Tag Archives: nature

Moon River Silhouettes

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It’s a new month which means we have a new challenge at Country View Challenges for March which is Silhouettes.

We would like to see silhouettes as the main focus of your projects for this challenge, which this month is being hosted by the lovely Rachel.

I had so much fun playing around with Tim Holtz products to create my silhouettes page; I hope you like it!

The moon provided a beautiful backdrop silhouetting the trees and the Darling Deer family by the river; it reminded me of my Grandad’s favourite song “Moon River” (grin!).

I started this page by placing and marking out the scene in pencil. This allowed me to apply white gesso to the whole page, ensuring I used horizontal brushstrokes across the sky and the river section which created the texture of clouds in the night sky and the water effect. The gesso acted as a resist and also made it easier to apply and blend the Distress Inks that were used to colour this page.

I used a circle of paper for the moon template and once in place I blended Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks across the sky, keeping the lightest colour around the moon so it looked like it was glowing. I mirrored the colours over the water section and then I removed a circle of ink using a baby wipe to create the moon’s reflection; the gesso retained some of the ink colour to give the watery look and feel. For the land, I applied Forest Moss Distress Ink using a blending tool and then some Ground Espresso Distress Ink to edges of the riverbank. I also added some texture along the riverbabk using an Urban Arts stamp from Tim Holtz and the Ground Espresso ink. The same stamp was used to add the texture to the moon too, this time using Hickory Smoke and Black Soot Distress Ink. I used a black fine line marker to add some grass to the land, the horizon and some ripples across the water which I also detailed using a white gel pen.

The silhouette deer, trees and shrubs were cut from some recycled black card using Tim Holtz Thinlits die sets; the deer family using a Darling Deer Thinlits set, the trees using a Woodlands set and the shrubs using a Funky Florals #1 set. The wording was created using a Doodle Alphabet & Numbers Sizzix Thinlits set and all the silhouettes were stuck in place using matte gel medium.

For more inspiration please see the wonderful Silhouettes creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I hope you are inspired to join us too, if you do, you’ll also have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts (grin!).

This page reminded me of my Grandad, his favourite song was Moon River by Andy Williams.

I bought this lamp to remember my Grandad by, the year he passed away. I call it my Moon River lamp and every night when I turn it on, I’m reminded of him and I normally find myself singing the song too (grin!).

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well!

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

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the Anything But A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page.

I’m happy to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #138 – Anything Goes challenge with my silhouettes journal page too.

I’m also pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Just Breathe art journal page.

Hello Spring

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I’m thrilled to have joined the wonderfully talented Design Team over at Country View Challenges and today I’m pleased to share my second project for our First Signs of Spring challenge.

I would like to say a special thank you to Susan for the lovely introduction today over at Country View Challenges and also to the Design Team for their warm and friendly welcome (grin!).

I really enjoyed creating this mini art journal page with the little bunnies, pretty butterflies and colourful blossom. I used a Sizzix Bunny Scene Thinlits die set which is a great design for both journaling and cards and it was so easy to use.

For the background, I covered the chipboard page with two coats of white gesso and then two coats of Speckled Egg Distress Paint. I applied some white gesso over the top using a brayer and for the grass I painted Twisted Citron Distress Paint along the bottom of the page. When dry, I rubbed a baby wipe through a Waves stencil from Creative Expressions which removed some of the paint, leaving a lighter mark in the shape of the stencil. I splattered the page using white gesso and the two Distress Paints, and left it to dry. Then I applied Vintage Photo Distress Archival Ink around the edges.

The Bunny Scene and butterflies were die cut from some white linen texture cardstock using the Sizzix Thinlits set and my Big Shot machine. I used one of my favourite techniques to create the wood effect on the tree using Distress Inks and gel medium; I dragged Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso stamp pads over the tree and then I painted gel medium over the top, keeping the ink and brush strokes flowing vertically up the tree trunk and along branches to mimic the wood grain.

For the bunnies, I masked their tails so that they stayed white and I coloured them using the Tea Dye and Vintage Photo inks. I used a black marker and white gel pen for their eyes.

For the blossom, leaves, grass and flowers I used the Bunny Scene Thinlit again; they were cut from some linen textured cardstock that I had coloured green, yellow, pink and purple using Distress Inks (see ink colours listed below). After cutting them out they were stuck in place, like all the elements on the page, using gel medium.

I used the same cardstock that I had coloured to create the triangles for the bunting and an Alphanumeric Label Thinlits set from Tim Holtz for the white cardstock letters. The bunting triangles were arranged over some waxed thread using glue dots. To finish, I added some pearl gems to the white butterflies and stuck them in place.

I hope that you are enjoying our First Signs of Spring challenge over at Country View Challenges too; it would be lovely to see you there, and if you do join us then you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts website too (grin!).

I also want to thank you for your lovely comments and wishes of congratulations last week when I joined the Country View Challenges Design Team with my first project. I’m so looking forward to sharing my creations with you, visiting your blogs and being inspired by your projects too!

I love this bunny scene and the butterflies reminded me of the ones in my craft room (grin!).

You can see the butterflies here as they fly above my craft desk; I was surprised how tidy it looks, my hubby will tell you that my craft room isn’t normally this tidy (double grin!).

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well!

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

The chipboard mini art journal album, Bunny Scene Thinlits die set, Distress Paints and Creative Expressions Stencil that I used on this page were all Christmas presents – yay (grin!).

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the Groundhog Day over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as I used a technique that’s an old favourite of mine to create the tree wood grain and my Distress Inks are my preference when it come to adding colour, I use them again and again.

I’m joining LTCCB #55 – February Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my Happy Spring chipboard page.

I’m also joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the fun stencilling and wood grain techniques that I used to create this page.

I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month, I’m being a bit cheeky and hoping the heavy metal rings holding my book pages together which are an integral part of my Happy Spring page (15x15cm in size) photo allows me to join in the fun.

First Signs of Spring at Country View Challenges

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I’m so excited and honoured to have joined the wonderfully talented Design Team over at Country View Challenges . It’s such an inspirational blog and being part of this team is a dream come true – thanks so much for your warm and friendly welcome!

At Country View Challenges our challenge for February is First Signs of Spring, which is being hosted this month by the lovely Miriam.

I love celebrating the different seasons and creating this blossom and birdsong art journal page was so uplifting (grin!).

When I thought of birdsong, I knew that I had to use these beautiful images from my new Forest Paper Pad by Stamperia; this included the forest panel on the left hand side of the page, the pretty bird tag and the square nest image. They were cut out and edged with a Dark Sepia marker and/or some Black Soot Distress Ink. To make them look more Spring-like, I added additional colours by painting Distress Inks over parts of the images; it’s important not to add too much water when doing this otherwise you could ruin the image. I used Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron ink to add more vibrancy to the green areas of the forest panel and to the bird’s feathers, and also to add green leaves to the bare trees and colour the leaves on the nest image. I painted some Mustard Seed ink to add more vibrancy to the yellow feathers of the bird and also to add some colour to the nest. Then finally I painted the eggs using Speckled Egg ink and left them all to dry.

For the background, I coloured the page with splashes and drips of Hickory Smoke, Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink. I did this by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page.

Then I brayered some white gesso over the top to push the colours into the background more and then splattered the page with white acrylic paint. I stencilled dots vertically down the page using a Halftone Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz and Ranger Crackle Paste; this is the first time I have used this paste and it was so easy to apply with a palette knife – I love the results (grin!).  

Next I stuck the Stamperia paper pieces in place using double-sided tape. Then I created the blossoms and leaves using Tim Holtz Thinlits and some white linen card stock which I had coloured using Distress Inks. The blossoms were coloured with Mustard Seed and Fossilised Amber ink and die cut using a Tattered Florals Thinlit set. The leaves using Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron and Forest Moss Distress Ink and cut using a Garden Greens Thinlits set. After shaping the flower petals and adding a gold pearl to the centre of each flower, I arranged them onto the page using glue dots. To finish, I added the “blossom” and “birdsong” wording which was created from some Field Notes Ephemera by Tim Holtz, an alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink.

For more inspiration you’ll find some amazing First Signs of Spring creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I hope you are inspired to join us too, and if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use at Country View Crafts (grin!).

The birds in our garden have been very active of late. We’ve even seen the Great Tits that are on my page, but we have noticed that this pair of Coal Tits visit our bird feeders more frequently.

This made me smile, can you think of a good caption for this photo? Maybe the bird is saying “Hello, is anyone there?” or “It’s really dark in here” (grin!).

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well!

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

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the stencilled lines of dots that are on my page.

I’m joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques I used, including the fun way that I coloured the paper images so they became more Spring-like.

I’m also happy to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too.

I also pleased to be able to join in the fun at Love to Craft Challenge Blog and enter my spring blossom and birdsong page in their LTCCB #55 – February Anything Goes challenge.

So Delicate at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog

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I’m so pleased and honoured to be Guest Designer over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog for their So Delicate challenge.

Jenny is hosting, here’s what she has to say about this challenge:
“Although it’s not always evident in my projects, I have a real passion for delicate laces, fragile flowers, fine stitching, intricate artwork and exquisite architecture. For this challenge create something delicate or a vintage/shabby chic project that features delicate things in it.”

I enjoyed using different techniques and mediums to create this delicate page starting with the delicately painted background. I covered the background with water first and then added Kuretake watercolours over the top using a paintbrush; the colours I used were Ultramarine Pale, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green and a mixture of Black and White.

The elegant lace flower heads were stamped using one of my favourite stamps from Carabelle Studio and black Archival Ink. The flower heads were coloured using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then I added lots of sparkle using some Silver Stickles from Ranger.

For the wording and butterflies, I coloured some white tissue paper using Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I did this by stamping the ink pads onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the tissue paper over the top. When dry, I die cut the letters for the wording using Alphanumeric Label Thinlits set and the butterflies using Springtime Sidekick Thinlits set from Tim Holtz.

I glued the wording onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium which was a bit fiddly as the letters were so fine; it reads “be still and listen, the earth is singing”. To finish, I arranged the butterflies around the page using some glue dots. I love how the tissue paper butterflies and wording look so fragile and delicate (grin!).

Thanks so much to The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog  for having me as Guest Designer! I hope that you are inspired by the So Delicate challenge too and are able to join in the fun (grin!).

There are so many delicate things to observe in nature and as I live by the sea, my watercolour background was inspired by this sea view with its pale colours and soft lighting; this was taken whilst walking along the beach near our house .

The lace flower heads, touches of green and pretty butterflies on my page were inspired by our garden. It reminded me of all the Painted Lady butterflies that visited last summer; here are a couple on the lavender (grin!).

I hope that you’re 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:

  • Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green, Black, White)
  • Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (Dans la nature, il y a … SA60175
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
  • Ranger Stickles (Silver)
  • Recycled white tissue paper
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Chipped Sapphire)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlit (Alphanumeric Label 664177)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Sidekick Thinlit (Springtime 662711)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Stix2 glue dots
Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like it The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog , 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 from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge as I used one of my favourite flower stamp sets.

As I used my favourite Carabelle Studio stamp set to create the lace flowers on my page, I’m also pleased to be able to join Stamping Sensations and their Favourite Stamps challenge too.

I’m also joining the Beautiful Blooms challenge over at the Allsorts Challenge with the pretty sparkly flowers on my page.

I’m happy to join in the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my delicate nature page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too.

I’m joining the MIUCB #45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my page too.

Hello November

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As it’s November I created a page to celebrate everything autumn which includes Thanksgiving next week; this month always reminds me of all the things we have to be grateful for!

I started by covering the background with a collage of scrap paper pieces which included dictionary pages, tissue paper, sheet music, diary pages and napkin; they were stuck down using a glue stick and then covered with Liquitex matte gel medium. Next I applied Red Oxide, Crimson and Yellow Liquitex acrylic paint over the top blending the colours together to create a bright autumnal orange colour. Then I used a brayer to apply some Pébéo white gesso and when dry I added some rub-on transfers from a Specimen Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz. I used the brayer again to add some more white gesso over the top which pushed them into the background. I love the way these techniques give so much depth and interest to the background (grin!).

Next I used lots of different stamp sets with black Archival Ink which I used for all the stamping on this page. Firstly I stamped a Script stamp over the background and then a foliage stamp to create the branches and leaves, both of which are from Kaisercraft. The bird sitting on the branch was stamped from a Craft Sensations stamp set and I used the Kaisercraft foliage stamp again to add the leaves to the branch so it blended in to the scene.

I used two alphabet stamp sets to create the wording; the “Hello November” was stamped using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9th and the rest of the wording was stamped using a Docrafts stamp set and reads “Thank you for reminding us we have so much to be grateful for!”.  To finish, I splattered the page with black and also white acrylic paint.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this morning’s cup of Cinnamon Orange tea, it’s pictured by my autumnal window display which is bright and cheery and inspired the colours of my page (grin) – Happy T Day everyone!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

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

  • Scrap paper pieces (Dictionary pages, tissue paper, sheet music, diary pages, napkin)
  • Pritt Stick
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Liquitex Basics Acrylic Colour (Red Oxide, Naphthol Crimson, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752, Magnolia Grove CS822)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Ranger Mini Brayer
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Specimen #TH94047)
  • Craft Sensations Clear Stamp (CR0274/16R1)
  • Concord & 9th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
  • Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Alphas Trad DCE907116)
  • DecoArt Acrylic Paint (Black)
  • Art Discount Acrylic (White)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Wendy K over at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge this month with the bird stamping that I included on this page.

I’m happy to join the Celebrate challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my brightly coloured page I created to celebrate November and Thanksgiving.

I’m joining the fun over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes + optional twist of Making Your Own Background with the techniques I used to create the background for this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything But A Card challenge with my art journal page.

I’m also joining in the Thanks/Thanksgiving challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my page.

I’m also pleased to join the LTSCB #139 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with page too.

Saying Hello to Autumn

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I love this time of the year, so I created this page to say hello to autumn and join a few challenge blogs – I hope you like it!

I started by creating the grungy background using a Spritz and Speckles stamp set by Paperbabes Stamps and Toffee Crunch, Rich Cocoa and Potter’s Clay Memento Inks. Then I used the same inks to add the leaves using an Autumnal Treasures stamp set that was free with a magazine. Next I stuck the horizontal decorative strip across the page which is from some Graphic 45 Autumn Collective paper using double-sided tape and then edged it with black Glitterations border stickers so it stood out more.

The circle was die cut from Lemon linen textured cardstock and then coloured using Fossilized Amber and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Like the background, it was stamped using the Spritz and Speckles stamp set and the leaf stamp and the Memento Inks. The little bird was from the Autumnal Treasures stamp set and was stamped using black Archival Ink; I used a stamping platform to get a clear and bold finish. The “Life began in a garden” wording was cut from the Graphic 45 paper and I edged both the wording and the circle using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker before sticking them in place. To finish, I added some crystal gems to the page to add some sparkle.

Walks around Lytham Hall are always pretty this time of year with all the changing leaves and the colours on my page reminded me of these beautiful trees we saw there (grin!).

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.

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

  • Paperbabes Stamps (Spritz & Speckles Stamp Set)
  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Toffee Crunch, Rich Cocoa, Potter’s Clay)
  • Creative Stamping Magazine Issue 161 (Autumn Treasures Stamp Set)
  • Graphic 45 Seasons Collection (Autumn Collective #4501622)
  • Stix2 double-sided tape
  • Docrafts Papermaina Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
  • Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CR0241/GE)
  • The Works (8 Cutting Dies)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Fossilized Amber, Vintage Photo)
  • Ranger Stamping Platform
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
  • Crystal Stickers by Mark Richards (Cluster Combo Style #5454C)
Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Chris aka Pearshapedchris, who is hosting the Hold The Line challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the decorative strip that creates a line across my page.

I’m so pleased to be able to join in the #129 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps which inspired the design of my page (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the LTSCB #138 – Fall Back over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my autumnal page.

I’m happy to join the Autumn Glory Challenge over at Stamping Sensations where the lovely Avril has just joined the Design Team with my stamped page – Many congratulations!

I’m also joining in the fun at Stinkin’ Inkers Challenge Blog and their Shades of Fall challenge with all the fall colours on my page.

Fall into Autumn

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Hello Everyone, I’m so pleased and honoured to be Guest Designer today for the Fall Foilage challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog.

Jennie is hosting this challenge which is described as “According to most search engines the Fall season has officially begun so we should be starting to see the emergence of all those beautiful Autumnal colours, unless Mother Nature throws us a curve ball! Let’s celebrate them anyway by creating a vintage or shabby chic project in traditional Fall shades that includes some form of foliage”.

This Fall Foliage challenge was perfect as I love the leaves and colours of autumn so my page was inspired by our woodland walks that we enjoy this time of year. As I also wanted to combine both the American and UK names for this season, I added the saying “Fall into Autumn”.

The woodland background was created using some fun techniques with Colourcraft Brusho powders; the colours I used were Yellow, Sandstone, Orange, Brilliant Red, Moss Green and Dark Brown. First I sprinkled the Brusho powders over the left-hand side and bottom of the page, spritzed them with water and then watched the magic as the colours exploded on the page. I used a piece of kitchen paper towel to mop up any excess colour and then I applied more of the Brushos until I achieved the finish I was after. Next I splattered the page with the Brushos that I had diluted with water and then using Liquitex matte gel medium I stuck the coloured kitchen towel (which I had just used to mop up the excess colour) over the top. As you can see the kitchen towel also had some black acrylic paint on it and it added the most gorgeous texture for my woodland setting.

The fungi images were from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack from Tim Holtz; I stuck them to the page with glue dots and then covered their bases with small pieces of the coloured kitchen towel so they blended into the foreground. Then I added some twiggy brown grasses which were die cut using a Funky Florals Thinlit set by Tim Holtz from some cardstock that I coloured with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The branches and leaves were cut from different autumnal coloured design papers using a Fall Foliage Thinlit set by Tim Holtz. I edged some of the leaves using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then arranged them onto the page so it looked like the leaves were falling from the tree branches to the woodland floor. To finish, I added the “Fall into Autumn” wording which was die cut from the same design papers as the leaves using a Docrafts alphabet die set.

I love the yellows, browns and coppers colours of the autumnal leaves …

… and this time of year we see lots of fungi on our woodland walks so I thought I’d capture them on my page (grin!).

Both me and my hubby love this time of year and it happens to be our 32nd wedding anniversary today. We are normally on holiday but as you probably guessed we are happily staying at home this year instead, so I’m sharing a photo of us when we travelled to Maine in America that was taken on our anniversary a few years ago – wishing you a very happy anniversary my darling hubby, love you (grin!).

Thanks so much to The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog  for having me as Guest Designer! I hope that you are inspired by the Fall Foilage challenge too and are able to join in the fun!

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 glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like it The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog , 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 so pleased to join the LTSCB #138 – Fall Back over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Fall into Autumn art journal page too.

I’m happy to join in the fun over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the Brusho techniques I used.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge their challenge is Dry Embossing, so I’m pleased to join them with the embossed linen textured cardstock that I used on this page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Make It Sparkle challenge with the sparkle from the metallic cardstock I used for the yellow leaves on my art journal page.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join the Autumn Colours 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:

  • Colourcraft Brusho Colours (Yellow, Sandstone, Orange, Brilliant Red, Moss Green, Dark Brown)
  • Kitchen Paper Towel used to mop up Brushos
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Poundland Design Pad (Changing Seasons CR0701/16PL1)
  • Metallic Linen Embossed Textured Cardstock – Paper Bundle
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Fall Foliage 660995)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology (Ephemera Set – Field Notes #TH94051)
  • Stix 2 glue dots
  • Docrafts X-Cut A5 Die Set (Folk Alphabet XCU503286)

Free to Fly

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

I had fun creating this page from various mixed media including a recycled magazine page, white gesso, markers, stickers, rub-on transfers and paint; it was inspired by the butterflies that have been sunning themselves on the slate in our front garden – I hope you like it!

I started by tearing a blue page from a magazine into squares and collaging them onto the page using a Pritt Stick and some Liquitex matte gel medium. I intensified the white areas of the page by painting them with Pébéo white gesso allowing the gesso to smudge onto the blue paper squares too. When dry, I edged the squares with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger and then with a black Uni Pin marker.

Next I stuck the pretty 3D butterflies onto the page and added some numbers and words which are rub-on transfers from two Remnant Rub sets by Tim Holtz.

I added some border stickers to frame the “Free to Fly” wording and then to finish, I splattered the page with white acrylic paint.

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

This is one of the beautiful butterflies that have been sunbathing on the slate in our garden. This butterfly is a Red Admiral which is widespread across the UK; it has a wingspan of about 2 inches (5 cm) and has distinctive black wings with red bands and white spots.  The Red Admiral butterfly is known to be unusually calm so it allowed me to get quite close to take this photo (grin!).

Hoping 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.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Chris aka pearshapedchris the Hold The Line challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the two lines of border stickers that I used to frame the title of my page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the #128 – Dimensions challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the 3D butterflies on this page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the Anything Goes over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Free to Fly art journal page.

I’m also joining the Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their Anything Goes + optional twist of Distressing (ink or tool) with the techniques I used to collage and distress the pieces of magazine on my journal page.

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

  • Old magazine page
  • Pritt Stick
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
  • Home Bargains You & Me Stickers (Beautiful Butterflies 22742)
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Specimen #TH94047, Tiny Text #TH93695)
  • Sandylion Sticker Designs Kelly Panacci (Stitches & Borders KSCB105)
  • Artist Discount Acrylic Paint (White)

Banana Cream Daisy

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Today I’m sharing another page inspired by the flowers in my garden, this time a pretty daisy called Banana Cream – such fun (grin!).

I’m pleased to join the Texture challenge that I’m hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey with all the texture I added to this page using stamping, inks, paint splatters, stencilled texture paste, linen textured paper, rub-on transfers and gems. Thank you for your lovely comments and wonderful creations so far, I hope you are having as much fun creating texture on your pages as I am!

I started by covering the background using Leaf Green Wendy Vecchi Bendable Dye Ink, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress Inks; stamping the ink pads onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the mat onto the page. Once dry, I stamped some foliage using a Leaf Prints Tim Holtz stamp set and Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress Inks. Next I applied some Scattered Straw Distress Ink using a blending tool and some Pébéo white gesso with my finger which added more texture and depth to the page, and then I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint and the white gesso.

The daisy flowers are rub-on transfers which I applied to some card and cut out; they are all edged with a Cool Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then stuck to the page using a glue stick with some cream linen textured card. The cream linen card was decorated with the rub-on transfers and edged with Scattered Straw Distress Ink and Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to give it a worn look and add more texture. Then I stencilled some Ranger Texture Paste that I coloured with Cadmium Yellow and white gesso through a Reversed Honeycomb stencil. To finish, I added the “Daisy” wording using letter stickers from Kaisercraft and some orange gemstones to add some sparkle.

These are the Banana Cream daisies in my garden; they are a Shasta daisy and have a lovely creamy yellow colour.

Hoping 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.

Challenges

I’m joining in the Use Your Favourite Stamps challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as the Tim Holtz foilage stamp set that I used is one of my favourites, especially the fern design.

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

  • Ranger Wendy Vecchi Make Art Blendable Dye Ink (Leaf Green)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss)
  • Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Leaf Prints CMS273)
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • White cardstock
  • Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (White Flowers #ROY-668)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
  • Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture)
  • Pritt Stick
  • That’s Crafty! Dinky Stencil (Reversed Honeycomb)
  • Ranger Texture Paste
  • Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Cadmium Yellow Light Hue)
  • Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Let nature be your calming breath

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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