So Delicate at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog

I’m so pleased and honoured to be Guest Designer over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog for their So Delicate challenge.

Jenny is hosting, here’s what she has to say about this challenge:
“Although it’s not always evident in my projects, I have a real passion for delicate laces, fragile flowers, fine stitching, intricate artwork and exquisite architecture. For this challenge create something delicate or a vintage/shabby chic project that features delicate things in it.”

I enjoyed using different techniques and mediums to create this delicate page starting with the delicately painted background. I covered the background with water first and then added Kuretake watercolours over the top using a paintbrush; the colours I used were Ultramarine Pale, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green and a mixture of Black and White.

The elegant lace flower heads were stamped using one of my favourite stamps from Carabelle Studio and black Archival Ink. The flower heads were coloured using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then I added lots of sparkle using some Silver Stickles from Ranger.

For the wording and butterflies, I coloured some white tissue paper using Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed and Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks. I did this by stamping the ink pads onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the tissue paper over the top. When dry, I die cut the letters for the wording using Alphanumeric Label Thinlits set and the butterflies using Springtime Sidekick Thinlits set from Tim Holtz.

I glued the wording onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium which was a bit fiddly as the letters were so fine; it reads “be still and listen, the earth is singing”. To finish, I arranged the butterflies around the page using some glue dots. I love how the tissue paper butterflies and wording look so fragile and delicate (grin!).

Thanks so much to The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog  for having me as Guest Designer! I hope that you are inspired by the So Delicate challenge too and are able to join in the fun (grin!).

There are so many delicate things to observe in nature and as I live by the sea, my watercolour background was inspired by this sea view with its pale colours and soft lighting; this was taken whilst walking along the beach near our house .

The lace flower heads, touches of green and pretty butterflies on my page were inspired by our garden. It reminded me of all the Painted Lady butterflies that visited last summer; here are a couple on the lavender (grin!).

I hope that you’re staying 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:

• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green, Black, White)
• Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (Dans la nature, il y a … SA60175
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Ranger Stickles (Silver)
• Recycled white tissue paper
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Mustard Seed, Chipped Sapphire)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlit (Alphanumeric Label 664177)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Sidekick Thinlit (Springtime 662711)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 glue dots

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like it The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog , 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 BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge as I used one of my favourite flower stamp sets. As I used my favourite Carabelle Studio stamp set to create the lace flowers on my page, I’m also pleased to be able to join Stamping Sensations and their Favourite Stamps challenge too. I’m also joining the Beautiful Blooms challenge over at the Allsorts Challenge with the pretty sparkly flowers on my page. I’m happy to join in the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my delicate nature page. I’m also joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my art journal page too. I’m joining the MIUCB #45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my page too.

Be your own kind of beautiful

Today I was inspired by a seahorse mosaic that you can find in St. Anne’s on the Sea where I live; I always love seeing artwork when I’m out and about and this dancing seahorse is one of my favourites!

I started by covering the page with Salty Ocean Distress Ink by stamping the ink pad directly onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the mat onto the paper a number of times to build up splashes of ink to depict seawater.

Then I applied Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain through a circular stencil from Inkylicious and also blotted the stencil onto the page to mop up the excess Stain. Next I used a mosaic dot stamp using both Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink; firstly through the circle stencil to add more details to the large circles that I stencilled and then to the rest of the background so it looked like bubbles of water. I outlined each of the stencilled circles by stamping white acrylic paint using a plastic tube and then smudged the white gesso over the circle. When the paint was dry I coloured it with the Platinum Planet ink using my finger. I added more bubbles by stamping some dot stamps from Paperbabe Stamps using Shabby Shutters Distress Ink and then I splattered the page with some white acrylic paint which finished the background. The foliage is tissue paper which I die cut using Tim Holtz thinlets and my Big Shot machine which I then stuck to the page using Liquitex matte gel medium; I wasn’t to careful how I stuck them down as I wanted them to look like they were floating and moving in the water.

My dancing seahorse is fussy cut from a colouring book and coloured using Gold, Yellow, Sunset and Amber Spectrum Aqua markers to match the seahorse colours of the mosaic. Then I used a blending tool to blot Rusty Hinge Distress Ink onto the seahorse to add texture and give it more of a 3D look. It is stuck in place using matte gel medium, detailed using some black Derwent Graphik markers and a white Uniball pen for its eye. The words “Be your own beautiful self” are cut from a 3×4” card by Kaisercraft, stuck in place and outlined with a black marker pen. To finish, I added some silver and blue sequins to the background to add some sparkle.

This is the pretty seahorse mosaic and the words say “Golden sun rise on our sands moonlight pass us by. As seahorse dance among the waves. Our sandgrown spirit flies”. I particularly like the words as it mentions being “sandgrown” which applies only to the Flyde coast area where I live and literally means someone born by the seaside; I happen to be a Sandgrown’un too (grin!).

This is the other beautiful mosaic, this time of a pretty mermaid and the verse reads “We dream fondly of seas. Her waves lap softly on our shore. While mermaids songs drift onwards. Our peace to breathe once more”.

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 aka BioArtGal and her Polka-Dots, Stripes, Plaids and Patterns challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my circle patterns on my background.

I’m also happy to join in the Under the Sea challenge over at Country View Challenges with my seahorse art journal page.

I’m joining the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my dancing seahorse too.

I’m pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed media art journal page which included inks, paints, papers and sequins.

Don’t forget that you still have until over a week to join our Hot, Hot, Hot! Challenge over at Try it on Tuesday too, maybe you can use hot colours like those I used for my seahorse; it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Shabby Shutters, Rusty Hinge)
• Inkylicious Stencil (Sun & Moons)
• Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Cracked Pistachio)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Cards & Stamp Set (Capsule Geometric Krafts PMA105308)
• Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment Ink (Platinum Planet)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Birthday Wishes)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz (Garden Greens 661206, Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
• Recycled dark and light green tissue paper
• Animal Kingdom Suduko & Doodle Book
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Gold, Yellow, Sunset, Amber)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Kaisercraft 3×4” Cards (Life’s Treasures CM108)
• Poundland (Assorted Sequins)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Ranger Glossy Accents

Treasure Map

I enjoyed practicing and experimenting with different techniques and mediums to create this page. As I created this page, it reminded me of the kites at the St. Annes Kite Festival and I was also transported back to my childhood and into the fantasy world of pirates and looking for buried treasure (grin!).

I started by drawing a faint outline of the map using a pencil and then applied some Tea Dye Distress Ink using a blending tool which I then dabbed with a baby wipe to create an old worn look to the map. I then added an outline so the map had a defined edge using a black Uni Pin marker to create a border around the edge of my page. I coloured the border using Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker by applying the ink to an acrylic block and painting the inks using a paintbrush. Next I outlined the land with Baked Earth and Willow Derwent Intense pencils by applying the pencil directly to the page and using a wet paintbrush to blend the colours. I also added small dots of Chocolate Spectrum Aqua marker around the edges of the land too. The mountains are drawn using the same Chocolate Spectrum Aqua marker and shaded using a Tan Spectrum Aqua marker. I stamped the pirates ship sitting in Pirates Cove using black Archival Ink and coloured it using Derwent Intense Pencils, I had fun stamping the wording “Yo ho yo ho …” too. In fact I spent quite a bit of time stamping all the wording on this map using individual wooden mounted letter stamps from Dovecraft and black Archival Ink; making up the different names and places was great fun too! I embellished the different places with a crab, starfish and tropical flowers which are rub-on transfers and also a sandcastle, some sea shells, tropical flowers and a treasure chest which are stickers. I made some of the elements from card toppers too, like the sea monster and mermaid tail and the gold in the treasure chest is made from gold outline stickers and pearl gems. All the pirate flags are stamped using black Archival Ink and the palm tree is hand drawn, fussy cut and coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils. The map trail that joins the different places together and big black “X” are also hand drawn using a black Uni Pin marker. Next I painted the sea by concentrating the colour along the shore line and adding the waves using Salty Ocean Distress Ink; I did this by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and using a paintbrush to apply it to the page. Then I stamped a compass by Graphic 45 from Hampton Art using black Archival Ink on the top of the page.  The banner is also a stamp by 7 Gypsies from Hampton Art and is stamped using black Archival Ink onto the page and also onto a piece of white paper. I coloured both of the banners with the Baked Earth and Willow Derwent Intense pencils and stamped “Treasure Map” in the centre of the one I stamped onto the paper using the letter stamps and black Archival Ink. I then cut out the central section of the banner with the wording on it from the paper and stuck it over the one that I had stamped onto the page. To finish, I outlined the banner with a black Uni Pin marker.

We enjoyed the St. Annes Kite Festival last weekend, it started with night kite flying and fireworks on Friday night.

Many of the kites reminded me of my page including this crab …

… these fish bobbing along …

… this parrot who I can just imagine saying “pieces of eight” …

… and of course the many sea monsters (grin!).

New to the festival this year was a land yachting demonstration which was great fun to watch too!

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 Yvonne from Meggy’s way, who is hosting A World of Fantasy challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my dreams of buried treasure.

I’m pleased to join the Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as I used the rock/pebble colours and you can find beaches and seashores as part of my art journal page design.

As “B” stands for “buried treasure” and “beach”, I’m pleased to join the I spy with my little eye something beginning with “B” challenge over at Stamping Sensations.

As my treasure map goes round and round, I’m also joining the Going Round & Round challenge over at The Artistic Stamper too.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Stamps and Stencils and their It’s been a while … Anything Goes challenge.

As my page links to childhood, I’m reminding you that your still have time to join our Childhood challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

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 (Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Salty Ocean)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Baked Earth 1800. Willow 1900, Poppy Red 400, Field Green 1500)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Chocolate, Tan)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm, 0.5mm, 0.8mm)
• Home Bargains (Mini Stamps & Ink – Pirates)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set upper and lower case (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO135)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Vintage cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Craft Planet Metallic Waterfall Stickers (Beach PO#9622)
• Eco Craft Go Create (Hunk of Junk Pirate Island)
• Hunkydory Luxury Toppers (Eastern Promise)
• Magenta Style Outline Stickers (Daisy Gold 93326G)
• Home Bargains Sticker Mania (Gel Stone Stickers 74748)
• UHU Stic

Hot Chocolate is like …

Hot chocolate is top on my list of warming drinks this time of year and with it getting colder I thought I would create a winter themed page with a warming mug of hot chocolate and a lovely quote I recently found.

I started by covering the page with a piece of tissue paper with circles on it which had been in my craft stash for a while; the circles were stamped using an old cardboard tube with some leftover blue/green acrylic paint from another project. I stuck the tissue paper to the page using a UHU Stic. Next I stamped hearts into the centre of each circle and also a circle and heart design stamp onto the background using black Archival Ink, both stamps are from Sugarloaf Inc. I added Milled Lavender, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress Inks and left the page to dry. Then I covered the whole page with a thin layer of white gesso using a baby wipe. Next I used four different stencils and blue inks to add layers of patterns; this included a stencil called Moroccan from the That Special Touch of Mica range by Creative Expressions using Salty Ocean Distress Ink, a Heart Cluster mini stencil from Creative Expressions using Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink, a cross stencil from Craft Sensations using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and a Swoosh stencil from Creative Expressions using Summer Sky Memento Ink. The snowflakes are stamps from a Winter Woodland stamp set that was free with a magazine, they are stamped using the same Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire inks. I also used the snowflake stamps again to stamp white acrylic paint which I applied to the stamps using a brayer. With the background completed I added the quote using some black Label Letter stickers by Tim Holtz and edged them using a Poppy Red Derwent Inktense pencil and a black Uni Pin marker. The quote pays homage to how I feel about hot chocolate it reads:

Hot chocolate is like a hug from the inside.

Then I selected some glittery red paper from a Designer Paper Pack and punched out some snowflakes using a Woodware paper punch. I also punched some black paper snowflakes too which I offset under the red snowflakes to provide a shadow. They are stuck to the page using a UHU Stic. Next I drew a mug on the same red paper, cut it out and edged it using the same red Derwent Inktense pencil and a wet paintbrush.  Before I stuck the mug to the page using double-sided tape, I drew around where it was to be placed on the page and used an Ink Black Derwent Inktense pencil to create a shadow under it so it stood out more. I embellished the mug using a black snowflake, a white glitter foam snowflake and three red gemstones. To finish, I added two smaller red foam glitter snowflakes and some red gemstones to the background and then I edged the page with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

It’s been sunny here of late but very cold too, so when out walking with our friends we have been going to a local café on the beachfront and having a hot chocolate! As T Stands for Tuesday I’m pleased to join the T Gang and wish you all a Happy T Day!

As you can see we enjoyed a toasted teacake with our hot chocolate too (grin!). For those of you not familiar with toasted teacakes, here are some facts you may find interesting:

• Teacakes are a sweetened yeasted bread type roll which usually have dried fruit in, and it is usually split, toasted, buttered, and served with tea.
• Teacakes originated in the North of England and are very popular in Lancashire where I live.
• Teacakes have regional differences for example in East Lancashire, certain areas of Yorkshire and Cumbria a teacake is plain unless you ask for a “currant teacake” and this plain teacake is a specialty of the area and is still split and served toasted with butter and also sometimes jam (jelly).
• Sometimes the plain teacakes are confused with English Muffins however they are not the same thing. An English Muffin here in the UK is the same as in the US and is usually a breakfast item often served as Eggs Benedict or with smoked salmon.
• We often have toasted teacakes with a cuppa mid morning for elevenses.

Here’s the pretty view from the Waters Edge café over the beach – beautiful!

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:

Hot chocolate and the quote I used ties in nicely with the  “101 Ways To Keep Warm” challenge over at Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Chris.

I was inspired to use the four different stencils to create this page after seeing the design teams artwork over at Country View Challenges which they had created for their “Stencils” challenge.

As I used stamps and the hot chocolate quote, I’m also pleased to join a new challenge today over at The Artistic Stamper where this month’s creative challenge is “Use a Quote”.

It makes me happy to be able to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their “Food and/or Drink” challenge with my hot chocolate inspired page.

With my colourful blue and red page I’m pleased to join the lovely design team over at Try it on Tuesday and their “Colourful” Challenge and I’m also just have enough time to join in the fun over at Moo Mania & More and their “Put A Stencil On It” challenge too.

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 (Milled Lavender, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Summer Sky)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Poppy Red 0400, Ink Black 2200)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood mounted stamps (Heart Tile 26631, Hearts & Circles 26645)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan, Swoosh)
• Craft Expressions Mini Stencils (Heart Clusters CEMSHEART)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Winter Woodland Clear Stamp Set – free with Craft Beautiful Dec 2017 magazine
• White tissue paper – stamped with circles
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Label Letters #TH93072)
• The Works Designer Paper Pack (The Night Before Christmas HCPAP003X15)
• Leon (X-Large Coloured Paper Pad)
• Woodware Craft Collection Paper Punch (Large Snowflake SL120118)
• Poundland (Christmas Craft Pack)
• Docrafts Papermania Eleganza Adhesive Stones (3mm Red PMA351607)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Card Making Fun!

Today I have three cards to share with you that I created to send to my friends and family. Fortuitously these designs also coincide with some challenges that I wanted to join. The cards are for a friend who has just moved into her new house, another is a birthday card for one of my family and the last one is to wish one of my special friends a very Happy Christmas!

Home Sweet Home

I used 6×4” white card stock and applied Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and Salty Ocean Distress Ink to a large acrylic block and spritzed it with water. Then I laid the card facedown on the top of the block and pressed down so that the ink transferred onto the card. I did this a couple of times to use up the ink on the block until I was happy with the coverage. I dried the ink using a heat gun and then stamped the birdcage stamp by Dovecrafts using black Archival Ink. I surrounded this image with the pretty tree branches from a new stamp set by Inkadinkado using the same black Archival Ink; I love these stamps, the tree branch designs are beautiful! Next I stamped the “Home Sweet Home” sentiment using the same black ink and a Bellissima alphabet stamp set by Docrafts Papermania. I edged the front of a white blank greetings card with the black Archival Ink and a blending tool and then I cut the Home Sweet Home design to size. I edged it with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck it on the top using double-sided tape. To finish, I used a black Derwent Graphik marker to emphasise some of the stamping so it stood out more and also added some blue circular gems for a bit of sparkle.

I’m pleased to join the “Home Sweet Home” challenge over at Try it on Tuesday which inspired the sentiment on this card.

I’m also pleased to join a new challenge today thanks to the lovely Avril who is on the design team over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges as my card also links to their “Nature” challenge.

The silhouette design I created means I can also join in the fun over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge and their “Silhouette” challenge.

Skateboarding Monkey

This fun card is created using a 6×6” green card base. Firstly I cut a piece of striped paper to size and then I stamped the sentiment using black Archival Ink and an alphabet stamp set by Hampton Art. As you can see I bunched up the word “Birthday” so it looked like it was being pushed out-of-place by the skateboard. I stuck it into place using double-sided tape. Next I added the monkey and star-like flowers which are foam stickers and also some glossy dots and tiny flowers designer vinyl stickers from Craftime. To finish, I used black and white Uni Posca paint pens to add small dots to the background and sentiment.

I wanted to join the lovely Chris from Pearshapedcrafting and her wonderful “101 Ways to Keep Warm” challenge over at Art Journal Journey; I think skateboarding would be a good way to keep warm especially for me as I’d probably be laughing so much whilst I was trying to do it (grin!).

I’m also joining the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge as my fun monkey would love to join their “Furry Friends” theme.

The Best Christmas Ever!

I was inspired to create this card after creating my Winter Wonderland Decorations. This is a one layer card, so I started by masking off the top edge of a white 6×4” card and stamping some different stamps using Emboss ink; the stamps included a “Wishing you the best Christmas ever!” sentiment and a snowflake stamp, both by Clear Impressions, and also Diamond Background and Serpentine Background stamps, both by Art Impressions. I completed the embossing in layers, starting with the sentiment and then using the other stamps. Each layer of Emboss ink stamping was covered with white Stampendous embossing powder and then I shook off the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper. I also tapped the card to make sure any stray powder was removed and then 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 changed to a glossy finish becoming smooth and dimensional. I repeated this process a few times to create a design that I was happy with. I then applied Chipped Sapphire, Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks to the card using a blending tool, starting with the darker colour of Chipped Sapphire around the edge and blending to the lighter colour of Cracked Pistachio in the middle. I dried the ink with my heat gun and spritzed water over the top, blotting it with a piece of kitchen towel/paper to remove some of the ink. I also diluted the three Distress Inks by stamping the ink pads onto an acrylic block and spritzing with water, and then I flicked the inks onto the card using a paintbrush and used a heat gun to dry them. To finish, I added some white rhinestone flower gems and dots of silver Stickles to add some glitter and sparkle.

I’m pleased to be able to join the “One Layer Christmas Cards” challenge over at Stamping Sensations with my white embossed stamped card.

As I used the glittery gems and Sparkles on this card, I’m also pleased to be joining the “Glitter” challenge over at Allsorts Challenge Blog.

Family, home and Christmas all mean so much to me, so I thought I’d share some photos relating to all three of these things (grin!). As we live by the sea we don’t often get snow, however we did get a light dusting of snow one evening last year. It was beautiful seeing the snow falling although it had disappeared the next morning when we awoke.

This photo is very dear to me, it’s of a white Christmas from my childhood, yes the little girl at the front eating sweets is me (grin!). I’m with my mum and my sister and you can see our Christmas tree in the background too. I will forever remember that furry navy blue and red checked coat that I’m wearing as my mum made it for me!

This picture of me was taken some years ago, when we had light snow fall on Christmas Day. We were staying with family and we went for a lovely woodland walk!

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 each of the cards:

Home Sweet Home

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm & 0.3mm)
• Dovecraft Clear Stamps (Birdcage DCCS015)
• Inkadinkado Cling Stamps (Branches 65-32007)
• Docrafts Papermania Bellissima  4×4” Clear Stamps (Alphas PMA907212)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Blue Round Gems 5665381001)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape

Skateboarding Monkey

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Posca Paint Pens (Black, White)
• Hampton Art (Alphabet Stamp Set WM1037)
• B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise)
• Wilko Little Steps (Safari Foam Stickers)
• Craftime Designer Vinyls (B/W Boy & Girl PBDV02)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape

The Best Christmas Ever!

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire, Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio)
• Tsukienki Emboss Embossing Stamp Pad (Clear)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Clear Impressions (Woodland Christmas)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Diamond Background T-3335, Serpentine Background T-2773)
• The Works stickers (Rhinestone Flowers)
• Ranger Stickles (Silver)

Contemplation

I had fun creating this page and it is a great reminder of a lovely area of pools and fountains we discovered in Liverpool last week. We were there for my hubby’s birthday and this space was a welcome respite and such a peaceful and relaxing place that you could easily contemplate life from there. It had a beautiful lunar pool and a row of nozzle water fountains, so I got creative and created my page of contemplation. The design is also inspired by some blog challenges with its circles, glass and blue monochrome palette.

For the background I chose pages from an old Pear’s Cyclopaedia which detailed information about the universe and planets to match the lunar pool that we saw; I stuck these pages down using a UHU Stic. To depict the water I chose blue colours for this page and also circular patterns, so I stencilled a circle mask by Dutch Doobadoo using Chipped Sapphire and also Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink with a blending tool. To soften some of these colours I spritzed the page with water and dabbed the ink with a piece of kitchen towel. Next I added strips of a blue dotted paper washi tape from The Works, ripping the edges so it faded into the background more. Then I stencilled the large circles using the same Dutch Doobadoo mask and coloured their centres with Aqua Dolce, Snow Cone and Boysenberry Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colour with my finger which I wet with a baby wipe to make it easier to blend.

I wanted to add lots of dimension to these large circles so I started by defining the edges of them using the Dutch Doobadoo mask again to apply some modelling paste. When the paste had dried, I painted it with white DecoArt arcylic paint so the circles stood out more and then covered them with glossy accents. While the glossy accents was still wet, I added white, dark blue and light blue glass beads into the gaps of the circle design to add more interest. I also covered the whole of the dark blue circles with glossy accents so they had a lovely shine; I think they look a bit like glass. I covered the background where I planned to place each of the quotes with a thin layer of white gesso using my finger and once dry, I added the three quotes which are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel. These quotes seem to be perfect for contemplation:

“Worry not that no one knows of you; seek to be worth knowing”  –  Confucius

“Seeing yourself as you want to be is the key to personal growth”  –  Anonymous

“Thinking is the talking of the soul with itself”  –  Plato

I added some lines around the quotes with an old gift card using Teal and Navy Spectrum Aqua markers so they stood out more. I arranged some pretty blue mini gel stickers on the page with some small white flowers substituting the gem centres for blue gemstones to match my blue monochrome theme. To finish, I coloured some of the paper washi tape and also edged the page using a Navy Spectrum Aqua marker, smudging the ink with my finger.

This tranquil space can be found at Chavasse Park, across the road from Albert Dock next to the Liverpool One Shopping Centre. It’s a beautiful sight with the water, mature trees and grasses. The open pools take on a rippled effect that simulates the water of the nearby docks and the lunar pool remains still, reflecting the surrounding urban environment during the day and the sky at night; it symbolises the impact of the moon’s cycle on the tides.

These nozzle fountains display a wave pattern that emulates the ebb and flow of the tides.

Here I am behind the nozzle fountains trying not to get wet while hubby takes my photo (grin!).

Challenges

My contemplation page with the positive quotes is perfect for the “Landscapes of the Soul” challenge over at Art Journal Journey so I’m pleased to be able to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben who is hosting this month’s challenge.

All the circles on my page ties in nicely with the “Circles” challenge over at Try it on Tuesday.

I also chose my favourite colour, blue, as it seemed appropriate for the water and stayed true to this colour so I could join the “Monochrome” challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

With the glass beads and glass like effect I created with the Glossy Accents, I’m also joining in the fun over at Mixed Media World and their “Anything Mixed Media Goes with a Twist (Use or Imitate Glass)

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
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Shappire, Mermaid Lagoon)
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Aqua Dolce, Snow Cone, Boysenberry)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Teal, Navy)
• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Dutch Doobadoo Dutch Mask Art A5 (Geometric Tiles 162478)
• Pears Cyclopaedia 2007-2008 Edition
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Sentiments (Positive Quotes #ROY554 Rub-on)
• The Works The Craft Place (Spotted Paper Tapes)
• Brighton Bead Shop (Glass Beads)
• Home Bargains (Mini Gel Stickers 30287)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic

Thank you flowers!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Coco’s Soul Food – Anniversary Special

As a special wedding anniversary treat we went to our favourite restaurant, you may remember it from an earlier post, it’s called Coco’s Soul Food.

I started the page by creating a bright wood effect background using Colourcraft Brusho Colours and Liquitex Matte Gel Medium. This technique is very simple in that I just sprinkled Dark Brown, Leaf Green and Turquoise Brushos onto my page then applied the gel medium over the top using a paintbrush making sure my brush strokes were in one direction to create the wood grain finish. Both the colours and wood grain remind me of both the interior decor and exterior colours of the restaurant. To get the shiny finish I applied a thin layer of PVA Glue over the top, which also sealed all the Brusho colour in place. Once the glue had dried, I added the flowers which are rub-on transfers and some white dots which are Docrafts Glitterations stickers. I fussy cut the globe of tropical beach images, which represent the images that can be found on the restaurant walls, from an old magazine and stuck it to the page using a UHU Stic. It’s outlined with a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uni Posca Paint pen. I also fussy cut the restaurant name which was computer printed, coloured the border around the “soul food” sign using a yellow Spectrum Aqua marker which produced an olive-green colour when it was combined with the already grey background. The words are coloured with the white Uni Posca paint pen and outlined with a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I added the pretty sparkly hummingbirds and some small dots of white, black, pink, light green and purple using Uni Posca paint pens.

I’m pleased to join Elke from Meerwolkenleben who is hosting the “Landscape of the Soul” challenge over at Art Journal Journey as my page is a celebration of love and happiness.

I’m also pleased to be joining the new “Not a Card” challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page of happy anniversary memories.

I added hummingbirds to my page because of the drinks we had which as you can see had pretty hummingbirds on the can (just above the logo on the right). As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our mango and guava pop/sodas and saying a big hello to the T Gang! The mango was my favourite and they have plenty of other flavours for us to try next time (grin!). Wishing you all a Happy T Day!

I’ve featured this restaurant before on this post; you may remember the outside is a striking purple and lime green colour. Whilst the interior decor looks very tropical and is a colourful combination of turquoise, yellow and natural wood.

This is the fun counter where you order your food and drinks.

I had my usual yummy Tropical Mango Chicken Salad and a side of sweet potato fries, it was so delicious!

My hubby had one of the specials, Herb Crusted Cheesy Chicken served with a Mango Salad which was very tasty too! As you can imagine, we had the most wonderful time (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:

• Colourcraft Brusho Powders (Dark Brown, Leaf Green, Turquoise)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Yellow)
• Derwant Graphik Fine Point marker (Black 0.05mm & 0.3mm)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White, Black, Pink, Light Green, Purple)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Logo computer printout
• Old magazine
• Docrafts Glitterations (White Dots
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (SYN1470G, Fab Flowers #ROY-1400, TIP1642G)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• UHU Stic
• Everbuild 501 PVA Glue

Moments that take our breath away

I was inspired to create an aircraft themed page to remember this year’s Blackpool Air Show which was spectacular! I went for a vintage theme and added a saying that I thought was very fitting: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away”.

I’m also linking my page to Art Journal Journey where I’m hosting this month’s theme “Poetry in Motion”, here you are invited to create a page inspired by a poem, saying or quote.

I started by adding patches of Blueprint Sketch and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks to the page using a blending tool. Then I used some stencils by Craft Sensations to add layers of clouds using Tea Dye and the Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and a moustache design using Black Soot Distress Ink. As I went for a vintage feel I chose the moustache design which reminds me of flyers from the olden days who use to say ‘chocs away’ (grin!). I used black Archival Ink to stamp a plane image by Royal & Langnickel and some swirls by Dovecraft to depict a plane’s smoke trail. I cut some information from an old encyclopaedia about aircraft and stuck it to the top left-hand corner of the page using a UHU Stic. Next I layered different elements onto the page using a UHU Stic and double-sided tape to stick them in place, this included: an image of an old-fashioned gentleman to match the vintage theme, and two clocks and a compass which I fussy cut from a Kanban topper set; a large wood effect tag by Docrafts Papermania that I tied with string; a recycled tag which I added the saying onto using rub-on transfers by Kaisercraft; a ticket which I made using the same rub-on transfer set on white card, fussy cut out and edged with Tea Dye Distress Ink, its words remind me of the air show; a Victorian tag of a plane by The Works which I stuck to white card, edged with the Tea Dye Ink and tied with string; a map of the world which is a sticker from Poundworld; a tag that is die cut from map paper by The Works; and a wonderful plane postage stamp from my hubby’s childhood collection. The postage stamp is from Great Britain and was issued in 1969 to commemorate the 50^th anniversary of the first non-stop Atlantic flight by Alcock and Brown in July 1919. Incidentally, Alcock went to school in St. Annes and there is a blue plaque to commemorate this at the school. To finish, I added some brown brads which I opened and stuck to the page using glossy accents leaving the fastener parts showing, giving the appearance of aircraft propellers.

The air show was amazing and my hubby captured some fantastic shots with his super new zoom lens so I thought I’d share the highlights with you. There was a mixture of aircraft, some old and some new and this includes both planes and helicopters.

This is the only remaining flying Lancaster in the UK, (and one of only two flying in the world) so we were very privileged to see it.

It was interesting to see and compare the old Lancaster with the latest Typhoon (Eurofighter) fighter-bomber which was doing all sorts of fabulous manoeuvres including handbrake turns, barrel rolls and flying upside down. This plane is so noisy it makes your tummy rumble (grin!).

This helicopter is an American Huey (Bell HU-1) and this one has been restored. It’s now locally owned and we often see it flying over our house.

There were lots of acrobatics at Blackpool Airshow again and this is the Trig Team, they fly vintage aircraft that were built in the 1940’s.

We also saw the Breitling Wingwalkers who are the world’s only aerobatic formation wingwalking team, this is a close-up of one of the planes. I’m not sure I’d like to stand on top of a plane while it’s flying let alone do synchronised wing-walking (grin!).

Of course you could always loop the loop instead (grin again!).

Then the grand finale was The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, the Red Arrows, who are one of the world’s premier aerobatic display teams. They never fail to please and here they are flying over the Blackpool Tower – amazing!

They are excellent to watch as they fly close together in perfect formation.

And they perform the most breathtaking stunts! Hope you enjoyed visiting the air show with me too; we had such a wonderful time (double grin!).

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

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Blueprint Sketch, Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye, Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker (Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
• Dovecraft Designer Clear Stamp (DCR588)
• Royal & Langnickel Clear Choice Stamps (Traveler MIN-CCS103)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Dorling Kindersley Illustrated Family Encyclopedia
• Kanban Paper Craft Toppers (Timeless Moments PCT1882)
• White card
• Recycled tag from clothing
• Docrafts Papermania Capsule Collection Tags (Elements – Wood PMA174318)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Vintage Die Cut Shapes)
• Poundworld DécoTime (3D Stickers 54742)
• The Works (Victorian Style Embellishments CR0454)
• Kaisercraft Rub-on transfers Up, Up & Away Collection (Black & White RB869)
• Postage Stamp – Great Britain 1969
• Craft Sensations (Brads CR0550/A)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Always bring your own sunshine

Seeing sunflowers in people’s gardens reminded me of a lovely surprise we saw whilst walking along our local beach last October. A single sunflower was actually growing and flowering right on the beach front. To capture this happy memory I created “Always bring your own sunshine”.

As I included one of my favourite quotes I’m pleased to join the “Poetry in Motion” challenge over at Art Journal Journey too.

To start I used a small brayer to layer yellow, blue, parchment and white acrylic paint onto the page; I didn’t let each colour dry completely before applying the next so that the colours would blend a little. I stamped a diamond design by Art Impressions and also a heart/circle design by Sugarloaf Inc. using black Archival Ink. Then I used the brayer again to add white gesso over the top to tone them down and produce a layered effect. Next I added fine splatters of the black acrylic paint using a paintbrush. I stencilled a clock face by Craft Sensations using Black Soot Distress Ink with a blending tool, this depicts turning back the time, as I am remembering seeing the sunflower in October last year. I also stencilled some cogs by Viva Décor using the same Black Soot ink in the right-hand corner around the clock face and on the top left of the page. The sunflowers are rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel, and I used a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uniball gel pen to add extra detail. I then added white acrylic paint splatters over the sunflowers and the rest of the page. I had some dried gesso that had formed on the top of the paint tube so I stuck these on with a UHU Stic to continue the grunge feel. I added a pretty fabric tag and then I stamped the wording around the edge of the clock using black Archival Ink. To finish, I went over the wording with a black Uni Pin pen to make it stand out more. I really like the beach colours and urban street art feel of this piece.

I thought you might like to see the solitary sunflower on our beach, here it is – we couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw it shining at the edge of the sand dunes, I’m not sure how it got there, birds maybe (grin!).

We first discovered this little sunflower when we were volunteering at Beach Care for Love My Beach, you can see my hubby to the left of the picture. We join this group every week to keep our local beach and bathing waters clean. It’s a great way to actively help the environment, care for sea life, meet people and just give something back to the community; we always have so much fun too!

The next day we were walking with one of our friends and went back for another look, she kindly took this picture of us. It reminds me of summer days and you never know maybe we will see another sunflower on our beach and if not, as the saying goes you can “Always bring your own sunshine!”

“Poetry in Motion”

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
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Swedish Blue, Parchment, Cadmium yellow Medium)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm & 0.5mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Art Impressions wood mounted rubber stamp (Diamond Background T-3335)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood mounted rubber stamp (26645)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCV0050)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Viva Décor Universal Stencil (Past Times 900270300)
• Ranger Brayer (Small 2 ¼ inch)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (REC1683)
• The Works (Canvas Floral Tags)
• UHU Stic