Tis the Witching Hour

Posted on October 19, 2020 by Let's Art Journal

Here’s another Halloween page, this time in a vintage style to celebrate the Witching Hour with steampunk clocks, recycled chains, bats and I thought I’d never say this but a spider too – eek!

I started by colouring the background of the page with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint and Pébéo white gesso using a baby wipe. When dry, I tore a piece of Pion Design paper called Midnight Spell that details clocks, lace and cobwebs and stuck it to the page using a glue stick. Then I added stamping and collage layers to blend the paper into the background; firstly by stamping a Gothic Book stamp from Finnabair over the page using black Archival Ink. Then using the same Gothic Book stamp and ink I stamped some tissue paper from an old dressmaking pattern, and ripped and stuck pieces of it onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I applied some more white gesso and layered more of the stamped tissue paper over the top. Next I stamped the pretty foliage over the page which was from a Floral Silhouette stamp set by Penny Black and some cobwebs around the edges of the page using a stamp by Molly Browns; both were stamped using black Archival Ink.

I used the black Archival Ink to create the “Tis the Witching Hour” wording using an alphabet stamp set by Hampton Arts and also to add the bats which were from an Autumnal Treasures stamp set that was free from a magazine.

The clock was made from wooden chipboard pieces from Boozybear which I covered with white gesso and then coloured with the black Archival Ink and a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

I backed the cogs and face with some recycled cream card that I die cut into circles and then I painted them with some watered down black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The clock pieces were stuck together using Ranger Glossy Accents making sure that the hands on the clock showed midnight (the Witching Hour!) and I added some highlights using a silver Daler-Rowney paint pen.

The clock is arranged on the page with some pieces of chain and pendants from an old necklace that I had coloured with the white gesso and then some black DecoArt acrylic paint. To finish, I suspended a spider from the top of the page; it was stamped using the Autumnal Treasures stamp set and black Archival Ink and I drew a line using a black Uni Pin for the little spider to dangle from (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my hubby’s Hobgoblin beer which is brewed by Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire.

I thought of this beer as the Wychwood logo, (which is hard to see, but it’s etched onto the neck of the bottle), includes a witch flying on a broomstick which is perfect for my page too (grin!).

I 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 all the materials used to create this art journal page:

Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
Pébéo White Gesso
Pion Design Paper (Midnight Spell PD8103)
Prima Marketing Finnaibar Clear Stamps (Gothic Book #966966)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Style Dressmaking Pattern tissue paper
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Penny Black Clear Stamp Set (Floral Silhouette 30-563)
Molly Blooms Rubber Stamps (Cobweb MB-0065D)
Boozybear wooden chipboard pieces (Clock Face)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
Recycled Cream Cardstock
The Works (Cutting Dies – Circles)
Ranger Glossy Accents
Daler-Rowney Acrylic Paint Markers (Silver)
Recycled necklace – chains and pendants
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
Hampton Art (Alphabet Stamp Set WM1037)
Creative Stamping Issue 61 (Autumn Treasures Stamp Set)
Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Chris aka Pearshapedchris, who is hosting the Hold The Line challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the lines of chain and cobwebs on my page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Halloween challenge with my Tis the witching hour art journal page.

I’m joining the Purple, Orange, Green! Eek! It’s Halloween! challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my vintage witching hour page.

I’m pleased to join the Not A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at the Two Old Bats Halloween Challenge and their Halloween Jump Start challenge which is their very first challenge – thank you Dar for inviting me to join in the fun, I hope you like my witching hour page!

I’m so pleased to be able to join in the Anything Goes over at Paperbabe Stamps with my witching hour page too.

I’m also pleased to join Sandee & aimlee’s Steampunk Challenge and their Anything Goes -Steampunk/Industrial challenge with my vintage steampunk Halloween page.

I’m also joining the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes + optional twist of Distressing (ink or tool) with the stamping and layering background techniques and the techniques I used to create the Steampunk clock.

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join in the Halloween fun over at Try it on Tuesday too!

Texture at Art Journal Journey – Thank you!

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Let's Art Journal

I’m sharing my last page for the Texture challenge over at Art Journal Journey which I’ve been hosting this month, thank you so very much to everyone who joined in the fun!

I created this page to remember you all and to say thank you, I really appreciate all your kind comments and support throughout September and have thoroughly enjoyed visiting your blogs and seeing all your wonderful artwork (grin!).

I started by stamping the names of everyone who joined this challenge in wavy lines using an alphabet stamp set from Hampton Art and black Archival Ink.

Then I selected different colours of used baby wipes that I used to mop up inks and paints when creating other art journal pages. I tore them into pieces so I could stick them in between the waves of names using Liquitex matte gel medium. The colours selected are arranged in sequence like a rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet and indigo. I love the texture that they added (grin!).

Next I added dots to the names using Uni Posca paint pens alternating the colours which were red, orange, yellow, light green, light blue, purple and pink. . I stamped “Art Journal Journey” and “Texture” along the bottom of the page with the same stamp set and ink. Then I stamped the “Thank you” wording on a piece of mixed media paper and coloured it completely in a rainbow pattern using the Uni Posca paint pens. I edged it with some black gems and stuck it to the page using double-sided tape which finished the page.

I had fun creating all the texture on my pages for this challenge and I hope you did too! Thank you all for your participation and lovely comments; you made it such a pleasure to host this challenge!

I’d like to give a special thank you to Bleubeard & Elizabeth, Yvonne and Erika for asking me to be a guest host and for all their support this month, thanks so much!

Tomorrow is a new month and that brings a new challenge at Art Journal Journey and I can’t wait to see what the new theme is and say hello to our new host – I hope to see you there!

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

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

Hampton Art Ki (Alphabet Stamp Set WM1037)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Uni Posca Paint Pens (Red, Orange, Yellow, Light green, Light blue, Purple, Pink)
Used baby wipes
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
Poundland (Gem Borders)
X-Press It! double-sided foam tape

Throw kindness around like confetti

Posted on April 28, 2020 by Let's Art Journal

Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday is Black and White plus One Extra Colour.

I used black, white and red to create this feminine vintage page featuring love and peace as well as a beautiful saying – “Throw kindness around like confetti”.

I started this page with by using up ink (that was leftover from my previous card making tutorial) on an Interlocking Circles stencil from Creative Expressions; using the stencil like a stamp which already had some Black Soot Distress Ink left on it. I spritzed the stencil with water and then pressed it onto the page firmly using a brayer. Then I used a baby wipe to clean the remaining ink off the stencil which added more layers of the ink to the page. The words “Peace” and “Love”, the ticket, ornate frames, postage mark, bees, text and flowers are stamped onto white tissue paper using black Archival Ink; these were all leftover from previous projects as I often stamp images onto tissue paper before using it on a page to see if they suit the design and also to decide where to place them. I then used the Interlocking Circles stencil again to add more Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool. Then I die cut some hearts from some recycled red foil cardstock using Falling Hearts Thinlets from Tim Holtz and arranged them on the page like confetti to depict the “Throw kindness around like confetti” wording which is a Small talk sticker from Tim Holtz.

As it was Easter this month we have been enjoying Hot Cross Buns so as T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cuppa with a Hot Cross Bun filled with Lancashire cheese which is a white crumbly cheese produced locally – yum! Happy T Day everyone!

Stay safe and keep well! x

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

Challenges

I’m happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with the Interlocking Circles on this page.

I’m also joining the Mother’s Love challenge being hosted by the lovely Sara Emily over at the Frilly & Funkie Challenge Blog with the feminine vintage style, hearts and “Love” wording.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Flower Power challenge too with the flowers on my page.

I’m also joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Not A Card challenge with my art journal page.

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

Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Interlocking Circles)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
White Tissue Paper stamped: Hampton Art 7 Gypsies (Birdsong ICO151); Crafter’s Companion Vintage Floral Collection (Floral Sentiments VF-ST-FSENT); Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Art Stamps (Petal Party #40309); Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (All Aboard – Tags PMA907178); Docrafts A5 Clear Stamps (Alpha Trad DCE907116)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Pritt Stick
Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415)
Recycled Foil Cardstock (Red)
Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)

Paris

Posted on January 3, 2020 by Let's Art Journal

Today I chose to travel back to Paris whilst Art Journaling for the new challenge that is being hosted by the lovely Alison over at A Vintage Journey which is:

We’re all getting older.

It has nothing to do with your age, it’s all about making things look older; here’s what the challenge is about:

“Time for weathering and distressing, or some ageing and antiquing. Make a project using techniques for making the new look old, whether that’s paper projects, altered art or mixed media. Just remember to ensure that you create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.

I created a worn and distressed Art Journal page of Paris making the collaged papers look old.

To start, I ripped pieces of book pages about France which came from an old encyclopaedia and also pieces from a sample of Paris themed wallpaper. Then I collaged them onto the page using matte gel medium.

Once dry, I distressed the collage papers by staining them using Ground Espresso and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks. I did this by stamping the ink pads onto an acrylic block, spritzing with some water and pressing/dripping the ink onto the page and also by painting diluted ink along the edges of each of the collaged papers. To add to the worn grungy look, I also lightly sprinkled the page with some Dark Brown Brusho powder, spritzed it with water to activate the colour and dried it with my heat gun. Next I added some white gesso using a baby wipe and when dry, I edged the collaged pieces using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger.

I stamped a series of Paris related stamps using black Archival ink; the stamps included some little round “T” postage mark stamps from Prima Marketing and also a birdcage, bee, “Paris”, filigree branch and two crowns by Graphic 45 from Hampton Art. I then splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.

I die cut some flower shapes and a round disc from dark brown and blue patterned papers using some Spellbinders dies and my Big Shot machine. Then I used two rectangular pieces of the same patterned papers which I distressed using scissors, the Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and the Dark Sepia Big Brush marker. I cut out an oval picture of the Eiffel Tower from the wallpaper sample and backed it with white card. Then I layered them all onto the page using double-sided tape and added some pearl gem stickers along the edge of the patterned paper.

To finish, I added a butterfly sticker from Tim Holtz and some pretty pale blue silk roses which are stuck in place using Glossy Accents.

If you want to join in the fun why not create a weathered, distressed or age effect too and share it with us at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!

For more Inspiration, please pop over to see the amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey too.

It seems like many years have passed since we visited Paris, so I guess I must be getting older but hopefully not as worn and distressed as my page (grin!).

This is one of the yummy patisseries that we went to – can you guess which cake I chose from the lovely display here?

My favourite is always the strawberry tarts, they are so delicious and I only had one, I promise … well I only had one everyday for the week we were there (double grin!).

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join Art Journal Journey where I’m hosting the Something New challenge this month as I took “new” papers and distressed them to make them look old. Also smooshing the Distress Inks directly onto the neutral collaged papers to make them look old was “new” to me and I’m so glad it worked; it was so much fun making them worn and grungy (grin!).

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

Paris wallpaper sample
Book pages from old encyclopaedia
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
Colourcraft Brusho (Dark Brown)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
Pébéo White Gesso
Hampton Art 7 Gypsies (Birdsong ICO151)
Prima Marketing Clear Stamps (Rossi Belle 587499)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Spellbinders Die Cut – Unknown
The Works Paperstack (Vintage Experience CRO239/TW6)
X-Press It! double-sided tape
Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
The Works (Craft Flowers)
Ranger Glossy Accents
Poundworld (Pearl Embellishments)

Let it snow

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

My page design today was inspired by my new winter hat which is so pretty, it is navy blue in colour and has butterflies and sparkly gems on it (grin!).

This is also a reminder that you still have another week to join our Cold, Cold, Cold challenge at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by smooshing Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink onto the page by stamping the ink pad onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the mat onto the page. Then I used a blending tool to add the same Distress Ink around the edges of the page to darken the colour. Next I stamped a Hessian texture stamp from Kaisercraft, as it reminded me of the woven texture of my hat, using Paris Dusk Memento Ink. I also stamped some dots from Hampton Arts, as they looked like the sparkly lines of gems on my hat, using the same Memento Ink and also some Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink. I added the silver snowflakes which are stickers from Docrafts and then I splattered the page with silver Liquitex Ink and the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I added the embroidery butterfly and lots of clear gems to the lines of stamped dots to represent the sparkle on my hat. I’m all set for winter now as I have my new hat so I finished the page by adding the “Let it snow” wording which is from a set of silver glittery letter stickers.

Here’s my new hat, I just fell in love with it as soon as I saw it! What could be better than the navy blue colour, sparkle, pretty butterflies and a big fat pom-pom on the top (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing the love and my hot chocolate which like my hat is guaranteed to keep you warm on cold winter days, and this one has a shot of gingerbread syrup in it – so yummy! Wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps .with my wintry art journal page.

I’m joining the Peace & Tranquility challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my winter butterfly page.

I’m pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog for their Anything Goes + optional twist of Watercolouring with my wintry art journal page.

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

Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Texture – Hessian CS253)
Tsukineko Memento Ink (Paris Dusk)
Hampton Art Doodlebug Designs (Thankful ICO162)
Tsukineko Brilliance Ink (Platinum Planet)
Liquitex Ink! (Iridescent Bright Silver)
Docrafts Glitterations Create Christmas (Snowflakes Silver)
The Range (Fabric Butterflies)
Stix2 glue dots
Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
The Range (Alphabet Stickers PO205184)

Blackbird Café

Posted on August 27, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

Today’s page was inspired by lunch at The Blackbird Café which was a special treat for us from our dearest friends for looking after their little puppy; I have to say it was a joy looking after her and we didn’t need to be rewarded in such a way, in fact we should have been paying them (grin!).

I started by adding strips of lime green, butterfly and pink/white decoupage paper onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Once dry I added more colour using Peach, Watermelon, Guava and Kiwi Faber-Castell gelatos smudging the colour with my finger. Next I used some Kaisercraft stamp sets and black Archival Ink to add the tiny dots to the background, the lace around the edge of the page, the birdcages and the wording which reads “Be happy. Be bright. Be you”, “Times like these are extra special” and “Stop. Smile. Breathe. Life is beautiful”. Then I used the same black ink to add the bird and dots of chain for the birdcages using a couple of Hampton Art stamp sets. To finish, I added clear gems to frame the wording and a tiny white flower to each of the birdcages.

You may remember this café from a previous post.

It has a lovely atmosphere and is decorated in a shabby chic style …

… with lots of birds and birdcages.

For my lunch I had a Chicken and Bacon salad, which was so delicious! You can see I’m also sharing my pot of green tea and …

… as T Stands for Tuesday here’s my hubby’s chocolate milkshake too – yum! Happy T Day everyone!

Of course I couldn’t forget this little miss that we looked after for our friends, her name is Ellie and she is a Cavapoo (a cross between a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and a Miniature Poodle); isn’t she super cute!

Thanks so much for treating us to lunch and allowing us playtime with Ellie too (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 the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations and her Anything with Eyes challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I had fun creating this page and I know how much Gill like birds so I thought I’d join her fabulous challenge.

I’m also happy to join in the Texture challenge over at Country View Challenges with the texture of the decoupage and stamped background as well as the gems.

I’m joining the Letters and/or Numbers challenge over at Moo Mania & More with letters that make up the wording on my page.

I’m also joining in the fun at Simon Says Monday Challenge where the lovely Alison from Words & Pictures is in the Designer Spotlight; the challenge is ‘S’ is for? and in this case S is for Special Treat from our dearest friends as this was the inspiration for my art journal page and also S is for Stamp Sets as I had fun creating the texture, bird design and wording using lots of stamp sets for my 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:

Poundworld (Patch Paper DS9454)
Faber-Castell Gelato (Peach, Watermelon, Guava, Kiwi)
Kaisercraft clear stamp (Oh So Lovely CS211, Tiny Dots CS360)
Hampton Art cling mounted rubber stamps (7 Gypsies Vintage – Birdsong ICO151, Doodlebug Design Inc. – Thankful ICO162)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Poundland (Design Gems 175751)
Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Wish you were here

Posted on August 6, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

Our challenge for the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday is Wish you were here. Where will you take us? Maybe you would like to travel far away or even stay at home, the choice is yours!

For my art journal page, I decided to go to Venice and if you pop over to Try it on Tuesday you’ll find some more wonderful Wish you were here creations by my Design Teamies to inspire you too!

I had found one of the plastic bags from Venice had degraded into lots of pieces when I unpacked some holiday ornaments over Christmastime, so I decided to keep the pieces in my craft stash to use in my art journaling.

Being from Venice, I thought that they would be perfect for my “Venice wish you were here” inspired page, so I layered the bag pieces to form the background using Liquitex Matte gel medium. When the gel medium was dry, I flooded the page with watered-down Cracked Pistachio, Peeled Paint and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and left them to dry; I love the amazing texture that resulted.

Then I splattered the page with the both the Peeled Paint and Chipped Sapphire inks using a paint brush and added some diamond shapes using a stencil from Creative Expressions; first using the Peeled Paint ink again and then using some Black Soot Distress Ink. Using black Archival Ink I stamped the decorative shield design from Kaisercraft onto the page and also the “wish you were here” wording from Hampton Arts onto tissue paper; the wording is stuck onto the page using matte gel medium. Next I cut out a picture of Venice from a free travel advertising magazine, backed it with white paper, stuck it onto the page using double-sided tape and edged it with some black Glitterations border stickers.

I stuck a postage stamp to cover some writing on the magazine picture using double-sided foam tape; the postage stamp is from Romania showing a painting of Venice by N. Darascu, circa 1972.

Then I added three pieces of white and black striped ribbon to the page along with a postage stamp from Italy showing Coin of Syracuse, circa 1955; both of the postage stamps were kindly given to me to use for my art journaling by my hubby as part of his childhood Stamp Collection (grin!). To finish, I added some pretty diamante pieces using Ranger Glossy Accents to add some elegance and sparkle.

We have been to Venice a couple of times which is located in North Eastern Italy and is a series of islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges.

Of course Venice is well known for its Gondolas which we have been lucky enough to travel in.

We are always amazed by the beauty of the architecture along the Grand Canal and the only way to travel is by boat which appeals to me as I love being on the water (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our Aperol Spritz which is a very popular drink in Italy along with some traditional cuisine from Venice. Aperol Spritz is an aperitif cocktail consisting of prosecco, Aperol and soda water; it originated in Italy and is now available worldwide. Our drinks are pictured with some cicchetti which are small snacks or side dishes that originated and are typically served in traditional “bàcari” (cicchetti bars) in Venice. Cheers and Happy T Day!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations and her Anything with Eyes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the ladies eyes on the Italian postage stamp that I included on my page.

I’m also happy to join in the Layers of Texture challenge over at Country View Challenges the background texture that I created from recycling the pieces of bag.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge too.

I’m also pleased to be able to join Creative Artiste and their Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge with all the mixed media I used to create this page.

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

Recycled pieces of plastic bag (degraded) from Venice
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Cracked Pistachio, Peeled Paint, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot)
Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Vintage Diamonds)
Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Decorative Accents CS852)
Hampton Art Bella Blvd cling mounted rubber stamps (Sand & Surf ICO226)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Recycled white tissue paper
Recycled travel advertising magazine
Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
Postage stamps from hubby’s childhood collection (Posta Romana – Romania showing a painting of Venice by N. Darascu, circa, Itali – Italy showing Coin of Syracuse circa 1955)
Home bargains Always & Forever Collection (Decorative Diamante Chain 26254)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Stix2 double-sided tape
The Range double-sided foam tape
Ranger Glossy Accents

Be the brightest colour

Posted on July 9, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

For the next two weeks, our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Colours of the Rainbow.

I had fun creating this colourful page as not only did I use a new set of acrylic paints, but the paint colours and stencils that I used were chosen by my hubby. As you can see he likes bold and bright contrasting colours and he chose birds, leaves, mosaic and brickwork stencils.

I started by adding the Cerulean Blue, Yellow Oxide, Primary Red and Light Green acrylic paints, that my hubby had chosen, using a dry brush technique where a clean dry brush is used to spread each of the colours; I did this so that the colours would not blend together as some of the colours chosen are on opposite sides of the colour wheel so if blended together they would produce a brown or grey so I didn’t want them to blend by adding water. Then I applied the same paints again using a sponge through the four stencils that my hubby had chosen: Cerulean Blue through a birds stencil; Yellow Oxide through a mosaic stencil; Primary Red through a brick stencil and finally Light Green through a leaf stencil. Next I stamped some postage marks from Prima Marketing and some numbers from Inkidinkado using black Archival Ink. To add some depth and contrast I applied some white acrylic paint to the page with my finger and when dry, I stamped more of the postage marks and numbers over the top. The flowers are stamped onto a dictionary page using some Hampton Art stamps sets and black Archival Ink, fussy cut and stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. I added the stems to the flowers using a Hampton Art Border stamp set and the black Archival Ink again. The wording is from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet finishes the page and reads “Be the brightest colour in the box”; I thought it linked well to my new set of paints.

There are some amazing creations from my Design Teamies too, please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to check them out. We would love to see your rainbow colour creations of the next two weeks, it would be lovely to see you there!

Here’s my new paint set, there are 36 colours to use so I’m sure I’ll be using them again soon (grin!).

As T Stands for T Day, I’m sharing these colourful teapots from the Blackbird Café which you may remember from a previous post – Happy T day!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Chris from pearshapedcrafting and her We’re all/going challenge over at Art Journal Journey as we’re all colourful with my new set of paints.

I’m pleased to be able to join Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their #51 Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge with all the mixed media I used to create this art journal page.

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

Liquitex Basics Acrylic Colour (Cerulean Blue, Yellow Oxide, Primary Red, Light Green)
Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Mosaic #THS084)
Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Take a leaf)
Prima Marketing Clear Stamps (Rossi Belle #587499)
Inkadinkado Cling Stamps (Typographic 65-32008)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Art Discount Acrylic (White)
Hampton Art Bella Blvd cling mounted rubber stamps (Sand & Surf ICO226)
Hampton Art Doodlebug Designs Inc. cling mounted rubber stamps (Thankful ICO162, Borders ICO160)
Dictionary pages
Kaisercraft Sticker Set (Fiesta! SS284)
Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.8mm)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Joy

Posted on May 7, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

As my weekend and week so far has been filled with joy, I created this art journal page to celebrate – I hope you like it!

Also I’m so excited that my Guest Designer post has been posted today over at Country View Challenges so if you are looking for my Opposites inspired page you can find it on my blog here, thank you!

I started by adding Turquoise and Gold Spectrum aqua marker to the background by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the paper. Then I stamped a Joy Background stamp from Great Impressions using a Slate Spectrum aqua marker over the whole page. Next I stamped the large blue flowers using a foam flower stamp and Bahama Blue Memento Ink and some heart outlines using Angel Pink Memento Ink and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. The flamingos and flowers, which are from Hampton Art, are stamped onto some bright pink and white dots paper which was recycled from a paper bag that my birthday present came in. I fussy cut them and stuck them in place using the matte gel medium; for some of the flowers I reversed the paper bag to give a lighter contrasting tone. I also used the paper bag to punch out pink dots and hearts; they are all stuck into place using Liquitex matte gel medium. I added the pink, yellow and blue foam spotted flowers and some rub-on transfer flowers from Royal & Langnickel. Then used a black Uni Pin marker to add more detail to the dots, hearts and flowers. I added some pieces of pink and white washi tape and the pink glittery hearts, and then to finish I splattered the page with a pink Uni Posca paint pen and black DecoArt acrylic paint.

As it was a Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK we’ve been having fun with friends, walking, enjoying birthday treats and touring Lancashire. As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing some beer that we had this weekend. Firstly, here we are visiting Cross Bay Brewing Company Brew House in Morecambe, where they have both Real and Craft Ales on offer.

This beer is their Two-Four beer which is a brown ale made with maple and pecans – delicious!

We also visited The Three Mariners which is located by the river in Lancaster.

Here I had Honey Ale by Fat Cat Brewery in Norwich, I thought Bleubeard and Elizabeth might like the cat on this hand pump clip (grin!) …

… and it tasted very yummy too! Cheers and wishing you a Happy T day!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my blue sky and sunshine coloured page, it feels like ” joy is in the air” .

I’m joining the One Word challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my “Joy” art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Happy Birthday challenge as my art journal page captures birthday joy – wishing you a Happy 10^th Birthday!

I’m pleased to join the Flowers/Garden challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with all the flowers that I included on my art journal page too.

I’m happy to join Creative Artiste Challenge Blog and their their Creative Artiste’s #49th Challenge: Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page (which included markers, ink, washi tape, stickers, paper etc).

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 (Aquamarine, Gold, Slate)
Memento Ink (Bahama Blue, Angel Pink)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
Uni Posca Paint Pen (Pink)
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
Hallmark Cards Clear Stamps
Blue Foam Flower Stamp
Recycled Paper Bag (pink with white dots)
Tonic Studios Paper Punch Accent (Hearts Slider 830E)
Wilko Paper Punch
Wilko Foam Stickers (Flower Embellishments)
Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Fab Flowers #ROY1400)
Michael’s (Washi Tape)
The Works (Glitter Heart Stickers)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Springtime

Posted on April 16, 2019 by Let's Art Journal

Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday is Springtime.

As usual, you have two weeks to create your art, you can use any medium and digital is always welcome. Don’t forget to check out the wonderful inspiration provided by the Design Team over at the blog too!

Inspired by springtime flowers, I collaged the background of the page using Tim Holtz Collage Paper and some white paper that I had stamped using a lilac stamp; they are stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. As I was experimenting stamping the lilacs using Magenta, Purple, Moss, Bud Green and Chocolate Spectrum Aqua Markers to give a watercolour effect I thought I would use them on this page rather than throw them away. Then using black Versafine Ink, I stamped the “springtime” wording using an alphabet stamp and also added some clocks, both from Docrafts, as well as some bees and butterflies from Hampton Arts. The daffodils are fussy cut from an old flower book and stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. When the gel medium was dry, I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I coloured the wording using light green, yellow and pink Uni Posca paint pens and then covered each of the letters with Ranger Glossy Accents to give a 3D effect.

Whilst out walking around Glasson Dock for my birthday we saw lots of beautiful daffodils along the roadside.

These daffodils look just like the ones on my page (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing our pot of green tea that we had at a lovely café in Glasson Dock – Happy T Day everyone!

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, 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 Wendy from Wendy’s Art and Craft Journal and her Having Fun challenge over at Art Journal Journey as my page links to having springtime fun.

I’m happy to be able to join the Easter and/or Spring challenge over at Country View Challenges with my springtime page.

I’m also joining in the Beautiful Blooms challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the stamped lilacs and pretty daffodils on my page.

Over at The Artistic Stamper, their challenge is New Growth, so I’m pleased to join this challenge too with my springtime 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: