Autumn Blessings

I feel very blessed to have won one of the challenges over at Paperbabe Stamps and I choose some Maryleedee stamps from the Paperbabe Stamps shop as my prize, which are just perfect for colouring (grin!).

Today I’m featuring this super cute Maryleedee as part of my windy autumn scene.

I started by covering the background with some leftover Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and then I used Burnt Sienna, Black, Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Scarlett and Hooker’s Green Kuretake watercolour paints to paint the autumn trees and green foreground. The leaves were die cut using a Fall Foliage Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some leftover mixed media paper that had been coloured using Tea Dye Distress Ink. I added more colour to the leaves using the Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Scarlett watercolour paints and then I arranged them onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium, making them swirl in the wind. I also used the paper that I had die cut the leaves from to stencil Rusty Hinge Distress Ink onto the tree foliage. The wording “Autumn Blessings” was created using some letters from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet.

I stamped the Paperbabe Stamps Marydeelee stamp onto a piece of mixed media paper using black Archival Ink. She was coloured using TriBlend Spectrum Noir marker pens; the colours were Gold Brown Blend for her hair, Alpine Green Blend for her eyes, Fair Skin Blend for her face, arms and legs, Dark Red Blend for her lips and boots, True Blue Blend for her dress and Gold Yellow Blend for the bow. To finish, I cut her out, stuck her in place and added a bit more detail to her dress using a white gel pen.

The Maryleedee stamp was so much fun to use and colour; I love the way she turned out! Aren’t her boots fabulous; my hubby often calls me cute as I tend to hold my feet like that too (grin!).

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.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today with my page:

Art Journal Journey and lovely Chris from http://pearshapedcrafting.blogspot.com/ who is hosting this month with her All Kinds of Weather challenge with my windy autumnal page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #156 – Anything Goes with my Maryleedee page – thanks so much for the stamps!

Trees challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the painted autumnal trees that I added to this page.

Make Your Own Background challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the autumnal background I created using inks and watercolour for this page.

LTSCB #151 – Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my Autumn Blessings page.

Perfect Moments

It’s a new month so we are launching our November 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 was inspired by my good friend Craftyfield to stamp using Colourcraft Brushos, so I used them to create the diamond background. I did this by sprinkling Scarlett, Terracotta, Orange and Yellow Ochre Brushos onto a Vintage Diamond mini stencil by Creative Expressions. Then I spritzed the stencil with water and pressed it onto the page like a stamp; I did this a number of times to build up the background. When dry, I stencilled some texture paste by Tim Holtz which I had coloured using Salvaged Patina Distress Paint through a Moroccan That Special Touch of Mica Mask by Creative Expressions. Then I splattered the page using the Salvaged Patina Distress Paint and also some black DecoArt acrylic paint and left to dry. To finish, I added three fussy cut butterflies and the wording which was a Kaisercraft sticker; it reads “Perfect Moments”.

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

Perfect moments made me think of this post box that I discovered outside my local post office, isn’t the crochet cover amazing – it made me smile for the rest of the day (grin!). I like the way the colours of the sun and butterfly match my page too (double 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.

For the sake of brevity I am no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today:

Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #155 – Anything Goes with my festive tags.

Living Things challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the butterflies I included on my page.

Love to Scrap Challenge Blog and their LTSCB #151 – Anything Goes with my happy page and experimental stamping with Brushos.

Challenge #7 at Mixed Media Lovers with my mixed media journal page.

It’s all about time

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is It’s all about time.

For this challenge I was inspired by the time I have spent this month celebrating my hubby’s birthday and also our wedding anniversary. I hope are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

The background was a wallpaper sample detailing a large clock face, roses and the words “Take time to love the little things”; it was stuck in place using a glue stick and then cut to size, and I collaged the remnants together to create the panel on the left-hand side of the page. I also added more detail to the rose images using a white Uniball gel pen so they stood out more. Next I stamped the two clock faces onto some design paper by American Crafts using black Archival Ink and a couple of stamp sets by Kaisercraft. I cut them out and arranged them onto the page with some silver roses and circles which were outline stickers and a quote from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet which reads “Love the time we spend together”. To finish, I fussy cut the two butterflies from the wallpaper sample and stuck them onto the page.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday and we’ve been out celebrating, I’m sharing our drinks and meal that we enjoyed for our wedding anniversary (time sure does fly, we celebrated 33 years of marriage this year!). My hubby had chicken with black pudding in a mustard sauce and I had a warm bacon and chicken salad; I couldn’t eat all mine so we had some for lunch the next day (grin!).

Cheers and Happy T Day!

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

For the sake of brevity I am no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today with my page:

Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #154 – Anything Goes with my page.

Thinking of you over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

MIUCB#54 – Anything Goes + Paper Piecing challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog.

Love to Craft Challenge Blog and their LTCCB#63 – October Anything Goes challenge.

Everyday is a true blessing

I had so much fun creating this mixed media page and as using up leftovers is one of my crafting goals this year, I used some leftover paper that I had coloured using Kuretake watercolour to create my autumnal leaves for this page too (grin!).

Don’t forget that you still have until the end of this month to join our #76 Challenge – Anything Mixed Media Goes over at Creative Artiste; you just need to use three different mediums to join in the fun – I hope to see you there!

I started by covering the chipboard background with a layer of Pébéo white gesso and left it to dry, and then I applied a layer of black chalk paint over the top. When dry, I sanded the page in a vertical motion using a piece of sandpaper to expose some of the white gesso underneath to create a worn vintage chalkboard appearance. Next I created the leaves using some leftover paper that was coloured using Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Scarlet Kuretake watercolour paints; I die cut three sizes of the same leaf shape from a Fall Foliage Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and then I applied some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the leaves to give them more of a grungy look. I stuck the “Everyday is a true blessing” wording in place, which was from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet, and then I arranged the leaves around it using Liquitex matte gel medium. I added dots of Pumpkin Ranger Liquid Pearls and to finish, I splattered the page with the white gesso and also the black chalk paint.

As we had frosts in April that affected the apple blossom, I feel very blessed for the crop of Braeburn apples that we picked this year from our apple trees in our garden. I used some of them to make this delicious cinnamon apple cake with maple frosting which goes perfectly with my cuppa for T Stands for Tuesday – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

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.

For the sake of brevity I am no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey and lovely Tracey from Hotchpotchcreations  who is hosting this month with her My favourite colour is October challenge with my autumn blessings page (15x15cm). Chalk it Up! challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with the chalk paint background on my autumnal page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #153 – Anything Goes with my autumn blessings page. #144 Autumn Colours over at Sparkles Monthly Challenges with the autumn colours I used on this page. LTSCB #150 – Anything But A Card over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my autumnal mini art journal page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Not A Card challenge with my autumnal mini chipboard art journal page. Challenge #6 Mixed Media Lovers with my mixed media autumnal page; this is a new challenge so I thought I’d join in the fun!

Be still and listen

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

My mixed media page was inspired by the sunny Indian Summer we’ve been having of late, so I’ve transported us back to a summer walk along the Lancashire canal and the lovely yellow Iris that we saw flowering there (grin!).

I started by ripping and collaging some sheet music and design papers from Kaisercraft and American Crafts onto the page using a glue stick. Then I applied some Pébéo white gesso and Salvaged Patina Distress Paint over the top. When dry, I added lots of small pieces of design paper, which I had leftover in my craft stash, using Liquitex matte gel medium to stick them in place. The fern foliage and yellow Iris flowers were washi tape stickers and I cut the pretty butterfly image from some Kaisercraft design paper. To finish, I added the wording which were Finnabair stickers that I edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker; they read “Be still. Listen.”, “Just breathe” and “Be led by your dreams”.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. 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 join you there!

We always enjoy this walk along the canal and seeing the different boats, plants and wildlife along the way.

Here’s a view of one of the bridges where we saw the pretty yellow Iris flowering along the waters edge; it’s such a beautiful and peaceful place to walk (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.

For the sake of brevity I am no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges As well as Creative Artiste, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Touchy Feely challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the texture I created using the leftover paper pieces which I layered together on this page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #153 – Anything Goes with my summer walk art journal page. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my Indian Summer inspired page.

Be forever happy

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

I created a mixed media page using lots of leftovers from previous art journal pages; I hope you like it!

I started by covering the background of the page with the letters using one of stencils from a #16 mini stencil set by Tim Holtz and some leftover Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato which was applied with a baby wipe.

Next I edged 4 Poster Cards from Tim Holtz, like I did all the paper elements on this page, using a black Faber-Castell marker and arranged them onto the page using double-sided tape. Then I added lots of leftover bits and pieces; this included a piece of mixed media paper which had been coloured using green Distress Inks, some flowers and foliage that had been die cut using Tim Holtz Thinlits and coloured using Distress Inks, some ribbon, some torn paper, some tissue paper and note paper that had been stamped using Finnabair stamps and black Archival Ink, a ruler from a Kaisercraft Journal Card and some die cut pieces of trellis that had been covered with Aged Silver Stampendous Embossing Enamel.

They were arranged onto the page using a glue stick or double-sided tape, and I layered together a doily, a recycled butterfly gift tag and some leftover die cut letters and wording to read “Be forever happy”. I added some sparkly gems to the centre of the yellow flowers and a green wooden bird and then to finish, I coloured the “Aug” and “Sept” wording on the Poster Card using Tri-Blend Spectrum Noir markers.

As you can see I used lots of different mediums to create this page but 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!

This page was inspired by our walks at Lytham Hall that we enjoyed over the summer (grin!).

There are lots of woodland walks so we were able to stay cool in the shade and out of the summer heat. I’m now looking forward to seeing the leaves change to their colours over the coming months with the autumn on its way.

Our walks also take us by these flower borders in the walled gardens which always look so beautiful (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.

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges As well as Creative Artiste, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #151 – Anything Goes with my nature art journal page. De-stress with distressing over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my distressed grungy stencilled background, Distress Inks, and also the torn papers, trellis and ribbon. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Glimmer and Sparkle challenge with the glimmer and sparkle of the yellow flowers with their glittery gem centres. LTSCB #149 – Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my leftovers page. Mixed Media Lovers and their Challenge #5 Mixed Media Lovers as I used lots of mixed media to create this nature page; this is a new challenge blog so why not join in the fun too!

Memories filled with cheer

It’s a new month so we are launching our August 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 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 started by colouring the edge of the page with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and smudging the ink with my finger. Then I added the design paper to the top left-hand corner; I ripped and distressed the edges of the paper using a pair of scissors before sticking it in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. I also tore and distressed the edges of the sheet music, and I used a new technique by using water to dampen the top left-hand corner of the sheet music so that the paper could be manipulated more easily in order to fold it back before applying some matte gel medium to hold it in place. Next I applied some Brushed Corduroy and Tea Dye Distress Inks, that I had diluted with water, to give the music sheet more of a worn and vintage look. The vintage images were Washi tape stickers which I adhered to some white cardstock and then cut out; they were stuck in place using the matte gel medium. I added a dark brown brad to the tag image and then I stuck the paper flowers and leaves, which were by Little Birdie, in place using glue dots. To finish, I added the Kaisercraft sticker wording which reads “memories filled with cheer”.

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

The sheet music on this page was gifted me by my sister and brings back so many happy memories of her playing either her piano or violin when I was young – they definately were “memories filled with cheer!” (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.

For the sake of brevity I am no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges As well as Creative Artiste, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Neet from Hickydorums; she has chosen Type as her theme so I’m joining with the typed wording on the tag and quote that I added to my page. LTSCB #148 – Old School over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my vintage designed page. Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Summertime Blues challenge with the blue design paper, images and flowers on my page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #150 – Anything Goes with my vintage page. The Birthday Celebration! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as I’m sure they have many “memories filled with cheer” as they celebrate their 11th Birthday – thanks for all the challenge fun over the years and wishing you all a very Happy Birthday! MIUCB #52 – Anything Goes + Mixed Media over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the mixed media and techniques that I used to create this vintage page. Mixed Media Lovers and their Challenge #4 Mixed Media Lovers; this is a new blog challenge blog that’s just starting up so I’m so pleased to be able to join them.

Beautiful reasons to be happy

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Keep it Simple.

We are looking for creations that are easy to make and/or simple in design – I hope you’re inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

My page was both simple in its design and easy to make (as you can see by my short tutorial today – grin!). I started by stamping the doily using a Kaisercraft stamp, Versamark Watermark stamp pad and white Stampendous embossing powder which I heated with a heat gun. Then I applied some Watermelon, Guava and Coconut Faber-Castell gelatos by scribbling them onto the page and then smudging the colour with my finger and a little water. Next I added the fairy and flower images which were Washi tape stickers and also the “There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy” wording which was a Kaisercraft sticker. To finish, I added some gemstone embellishments for more sparkle.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m also keeping it simple with my glass of ice cold water – wishing you all 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.

For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Neet from Hickydorums; she has chosen Type as her theme so I’m joining with the typed quote on my page. Shimmering Summer Fun Challenge over at The Funky Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the shimmer and sparkle from the embossing powder and gemstones on my shabby chic fairy page. The Birthday Celebration! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge who are marking their 11th Birthday and also have “so many beautiful reasons to be happy” too – thanks for all the challenge fun over the years and wishing you all a very Happy Birthday! Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #149 – Anything Goes with my happy fairy art journal page. Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my summery fairy page. LTCCB #61 – Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my happy summer page.

Every heart sings a song

I created this shabby chic vintage page in my mini art journal to join a few of my favourite challenges and, with the birds that I included, to also remind you that there is still another week to join our Feathered Friends challenge over at Try it on Tuesday.

For the background, I cut a piece of Kraft Card and ran it through a Tim Holtz Botanicals embossing folder. Then I stuck it onto the page with a panel of wildflower design paper using Liquitex matte gel medium. I applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top of the papers using my finger paying attention to highlight the embossed texture. When dry, I edged the page with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. Then I added a piece of lace using double-sided tape between the two panels. I used a Garden Greens Thinlits set from Tim Holtz to die cut the foliage from some leftover mixed media paper that I had coloured with Mowed Lawn, Peeled Painted and Pine Needles Distress Inks. They were arranged onto the page with some white flowers and birds which were fussy cut from Kaisercraft stickers. To finish, I added the beautiful quote by “Plato” which was a Kaisercraft sticker that I cut to fit the page and edged with a Dark Sepia Big Brush Faber-Castell marker; it reads “Every heart sings a song, incomplete, until another heart whispers back”.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my cuppa with a home-made Skinny Lemon and Blueberry cupcake; they are a very yummy summer treat – wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Hoping that you are 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:

• Docrafts Papermania (Mini Chipboard Album 15x15cm)
• Kraft Cardstock
• Sizzix 3D Texture Fades A6 Tim Holtz Alterations (Botanicals 662716)
• Sizzix Big Shot
• Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia)
• Dovecraft Creative Ribbon Sweet Paris (Lace DCCR24)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Garden Greens 661206)
• Leftover mixed media paper coloured green with Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles Distress Inks
• Home Bargains Special Occasions (Mini White Flowers)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheets (Cherry Tree Lane SS329, Pen & Ink SS360)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Alison from Words & Pictures; she has chosen Summer Countryside as her theme so I’m joining with my mini art journal page design with the summer botanicals, wildflowers, foliage and birds. Funkie and Frilly challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with my design the embossed background, flowers and lace that I used on this shabby chic vintage page. Out With The Old And In With The New challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge; the old being the embossing folder, thinlits set, leftover coloured papers and flowers, and the new being the wildflower paper, birds, and lace. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #148 – Anything Goes with my pretty mini art journal page. LTSCB #147 – Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my botanical page.

Hope

This time of year I always find myself thinking of friends both past and present, so my page today is inspired by friendships and the hope that “may your heart be filled with joy”!

I started by painting the background with purple and white acrylic paint and when dry I added some white gesso over the top using a brayer. Then I sprayed some White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray over the page and left it to dry. Next I added the two flower stickers which were from a Romance of Flowers Stickeroos sheet by Penny Black and then I layered some of the remanents stickers from the same sheet with some border stickers from Kaisercraft. The wording was from another Kaisercraft sticker sheet and I added some gold foil butterflies and gold border outline stickers. To finish, I splattered some black DecoArt acrylic paint over the page.

The background colour of my page reminded me of our Streptocarpus which was gifted to us by a dear friend (thank you so much); this plant has been flowering since April and doesn’t look like it’s going to stop anytime soon (grin!)

I hope you are 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:

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic (Dioxazine Purple)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen)
• Penny Black Stickeroos (Romance of Flowers 10-209)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Bombay Sunset SS339, Christmas Edition SS346)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Straight Line Borders Gold, Butterflies Gold)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)

Challenges I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Alison from Words & Pictures; she has chosen Summer Countryside as her theme so I’m joining in the fun with my page detailing the hazy purple of summer sunsets and the flowers and butterflies that could be found in the countryside. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #147 – Anything Goes with my hope art journal page. Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Lazy Days of Summer challenge with the summery purple sunset colour, flowers and butterflies. LTCCB #60 – July Anything Goes over at Love to Craft Challenge Blog with my summery page.