Feminine

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Make it Feminine.

I created this feminine page using a gorgeous Shabby Chic paper from Studio Light, some lace and pearls. I hope that you like it and are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

For the background, I stamped a delicate Floral Icons stamp from Docrafts using Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Then I cut the Shabby Chic paper and also some Vintage design papers to create the different paper pieces; I edged them with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and arranged them onto the page using a glue stick. The wording was a sticker from Kaisercraft and reads “You make life beautiful”. To finish, I added some pretty lace flowers and pearl strips.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday and I recently celebrated 5 years of blogging, I’m sharing this photo collage of some of the tea that I’ve enjoyed and posted over the years; it features pretty feminine tea sets to tie in with my page – Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Floral Icons DCE907123)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
• Studio Light 12×12 Paper (Shabby Chic SCRAPSC03)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Vintage Romance 154897)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Full Bloom SS365)
• Lace – recycled
• Stix2 glue dots
• Poundland (Pearl Embellishments)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Elle from Empire of the Cat this month and her Language theme with the wording I added to my page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #143 – Anything Goes with my feminine page. LTSCB#145 – Anything Goes over at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my pretty feminine page. Feminine challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Feminine page.

Enjoy the beauty of becoming

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

All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our mixed media challenge; I hope you are inspired to join us, it would be lovely to see you there!

I had fun recycling some corrugated packaging and lace as part of my mixed media design, and as the page emerged I thought that the wording seemed very appropriate too (grin!).  

I started by ripping pieces of corrugated card which I recycled from some packaging and sticking them onto the page with some strips of lace using Liquitex matte gel medium.

Then I covered the whole page with Pébéo white gesso and left it to dry. Next I added some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and Bluebird Wendy Vecchi Blendable Dye Ink to the page; I did this by adding drops of ink from re-inker bottles and then spritzing with water, gradually building up the layers of colour. When dry, I applied Mowed Lawn Distress Ink and Prickly Pear Wendy Vecchi Blendable Dye Ink using the same technique but this time to the bottom part of the page. I left the page to dry overnight and then I stamped a Marble stamp from Kasiercraft over the whole page using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink. The flowers were from a Tim Holtz Botanical Layers pack and I used a Finnabair Sentiments sticker book for the wording which read “create”, “Enjoy the beauty of becoming” and “bloom”.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too.

The flowers on my page reminded me of these Bellis Perennis which are also known as English Daisies. They have pompom blooms that flower from February to May and are very popular as an alternative to traditional spring bedding plants.

They look so beautiful filling the flower beds in the gardens by the seafront where we live.

I hope that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

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

• Recycled corrugated card packaging
• Recycled lace
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass, Mowed Lawn, Hickory Smoke)
• Ranger Wendy Vecchi Bendable Dye Inks (Bluebird, Prickly Pear)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Marble CS293)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Layers (Botanical #TH93554)
• Stix2 glue dots
• Finnabair Sticker Book (Sentiments #964849)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Elle from Empire of the Cat this month and her Language theme with the wording I added to my page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #143 – Anything Goes with my recycled page. LTSCB#57 – May Anything Goes over at the Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my mixed media recycled page. Feminine challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and also at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the lace and flower design. MIUCB#49 – Anything Goes + Layering over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the layering techniques that I used to create this page – recycled packaging and lace, gesso and inks with the stamping.

Double-headed Tulips

As you may remember every year we plant tulips bulbs in our garden and last November we planted some double-headed tulips; they have the most amazing flowers and inspired this page (grin!).

I started by covering the background with a thin layer of Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink, which was painted onto the page like watercolour. Then I stencilled a Shabby Harlequin mini stencil from Creative Expressions using the Forest Moss Distress Ink. Next I covered the background using white gesso and when dry, I used the same stencil to add some Mowed Lawn Distress Ink; the layers of gesso and ink gave the background a lovely translucency. I used the Mowed Lawn ink again to stamp some grungy dots around the stencilled areas using a Spritz & Speckles stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps. The tulips were fussy cut from an old flower book and they were stuck in place using a glue stick. To finish, I added the wording “Bloom where you are planted” which was a sticker from Kaisercraft and lots of sparkly green dots which are gel stickers.

Here are the amazing double-headed tulips in our garden; the flowers are huge and look so bright with their red and yellow petals.

This double-headed tulip is a mixture of the two colours, so pretty!

In fact, all the spring flowers are looking beautiful in our garden (grin!).

A little bit of our garden made its way into my craft room, and as T Stands for Tuesday I’ve included my cup of Ceylon Tea too – Happy T Day everyone!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Shabby Harlequin)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Spritz & Speckles)
• Recycled images from a Garden Flower book
• Pritt Stick
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Full Bloom SS365)
• Home Bargains (Gel Stickers – green)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Elle from Empire of the Cat this month and her Language theme with my tulips and wording on my page speaking to the language of flowers (grin!). Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #143 – Anything Goes with my spring flower page. MIUCB#49 – Anything Goes + Layering over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the layering techniques of the inks, stencilling, gesso and stamping that I used to create the background of this page. Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my tulip page too. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Feminine theme with my pretty flower page.

Carry your heart with mine

I’m thrilled and honoured to be over at Altered Book Lover with Bleubeard and Elizabeth today as part of her 22 days of recycling leading up to her happy bEARTHday.

One of my goals this year is to recycle and use up leftovers on my art journal pages, so I was delighted to be invited and very happy to join in the fun – thanks so much! 

The background and main images for this page were created using recycled materials; they just seemed too nice to throw away (grin!).

For the background I collaged strips of recycled tissue paper, brown paper packaging and some of the card that I place under my journal pages whilst crafting to catch any excess paints, inks, modelling paste etc; like all the paper elements they were stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry, I outlined the edges of these collaged pieces using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. I also added some gold embossing powder to highlight the texture of the tissue paper and to match the gold on the main images. I fussy cut the cute dogs, heart balloons and patterned foreground from a beautiful anniversary card that my mum and dad kindly sent us; I had fun fussy cutting everything which took quite a bit of time. I arranged them on either side of the page and then I added the Kaisercraft sticker wording which reads “Wherever you go, no matter how far, I carry your heart with mine” which finished the page.

I hope that you’re inspired to recycle and repurpose materials for your art creations; there’s lots of inspiration this month over at Altered Book Lover too (grin!).

The little dogs on my page reminded me of this pottery dog that sits on our mantel in the lounge which was from a local gallery. It’s Raku pottery which is my favourite type of decorative pottery and derives from a traditional Japanese process where the fired raku piece is removed from the hot kiln and is allowed to cool in the open air. I believe that this spotty dog was decorated with coloured slips, glazes and metal leaf before it was Raku fired.  

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Recycled white tissue paper
• Recycled brown paper packaging
• Recycled card that I place under my journal pages whilst crafting covered in paints, inks, modelling paste, stencilling, scribbles, washi tape, sticker off cuts etc
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Ranger Embossing Powder (gold)
• Recycled anniversary card
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Havana Nights SS354)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today which are: Art Journal Journey where the theme is Inspired By in honour of Eileen from The Artful Crafter’s Blog who picked the theme and was supposed to host this month but sadly passed away shortly after her heart surgery last month – I miss her greatly! I’m so pleased to be able to her challenge and was inspired to recycle; I think the wording “I carry your heart with mine” is perfect to remember Eileen by too! MIUCB#48 – Anything Goes + optional No Stamping challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my recycled page which contains no stamping. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Not a Card challenge with my recycled art journal page. LTCCB#57 – April Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with the recycled materials on my mixed media page.

Oh, what a beautiful day

Inspired by the warm, sunny days we’ve been enjoying lately, I created this sunshiny page to say “Oh, what a beautiful day!”

This page was created in my mini chipboard art journal using some leftovers, recycling and lots of washi tapes which I don’t seem to use that often.

I started by covering the background with pieces of blue and green washi tapes to create the blue sunshiny sky and green grassy foreground. When it was completely covered, I applied a thin layer of Liquitex matte gel medium to hold all the washi tapes in place and left it to dry.

To mute the background colours, I applied some white gesso over the top using a brayer and when dry, I differentiated between the sky and foreground using a black Faber-Castell marker which I smudged with my finger. Next I drew and cut the flower pieces from some sheet music and stuck them into place, like all the paper elements, using Liquitex matte gel medium. The centre of the flower was created using a couple of beads which were recycled from an old necklace and stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents. The hearts were leftovers; they were created using a Falling Hearts Thinlits set from Tim Holtz and some cardstock that was coloured using Fired Brick and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. The wording was a sticker from Kaisercraft and all the paper elements were outlined using a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I stamped the circles using some recycled cardboard tubes and white DecoArt acrylic paint.

I’m really enjoying creating these smaller journal pages and I love that these chipboard pages are made from recycled paper too. The chipboard makes the pages very sturdy so they stand up beautifully making them easy to display. As T Stands for Tuesday, here’s my drink of cranberry juice mixed with water that I enjoyed whilst crafting – Happy T Day everyone!  

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Docrafts Papermania Bare Basics  Chipboard Album (Square 15x15cm)
• Assorted blue and green washi tapes
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pébéo white gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Sheet Music
• Recycled old necklace
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Leftover hearts (Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Set – Falling Hearts 664415, White cardstock, Distress Ink – Fired Brick, Picked Raspberry)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Golden Grove SS343)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Paint (White)
• Recycled cardboard tubes

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today, they are: The lovely Sheila’s Single Flower challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the single flower that I created for my mini page (15x15cm). Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #140 – Anything Goes with my mini art journal page. LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my washi tape stamped page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Whatever the Weather challenge with my beautiful day page.

Pretty in Pink

I’m still having fun recycling and using leftovers to create my art journal pages, so today I’m sharing one that I created using a pretty pink flower image that I recycled from an old magazine.

I started by covering the page with white acrylic paint and then I added the text using my favourite Script stamp by Kaisercraft and black Archival Ink. Next I arranged the recycled flower image and some pieces of black design paper using a glue stick. I applied some white gesso using a brayer to the black paper pieces to push them into the background more. The wording were Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz; they read “there is beauty in simplicity”, “find the beautiful” and “always be on the lookout for the presence of wonder”. To finish, I added the pink gemstones to add some sparkle.

Although this is a different flower, the spiky petals of the flower on my page reminded me of the mesembryanthemum flowers that we have in our garden each year. My family have nicknamed these flowers “pretties” and as we grow them from seed we will start propagating them this month – yay!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Paint (White)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Script CS752)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Recycled image from old magazine
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Travel Memories 154898)
• Pébéo white gesso
• Ranger (Mini Brayer Roller)
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Hobbycraft Gem Stones (Rose 5666091006)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today, they are: The lovely Sheila’s Single Flower challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the single flower image that I added to my page. Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #139 – Picture Inspiration as the flower image on my page resembles the succulent’s shape on their picture. LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my stamped and collaged art journal page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Recycle challenge as my flower image was recycled from a magazine.

Live Laugh Love

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Use a stencil or two.

I had fun creating this page using a couple of stencils for the crackle texture and the background text. I hope you’re inspired to use a stencil to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by applying Distress Inks to the background by pressing the stamp pad onto a blending mat, spritzing them with water and then pressing the mat onto the page; the colours included Speckled Egg, Fossilized Amber, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Salty Ocean.

When dry, I stencilled some Ranger Crackle Texture Paste over the top using a Moroccan stencil from Creative Expressions and left it to dry overnight.

Next I added the text using a stencil from Crafter’s Workshop and some Speckled Egg Distress Ink. The pretty flower was a Penny Black sticker which I mounted onto some white cardstock and stuck in place using double-sided tape. The wording was a Kaisercraft sticker and reads “Live Laugh Love”. To finish, I recycled three stone discs from an old necklace to embellish the page and I added a pearl gemstone to the centre of each stone.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of Ceylon Tea with a hot cross bun which was lightly toasted and buttered – yum! Happy T Day everyone!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg, Fossilized Amber, Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Salty Ocean)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan)
• Ranger Crackle Texture Paste
• The Crafter’s Workshop Mini Template (Art is Stencil 6×6)
• Penny Black Stickeroos (In Bloom 10-208)
• White cardstock
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Secret Garden SS283)
• Old necklace
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Love To Craft (Adhesive Pearls LCDOT002)

Challenges As well as joining Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join some the other challenges today, they are: The lovely Sheila’s Single Flower challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the single vintage flower that I added to my page. The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and their Anything Goes challenge with my vintage designed page. LTCCB #56 – March Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Craft Challenge Blog with my mixed media art journal page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and their Recycle challenge as I used some recycled bead discs from an necklace to embellish this page.

Spread your wings

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

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

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

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

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

All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge. For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. I hope you are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

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

I hope that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

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

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

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

Say it with Flowers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

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

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

Falling in love

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Falling in love.

I’m celebrating falling in love with my romantic shabby chic page using a gorgeous Shabby Chic paper from Studio Light and some very delicate green voile butterflies that my sister kindly gifted me for Christmas (grin!). I hope you like it and are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

Keeping the background colours soft and elegant, I started by lightly painting some Rose Madder, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre and Turquoise blue Kuretake watercolours onto the page. Then I used a Lace stencil from Tim Holtz to apply some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and a Moroccan Stencil from Creative Expressions to apply some Speckled Egg Distress Ink; both inks were applied using a blending tool. Next I stamped a Gothic Book stamp from Finnabair, which is one of my favourite stamps, and also a delicate Floral Icons stamp from Docrafts using Toffee Crunch Memento Ink.

I cut the Shabby Chic paper to create the different paper pieces including some tags which I die cut using a Tag Collection Framelits die set from Tim Holtz. They were all edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then I arranged them onto the page using double-sided tape. I used Kaisercraft stickers for the wording and I tied some green thread to the tags to match the colour and delicate nature of the butterflies. The metal copper embellishments were held in place using Ranger Glossy Accents; they included a framed picture of the Tower of Pisa, a heart and a love letter envelope.

I used glue dots to stick the delicate green voile butterflies in place and then I added some sparkly green gemstones to the butterflies, metal embellishments and paper pieces which finished the page.

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

We love Italy and have visited Pisa whilst travelling to Tuscany; the Tower of Pisa was a sight to behold with its four-degree lean which is due to unstable foundations.

As T Stands for Tuesday, here are a couple of glasses Aperol Spritz; it’s a refreshing drink that we always enjoy whilst in Italy! Aperol is an alcoholic Italian aperitif which is bitter in flavour. In this case it has been mixed with prosecco and a splash of soda water then served with ice and a slice of orange – Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Rose Madder, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Turquoise Blue)
• Tim Holtz Layering Stencil (Lace THS034)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry, Speckled Egg, Vintage Photo)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan)
• Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book #966966)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Floral Icons DCE907123)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Toffee Crunch)
• Studio Light 12×12 Paper (Shabby Chic SCRAPSC03)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Everlasting SS376)
• Guterman Thread (Col. 763)
• The Works (Metal Framed Embellishments)
• Crafter’s Companion Parisian Collection (Metal Charms S-PAR-CHAR)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Green Voile Butterflies
• Stix2 glue dots
• Hero Arts Gemstones (Green & Red CH120)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the metal embellishments that I included on my page. I’m so happy to join in the fun over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their So Delicate challenge with my delicate and romantic shabby chic page. I’m joining the LTSCB #142 – Love is … challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my love-themed art journal page. I’m also pleased to be able to join Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Love and/or Hearts challenge as my romantic page contains both. I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too.