Thank you flowers!

We always enjoy walking with our friends and their dog, who is called Chase. Last weekend we were lucky enough to look after Chase while our friends were away – she is amazing and such a joy to be around! I received some beautiful flowers from her as a thank you (grin!), and they have inspired my page.

The flowers have a very vintage look and feel about them with the beautiful old-fashioned roses and the pink, green and white colour scheme so my page colour and design is inspired by this. I started by covering the page with Pébéo White Gesso and once dried I applied Topaz Spectrum Aqua Marker and Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker by scribbling the inks onto an acrylic block, spritzing them with water and dripping and pressing the ink onto the page. I stamped cogs from a Steampunk stamp set by Docrafts using Pistachio Memento Ink and then I added green borders to the top and bottom of the page which are rub-on transfers. Next I collaged pink paper doilies and also some torn pieces of pretty rose design paper from a Design Pad by The Works. I edged the torn papers with the Dark Sepia Big Brush marker and stuck them all to the page using a UHU Stic. I used rub-on transfers from the same set to add the rose and butterfly image onto the papers on the far left-hand side of the page. Then I arranged a collection of different elements which included: two square rose images are stickers from a Botanicals Docrafts Papermania sticker set which I edged with the Dark Sepia Big Brush marker and then stuck to the page; a die cut shape with a postage stamp mounted on top with double-sided foam tape and embellished with a gold border outline sticker; and a tag and “Chase” name plate which are handmade as detailed below.

The postage stamp is from my hubby’s childhood stamp collection which he kindly gave to me for Art Journalling (grin!). It’s from Hungary and dates back to 1970, and it details a Peugeot Vintage car from 1894. The scene is beautiful and the colour scheme matched the page wonderfully. If you look closely it even has a little dog on the far left-hand side (double grin!).

To create the tag on the bottom left-hand side of the page, I cut some pink card from Docrafts Papermania and also some green paper from a Craft Asylum Paper Pad into a tag shape. I then stamped the green paper with a paw image by Stampendous using Pistachio Memento Ink and stuck it on top of the pink card using a UHU Stic. I added a gold border using outline stickers and a white dog Designer Vinyl from Craftime which I outlined with a black Derwent Graphik marker. I also stamped the paw image using Emboss ink onto some pink card and covered it with white Stampendous embossing powder. I shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and tapped the card against the table to make sure I’ve removed any stray powder. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I swept the gun over the image until the embossing powder changed to a glossy finish becoming smooth and dimensional. I cut the paw out in a circular shape, stuck it to the tag using a UHU Stic and once the glue was dry outlined it with the black Graphik marker and a white Pentel gel pen. I punched a hole in the tag, edged it with a circular gold outline sticker, added the white cord and stuck it to the page using double-sided tape. To finish the tag I added a pink paper rose that I recycled from a gift tag. For the “Chase” name plate I used the same green paper and paw stamp, added a border that I cut from a sticker set by Docrafts Papermania and stuck on some gold alphabet outline stickers, it is stuck to the page using double-sided foam tape. To finish the page I added a green cameo, lace flowers and rhinestone flowers using Ranger Glossy Accents.

Seeing the flowers everyday and having a great companion like Chase was good for the soul so I’m pleased to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben who is hosting the “Landscape of the Soul” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

With my pink inspired page I’m pleased to be joining a new challenge blog today called Allsorts Challenge Blog and their “Think Pink” theme.

 I’m also joining in the fun “It’s a Dogs Life” challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my man’s best friend inspired page.

As I always enjoy using different stamps and stamping techniques to create my pages, I’m also pleased to join the “October Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included)” over at Craft Stamper.

Here are the flowers that inspired my page; the pink, green and white colour combination is very elegant and the vintage looking roses have a wonderful fragrance.

The flowers fill our room with a lovely scent and look so beautiful

Chase is a Northern Inuit, she is such a beauty and has the most gentle and loving temperament.

Here she is sitting in the garden in the sunshine after her lunch and a long walk along the beach, she loves the sea!

She looks really cute when she is sleeping too! Actually I think she may be peeking (grin!).

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
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Topaz)
• Tsukienko Memento Ink (Pistachio)
• Tsukienko Emboss Embossing Stamp Pad (Clear)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip pen (White)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Stampendous wood mounted stamp (Tiny Paw AA017)
• Dovecraft Collections Floral Muse (Paper Doilies DCDLS004)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Design Block)
• Docrafts Papermania Botanicals (Label Stickers PMA157234)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Cards & Stamp Set (Capsule Geometric Mocha PMA105306)
• Craft Asylum 6×6 Paper Pad (Into the Woods 480326)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Natural Die Cut Shapes)
• Postage Stamp – Hungary 1970
• Poundworld (Rub-on Transfers 54743)
• Craftime Designer Vinyls (B/W Boy & Girl PBDV02)
• Anita’s Outline Stickers (Straight Line Borders Gold ANT8101016, Modern Alphabet ANT8101000)
• Recycled rose from gift tag
• Lace Flowers
• The Works (Rhinestone Flower Stickers)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Cameo Embellishments)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

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Head, Heart and Soul

I’ve been meaning to use this amazing quote on one of my pages for a while, it really speaks to me and it seemed perfect for my brown and lace inspired page which reminds me of beauty and love!

For the background I collaged and layered torn pieces of cog patterned decoupage papers using a UHU Stic and then applied Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to ensure the edges of the papers were completely stuck down. When the gel medium had dried I outlined the torn edges of the decoupage paper with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger to give an aged and worn look. Next I used Pébéo modelling paste and a stencil by Craft Sensations to add the pretty lace design to the bottom left-hand corner. While the modelling paste was drying, I fussy cut the beautiful lady from the packet that the decoupage papers came in, and also a paper panel for the quote and some other images from a Design Pad by Craft Sensations. I stamped the quote onto the panel using black Archival Ink and an alphabet stamp set by Dovecraft, and stuck it to the page with the other layered images using double-sided tape. I edged them all with a Desert Spectrum Aqua marker to give them a weathered look and outlined them with black Derwent Graphik and Uni Pin markers to add more depth.  The lady is stuck down using a UHU Stic and I accentuated some of the design using a black Derwent Graphik marker and outlined her using the Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I selected a piece of card, with a lace design, from a recycled gift tag and used a paper punch by Tonic Studios to cut out a heart, which I outlined with the same Dark Sepia Big Brush marker, and stuck it over the girl’s hand using a UHU Stic. I stuck a metal heart to the centre of the card heart, which was recycled from the same tag, using Glossy Accents. To finish, I added clusters of pretty flowers  in colours that compliment her dress using Glossy Accents again.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my pot of green tea and yummy ginger cake that I had with friends last week after walking around the grounds of Lytham Hall. As it was raining that day, we decided to take shelter in the woodland walks that are there and chat over a drink in the café instead of going to the beach. When I saw the ginger cake I just had to have a slice and it was very yummy (grin!). Wishing you a Happy T Day!

I’m pleased to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben who is hosting the “Landscapes of the Soul” challenge over at Art Journal Journey. Your theme gave me the perfect excuse to create my quote inspired page, thank you!

I chose the dark autumnal colours to join in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their “Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues” challenge.

As I love autumn, I also had the “Crazy for Autumn Colour” challenge over at A Vintage Journey in mind when I was creating this page. So I’m pleased to be able to join them with my autumnal coloured page which focuses on their “Mixed Media” genre as I have used different mediums to create this page and also their “Art Journaling” genre as I’m combining art and the quote, which inspired my page, to express myself.

I’m also pleased to join the “AMMG with a Twist (Use or imitate Glass)” challenge over at Mixed Media World with my myriad of pretty flowers with their glass gemstone centres.

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 Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Desert)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Santoro Decoupage Papers (SNDEC043)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Travel Memories  154892)
• Recycled gift tag
• Poundland (Accessories Pack)
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch (Classic Heart 858E)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• X-Press It double-sided tape

Hello Sunshine

Whilst out shopping with my mum recently, we saw cushion which she thought was perfect for me because it had “hello sunshine” written on it. To my surprise she picked it up straight away and said she was buying it for me (grin!). When I see it, it always makes me smile so I thought I’d create a page to share this happiness with you – I hope my page brightens your day and makes you smile too!

Inspired by the cushion design I started with the colour yellow. I sprinkled Yellow, Lemon and Dark Brown Colourcraft Brusho powders onto my page and then I spritzed them with water and watched the magic happen as the colours burst into life. While the Brushos were drying, I cut the flower petals out of some used dried teabags that I had saved and stamped them using black Archival Ink and a stamp set from the Tilly Daydream Collection by Docrafts. I stamped half the petals with a dotty ribbon design and the other half with a wavy ribbon design; these dots and lines were chosen to depict the fabric print of the cushion. I used the same black Archival Ink to stamp “hello sunshine”, from Bella Blvd by Hampton Art, in the centre of the flower which is also a teabag that I had cut into a circular shape as the words and circular design match the cushion. I stuck the teabag pieces to the page using a UHU Stic and when the glue was dry I outlined them with a black Derwent Graphik marker. To create more interest in the background, I stamped dots from a Woodware Françoise Collection stamp set using Mustard Seed Distress Ink; being a similar colour to the Brushos they add a subtle texture. Then I stamped a dotty garland from Craft Sensations, around the edges of the page using black Archival Ink. I added more detail by colouring the centre of the dots that I had stamped on the flower petals and the background using a white Uni Posca paint pen. Then to depict the cushion design, I coiled some pearl decorative wire to decorate the centre of the flower and used Glossy Accents to hold it in place. For the leaves surrounding the daisies, I stamped some leaf images, from the same Hampton Art stamp set, onto a teabag using black Archival Ink, fussy cut them out and stuck them down using a UHU stic. To finish, I arranged the daisies around the leaves with some of the pearl wire and stuck them into place using Glossy Accents.

Here is the wonderful cushion that my mum bought for me, it has pride of place on our rocking chair which sits in the bay window of our Beach/front room – I love it!

As happiness soothes my soul, I’m pleased to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben who is hosting the “Landscapes of the Soul” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

With the autumnal yellows, browns and a spot of orange I’m joining the “Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues” challenge over at Country View Challenges.

Creating my page using these autumnal colours allows me to join a new challenge today over at A Vintage Journey, whose theme is “Crazy for Autumn Colour”, and I’m pleased to have focused on their “Mixed Media” genre as I have used different mediums to create this page and also their “Art Journaling” genre as it is a personal record of my mum’s lovely gift which was my inspiration.

It also makes me happy to be joining the “Not a Card” challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page.

I had fun using all the stamps on this page so I’m also pleased to join the lovely Guest Designers and Design Team over at Stamping Sensations for their “Autumn Glory” challenge

I’m also pleased to join the “October Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included)” over at Craft Stamper with my unique teabag stamped 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:

• Colourcraft Brusho Crystals (Yellow, Lemon, Dark Brown)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard Seed)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.8mm)
• Docrafts Tilly Daydream Mini Clear Stamp Set (Ribbons TIL907104)
• Hampton Arts Bella Blvd cling mounted stamp set (Surf & Sand ICO226)
• Woodware Craft Collection Françoise Collection stamp set (Flower Style FRSWS003)
• Craft Sensations (Clear Stamps CRO274/16R2)
• Used dried teabags
• Home Bargains Special Occasions (Decorative Chain 26253)
• Hobbycraft Wired Paper Flowers (Daisy 16101642)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic

Trick or Treat

Autumn means it’s time to bake all things pumpkin and my sister has just given me a huge pumpkin that she grew in her garden. So this thoughtful “treat” inspired my page!

I started by making a template for the moon and also for the foreground out of thin card and used them to mask off areas on my page. Then for the sky, I applied layers of Black Soot Distress Ink by Tim Holtz using a blending tool concentrating the colour at the top of the page and shading so it was lighter towards the horizon. I also made a set of three cloud templates and stencils which I used to create the cloud images using some old black and purple ink pads which I applied with a sponge; I offset some of the clouds to give them a lighter border so they look like the moon is highlighting them. Then I removed the moon template to add a cloud across the bottom. I also added some texture to the moon using a sponge and the same black and purple ink pads. With the foreground mask still in place, I stamped the village scene from a Winter Wonderland stamp set, so it looks like it’s behind the hill giving a landscape perspective. Then I removed the foreground mask, and used another template to mask off the sky which I positioned a few millimetres lower than the village so that the horizon was clearly defined with a white line. I added the same Black Soot Distress Ink to the foreground and shaded it using a blending tool so it looked patchy. I also added some brown accents using a sponge and an old brown ink pad. I then stencilled some wavy black lines using a Texturized template from The Crafter’s Workshop and black Distress Ink. I stamped the trees by Clear Impressions using black and dark green ink pads and then used a black Uni Pin marker to add more detail. Next I drew the flying witch on her broom, her hat and a bat onto black paper, which took me a while as drawing isn’t really my thing. I fussy cut them out and stuck them to the page, as with all of the elements, using Winsor & Newton Matt Gel Medium. The banner is created from card which I folded in half and cut into triangles so that when they are unfolded they formed a diamond shape. They are coloured using a sponge and an orange ink pad, and the letters are stamped to spell out “Trick or Treat” using an alphabet stamp set from Dovecraft and a black ink pad. When they were dry, I folded them over a piece of Hessian/burlap string to create a banner and stuck the two halves together so they made a triangular shape. I stuck the banner in place at the same time as the witch, which allowed me to tuck the string behind her so it looked like she was pulling the banner along as she flew across the night sky. Once they were all in place, I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker, added white dots to the banner using a Uni Posca paint pen and three purple gemstones to create a band on the witch’s hat. I also emphasized the ears and feet on the bat using a black Uni Pin marker. The pumpkins are drawn onto white mixed media paper, coloured using a sponge and orange, yellow and green ink pads. They are outlined with black Uni Pin marker and a white Uni Posca paint pen. I added shadows under the pumpkins using a paintbrush and the black ink pad, and also a white gel pen. I placed a little robin, adorned with a purple witches hat, on top of one of the pumpkins which I had made with paper and coloured using a paintbrush, ink pads and yellow acrylic paint. The village windows are also coloured using the yellow acrylic paint and I covered them along with the pumpkin’s eyes, nose and mouth with Glossy Accents so they looked like light was shining from them. To finish, I stamped the stars using a silver ink pad, outlined them with a white Hybrid gel pen and filled them with silver Stickles glitter.

This page makes me smile as it’s a lovely reminder of my autumn pumpkin and it was so much fun to get creative in order to join some fabulous blog challenges. I enjoyed making my own templates/masks, drawing my own images, adding autumnal colours using up old ink pads as well as using stamps to create the village, landscape, stars and banner focal point.

Having used stamps to create many of the elements on my page, I’m pleased to be able to join the lovely Avril who is Guest Designer over at Stamping Sensations for their “Autumn Glory” challenge.

With the different autumn colours I’m also joining the fun over at Country View Challenges for their “Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues” challenge.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge their theme is “A Walk On The Dark Side” and I’m pleased to be able to join them with my dark Halloween page.

I’m also joining Moo Mania & More for their “Automobiles/Cars/Vehicles” theme as my witches broomstick is her preferred vehicle of choice (grin!).

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge has a new theme for this month, so I incorporated orange, yellow, purple and green from the selection on their “Color Challenge” onto my page.

Here’s a picture of me holding the huge pumpkin I was given, I’m standing in our hallway next to the wreath I made, which changes with every season. I’m not carving this pumpkin because being home-grown it should taste delicious, so I plan to bake it and make puree to freeze for pumpkin rolls – yum! I’m guessing it will make quite a few (grin!).

Of course I could make a cake with pumpkin butter cream icing or even a pumpkin pie like I did last year (double grin!).

Or maybe my hubby can make some homemade pumpkin beer – cheers and Happy October!

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 (Black Soot)
• Hobbycraft (Assorted Ink Pads)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Yellow Medium)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.8mm)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Hybrid Gel Grip pen (White)
• The Crafter’s Workshop Rhonda Palazzari Designs 12×12 Template (Texturized)
• Clear Impressions (Woodland Christmas)
• Free set with Simply Cards & Paper Craft Magazine (Winter Wonderland Embossing Folder & Stamp Set)
• Star Stamp
• Leon (X-large Colour Paper Pad)
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media paper
• White card
• Hessian Material
• Hobbycraft Self-Adhesive Gems (Assorted Squares 5666141000)
• Ranger Stickles (Silver)
• The Range 3D Glue Pen (Glitter Glue GLT4321000)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Winsor & Newton Matt Gel Medium

True Love

It’s our 29^th Wedding Anniversary next weekend and I feel truly blessed to have met and fell in love my soul mate and to have such a wonderful life together!

So I created this page to celebrate and decided to incorporate a Christmas card that we received last year because every time I look at the beautiful angel on it, I start to sing “True Love” which as you may remember is from the musical “High Society”, and was sung by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly.

The page started as a background which had gone wrong, so I applied a very thick layer of Pébéo white gesso over the top with a palette knife creating an uneven and textured look; I like the way that you can just see some of the postage marks that I had previously stamped showing through. Once the gesso had dried I applied some Craf-T Midnight Sparkle and Copper Metallic Luster rub-on paints to accentuate the texture I had created; these are like a paste which you apply with your finger by working them in a circular motion and then rubbing them onto the page to break down the colours and bring out their metallic sheen. Next I added some gold leaf which I scraped to give a worn look and also stamped a script stamp using black archival Ink onto the page. I then pushed the script and gold leaf into the background by applying more white gesso over the top with my finger. I added the scroll felt border, which I covered with a thin layer of white gesso before I stuck it to the page. The gold flower tiles, hearts, stars and dots are outline stickers; I broke some of the images so they had a worn look like the rest of my design.

For the angel, I cut out the square angel image from the Christmas card and added gold leaf to the edges and some fine black scribbles with a Derwent Graphik marker. Then I cut two square frames that were slightly bigger than my angel image from some white tissue paper and also from a piece of patterned paper. The edges of the patterned paper frame are ripped and edged using a black Sharpie permanent marker. I stamped the lyrics from the song onto the tissue paper frame and then stuck it onto the patterned paper using a UHU Stic. Once the glue had dried I used a craft knife to distress the edges of the tissue paper and outlined them with a black Derwent Graphik marker. I also added some gold hearts and other shaped outline stickers to the frame to tie it into the background. The frame is stuck to the page using a UHU Stic and I placed the angel image on top, but off-centre, using double-sided foam tape. Then to finish, I stamped the word “true” using black Archival Ink and added some “love” outline stickers.

I’m so pleased to be able to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben with her “Landscapes of the Soul” theme over at Art Journal Journey with my love inspired page.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Mixed Media World again with their “Anything Mixed Media Goes” challenge and also Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their “Anything Goes” theme.

This is the scene from the film where Grace Kelly and Bing Crosby sing “True Love”.
I just love the old musicals and if you are interested here are some facts about this song:

• “True Love” was written by Cole Porter and performed by Bing Crosby and Grace Kelly in 1956.
• This was the first and only gold record for Grace Kelly and was the 21st gold record for Bing Crosby.
• “High Society” was a musical remake of the classic 1940 award winning movie “The Philadelphia Story”.
• The engagement ring that Grace Kelly wears in “High Society” is the actual engagement ring given to her by Prince Rainier of Monaco and this was Grace Kelly’s final movie before becoming Princess Grace.

Here’s a recent photo of me and hubby, I’m not sure where the 29 years have gone – how time flies when you’re having fun … and we always do (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I am sharing my cup of green tea, and to link to the angel on my page I’m having a slice of angel cake with it – Happy T Day! I think I bagsy the big slice at the back (double grin!).

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
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Craf-T Products (Luster Rub-ons Metallic)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
• Sharpie permanent Fine Point Marker (Black)
• Dovecraft upper and lower case alphabet stamp set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Design Block)
• White tissue paper
• Gold Leaf
• Self-adhesive Felt Border (Scrolls FE196)
• Magenta Style Outline Stickers (Daisy Gold 93326G)
• Gold Outline Stickers (Stars, Love)
• Annie Sloan (Water Based Gold Size)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Autumn Time

As some of you may be aware I love Autumn, the autumnal colours this time of year are always spectacular! With this in mind and seeing Alison‘s amazing Memory Plaque for the Metallics Challenge over at PaperArtsy, I wanted to join in the fun and create some metallic elements too ( grin!).  Thanks for the inspiration and here’s my Autumn Time page.

I started by making the metallic leaves which were green fabric leaves from The Works; I painted the whole leaf with a coat of either gold or bronze metallic acrylic paint and then I also applied some of the paint thickly on areas of the leaf. I left them for a few minutes to dry and then, as Alison had shown on the copper sheet for her plaque, I used a heat gun which made the paint on the leaves bubble creating some lovely texture and metallic shine. I made sure to keep my fingers out of the way of the bubbling paint and the heat, then I left the leaves to cool. For the background I applied black Versafine Ink through a clock stencil by Craft Sensations and applied black Papermania embossing powder over the top. I shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and tapped the page against the table to make sure I removed any stray powder. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used my heat gun to melt it by sweeping the gun over the clock images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder changed to a glossy smooth and dimensional finish. Then I applied gold Spectrum Aqua Marker to the page and stamped a clock image from a Steampunk stamp set by Docrafts using black Archival Ink. I didn’t like the brightness or embossed finish which I had created so I covered the whole page in white gesso using a palette knife to tone it down. While the gesso was still wet I rubbed some areas of the page with a baby wipe and some kitchen towel to expose the gold colour as well as the embossed and stamped images underneath. Next I added Sanguine, Cold Grey and Dark Sepia Big Brush markers by scribbling the ink onto an acrylic block, spritzing the block with water and pressing it onto the page. I secondary stamped some leaf images by BoBunny using black Archival Ink to give a lighter watermark image effect. I love the layered background that resulted; it has so much texture and detail.

To continue the metallics theme I used some foiled decoupage from Docrafts called Autumn Birds, which I edged with Faber-Castell Dark Sepia Big Brush marker. I cut one of the border pieces to edge a tag that was also from the decoupage pack, and used a piece of cream card to create the “Autumn Time” wording. I did this by colouring the card with diluted Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block and adding water with a paintbrush. Then I stamped it with the BoBunny leaf stamp using the same sanguine marker (not diluted this time) along with a Cold Grey Big Brush marker, to add some texture. Then I added the wording with an alphabet stamp set by Dovecraft using black Archival Ink. I cut a square of brown paper from a Design Pad by Craft Sensations and framed the bird decoupage picture with it using double-sided tape. To finish, I arranged the other decoupage elements along with the metallic leaves that I made earlier, sticking them to the page using double-sided tape and Glossy Accents.

I love autumn and used the other craft leaves to decorate my autumnal window display, which looks very cheerful this year (grin!). I really like the metallic look of the ones I created for my page so I may create some for next year’s display (double grin!).

I added clocks to my page so I could join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday for their “Time or Clocks” challenge and I’m so pleased to be able to join this challenge with my Autumn Time inspired page.

There is an exciting new theme for October over at Country View Challenges and I’m really pleased to join their “Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues” with my mixed media and autumnal coloured page.

As I created metallic leaves for my page, I’m also joining the “Heavy Metal” challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

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

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tsukineko Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Gold)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Sanguine 188, Cold Grey IV 233, Dark Sepia 175)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Poundland Metallic Arcylic Paint (Gold, Bronze)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• BoBunny stamp set (Falling Leaves #12105154)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Docrafts Anita’s Foiled Decoupage (Autumn Birds ANT169593)
• Poundland Design Pad (Changing Seasons CR0701/16PL1)
• The Works (Craft Leaves)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Time at the Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library

Today my page is inspired by a trip to the “Harris Museum, Art Gallery and Library” in Preston. The building is very majestic and ornate, it tells a wonderful story of a time gone by and you can learn about local history in the museum and look at wonderful works of art in the Gallery. We had a lovely time exploring and looking around so I captured it on a journal page to recall the memories.

To portray the old building I wanted to create a vintage page with a grunge background, so I started by applying white gesso to the page with an old gift card and leaving it to dry. Once dried, I added Black Soot Distress Ink by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block and picking up the ink with the gift card and scraping the ink across the page. I used the same technique to add Peeled Paint Distress Ink which I diluted with some water on the acrylic block to tone down the colour a little. Next I created a collage on the page, using a collection of papers from Vintage design pads by Craft Sensations, which reminded me of the museum, art gallery and library that we visited. These papers included some lined paper which I stamped with a Script stamp and an Alphabet stamp, both by Kaisercraft, using black Archival Ink and then I stuck them to the bottom left-hand side of the page using a UHU Stic. Like all of the papers, I edged them with a Desert Spectrum Aqua marker and a black Derwent Graphik marker to give them more definition. I also fussy cut different paper images and layered them on the top right-hand side of the page and on one of these papers I stamped a clock image from a Steampunk stamp set by Docrafts using black Archival Ink. I used the same clock stamp for the top paper which details an open book and photos, and I added a vintage clock die-cut shape to the centre of the stamped image using double-sided foam tape. The photo images remind me of the art gallery and also the grandeur of the building as well as the lamp posts that we saw at its entrance. I stamped black circles alongside the clock using a cap from a spray bottle and black Archival Ink, and then inserted the black button letters to spell out the word “Time” which along with the clock images reminds me of the pendulum clock situated in the central hall/atrium. I mounted these elements onto white card and stuck them to the page using double-sided foam tape. Next I stamped the words “Once upon a time” onto another piece of paper using black Archival Ink and an Alphabet stamp set by Papermania; this applies to the library books, the museum history and the artworks in the gallery. Then I mounted it on white card, fussy cut the page out and distressed the edges using scissors. I edged it with black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker as well as the Desert Spectrum Aqua marker and stuck it to the page using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I added a pretty piece of antique looking ribbon and two vintage metal embellishments.

The Harris building dates back to 1893 and was built in an imposing neo-classical design. The main feature of the front of the building is the pediment which houses a sculpture representing “The School of Athens” and a number of griffins guarding the lamp of learning on the apex. Beneath the pediment is the inscription “To Literature, Arts and Science” which reflects the purpose of the building.

Rather than have a set of front steps leading directly into the building from what was the busy Market Square there are two entrances on either side of the building which lead to a covered entrance with beautiful lamp posts.

The main feature of the interior is the impressive central hall which rises through four storeys over 120 feet to the lantern tower.  The mosaic floors and columns also reflect classical influences from Ancient Greece and Egypt. As part of the design there are plaster copies of Classical and Renaissance sculpture to illustrate the “whole range and history of the world’s greatest achievements in art” and a number of these classical friezes can be found throughout the central atrium along with a 19th-century copy of the Baptistery doors from Florence.

The museum has a permanent history gallery called “Discover Preston” and features collections including archaeology, ethnography and local history. The museum houses the “Poulton Elk” which is very well-known around here as it was found under a bungalow in the 1970s! The skeleton is intact and has an arrowhead embedded in its leg, and as it is over 13,500 years old it’s the earliest evidence of people living in the Northwest of England. I was excited to see it, although I know this animal as a Moose from visiting America, apparently we call them Elk over here in the UK which surprised me (grin!).

The staircase is magnificent too, here is the view from the Gallery area with the beautiful Greek and Assyrian friezes, soft pink walls, amazing artwork, marble, sculptures and mosaic floors.

The gallery houses a number of contemporary and classical artworks as well as photographs.

This is the view from the Art Gallery floor down to the Museum floor and the Central Hall.  You can just make out the Foucault pendulum on the lower floor on the right-hand side of the picture. It hangs in the central foyer, through all the floors, over a butterfly-shaped plate marked with the hours of the day. As a result of the rotation of the Earth, this functions as a decorative and reasonably-accurate clock. It’s a spectacular view and was certainly a long way down (grin!).

As usual I also had fun creating a page that incorporates a number of blog challenges too; which I always enjoy as they are a fantastic source of inspiration.

I’m pleased to join Yvonne from Meggy’s Way who is hosting the “Colour in my World” challenge over at Art Journal Journey because at the library we were greeted with neutral and soft colours like you can find on my page.

Over at Try it on Tuesday their theme is “Time or Clocks” so I’m pleased to be able to join in their fun as I added references to both of them onto my page.

I’m also joining the “Anything Mixed Media Goes” challenge over at Mixed Media World with my library inspired page.

As I added the metal embellishments, I’m pleased to join “Heavy Metal” challenge over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

I’m also entering my vintage inspired page in the “Vintage” Challenge over at The Mixed Media Challenge.

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

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Peeled Paint)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Desert)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm & 0.8mm)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752, Alphabet CS887)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Steampunk DCE907125)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z stamp set (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Authentic Vintage CRO730/R, Travel Memories 154898, Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7, Vintage Romance 154897)
• White card
• The Works M&C Boutique (Vintage Die Cut Shapes)
• Poundworld Décotime (Vintage Metal Stickers 54748)
• Poundworld Craft Corner (Adhesive Ribbon U-80933)
• Home Bargains Love Letters (Self-Adhesive Button Letters 22738)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape