Black Magic

I was lucky enough to receive a box of Black Magic chocolates for a good deed that a member of my family requested – they were very yummy! So I thought I would recycle the packaging to create my Black Magic Halloween page – I hope you like it!

I started by using a Sun and Moon circle template from Inkylicious to mask off the moon and then painted the sky background with orange and black Kuretake watercolour paints. Then I removed the template and used the Sun and Moon stencil from the same Inkylicious set to add the moon detail using Vintage Linen and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and a white Uni Posca paint pen. I stamped the sky with a Gothic Book stamp from Finnabair using Black Soot Distress Archival Ink and then I splattered the page with the orange and black watercolour paints. Next I recycled the inner packaging from my Black Magic chocolates by ripping the black paper into pieces and arranging them on the bottom and down the left-hand side of the page. I also die cut the flowers and ivy from the same black paper using Wildflower Stems and Garden Greens Thinlets from Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine; they are stuck in place using a Zig Memory glue pen. I stamped some cobwebs from Molly Blooms using Black Soot Distress Archival Ink. Then I used some of the cardboard packaging for the “Black Magic” wording fussy cutting it out, black heat embossing it and sticking it in place using Ranger Glossy Accents. Then to finish, I splattered the page using the white Uni Posca paint pen.

Here’s my box of Black Magic chocolates, help yourselves – you have a choice of Coffee Crescent, Pure Black Magic, Midnight Truffle, Raspberry Heaven, Hazelnut Swirl, Dreamy Fudge, Almond Crunch, Orange Sensation and Caramel Heart. To make them last I treated myself to one a day and they were delicious (grin!).

This page reminded me of a song by Little Mix, I enjoy watching the video – it’s such a fun story line!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my happy black magic dreams.

I’m also joining the Die Cuts and Punches challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the die cut flowers and ivy that I included on this page.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Fall/Autumnal Colors challenge with the orange colours on my 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 which included paint, inks, recycled packaging and embossing powder.

Don’t forget that you can also join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday for our Witches, Wizards, Halloween challenge 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:

• Inkylicious Template & Stencil Set (Sun and Moon)
• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Orange, Black)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Hickory Smoke)
• Inkylicious Ink Dusters
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair 2 Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Black Soot)
• Recycled Black Packaging
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Wildflower Stems 2 664164, Garden Greens 661206)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Molly Blooms Rubber Stamp (MB-0065D)
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Black)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Spooky

Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your kind wishes last week!

This week the theme is Spooky.

For this challenge I created a spooky art Journal page full of magic and mystery, maybe there’s a magic potion in one of those bottles – what are you going to wish for? (grin!).

I started by stencilling texture paste using a Mini Specimens template from The Crafter’s Workshop and when dry, I painted the page using Indigo and Black Kuretake watercolour paints. Then I applied Aged Silver Stampendous embossing enamel to the texture paste using a Versamark watermark pad. I used a Versamark watermark pen and Shabby White Stampendous embossing enamel for finer details. I also coloured some of the texture paste using a black Sharpie pen then I splattered the page using the black watercolour paint and also White Linen Dylusions Spray. I added some bats and cobwebs that I stamped onto tissue paper which finished the background.

For the tags, I die cut five tags using Sizzix Framelits and my Big Shot machine. They are cut from Pocket Cards from Tim Holtz, edged with black Versamark ink and then stamped using a Gothic Book Finnabair stamp and an Urban Tapestry Tim Holtz stamp set using the black Versafine ink and covered with black Stampendous embossing powder.

Next I added the pretty bottles which are from a Kaisercraft Sticker Book and decorated with some black ribbon and the metal “31” and “13” which are Countdown brads from Tim Holtz. The tags are finished with some eyelets and recycled black satin ribbon, and layered in place with some blue flowers which are fussy cut from a Botanicals Layers card. To finish, I added the “objet trouvé”, “finders keepers” and “make a wish” wording which are Quote Chips from Tim Holtz.

This spooky window can be found at the Moose and Moonshine restaurant in Liverpool and I think the witch may be making us a magic potion.

 This restaurant is part of the Moose Coffee chain and they make the best hot chocolate with a shot of pumpkin spice syrup in it – yum! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang over at T Stands for T Day – Happy T Day!

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the Spooky challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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 Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the spooky dreams and wishes on my page.

I’m also joining the Die Cuts and Punches challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the die cut tags that I included on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my spooky page as their theme is Halloween.

Don’t forget that you can also join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday for our Witches, Wizards, Halloween challenge too.

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this spooky art journal page:

• The Crafter’s Workshop Mini Specimens Template
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi
• Ranger Palette Knife
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Emboss Pen
• Stampendous Embossing Enamel
• Sharpie Marker (Black)
• Ranger Dylusions Spray (White Linen)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Finnabair Clear Stamps (Gothic Book)
• Tim Holtz Stamp Set (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Tim Holtz Stamping Platform
• Tsukineko Versafine (Onyx Black)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Black)
• Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch
• Standard Eyelets
• Kaisercraft Antiquities Sticker Book
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Countdown Brads
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Quote Chips
• X-Press It Double-sided Tape
• X-Press It Double-sided Foam Tape
• UHU Stic
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Pocket Cards – alternative Tim Holtz Paper Stash Documented and Tim Holtz Paper Stash French Industrial
• White Tissue Paper – recycled
• Bat and cobweb stamp
• Black Satin Ribbon – recycled

My One & Only

As you may be aware it was our wedding anniversary this week so I thought I’d create a page to celebrate; my design was influenced by my hubby who loves bright colours and I chose some romantic wording too.

Inspired by the lovely Design Team at Country View Challenges I also wanted to try out a new technique to create a Bokeh effect on my page too, I love the results – what do you think?

To create my bokeh background, I covered the page with Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed and Fired Brick Distress Ink using a blending tool and dried the page thoroughly with my heat gun. Then I applied the circles using a Sun & Moon stencil and white pigment ink, slightly overlapping some of the circles as I went. For the flowers, I stamped a large Halftone Circle stamp onto some white cardstock using Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry and Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. Then I used a Wildflower Thinlet from Tim Holtz to cut out the flowers using my Big Shot machine and stuck them onto the page using a Zig glue pen. The wording are stickers from Kaisercraft which I backed with some of the white card and then stuck to the page using double-sided tape, they read “my one & only”, “you will forever be my always” and “always in my heart”. I used a paper punch to create some hearts out of black paper and stuck them in place. Then I added some pink and orange sequins using Ranger Glossy Accents which finished the page.

Here I am with “my one and only” celebrating our anniversary at Notarianni Ice Cream parlour where we treated ourselves to a sundae; these are tangerine jelly with two scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with tangerine syrup – so yummy!

Thank you for all your Happy Anniversary wishes earlier in the week (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 Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my anniversary dreams and wishes.

I’m so happy to join in the Bokeh challenge over at Country View Challenges, thanks so much for the inspiration, it was a fun technique and I love the results; I will definitely be using it again to create some cards (grin!)

I’m also joining the Count Your Blessings challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my anniversary page.

I’m pleased to join the Celebrate! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday as my page celebrates our wedding anniversary too.

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Fired Brick, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn)
• Docrafts Artiste Pigment Ink (White)
• Inkylicious Stencil and Template Set (Sun & Moon)
• White Cardstock
• Altenew Clear Stamp Set (Halftone Circles)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Wildflowers 661190)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Everlasting SS376)
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• Leon (X-large Colour Paper Pad)
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch (Classic Heart 858E)
• Poundland (Assorted Sequins)
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Seek

Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday for the next two weeks is Animal Magic.

Enjoy this theme and have fun, all we ask is that there is an animal somewhere on your project. If you want to see which animals my Design Teamies have chosen please feel free to pop over to our blog.

When I saw this cheeky squirrel in a magazine, I thought he looked inquisitive so wanted to use him on my page; I like the way that he seems to be looking out at us, do you think he is trying to tell us something (grin!).

I started by painting the page with Kuretake watercolour paints, for the sky I used Ultramarine Pale and for the foreground I used Burnt Sienna. Next I stamped the trees using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and then painted the foreground with some white DecoArt acrylic paint to look like snow. I stamped foliage and berries using Pistachio, Toffee Crunch and Potter’s Clay Memento Ink and then I splattered the whole page with some of the white acrylic paint to give a snowy appearance. The squirrel is fussy cut from an old magazine and once he was stuck in place I drew his whiskers with a black Derwent Graphik marker. To finish, I added the wording “adventure awaits you”, “wander”, “go where your heart takes you”, “embrace the journey” and “make it count” which are rub-on transfers and the word “seek” which is a quote chip; all of which are from the Tim Holtz idea-ology collection.

The squirrel on my page is a red squirrel also called a Eurasian red squirrel which has a darker coat in wintertime, hence the winter theme of my page. If you are interested here are some fun facts:

• You will only find flourishing populations of red squirrels in the Lake District and the Highlands in Scotland. They very shy and timid, not at all like American Red Squirrels.
• Red squirrels are largely vegetarian although they find acorns indigestible. They like to build larders of cones to provide food through the winter. Some larders have been found holding as many as 2,000 cones.
• Beatrix Potter’s Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, first published in 1903, did much to popularise the red squirrel; she was inspired by the squirrels that she watched in Lake District.

My red squirrel reminded me of the Scottish shortbread, can you see the red squirrel on this pretty tin (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my cuppa and shortbread 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

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 Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with all the inspirational wording on my page.

I’m joining the Autumn Glory challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my wintry page with pops of autumnal colour.

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

I’m also so happy to join #103 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pops of autumnal colours on my page which match the picture inspiration too.

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

• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Burnt Sienna)
• Creative Stamping Magazine (Autumnal Treasures from Issue 61, Winter Wonderland from Issue 62)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rich Cocoa, Pistachio, Toffee Crunch, Potter’s Clay)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Old magazine
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Remnant Rubs – Special Delivery #TH93188, Quote Chips #TH93563)
• UHU Stic
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Celebrating Friendship

Today I find myself thinking of friends so I created an autumnal coloured journal page to celebrate friendship. I feel very blessed for the friendships I have made over the years including those here in blogland – thank you (grin!).

This page is especially poignant as my dear friend who passed away earlier this year is having a remembrance service  this weekend in Maine, USA (where she hails from although she lived here in England) and as she was known for her beautiful smile, I wanted to capture this on my page too.

The background of the page was created using Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade and Scattered Straw Distress Inks; I dragged the ink pads on the paper, spritzed with water, blended them lightly with a paint brush and left them to dry. I stamped an ornate circle stamps from Kaisercraft and also a faux zig-zag stitch and little stitched flower stamp from Urban Stamps using black Archival Ink. Then I splattered the page with white and black acrylic paints using a paint brush. Next I added some pretty stickers from Kaisercraft; this included a border, a butterfly, a patterned doily, flowers, and wording saying “remember”, “love your smile”, “friends fill your life with joy, your soul with sunshine and your heart with love” and “smile”. For the heart, I covered a white heart tag with a border sticker from the same Kaisercraft sticker sheet, cut around the heart shape and edged it with Seedless Preserves Distress Ink and Elderberry Memento Ink. It is stuck to the page using double-sided tape and decorated with a bow which I made from some satin ribbon which finished the page.

Talking of dear friends, we have just picked the grapes from our friend’s garden.

They kindly give them to us every year …

… so we can make grape jelly – thanks so much! As I’ve been making the jelly this week I think the colour of this autumn treat must have inspired the colours of my page 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 Erika aka BioArtGal and her Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids and Patterns challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my patterned background.

I’m joining the Autumn Glory challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my autumnal coloured page.

I’m pleased to join the Stitch It challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as I included faux stitching on my page.

I’m also happy to join #103 – Picture Inspiration Challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as I included some of the autumnal colours on my page.

I’m also pleased to join the Celebrate! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday as my page celebrates friendship.

Don’t forget that you still have until next Tuesday to join our Hot, Hot, Hot! Challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge, Spiced Marmalade, Scattered Straw, Seedless Preserves)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Magnolia Grove CS822)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (Craft Collection – Pastels PMA907222, PMA907223)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Elderberry)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Bombay Sunset SS339, Cherry Tree Lane SS329)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Book (Antiquities SK807)
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Have the happiest of days!

Today we have a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday called Hot, Hot, Hot!

You may choose to use hot colours like me or maybe your creation may include a hot drink or even a hot destination; you can interpret it anyway you chose as long as it’s Hot, Hot, Hot!

For more inspiration please pop over to our blog where you will find some amazing inspiration from my Design Teamies too!

For my hot coloured page, I started by creating a background of orange and yellow Liquitex acrylic paints. When dry I applied some red Liquitex acrylic using a sponge through a retro stencil from Creative Expressions. Next I added some modelling paste using a palette knife through a circular mini stencil also from Creative Expressions and left it to dry. They are painted using a white Uni Posca paint pen so they stood out more. I stamped a Worn Rings stamp from Gummiapan using Love Letter Memento Ink and covered them with some of the orange and yellow paint so they faded into the background more. I also stencilled some dots using Fired Brick Distress Ink, blotting them with a baby wipe so the colour was less intense. Then I splattered the whole page using white acrylic paint. The yellow circle that says “Have the happiest of days!” is from a birthday card from my dearest friends which I’ve wanted to use for while and seemed perfect for this page; I fussy cut it out, stuck it in place using a glue stick and outlined it using the white Uni Posca paint pen. I also added a yellow butterfly which I fussy cut from an old nature book and some yellow flowers adding some orange rhinestone to their centres which finished the page.

This weekend we harvested the apples from our garden; we picked 18 braeburn apples off one tree which was wonderful as we only planted this apple tree last year.

I used some of them to make my homemade spiced apple cake with salted caramel frosting – yum!

As T Stands for Tuesday, here’s a cup of Hot Cinnamon tea with a piece of the cake which I just couldn’t resist (grin!) – Happy T Day and have the happiest of days!

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 Blog,s 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 Erika aka BioArtGal and her Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids and Patterns challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my patterned background.

I’m also joining the Use a Stamp challenge over at Moo Mania & More with all the stamps I used on this page.

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

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

• Liquitex Basic Acrylic Color (Cadmium Orange, Cadmium Yellow, Naphthol Crimson)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Mask (Retro Christmas)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Eclipse Circles)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Gummiapan Stamp (Worn Rings 11050601)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Love Letter)
• Dot Stencil
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Fired Brick)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Recycled Birthday Card
• The Illustrated Book of Nature
• The Works (Mini Paper Flower Embellishments, Rhinestone Flower Stickers)
• Pritt Stick
• Stix 2 glue dots

Thank you for your part in my journey

I recently won some goodies at Paperbabe Stamps so I thought I would create this page to celebrate. I used some of the stencils, stamps and even the packaging that I received from taking part in their challenges – thank you so much!

I started by painting the background with pink, blue and orange DecoArt Glamour Dust glitter paints. When the paint was dry, I used a blending tool to add Black Soot, Mermaid Lagoon and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink through a mixed media stencil from Paperbabe Stamps. Next I stamped some butterflies, hearts and bubbles from a couple of stamp sets from Paperbabe Stamps, so that they flowed vertically down the page, using black Archival Ink. Then I splattered the page with white DecoArt acrylic paint and dried it with my heat gun. I added a couple of circular stickers and business cards which I layered on top of some round shapes that were die cut from some pink polka dot patterned paper. The stickers and business cards were included as part of the packaging from Paperbabe Stamps; I love the wording “I thank you for your part in my Journey” and the images of the beautiful faces which are examples of what you can create using some of the Paperbabe Stamps templates and stamps.

Here are the goodies that I won recently, I used the Iso Fun stencil for this page and I’m also looking forward to using the alphabet stamp set soon – yay! I’d like to say a big thank you to Kim from Paperbabe Stamps for the goodies and also thanks to all of her design team for their inspiration!

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 Erika aka BioArtGal and her Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids and Patterns challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my patterned background and polka-dot paper.

I’m pleased to be able to join Challenge #101 – Sketch over at Paperbabe Stamps with my art journal page; the layers of die cut circles and business card represent the circle and the sentiment the logo. Thanks so much for all the wonderful crafting goodies!

I’m also joining the Use a Stamp challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my page.

I’m joining in the Stamp It challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with all the stamps that I used on my page.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at the Creative Artiste Challenge and their Challenge #53 – Anything Mixed Media Goes as I included paints, inks, stickers and papers on my 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:

• DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint (Celebration Pink, Sapphire Blue, Tiger Orange)
• Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencils (Iso Fun)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Mermaid Lagoon, Picked Raspberry)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Butterfly Pieridae, Birthday Wishes)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Paper Block, Cutting Dies)
• Spellbinders Die Set
• Stickers recycled from Packaging – Paperbabe Stamps
• Business Cards recycled from Packaging – Paperbabe Stamps
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• Pritt Stick

Boys & Girls

We would love you to join our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday for the next two weeks – Boys and Girls/Children.

I had fun creating a journal page with dictionary pages from my school days, primary coloured paints, some boys and girls’ vinyl stickers and the word “happy” – I hope you like it!

I started by randomly adding pieces of dictionary pages leftover from previous projects onto the background using Liquitex matte gel medium. Once dry, I added some stripes of yellow, red and blue watercolour paint. Then I used a baby wipe and a trellis stencil to pick up and move the paint around the page and left it to dry. I stamped “Happy” and also some flowers using black Archival Ink, separating the page into sections so I could add the white vinyl stickers of the boys and girls. I outlined each of the stickers, which took some time, with a black marker pen and added detail to the stamping using a white Uni Posca paint pen. To finish, I added the border using the white pen and a black Sharpie permanent marker.

For more inspiration please pop over to our blog and check out the amazing creations from my Design Teamies!

Quite often it’s the small things that make me happy, like this bacon butty which I was treated to last week when I was out with my mum and it was so yummy (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday my photo also includes my mum’s cappuccino – 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 Erika aka BioArtGal and her Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids and Patterns challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the trellis pattern on my page.

I’m joining the Numbers and/or Letters challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my page.

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

• Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colours (Cadmium Yellow Pale Hue, Ultramarine)
• Rowney Georgian Water Colour (Crimson)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Ornate Trellis CEMSTRELLIS)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Happy)
• Great Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Flower Sketch Board F327)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Craftime Designer Vinyls (Boy & Girl B/W PBDV02)
• Handwriting Marker Pen (Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Pen (Black)

Butterflies for my Tag Journal

Today at A Vintage Journey it is Tag Friday, which takes place only when there is a fifth Friday in the month; it’s all about creating something you love so there is no particular theme, it’s time to play, experiment and have fun – it would be great to see you there!

I had lots of fun creating a Mixed Media tag for my tag journal and this time I was inspired by the butterflies that have been visiting our garden recently, so I captured both a Painted Lady and a Peacock butterfly on this double-sided tag.

To start, I used a large grid design Poster Card by Tim Holtz to create the tag by cutting off two of the corners to make a tag shape and punching a hole using my Crop-A-Dile machine. I used Distress Ink to colour each side of the tag by stamping the ink pad onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the tag onto the mat. I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink on the blue side of the tag and then Fired Brick on the red side of the tag.

For the blue tag, I stamped Sheet Music from Woodware using black Archival Ink, added some white gesso with my finger and then stamped the branches from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink again. I also stamped a lot of butterflies using a Docrafts stamp with Teal Zeal Memento Ink. Next I added some mini white flowers and a Painted Lady butterfly that I had fussy cut from an old book, and stuck into place using double-sided tape.

For the red-side of the tag, I stamped some letters from Tim Holtz using the black Archival Ink, added some white gesso with my finger and stamped a round ornate design from the same Kaisercraft stamp set with the black Archival Ink. I added two stems of flowers which are from a Botanical Layers set by Tim Holtz and then I fussy cut a Peacock butterfly and stuck it in place.

I chose some wording that I thought was appropriate for the butterflies that I saw in our garden, all of which are from Tim Holtz and edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; the “Butterflies” wording is from a Salvage Sticker set and “A memory to hold”, “beauty and grace”, “happiness” and “in the garden” are Clipping Stickers. Both sides of the tag are edged using Black Soot Distress Ink and a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine which reinforced the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my Tag Journal tags together when they are finished.

For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some amazing tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!

The purple flowers were popular in our garden this year and we had so many Painted Lady butterflies on our lavender …

… as well as this beautiful Peacock butterfly (grin!).

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

Challenges

I’m joining the Letters and/or Numbers challenge over at Moo Mania & More with letters I used on my tag.

I’m joining in the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this double-sided tag:

• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Fired Brick, Black Soot)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Sheet Music JGS111)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Magnolia Grove CS822)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Clear Stamp (Everyday Assortment PMA907003)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Teal Zeal)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• The Illustrated Book of Nature – Painted Lady Butterfly
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Layers – Botanical #TH93554, Salvage Stickers – Crowded Attic #TH92898, Clipping Stickers #TH93583)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• The Fruit Pixie (Collectors Cards – Peacock Butterfly)
• Pritt Stick
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• American Crafts We r Memory Keepers (Crop-A-Dile and Standard Eyelets 41582-4)

Blackbird Café

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