It’s time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is Spring.
My Spring page is full of cherry blossom – I hope you like it!
I started by covering the page with water and then adding Red Madder Kuretake watercolour, so it pooled on the page, and then I left it to dry. Next I stamped the blossoms using a Stampendous stamp and Picked Raspberry Distress Archival Ink. The Cherry Blossom image was recycled from an old calendar and contains a Buddha quote which reads “Learn to let go. That’s the key to happiness”.
For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies.
Cherry blossom always reminds me of my dear friend who lives in Maine, America. With all the Maine related T Day posts last week, you had me thinking of my dearest friend, so here’s a blast from the past from when she visited us here in the UK, we just couldn’t resist having fun (smile!).
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m pleased to join the T Gang and share a yummy Belgian Cherry Wheatbeer that we enjoyed recently – cheers and Happy T Day!
I hope that you are staying safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
To create this page, I started by covering the page with some recycled white tissue paper using Liquitex matte gel medium, and I scrunched the tissue paper as I applied it to the page to add some texture (because I wanted to emphasis it using a heat embossing technique). Next I coloured the whole page using Aqua Green and Cerulean Blue Liquitex acrylic paints and when the paint was dry, I heat embossed some Gold Ranger Embossing powder over the top, to emphasise the tissue paper texture, creating my wintery night sky. The gold moon was the seal from the top of a new pot of Liquitex matte gel medium which I recycled. To finish, I added the gold stars, houses and wording which were all outline stickers; it reads “Here’s wishing you a wonderful New Year”.
How about welcoming in the New Year with a cocktail of pineapple gin and cream soda; the pineapple gin was homemade by soaking pineapple fruit pieces in gin with some sugar for 4 weeks – so yummy!
We could also have these Piña Colada cocktails that we had one evening (well actually, more like every evening … ha, ha) at our hotel when we were on holiday in Spain (2023) and they were so delicious – cheers!
As were having pineapple gin and Piña Coladas, I’m happy to say hello and welcome to Bleubeard & Elizabeth and all the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Tuesday (smile!).
All the best for 2024, wishing you peace, good health and happiness! 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 able to join the following challenges today:
Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Wendy K from Wendy’s Craft Journal; she has chosen Above Us Only Sky as her theme so I’m joining with my starry New Year sky.
Robins are my favourite bird, and are synonymous with winter which is just around the corner. So when my hubby kindly bought me a gift with robins and this wonderful quote, I knew I had to use both on my page – I hope you like it!
I started by creating a masterboard from mixed media paper by first stamping the robin image using black Archival Ink and black Ranger Embossing powder. Next, I stamped the pretty snowflakes using the Simon Says Stamp Frozen Fractals stamp set and Versamark Watermark ink which I covered with white Stampendous embossing powder. For each of the embossing powders, I shook and tapped any excess powder off the page and then I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder until it became smooth and dimensional with a glossy finish. I positioned a circular template onto the page to depict the sun and then I painted the different elements using my Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolour paint set: for the sky background, I flooded the page with water first and then applied Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine and Turquoise Blue colours using my paintbrush, gradually shading and blending the paints; for the robin image, I used Red, Lemon Yellow, Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Black, Sap Green Light, Sap Green, Hooker’s Green and Viridian paints; and for the sun I removed the sun template and applied some watered-down Lemon Yellow paint. Then I ripped the masterboard into pieces and arranged them onto my chipboard page using a glue stick. To finish, I added the wording which was stamped onto white cardstock using black Archival Ink.
Here’s the pretty plaque that my hubby gifted me, it take pride of place on my dresser so I see it every day (smile!).
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
Art Journal Journey which I’m pleased to be hosting this month and the challenge theme that I’ve chosen is Nature, with my wintery robin page.
Today I’m sharing a page that I created with two beautiful stamps, one of the Winter Village scene and the other of Santa’s sleigh, that I won over at Stamped Smiles. I was so thrilled to win and receive this special gift, especially as Vicki kindly sent them to me all the way from America – thank you so much!
I started by using an Airbrush Pen Set to spray purple, green, magenta and black felt tip pens onto a piece of mixed media paper. When fully dry, I ripped the mixed media paper into pieces and collaged the darker pieces onto the top of a chipboard page using a glue stick; creating the night sky. I coloured the white torn edges of the paper using the Airbrush Pen Set and then covered them with some Black Mirage Cosmic Shimmer Brilliant Sparkle Embossing Powder. I collaged the lighter coloured paper pieces to create the foreground stamping the houses and trees over the top using the Winter Village stamp, VersaMark Watermark ink pad and some Detailed White Stampendous embossing powder.
I stamped Santa’s sleigh using the VersaMark Ink Pad and the white Stampendous embossing powder. To finish, I added a small dot of Red Ranger Stickles to Rudolph the reindeer which gave him a very shiny nose (smile!).
Here are the stamps that Vicki kindly sent me along with a very pretty card; the Winter Village stamp is gorgeous and goes so beautifully with the surprise Santa’s sleigh stamp – thanks so much! They were both such fun to use and I’m sure I’ll be using them again soon.
Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Emboss It; this can be wet or dry embossing.
I had fun creating this autumnal page which features both wet and dry embossing techniques.
I started by covering the page with Driftwood DecoArt acrylic paint and when dry, I stamped a woodgrain stamp from BoBunny using some Moonlight White Brilliance Ink over the top. Next I used a Typewriter embossing folder by Tim Holtz and a leaf and swirls embossing folder to emboss some autumnal coloured masterboard that I had left over from a previous project; the masterboard was coloured by smooshing Rusty Hinge, Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks. I then dragged a Ground Espresso Distress Ink pad over the top of the embossed paper to highlight the embossed patterns. Next I fussy cut the letters and some of the leaves and swirls from one of the embossed papers, and I edged the rectangle of embossed paper using some Vintage Ivory embossing enamel by Stampendous. Then I arranged everything onto the page with two chipboard birds which were also covered using the same embossing enamel.
As we’re celebrating autumn and T Stands for Tuesday, here’s my green tea with a piece of homemade pumpkin roll filled with cream cheese frosting – 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:
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 the birds on my page.
MIUCB#61 – Anything Goes + Optional Smooshing over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the embossing techniques and smooshed masterboard embossed pieces that I used to create this page.
Paperbabe Stamps and their #176 – Anything Goes challenge with my autumnal page.
It’s time for our new challenge over at Country View Challenges which is being hosted by the lovely Craftyfield who has chosen Travel as our challenge theme this month.
For this challenge, I’m travelling in steampunk style with Sir Vagabond in Japan using Stamperia papers for this page; I love the way it turned out especially the 3-D sails which were fun to create (smile!).
Choosing one of the design pages from the “Sir Vagabond in Japan” 6×6″ paper pad, I used a craft knife to cut three edges of each of the sails so I could fold them to create the 3-D effect. As you can see, before I stuck the design page onto the chipboard page, I layered some of more of the sail designed paper onto the background; it was cut from the same Stamperia paper pad. I also added more detail to the ship by applying some Ranger Glossy Accents to the stained glass, metalwork and cogs.
Next I cut out some circles from the “Sir Vagabond in Japan” pad and also a “Sir Vagabond in Japan Backgrounds Selection” pad. They were layered together with some chipboard cogs which I had covered in Copper embossing powder. The travel proverbs read “To travel is to live”, “Wherever you go there you are” and “It is better to travel well than to arrive”.
For more inspiration please see the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges. I hope you’ll join us, it would be lovely to see you there and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the Country View Crafts shop! Before you enter, please read the rules!
Here are the gorgeous Stamperia paper pads that I used for my design; I’ve had them a while but they are so beautiful that I just couldn’t bring myself to use them – do you have that trouble too? (smile!).
Wishing you a happy July and 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.
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:
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.
It’s a new month so we are launching our September challenge today over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, this is a monthly challenge and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.
I created a mixed media page using lots of leftovers from previous art journal pages; I hope you like it!
I started by covering the background of the page with the letters using one of stencils from a #16 mini stencil set by Tim Holtz and some leftover Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato which was applied with a baby wipe.
Next I edged 4 Poster Cards from Tim Holtz, like I did all the paper elements on this page, using a black Faber-Castell marker and arranged them onto the page using double-sided tape. Then I added lots of leftover bits and pieces; this included a piece of mixed media paper which had been coloured using green Distress Inks, some flowers and foliage that had been die cut using Tim Holtz Thinlits and coloured using Distress Inks, some ribbon, some torn paper, some tissue paper and note paper that had been stamped using Finnabair stamps and black Archival Ink, a ruler from a Kaisercraft Journal Card and some die cut pieces of trellis that had been covered with Aged Silver Stampendous Embossing Enamel.
They were arranged onto the page using a glue stick or double-sided tape, and I layered together a doily, a recycled butterfly gift tag and some leftover die cut letters and wording to read “Be forever happy”. I added some sparkly gems to the centre of the yellow flowers and a green wooden bird and then to finish, I coloured the “Aug” and “Sept” wording on the Poster Card using Tri-Blend Spectrum Noir markers.
As you can see I used lots of different mediums to create this page but all you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge.
For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. I hope you are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!
This page was inspired by our walks at Lytham Hall that we enjoyed over the summer (grin!).
There are lots of woodland walks so we were able to stay cool in the shade and out of the summer heat. I’m now looking forward to seeing the leaves change to their colours over the coming months with the autumn on its way.
Our walks also take us by these flower borders in the walled gardens which always 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.
For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.
Challenges
As well as Creative Artiste, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today:
Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #151 – Anything Goes with my nature art journal page.
De-stress with distressing over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with my distressed grungy stencilled background, Distress Inks, and also the torn papers, trellis and ribbon.
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Glimmer and Sparkle challenge with the glimmer and sparkle of the yellow flowers with their glittery gem centres.
Mixed Media Lovers and their Challenge #5 Mixed Media Lovers as I used lots of mixed media to create this nature page; this is a new challenge blog so why not join in the fun too!
Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Keep it Simple.
We are looking for creations that are easy to make and/or simple in design – I hope you’re inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!
My page was both simple in its design and easy to make (as you can see by my short tutorial today – grin!). I started by stamping the doily using a Kaisercraft stamp, Versamark Watermark stamp pad and white Stampendous embossing powder which I heated with a heat gun. Then I applied some Watermelon, Guava and Coconut Faber-Castell gelatos by scribbling them onto the page and then smudging the colour with my finger and a little water. Next I added the fairy and flower images which were Washi tape stickers and also the “There are so many beautiful reasons to be happy” wording which was a Kaisercraft sticker. To finish, I added some gemstone embellishments for more sparkle.
For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the wonderful Keep it Simple creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!).
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m also keeping it simple with my glass of ice cold water – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!
Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
For the sake of brevity I’m no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.
Challenges
As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today:
Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Neet from Hickydorums; she has chosen Type as her theme so I’m joining with the typed quote on my page.
Shimmering Summer Fun Challenge over at The Funky Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the shimmer and sparkle from the embossing powder and gemstones on my shabby chic fairy page.
The Birthday Celebration! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge who are marking their 11th Birthday and also have “so many beautiful reasons to be happy” too – thanks for all the challenge fun over the years and wishing you all a very Happy Birthday!
Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #149 – Anything Goes with my happy fairy art journal page.
I’m so pleased to be able to join Art Journal Journey one last time this month, where the theme is Inspired By in honour of Eileen from The Artful Crafter’s Blog who picked the theme and was supposed to be host. It’s heart breaking that she passed away last month shortly after her heart surgery; she is greatly missed and I’d like to say a big thank you to the AJJ team for allowing us to remember her throughout the month by joining this challenge.
I thought that it was fitting that my page was inspired by Eileen and her kindness, she was truly a lovely person!
Eileen and myself always enjoyed discussing products and techniques together, and she loved the Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint that I used on my pages so much so that she bought some for herself, so in her memory I used this paint to cover the background on my page. I also applied some white gesso to the background and when dry, I added some honeycomb patterns using a stencil from Creative Expressions and Antique Linen Distress Ink. Then I stamped the page using a Butterfly Post stamp from Stampendous and some Vintage Photo Distress Archival Ink. The painted paper pieces and the hydrangea image were kindly gifted to me by Eileen as part of some happy T Day mail that she sent to me. The butterflies and wording were stickers from Kaisercraft and finished the page; the wording reads “The language of friendship is not words but meanings” by Henry David Thoreau, “memories” and “blessed”.
Here are the goodies, including the ones I used on this page, that Eileen kindly sent to me. She was such an inspiration and I miss her support, encouragement, camaraderie and friendship very much!
Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of the materials that were used to create this art journal page:
Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
Pébéo White Gesso
Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Honeycomb)
Let's Art Journal 