Here with you

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d create a page with my hubby in mind. We have been married for many years (it will be 32 years this year) so I created a romantic vintage page.

I also used some of my new Wendy Vecchi Make Art Blendable Dye inks from Ranger; they were fun to use and I love the colours and coverage – see what you think.  

I started by adding some ripped book pages to the page using a glue stick and then I stamped an Finnabair and a Woodware Craft stamp to add some script and sheet  music using black Archival Ink. Next I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer and when dry applied some Potting Soil, Acorn and Watering Can Wendy Vecchi Make Art inks which I watered down on an acrylic block before painting them onto the page with a paintbrush. I also applied some more of the Acorn ink through a Moroccan stencil using a blending tool.

The roses are fussy cut from a wallpaper sample and like all the paper elements, I created some shadows around them so they stood out more by applying and smudging some Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker with my finger before sticking them down using Liquitex matte gel medium. The roses are arranged on the page with some Kaisercraft Stickers; this included some bird and foliage images, some white, green and grey hearts and also some wording which reads “here with you”, “there are so many beautiful reasons to be happy” and “joy is contagious”. To finish, I splattered the page with black and white DecoArt acrylic paint.

There are so many reasons to be happy when I’m with my hubby, we always have fun together and for that I am very thankful (grin!).

Over at Try it on Tuesday we have a Design Team call out, so if you are interested in joining our friendly group and have a current blog, just add DT to your challenge entry to our current or next theme over at Try it on Tuesday. We accept projects using any mediums, materials, style etc. it is your choice what you make, as long as it is based on the challenge theme.

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 Something New challenge that I’m hosting over at Art Journal Journey as I used my new Wendy Vecchi Make Art Inks on this page.

As this page was created with my hubby in mind, I’m pleased to join the Love challenge over at Country View Challenges.

With the Moroccan stencil that I added to this page, I’m also happy to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use a Stencil challenge too.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my vintage page too.

With the worn and weather look that I created on my art journal page, I also wanted to remind you that there is still time to join the We’re all getting older challenge this month over at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Old book pages
• Pritt Stick
• Prima Marketing Finnibair Clear Stamp (Old Receipt Item#966980)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Sheet Music JGS111)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Brayer (Small)
• Ranger Wendy Vecchi Blendable Dye Ink (Potting Soil, Acorn, Watering Can)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Morrocan)
• Wallpaper sample
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Everlasting SS376, High Tea SS336)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)

Chococo

When we visited our family for the Christmas holidays we went on a chocolate adventure to Chococo, which is a chocolate shop and café. We had such a wonderful time that I created this page to remember it by.

I covered the background with a striped piece of Kaisercraft paper; the bold colours reminded me of the Chococo logo and store. I edged the page with a thin brown washi tape and then cut up a leaflet that I’d picked up there; this included the Chococo logo, gingerbread caramel chocolate and two chocolate lollies with birds on them. They are arranged on the page with some die cut brown hearts, a circular hot chocolate image and some wording which reads “cozy” and “even when it’s cold outside our memories keep us warm”. The wording “sweet” is from Kaisercraft and “an armful of candy boxes” is from Tim Holtz, both of which are stickers. To finish the page, I added three wooden glittery snowflakes as we visited in winter.

Chococo is located in Horsham, West Sussex and celebrates all things chocolate.

They have a chocolate counter with lots of yummy treats and …

… also a café specialising in hot chocolate.

I couldn’t resist having one of their Gingerbread Caramel Hot Chocolates with all the works (whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate shavings), it was so delicious and was accompanied by one of their award winning gingerbread caramel chocolates – yum yum!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my drink related post with the T Gang and 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

As this was a new café for us to visit, I’m joining the Something New challenge that I’m hosting over at Art Journal Journey, it would be great to see you there (grin!).

I’m also happy to join in the Love challenge over at Country View Challenges with my art journal page, who doesn’t love chocolate (double grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the Snowflake challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday with the glittery wooden snowflakes that I included on my page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page too.

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

• Kaisercraft 12×12 Paper Save the Date Collection (Invite P949)
• Washi Tape
• Chococo leaflet – recycled
• The Works Die Cut Book (Winter Feelings)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Havana Nights SS354)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Sticker Book (Christmas #TH93999)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• The Craftblog Christmas Village Collection (Glittered Wooden Shapes)
• Stix2 glue dots

Something New at Art Journal Journey

I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge that I have chosen is:

Something New

It’s a new year, so we would like you to create an art journal page with something “new” in mind. This could include a new product or technique, or be inspired by a new job, home or hobby, new beginnings, adventure or outlook, or even a Happy New Year!

I created a page with a fresh colour palette to depict something new. I started by covering the page with stamped images from a Steampunk background stamp by Docrafts and a new stamp set from Creative Sensations using black Archival Ink; I used this ink for all the stamping on this page. Then I applied Acqua Dolce, Guava and Kiwi Faber-Castell Gelatos by scribbling them onto the paper and then smudging the colour with my finger which I wet using a baby wipe.

To add some depth to the page, I applied some white gesso with my finger and also through a star stencil, and when dry I stamped some images from a Provincial and a Stargazer stamp set, both from Kaisercraft. I also splattered the page with Titanium White and Carbon Black Liquitex Ink using a paintbrush.

Next I chose five art journal cards from Kaisercraft and stamped them with the “Something New” challenge title using a Concord & 9^th stamp set and also listed some ways that you could interpret the challenge using a Dovecraft stamp set. They are stuck in place using double-sided tape and to finish I added some gold glittery stars, which were also new to my craft stash.

I chose this challenge with it being a new year and also because I normally have new crafting goodies as part of my Christmas gifts. This year didn’t disappoint as I have received some great additions to my craft stash and I plan to use some of them to join our Something New challenge.

Maybe you could use some new products as well on your pages, it could be a present or be something sitting in its packaging still waiting to be used – yes this happens to me too (grin!).

I’m looking forward to trying out a couple of new techniques on my pages for this challenge too, so watch this space.

I also thought that some of you might be setting new goals, choosing a new word for the year or even starting a new hobby so these would be perfect for this challenge too.

There are so many options, I hope that you are inspired by this month’s Something New challenge too and will join in the fun here at Art Journal Journey – I can’t wait to visit you and see your creations (grin!).  

Wishing you all the best for 2020!

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:

• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Background Stamp (Steampunk Background DCE907128)
• Craft Sensations Clear Stamps (CRO274/19A)
• Ranger Arcival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Acqua Dolce, Guava, Kiwi)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Star Stencil
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Provincial CS243, Stargazer CS327)
• Liquitex Inks! (Titanium White, Carbon Black)
• Kaisercraft Captured Moments 3×4” Journal Cards (Life’s Treasures CM108)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
• Dovecraft Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCV0050)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• The Works Make & Create (Christmas Glitter Stickers – Gold Stars)

Wishing you a magical Christmas

I created this page for all my blog friends to wish you all a magical Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I started by stamping the “We wish you a Merry Christmas” sheet music, the number 25 and the angels from a stamp set by Kaisercraft using Black Archival Ink. Then I applied some watered down Forest Moss and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink using a paint brush making light criss-cross strokes to add some texture whilst allowing some of the white paper to show through. Next I added a pretty foliage napkin which was gifted to me for my art journaling by a dear friend that we walk with every week – thank you! It is stuck in place using a glue stick and then the edges are ripped by painting a line of water along the piece of napkin where I wanted it to be torn, and then tearing it along the wet strip; the tear followed the water-soaked line like magic (grin!). The edges of napkin are stuck down using Liquitex matte gel medium. To finish, I recycled an old Christmas card to die cut the snowflakes and also to add the wording “Wishing you a magical Christmas”.

Me and my hubby always start our Christmas celebrations by visiting our local pub for a pint. Our pub doesn’t serve food but they are happy for you to take your own in with you to enjoy with your drink, so we always stop at the local deli for a Festive sandwich, which was so yummy!

Here’s our Festive sandwich (the deli kindly cut and wrapped it so we could have half each) with a pint of Mulled Stout from the Big Clock Brewery in Accrington, Lancashire; it’s a very dark beer, 4.5% ABV and tasted very Christmassy with the mulled spices – delicious!

The “re-order line” wording on the glass made me smile, well it would be rude not too so we did have another Mulled Stout (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my pint with the T Gang – wishing you all a Happy T Day and also a magical Christmastime! Happy Holidays!

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 Yvonne, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the words and numbers on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Moo Mania & More too.

I’m joining in the Party Time challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as my page is celebrating Christmas – wishing you a magical time!

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

• Kaisercraft clear stamp (December 25th CS790)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Forest Moss, Mowed Lawn)
• Napkin
• Pritt Stick
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Recycled Christmas Card
• The Works (Metal Cutting Die)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• X-Press It double-sided foam tape

Christmas Reindeer

I love all things Christmas so I have another Christmas page which this time is inspired by the new reindeer street mural that was recently created by the wonderful artist Banksy. This time, he is highlighting the homeless at Christmastime.

For the background I stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft using London Fog Memento Ink and a wreath stamp using Black Archival Ink onto the page, and then I covered the page using Vintage Photo and Peeled Paint Distress Ink with a blending tool. Then I used a star stencil to remove some of the Distress Ink with a baby wipe and used the star stencil again to stencil the stars (in a Banksy style) using Black Soot Distress Ink, using a white Uniball gel pen to highlight some of the edge. Next I splattered the page with white gesso, black acrylic paint and Aged Mahogany Distress Ink.

The reindeer and snowflakes are glitter stickers which add some lovely texture and sparkle; it’s hard to see this on the photos. To finish, I added some white snowflake gems, red enamel dots and a fabric “Merry Christmas” tag.

Just a reminder that there is still another week to join our Christmas is coming challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there.

View this post on Instagram

. God bless Birmingham. In the 20 minutes we filmed Ryan on this bench passers-by gave him a hot drink, two chocolate bars and a lighter – without him ever asking for anything.

A post shared by Banksy (@banksy) on Dec 9, 2019 at 5:15am PST

If you haven’t yet seen it, here’s the Banksy street mural which recently appeared in Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter over the weekend. It was reported that it was later vandalised with two red noses being added which then resulted in it being covered with Perspex to protect it.

When I think of street art, Banksy always springs to mind and you may remember me featuring his work on my blog before, I love his pieces! Banksy is an anonymous England-based street artist who has been active since the 1990s. His street art style is a distinctive stenciling technique and often his works are controversial having a political and social message combined with satirical dark humour.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my drink of ginger beer at a café in Lytham after a walk with our friends – wishing you 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 lovely Yvonne, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the words on this page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Stars challenge over at Country View Challenges with the stencilled stars that I included on this page.

I’m pleased to join the Winter challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my reindeer page.

I’m joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Moo Mania & More too.

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

• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Wreath clear stamp
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (London Fog)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint, Aged Mahogany, Black Soot)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Star Stencil
• B&M (Glitter Snow Window Stickers)
• Habico Signature Collection (Snowflakes PP1100)
• Dovecraft Premium (Festive Wonder Glitter Enamel Dots DCDOTO36X18)
• Docrafts Create Christmas (Stitched Ribbon Tags PMA157921)
• X-Press It double-sided tape

Christmas is coming

For the next two weeks our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Christmas is coming.

My art journal page features traditional Christmas red and green colours and Christmas trees; I love all things Christmas so I can’t wait to see your Christmas creations (grin!). 

For the background, I stamped a Lattice stamp using Aged Mahogany Distress Ink over the whole page and then spritzed the page with water. When dry I added pieces of green polka dot washi tape to create the Christmas tree, added some red gemstones and then the numbers and trunk which are stickers from Kaisercraft. Next I die cut the letters to create the “Christmas is coming” wording out of white card; they are coloured using a green pen, stuck in place using Zig glue pen and more detail was added using a white Uniball gel pen. I used another sticker set to add the snowflake discs and create the tags, layering them together with the trees and stars and adding a bow of red and white twine. I also added some wording from a Tim Holtz Christmas sticker book which reads “the best tree”, “the magic tree”, “Christmas time has come at last” and “25^th of December”. To finish, I added some green and white glittery snowflakes and also some red gems to the tags and snowflake discs.

There’s some amazing inspiration from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over to take a look.

The numbered tree that I’ve created on this page could be used to count down the days until Christmas. I’m not sure where this year has gone now that December is here and oh my, there are only 15 days left until Christmas!

Another way this page could be used is as a calendar marking off the dates until Christmas Day is here. I think my friends have the best idea though, with the reward of a chocolate each day from this fabulous advent calendar! I may just have to get one of these next year – looks so yummy (grin!).

I noticed this advent calendar when we were visiting little Ellie, doesn’t she look adorable after her recent visit for her trim at the doggie parlour (double grin!).

Oh, and not forgetting hot chocolate for T Stands for Tuesday . This time of year we often enjoy a cup with a scrummy Lebkuchen which are only on sale at Christmastime. These ones are dipped in dark chocolate – delicious! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang – 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 glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as 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, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the words on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Traditional Christmas challenge with the traditional red and green Christmas colours on my page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Stars challenge over at Country View Challenges with the stars on the tags and the snowflakes star shapes I included on this page.

I’m also joining in the Stars challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the stars on the tags and the snowflakes star shapes I included on this page too.

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

• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Lattice CS120)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Aged Mahogany)
• Poundland (3 Washi Tapes)
• Eleganza Craft Stickers (Gems Red No:16)
• Hero Arts Gemstones (Red & Green CH120)
• Docrafts Papermania Adhesive  Stones (Red PMA351607)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Turtle Doves SS149)
• Docrafts X-Cut Alphabet Die Set (Centurion XCU503083)
• Recycled white card
• Pentel Sign Pen (Green)
• Zig Memory 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Dovecraft Collections Christmas Basics (A5 Glitter Stickers DCSTK018X16)
• Red & white twine
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Christmas Sticker Book #TH93999)
• Poundland (Christmas Craft Pack)

Let it snow

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)