Merry Moose Wonderland

I’m so delighted to be hosting this month’s challenge over at Sparkles Monthly Challenges choosing #158 – Die Cuts and/or Punches as my theme.

I love nothing better than using die cuts for my papercraft projects and I used quite a few die cuts for this page including one of my favourites – the Merry Moose Sizzix Thinlits by Tim Holtz.

It looks like Merry Moose is looking forward to Christmas this year while walking through a winter wonderland; I hope you’ll join in the fun too, it would be lovely to see you there (smile!).

I started by covering the chipboard page with a layer of Speckled Egg Distress Paint and left it to dry. Then I used lots of Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits to create the scene; this included a Branched Birch Thinlits Set which was cut from some white linen cardstock, a Woodlands Thinlits set for the fir trees cut from some green foil corrugated cardstock, a Merry Moose Thinlits set from some cream linen cardstock and a Winter Wardrobe Thinlits set for his bow from white linen cardstock. I layered the trees together using double-sided tape and I cut out the snowy foreground from some of the white linen cardstock. The Merry Moose was coloured using Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso and Antique Linen Distress Ink and his bow using a Dark Red Blend TriBlend Spectrum Noir marker. The two little robins, flying across the page, were stamped using a Picket Fence Studios stamp set and black Archival Ink; they were coloured using a Earth Brown Blend and the Dark Red Blend TriBlend Spectrum Noir markers and then fussy cut out. To finish, I added the “walking in a winter wonderland” wording which was a die cut sticker from a Christmas Sticker Book by Tim Holtz.

I hope you’ll join us at Sparkles Monthly Challenges, and for more inspiration please check out the amazing Die Cuts and/or Punches projects from my Sparkles Buddies in the Design Team too; we would love for you to join us so please be sure to check out the rules here.

Here are all the Thinlits sets I used to create my Merry Moose Wonderland page.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a couple of pints of Dark Side of the Moose beer; it’s from Purple Moose brewery in Porthmadog, Wales and we enjoyed it last week at one of our local pubs – Cheers and Happy T Day everyone!

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

Challenges

As well as Sparkles Monthly Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #180 – Anything Goes challenge with my Merry Moose page.

MLCCB #47 – Anything Christmas Goes over at Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog with my Merry Moose Wonderland page.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #27 where Anything Christmas Goes with my Christmas Merry Moose page.

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Texture at Art Journal Journey

I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge theme that I have chosen for this month is Texture.

We would like you to have fun creating texture on your pages. As you can see from the different panels on my page there are lots of possibilities to create texture. This could be by adding texture paste, crackle paste, high density mediums like gesso, paints or embossing powder. You could also use embossing folders, layers of papers, die cuts, fabrics or chipboard pieces too. The choice is yours! 

I couldn’t just choose one texture so I decided to create my page using 21 different texture panels to inspire you and as I started creating the panels they turned into little scenes, I hope you like them (grin!).

If you’re interested, here’s close up pictures and full details of how the panels that make up my page were created. There’s also a list of all materials I used at the end of this post too.

1. Foil
For my first panel, I stamped a dragonfly using black Archival Ink onto some coloured foil, which is recycled from an Easter egg wrapper. I stuck it onto the panel using a glue stick and to create the worn textured look I added some black Archival Ink to emphasis the creases and then I rubbed the foil back to its base silver colour with a baby wipe. To finish I added the glittery flower.

2. Teabags & staples
Using staples I attached a used teabag to the panel and then I stuck three teacups on the top which were die cut from some design paper.

3. Glass beads
I coloured the panel with some Summer Sky Memento Ink and then applied Liquitex Glass Beads Texture Gel over the top with a palette knife. Whilst the medium was still wet I pressed some pretty blue glass beads into the texture gel. When dry I added the little orange fish which is a brad.

4. Dried leaves
I used matte gel medium to layer together a yellow skeleton leaf, a dried beech leaf and a die cut flower, which was cut from some linen textured paper using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.

5. Fabric, threads and lace
The panel was covered with some self-adhesive fabric and layered with a piece of frayed muslin, some Hessian/burlap and some threads which I topped with a lace flower.

6. Corrugated card
I added a piece of corrugated card, which was recycled from some packaging, using matte gel medium then applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top. When dry, I emphasised the corrugations using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The postage stamp is from Graphic 45 and was distressed using the Dark Sepia marker, Tea Dye Distress Ink and black acrylic paint. 

7. Elastic bands
I applied some matte gel medium to the panel and sprinkled on some Orthodontic elastic bands that CJ kindly set to me (grin!). When dry I covered them with white gesso and highlighted the circles using a Dark Sepia marker. Then I edged the panel using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and coloured some of the circle centres using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. To finish, I added three little hearts that were in my craft stash; they were created using the Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and glossy white cardstock.

8. Crackle
I covered the panel with white gesso and when it was dry I applied Earl Grey, Caramel and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger. To create the crackle I used a BoBunny stamp and some Toffee Crisp and Rich Cocoa Momento inks and Black Archival ink.

All the letters for the “texture” wording were created using an X-Cut die set; they were cut from both black and white paper and then layered together onto a panel of textured design paper.

9. Glitter
I cut some different coloured glitter sheets into squares and then stuck them onto the panel using a glue stick.

10. Cork
I simply stuck a piece of cork designed paper onto the panel.

11. Paint Splatter
To add more texture I used some high density Liquitex paint, splattering Vivid Lime Green, Cold Grey and Bright Aqua Green onto the panel and leaving it to dry.

12. Wood
This is one of my favourite techniques; I applied Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink pads vertically down the panel and used a paint brush to add some matte gel medium over the top keeping the brush strokes in a vertical direction. I repeated the process a couple of times making sure each layer dried before adding the next.

13. Texture paste
I applied some Ranger Texture Paste to the panel using a Vintage Diamond stencil. When dry I coloured the panel using Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks, then emphasised the texture paste using some Midnight Sparkle lustre wax.

14. Napkin
I simply covered the panel with a gold embossed napkin using a glue stick.

15. Wooden chipboard pieces and rust effect
I started by sticking the cogs in place using matte gel medium. When dry I added layers of different shades of rust and brown acrylic paints which I had created by mixing Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and black acrylic paints. When dry I added more detail using Dark Sepia and a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then I added some patina by lightly stippling some Bright Aqua Green acrylic paint over the top.

16. Paper layers
I covered the panel with leftover paper pieces and edged them using a black Uni Pin marker. The flower is a paper sticker and the foliage was cut using a Funky Floral Thinlet from Tim Holtz and coloured using two green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.

17. Doily and gems
I added lots of texture to the panel using layers of doily which I edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia marker. They are stuck in place using double-sided tape and then embellished with some textured gemstones to add some shimmer and shine.

18. Embossing Folder, thread and buttons
I used an embossing folder to add a flower design to a piece of Kraft cardstock and then coloured the raised embossed design using a white Uniball gel pen and Aqua Green Promarker. Then I wound some wax thread around the panel and attached a big button.

19. Drywall/Plasterboard Tape
I added some drywall/plasterboard tape to the panel and coloured it using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray. I splattered the panel with black DecoArt acrylic paint and added some washi tape to create the foreground. Then I added the mushrooms which are from the Field Notes Ephemera Set from Tim Holtz.

20. Embossing enamel and die cut trellis
The panel background was coloured using Tea Dye and Antique Linen Distress Ink and Dandelion and Pistachio Memento Ink. The trellis was die cut from white cardstock covered in black Archival Ink and Chunky Silver Stampendous embossing enamel. I added two little birds which were stamped using black Archival Ink, coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut out.

21. Tissue Paper
For the final panel, I crumpled some white tissue paper and then added it to the panel using matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured it with Lemon, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna watercolour paint. The flower was cut from some Kanban cardstock using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.

Once the panels were complete I stuck them onto the page using double-sided tape; I coloured the background with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to outline the panels before sticking them in place.

Do you have a favourite panel?
It’s hard for me to choose, maybe number 3 with the beads and little fish, number 6 as I love the corrugated card, number 15 with cogs and rust or number 20 as you know I adore robins (grin!).

I hope that you are inspired to join us at Art Journal Journey this month too! We are really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all the Texture that you create on your pages (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 joining the It’s A Wrap challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the Easter Egg wrapping, corrugated packaging and tissue paper wrap I used to create my panels.

I’m happy to be able to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with 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:

1. Foil Panel

  • Recycled foil from Easter Egg
  • Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Art Stamps (Petal Party #04309)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Pritt Stick
  • Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishment 59409)

2.  Teabag & Staples Panel

  • Recycled dried used teabags
  • Stapler and staples
  • Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies Metal Die Set (Vintage Tea Party Toppling Teacups)
  • Craft Sensations Design Pad (Bright Colours CR0730/R)
  • Stix2 glue dots

3. Beads Panel

  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Summer Sky)
  • Liquitex Glass Beads Texture Gel
  • Blue glass beads
  • Brads (Fishes – Orange)

4. Dried Leaves Panel

  • The Handmade Paper Company (Nature’s Touch of Art – Yellow Skeleton Leaves)
  • Dried Beech Leaf
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower 661190)
  • Textured Glossy Linen Cardstock
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

5. Fabric, threads & Lace Panel

  • Poundworld (Adhesive Pattern Fabric U-80945)
  • Recycled cheesecloth
  • Hessian/Burlap
  • The Works (Lace Flower Stickers)
  • Stix2 glue dots

6. Corrugated card Panel

  • Recycled corrugated packaging
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • Graphic 45 Seasons Collection Paper (Spring Collection #4501618)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye)
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)

7. Elastic Bands Panel

  • Orthodontic Elastics ¼” Medium – thank you CJ!
  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Tumbled Glass)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415)
  • Recycled glossy white cardstock
  • Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

8. Crackle Panel

  • Pébéo White Gesso
  • Faber-Castell Gelato (Earl Grey, Caramel, Coconut)
  • BoBunny Clear Stamps (Rough It Up #12105155)
  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Toffee Crunch, Rich Cocoa)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)

“Texture” Wording

  • Docrafts X-Cut A5 Die Set (Folk Alphabet XCU503286)
  • Leon X-Large Coloured Paper Pad
  • The Works Paper Stack (Vintage Experience)
  • Pritt Stick

9. Glitter Panel

  • Poundland (Glitter Sheets 116432)
  • Pritt Stick

10. Cork Panel

  • American Crafts Paper (DIY Shop 366665)
  • Pritt Stick

11. Paint Splatters Panel

  • Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green, Neutral Gray 5, Bright Aqua Green)

12. Wood Panel

  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

13. Texture Paste Panel

  • Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Vintage Diamonds)
  • Ranger Texture Paste
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Cracked Pistachio)
  • Craf-T Products Luster Rub-ons Color Kit #4 (Midnight Sparkle)

14. Napkin Panel

  • Embossed Gold Napkin
  • Pritt Stick

15. Chipboard Pieces & Rust Panel

  • Boozybear Wood Chippes (Cogs)
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Liquitex Artist Color (Cadmium Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Medium Hue)
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B, Sanguine 188 B)
  • Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Bright Aqua Green)

16. Paper Layers Panel

  • Leftover paper pieces
  • Pritt Stick
  • Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
  • White Cardstock
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #1 662700)
  • Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Lime Green G178, Forest Green G356)
  • Poundland (Assessories Pack – Flowers)

17. Doily & Gems Panel

  • Dovecraft Premium (Painted Blooms Paper Doilies DCDLS010)
  • X-Press It! double-sided tape
  • The Range (Adhesive Craft Sheets CR0866)

18. Embossing Folder Panel

  • Kraft Cardstock
  • Docrafts X-Cut Embossing Folder (Blossom Vines XCU515232)
  • Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
  • Winsor & Newton Promarker (Soft Green G817)
  • Groves Trimits (Waxed Thread CB923)
  • Large button

19. Drywall/Plasterboard Tape Panel

  • Wilkos Drywall/Plasterboard Tape
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass)
  • Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen)
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
  • Wilkos Washi Tape
  • Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Set (Field Notes #TH94051)

20. Embossing Enamel and Die Cut Panel

  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Antique Linen)
  • Tsukineko Memento Ink (Dandelion, Pistachio)
  • White Cardstock
  • The Works (Die Cutting Set – Trellis)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Stampendous Embossing Enamel (Chuncky Silver)
  • Picket Fence Studios Clear Stamps (Chirp, Chirp A130)
  • Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Henna 0225, Ruby R455, Cool Grey 4 CG4)

21. Tissue Paper Panel

  • Recycled tissue paper
  • Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
  • Winsor & Newton Watercolour (Lemon, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna) – thank you CJ!
  • Kanban MacKenzie Background Card (Numbers Black CRD1763)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower 661190)

Home Sweet Home

The new challenge for the next two weeks at Try it on Tuesday is:

Home Sweet Home/Where you would like to live

At Try it on Tuesday we are also saying a big hello and welcome to the very talented Helen and Mia who have both joined our Design Team, please check out their amazing first creations over at our blog!

My Home Sweet Home page design was inspired all the birds that are around at the moment that are setting up new homes in readiness for spring – I hope you like it!

I started by smooshing Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink onto the background by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. When dry, I stamped a Sheet Music stamp from Woodware Craft Collection and also the “Home Sweet Home” wording using a stamp set from Concord & 9th and black Archival Ink. I added some more detail to the wording using a white Uniball gel pen and then I stencilled some Ranger Texture paste though a Carabelle Studio Art Template.

Using two different Tim Holtz thinlet sets I created the tree branches from brown paper that I coloured further using Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Ink. The branches are stuck in place using a Zig glue pen and shaded further using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The leaves were cut from green paper, which I coloured further using some Mowed Lawn and Twisted Citron Distress Ink; they are cut using a Fall Foilage thinlets set from Tim Holtz and are also stamped with some tiny dots using a Kaisercraft stamp and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.

I created the birdhouse using some off-cuts of paper that were on my craft desk; drawing the birdhouse design and heart onto the paper and then cutting them out.

I added more detail using Winsor & Newton Promarkers; Henna and Canary to create the wooden panels and Ruby and Rose Pink for the heart and roof. I suspended the birdhouse from one of the branches using some white twine sticking the birdhouse in place using double-sided foam tape. The cute birds were stamped onto white linen paper using a Picket Fence stamp set and black Archival Ink and then coloured using Sky Blue, Cool Grey and Canary Winsor & Newton Promarkers. I also stamped the birds onto the page and the birdhouse roof using the black Archival Ink and then I stuck the coloured birds over the top using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I splattered the page with some black DecoArt acrylic paint.

My Design Teamies have created some amazing Home Sweet Home/Where would you like to live inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over and take a look.

The birds reminded me of the tea tray that we use everyday at home, as you can see it has lots of lovely garden birds on it that we find here in the UK.

Here’s our tray being put to good use; as T Stands for Tuesday it’s pictured holding our daily cuppa and homemade fruit cake that we are enjoying at the moment – 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 pleased to join the lovely Eileen from The Artful Crafter and her Green challenge over at Art Journal Journey this month with the green leaves on this page.

I’m happy to be able to join the Use Some Green challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too.

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

I’m also joining the Stencil Fun challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as I included stencilling on my art journal page.

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

  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Vintage Photo, Grounsd Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron)
  • Woodware Crafts Collection (Sheet Music JG111)
  • Concord & 9th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
  • Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
  • Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
  • Carabelle Studio Art Template (Trame Tissues et Chiffres TE60034)
  • Ranger Texture Paste
  • Studio Light Paper Pad (PPSL84)
  • Crafter’s Companion Luxury Designer Paper Pad (Angelica & Adam Collection A&A-PAP6-M)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals Large 664158, Fall Foliage 660955) 
  • Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
  • Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Tiny Dot CS360)
  • Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
  • Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
  • Paper off-cuts (Yellow, White coloured with red and pink Distress Inks)
  • Winsor & Newton ProMarker (Henna 0225, Canary Y367, Ruby R455, Rose Pink M727, Sky Blue B137, Cool Grey 4 CG4)
  • White Thread
  • Picket Fence Studios Stamps (Chirp Chirp A130)
  • X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
  • DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)