Be Awesome Today

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges sharing another journal page, using Tim Holtz products, for this month’s Things With Wings challenge.

I started by covering the page with some Villainous Potion Distress Paint allowing some of the chipboard page to show through. Then I stamped an old music stamp over the page using Villainous Potion Distress Ink and also Moonlight White Brilliance Ink. Next I added the white wording, which were from a Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz. The butterfly was created, from white cardstock, using a Perspective Butterfly Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and to finish, I added the “be awesome today” wording which was from a Sticker book by Tim Holtz.

I hope you are inspired to join our challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts.

The colours for this page were inspired by the purple spring flowers in our garden; we have tulips and …

… these very pretty flitillaries.

Stay safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The Four Seasons Challenge and their Spring Season April 2023 Challenge with my purple and white spring coloured page.

Ally’s Angels Challenge Blog and their Challenge #69 – Anything Goes with my art journal page.

Mischievous Cats’ Happy New Year Party

Hi everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all! 

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges celebrating the New Year for our Time Challenge; this page was created using Tim Holtz products, as these Mischievous Cats wanted to wish you a Happy New Year too!

I started by cutting some Tim Holtz Pocket Cards, that had different clock face and wallpaper designs on them, into pieces and then I covered the page with them by collaging them together using matte gel medium. Next I applied some white gesso to the edges of the card pieces to fill any gaps and I also applied it to create a frame around the page itself. I added the clock hands so each clock was striking midnight to signify the New Year; like the cats and letters, they were die cut from Black Kraft Cardstock – Classic by Tim Holtz. I arranged four of the Mischievous Cats Thinlits onto the page adding a measuring tape, for each of them to sit on, which were from a Numbers Remnant Rub-on Set by Tim Holtz. Next I die cut the wording using an Alphanumeric Tiny Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and then I added them to the green glitter bunting triangles which I created using Adhesive Deco Sheets 12pcs – Christmas by Tim Holtz. They were arranged onto the page with some black cotton which I wound around the Mischievous Cats tails and paws, and to finish I added some tiny green gemstones for the cats eyes – Happy New Year everyone!

For more inspiration, please see the amazing Time creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I look forward to seeing what you make and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the Country View Crafts shop! Before you enter, please read the rules!

With it being New Years Day today, me and my hubby are wishing you all the very best for 2023 too! x

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

MIUCB #63 – Anything Goes + optional no stamping over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my Mischievous Cats’ Happy New Year Party page which was created with no stamping.

Bee Wellington Boots

My page today was inspired by some beautiful wellies (Wellington rain boots) that were a surprise present from my mum.

My page design includes a napkin that I received as part of the napkin swap over at T Stand for Tuesday, I think this napkin was from Erika as it has busy bees on it.

If you are interested, I’ve also recycled the washi tape that came as part of the napkin swap, see my page Love you to the moon and back.

I started by creating a hexagon template from some card using a compass; I used this template to draw and then cut out hexagons of the napkin and also some blue paper that was recycled from a book cover. I arranged them onto the page using a glue stick and edged them all using some gold border outline stickers. Next I die cut the honeycomb from some leftover gold cardstock using a Bee Hive Sizzix Thinlits set by Olivia Rose. They were arranged onto the page with some white rub-on transfers for the wording and also some white flower stickers which I also added to decorate the napkins. To finish, I added two bees which were stamped and die cut using a Beehive Buzz Pink Ink Designs set, and were coloured using Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend markers.

Here are the pretty wellies that my mum kindly bought me; the colours, bees and honeycomb inspired my page design.

Wellies is a term that we use in the UK for Wellington boots which are also known as rain boots or gumboots in other parts of the world:

• Wellington boots, or “Wellies” are named after Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington who wore and popularised them here in the UK.
• Wellington’s boots were made of leather, but in 1856, the Scotland-based North British Rubber Company (now known as Hunter Boots) began manufacturing rubber Wellington rain boots. Being made from rubber enhanced the boots by giving them more flexible movement and making them 100% waterproof.
• The nickname “gumboots” is a nod to the natural rubber that rain boots are made from. Natural rubber, which is obtained from trees, is called “gum rubber” hence the name gumboots.

As T Stands for Tuesday and keeping with the bee theme, here’s my apple juice and ginger beer in a glass that we purchased when we visited Maine Mead Works in America which has their bee logo on it – Happy T Day everyone!

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 pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Neet from Hickydorums is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month and has chosen Fur and/or Feathers so I’m joining her with yet more busy fuzzy bees … ha,ha!

LTSCB#157 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog as I created this page using a scraps of book page and gold cardstock as well as a napkin.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #176 – Anything Goes challenge with my bee page.

Summer

It’s time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday and for the next two weeks our challenge theme is Here Comes Summer.

I had fun creating the summer scenes on this art journal page; I hope you like it too (grin!).

I started by sprinkling the page with some Yellow and Lemon Colourcraft Brusho powders and then I spritzed the powders with water to disperse the colours over the page. I also splattered the two diluted Brushos colours around the edges of the page. For the silhouettes, I used stickers arranging the different elements together to create the summer scenes; for the boy fishing I added the flowers to the pre-cut silhouette and the flower scene was created from scratch using some flower heads, flower centres, foliage and grass stickers taking quite some time to put together. I added a zig-zag sticker along the bottom of each of the scenes and some rub-on transfers for the wording. To finish, I splattered the page with tiny flecks of black DecoArt acrylic paint.

The colours on my page reminded me of these pretty cat mugs that we saw in a local kitchen store; don’t you just love their expressions and the little bird that is perched on the end of their tails (grin!). I’m sharing these with the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday as I think Bleubeard and Squiggles will love them too – wishing everyone a very Happy T Day!

I hope that you’re staying well and enjoying your Summer so far!

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

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to join the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Mia who has chosen Fish as her theme as there is a little fish that the boy has caught on his fishing line on my page.

I’m pleased to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #170 – Anything Goes challenge with my summer page.

Things with Wings

Over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge, we are launching a new challenge today which is Things with Wings.

So today I’m sharing the birthday card, that I made for my mum this year, featuring a huge Thinlits butterfly from Tim Holtz (smile!).

I started by creating a masterboard from watercolour paper smooshing it using Salty Ocean and Peacock Feather Distress Inks. When dry, I cut a panel from the masterboard and stuck it onto a 6×6” card using double-sided tape. Next I added some white rub-on transfers from a Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz and used some outline stickers to add some silver dots and a silver border around the panel. The large butterfly was die cut from white cardstock using a Perspective Butterfly Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and to finish, I added the “On Your Birthday” wording which was from a topper set.

I hope you’ll join us at Sparkles Monthly Challenge too, for more inspiration please check out the amazing Things with Wings designs from my Sparkles Buddies in the Design Team too; we would love for you to join us so please be sure to check out the rules here.

This is the gate that greets you at my mum’s house and as you can see it features many “things with wings” (smile!).

I hope that you’re staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Sparkles Monthly Challenge , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

MIUCB #59 Anything Goes + Optional 3-D over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques that I used to create my 3-D butterfly card.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #169 – Anything Goes challenge with my butterfly card.

For the man in your life

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is For the Man in your life.

My page showcases a tag with a wonderful quote from Alan Turing which reads “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of, who do things no one can imagine”.

I started by covering the background with some Hickory Smoke and Tea Dye Distress Ink and then I applied Liquitex matte gel medium to reactivate the ink so I could drag the colours horizontally across the page. When dry, I stamped the grid pattern over the top using black Archival Ink and a homemade stamp, and then I added lots of Remnant Rubs by Tim Holtz. Next I cut a large cog of design paper, which was from Kaisercraft, into pieces and added them around the page, this included creating a pocket for the tag.

The tag was die cut, using a Tag Collection Framelits set by Tim Holtz, from the remains of the cog paper. The quote was printed using a Dymo label printer and when stuck in place, I edged and coloured the tag using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I added some of the Remnant Rubs and to Finish, I added a eyelet using a We R Memory Keepers Crop-A-Dile punch and eyelet setter.

My page is a tribute to Alan Turing, founder of computer science and cryptographer, whose work was key to breaking the wartime Enigma codes.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a pint of Strongarm beer brewed by Lion Brewery (perfect for Henry!) that we had at a local Micro Bar, it’s a North East Ruby Red Ale and tasted out of this world – Happy T Day everyone!

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.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #168 – Anything Goes challenge with my butterfly page.

Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page.

Birds and blossom

This page was inspired by all the bird activity in our garden and the beautiful apple blossom on our apple trees (smile!).

I started by covering the page with some Picked Raspberry Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Spray. Next I added some Pébéo texture paste through a Lace Tim Holtz stencil and when dry I removed some of it using a craft knife to create a grungy worn lace look. The dots were added using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and a Dot Fade stencil by Tim Holtz. I stamped the birds and sentiment onto some recycled white tissue paper using a couple of Stampendous stamps and black Archival Ink.

The stamped images were stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium and I arranged them onto the page with some Dogwood blossom rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel.

We’ve had lots of blossom on our apple trees so hopefully we’ll get lots of fruit this year too!

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.

Challenges

I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Matilde from http://craftowanie.blogspot.com/ is hosting this month at Art Journal Journey and her Birds challenge with the birds on my page.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #168 – Anything Goes challenge with my bird and blossom page.

Stamping Sensations and their Anything stamped with option of Floral and Fauna challenge as I included stamped birds and sentiment along with the pretty blossoms on my page.

Not A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page.

We Love Stamping and their For a Lady (or Girl) challenge with my pink blossom and bird page.

Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my pretty blossom and bird art journal page.

Mothering Sunday

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges sharing my second page as inspiration for this month’s Mother’s Day challenge.

I started by stamping the chipboard page using an Architecture stamp set by Tim Holtz and Moonlight White Brilliance ink. Then I die cut the flowers from white cardstock using a Brushstroke Flowers #3 Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and I coloured them with Distress Inks; the petals with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, the stamens with Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Rusty Hinge ink and the leaves with Peeled Paint and Mowed Lawn ink. I arranged them on the left-hand side of the page and then I applied Ranger Glossy Accents over the centres of the flowers. To finish, I added the white wording which were Tiny Text Rub-ons by Tim Holtz.

I hope you are inspired to join our Mother’s Day challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts.

I love the pretty flowers and stamped arched windows I created as part of the page design, it reminded me of church and Mothering Sunday – if you didn’t know in the UK we celebrate Mother’s Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent which is also known as Mothering Sunday.

Mother’s Day maybe on a different date depending on where you live: this year in UK and Ireland it’s on Sunday 27th March; in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand it’s Sunday 8th May; France it’s Sunday 29th May; Spain it’s Sunday 1st May.

If you are interested here are some interesting facts about Mother’s Day in the UK:

• Mothering Sunday in the UK has a religious origin.
• It does not fall on the same date each year due to its connection to Lent.
• England was the first country to dedicate a day to Mothers.
• It’s often celebrated with Simnel Cake or Mothering Cake which dates back to the 18th Century.

I hope that you are staying safe and well, and for those of you celebrating – Happy Mother’s Day wishes!

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Valerie of Bastelmania is hosting Art Journal Journey and has chosen Spring with my spring Mothering Sunday page.

Rather Blustery Day challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as keeping things clean and not smudging the stamping is often difficult for me hence why a lot of my pages are grungy in design (grin!); for this page I stamped the image and left it to dry overnight – yay, it worked!

Paperbabe Stamps and their #163 – Anything Goes challenge with my Mother’s Day page.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Add Some Green challenge with the green leaves on my page.

Bit O’Green challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the green foliage on my page.

Snowdrops

Wow, I can’t believe that it’s March already but here we are launching March’s challenge today over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog which is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

My mixed media page was inspired by the snowdrops that are flowering at the moment, especially those on display amongst the woodland leaves at Lytham Hall (grin!).

I started by covering the chipboard page with some old dressmaking pattern tissue paper using Liquitex matte gel medium and then I applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top. When dry, I added some more pieces of the dressmaking tissue paper and I coloured around the edges of them with Ground Espresso Distress Ink using a baby wipe. The snowdrop image was fussy cut from an old garden book and I arranged it on the page with some leftover die cut pieces which were coloured in autumnal coloured ink. Then I splattered the page with white acrylic paint and left it to dry. Next I added the white text, the smaller wording were Field Notes Rub-ons by Tim Holtz and the larger letters were Metallic Stickers by Tim Holtz.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our mixed media challenge; I hope you are inspired to join us, it would be lovely to see you there!

We always enjoy walking at Lytham Hall and the snowdrops are looking particularly lovely this year; creating a carpet of white amongst the woodland.

There are so many different snowdrop varieties to be found at Lytham Hall and they all look so beautiful (grin!).

I hope 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

As well as Creative Artiste , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

The lovely Valerie of Bastelmania is hosting Art Journal Journey and has chosen Spring as her theme and snowdrops to me make me think that spring is on its way.

For The Love of Mixed Media challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my mixed media page portraying my love of snowdrops.

Paperbabe Stamps and their #162 – Anything Goes challenge with my freesia page.

Add A Die Cut over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the die cut pieces I added to my page.

A Year to Sparkle & Shine

Happy New Year everyone!

I’m so delighted that it’s my turn to host the challenge over at Country View Challenges this month, so to welcome 2022 I have chosen the theme of A Year to Sparkle and Shine.

We would like to see LOTS of sparkle and shine on your projects, no “token” gems or sequins please; you really need to go sprinkle that sparkle! This means that you can use lots of different sparkly and shiny products (like metallics, sparkly embossing powders, glitters, lustres, foil, glazes, mirror cardstock, mica sprays or paints etc) as part of your designs.

For my very sparkly art journal page, I started by covering the background with Silver DecoArt Extreme Sheen Metallic Paint and then sprinkled some Black Sparkle Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder over the top and heated it with a heat gun. Then I added some rub-on transfers from a Numbers pack from Tim Holtz and the wording which were Metallic Alpha Stickers by Tim Holtz. To finish, I added Crystal Twinkle Stars from Creative Expressions.

Here’s all the crafting goodies from Country View Crafts that I used to create this page (grin!).

For more inspiration please see the amazing sparkly and shiny creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I look forward to visiting you and seeing what you make and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the shop! Before you enter your project though, please read the rules! 

Stay safe and well!

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