Ladybird

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

I had fun playing around with mixed media to create this Ladybird (ladybug) art journal page. I hope you’ll join in the fun too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by applying Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain, like all the other elements, horizontally across the page and then I added some Raw Umber, Burnt Umber and Bright Aqua Green Liquitex acrylic paint. I applied this paint using the long edge of an old gift card in horizontal lines. Next I added torn strips of three different washi tapes which detailed a green striped, an aqua/purple flower and a tape measure design. Then I applied some more of the Liquitex paints and also some Pébéo white gesso using the gift card again. I stamped an alphabet stamp from Kaisercraft with black Archival Ink and then added more layers of washi tape, this time a hexagonal design and a black & white flower design. Then I repeated the layers of paints and gesso and stamped a grid design using a Sheena stamp and Vintage Photo Distress Archival Ink.

The tags were created using Tag Collection Framelits by Tim Holtz and were die cut from white card which I covered with some paper from a Vintage Romance design pad. I edged them with Ground Espresso Distress Ink using a blending tool and a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to create an old and worn look. I stamped some foliage onto some of the tags using a Carabelle Studio stamp and Cottage Ivy Memento Ink.

The ladybirds are rub-on transfers and the wordings are Small Talk stickers which read “lucky” and “make a wish” relating to the spiritual meaning of ladybirds. The tags are stuck to the page using double-sided tape or foam tape and also two different sizes of brown brads. To finish, I added the “ladybird” wording using Kaisercraft letter stickers and then I splattered the page with black and also white acrylic paint.

I hope that you are inspired to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too.

I’ve noticed quite a few ladybirds this year in our garden; here are a couple sitting on some bark in one of our flower borders (grin!).

If you’re interested here are some fun facts about ladybirds:

• They are called “ladybirds” in Europe but are also known as “ladybugs” or “lady beetles”. Technically, they are actually beetles.
• A ladybird’s spots warn potential predators and the most common type of ladybird in the UK is red with black spots, but in fact there are 5000 different species of ladybirds in the world.
• One ladybird may consume 5000 aphids in its one-year lifespan – so they are very welcome in my garden (grin!).
• They are much loved and in many cultures are considered good luck. 

I hope that you are all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Creative Artiste, 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 in the Summer Fields challenge over at Country View Challenges with my summery meadow foliage and ladybirds on my art journal page.

I’m happy to join the Make Your Own Background challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the background that I created too.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Quotes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the “make a wish” quote.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Masculine challenge.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Cracked Pistachio)
• Liquitex Acrylic Basics (Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Bright Aqua Green)
• Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection Patterned Craft Tape (Spots & Stripes Festive PMA462302)
• Crelando Decorative Tape (Aqua/purple Flower)
• Michael’s Washi Tape (Tape Measure, Black & White Flower)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Alphabet CS887)
• Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black)
• The Works Washi Tape (Enjoy the Ride)
• Sheena Create A Flower Unmounted Rubber Stamp (Funky Textures 2 SD-CAFS-FT2)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• White Card Stock
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Vintage Romance 154897)
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (Dans la nature, ill y a … SA60175)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Insect Collection #TIP1484)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Stix2 double-sided  tape
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
• Craft Sensations Brads (CRO550/A)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)

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)

Welsh Poppy

Today I have another page celebrating the flowers found in my garden. This time we have the Welsh poppy which are flowering so beautifully at the moment (grin!).

I started by stamping the poppy heads from a Tim Holtz Flower Garden stamp set using black Versafine Ink. Then I added some white gesso to the background using a palette knife, leaving the gesso thick in places; I left it to dry overnight. Next I painted Sap Green, Hooker’s Green and Burnt Sienna Kuretake watercolour paints over the background by applying water to the page first and then painting on the colours and letting them blend together. I added more detail to the background including: the numbers using a stencil from Craft Sensations and Black Soot Distress Ink; the text which was stamped using a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and the same Black Soot ink; and also a Solar & Lunar stamp from Finnabair using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink.

The poppy heads are coloured and shaded using Yellow and Gold Spectrum Aqua markers and also Canary, Honeycomb and Lime Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers. Then I stamped the stems and leaves using the same Flower Garden stamp set and black Archival Ink. They are shaded using Olive Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.

I added some Mini Squares using a stencil from Creative Expressions and some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. The “Welsh Poppy” wording was created using letter stickers from Kaisercraft and the huge bee was from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz which finished the page.

If you are interested you can see the other pages that were inspired by two of my spring flowering plants in my garden here:

• Bluebells
• Tulips

Like my page there are two shades of Welsh poppies in our garden, here are the golden orange ones …

… and these are the yellow ones, aren’t they beautiful (grin!).

Hoping that you are 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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with my Welsh Poppy page.

I’m so happy to be able to join the #119 – Picture Inpiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the green and yellow colour palette, poppy flowers and Mini Squares scattering the background. Thanks so much for my win too, how exciting!

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their We’re All A-Buzz challenge as I added a huge bee on my page.

I’m also joining the Oh, Man! challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the masculine styled background of my page.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Beautiful Blooms Challenge this month over at A Vintage Journey; my art journal page would be perfect for this challenge and I hope you will join in the fun 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 Collection Sampers Anonymous (Flower Garden CMS215)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Sap Green No:53, Hokker’s Green No:52, Burnt Sienna No:46)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Art 154892)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Rusty Hinge)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Solar & Lunar 966997)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Yellow, Gold)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Canary Y367, Honeycomb C547, Lime Green G178, Olive Green Y724, Forest Green G356)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Mini Squares CEMSSQUARE)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Stix2 Glue Dots

Colour me beautiful

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Lovely Ladies.

We are asking that your page is not just feminine but also features a female image too. I used stamps to add the female images to the background of my page and fussy cut some old magazine images for the two lovely ladies – don’t you just love that hat!

For the background, I applied Antique Linen Distress Ink and Angel Pink Memento Ink to the page by applying the ink pads directly to the paper and pulling them vertically down the page to create stripes. Then I used a wet paintbrush to soften and blend the inks a little. Once dry, I stamped the cameos, perfume bottles and filigree over the background with a Kaisercraft stamp set using black Archival Ink. Next I applied some white gesso using my finger over some of the stamped images to push them back and add some depth to the design. My two lovely ladies and wording were fussy cut from some old magazines and stuck in place using a glue stick. I edged the wording with some black Glitterations border stickers and then stuck some striped black and white ribbon under the images. To finish, I added two large clear gemstones to the ends of the ribbon and three pretty pink acrylic daisy flowers.

I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more inspiration my Design Teamies have created some Lovely Ladies creations for you over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join the lovely Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with pink flowers on this page.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I think the glamorous ladies on my page might enjoy a Poinsettia which is a cocktail made from Cranberry Juice, Orange Liqueur and Prosecco. Here we are serving them in a posh champagne glass – cheers and Happy T Day!

Hoping that you all stay 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Angel Pink)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (75 Cents CS864)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Old Magazines
• Pritt Stick
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Craft Sensations (Self-Adhesive Deco Ribbons CRO244/16R)
• Poundworld DecoTime Scrapbook Accessories (Gems Art#54745)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Home Bargains Crafty Things (Acrylic Daisy Stickers 50650)

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)

Arundel Treasures

Today we are launching our March challenge over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and as always the theme is:

Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I hope you’ll join us, please check out the rules here.

My art journal page was inspired by Arundel which we visit every winter whilst staying with family. My grungy background showcases the golden crown fountain located at Arundel Castle as well as some beautiful postage stamps from my hubby’s childhood stamp collection that I thought matched the design beautifully (grin!).

To create my grungy background, I started by covering a Sea Green inky background with a thick layer of white gesso and then collaging some odd bits of paper that were on my craft desk to add texture. Then I applied some Pébéo modelling paste to the page and scored it using a small ice scraper to create the waves and lines of texture. Next I added some drywall tape and then I covered everything with another layer of white gesso. When dry, I rubbed on some Midnight Sparkle and Amber lustre wax with my finger to emphasise the textures that I’d created. I added some ripped pieces of black and white washi tape and some postage stamps that I had stamped using gold acrylic; they were leftover from another page. Then I applied lots of gold leaf using gold size to adhere it to the page; applying it so it gave a grungy look.

Next I stamped some Adornment shapes from Papermania onto some tissue paper using black Archival Ink and stuck them in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry I framed each of them with a gold circle using Glitterations stickers. I fussy cut the image of the crown fountain from a leaflet about Arundel castle, mounted it onto some recycled card and stuck it to the page using double-sided tape.

To finish the page, I added two beautiful postage stamps which are from Hungary dated 1970 and picture Gold Artefacts; my hubby kindly gave me his childhood stamp collection to use for my art journaling (grin!).

I hope that you are inspired to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too.

Here’s the crown fountain which is part of the gardens of Arundel Castle and as you can see from this video the crown revolves being supported by a jet of water; it was based on a 17th century classical design by English architect Inigo Jones.

As we visit Arundel during the winter months the castle and gardens aren’t open so I’ve never seen this magical fountain but we always admire the view of the castle whilst on our walk around Arundel.

We walk by the castle walls and then into woodland.

Then down by the river, as you can see we had lovely blue skies too.

Which leads us back to the castle again, as you can see the river water levels are really high from all the rain we’ve been having here. From the castle we head into the town to look around the pretty shops and have a spot of lunch (grin!).

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 from The Artful Crafter and her Green challenge over at Art Journal Journey this month with the pop of green on my neutral background from the green postage stamp on this page.

I’m also happy to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page too.

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Leftover bits of paper
• UHU Stic
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Drywall Tape
• Craf-T Products Lustre Rub-ons (Set # – Midnight Sparkle, Amber)
• Washi tape
• Gold Leaf
• Annie Sloane (Water Based Gold Size)
• Leftover gold acrylic stamped postage stamps
• Recycled white tissue paper
• Papermania Hallmark Cards wood mounted stamp (Adornment – G PMA9062904)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Anita’s Glitterations (Gold Frame Circle ANT8181028)
• Arundel Castle leaflet
• Postage Stamps – Hungary Magyar Posta Gold Art 1970
• Recycled card
• X-press It! double-sided tape

Birthday Celebration

This month we are celebrating our 6^th Birthday over at A Vintage Journey with our Birthday Celebration challenge, which is being hosted by the lovely Brenda. Your projects don’t have to be about birthdays, here’s what she has to say:

“Yes! Let’s celebrate our 6th Birthday … so it’s over to you to show us what you are celebrating in your art and craft work at the moment. Don’t forget to link us into your blog post and if it’s not really obvious share with us how your project relates to the challenge theme. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.

I’m so excited about our Birthday Celebration this month; I do hope you’ll join us! I was enjoying the party atmosphere whilst I was art journaling using Tim Holtz products to create this Happy 6^th Birthday page.

I used lots of Tim Holtz products for this page so unless stated otherwise it’s from Tim Holtz; there’s a full list of materials at the end of this post for your reference.

I started by covering the page with Pébéo white gesso using a palette knife and left it to dry. Then I cut a piece of vintage script paper into sections and die cut a flower from the larger piece of paper using Wildflower Stems Thinlet set.

I also cut the flower from some Craft Sensations white linen cardstock and inserted it into the flower space in the vintage script paper. I arranged the pieces of paper onto the page with some Aviary Collage Paper using Liquitex gel medium. Then I outlined the papers with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and a black Uni Pin marker to make them stand out more. Next I added some Crowded Attic and Destinations Salvage Stickers again outlining them with a black Uni Pin marker.

To finish the page, I added the wording using Label Letter stickers and also a No:6 Countdown Brad.

Did you notice the six intentional “No:6”s that I added to this page to commemorate our 6^th Birthday? They are all revealed below (grin!).

I hope you are inspired to join in our Birthday Celebration 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!

1. Large No: 6 (LHS of flower)
2. Saftey pins x 6 (LHS of flower)
3. Needle packaging No:6 (top RHS)
4. Happy “6th” Birthday (wording)
5. Ruler No:6 (under wording)
6. Countdown Brad No:6 (bottom RHS)

All the “No:6”s are pictured here – did you get them all? You may have found lots of 6’s on the Sheet Music and other rulers too (double grin!).

As it’s a birthday celebration I thought I’d share this amazing birthday cake that I saw in a local bakery, doesn’t it look amazing and the Steampunk style is fabulous, just right for A Vintage Journey – Happy Birthday!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the The Eyes Have It challenge over at Country View Challenges with the birds on this art journal page.

I’m joining in the Something Feminine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the pretty birds and flowers on my page too.

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Halloween Paper Stash #TH93712, Aviary Collage Paper #TH93706, Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers #TH92898, Destinations Salvage Stickers #TH93005, Label Letters #TH93072, Countdown Brads #TH93631)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)

Makes me dream

A visit to the Blackbird Café had me thinking of stars, so I created this page from recycled used inky baby wipes and a fabulous quote from Vincent Van Gogh that reads “I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream”.

I started by collaging pieces of baby wipe that I had used to mop up some After Midnight Dylusions Ink Spray and Black Archival Ink using some gel medium. When dry I also applied some of the Dylusions Ink Spray using a paintbrush to water it down to any areas of the page that I hadn’t collaged and then stencilled some dots using a Creative Expressions Distressed Dots Mask. I splattered the page with some Pébéo white gesso, black DecoArt acrylic paint and a silver Daler Rowney paint marker. Next I fussy cut some images from a sheet of Stargazer Collection paper from Kaisercraft, edged them with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them in place. I framed the quote using silver outline stickers and then I added some glittery silver stars which finished the page.

You may remember the Blackbird Café from previous posts, it’s such a lovely place and we normally go there with our dearest friends and chat over a cuppa (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, here’s my cup of hot chocolate in a beautiful blue mug and it was served with a yummy white chocolate star – Happy T Day!

Of course we couldn’t visit this café without having a bacon butty too – so delicious (double 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 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 happy to join in the Splatters, Splashes & Drips challenge over at Country View Challenges with all the splatters, splashes and drips on this page.

I’m joining in the Add A Sentiment challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my page.

Over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog their theme is # 34 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Stenciling so I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge with my mixed media stenciled page.

As I recycled some used baby wipes this is also a reminder that you still have another week to join our Go Green or Recycle Something 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:

• Used baby wipes stained with Ranger After Midnight Dylusions Ink Spray and Jet Black Archival Ink
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Distressed Dots)
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (After Midnight)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Daler Rowney Acrylic Paint Markers (Silver)
• Kaisercraft Stargazer Collection 12×12 Paper (Galaxy P2538)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
• Design Objectives Outline Stickers (Silver Borders 123551)
• Craft Sensations (Foam Glitter Stickers Silver CRO243/18GE)

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

Hello – Creative Artiste Design Team

I’m thrilled and honoured to be able to join the Design Team at Creative Artiste and I’d like to thank the team for inviting me to join them.

At Creative Artiste Challenge Blog the theme is always Anything Mixed Media Goes, so it’s really special to be part of this Design Team as I love using mixed media and always like to use various mediums on my art journal pages.

For this month’s #57 – Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge, I’m sharing an art journal page to just say “hello” to everyone (grin!).

I started by stamping a Solar & Lunar stamp from Finnabair and a Script Stamp from Kaisercraft over the background using black Archival Ink. Then I tore a wallpaper sample into some pieces, edged them with Antique Linen Distress Ink and collaged them onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. I applied some Pébéo white gesso with my finger over the top to add some depth. When dry I coloured the edges of collaged pieces with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker smudging the ink with my finger and then I splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.

Next I added the pretty pink peony flower using matte gel medium which I fussy cut from the wallpaper sample; I created some shadows around it so that it stood out more by applying and smudging some of the Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker with my finger before sticking it down.

The “hello” and butterflies were created using a Springtime Tim Holtz Thinlets Sidekick set and some linen textured paper. They were coloured using either a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker or Angel Pink and Rose Bud Memento Inks. The wings were heat embossed with Wow! Embossing Glitter and the body of the butterfly was covered with Ranger Glossy Accents.

I layered the “hello” pieces together and also added some antennae to the butterflies which I made using wire. To finish, I added some wording that I thought were appropriate to joining this new design team and to my mixed media art journaling which are all Tim Holtz Clipping Stickers; they read “my grateful heart”, “just a memory”, “dreams come true”, “all the world is bright”, “life is wonderful” and “good fortune”.

I had so much fun creating this page and thought you may like to see where I create my art, here’s where I sit in my craft room. I have to say, it’s not normally this tidy (grin!).

I hope you will join in the fun over at Creative Artiste this month; be sure to check out the Challenge Rules here.

For more inspiration, you’ll find a wonderful array of mixed media projects created by my fellow design team members over at Creative Artiste too. We would love to see you there!

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 Hearts challenge over at Art Journal Journey that is being hosted by the lovely Bleubeard & Elizabeth this month with the wording on my page – “my grateful heart”.

With the paint splatters on this page, I happy to join in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Splatters, Splashes and Drips challenge too.

I’m also pleased to join the Floral Frenzy challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the peony flower that I included on my page.

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

• Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Solar & Lunar Item# 966977)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (script CS752)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Wallpaper sample
• Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Antique Linen)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets Sidekick (Springtime 662711)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Angel Pink, Rose Bud)
• Tsukineko Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• WOW! Embossing Glitter (Singing in the rain WS183R)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Silver Wire
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Clipping Stickers #TH93583)