Find Inspiration in Nature

My art journal pages are often inspired by nature which is why I chose the Flora and Fauna theme for this month over at Art Journal Journey. I had so much fun creating the background and steampunk vibe flowers for this page – I hope you like it too!

Taking inspiration from the beautiful red sunsets we see in nature, I started by covering the page in a mixture of Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red and Apricot Liquitex acrylic paint, varying the blending slightly to give different shades of colour. I added some torn book pages using Liquitex matte gel medium and some washi tapes, and then I applied a thin layer of the same acrylic paints over the top using my finger to achieve a translucent look. When dry, I applied some white DecoArt acrylic paint using a brayer and also a circular Worn Rings stamp from Gummiapan, making sure I washed the stamp as soon as I had finished so the paint didn’t dry and ruin it. I then splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush. The flowers are fussy cut from an old flower book that I found in a charity shop (thrift store) and arranged on the page with three stamps from the Vintage Circles Woodware Craft Selection Stamp Set using black Archival Ink. I used Liquitex matte gel medium to stick the flowers in place and once it was dry I outlined them with a black Derwent Graphik marker so that the stamping was incorporated into the flower design.

Both the fussy cutting and outlining took some time to complete and it really made a difference to the flowers as you can see on this before and after photo. The bees and wording which reads “Find inspiration in nature” are both Royal & Langnickel rub-on transfers and I added more detail to the bumblebees using a Derwent Graphik marker. To finish, I stamped some circles of white DecoArt acrylic paint using a bottle cap and added some more splatters of black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush.

Everytime we visit Garstang we see these beautiful metal flowers and the yellow ones reminded me those on my page today – aren’t they stunning!

I like that they stay in bloom all year round for us to enjoy, no matter what the weather … grin!

Challenges

I’m joining Art Journal Journey and the Flora and Fauna theme with my flowers and bees; there is just one more week to join in the fun (grin!). I’ve really enjoyed seeing all your fabulous creations that you have linked to this theme so far, thank you!

I’m pleased to join Moo Mania and More for their Even More Flowers challenge with my flowery page.

I’m joining Fashionable Stamping Challenges where the theme is Floral, which has been chosen by the lovely Avril, with my Vintage styled flowers, .

I really like the Vintage look of my new Woodware Stamp Set that I used on this page against the mixed media background which also included stamping, so I’m also pleased to join the Backgrounds challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

Stamping Sensations challenge is Close to Nature so I’m very happy to be able to join them with my “Find inspiration in Nature” page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Use More Than One Stamp challenge as I used more than one stamp to create this art journal page.

My page reminds me of a classical music piece called “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Nikoli Rimsky-Korsakov and I can just imagine my bees flying around my page to this music exploring the Steampunk Style world of flowers that I created, so I’m also joining A Vintage Journey for their Words and Music challenge.

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m also pleased to join the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their May Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

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:

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Apricot)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.5mm)
• Gummiapan Stamp (Worn Rings 2 11050601)
• Woodware Craft Collection Magic Singles (Vintage Circles FRS665)
• The Oxford Book of Garden Flowers
• Quality Toys Group (Washi Tape 2544960)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (TIP1642G, Motivate Sentiments #ROY510, )
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

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Hummingbird and Orchids

Inspired by the beautiful hummingbirds that have been featured by some of my blog-friends recently, I created this hummingbird and pretty orchid page for the Flora and Fauna challenge that I’m hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month.

I’ve been overwhelmed with the participation and support shown for my theme over at Art Journal Journey, thank you! There is still time to join in the fun this month and I hope to see you there!

I started by painting the page with Liquitex Acrylic paints; the colours I used were Christmas Green, Cadmium Yellow and Parchment. Once the paint had dried, I added some gold acrylic paint and splattered the page with black and white acrylic paints using a paintbrush. Then I covered the page with some Pébéo white gesso using a baby wipe and also my finger to tone down the colours so the images I added next stood out more. The orchids are fussy cut from a napkin and stuck to the page using Liquitex matte gel medium, once the gel medium had dried I outlined and doodled on them using a black UniPin marker and a white Uniball gel pen to add more definition and detail; this took quite a while as there are so many of them (grin!). The hummingbird and pink flower buds are rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel which I layered around and onto the orchids. I added a cardstock sticker which says “Fly Free” and I finished the page by adding some pretty green sequin flowers, using Glossy Accents, to add some sparkle.

Over at Moo Mania and More the theme is Even More Flowers! so I’m pleased to join this challenge too, with the pretty orchids that I included on my page.

We visited a garden centre recently and I was mesmerised by these pretty orchids which are similar to the ones on my page, aren’t they stunning!

We often visit the café at this garden centre and here we are having my favourite – a pot of green tea with a bacon butty/sandwich (grin!). So I’m joining the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

We have some lovely garden centres in our area which have the most beautiful displays – I love this majestic looking stag and large turquoise pottery urn surrounded by all the delicate hydrangeas!

I’m glad this huge snail isn’t real as it would swallow up my garden in one bite (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:

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Christmas Green, Cadmium Yellow Medium, Parchment)
• Colvin & Co Artist’s Acrylic (White)
• Poundland Metallic Paint (Gold)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• The New York Botanical Gardens Napkin
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (TIP1642G)
• Little Yellow Bicycle Cardstock Stickers (Fresh Verse PD-140)
• Poundland (Assorted Sequins)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Nature’s Beauty

Our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Nature’s Beauty and the Design Team have some amazing inspiration for you, whether it is flowers, plants, animals or scenes of nature.

My art journal page today is a scene capturing the peacefulness and serenity of dragonflies over water, which for me, encapsulates nature’s beauty.

I started by painting diluted Shabby Shutters and Salty Ocean Distress Ink onto the background by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block and applying it to the page with a paintbrush to create a watercolour effect. Then I used a Distressed Dots stencil from That Special Touch of Mica Masks by Creative Expressions to apply Mowed Lawn and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks using a blending tool. I stamped some foliage using an Eco Green stamp set made from recycled rubber and a Tan Spectrum Aqua Marker. Then I added some Pébéo modelling paste using the Distressed Dot stencil to add more dimension and when the paste was dry, coloured it with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint. I fussy cut the grasses, leaves and iris from a wallpaper sample and stuck them onto the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. To add more detail and definition I doodled outlines on them with a black Uni Pin marker and white Uniball gel pen, then added some shadows using a Slate Spectrum Aqua Marker. The dragonflies are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel and I positioned them so that one is sitting on a leaf and the other is flying off into the distance. I stamped some bees from a Graphic 45 stamp set by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink and coloured them using a yellow Spectrum Aqua marker. To finish, I added two stickers with the words “peaceful” and “serenity” which I thought captured the scene; they are edged with the Tan Spectrum Aqua marker and stuck in place using double-sided tape.

As it is T for Tuesday, I’m sharing the enjoyable time that we had at the local Pavilion Café in Ashton Gardens with our friends. Ashton Gardens is a municipal park which was established in 1874, it is situated in the centre of St. Anne’s on the Sea and is a lovely place to explore with its various display gardens including the most beautiful Rose Garden. The café building is a replica of the former bowling club pavilion known as the Ashton Institute.

This café always has a yummy array of cakes to choose from …

… and there is lovely art displayed on the walls which you can buy if you want to.

As T Stands for Tuesday, maybe you would like a green tea, hot chocolate or glass of water (of course they had coffee too, sorry I forgot to take a photo of our friends selection which included a cappuccino which I know you may prefer – grin!). As well as our drinks we enjoyed a bacon butty and a slice of salted caramel cake – yum! Wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison/Craftytrog, who is hosting the Recycle and Collage challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the recycled rubber art stamp set and wallpaper that I collaged to create this page!

With the stamped bees that I included on my nature page, I’m pleased to join The Birds & the Bees challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

As I used and altered the wallpaper for my page, I’m pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Pimp it up! (reuse or alter something) challenge.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Add Some Texture challenge with all the texture I created with the Distress Inks, stencils, modelling paste and wallpaper.

With the circles that I stencilled onto my page, I’m also pleased to join the Going Round in Circles challenge over at That’s Crafty 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:

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, Chipped Sapphire)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Tan, Slate, Yellow)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Eco Green Crafts Recycled Rubber Stamps (Petal Party #04309)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Distressed Dots)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Cling Mounted Rubber Stamps (Birdsong ICO151))
• Wallpaper sample – recycled
• Royal & Langnickel Tip of the Brush (Insect Collection #TIP1484 Rub-on)
• Little Yellow Bicycle Cardstock Stickers (PD-140)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Songbird

I was so excited to use a new bird and verse stamp set that I recently purchased that I decided to create a page using some of my most treasured design papers, postage stamps and metal decorations that I have had in my craft stash forever – I hope you like it!

A number of blog challenges inspired my design too, including our current theme over at Try it on Tuesday of The Call of Spring – Mood Board, where I was inspired to use the blackbird and the panel design from the photo inspiration. There is still another week to participate in this challenge, so please pop over and take a look, it would be great to see you there!

I started by selecting some vintage design papers that have been sitting in my craft stash for a while; this included a pretty white flower, a lovely text design and a note paper with tabs which are all from a paper bundle of odds and ends from my local craft store, and also a beautiful blossom paper from a design pad. I cut the papers and also some images from a wallpaper sample into various sizes, edged them with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and collaged them onto the page using a UHU Stic. Once the first layer of papers covered the page I applied some white gesso using my finger to give more of a worn look and create more depth. Next I stamped the bird stamp from a Stampendous Songbird stamp set onto some American Crafts design paper using black Archival Ink and also Pistachio and Cottage Ivy Memento Ink for the branches and leaves.  The verse is from the same stamp set and reads:

“When dewdrops sparkle in the grass
And earth’s aflood with morning light,
A blackbird sings upon a branch
To greet the dawning after night.
Then I know how fine it is to live”.

The stamped images are edged with the black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck into place using a UHU Stic along with some smaller pieces of design paper, lace trim and some Crowded Attic stickers by Tim Holtz. The yellow feathers and “Spring” wording are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel and the two postage stamps are from my hubby’s childhood collection; as you may know he gifted them to use on my art journal pages so they are very special to me. The postage stamps are from Costa Rica 1938 which celebrates the National Exhibition of 1937 with a purple orchid called Guaria Morada and also a Hungarian postage stamp from Magyar Posta 1958 featuring some pretty pink crocus type flowers. To finish, I added some metal decorations of flowers and a bird sitting in a tree which are secured using brads.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my cuppa of green tea and a yummy Hot Cross Bun filled with Crumbly Lancashire Cheese from our local cheese factory – delicious! I’m saying a big hello to Bleubeard and Elizabeth and the rest of the T Gang – Happy T Day!

If you are interested, here are some facts about Hot Cross Buns:

• A hot cross bun is a spiced sweet bun made with sultanas, currants or raisins and marked with a cross on the top.
• The traditional method for making the cross on top of the bun is to use short-crust pastry however some recipes use a paste consisting of flour and water.
• The buns mark the end of Lent and are traditionally eaten on Good Friday in the United Kingdom, although they have been in our supermarkets since just after Christmas (grin!).
• Generally, they are split in two, toasted and served with butter, but here in the North of England we often serve them filled with cheese and my favourite has to be Lancashire Cheese which is a regional white cheese. The one in my photo is the Crumbly version of this cheese made locally by Dewlay – yum!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to be able to join the lovely Rosie from Rosie’s Bastelwelt who is hosting the Spring challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

Using some of my most treasured design papers, postage stamps from my hubby’s childhood collection and precious metal decorations on my Vintage Style art journal page means that I’m able to also join in the fun over at A Vintage Journey, where the theme is Treasure.

With my neutral coloured page, I’m joining in the fun at the Simply Neutrals Tuesday party over at Apple Apricot as dear Susi highlighted this challenge in one of her posts recently.

Including the bird and verse stamping as my page focal point on my spring songbird page means that I’m pleased to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Springtime challenge.

I’m also joining the Forest Friends challenge over at Stamping Sensations as you find songbirds in the forest which is my stamped focal point.

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 (Black 199)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Pistachio, Cottage Ivy)
• Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamp (Jumbo Songbird CRS5029)
• Design Paper Bundle
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Authentic Vintage CRO730/R)
• Wallpaper sample
• The Works Design Pad (Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7)
• American Crafts 2×12 Paper Pad (DIY Shop 366665)
• Tim Holtz Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Dovecraft Creative Ribbons (Sweet Paris Lace DCCR24)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Bird’s Nest #ROY-563, Spring Sentiments #ROY-506)
• Postage Stamps (Costa Rica 1938 celebrating the National Exhibition in 1937 featuring a purple orchid called Guaria Morada, Hungary Magyar Posta 1958)
• The Works (Metal Decorations)
• UHU Stic

The Call of Spring

It’s time for a new theme at Try it on Tuesday which is The Call of Spring …Mood Board:

I can’t wait to see your creations using this photo inspiration and as usual you have the next two weeks to join us. You can find fabulous inspirational creations from my fellow Design Team Members along with guidelines for joining our challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, so why not pop over and take a look.

For today’s page, I was inspired by the pretty birds, pink blossoms, green foliage and blue skies from the mood board – I hope that you like it (grin!).

To represent birdsong, I started by stamping a Sheet Music stamp from the Woodware Craft Collection onto white tissue paper using black Archival Ink, which was then stuck onto the background using Liquitex matte gel medium. Once the gel medium had dried, I applied Chipped Sapphire, Mowed Lawn and Salty Ocean Distress Inks by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. I also splattered droplets of the diluted ink over the page using a paintbrush and then dried the page with my heat gun before I added some white gesso using my finger to mute some of the colours a little. I used the Chipped Sapphire and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks again to stamp some Halftone Circle stamps from Altenew and then I also stamped some feathers from a Steampunk stamp set by Docrafts using black Archival Ink. The white doilies are from Dovecraft and are stuck to the page using a UHU Stic. I distressed their centres a little by rubbing them with a wet finger to remove some of the doily so the background showed through. The bird image of the starling and pretty blossoms is from an old calendar and is stuck in place using a UHU Stic; I ripped and distressed the edges and then coloured them with a mixture of Chipped Sapphire and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink which I diluted with water and applied using a paintbrush. I added the word “Spring” which is a rub-on transfer by Royal & Langnickel and splattered the page with DecoArt black acrylic paint. Then I added some small white dots using a Pentel white gel pen to the starling image so it blended with the background more. I made some pink blossoms using some fabric flowers which I coloured with Blossom Spectrum Aqua marker. I added some yellow pearls gems to the centre of the flowers and melted them using a heat gun to add more texture, curled the petals and then stuck the flowers in place using glue dots. To finish, I added some small green pearls and also some pink and yellow flower rhinestones to the background which added some sparkle.

As T Stands for Tuesday my drink related photo this week is of these pretty cups, the colours reminded me of springtime. I saw them when we visited Gerrards which is our local auction house, for those of you who live in the UK you may have seen this auction house on Flog It! or Dickenson’s Real Deal! It’s such a fun place to visit especially when the live auction is taking place although I need to sit on my hands to stop myself from bidding for anything (grin!).

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Rosie from Rosie’s Bastelwelt who is hosting the Spring challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my snowdrop page!

Over at Moo Mania and More the theme is Colour Effect so I’m pleased to join this challenge too with my background splatters and bursts of Distress Ink colours!

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 (Chipped Sapphire, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip (White)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Blossom)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Sheet Music JGS111)
• Altenew Stamp Set (Halftone Circles 490220)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials Clear Stamps (Steampunk DCE907125)
• White Tissue Paper
• RSPB Calendar – old
• Dovecraft Premium Paper Doilies (Painted Blooms DCDLS010)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Spring Sentiments ~ROY-506)
• Home Bargains (Fabulous Florals 22803)
• The Range (Adhesive Pearls SCDOT056)
• The Works (Flower Rhinestone Stickers)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• Wilko (Sticky Dots)

Valentine’s

To celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow I created this art journal page and I used my winter window display as inspiration too as it looks so pretty with the red hearts and white snowflakes (double grin!).

Over at Try it on Tuesday, our current theme is Love is in the Air (think Hearts, Valentine’s Day, Love etc) and there is still another week to join in the fun, so it would be great to see you there!

I started by covering the page in a thin layer of Pébéo white gesso in preparation for the Faber-Castell Gelatos that I added next. Once dry, I graduated the Gelato colours using Iced Currant around the edges of the page then Iced Rosé then Metallic Icing in the centre using a sponge to blend them. Next I stamped some bars of music and a scroll border from Penny Black and also an “I Love You!” stamp by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink. I stamped my favourite circle and heart design from Sugarloaf Inc. using a VersaMark watermark stamp pad and covered it with white Stampendous embossing powder making sure any excess powder was removed using a paintbrush. 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 stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. Then I used some silver metallic rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel to add the “Forever & Ever” and “Love” wording and also some hugs and kisses. For my snowflakes I used a trio snowflake die from Tonic Studios and some recycled white card. They are stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and I finished them using some pretty glitter and silver snowflakes and also some sparkly jewel stickers. For the small hearts, I used a paper punch from Tonic Studios and some recycled red card and stuck them in place using the matte gel medium again. The cupid heart and postcard are from a card making kit by Docrafts and are stuck in place using double-sided tape. I also added an “I Love You” sticker to the postcard which is by Graphic 45. The chalkboard heart is a tag and I tied a red piece of leather into a bow and added our initials which are foam sticker letters. I coloured the letters using red Stickles in the centre and then edged them with silver Stickles using a very steady hand (grin!). I added three red hearts, to the focal images, which are punched from the same red card using another paper punch from Tonic Studios and also some more sparkly jewel embellishments to the background which finished the page.

I love our Valentine’s window display this year; it looks extra special with the lovely winter decorations that I made and the beautiful “G” and “J” initial decorations that were bought for us for Christmas.

The red hearts and white of the decorations and snowflakes look lovely together and the snowflakes seem even more relevant as we have snow forecast for this week too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m also sharing his and hers hot chocolates – normal  hot chocolate for hubby and white hot chocolate for me (grin!) – Happy T day!

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Moo Mania and More and their Valentine’s challenge.

As I included red on my page, I’m also joining the Roses are Red (use the colour Red) challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

I’m pleased to be able to join Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their It Must Be Love challenge with my Valentine’s inspired art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the Photo Inspiration challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly 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
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Iced Currant, Iced Rosé, Metallic Icing)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Script Metallic Pen (Silver)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood-mounted stamp (26645)
• Penny Black Stamp Set (Clearly in Love 30-009)
• Hampton Art Studio G clear stamps (VS4911)
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 17920)
• Red and white card (recycled Christmas cards)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Kisses and Hugs Silver #ROY790SV)
• Docrafts Papermania 6×6” Decoupage Card Kit (Victorian Valentine PMA169102)
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Stickers (Place in Time 4500617)
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch Accent (Hearts Sider 830E, Classic Heart Sider 858E)
• The Works (Chalkboard Heart Tags, Christmas Embellishments, Jewel Stickers)
• Trimcraft Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter – Gold SCSTK013)
• Ranger Stickles (Christmas Red, Silver)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Happy Holidays!

I created this page to wish all my friends here in blog-land Happy Holidays and, if you celebrate, a very Merry Christmas too!

I started by using some relief sticker surrounds to add detail to the page. Firstly using them as a stencil by sticking them down and applying Festive Berries and Peeled Paint Distress Inks with a blending tool.  I also used the blending tool to add a circular pattern with the Peeled Paint ink.  I then wiped the ink from the relief stickers with a piece of kitchen towel, removed them and reapplied them to different areas of the page to add more depth and interest. I love the white against this red and green colour combination. As the Distress Ink reactivates when wet I added some water droplets with a paintbrush and used kitchen roll to dry them which removed some of the ink. Next I added the snowflakes which are glittery Wall Stickers and the “Happy Holidays” writing and baubles, which are rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel. The little reindeer are Christmas decorations which I spotted whilst out shopping which I couldn’t resist buying them as they looked so cute (grin!). I stuck them to the page using a UHU glue pen and also a gold Brad; I did this by punching a hole through the page and wrapping ribbon around the brad before fastening it. I also covered the back of the brad with a piece of masking tape to protect my next journal page. I added red Stickles on one of the reindeer noses and Dovecraft 3D Black Pearl Effects on the other reindeer’s nose and also their eyes. A stitched ribbon tag which says “Merry Christmas” that I stuck down using double-sided foam tape finishes the page.

Every year I make a Christmas cake, I love baking and always make my own almond paste (marzipan) and fondant icing as well. My cake decoration changes each year and this year it is decorated with white stars and poinsettias (grin!).

I always make a light fruit cake rather than the traditional rich fruit cake. My recipe is a take on a Dundee Fruit Cake and contains no citrus/mixed peel and has dried sultanas, currants, pineapple, dates, apricots and cherries in it which are soaked in brandy for a week before I make it so they are nice and plump – yum!

We always cut our cake the week before Christmas and it’s lovely with a cuppa for elevensies! So I’m pleased to join the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day! Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas! Jo x

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 Sheila from Orange Esmeralda who is hosting the “Let’s Celebrate” challenge over at Art Journal Journey – Merry Christmas!

I’m joining the “Twinkle, Twinkle” fun over at Try it on Tuesday as my glittery snowflakes twinkle on the page – Merry Christmas!

As I created this page to celebrate and wish you a Merry Christmas, I’m also joining the “Christmas” Challenge over at Moo Mania & More.

The challenge over at Country View Challenges is “Christmas with optional Reds, Greens and Rust” so my page matches this theme perfectly – Merry Christmas!

Over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge the theme is “Stitch It” so I’m pleased to join them with my stitched Merry Christmas embellishment – Happy Holidays!

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 (Festive Berries, Peeled Paint)
• Crelando Relief Sticker Set (Christmas 12 Sheets IAN289011)
• Home Bargains (Wall Stickers 16221)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Retro Christmas Trees #ROY1666)
• Melinera (Christmas Decorations IAN288732)
• Docrafts Create Christmas (Stitched Ribbon Tags PMA157921)
• Craft Sensations (Brads CR0550/A)
• Ranger Stickles (Christmas Red)
• Dovecraft 3D Pearl Effects (Brights – Black)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Glue Pen
• The Range double-sided foam tape