Beer & Ale

I created another masculine page for our It’s a Man’s World challenge over at Try it on Tuesday where there is still another week to join in the fun, it would be lovely to see you there!

This time my page celebrates Beer & Ale using some vintage images from old magazines and a background that I had created sometime ago to experiment whilst trying out a new technique using Brushos – such fun!

For the background, I stamped a Steampunk Background stamp from Docrafts onto the page using a Versamark Watermark stamp pad and then I sprinkled Sandstone, Dark Brown, Terracotta and Yellow Ochre Colourcraft Brusho Powders over the top and used a paintbrush to brush the powder over the stamp images so that it clung to the Watermark Ink. Then I then spritzed the page with water a few times and watched the Brusho colours burst to life; if you want the stamping to be more defined spritz lightly with water – such a fun technique! Next I fussy cut some vintage brewery and beer images from some old magazines, stuck them in place using a glue stick and outlined them with a black Uni Pin Marker. The “2/11” plaque, letters for the “beer” and “ale” wording and large button are all Salvage Stickers from Tim Holtz. Next I added the cogs and gears which are wooden chipboard pieces from Boozybear using Ranger Glossy Accents and to finish, the words “collect beautiful moments” which are Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz.

As you probably know by now, me and hubby like our beer and I thought Bleubeard and Elizabeth over at T Stands for Tuesday may like the story of how this beer came to be called Old Tom. It’s brewed at Robinsons Brewery in Stockport, Cheshire and it’s almost as old as the brewery itself. It’s a dangerous 8.5% ABV, that’s why I only have a taster in my glass (grin!). This beer was born in 1899, when Tom, the old brewery cat, was sketched into immortality by the head brewer. It is rich and warming, and has a distinctive deep port wine finish, with bitter hops balanced by the heady aromas of dark fruit – cheers and 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 Halle of Halle’s Hobbies and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the words “collect beautiful moments”.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, their theme is Transport It, so I’m pleased to join in the fun as you can see in the images that the beers on my page are being transported by men, locomotives, horse and carts.

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

• Tsukineko Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Colourcraft Brusho Colours (Sandstone, Dark Brown, Terracotta, Yellow Ochre)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk Background DCE907128)
• Old Magazines
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH93898)
• Boozybear Chipboard Pieces (Cogs andGears)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk # TH93193)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Pritt Stick

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Man’s World

Time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and for the next two weeks our challenge is It’s a Man’s World. So be masculine, it could be something for Father’s Day or for a male birthday.

As I always find it hard to get started on masculine designs, I ended up getting all my appropriate crafting goodies out for inspiration and once I got started I really enjoyed creating this page; it all came together quickly and I love the grungy vintage look and I hope you do too!

I started by ripping some decoupage paper into large pieces and sticking it to the page using a glue stick. Then I stencilled the metal plate effect using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and a Dinky Stencil from That’s Crafty! I splattered the page with water to smudge the Hickory Smoke ink using a piece of kitchen towel giving it a grungy look. Next I smooshed and splattered some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink over the page and I edged the pieces of decoupage paper using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish the background, I added three rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel which I outlined using a black Uni Pin marker so the edges looked worn and then I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint. Next I layered all the different paper elements together having edged them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and also a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker before I stuck them onto the page. They included: letters creating the “mans world” wording, some numbered tiles and shields which are Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers by Tim Holtz; some pieces of a book page which I distressed with scissors along the edge; a vintage car stamp from Tim Holtz which I stamped onto some American Crafts paper and also some recycled Kraft paper using black Archival Ink and then fussy cut out; a clock which was stamped using a Kaisercraft stamp and black Archival Ink onto the same American Crafts paper then cut out; a clock which I fussy cut from an old magazine; two Victorian style brown tags; two wooden effect tags from Docrafts that read “Brilliant” and “The World’s Greatest”, and I emphasised their design using a black Uni Pin marker; a ruler which I cut into two pieces and finally two round discs, which read “in these moments time stood still” and “A lifetime of memories” all of which are fussy cut from a Kaisercraft paper sheet. To finish, I added some brown metal brads to all of the tags and splattered black DecoArt acrylic paint over everything.

For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our pie and a pint that we enjoyed whilst sitting in the sunshine at a local pub. We only had one day of sunshine last week and I’m now wishing for more with all the grey cloudy and rainy days we have had of late, although I’m sure the flowers in my garden are grateful (grin!). If you are wondering, our pie is meat and potato which is much loved in the North of England, you probably won’t find this pie in the South of England. It’s served hot and goes very nicely with a pint of beer too – cheers and 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 Halle of Halle’s Hobbies  and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Masculine challenge with my Man’s World page.

I’m pleased join in the fun over at Creative Artiste and their June #50 – Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge with my mixed media art journal page (which included decoupage paper, ink, markers, stickers, etc).

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

• Trimcraft Santora London (Decoupage Papers SBDEC043)
• That’s Crafty! Dinky Stencil (Metal Grid Background – TC041)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B, Black 199)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Create-A-Collage (Men’s Accessories #ROY-853)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Book page
• Tim Holtz {Components} Collection Stamper Anonymous (COM013 CAR)
• American Crafts Papers (DIY Store 366665)
• Recycled Kraft Notepaper
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Vintage- Believe CS832)
• Old Magazine
• The Works (Victorian Style Embellishments)
• Docrafts A5 Die-Cut Toppers & Sentiments (Mr. Smith’s Workshop PMA157261)
• Kaisercraft Glossy Paper Story Book Collection (Trinkets PS445)
• Craft Sensations (Brads CRO550/A)
• Pritt Stick

Guest Designer at Creative Artiste

Hello everyone, I’m so excited to be Guest Designer at Creative Artiste for their June #50 Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge this month.

I am often inspired by things I see and do, so my art journal page today is inspired by the quote “never lose your sense of wonder”. I had so much fun using lots of Mixed Media to create my page, I hope you like it!

I started by cutting papers into squares and rectangles and collaging them onto the page to make a grid pattern. Then I used a ruler to outline them with a black Uni Pin marker. I used a dot and also a cross stencil to add some modelling paste and when dry, I covered it with some Pébéo white gesso.

Then I applied some black embossing powder using a Versamark watermark stamp pad over the modelling paste and heated it using my heat gun; I really like the grungy crackle effect that resulted. Next I coloured areas of the page with Acqua Dolce, Strawberry and Coconut Faber-Castell gelatos using my finger to smudge the colours and also some white acrylic paint. I stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink and also applied some Celebration Pink DecoArt Glamour Dust through a Flourish stencil from That’s Crafty. When dry, I stamped a scroll and also an ornate circle stamp from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink and splattered the whole page with white and also black acrylic paint.

I added three pink roses which I edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; they are stuck down using double-sided foam tape and then decorated with Icicle Stickles to add some sparkle. To finish, I added the words “never lose your sense of wonder” which is from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet and outlined with a black Uni Pin marker.

I’d like to thank Creative Artiste for having me as Guest Designer this month! I love everything mixed media so had fun creating this page, I hope that you will join in their Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge too – Happy Crafting!

This quote always makes me remember the amazing flowers that have appeared on the palm trees in our garden, aren’t they magical! My hubby says they look like Christmas trees and the bees love them, so much so that when you walk passed the whole flower is buzzing (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Halle of Halle’s Hobbies  and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the quote that I included on my page.

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

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

• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.8mm)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tsukineko Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Acqua Dolce, Strawberry, Coconut)
• Art Discount Arcylic (White)
• DecoArt Glamour Dust (Celebration Pink)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil 154892)
• That’s Crafty! 8x8ins Stencil (Flourish TC8024)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752, Magnolia Grove CS822)
• The Works Design Pad (Vintage Love CRO707/TW25)
• K & Company Die Cut Cardstock (Floral by Susan Winget)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Secret Garden SS283)
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle)
• Ranger Heat Gun
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• The Range double-sided foam tape

New Tag Journal – Tag Friday at A Vintage Journey

I’m thrilled and honoured to be part of the Creative Guide team at A Vintage Journey and I’d like to thank the wonderful team for having me.

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

As some of you will be aware, I love art journaling, so I thought I would start a “Tag Journal” which will be made up of double-sided tags. Here’s my first one which I designed to capture my new adventure at A Vintage Journey; both sides are vintage shabby in style, on one side is the front cover of my new Tag Journal which reminds me to embrace the journey and on the other is a tribute to the support and kindness shown by my fellow Creative Guides who have been so welcoming and helpful – thank you!

To start, I used a large Tim Holtz Poster Card to create the tag by cutting off two of the corners to make a tag shape and punching a hole using my new Crop-A-Dile machine, which is so cool to use (grin!). I painted transparent gesso over both sides of the tag to make it stronger and give a good foundation for the inks and acrylic paints that I planned to apply. When dry, I applied Forest Moss and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks, to one side of the tag, by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the tag. The flowers and leaves are fussy cut from design paper and are stuck on top of some white acrylic paint to make them stand out more. I also added Gold Shellac embossing power to edge the tag and splattered the tag with white and black acrylic paint to create a grungy look.

The dragonfly is stamped onto tissue paper with the Gold Shellac embossing power and is stuck in place, like all of the elements, using matte gel medium; I was careful not to apply any of the gel medium over the embossing powder so it didn’t loose its shine. When dry I outlined the dragonfly with a black fine line marker.

The smaller “Tag Journal” tags were created using: a recycled clothing tag which I covered with white paper to conceal the designer name and edged with the Gold Shellac embossing powder; some green card which I splattered with the Pine Needles and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink, stamped with the words “Tag Journal” using black Archival Ink and then punched using my Crop-A-Dile machine; some pretty metal and gemstone embellishments recycled from an old necklace; and a piece of white thread which attached everything together. The thread was secured using a “figure of eight” knot as it looks more decorative, and a turquoise brad which I covered in the embossing powder; you’ll notice I wasn’t careful in how I applied the embossing powder as I wanted a grungy look.

To finish, I added a piece of lace to the bottom of the tag and a Small Talk sticker from Tim Holtz which I edged with a Cold Grey Big Brush marker, it reads “embrace the journey”; I thought these words were prefect for my new creative journey here at A Vintage Journey.

On the other side of the tag, I started by adding some white acrylic paint along the edges and when dry I covered the paint with Tea Dye Distress Ink using a blending tool and also the Cold Grey marker smudging the ink with my finger. Next I prepared the different elements to stick onto the tag, this included: a piece of design paper to add a pocket at the bottom of the tag which I reinforced with a piece of thin white card and edged along the top opening with the Tea Dye ink and Cold marker; a ripped piece of the same paper which is also edged with the Tea Dye ink and Cold Grey marker; a piece of striped paper edged with the Cold Grey marker; and flowers which I stamped onto tissue paper using black Archival Ink.

After stamping some postage marks using black Archival Ink over the background, I layered all of the elements onto the tag using matte gel medium. I covered up the back of the brad with a postage stamp from my hubby’s childhood collection (he kindly gave me his stamp collection to use in my artwork) and then I edged the tag using the Cold Grey marker and a black Uni Pin marker. I also selected a pretty vintage designed card from Tim Holtz to sit in the tag pocket.

As a tribute to the warm welcome, support and kindness shown by the Creative Guides at A Vintage Journey I included the words “together is the best place to be” and made the card that sits in the tag pocket reversible. On the reverse of the card, I added A Vintage Journey Creative Guide badge which I printed, stuck in place and distressed using the Tea Dye ink and the Cold Grey marker again. Then I added a thin piece of lace along the bottom edge so it blended into the lace that I had attached to the other side.

To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine which reinforced the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my Tag Journal tags together when they are finished. Like today, I plan to share my double-sided tag designs with you on Tag Fridays along with the process and materials that I used.

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

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

Challenges

I’m joining the Things with Wings challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the dragonfly that I included on my tag.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my double-sided tag.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps too.

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

• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Pébéo Transparent Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Forest Moss, Peacock Feathers, Tea Dye)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Tsukineko Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Gold Shellac)
• Ranger Heat Gun
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Authentic Vintage CRO730/R, Vintage Romance 154897)
• Prima Marketing Inc. Clear Stamps (Rossi Belle 587499)
• Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Stamps (Petal Party #04309)
• Recycled white tissue paper
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Recycled clothing tag, white paper and green card
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Recycled metal embellishments from old necklace
• White thread
• Craft Sensations (Brads CRO550/A)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• The Works (Lace Trim)
• Recycled( white cardstock, paper, tissue paper_
• UK Postage Stamp – 1956 Green Watermark 165 St Edwards Crown (E2R)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Layers (Botanical #TH93554)
• A Vintage Journey Badge – computer printed
• We R Memory Keepers Tools (Crop-A-Dile Hole Punch and Eyelet Setter, Standard Eyelets)
• Woodware Craft Collection (Metallic Book Rings – 38mm Silver)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic

Make a wish

With the garden blooming with colour and happiness, I created a bright coloured flowery art journal page which was also inspired by a few of my favourite challenge blogs – I hope you like it!

I started this page by collaging pieces of flowery decoupage paper onto the background using Liquitex matte gel medium and then I applied some Pébéo white gesso. When it was dry I used a couple of stencils to add dots over the white gesso using Abandoned Coral and Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink. Next I stamped the flower images from Magenta using black Archival Ink and coloured them using red, orange, pink, purple, yellow, light and dark green Uni Posca paint pens. I added more detail to the flowers using a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uniball gel pen and then added some sparkle using Ranger Stickles. The fairy is a wooden shape which is coloured black using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and covered with some glitter glue; it is stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents. I doodled lots of small dots using the white, pink, yellow and green Uni Posca paint pen and outlined them using a black Uni Pin maker. The “make a wish” wording, which I thought the fairy may be asking, is a sticker from Kaisercraft and I outlined it using a black Uni Pin pen so it stood out more. To finish, I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint.

The flowers are starting to bloom in our garden, here’s what our flower beds look like at the moment.

They have changed so much over the last few months as we head towards summer (grin!).

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the fairy flying between the flowers on my page.

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Use Stencils! challenge as I used a couple of  dot stencils on my art journal page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Bright Colors Moodboard challenge with the bright colours and purple flowers on my page.

There are a few more days left to join our 10^th Birthday Party at Try it on Tuesday, so grab our badge and join in the fun, be colourful and share your art that you love to create with us.

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:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Abandoned Coral, Cracked Pistachio)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Red, Orange, Pink, Purple, Yellow, Light Green, Dark Green)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Stencil (Dots)
• Magenta Self-Cling Stamp (Delicate Daisies C40296-0)
• DecoTime (Patch Paper DS9454)
• The Works (Fairy Shapes)
• Ranger Stickles (Icicle)
• Hobbycraft (Light Green Glitter Glue)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Secret Garden SS283)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Birthday Wishes

As it’s our 10^th birthday at Try it on Tuesday and I always enjoy a lovely cocktail when it’s my birthday, I thought we could raise a glass at the Let’s Party challenge too!

You are invited to join our party which lasts for another week so have fun, be colourful and share the art that you like to create with us. To celebrate we also have our 10^th birthday party logo that you can display on your blog too.

I started with a purple background from a previous project that had gone wrong so I covered it with white gesso and when it was dry I scribbled on some Passion Fruit and Coconut Faber-Castell gelatos over the top and smudged them with my finger which I had wet with water. As gelatos reactivate when wet and I wanted to keep the next layers of colour crisp, I covered the page with Pébéo transparent gesso to fix the gelato colour in place. Next I added three pieces of sheet music using Liquitex matte gel medium and applied some DecoArt white acrylic paint over the page using a brayer. I stencilled some Vivid Lime Green Liquitex acylic paint through an Art Mask from Carabelle Studio and left it to dry. Then I applied some Red Cherry Faber-Castell gelato along the edges of the page and also to define the edges of the sheet music pieces; smudging it with my finger again. Next I cut the tag from some Kaisercraft paper using a Tim Holtz Framelits die and my Big Shot machine, and edged it with Red Cherry and Lime Faber-Castell gelatos. I tied a piece of lime green ribbon to the tag and stuck to the page using a glue stick. I created the large chevron shape on the left-hand side of the page from three pieces of washi tape and added the flowers, circular wording and circles which are stickers from Kaisercraft; some are fussy cut and edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also edged the page with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint. The cocktail image is recycled from an old birthday card; it is fussy cut and stuck in place using a glue stick. I stamped the words “happy”, “birthday wishes” and “sparkle” using a stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps and black Archival Ink. To finish, I added three mini butterflies and also some tiny red gemstones to add more sparkle.

My friend sent me this card as we always celebrate my birthday with a cocktail and she knows that a cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a cosmo happens to be one of my favourites (grin!).

If you are interested it’s made with ½oz Fresh lime juice, 1oz Cranberry juice, ½oz Cointreau, 1½oz Vodka. Place all the ingredients into cocktail shaker filled with ice, shake well and strain into a large cocktail glass – yum (double grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m joining the T Gang and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Challenges 

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal  and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the butterflies flying up my page – maybe wou’d like to join me for a cocktail Erica (grin!).

I’m joining in the Happy Hour challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my birthday cocktail page – cheers!

I’m pleased to join the Paperbabe Stamps Challenge #93 – Sketch as the sketch inspired my page design.

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:

• Pébéo Gesso (White, Transparent)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Passion Fruit, Coconut, Red Cherry, Lime)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Carabelle Studio Art Mask (Sur Fond de Mosaique MA60049)
• Sizzix Framelits Tim Holtz Alterations (Tag Collection 658784)
• Paperbabe Stamps (Birthday Wishes Stamp Set)
• Sheet Music
• Kaisercraft Paper Fiesta! Collection (Siesta P1859)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284, Say Aloha SS281)
• Recycled Birthday Card
• Michael’ Washi Tape
• Ribbon (Lime Green)
• Docrafts Papermania (Adhesive Stones – Red PMA351607)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pritt Stick

Let’s Party at Try it on Tuesday

We are having a special celebration at Try it on Tuesday as it’s our 10^th Birthday, so why not join us for our Let’s Party challenge. We would like you to have fun, be colourful and share the art that you like to create with us.

You are invited to join our party which lasts for the next two weeks and to celebrate, we also have our 10^th birthday party logo that you can display on your blog too. Our Design Team can’t wait for you to join us so please pop over to our blog and check out the Let’s Party creations.

To commemorate our birthday, I created a colourful art journal page inspired by the colours from our 10th Birthday Party Logo and a fabulous balloon stamp that I found just for this occasion – happy birthday celebrations everyone!

I started by collaging some leftover pieces of Collage Paper from Tim Holtz using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. Then I covered the page with Lemon, Mango and Lavender Faber-Castell Gelatos by scribbling the colours onto the page and smudging them with my finger which I wet with water. The black stars are stencilled using Black Soot Distress Ink. Next I stamped the “happy”, “birthday” and “th” wording which are from a Paperbabes Stamp set, the “10” using a Papermania stamp set and the “Let’s Party” balloons onto white card using black Archival Ink; for this I used my Tim Holtz Stamp Platform which ensured that I achieved a nice dark and crisp stamped image. I fussy cut them all out and stuck them in place using a Zig Memory System glue pen along with some flower, butterflies and word stickers from Kaisercraft; the words I chose were “fun” and “memories” as we always have fun at Try it on Tuesday and we make such happy memories together. I die cut some stars from white card using Snowy Star thinlets from Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine, and I stuck them in place using the Zig glue pen. To finish, I also stuck some white dots onto the page which were saved from a previous project when I was die cutting white card using the same thinlet set; I love the crisp 3D effect.

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from the blog BioArtGal  and her In the Sky/In the Air challenge over at Art Journal Journey as you find balloons and butterflies in the air.

As it’s a birthday party what could be better than jelly and ice cream, this is still one of my favourites so I couldn’t resist having a “Blackpool Special” at Notarianni Ice Cream parlour; this is tangerine jelly with two scoops of vanilla ice cream topped with tangerine syrup – delicious! Blackpool Football Club are know as The Tangerines because they play in a tangerine coloured strip and the manager of Notarianni’s is a massive fan, hence the sundae as a tribute.

To continue the birthday theme what could be better than sharing a pint at our local pub and as T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing this pint of Apricot Fool beer which is brewed by Tiny Rebel, a brewery in Newport, South Wales. This beer is a light blonde beer tasting of apricots, it was so refreshing and was very easy to drink (grin!) – cheers and Happy T Day!

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:

• Faber-Castell Gelato (Lemon, Mango, Lavender)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Star Stencil
• Paperbabe Stamps (Birthday Wishes Stamp Set)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z Clear Stamps (Leftover Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Love to Craft Stamp Set (Let’s Celebrate LCST001)
• Tim Holtz Stamp Platform
• Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlets (Snowy Stars 663117)
• Tim Holtz Collage Paper (Botanicals #TH93705, Halloween #TH93727)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Fiesta! SS284, Fly Free SS289)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)