To my Valentine

As it’s Valentine’s Day this weekend, today’s page is To My Valentine – Happy Valentine’s Day!

I started by covering the page with some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink using a blending tool and then I sprayed some White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray over the top.

When dry, I splattered the Picked Raspberry and White Linen inks over the page making sure that I dried each of the inks with my heat gun to stop them blending into the background too much. Next I stamped a couple of Clearly In Love stamps from Penny Black over the background using Lilac Roses Memento Ink.

I used an Organic Thinlits die cut from Tim Holtz to cut some recycled gold paper, arranging them around the page using Liquitex matte gel medium; I used a new technique for this which involved applying the gel medium to the back of the die cut pieces, placing them and then dabbing them down onto the page using a piece of tissue paper which removed the excess gel medium beautifully. I added the cherub heart image and some small hearts that I had cut from the gold paper and some burgundy cardstock using a paper punch. Some pearl gems and a satin ribbon bow finished the page.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Falling in Love challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there!

Me and my hubby would usually be volunteering at our local Beer Festival this weekend which for obvious reasons has been cancelled this year. An online festival has been arranged instead so we’ll joining in the fun and drinking some of our own home-brewed beer. Here we are at last year’s festival – wishing you all a very Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry)
• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (White Linen)
• Penny Black Stamp Set (Clearly In Love 30-009)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Lilac Roses)
• Recycled gold paper
• Tim Holtz Sissix Thinlits (Organic 664153)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Cherub heart image and burgundy cardstock
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Heart Punch – thank you CJ!
• Pearl Gem Stickers
• Satin Ribbon
• Stix2 glue dots

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the gold die cut and punched pieces on my page. I’m joining the LTSCB #142 – Love is … challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my love-themed art journal page. With the pink, red and white colours, hearts and roses that I included on my paper-crafted art journal page, I’m also pleased to be able to join #181 – Photo Inspiration over at Time Out Challenges.

Noël

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

I hope you’ll join in the fun too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I love Christmas so I created this art journal page to wish you happiness this Christmastime!

Having made my Christmas cards I had a pile of paper which I had used to die cut fir tree branches from using a Tim Holtz Thinlits set, so rather than throw them away I used them to create my background. They had been coloured using Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Inks and I stuck them onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium.

When dry, I added some green highlights to background pieces using an Alpine Green Blend coloured TriBlend alcohol marker from Spectrum Noir. The birds, branches and baubles were fussy cut from some design paper by Docrafts and arranged onto the page with a tag from the same Docrafts paper and die cut set.

I added the “Noël” wording and a snowflake to the tag and then I stuck the tag onto the page using double-sided foam tape. The bow was made from some red and white striped ribbon and stuck onto the tag using Ranger Glossy Accents. To finish, I added lots of green glittery snowflake foam stickers.

I hope that you are inspired to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge too, you just need to use 3 different mediums to enter so I kept it simple and only used Distress Inks, alcohol markers, design paper, ribbon and stickers this time.

For more amazing inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too.

I love Christmas and have been enjoying putting up our Christmas decorations this week; here I am in our Christmas robin themed room that I have just finished decorating (grin!).

Merry Christmas and stay safe!

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:

• Die cut off cuts
  • Recycled white paper
  • Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles)
  • Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Holiday Greens 658759)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Spectrum Noir TriBlend (Alpine Green Blend)
• Docrafts Papermania A4 Ultimate Die Cut & Paper Pack (Folk Christmas PMA160933)
• Ribbon
• Poundland (Christmas Craft Pack – snowflake stickers)

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Creative Artiste, as they provide me with inspiration 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 Tracey over at Art Journal Journey and her Meaning of challenge this month as I love Christmas and also the meaning of the French word Noël is Christmas. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with Christmas art journal page. I’m pleased to join the Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – December Anything Christmas Goes with my Noël page too. I’m also happy to join the A Time to be Grateful challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as I’m always thankful when Christmas is here – I love it! I’m also pleased to join the Fun With Dies challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the die cut pieces I used to create the background and die cut tag on this page.

T Day Fiesta

I had a lovely surprise in the post, some happy mail from Bleubeard and Elizabeth celebrating T Stands for Tuesday’s 7^th Anniversary – thank you so much for the amazing ATC and fabulous goodies!

I created this page with some of the goodies that Bleubeard and Elizabeth sent me; creating a tag with the Fiesta napkin and reusing the envelope that everything came in to make a pocket. Those little donkey piñatas caught my eye so I used them as part of my fun design too (grin!).

I kept the background simple, using two stencils from Creative Expressions I added a floral design using Love Letter Memento Ink and a trellis design using Black Soot Distress Ink applying them with a blending tool.

For the pocket, I folded the envelope so the postage stamp and marks were showing. Then I cut it into a triangular shape and coloured it using a Lemon Faber-Castell Gelato. To hold the pocket together I used some red and white flowered washi tape and then attached it to my page using double-sided tape. At the moment it is holding all the goodies that Bleubeard and Elizabeth kindly sent to me and I’m sure it won’t stay so full for long as I’ll be using them over time as part of my page designs (grin!).

For the tag, I cut some white card stock using the largest Tag Collection Framelit by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine and then I covered the tag with the Fiesta napkin using a thin layer of Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured the right-hand side using Lemon Faber-Castell Gelato and then covered it in washi tape to match the envelope pocket. Using the Tag Collection Framelit set I cut out the tag hole reinforcement from white card which was also coloured with the Lemon Faber-Castell Gelato and covered with the washi tape. With the reinforcement glued in place, I tied some pretty recycled ribbon to the tag. The Fiesta wording and donkey piñatas were mounted onto some white card stock using the gel medium and when they were dry, I fussy cut them out and edged them with a black marker. I layered them all together using double-sided tapes and then to finish I stamped the “thank you” wording using black Archival Ink.

As you may know Bleubeard and Elizabeth kindly sent this beautiful ATC and some goodies to those of us in the T Gang at T Stands for Tuesday, which is so kind and thoughtful – thanks so much!

Of course I just adore the ATC and it makes a lovely addition to my craft room having pride of place so I see it everyday whilst I’m crafting (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday and I’m celebrating with a T Day Fiesta, I thought a margarita would fit the bill – cheers and Happy T day!

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 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 Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month pocket and tag I created for this page.

I’m joining the Stencilmania challenge fun over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the two stencils that I used for the page background.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Summer Memories challenge with my T Day Fiesta art journal page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #125 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as the tag with images, Fiesta wording and little piñata donkey that I included on my page.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use Your Favourite Tool challenge too; many of you will know that I love nothing better than fussy cutting so with just my scissors I’m a happy bunny (grin!).

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

• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Daisy Wheels, Ornamental )
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Love Letter)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Gift from Bleubeard and Elizabeth – thanks so much!
• Recycled envelope and postage stamp
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Lemon)
• Michael’s Washi Tape
• Recycled white card stock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Fiesta napkin
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Recycled ribbon
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Point (Black)
• Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies (Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)

Always in my heart

Remembering my dear friend with much happiness, it’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since she passed away.

I started by stencilling the Shabby Harlequin patterns from Creative Expressions, first using Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and then using a mixture of Bright Aqua Blue and white acrylic paint. Then I painted the white areas around the stencilling using the aqua mixed paint too. When dry, I stamped the butterflies from Craft Sensations and outline circles from Paperbabe Stamps using Elderberry Memento Ink and the solid dots from the same Paperbabe Stamps stamp set and black Archival Ink. I added some Pébéo white gesso with my finger to push over the stamping to push the images back and add more depth to the page. Then to finish the background I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

I used a piece of design paper for the tags which I created using a Tag Collection Framelit from Tim Holtz. I edged them with a black Sharpie marker pen and then added some pink satin ribbon and an enamel dot to each tag, as well as a pretty purple flower and the wording “hello sweet friend” and “fly away” which are all stickers.

From the same piece of design paper, I cut out the rectangle detailing two birds and the words “you are” stamping some additional wording so it reads “you are always in my heart”; as you can see the “heart” is represented by a pink heart sticker from Kaisercraft. It is edged with a black Sharpie marker, stuck in place using a glue stick and decorated with a pretty purple flower from the sticker set. To finish, I added the “love” sticker from the same set and then I edged the page using the black Sharpie marker pen.

Happy times with dear friends; “Loss leaves a heartache no one can heal, loves leaves a memory no one can steal”.

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her When It’s Hot challenge this month with the hot pink that I added to my page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Early Birds challenge with the birds that I included on my art journal page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #123 – Photo Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the colours that I included on my page.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their For A Child challenge with the design and style of my page.

Remembering my dear friend makes me happy, so I’m entering the Do What Makes You Happy challenge over at Country View Challenges too.

Don’t forget that you still have until next Tuesday to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Shabby Harlequin)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Bright Aqua Blue)
• Artist Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Clear Stamp (Everyday Assortment PMA907003 – Butterflies)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Birthday Wishes)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Elderberry)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Design Paper Paper Bundle from a local craft shop
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Point (Black)
• Pink Satin Ribbon
• The Works (Pastel Enamel Dots)
• Poundland (Decorative Stickers)
• The Little Yellow Bicycle Cardstock Stickers (Fresh Verse PD-140)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Say Aloha SS281)
• Pritt Stick

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)

Spooky

Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your kind wishes last week!

This week the theme is Spooky.

For this challenge I created a spooky art Journal page full of magic and mystery, maybe there’s a magic potion in one of those bottles – what are you going to wish for? (grin!).

I started by stencilling texture paste using a Mini Specimens template from The Crafter’s Workshop and when dry, I painted the page using Indigo and Black Kuretake watercolour paints. Then I applied Aged Silver Stampendous embossing enamel to the texture paste using a Versamark watermark pad. I used a Versamark watermark pen and Shabby White Stampendous embossing enamel for finer details. I also coloured some of the texture paste using a black Sharpie pen then I splattered the page using the black watercolour paint and also White Linen Dylusions Spray. I added some bats and cobwebs that I stamped onto tissue paper which finished the background.

For the tags, I die cut five tags using Sizzix Framelits and my Big Shot machine. They are cut from Pocket Cards from Tim Holtz, edged with black Versamark ink and then stamped using a Gothic Book Finnabair stamp and an Urban Tapestry Tim Holtz stamp set using the black Versafine ink and covered with black Stampendous embossing powder.

Next I added the pretty bottles which are from a Kaisercraft Sticker Book and decorated with some black ribbon and the metal “31” and “13” which are Countdown brads from Tim Holtz. The tags are finished with some eyelets and recycled black satin ribbon, and layered in place with some blue flowers which are fussy cut from a Botanicals Layers card. To finish, I added the “objet trouvé”, “finders keepers” and “make a wish” wording which are Quote Chips from Tim Holtz.

This spooky window can be found at the Moose and Moonshine restaurant in Liverpool and I think the witch may be making us a magic potion.

 This restaurant is part of the Moose Coffee chain and they make the best hot chocolate with a shot of pumpkin spice syrup in it – yum! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang over at T Stands for T Day – Happy T Day!

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the Spooky challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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 of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the spooky dreams and wishes on my page.

I’m also joining the Die Cuts and Punches challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the die cut tags that I included on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my spooky page as their theme is Halloween.

Don’t forget that you can also join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday for our Witches, Wizards, Halloween challenge too.

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this spooky art journal page:

• The Crafter’s Workshop Mini Specimens Template
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi
• Ranger Palette Knife
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Emboss Pen
• Stampendous Embossing Enamel
• Sharpie Marker (Black)
• Ranger Dylusions Spray (White Linen)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Finnabair Clear Stamps (Gothic Book)
• Tim Holtz Stamp Set (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Tim Holtz Stamping Platform
• Tsukineko Versafine (Onyx Black)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Black)
• Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch
• Standard Eyelets
• Kaisercraft Antiquities Sticker Book
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Countdown Brads
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Quote Chips
• X-Press It Double-sided Tape
• X-Press It Double-sided Foam Tape
• UHU Stic
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Pocket Cards – alternative Tim Holtz Paper Stash Documented and Tim Holtz Paper Stash French Industrial
• White Tissue Paper – recycled
• Bat and cobweb stamp
• Black Satin Ribbon – recycled

All Things Pink

Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your support and lovely comments last week!

This week the theme is All Things Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness).

For this challenge I created an art Journal page in tribute to my auntie who has recently recovered from Breast Cancer – I hope you like it!

For the background I covered the page with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink using a blending tool and then sprayed White Linen Dylusions Spray over the top and left it to dry.  Next I used a Tim Holtz Mini Stencil to add the numbers using the Picked Raspberry ink again and then using the same ink and also Hickory Smoke Distress Archival Ink I stamped some Halftone Circles from Altenew. For the flowers, I used my Tim Holtz Stamping Platform to stamp flowers and stems from the Tim Holtz Flower Garden Stamp Set using Hickory Smoke ink onto some watercolour cardstock; stamping the image a few times to achieve a clear precise image. Then I coloured them with Picked Raspberry ink using a watercolour style technique gradually building up the pink shading using a paintbrush. They are fussy cut and stuck in place using a glue stick. The wording is from an Antiquities Sticker Book from Kaisercraft and is mounted onto some of the white watercolour paper before sticking them to the page; they read “Life is beautiful with you”, “Love”, “Faith” and “Hope”. To finish I added some little butterflies which I made using some white paper butterfly wings, recycled pink satin ribbon that I twisted so it looked like the Breast Cancer logo, and finally a small pink gem stone; everything is stuck in place using Ranger Glossy Accents.

I’m pleased to say that my auntie is doing well after being treated with breast cancer, luckily it was diagnosed early; she came to stay recently and we had lots of fun, she particularly enjoyed watching the sunsets.

It seems that pink seems to be prevalent of late as when I went to the hairdressers recently I was treated to a few glasses of this Summer Fruit drink, it was so refreshing! At my hairdressers they usually offer coffee, a range of teas and soft drinks to their clients and sometimes cake too (grin!). As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m pleased to share this drink with the T Gang – Happy T Day!

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the All Things Pink (Breast Cancer Awareness) challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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 of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the dreams and wishes on my page.

I’m also joining the Count Your Blessings challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my art journal page.

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this art journal page:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink – Picked Raspberry
• Ranger Dylusions Spray – White Linen
• Tim Holtz Mini Stencil #16
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink – Hickory Smoke
• Altenew Halftone Circles Stamp Set
• Ranger Distress Watercolour Cardstock
• Tim Holtz Flower Garden Stamp Set
• Tim Holtz Stamping Platform 
• UHU Stic
• Kaisercraft Antiquities Sticker Book
• X-Press It Double-sided Tape
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• White Butterflies
• Pink Satin Ribbon – recycled
• Pink Gemstones

Untie the ribbons

Our new challenge over at A Vintage Journey is Box It Up, which is being hosted by Julia. Here’s what it is all about:

“This month our theme is boxes! Perhaps you will make a trunk or suitcase, some kind of package to hold a gift, or maybe make a card or journal page showing presents. Just remember to ensure that you create in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.

I thought this motivational quote suited Julia’s challenge perfectly, so I included it on my art journal page along with the gift box which I had fun creating for this page too (grin!).

To create the background I completely covered the page with some yellow Liquitex acrylic paint and once the paint was dry added pieces of script and sheet music Collage Papers from Tim Holtz and some tape measure design decoupage paper from Viva Gade using Liquitex matte gel medium. I added a little more of the yellow paints over the top of the tissue paper to intensify the colour and also applied some white gesso around the edges of the page using my finger. Then I diluted Dark Sepia, Sanguine and Cold Grey Faber-Castell markers by scribbling them onto a blending mat and spritzing with water and applied them with my finger over the white gesso which gave the page a lovely translucent glow. Then I added some Gold Champagne Faber-Castell Gelato and Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to the edge of the page smudging them with my finger.

I created the gift box from some spotty paper and drew the lines onto it using the Dark Sepia Big Brush marker, shaded it using Caramel Faber-Castell Gelato and added shadows using the Cold Grey Big Brush marker. Next I used a star stencil to apply modelling paste with a palette knife and left it to dry; the stars were then painted using a white Uni Posca paint pen and Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint. The words are letter stickers from Docrafts which I covered with matte gel medium to hold them securely in place. I did the same with the flowers which are stickers from Kaisercraft. Finally, I added some strips of red organza ribbon to the box using double-sided tape and finished it with a bow.

I enjoy collecting positive and motivational quotes for my art journal pages and had fun creating this page with the gift box and ribbon to depict the words I added; it was based on the quote “Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons” by Ruth Ann Schabacker.

For more inspiration, please pop over to see the amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey too, it would be lovely to see you there!

I also have quite a few motivational quotes displayed around my home too, here’s one that greets me every morning, it hangs on the mirror in my bedroom …

… and this one hangs in my craft room (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 Erika aka BioArtGal and her Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids and Patterns challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my polka-dot gift box.

I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #101 – Sketch; I flipped the sketch to the left so the circle is represented by the gift box on my page and the logo by the sentiment I used.

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

• Liquitex Acrylic Color (Cadmium Yellow, Yellow Oxide, Parchment)
• Tim Holtz Collage Papers (Halloween #TH93727, Botanicals #TH93705)
• Viva Gade Decoupage Paper (Helsinki 25586)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush marker (Dark Sepia 175 B, Cold Grey IV 233, Sanguine 188 B)
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Gold Champagne, Caramel)
• Star Stencil
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Poundland Design Pad (Changing Seasons CRO701/16PL1)
• Docrafts Papermania A4 Ultimate Die-Cut & Paper Pack (Folk Christmas PMA160933)
• Kaisercrfat Sticker Sheet (The Looking Glass SS206)
• Recycled Red Organza Ribbon
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pritt Stick
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Card Making Tutorial at A Vintage Journey

Hello Everyone!

Today I’m over at A Vintage Journey with this month’s card making post.

I always make cards for family and friends, so I’m pleased to be sharing a Shabby Chic style card that I made for a forever friend of mine.

I hope that you’ll pop over to A Vintage Journey to see my tutorial which includes lots more photos and full details of how this card came together. If you are interested, you can also find a full list of materials that I used below.

As I’ve been enjoying the summer flowers in my garden and we have lots of lavender flowering at the moment, I was inspired to included lavender as part of my card design.

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

Happy and creative wishes! Jo x

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the Gold challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the gold ribbon I added to this card.

I’m also pleased to join the Tim Holtz challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday with all the Tim Holtz products I used to make this card.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this card:

• Kraft Cardstock
• Sizzix 3D Texture Fades A6 Tim Holtz Alterations (Botanicals 662716)
• Annie Sloane Chalk Paint (Old White 01)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Mowed Lawn)
• White Cardstock
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Botanical #TH93705, Halloween #TH93727)
• Recycled white paper coloured green with Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss, Pine Needles and Twisted Citron Distress Ink and purple with Milled Lavender and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink)
• Sizzix Thinkets Tim Holtz Alterations (Wildflowers 661190, Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
• Recycled Purple Chiffon Ribbon
• Cream Lace
• Recycled Gold Ribbon dyed using Mowed Lawn and Forest Moss Distress Ink
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Quote Chips #TH93563)
• Home Bargains (Sweet Hearts)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Wish you were here

Our challenge for the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday is Wish you were here. Where will you take us? Maybe you would like to travel far away or even stay at home, the choice is yours!

For my art journal page, I decided to go to Venice and if you pop over to Try it on Tuesday you’ll find some more wonderful Wish you were here creations by my Design Teamies to inspire you too!

I had found one of the plastic bags from Venice had degraded into lots of pieces when I unpacked some holiday ornaments over Christmastime, so I decided to keep the pieces in my craft stash to use in my art journaling.

Being from Venice, I thought that they would be perfect for my “Venice wish you were here” inspired page, so I layered the bag pieces to form the background using Liquitex Matte gel medium. When the gel medium was dry, I flooded the page with watered-down Cracked Pistachio, Peeled Paint and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and left them to dry; I love the amazing texture that resulted.

Then I splattered the page with the both the Peeled Paint and Chipped Sapphire inks using a paint brush and added some diamond shapes using a stencil from Creative Expressions; first using the Peeled Paint ink again and then using some Black Soot Distress Ink. Using black Archival Ink I stamped the decorative shield design from Kaisercraft onto the page and also the “wish you were here” wording from Hampton Arts onto tissue paper; the wording is stuck onto the page using matte gel medium. Next I cut out a picture of Venice from a free travel advertising magazine, backed it with white paper, stuck it onto the page using double-sided tape and edged it with some black Glitterations border stickers.

I stuck a postage stamp to cover some writing on the magazine picture using double-sided foam tape; the postage stamp is from Romania showing a painting of Venice by N. Darascu, circa 1972.

Then I added three pieces of white and black striped ribbon to the page along with a postage stamp from Italy showing Coin of Syracuse, circa 1955; both of the postage stamps were kindly given to me to use for my art journaling by my hubby as part of his childhood Stamp Collection (grin!). To finish, I added some pretty diamante pieces using Ranger Glossy Accents to add some elegance and sparkle.

We have been to Venice a couple of times which is located in North Eastern Italy and is a series of islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges.

Of course Venice is well known for its Gondolas which we have been lucky enough to travel in.

We are always amazed by the beauty of the architecture along the Grand Canal and the only way to travel is by boat which appeals to me as I love being on the water (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our Aperol Spritz which is a very popular drink in Italy along with some traditional cuisine from Venice. Aperol Spritz is an aperitif cocktail consisting of prosecco, Aperol and soda water; it originated in Italy and is now available worldwide. Our drinks are pictured with some cicchetti which are small snacks or side dishes that originated and are typically served in traditional “bàcari” (cicchetti bars) in Venice. 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 Gill from gibbyfrogettcraftations and her Anything with Eyes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the ladies eyes on the Italian postage stamp that I included on my page.

I’m also happy to join in the Layers of Texture challenge over at Country View Challenges the background texture that I created from recycling the pieces of bag.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge too.

I’m also pleased to be able to join Creative Artiste and their Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge with all the mixed media I used to create this page.

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

• Recycled pieces of plastic bag (degraded) from Venice
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Cracked Pistachio, Peeled Paint, Chipped Sapphire, Black Soot)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Vintage Diamonds)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Decorative Accents CS852)
• Hampton Art Bella Blvd cling mounted rubber stamps (Sand & Surf ICO226)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Recycled white tissue paper
• Recycled travel advertising magazine
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Postage stamps from hubby’s childhood collection (Posta Romana – Romania showing a painting of Venice by N. Darascu, circa, Itali – Italy showing Coin of Syracuse circa 1955)
• Home bargains Always & Forever Collection (Decorative Diamante Chain 26254)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape
• Ranger Glossy Accents