Let nature be your calming breath

This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Tag You’re It, which is being hosted by the lovely Amanda. Here’s what it’s all about:

“We would love to see what you create with, or on, hang tags. Your hang tags can be created from any material or be any size. We would just love to see that iconic hang shape front and centre in your design.  Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.

Creating tags for an art journal page is always fun, so, inspired by nature I designed these layered tags – I love the way they turned out (grin!).

For the main hang tag on my art journal page design, I cut out the largest tag from Kraft card stock from the Tag Collection Framelit set by Tim Holtz. Like all the tags, I coloured the inside panel of the tag using a white Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also die cut the tag-hole reinforcement using the same Framelit set from butterfly/script design paper.

To embellish this tag I cut three panels from the same Kraft card stock and then layered papers over the top of them using a glue stick. The papers included: some embossed gold napkin; some dressmaking tissue paper which I had stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink; and some torn pieces of the butterfly/script design paper. I layered some Field Notes ephemera from Tim Holtz over the top and added some tiny leaves; the leaves were cut using some Funky Florals Thinlets by Tim Holtz from some recycled notepaper which I had coloured with Mowed lawn, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Ink. On the top and bottom panels I added the white wording “Live simple” and “Love this life” which are rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz. The three panels were stuck to the hang tag using double-sided tape.

I followed the same process to create the other tags layering them together with the ephemera and leaves – I love the pretty dragonfly! The letters creating the “Let nature be your calming breath” wording were cut from the same green paper that I used for the leaves using an Alphanumeric Labels Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and once glued in place they were outlined using a white gel pen and a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more.

I mounted all the tags on my page which was covered with the same embossed gold napkin, dressmaking tissue paper (stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink) and butterfly/script design paper that I had used on the tags. Then to finish, I splattered the whole page with some Pébéo white gesso.

I hope you are inspired to join in the Tag You’re It challenge over at A Vintage Journey too, for more inspiration you’ll find some amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!

As you may know, my favourite colour is blue and this plant in particular from my garden reminded me of my page, it’s a Salvia nemorosa called “Blue Marvel” and the bees and insects love it!

My page also reminds me of a frequent visitor to our garden, a small blue butterfly called Common Blue which has proved difficult to photograph. So I was pleased when my dear friend who we walk with, shared this photo of a Large Blue which it is related to and this is one of the rarest blue butterflies in the UK.

I hope that you’re all keeping 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 join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with the nature inspired tags on this page.

I’m also pleased to join the Use Your Favourite Tool challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge as I wouldn’t be without my Tim Holtz Thinlets and Big Shot machine that I used to created my page.

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

• Kraft card stock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (White 101, Cold Grey IV 233)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles)
• Napkin
• Style Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Butterfly/Script Design Paper – local craft shop
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #2 662701, Alphanumeric Label 664177)
• Recycled Notebook Paper
• Stix2 double sided-tape
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Pébéo White Gesso

Adventure Awaits

This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Rustic Charm, which is being hosted by the lovely Astrid. Here’s what it’s all about:

“Rustic describes a design that is natural, rough, aged and casual. We would love to see you create a project using these elements: think nature inspired textures and simple and earthy colours. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or Steampunk”.

I had so much fun creating this rustic art journal page for this challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed making the wood effect background and this happy bear from my new Tim Holtz Theodore thinlet set really makes me smile!

I started by covering the page with blobs of Burnt Umber, Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna Liquitex acrylic paints and then I used an old gift card to spread the paint over the page in a criss-cross pattern. Any white spaces were lightly coloured with the same paint and a wet paintbrush, then the page was left it to dry.

Next I stencilled some tree trunks using some Ranger Texture Paste and a Pronty Mask Stencil.

When dry, I painted around the stencilled areas of the background with some Parchment Liquitex Acrylic.

Then I scraped the paint horizontally across the page very harshly using the gift card; I did this a number of times until I achieved the worn wood effect I was after. The mixed media paper I use is 250gsm so it can take this type of treatment.

The branches, leaves and flowers were die cut from some linen textured cardstock using a Tattered Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; the branches were coloured using Ground Espresso Distress Ink, the leaves using Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Forest Moss Distress Ink, and the flowers using a mixture of Fired Brick Distress Ink and White Linen Distress Spray. They are edged, like all of the elements on this page, using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and stuck down using a Zig glue pen.

The signpost was made from some wooden panels that I cut out from some Tim Holtz paper and some wording from a Tiny Text rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz which reads “wander”, “adventure awaits” and “discover”. I added some grey tartan (plaid) paper from the same paper pad to define the ground under the signpost and the bear.

To finish, I created the bear using the Theodore thinlet set and some linen textured cardstock colouring him using Ground Espresso, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker and a Putty Winsor & Newton Promarker – such fun!

I hope you are inspired to join in the Rustic Charm challenge over at A Vintage Journey too, for more inspiration you’ll find some amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!

This page reminded me of a bear that we saw on our travels to Stratford-upon- Avon some years ago when our friends from America came to stay with us.

This bear can also be found on this beer glass and always brings back such happy memories of our time when we were in Stratford together – such fun!

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 A Vintage Journey, 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 Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with faux tartan/plaid that I included on this page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the Quote challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my “adventure awaits”wording.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Make Your Own Background challenge with the wood effect background that I created for this page.

I’m also pleased to join the Masculine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my page too too.

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

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna)
• Pronty Mask Stencil (Tree Trunk)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Small Tattered Florals 661806)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Forest Moss, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke)
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain (White Linen)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Halloween Paper Stash #TH937120, Tiny Text Remnant Rubs #TH93695)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Theodore 664410)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Putty 0618)

Heuchera

At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Cut It Out.

Like me, you could use die cuts that you make and colour yourself or pre-made die cuts and stickers or you could simply fussy cut something out, the choice is yours!

My page today was inspired by some beautiful heuchera flowers that are flowering in my garden at the moment (grin!).

I started covering the page with Botancial Collage Paper from Tim Holtz using a glue stick and then I covered it with white gesso to push the images back. When dry, I applied some Earl Grey, Caramel, Kiwi and Lime Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top, by scribbling them onto the page and smudging the colour with a wet finger. I then toned down the colours and added some darker shading by applying some Iced Coffee and Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelatos to the page. Next I added some Ranger Texture Paste through a brick design stencil from Craft Sensations and left it to dry. The brick design is coloured using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and the Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato. I stencilled a trellis pattern using Black Soot Distress Ink and a Moroccan stencil from Creative Expressions, then I used a baby wipe to remove some of the colour allowing white patches of the collage paper to show through which added depth and contrast to the background. The page is also splattered with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and then black and also white acrylic paint.

I used a Wildflower #2 Tim Holtz thinlet set to die cut the flowers from some linen textured cardstock and coloured the flower petals by painting on some Abandoned Coral Distress Spray Stain using a paintbrush. The leaves and stems are coloured using Olive Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers and they are stuck to the page using a Zig Memory glue pen. To finish, I added a pretty die cut butterfly from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz and the “Heuchera” wording which are letter stickers from Kaisercraft.

My Design Teamies have been busy fussy cutting and die cutting to create some amazing Cut It Out inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over and take a look.

Here are the heuchera flowers that are in bloom in our flower bed, they are so delicate with tiny flower heads.

They look very striking with their coral colour especially when they catch the sunlight!

These plants come in all sorts of leaf and flowers colours, to find out more about them check out this Heuchera link.

You may already be aware that I have been completing a series of flower art journal pages inspired by my garden. If you are interested you can see the other pages here:

• Bluebells
• Tulips
• Welsh Poppy

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a new batch of Raspberry Gin that we made, it tastes so fruity and is ideal for drinking whist sitting in the garden on a hot sunny day – Happy T Day!

You can find the Raspberry Gin recipe here and I think Halle asked about the amount of sugar added – this is just for taste so you can add as much or as little as you like (grin!).

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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with my Heuchera flowered page.

I’m so happy to be able to join the #119 – Picture Inpiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pretty flowers on my page. Thanks so much for my win too, how exciting!

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

• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Botanical #TH93705)
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Earl grey, Caramel, Kiwi, Lime, Iced Coffee, Iced Chai)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge, Black Soot)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch Of Mica Mask (Moroccan)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflowers #2 661808)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain (Abandoned Coral)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Olive Greeb Y724, Forest Green G356)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Home is the place to bee

When I was sorting through some old photos on my phone, I saw one of a jug/pitcher with the wording “Home is the place to bee”. It seemed to be very appropriate given that we have to stay at home at the moment – I hope that you are keeping safe and well at home too!

I started by applying Scattered Straw and Tea Dye Distress Ink to the page by dragging the ink pads lightly over the paper and then using a wet paintbrush to disperse the colour. When dry I used a Reversed Honeycomb stencil from That’s Crafty to add the honeycomb design; first applying Tea Dye Distress Ink, then Ranger Texture Paste and then Black Soot Distress Ink making sure that each product had dried between applications. Then I stamped the wording using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th and black Archival Ink. The larger honeycombs are cut from a doodle book and coloured with Saffron, Sandstone, Honeycomb and Canary Winsor & Newton Promarkers and then stuck in place using a glue stick.

I stamped the bees which are from a Dovecraft stamp set directly onto the page and also onto some white cardstock using black Archival Ink. Then I coloured the cardstock bees with Canary and Black Promarkers, fussy cut them out and stuck them over the bees I had stamped onto the page. To finish, I added some wooden yellow and white flowers.

Here’s the jug that inspired my page, it was taken in a local store whilst Christmas shopping last year, if you look closely on the top right-hand side of the photo you will see a glass with bees on it which I bought for my sister; she loves bees! As this photo has mugs and glasses too, I’m also sharing it with the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day everyone!

Stay safe and keep well! x

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

Challenges

I’m happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with my honeycomb stencilled background.

I’m also happy to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the bees taking centre stage on my page.

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join our Have fun with stencils challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Black Soot)
• That’s Crafty Dinky Stencil (Reverse Honeycomb Background TC031)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (sophisticated Script 10056)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Animal Kingdom Suduko and Doodle Book
• Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Saffron 0739, Sandstone 0928, Honeycomb 0547, Canary Y367, Black XB)
• Pritt Stick
• Dovecrafts Premium Clear Stamps (Bee Happy DCSTP129)
• The Works (Wooden Flower Embellishments)
• Stix 2 Glue Dots

Bluebells

As the flower border in our garden is looking so lovely with all the beautiful flowers that are in bloom, I’ve been inspired to create some flower art journal pages; this one celebrates bluebells and is the first of the flower pages that I will be sharing with you – I hope you like it!

I started by stencilling Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink using a blending tool through a mixed media stencil from Paperbabe Stamps.  Then I added some water to the page and removed it with a piece of kitchen towel which also removed some of the stencilled ink. Next I cut the bluebell stems and foliage from some green design papers and stuck them in place using a glue stick. I added some more colour to them using an Apple Green and Field Green Inktense pencil. The bluebell flower heads are die cut, using a Funky Flower Thinlet from Tim Holtz, from recycled paper that was the closest match to the actual bluebell flower colour. I stuck them in place using a Zig glue pen and then coloured the veins of the flowers using a Bright Blue Inktense pencil. I added more detail to the flowers and foliage using a white Uniball pen and a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I added a yellow butterfly which is a Botanical die cut from Tim Holtz and the wording “bluebells” which are Kaisercraft stickers.

You may remember that we have been working to improve the flower borders in our garden over the last couple of years.

As you can see the bluebells are looking particularly pretty this year and we even have small group of white bells (centre of photo) hence why I added one to my page (grin!).

Stay safe and keep well! x

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

Challenges

I’m happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with my geometric stencilled background.

I’m also happy to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the butterfly on my page.

Don’t forget that you still have over a week to join our Have fun with stencils challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (ISO Fun)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
• B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise 321451)
• Studio Light Paper Pad (PPSL84)
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #2 662701)
• Recycled Mixed Media Pad Cover
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CR0240/GE)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Inktense Derwent Pencils (Bright Blue 1000, Apple Green 1400, Field Green 1500)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Layers (Botanical #TH93554)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

See the Magic

Time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday so for the next two weeks we are asking you to Have fun with stencils. 

I had lots of fun with stencils to create this art journal page, can you see the magic (grin!).

I started by applying Ranger Texture Paste using a Tim Holtz Floral stencil around the right-hand side, top and left-hand side of the page and left it to dry. Then I applied some Bright Aqua Green, Magenta and Cadmium Yellow Liquitex acrylic paints over the whole page including the texture paste. Next I painted some white gesso to lighten the centre of the page so it looked like the sun is streaming through the flowers and foliage. Then I applied some of the Magenta paint using a brayer over the stencilled texture paste which gave a lovely effect highlighting different areas of the flowers with colour. I used the brayer again to apply some of the Magenta paint to some flower stamps from Gummiapan and Carabelle Studios, stamping them in the foreground; I made sure that I cleaned the stamps immediately so the paint didn’t dry on them. Then I splattered the page with some black DecoArt acrylic paint.

Next I stamped some tiny stars and the wording “See the magic” using a Paperbabes Stamps stamp set and black Archival Ink. I edged the page with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stamped a grid design from Sheena using the black Archival Ink. Then I added more detail to the flowers by painting them using the Magenta and black acrylic paints and adding highlights using a white Uniball gel pen which finished the page.

For more inspiration check out the amazing creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday who had fun with stencils too!

Some of you were asking if I had candles on the birthday cake that I made, as you can see I did – well just one candle (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a piece of my birthday cake with my cuppa today! It was so yummy, if you missed it in my previous post it’s a homemade Victoria sponge cake filled with butter cream and cherry jam and topped with pink and white royal icing in a feathered design (double grin!) – Happy T day!

Stay safe and well! x

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 happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with the grid stamp I used on this page.

As birthdays are magical, I’m pleased to be able to join the Birthdays challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my See the Magic page too.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Spring Moodboard challenge with the colours and flowers that I included on this page.

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

• Tim Holtz Layering Stencils (Floral THS077)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Liquitex Artist Basics Acrylic (Bright Aqua Green, Quinacridone Magenta, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger (Mini Brayer)
• Gummiapan Stamps (Large Rubbeckia 15030501)
• Carabelle Studios Art Stamp (SA60175 Dans la Nature, il y a …)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Paperbabe Stamps (Flourish &  Grow Stamp Set)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Black 199)
• Sheena Douglas Create A Flower Rubber Stamp (Funky Textures 2 SD-CAFS-FT2)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)

Paradise

I had fun art journaling using a New Technique, which is our new challenge theme over at Try it on Tuesday for the next two weeks.

I hope to see you there and don’t forget to tell us what new technique you used.

I created a quick and simple background (many of you will know that “quick and simple” is so unlike me … grin!) by applying paint with a old plastic gift card – it was such a fun technique and definitely something I will try again!

First, I layered some Cold Grey and Vivid Lime Green Liquitex acrylic and some white and black DecoArt acrylic paint onto the page using the gift card to scrape the paint across the page. Then I added more of these paints using the edge of the gift card to create lots texture; I love how it turned out (grin!). When dry, I added some pink felt flowers using Ranger Glossy Accents, some flower stickers which are edged with some smudged black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker, some green circular rub-on transfers and a “paradise” fabric sticker and just like that the page was finished.

We are starting to plan jobs in the garden for this year and this page reminded me of how our garden becomes our own little “paradise” especially when these beautiful pink daisy flowers are flowering. I’m so looking forward to seeing them again.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a pint of Saxon Red Ale that we had whilst out last week. It’s brewed locally by The Parker Brewery and is smooth and malty with a hint of spice on the finish – cheers and Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen from  The Artful Crafter and her Green challenge over at Art Journal Journey this month with the lime green paint, leaves, sticker flower centres and rub-ons on this page.

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

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

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

• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Neutral Gray, Vivid Lime Green)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Old Gift Card
• Home Bargains (Decorative Sticks 38352, Room Décor Embellishments)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Little Yellow Bicycle Fabric Favourites (PD-220)
• Kaisercraft Rubons (Lush Colour RB868)

Recycle Something

It’s time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and for the next two weeks we are asking you to Go Green or Recycle Something.

My art journal page was created from lots of recycled items – I hope you like it!

For the paper elements I recycled some sheet music, the patterned paper from the inside of an envelope, brown paper from the outside of some corrugated packaging, some brown package strapping and a strip of Kraft card. The leaf is from a Sweet Chestnut tree and believe it or not, there is only one (huge) leaf cut into pieces; I collected it from Lytham Hall in Autumn last year, dried it and then covered it with wood glue to preserve it and stop it from breaking up into bits. The flowers are dried gypsophila (also called Baby’s Breathe) which I saved and pressed from some cut flowers that were gifted me.

I layered and collaged them all onto my page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and added some weight over the top so the flower stalks made contact with the background and then left the gel medium to dry. Then I splattered the page with black acrylic paint and added some white gesso with my finger. The letters for the “recycle” wording were cut from an old calendar and I stuck them to a recycled navy blue tag, cut them out and arranged them onto the page. All the paper elements are outlined with a black Derwent Inktense pencil and a black marker pen. To finish the page, I added two little buttons and a metal snap button clasp using Ranger Glossy Accents.

My Design Teamies have created some amazing Go Green or Recycle Something inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, please pop over and take a look (grin!).

I had fun playing around with these recycled materials to create this page, I love how it depicts nature and it reminds me of our walks around Lytham Hall, including this view over one of the lakes. This photo was taken last year in autumn when I collected the leaf.

We often go walking around this lake with our friends and little Ellie who loves leaves, mainly chasing and eating them (grin!). We so enjoyed looking after her last week for our friends – she’s so adorable (double grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and sharing my cuppa with a yummy Salted Caramel Doughnut – wishing you all a 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 so happy to join in the Splatters, Splashes & Drips challenge over at Country View Challenges with the acrylic paint splatters on my page.

I’m also pleased to join in the #112 – Layers challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the layers of papers, leaves and dried flowers that I used.

I’m also joining in the Two Or More Patterned Papers challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the sheet music and patterned envelope paper that I recycled on my page.

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

• Recycled sheet music
• Inside of a used envelope
• Recycled corrugated packaging and brown package strapping
• Leftover strip of Kraft card
• Sweet Chestnut leaf
• Dried gypsophila also called Baby’s Breathe
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Old calendar
• Recycled navy clothing tag
• Derwent Inktense Pencil (Ink Black)
• Handwriting marker pen (Black)
• Two old buttons and metal snap button clasp
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Holly Jolly Christmas

Our new challenge over at A Vintage Journey is Holly Jolly Christmas, which is being hosted by Sandy. Here’s what it is all about:

“This month Anything Goes as long as it says Christmas and is in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk.”

I love all things Christmas so I had great fun Art Journaling this Holly Jolly Christmas page using lots of Tim Holtz products.

I started by covering the page with Botanicals Collage paper from Tim Holtz using matte gel medium and left it to dry. Then I coloured the centre of the page using Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink with a blending tool. I painted white gesso around the edges pulling the gesso into the centre of the page using a dry paintbrush so the gesso didn’t mix with the Distress Ink. I then added some splatters of white gesso, black acrylic paint and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Next I die cut some holly using a Holiday Greens Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine; they are die cut from some scrap white paper which I coloured using Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles and Forest Moss Distress Ink, edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker and stuck in place using a Zig glue pen. The berries were also die cut from some scrap paper which were coloured with Festive Berries Distress Ink.

I layered the sheet music and tartan strips together which are from a Christmas Sticker Book from Tim Holtz and edged them using a black marker smudging it to give a worn look. The Santa Claus, “25” and “Special Delivery” signage are from the Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book too. I also added the wording “have a holly jolly Christmas”, “A visit from Santa Claus” and “was a jolly happy soul” which were again from the Tim Holtz sticker book; once stuck in place they were edged with a black marker. 

If you create a Christmas art journal page then why not share it with us at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there (grin!). For more Inspiration, please pop over to see the amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey too.

Whilst creating this page I was listening to the fabulous Michael Bublé crooning the song “Holly Jolly Christmas” (grin!). This is a song that you can’t help but sing along to – wishing you a Holly Jolly Christmas!

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

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Traditional Christmas challenge with my Holly Jolly Christmas art journal page with the Santa Claus and holly.

I’m pleased to be able to join the #108 – Winter challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my Holly Jolly Christmas page too.

I’m also happy to join Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their #56 – Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed-media art journal page as I used collage paper, inks, gesso, paper, stickers and markers to create it.

Over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog their theme is # 32 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Veggie Stamping, so I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge too.

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

• Tim Holtz Collage Paper (Botanicals #TH93705)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Forest Moss, Festive Berries)
• Recycled white paper
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Holiday Greens 658759)
• The Range (5×5 Dies Holly)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Christmas Sticker Book #TH93999)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Magical Reindeer

My page today features a magical reindeer and was inspired by some Christmas shopping at a fabulous shop specialising in wool and haberdashery; there are photos later!

For the background I stuck a piece of wood effect design paper onto the page using a UHU Stic. Then I added some ripped pieces of holly tissue paper over the top using Liquitex matte gel medium and stuck some glittery snowflake stickers to the page. Next I arranged an A6 card, stars, leaves, gem flowers and foliage which are all from a Die Cut Book with some gold swirl foliage and gold stars which I die cut using my Big Shot machine. I added the wording “It’s the most wonderful time of year” which is from the same decoupage book and also the magical reindeer image which I cut from an old book; it’s stuck in place using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I added some small blue gemstones using Ranger Glossy Accents to add a little more sparkle.

Mrs. Johnsons Emporium is located in Blackpool in this grand building and they stock a large range of wool and haberdashery.

The owners are enthusiastic about knitting and created this amazing reindeer to decorate the shop and …

… also this colourful elephant – aren’t they both amazing!

They have an extensive range of wool and haberdashery to choose from, with lots of finished examples to show how the pattern and wool turn out. I was very tempted although I do not knit or crochet (grin!). As there website says, it really is a haven of gorgeousness for those who knit, crochet, sew and craft!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our deer mugs filled with tea and a yummy custard slice – Happy T day (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 Yvonne, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the wording I added to this page.

I’m happy to join in the Stars challenge over at Country View Challenges with all the gold stars I added to my art journal page too.

I’m joining in the Let’s Sparkle challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the glittery snowflakes, gold accents and gemstones on my page.

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

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

• Docrafts A4 Ultimate Die Cut & Paper Pack (Festive Fauna PMA160949)
• Holly Tissue Paper
• Home Bargains (Wall Stickers 16221)
• The Works Die Cut Book Foil (Royal Christmas)
• Gold Paper
• Spellbinders (Unknown – Leaf Swirl)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Snowy Stars 663117)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Round Gems Blue 5665381001)
• UHU Stic
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 Mini Glue Dots and double-sided tape
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• The Range double-sided foam tape