Banana Cream Daisy

Today I’m sharing another page inspired by the flowers in my garden, this time a pretty daisy called Banana Cream – such fun (grin!).

I’m pleased to join the Texture challenge that I’m hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey with all the texture I added to this page using stamping, inks, paint splatters, stencilled texture paste, linen textured paper, rub-on transfers and gems. Thank you for your lovely comments and wonderful creations so far, I hope you are having as much fun creating texture on your pages as I am!

I started by covering the background using Leaf Green Wendy Vecchi Bendable Dye Ink, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress Inks; stamping the ink pads onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the mat onto the page. Once dry, I stamped some foliage using a Leaf Prints Tim Holtz stamp set and Peeled Paint and Forest Moss Distress Inks. Next I applied some Scattered Straw Distress Ink using a blending tool and some Pébéo white gesso with my finger which added more texture and depth to the page, and then I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint and the white gesso.

The daisy flowers are rub-on transfers which I applied to some card and cut out; they are all edged with a Cool Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then stuck to the page using a glue stick with some cream linen textured card. The cream linen card was decorated with the rub-on transfers and edged with Scattered Straw Distress Ink and Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to give it a worn look and add more texture. Then I stencilled some Ranger Texture Paste that I coloured with Cadmium Yellow and white gesso through a Reversed Honeycomb stencil. To finish, I added the “Daisy” wording using letter stickers from Kaisercraft and some orange gemstones to add some sparkle.

These are the Banana Cream daisies in my garden; they are a Shasta daisy and have a lovely creamy yellow colour.

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m joining in the Use Your Favourite Stamps challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as the Tim Holtz foilage stamp set that I used is one of my favourites, especially the fern design.

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

• Ranger Wendy Vecchi Make Art Blendable Dye Ink (Leaf Green)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Leaf Prints CMS273)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• White cardstock
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (White Flowers #ROY-668)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture)
• Pritt Stick
• That’s Crafty! Dinky Stencil (Reversed Honeycomb)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Cadmium Yellow Light Hue)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Summer Fun

I received another lovely surprise in the post, a gorgeous summer vibe card from my dear friend Nan. She knows how much I love the beach and ice cream so her card is perfect – thanks so much!

My page was inspired by Nan’s fabulous card design with the pastel-shade colours, the beach and summer vibe, the words/text, and of course the ice cream (grin!).

I coloured the background using Spectrum Aqua markers by scribbling the marker onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing the block or dripping the ink onto the page. I mopped up wet ink with a piece of kitchen towel so the colours merged into each other; the Spectrum Aqua colours I applied were Yellow, Sea Green, Topaz, Aquamarine, Orange, Crimson, Purple and Gold. My hubby says it looks like melted ice cream (grin!).

When dry I added lots of words related to summer which are rub-on transfers. I stamped the beach huts onto some mixed media paper using black Archival Ink and then coloured them with Uni Posca paint pens; the colours I used were Violet, Pink, Yellow, Light Blue, Red, Orange and Light Green. I fussy cut them out and stuck them to the page using a glue stick. The little tags were cut from white linen textured card stock using Tag Collection Framelits from Tim Holtz and edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

I added some little hearts to the tags which were cut from some different colours of Sizzix adhesive backed cardstock that was kindly sent to me by Nan, using a heart punch kindly gifted by CJ – thank you both! To finish, I added some black brads to the tags and then some ice-lolly/popsicle stickers.

With Nan’s amazing writing and adornments, my hubby instantly knew who the card was from when he saw the envelope on the door mat; he was all smiles when he told me something had arrived in the post (grin!). On opening it he noticed the ice cream van straight away, not surprising as he loves ice cream so much (double grin!). It’s so kind and thoughtful of Nan and very much appreciated – thanks very much!

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 pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month; the hearts on my tiny tags were inspired by Alison’s journal pages – thank you!

I’m joining in the fun I do like to be beside the seaside challenge over at Country View Challenges with my summer beach vibe page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #126 – Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.

I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too.

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

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Markers (Yellow, Sea Green, Topaz, Aquamarine, Orange, Crimson, Purple, Gold)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Summer Sentiments #ROY-505)
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Hobbycraft Clear Stamp (Beach Huts 50254HC)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (Violet, Pink, Yellow, Light Blue, Red, Orange, Light Green)
• Pritt Stick
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock CR0240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pen (Black 199)
• Heart punch – thanks CJ!
• Sizzix adhesive backed cardstock – thanks Nan!
• Home Bargains (Puffy Sticker Sheets – Sweet Like … 14227)

Summer

Our new challenge for the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday is Summertime.

I had fun using the hot colours of summer to create my seascape page capturing a summertime sunset. I hope you’re inspired to join our Summertime challenge too, it would be lovely to see you there (grin!).

The background is layers of paint and stamping; I started by applying Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange and Ultramarine Blue Liquitex acrylic paints to the page using a brayer. Then I used a texture stamp from BoBunny to transfer some of the wet paint around the page cleaning it immediately so the paint didn’t ruin the stamp. When the page was dry, I stamped the same texture BoBunny stamp and also two other texture stamps from an Urban Tapestry Tim Holtz stamp set using black Archival Ink. Then I applied some Pébéo white gesso and the Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Orange acrylic paints again over the top using the brayer.

I created the horizon using a black Uni Pin marker pen and a ruler, blending the marker pen along the bottom edge using a wet paintbrush. Then I doodled some waves using a black Uni Pin maker and white Uniball gel pen. The seagulls and boats are drawn and cut from a dictionary page which detailed the word “sail”. I stuck them in place using a glue stick, outlined them using a black Sharpie marker and shaded them using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish, I added the word “summer” which is a rub-on transfer and highlighted it using a white Uniball gel pen.

For more Summertime inspiration, there are some amazing creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

We are lucky enough to live right by the sea on the west coast and the sunsets are often spectacular, whether it’s simply yellow and orange …

… or maybe clouds of blues and pinks – so beautiful (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of green tea with a custard tart. This is a pastry case filled with egg custard, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked – so very yummy (grin!). Wishing you all a Happy T Day!

I hope that you are all staying safe and well!

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, 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 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 hot sunset page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their A Day At The Beach challenge my seascape 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 entering the Do What Makes You Happy challenge over at Country View Challenges too as walking along the beach and seeing the sunset always makes me happy.

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

• Liquitex Basics Artist Color (Cadmium Yellow Light Hue Cadmium Orange Hue, Ultramarine Blue )
• Ranger Mini Brayer
• BoBunny Stamps (Rough It Up #1205155)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Uni Pin Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Oxford Pocket Dictionary
• Pritt Stick
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Point (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Summer Sentiments #ROY-505)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)

Heat of Summer

Today I am sharing a page that I created especially to join in with the fun themes over at some of my favourite challenge blogs. This includes using a ballpoint pen to create the grids on my page, dividing the page so it has a distinct panel along the bottom, some splashes and splatters and celebrating summer with the hot colours and wording – I hope you like it!

I love the contrast between the black and white and the sunny summer colours (grin!).

I started by drawing the grid patterns on the page using a black ballpoint pen and a ruler which was fun and took quite a bit of time (grin!).

Then I stamped the central leaf, the numbers and letters using my new Postal Mix stamp set from Woodware Craft Collection and black Archival Ink. Next I coloured the bottom of the page with some hot summer colours using Yellow, Lemon, Orange and Rose Red Brusho powders. I did this by sprinkling the Brushos onto the page and spritzing with water; it always amazes me how magically the powders burst with colour when water is added (grin!). When dry, I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

I stamped the leaf three more leaves onto some white cardstock using my Ranger Stamp Platform, this helps get a clear crisp image as you can re-stamp over and over again until you get the ink intensity that you want. Then I fussy cut them out and stuck one of them over the stamped image and then arranged the other two leaves around it. I used rub-on transfers for all the summer related wording which includes “summer”, “hot”, “sun”, “easy”, “June”, “July” and “August”. To finish, I added two small black butterflies and drew on some antennae with a UniPin marker. 

The colours on this page reminds me of a lovely lily that we have flowering in our garden – it certainly is a spectacular sight (grin!).

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 pleased to join the Positively Pensive challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the grid designs that I drew on this page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Sprays and Splatters challenge with the splashes of Brushos and paint on my art journal page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #121 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page design; the bottom panel of colour and leaves match the sketch.

With the hot summer colours and wording, I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Summer Fun challenge too.

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge this month 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:

• Bic Ballpoint Pen (Black)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Postal Mix FRS781)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Colourcraft Brusho Crystal Colours (Yellow, Lemon, Orange, Rose Red)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• White Cardstock
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Summer Sentiment #ROY-505)
• Poundland (Mini Embellishments)
• UniPin Fine Line Marker Pen (Black 0.05mm)

Make it Masculine

Our new challenge for the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday is Make it Masculine.

I enjoyed creating this masculine page with the help of my hubby who chose the three stamps for the background and also the air balloon rub-on transfers which gave the page a lovely Victorian Steampunk feel (grin!).

I started by stamping the three Kaisercraft stamps that my hubby chose onto the background using Archival Distress Ink; these were an Alphabet stamp using Hickory Smoke ink, a Sketchy stamp using Vintage Photo ink and a Keys stamp using Ground Espresso ink. Then I scribbled some Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and then pressed the block onto the page to add to the grungy look.

Next I cut some rulers and also tore some grid and map papers from American Crafts and arranged them on the page with some leftover pieces of book pages and sheet music; they are all edged, like all the paper elements, using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck in place using a glue stick. The “masculine” wording and shop advertising signs are from a Crowded Attic sticker set from Tim Holtz. I splattered the page using black and rust coloured acrylic paints and then edged it using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

I added some Men’s Accessories rub-on transfers which included some men’s trouser braces, a pair of spectacles, a lighter, a couple of gentlemen and a wallet. To finish, I added some Kaisercraft rub-on transfers detailing hot air balloons, tickets with the words “explore”, “discover”, “adventure” on them and some scrollwork.

For more inspiration, my Design Teamies have been making it masculine over at Try it on Tuesday with their wonderful creations too, so please pop over and take a look!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of tea that we enjoyed with some homemade chocolate mousse – so very yummy (grin!). Wishing you all a Happy T Day!

If you are interested, the chocolate mousse was made using aquafaba (juice from a tin of chickpeas) which I whisked for 10–15 minutes until it was at the stiff peak stage, like you would meringues, and then I folded 250g of melted dark chocolate and a couple of tablespoons of castor sugar into it, poured the mixture into dishes and refrigerated overnight.

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, 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 Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with the men’s clothing and wallet accessory on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Masculine challenge.

I’m also happy to join the It’s A Man Thing challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with this page.

The challenge over at SanDee&amelie’s Steampunk Challenge is Anything Goes – Steampunk/Industrial so I’m pleased to be able to join them too.

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

• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Alphabet CS887, Sketchy CS878, Keys CS801)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Hickory Smoke, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• American Crafts Papers (DIY Shop 366665)
• Leftover pieces of book pages and sheet music
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Pritt Stick
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Liquitex Artist Color (Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Men’s Accessories #ROY-853)
• Kaisercraft Rub Ons (Up, Up & Away Collection RB870)

Happy Easter

Having visited Tracey’s blog she gave me the idea of creating a journal page based on the Easter cards I made this year – thanks for the inspiration Tracey and Happy Easter everyone!

I started by stencilling a trellis background using a Moroccan mask from Creative Expressions and some Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Then I added some off cut pieces of green mixed media paper from another project (which will be revealed later this month) using a glue stick. Next I die cut some foliage using a Wildflowers Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and coloured them green using Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint and Peacock Feather Distress Ink. They are stuck in place using a Zig glue pen and adorned with some small glittery white flowers. Then I added the “spring”, “Good life” and “the sweetest thing” wording which are rub-on transfers.

I stamped “Happy Easter” using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th and some black Archival Ink. Then I created the butterfly, bunny rabbit and chick using a Springtime Sidekick Thinlet set from Tim Holtz. The large butterfly wings are coloured using a Canary Winsor & Newton Promarker and some Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and the smaller wings with Festive Berries and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink, I coloured the butterfly body with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker, layered it together and stuck it in place. Then I applied some Ranger Glossy Accents over the body and the edges of the wings.

The bunny is coloured using the Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and the bow with the Canary Promarker and Fossilized Amber ink. The bow is covered in Ranger Glossy Accents and I also added a white pom pom for the bunny rabbit’s tail.

The chick is coloured using the Canary Promarker and Fossilized Amber ink again, the chick’s breast using a Saffron Promarker and some Ground Espresso Distress Ink, the chick’s beak and feet using a Bright Orange Promarker and the eyes using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Once layered together, I applied Ranger Glossy Accents to the chick’s eyes and beak. 

Here’s the Easter card that inspired my page!

As its Easter it’s time to make Easter Chocolate Nests – yum (grin!). These homemade treats are Rice Crispies coated in milk chocolate and filled with a chocolate fudge icing then topped with chocolate mini eggs, chocolate covered raisins and mini marshmallows – Happy Easter!

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!

Challenges

I’m happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with the rectangles paper pieces on this page.

I’m also pleased to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the bunny rabbit, butterfly and chick on my art journal page.

I’m joining in the Add Some Texture challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the texture from stencilling, papers, linen cardstock and white bunny pom pom tail (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Spring Moodboard challenge with the colours, chick, butterfly and spring wording that I included.

Don’t forget that you still have until next Tuesday to join The Beauty of Nature Challenge over at Try it on Tuesday 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 That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers, Fossilized Amber, Festive Berries, Seedless Preserves)
• Leftover green mixed media paper pieces
• Pritt Stick
• White cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164, Sidekick – Springtime 662711)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Tim Holz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Tiny Text #TH93695)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Spring Sentiments #ROY-506)
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Canary Y367, Bright Orange 0177, Saffron 0739)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Home Bargains Christmas Crafts (White Pom Poms 03007)

The Beauty of Nature

At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is The Beauty of Nature.

I created a collage page of beautiful spring images using nature and my garden as my inspiration – Happy Spring everyone!

This page started by selecting some spring images from some old books and fussy cutting them out, then arranging them with some torn book pages onto my art journal page. With the general layout planned, I roughly marked where the papers were placed and then removed them. Then I added a textured effect in between the collage pieces by stamping a Marble texture stamp from Kaisercraft using Versamark Watermark ink and covering the ink with a mixture of Sea Foam and Gold (Shellac) Papermania embossing powders and heating it with my heat gun until they were glossy. Next I edged the torn map, text and worn brown papers pieces with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them back in place using a glue stick. The spring flowers, bird (which is a Stone Chat which we have seen on the beachfront recently) and mushrooms are all fussy cut from an old book and stuck in place using a Zig glue pen. The feathers, beetles and moth are Anthology Collectables from Kaisercraft, the green grasshopper is a rub-on transfer and the hedgehog postage stamp is from the British Wildlife collection issued in 1977 which is from my hubby’s childhood stamp collection (grin!). I also added three thin strips of brown spotty washi tape which finished the page.

I hope that you are inspired to join The Beauty of Nature Challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too.

We’ve been spending more time in the garden with the sunny weather we had last week, the flower bed is coming to life with spring now upon us. As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing my cuppa in the garden (which is on the wall) and wishing you a very Happy T day!

Hoping that you all stay safe and well!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen from The Artful Crafter and her Green challenge over at Art Journal Journey the green grasshopper and foliage on this page.

I’m also happy to join in the The Eyes Have It challenge over at Country View Challenges with the birds and animals on my art journal page.

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

I’m joining in the Spring Mood Board challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the spring flowers and the book pages that I used on my page.

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

• Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Marble CS293)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Sea Foam, Gold – Shellac)
• Book pages –Discovering Britain, The Illustrated Book of Nature
• Sheet Music
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Paper Stash (Halloween #TH93712)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Pritt Stic
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Kaisercraft Collectables (Anthology CT938)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Insect Collection #TIP1484)
• Hedgehog Postage Stamp British Wildlife collection issued in 1977
• Recycled white card
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• The Works (3 Washi Tapes)

Haunted House

It’s time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday which is Witches/Wizards/Halloween.

If like me, you don’t really like the scary side to Halloween then you may like to create something fun like my Haunted House art journal page.

I started by covering the page in white gesso and then painting Light Red and Raw Sienna watercolour paints using a paintbrush to form streaks of colour across the page. I also streaked some Black Soot Distress Ink to add some contrast and depth, and then I stamped a homemade grid stamp using black Archival Ink and splattered the whole page using black acrylic paint. The haunted house, cat’s face and bats are all rub-on transfers and the portraits are fussy cut from a leaflet; I thought that they were a fun way to depict the inside of my haunted mansion. Next I stamped the “Happy Halloween” wording using a Papermania alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink. I coloured the bottom of the wording with a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then applied Ranger Glossy Accents over the top. I added some modelling paste through a Vintage Diamond stencil from Creative Expressions and when dry, I coloured the diamonds with Spiced Marmalade and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink and Sanguine and Black Faber-Castell Big Brush markers; they are also covered with Ranger Glossy Accents to give them a glossy finish. To mimic the wrought iron railing around the haunted house image, I added some decorative border tape around the edges of the page, distressing it so it looked worn and broken. To finish, I added lots of green gemstones and clear, orange and purple gel stickers for more Halloween sparkle.

You’ll find lots more inspiration from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over and take a look.

The leaflet that I used for this page from Lytham Hall which also has spooky goings on in the vegetable garden.

Even the potting shed looks spooky with the faux cobwebs, pumpkin bunting and black cat – such fun (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey as with my Hapy Halloween wishes to you.

I’m pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their #54 – Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page which included paint, ink, rub-on transfers, paper, stickers and gems.

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
• Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colours (Light Red, Raw Sienna)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot, Spiced Marmalade, Seedless Preserves)
• Homemade Grid Stamp (Wooden block and Plasterboard/Drywall Tape)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Haunted House  #ROY714N, Bats, Cats & Ghosts #EDW355)
• Leaflet – Lytham Hall
• Papermania Alphamania Clear Stamp Set (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Vintage Diamonds)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Sanguine 188 B, Black 199)
• Poundland (Decorative Border Tape 15118067)
• Hobbycraft (Green Rhinestone Stickers 5971381004)
• Habico Signature Collection Self-Adhesive Gemstones (Festive Assortment PP948)
• Home Bargains (Mini Gel Stickers 30287)

Lytham St. Annes

Loving the happy colours of some vintage images of Lytham St. Annes that I found in a magazine, I was inspired to create this happy page to celebrate where we live and sunshiny weather which I have been wishing for of late (grin!).

I started by blending some white and blue Liquitex acrylic paints to cover the background of the page; varying the colours and also adding some Peach Liquitex acrylic paint to produce an aged and worn look. Next I added some blue and white striped washi tape vertically and horizontally onto the page, then lots of rub-on transfers and stickers to build up the design; they include some vintage black and white rub-on transfers, some beach designed stickers and rub-on transfers and also some 3D fabric flower and heart stickers. I used a black Uni Pin marker to outline some of them so they stood out more. To finish, I cut out the Majestic Hotel and Lytham St. Annes images from a local advertising magazine, mounted them onto some black paper and stuck them to the page using double-sided tape or foam tape.

We feel very blessed to live by the sea and there is nothing better than walking along the beach. One of our favourite regular walks is with our very good friend, where we start at Fairhaven Lake …

…. and walk alongside the dunes towards the beach which you can just about see in the distance …

… along the beach passing the beach huts …

…. and past the pier and then back along the promenade returning to Fairhaven Lake. It’s about 4.25 miles and we always see lots along the way whether it’s winter birds or the summer tourists (grin!).

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 Halle of Halle’s Hobbies and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey as the words say Lytham St. Annes is the perfect resort especially when you live here (grin!).

I’m happy to join the #193 Here Comes The Sun challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my sunshiny page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Vacation challenge with my Lytham St. Annes art journal page.

I’m also joining the Simon Says Stamp Work it Wednesday Summer Vibes! Challenge as this page reminds me of summer.

Don’t forget that you still have over a week to join the It’s a Man’s World challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Swedish Blue, Navy, Apricot)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.5mm)
• The Works (Washi Tape Set)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Create-A-Collage (Travel Collage #ROY-871)
• Craft Planet Metallic Waterfall Sticker Set (Beach PO#9622)
• Wilko (Let’s Create A5 Stickers)
• Old Magazine
• Coloured Paper (Black)
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Man’s World

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

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

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

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

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

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Halle of Halle’s Hobbies  and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

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

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

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

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