is hosting the Vintage or Modern challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my vintage Christmas page!

I’m joining in the fun over at Moo Mania & More and their Tic, Tac, Toe theme (Designer Paper – Glistening Season from Pion Design, Die-Cut – foliage and snowflakes, Circles – snowflakes and gems).

I’m also pleased to join A Vintage Journey and this month’s Paper Stash challenge as I was inspired by the pretty Glistening Season Pion Design papers to create my Vintage style page.

Over at That’s Crafty! Challenge Blog their theme is Winter Wonderland so I’m pleased to join this challenge with my wintry Christmas page.

I’m also joining the lovely Wen and her Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot with my neutral Christmas focal papers (I hope you don’t mind the pop of colour from my blue wintry background).

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Baby It’s Cold Outside challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my frosty snowy art journal page.

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
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Paris Dusk, Team Zeal, Rich Cocoa)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Gummiapan Stamps (Reed Plant
• Foliage Dies – Spellbinders (unknown), Cut & Create (Holly, Wreath)
• Snowflake Dies – Dovecraft (Merry Christmas DCDIE052X16)
• Pion Design Glistening Season Collection (Tags – PD6612)
• Doily
• Dark green paper
• Blue Vellum
• Swedish House Crafts (Fabric Flower Spots)
• Blue round gems
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Stix2 double-sided tape and mini glue dots
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Journey, Destination and Adventure

This week we have had family staying over, so we have been on journeys, travelled to destinations and had a few adventures along the way too (grin!). So I created this page to remember their visit and capture our time together; the background depicts the ripples of the water at high tide on our walks, the car reminds me of our outing to a local car show, the natural colours and pretty flower serves as a reminder of all the nature we saw on our walks as we walked their dog three times a day, and then the maps, clocks, compass and postage stamps to remember our days out and adventures exploring new places.

I started by applying Pébéo white gesso with a brayer and then I added dots of black DecoArt acrylic paint and also Bright Aqua Green Heavy Body Liquitex paint over the top and used the brayer to create the wonderful texture. When the paint was dry, I stencilled a large clock on the right-hand side of the page using black Archival Ink and a blending tool. I stamped some Vintage Circles from Woodware Craft Collection using black Archival Ink and then I applied Rusty Hinge and Ground Espresso Distress Ink through a stencil by Andy Skinner using a blending tool. The white circles are stamped using a cardboard tube and white DecoArt acrylic paint, I used the Andy Skinner stencil and Distress Inks again to pattern the inside of the circles and defined the edges more using a white Uniball gel pen and a black Uni Pin marker. Next I added three pieces of washi tape horizontally across the page and then stamped lots of different images using black Archival Ink onto some paper from American Crafts. The stamped images included: some postage stamps, lace and a clock from Kaisercraft; a car stamp from Tim Holtz which I cut up to produce the car, bingo sheet, map and ruler; a patterned circle from Kaisercraft; a compass by Graphic 45 from Hampton Art; a hand pointing the way from a Steampunk stamp set from Docrafts; and some numbers from a Collage Number stamp from Gummpanian Stamps. I fussy cut all the stamped pieces out, edged them with Rusty Hinge and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and then a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. They are stuck to the page using a glue stick and Liquitex matte gel medium. Once the glue was dry, I edged them with a black Uni Pin marker and added white detail to both the images and stamping in the background using a Uniball gel pen. Next I cut a wildflower out of white cardstock using a die cut by Tim Holtz from Sizzix and my big shot machine, stuck it in place and outlined it using a black Uni Pin marker. I added two Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz idea-ology collection which read “the journey is the destination” and also “and so the adventure begins”, again they are outlined using a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I added some Pébéo white gesso using a palette knife through a Vintage Diamond stencil from Creative Expressions.

Last Sunday we went to a Vintage Car Show with our visitors. It is a local show and was held on the green by the beach just round the corner from our house. We saw some beautiful cars including this one which is an Austin and looks a bit like the one on my page (grin!).

There were so many different cars there and we liked this one which was originally from Canada.

Or maybe this is more to your liking, it’s a Wolseley and I’m not sure my hubby would fit in it (grin!).

Some cars are Vintage now, even though I remember them whilst growing up … does that mean I’m getting old (double grin!). VW Beetles for example and we often see this gold one driving around town and look at the kettle and mugs, just right for T Stands for Tuesday!

Then we have local car clubs like this Land Rover Club which I thought Yvonne from Meggy’s way may like (triple grin!).

It turned into quite the adventure as we also saw the high tide which we don’t see that often and some kitesurfers right next to the beach.

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Yvonne from Meggy’s way, who is hosting A World of Fantasy challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my Journey, Destination and Adventure art journal page.

As this page includes circles, I’m also joining the Circles challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

As I included circles on this page, I’m also joining the Going Round & Round challenge over at The Artistic Stamper too.

I used 3 different stencils on this art journal page, so I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and there Use More Than One Stencil challenge.

Over at Country View Challenges their challenge is Planes, Trains & Automobiles so I’m pleased to join them with the car and journey art journal page.

With the quote and all the stamping I used to create this page I’m also joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Quote Away challenge.

As I used quite a few Tim Holtz products to create this page I thought of A Vintage Journey, so I’m pleased to join their Back To Nature challenge this month as I was inspired by the nature we saw on our walks so included the natural colours and pretty flower on my Art Journaling and Vintage style page.

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:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Bright Aqua Green)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge, Ground Espresso)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.1mm, 0.8mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• DecoArt Andy Skinner Mixed Media Stencils (Shedded ANDY08)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Vintage Circles FRS665)
• Cardboard tube – stamp
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Magnolia Grove CS822, Provincial CS243)
• Tim Holtz Components Collection (COM013CAR)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Gummpanian Stamp (Collage Numbers 14030103)
• Sizzix Thinlets by Tim Holtz (Wildflowers 661190)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Vintage Diamond CEMSDIAM)
• American Crafts Papers (DIY Store 366665)
• White Cardstock
• Poundland (Washi Tapes 156456-GE16)
• The Works (3 Washi Tapes)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pritt Stick

For the Boys

Still inspired by the masculine theme, I created this art journal page to remind you that you still have one week left to join in with our For the Boys challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, it would be lovely to see you there!

This time, I got creative with Tim Holtz inks, stamps and stickers as well as a Steampunk stamp set, some design paper and some Victorian style tags.

I started by using Tim Holtz Distress Inks to create the background; firstly by smooshing diluted Mowed Lawn ink that I had applied to an acrylic block, spritzed with water and then pressed onto the page. After drying this ink with a heat gun I then applied Shabby Shutters ink the same way and then I used both the Mowed Lawn and Shabby Shutters inks again to add A lot of Splats stamp from Gummpiapan. Using a blending tool I applied Hickory Smoke Distress Ink through a Past Times stencil by Viva Decor to give a lovely depth to the background, I also used the same stencil over the background to remove some of the Distress Inks using a baby wipe. Then I applied some Black Soot Distress Ink using a stencil by Craft Sensations and a blending tool. Next I layered all the different paper elements onto the page which I edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and outlined with a black Uni Pin marker once stuck in place. They included: a large map, ruler pieces, a butterfly, a button, some numbered and small alphabet pieces which are  Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers by Tim Holtz; three Victorian style tags; a globe with a bird perched on the top, suitcase and luggage labels which I fussy cut from design paper by Craft Sensations; a pocket watch and compass which I stamped using a Steampunk stamp set from Docrafts and black Archival Ink onto design paper and fussy cut out, they are stuck to the page using a UHU Stic; a vintage car from a Tim Holtz stamp which I stamped using black Archival Ink and fussy cut out; and finally some round button letters to add the “For the Boys” wording. I added some brown metal brads to the tags, luggage labels and signage. Then to finish, I used a paintbrush to splatter black and white DecoArt acrylic paints over the whole page.

Today I’m sharing a trip to the fish and chip shop in Great Eccleston.

The food is so delicious, here’s my order of steak and kidney pudding with gravy (of course – grin!), chips and mushy peas.

We visited with my family and my portion of food was so huge that I’m sharing my chips so here you can see just my dad’s fish and mushy peas – yum!

There are plenty of drinks on show in my photos for T Stands for Tuesday but in case you were wondering what I was drinking, it was Dandelion and Burdock. This is a fizzy/soft drink which is popular in the North of England and I haven’t had it since I was a child so couldn’t remember what it tasted like. I really enjoyed it and if you have never tried it either then it’s a bit like coca cola with an earthy botanical kick to it (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations who is hosting the Inspired by … challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my masculine inspired page.

As my art journal page features maps, luggage and a vintage car I’m very happy to be able to join Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Transport It challenge.

I added wording to my page as the challenge over at Country View Challenges is Written Word (add some text in some form), so I’m pleased to join them too.

This is my final page for A Vintage Journey and their Stencil It challenge, I’ve really enjoyed using my different stencils to join their theme this month and I had them in mind when I used all my different Tim Holtz products to create this Vintage and Mixed Media style page too.

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Hickory Smoke, Black Soot, Vintage Photo)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Gummpiapan Stamps (A lot of Splats 11050106)
• Viva Decor  Universal Stencil (Past Times 9002 703 00)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Tim Holtz {Components} Collection Stamper Anonymous (COM013 CAR)
• The Works Design Pad (Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Soft Colours CRO730/R)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• The Works (Victorian Style Embellishments)
• Home Bargains (Love Letters 22738)
• Craft Sensations (Brads CRO550/A)
• UHU Stic

Find Inspiration in Nature

My art journal pages are often inspired by nature which is why I chose the Flora and Fauna theme for this month over at Art Journal Journey. I had so much fun creating the background and steampunk vibe flowers for this page – I hope you like it too!

Taking inspiration from the beautiful red sunsets we see in nature, I started by covering the page in a mixture of Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red and Apricot Liquitex acrylic paint, varying the blending slightly to give different shades of colour. I added some torn book pages using Liquitex matte gel medium and some washi tapes, and then I applied a thin layer of the same acrylic paints over the top using my finger to achieve a translucent look. When dry, I applied some white DecoArt acrylic paint using a brayer and also a circular Worn Rings stamp from Gummiapan, making sure I washed the stamp as soon as I had finished so the paint didn’t dry and ruin it. I then splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush. The flowers are fussy cut from an old flower book that I found in a charity shop (thrift store) and arranged on the page with three stamps from the Vintage Circles Woodware Craft Selection Stamp Set using black Archival Ink. I used Liquitex matte gel medium to stick the flowers in place and once it was dry I outlined them with a black Derwent Graphik marker so that the stamping was incorporated into the flower design.

Both the fussy cutting and outlining took some time to complete and it really made a difference to the flowers as you can see on this before and after photo. The bees and wording which reads “Find inspiration in nature” are both Royal & Langnickel rub-on transfers and I added more detail to the bumblebees using a Derwent Graphik marker. To finish, I stamped some circles of white DecoArt acrylic paint using a bottle cap and added some more splatters of black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.

Everytime we visit Garstang we see these beautiful metal flowers and the yellow ones reminded me those on my page today – aren’t they stunning!

I like that they stay in bloom all year round for us to enjoy, no matter what the weather … grin!

Challenges

I’m joining Art Journal Journey and the Flora and Fauna theme with my flowers and bees; there is just one more week to join in the fun (grin!). I’ve really enjoyed seeing all your fabulous creations that you have linked to this theme so far, thank you!

I’m pleased to join Moo Mania and More for their Even More Flowers challenge with my flowery page.

I’m joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges where the theme is Floral, which has been chosen by the lovely Avril, with my Vintage styled flowers, .

I really like the Vintage look of my new Woodware Stamp Set that I used on this page against the mixed media background which also included stamping, so I’m also pleased to join the Backgrounds challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

Stamping Sensations challenge is Close to Nature so I’m very happy to be able to join them with my “Find inspiration in Nature” page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use More Than One Stamp challenge as I used more than one stamp to create this art journal page.

My page reminds me of a classical music piece called “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov and I can just imagine my bees flying around my page to this music exploring the Steampunk Style world of flowers that I created, so I’m also joining A Vintage Journey for their Words and Music challenge.

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m also pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their May Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

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:

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Apricot)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.5mm)
• Gummiapan Stamp (Worn Rings 2 11050601)
• Woodware Craft Collection Magic Singles (Vintage Circles FRS665)
• The Oxford Book of Garden Flowers
• Quality Toys Group (Washi Tape 2544960)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (TIP1642G, Motivate Sentiments #ROY510, )
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Watching the Sunset

As you may be aware we love walking along our local beach and on one late afternoon we saw the most spectacular sunset. The colours of the clouds were so amazing that I was inspired to use the yellows and different shades of pink to create today’s page.

For the background I used Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed Distress Inks; first by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block, diluting with water and applying the diluted ink to the page with a blending tool and then by using the blending tool to add the ink directly from the ink pad to build up areas of colour in cloud like patterns. Then I dripped water onto the page which reactivated the ink so I could remove it with a piece of kitchen towel. I used the same Distress Inks to stamp a circle and heart stamp design from Sugarloaf Inc. Next I created a circle stencil and stamped a splatter stamp, from Gummiapan, through it using black Archival Ink. Then using the same black ink I added a dot stamp by Art Impressions and a series of images from an Urban Stamp set which included small hearts, the word love and zigzag faux stitching. I also splattered black and white DecoArt acrylic paint over the page using a paintbrush. I added a glittery pink heart foam sticker as it was quite romantic watching the sun go down, and also a polka dot yellow bird as we often see birds on our walks along the beach. Then to finish, I added some wooden flowers which are stuck into place using Glossy Accents and finally some rhinestone flower stickers.

Here’s the sunset that inspired my page, isn’t it stunning! The beauty of the sunset was captivating; it looked so magical that it didn’t look real. I snapped this picture using my phone and we stayed quite a while, despite the cold, watching the sun go down (grin!).

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join Rike from rike’s art who is hosting the Animals A-Z challenge over at Art Journal Journey, as B is for Bird on my sunset page!

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their February Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

As I created my art journal page with love to remember the romantic sunset we watched, I’m also joining the Valentine’s challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

I’m also joining the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge and their Photo Inspiration challenge as I used the LOVE, pink colour, hearts and fabric influence from the heart designs on my page.

I’m also pleased to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is It Must Be Love, with my romantic sunset inspired page.

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Abandoned Coral, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood-mounted stamp (26645)
• Gummiapan Stamp (A lot of Splats 11050106)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamp (Craft Collections – Pastels PMA907223)
• Woodware Craft Collection Francoise Collection Stamp Set (Flower Style Wood Set FRSWS003)
• Home Bargains (Foam Sticker Shapes 57884)
• Craft  for Occasions (C2026)
• White card
• The Works (Craft Flowers)
• The Works (Rhinestone Flower Stickers)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic