Friends

I enjoyed creating this page and would like to dedicate it to three of my best friends who are going through hard times at the moment.

Having only the quote in mind, I sought inspiration for my page from some great blog challenges that I wanted to join. I always find that these challenges really capture my imagination and I have such a fun time incorporating them all into my design, and this page was no exception (grin!).

I started by colouring the background with Faber-Castell Gelatos; I did this by scribbling Bubble Gum, Orange Soda and Lemon gelatos onto my page and then smudging them with my finger. These bright colours make me happy as they remind me of some flowers that were bought for me recently so they are perfect for Yvonne‘s theme of “Colour in my World” over at Art Journal Journey. I kept the gelatos thick for the next technique, where I used a baby wipe through two different stencils to remove some of the gelato colour.

I like the way the bubbles and crosses are twinkling over the page and to enhance this look I added some Wink of Stella clear glitter to each bubble, which was inspired by Monday’s “Shimmer and Shine” challenge over at Simon Says Stamp. Next I stamped the heart and circle design by Sugarloaf Inc. using black Archival Ink, I love this stamp it’s one of my favourites. Then I added more shiny elements in the form of Designer Vinyls by Craftime which have a black high gloss finish and detail intricate designs of friends at play. These images were inspired by the “My Friend” theme over at Try it on Tuesday and works perfectly with the quote. I printed the word “Friends” from my computer, fussy cut the letters out, coloured them black with a Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. They are outlined with Dovecraft black Pearl Effects and more shimmer was added to the centre of each letter using the Wink of Stella glitter brush. Then I used an alphabet stamp set from Docrafts with black Archival Ink, to stamp the rest of the quote, which reads:

“Friends fill your life with joy, your soul with sunshine and your heart with love”.

I added more shimmer and shine using some pretty glitter butterflies from Poundland and also some glossy hearts and flowers from the same Designer Vinyl set. Then I stamped a border by Hampton Art around the edge of the page using the black Archival Ink and added the neon orange border over the top which is from a pack of 3D Border Glitterations by Docrafts Papermania; I really like the glitter effect and their transparency as you can still see the stamped border beneath them. To finish, I added a black Glitterations border on the inner edge of the orange border to frame the page with a sparkly black line too.

Here are the beautiful flowers that coloured my world, they were a gift from a family member who stayed with us recently, I chose similar colours for my page as they make me so happy when I see them – aren’t they stunning!

I love creating my art journal pages using mixed media so I’m also pleased to join the “Anything Mixed Media Goes” challenge over at Mixed Media World.

I also really enjoyed incorporating some of my favourite stamps for the background, border and quote on my page, and taking inspiration from Majo who used quotes on her artwork over at Craft Stamper, I thought it would be fun to join their “Anything Goes” Stamping Challenge!

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

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

• Faber-Castell Gelato (Bubble Gum, Orange Soda, Lemon)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Zig Memory System Wink of Stella Brush (GL Clear 999)
• Dovecraft Pearl Effects (Brights – Black DCBS92PD)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Point Marker (Black 0.3mm)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Anita’s Sugarloaf Inc. wood mounted rubber stamp (26645)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 clear stamp set (Alpha Folk DCE907115)
• Hampton Art Doodlebug Inc. cling mounted rubber stamps (Borders ICO160)
• “Friends” computer printout
• Craftime Designer Vinyls (B/W Boy & Girl PBDV02)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations 3D Borders (Neon Orange PMA818103)
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• UHU Glue Pen

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Love Vintage

I love all things vintage and wanted to try out some new techniques that I’ve discovered from visiting other people’s blogs. For me this page is a lovely reminder of friends because not only is it inspired by their techniques and the blog challenges they are currently hosting, but the vintage style of the page is also inspired by a recent visit with our dear friends to Lytham Hall.

The first technique involves using a heat gun with gesso and came from my good friend Astrid who loves all things vintage too. Then I added lots of splatters and a teabag which reminds me of the lovely Alison as she often incorporates both these techniques into her artwork.

I started the page by adding modelling paste through a stencil from DecoArt and using a Kaisercraft Keys stamp with Grape Jelly Memento Ink. Next I painted white gesso onto the whole page, leaving it thick in some places and dried it with a heat gun so it blistered and created some lovely texture. I added Tea Dye and Hickory Smoke Distress Inks to the background by applying the pad directly to the page and used a wet paintbrush to blend the ink. Then I applied black 3D Pearl Effects paint in diagonal bands across the page with my finger, I also added Peach, Earl Grey, Fig and Caramel Faber-Castell Gelatos, which I scribbled onto the page and smudged with my finger. Next I applied a very thin layer of gesso over the whole page with a paintbrush and while it was still wet I wiped most of it off with a baby wipe and a piece of kitchen towel; this created a translucent grungy look.

Next I added Amber and Midnight Sparkle metallic lustre to emphasise the gesso and modelling paste textures. I coloured the edges of the page using a Desert Spectrum Aqua Marker, smudging the ink with my finger. The numbers are rub-on transfers by Kaisercraft and Letraset which I had leftover, and to add the splatters I used black and white acrylic paint. I then tore a vintage design paper by Craft Sensations into three pieces, edged them with the Desert Aqua marker and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. When the glue had dried, I doodled along the edge with a black Uni Pin marker to add more definition. The black filigree shapes are pieces of decorative tape by Poundland which I cut and stuck onto the page. I also used some domino stickers from the Idea-ology Crowded Attic Collection by Tim Holtz which I edged using a black Faber-Castell marker. I added more splatters of black acrylic paint and also Tea Dye Distress Ink to the paper and stickers so that they looked more in keeping with the grunge background.

I created a collection of items as a focal point which included: a used dried teabag stamped with the Kaisercraft key images using black Archival Ink and stuck down using a UHU Stic; a piece of black decorative tape; a leaf from The Handmade Paper Company which I covered in Emboss ink and then I held the leaf with tweezers covered it with black Papermania embossing powder, shook off any excess powder and used a heat gun to melt the powder until it changed to a glossy finish; a black feather; the word ‘Love’, which I thought tied into the friendship theme, is made of wood from The Works and is stained with Tea Dye Distress Ink and covered with Glossy Accents; a red silk flower and pearl that I added to its centre; and finally a Pearl Charm brad which I covered on the back with masking tape to prevent damage to the next journal page. To finish, I outlined the word “vintage” with a black Uni Pin marker and covered the letters in Glossy Accents so they stood out more.

 As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a pot of tea, scone with clotted cream and jam and a lemon meringue pie with my friends at the T Gang! This was taken when we visited Lytham Hall recently with our friends, don’t you just love the pretty vintage china – Happy T day!

Lytham Hall is beautiful and it’s a place we visit often; you may remember it from my snowdrop post earlier this year. It seems our recent visit may have inspired my colour palette for this page (grin!) and as you can see they have lots of china on display, beautiful glass jar lights and right at the bottom of the counter a little door (which is part of a ‘Secret Door Trail’ popular with children, you’ll find similar doors around the Hall grounds).

I love vintage and I know that my friend Yvonne from Meggy’s Way does too, so I thought I’d join her “Colour in my World” challenge over at Art Journal Journey – I hope you like this vintage colour palette with the vibrant pop of red!

As my page is inspired by friends, I’m also pleased to join the talented design team over at Try it on Tuesday for their “My Friend” challenge.

As I made this page with Astrid in mind and she is part of the design team over at The Mixed Media Challenge, I’m pleased to be able to join their “Vintage” theme too.

With my love of using mixed media to create my art journal pages, I’m also joining in the fun over at Mixed Media World for their “Anything Mixed Media Goes” challenge.

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

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

• Pébéo Modelling Paste
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Grape Jelly)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Dovecraft Essentials 3D Pearl Effects (Brights – Black DCB592PD)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Peach, Earl Grey, Fig, Caramel)
• Craft-T Products Luster Rub-ons (Amber, Midnight Sparkle)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Desert)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Tsukineko Emboss embossing stamp pad (Clear)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Keys CS801)
• DecoArt Amdy Skinner Mixed Media Stencils (Shedded ANDY08)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Vintage Romance 154897)
• Used dried teabag
• Tim Holtz Idea-ology Crowded Attic (Salvage Stickers #TH92898)
• Poundland Decorative Border Tape (Black)
• The Handmade Paper Company (Nature’s Touch of Art)
• The Works The Craft Place (Wooden Decorations)
• The Works (Craft Flowers)
• Trimcraft (Pearl Charms LCTOP003)
• Black feather
• Pearl
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic & Glue Pen

Coffee and Cake

As some of you may know from my last post, we recently went to the Blackpool Central Library and I was so inspired by the wonderful architecture and the fabulous interior that I have a few pages that I want to create.

You can find my first page here, which was inspired by one of the beautiful windows. The library also has a lovely café area for the community to use, which is a sanctuary for people from all walks of life that are looking for somewhere to make friends and find purpose. So my second page is inspired by a couple of fun romantic sayings that adorned the walls in this area.

As the library dates back to 1911 and is built in the Edwardian Baroque style, I wanted to create a vintage and ornate page to showcase the sayings from the signage we saw. I also choose the green and pink colour scheme to represent the masculine and feminine colours of the signage too. So I started by adding Picked Raspberry and Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink to the page using a blending tool and then I covered the page with a thin layer of white gesso to tone down the colours. I stencilled letters and numbers from a Past Times stencil by Viva Decor using Black Soot Distress Ink and a blending tool. Then I used some of the same stamps that I used on my first page, these being a Vintage-Cherish butterfly image and also a doily stamp, both by Kaisercraft, which I stamped onto the page using black Versafine Ink. Next I ripped pieces of two different decoupage papers from Poundworld that matched the Distress Ink colours and stuck them to the page using a UHU Stic. Before I stuck down the large pieces of decoupage paper I painted white gesso underneath so that there was a clean finish with no stamps showing through in readiness for the sayings. Once the glue had dried I doodled along the edges of the papers using a black Derwent Graphix marker. Next I stamped the two sayings, which were on the library wall, onto the decoupage paper using an alphabet stamp set by Hampton Art and black Versafine Ink. I added a coffee bean and cupcake alongside the sayings, as well as the coffee pots and cake stands which are all outline stickers, then I outlined them with a black Uni Pin marker. I used Glitterations border stickers to add the black lines and I also added some vintage flower 3D stickers. I fussy cut the heart and cupid image from a card making kit, edged it with a black Sharpie marker and stuck it to the page using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I painted glitter glue onto the 3D flowers and cupid wings to add some extra sparkle.

With the bright colours that I chose for my page, I’m pleased to be able to join the “Colour in my World” theme hosted by Yvonne from Meggy’s Way over at Art Journal Journey.

These are the two sayings that inspired my page and as T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

The library café has a pretty seating area and there are several signs on the walls to choose from, I’d be interested to know which saying/s you like the most? They are:

“You’re the cream in my coffee”
“You’re the icing on the cake”
“Have you’re cake and eat it”
“Tea for two…and…two for tea”
“Check for dormice”
“I never laugh until I’ve had my coffee”

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
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry, Crushed Pistachio, Black Soot)
• Tsukineko Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Sharpie Fine Point Permanent Marker (Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Vintage-Cherish CS831, Doily CS297)
• Hampton Art Mini Wood Peg Rubber Stamps (Alphabet Set #1037)
• Viva Décor Universal Stencil (Past Times 900270300)
• Poundworld (Patch Paper DS9454)
• Docrafts Papermania Decoupage Card Kit (Victorian Valentine PMA169102)
• Free & Easy Stickers (3D Stickers 1150ENF)
• Anita’s Outline Stickers (Alice in Wonderland ANT810116)
• Docrafts Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• The Range (3D Glitter Glue Pen GLT4321000)
• UHU Stic
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Freedom

Last week we went to the Blackpool Central Library which dates back to 1911 and was built in the Edwardian Baroque style. I was so inspired by the wonderful architecture and the fabulous interior that I have a few pages that I want to create. This is my first page and is inspired by one of the stunning stained glass window designs that can be found in the library.

Inspired by the window colours and design, I added Gold, Kingfisher and Aquamarine Spectrum Aqua Markers to the page by applying them onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then pressing the block onto the page. I also dripped the ink from the acrylic block onto the page too. I love the intensity of the colours and how they have layered and merged together. Next I added splatters of black acrylic paint using a paintbrush. Then using black Versafine Ink and an alphabet stamp set by Papermania I stamped the word “Freedom”, which is detailed on the window and is stamped in the same shape as the window design. I applied black Papermania embossing powder over the top of the ink and then shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper tapping the page against the table to remove any stray powder; I didn’t take too much care in removing the embossing powder as it adds to the grunge look. 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 letters, 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 like the way the letters stand out from the background as it looks a bit like the lead of the stained glass. To replicate some of the detail found at the top of the window, I used the same alphabet stamp set to add random black embossed letters to the top and bottom edges of the page using the same technique.  I also secondary stamped some of these letters using the black Versafine ink and then stamped them again using the Spectrum Aqua markers to create a layered look. As a butterfly was part of the window design, I stamped a Vintage-Cherish butterfly image and also a doily stamp, both by Kaisercraft, using the black Versafine Ink. Then I used Glitterations outline stickers to add the black lines and blue gems to add some sparkle which reminds me of the light shining through the glass. For the butterfly, I fussy cut the image from a doodle book, changing the shape slightly. Then I coloured in the zentangle patterns using yellow, light blue, black and white Uni Posca paint pens and stuck it to the page using double-sided tape in the centre and double-sided foam tape to raise the wings and create a 3D effect.

The beautiful colours on my page link to Yvonne from Meggy’s Way‘s theme of “Colour in my World” over at Art Journal Journey.

And the vintage look links to the “Vintage” theme over at The Mixed Media Challenge.

My page also matches the combination of colourful yellow and peacock feather images from the moodboard over at Mixed Media World so I’m joining in their “Anything Mixed Media Goes with Moodboard ” challenge.

As I created this page using lots of stamp images, I’m also linking to the “Stamp It” theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

The Central Library in Blackpool is quite an imposing building being constructed of Accrington red brick with stone dressings and beautiful columns on each side of the doorway. You can see the words “Central Public Library” carved above the doorway and at the very top there is an octagonal leaded dome.

The interior was renovated in 2011 marking the centenary of the building and this included installing some beautiful stained glass windows. This is window that inspired the ink splatters, “freedom”, letters and butterflies on my page design.

It was such a beautiful place that provided me with so much inspiration that I plan to create a few more journal pages which I’ll be sharing with you along with some photos of the interior next week so watch this space.

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:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Gold, Kinngfisher, Aquamarine)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tsukineko Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Vintage-Cherish CS831, Doily CS297)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z Clear Stamps (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• North Parade Publishing Ltd (Suduko & Doodles Animal Kingdom)
• Docrafts Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Home Bargains (Gem Jewels 63283)
• X-Press It double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Always Kiss Me Goodnight

I saw a wall sticker whilst I was out shopping the other day and the romantic in me thought it would be perfect for the “Poetry in Motion” theme over at Art Journal Journey, so it inspired my page and it says:

“Always Kiss Me Goodnight”

To create my grungy background, I covered some of the page with a thin layer of watered down Tea Dye Distress Ink; I did this by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block and spritzing generously with water and then using a paintbrush to apply it to the page.  Then I added some Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint using a craft knife so that you could still see the patches of paint. Once dried, I added some texture by stamping a Hessian stamp by Kaisercraft using a Slate Spectrum Aqua marker and then to add some contrast I stamped a Script stamp, again by Kaisercraft, using Black Soot Distress Ink. The silver lip, words, kisses and hugs images are metallic rub-on transfers by Royal & Langnickel. I cut the wall sticker to separate the words and once they were stuck in place, I outlined them with a ruler using a black Uni Pin marker and a white Uniball gel pen so they stood out more. The flower is fussy cut from some leftover wallpaper that we have in our bedroom, stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and outlined with a silver metallic pen and a white Uniball gel pen. I thought the flower looked a bit like applique so I added some faux stitching to the page using a stamp and Burgandy Spectrum Aqua Marker. I used a paper punch to create the hearts from the same wallpaper and stuck them in place with matte gel medium. To finish, I added shadows with the Slate Spectrum Aqua marker to the images and outlined them all with a black Uni Pin marker.

With my applique design and faux stitching, I’m also pleased to be able to join the “Stitch it” theme over at Try it on Tuesday.

You may have caught a glimpse of the wallpaper in a previous post. My hubby choose the red accent colour for our bedroom, it’s one of his favourite colours and I love it too (grin!).

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

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Black Soot)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Slate, Burgandy)
• Script Metallic Pen (Silver)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Hessian CS153, Script CS752)
• Wallpaper – leftover
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch Accent (Heart Sider 830E)
• Home Bargains (Bedroom Wall Sticker 47759)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers Metallic Foils (Kisses & Hugs Silver #ROY-790SV Rub-on)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Bring Me Sunshine

Morecambe & Wise are a well-known comedy duo here in the UK and I have fond memories of watching their famous TV shows. So you can imagine my delight when we heard their songs outside the Winter Gardens whilst we were shopping in town. On investigating, the music led us to a wonderful bronze statue of them both that has been unveiled in the foyer. This inspired me to create a journal page of them that includes the title of their signature song “Bring Me Sunshine”.

Having quoted this song on my page, I’m linking to the “Poetry in Motion” theme over at Art Journal Journey. Hope you’ll join in the fun too by creating a page that is inspired by a poem, saying or quote (maybe from your favourite song).

I started by stamping a star burst stamp onto the middle of the page using grey Memento Ink and extending the starburst sun pattern using a ruler and pencil. Then I painted alternating sections with a yellow and then a gold Spectrum Aqua marker which I scribbled onto an acrylic block and diluted with water using a paintbrush. Next I stamped “Bring Me Sunshine” using a Papermania Leftovers Alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink. I added two washi tapes to the top and bottom of the page, the film and music note designs depict their television shows and songs. The Morecambe & Wise photo is cut from a magazine and shows them in their younger days when they appeared at the Winter Gardens itself. Next I added some metal music notes attaching them to the page with silver brads. I finished the page with smiley star stickers which reminded me of their comedy and how they make me smile.

This is the Morecambe & Wise statue that greets you when you enter the Winter Gardens and with the songs they are well-known for playing in the air it fills you with a lovely sense of nostalgia. Blackpool is considered their “spiritual home” as they performed six summer seasons and over a 1,000 shows here. This statue marks the 75th anniversary of their debut performance as a double act, which was at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre in 1941.

Their 43-year partnership started in variety theatres where they honed their performance before making their famous TV shows on the BBC and ITV. Their Christmas specials were one of the highlights of the festive season and in 1977 they attracted over 27 million viewers. Guest stars included The Beatles, André Previn, Shirley Bassey and of course Des O’Connor (grin!).

Morecambe & Wise always made me laugh as a young girl growing up and still do today as there are always reruns of their shows at Christmas time. Their songs and dance numbers are fantastic and always make me smile, here’s a rendition of “Bring me Sunshine” from one of their shows – so funny!

There have also been some other happy reminders of Morecambe & Wise of late (grin!). This time of year we often cycle up the prom on our tandem, here I am on the Comedy Carpet in Blackpool and I’m standing by their section of the carpet with the lyrics of this song in front of me! If you are interested, here are some fun facts about the song:

• “Bring Me Sunshine” is a song written in 1966 by the composer Arthur Kent, with lyrics by Sylvia Dee and it was first performed by American artists.
• In the UK, the song is synonymous with Morecambe & Wise after it was adopted as their signature tune in their second series for the BBC in 1969. Here’s the lyrics of the song in full.
• The song was played over the duo’s closing credits and they only ever sang the first verse, the second one being purely instrumental with Eric and Ernie performing a “skip dance” to exit the stage.

We have also been to quite a few local beer festivals lately and when I saw this beer I just had to have a pint of it. It’s called “Morecambe’s Sunshine” and is brewed by Cross Bay Brewery which is located in Morecambe; the beer is light in colour, 4% abv ( alcohol by volume) and has a lovely smooth malt taste – yum! I’m saying a big cheers to the T Gang over at T stands for Tuesday and wishing you all a Happy Sunshiny T Day!

The pump clip shows the bronze statue of Eric Morecambe in his famous “skip dance” pose. This statue is on my list of places to visit and is located on the seafront at Morecambe, it’s actually designed by the same person who made the bronze sculpture of them both (above).

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:

• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Yellow, Gold)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Papermania Alphamania A-Z Clear Stamps (Leftovers Alphabet PMA9071102)
• Blackpool Heritage magazine
• The Works (3 Washi Tapes)
• The Works (Musical Note Charms)
• Small silver brads
• UPIKIT Stickers (2166005)
• UHU Stic

My favourite colour combination – Tag

Today I have something a little different to show you. I have created a tag to display in my craft room as a reminder to “Be Brave”, “Create” and “Enjoy” when I’m art journaling.

I’d like to thank Chrissie who inspired me to create this tag, because over at Tag Tuesday if you join in the fun you can enter a draw to win a fabulous owl that she has knitted (grin!). Well I really couldn’t pass up that opportunity as it is so adorable!

The current theme over at Tag Tuesday is “My Favourite Colour Combination”, so of course I choose two shades of blue as it’s my favourite colour along with black, white and some caramel accents to complement and bring out the blue tones.

I started by cutting a tag shape from some Design Pad paper by American Crafts, then I embossed white doily shapes and black butterflies onto the tag. I did this by stamping a Doily by Kaisercraft using Papermania embossing ink and applying white Stampendous embossing powder over the top. Then I shook the excess powder onto a piece of scrap paper and tapped the tag against the table to make sure I had removed any stray powder. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a craft heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I swept the gun over the images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted into a glossy finish becoming smooth and dimensional. I repeated the same process for the butterflies using a stamp designed by Graphic 45 Hampton Art using black Versafine Ink and black Papermania embossing powder. Next I scribbled Boysenberry, Snow Cone and Caramel Faber-Castell Gelatos onto the tag and smudged the colour using my finger which I had dipped in water. Then I wiped the embossed images with kitchen paper to remove any excess gelato. I added a filigree leaf stamp by Crafter’s Companion using Danube Blue Memento Ink, a script stamp by Kaisercraft and a postage mark stamp by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink. To finish the background, I splattered black acrylic paint over the tag using a paintbrush.

The black flowers are felt fabric which I cut to fit and then glued onto the tag using a UHU glue pen. To make the tag more sturdy I cut out another tag shape from thick paper, slightly larger this time to create a border. I stained the edges of this paper with black Versafine Ink using a blending tool, edged both tags with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then I stuck the two tags together using a UHU Stic. I punched a hole in the top of the tag and outlined it with the black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker and I also added strips of black Glitterations stickers across the edge of where the two tags joined and also along the border to add more detail.

I added silver glitter details to the butterfly wings using Ranger Stickles and also some glittery hearts and blue round gems using Glossy Accents. The words are stamped onto a piece of design paper which I mounted on the leftover border paper, that I had stained with black ink, using a UHU Stic and then they are stuck to the tag using double-sided foam tape. I tied white organza, blue satin and black velvet ribbons through the tag which finished the tag beautifully.

As my tag has plenty of glitter and shine I’m also pleased to join the “Let it Shine” theme over at Try it on Tuesday. My good friend Gill likes elegance and grunge as much as me and I missed out on the tag fun when she was a guest designer over at Try it on Tuesday a couple of weeks ago, because, unfortunately, I just didn’t have the time. However this week I found that some rainy weather allowed me more time in my craft room so I got to work. I hope you like the result as much as me!

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:

• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Boysenberry, Snow Cone, Caramel)
• Dovecraft (Premium Embossing Ink DCBS62)
• Tsukineko Versafine Ink (Onyx Black)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Danube Blue)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Papermania Embossing Powder (Black PMA4021006)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Doily CS297, Script CS752)
• Hampton Art Graphic 45 cling mounted rubber stamps (Tropical Travelogue ICO134)
• Hampton Art 7 Gypsies Vintage cling mounted rubber stamps (Birdsong ICO151)
• Crafter’s Companion Signature Collection by Sara Davies stamp set (Just for You – Butterfly Lullaby S-BL-ST-JUS)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• American Crafts Paper Pad (DIY Shop 366665)
• The Works Design Pad (Classic Vintage CRO707/TW7, Vintage Experience CRO239/TW6)
• Poundland (Felt Pads Black 117107)
• Docrafts Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Blue Round Gems 566538101)
• Ribbon (White Organza, Blue Sation, Black Velvet)
• Ranger Stickles (Silver)
• UHU Stic and Glue Pen
• The Range double-sided foam tape