Summer Fun

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Challenges

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cherry Beer

I had a lovely surprise as my hubby kindly bought me a bottle of cherry beer; this particular one comes with a paper wrap which he thought would be perfect to use on a journal page – how cool is that!

I really enjoyed using the paper wrap from the beer (grin!). I started by creating lots of tags and panels out of the paper wrap using a square die cut set and a Tim Holtz Framelit set; I mounted them onto some recycled card using a glue stick and then edged them using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker.

The background was created using the leftover pieces of the paper wrap which I collaged with some brown paper recycled from the parcel of goodies that CJ kindly sent to me. I lined the edges of the collaged papers using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and then added some Pébéo white gesso using my finger. When dry, I gave it worn grungy look using some Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Then I arranged the tags and panels onto the background using either double-sided tape or double-sided foam tape. To finish, I added three large gold brads through the holes in the tags.

This beer is Bacchus Kriekenbier which is a Belgian fruit beer based on “Bacchus Oud Vlaams Bruin” (Old Flemish Brown) with the addition of “krieks” (Morello cherries). 

Flemish Old Brown is a dark brown beer flavoured with 15 % cherries which is matured in oak casks. It has a pleasant sour cherry taste  – so delicious!

As T Stands for Tuesday, my cherry beer is perfect to share with the T Gang too – Happy T Day everyone!

I hope that you’re all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

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 Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with my cherry beer page.

I’m joining the It’s A Wrap challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the beer paper wrap that I used to create this page.

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

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Tag You’re It challenge this month over at A Vintage Journey too, 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 Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• The Works (Die Cutting Set – Squares)
• Paper wrap from Bacchus Cherry Beer
• Recycled card
• Pritt Stick
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Recycled brown paper – thanks CJ!
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape and foam tape
• Wilkos (Brads – Gold)

Just Perfect

I recently won one of the challenges over at Paperbabe Stamps so I was very excited to use the new stamp set that I chose as my prize – thanks so much!

The Paperbabes Stamp Set was “just perfect” for decorating the recycled tags on my page which I found when I was tidying my craft room; the tags were from clothing as well as towels and pottery.

I started by adding lots of the tags to the page using a glue stick and then covered them with several layers of Pébéo white gesso, letting each layer of gesso dry before adding the next.

Then I edged the tags with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker, smudging the ink with my finger. I added some washi tape to some of the tags and splattered the page then coloured the tags using Cerulean Blue Winsor & Newton watercolour paint. When the paint was dry I edged the tags and washi tape using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Using black Archival Ink, I stamped the tags using a Spritz & Speckles stamp set, also from Paperbabe Stamps and then using a Gothic Book stamp from Finnabair. I stamped the tags using a Floral Icons stamp from Docrafts and Teal Zeal Memento Ink and then I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint. To finish, I added three copper butterflies and also a Kaisercraft sticker which reads “Just Perfect”.   

The washi tape and watercolours that I used for this page were part of the fabulous goodies that I received from CJ over at CJ & Ink – thanks very much!

Here’s the Spritz & Speckles stamp set that I won from Paperbabe Stamps too, I’m sure I’ll use this one a lot as it adds such lovely textures and grungy effects – thanks so much!

Hoping that you all stay safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with all the tags on my page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Grunge It Up challenge with my grungy art journal page.

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

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Tag You’re It challenge this month over at A Vintage Journey too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Recycled tags from clothing, towels and pottery
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199)
• Winsor & Newton Watercolour Paint Set (Cerulean Blue)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Spritz & Speckles)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials A5 Clear Stamp Set (Floral Icons DCE907123)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Team Zeal)
• The Range (Craft Butterflies Stickers CRO420)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Pen & Ink SS360)

Love to Create

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

I had so much fun splashing and splattering inks to create this page which compliments some beautiful postage stamps and paper that I received from CJ as a result of winning her prize draw, thank you so much for all the fabulous goodies – it’s very kind and much appreciated (grin!).

I started making the splashes and splatters of ink using Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks and Rose Bud and Bahama Blue Memento Inks. I did this by applying the ink pad to an acrylic block, holding the block over the page and then spritzing the ink with water until it dripped from the block, splashing and splattering onto the page; I applied the Distress Inks first and when dry I added the Memento Inks drying each of the inks using a heat gun before adding the next one. The wording was cut from some black paper and some pretty aqua green paper that CJ kindly sent to me, using Shadow Script Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; you may be aware that this particular Thinlet set doesn’t contain the word “to” so I cut it out from the word “story”.  

As part of my design I choose to use some beautiful birds and flowers postage stamps from CJ. I made some tags using recycled clothes packaging which I coloured using the two Memento Inks and some leftover off-cuts of the pretty aqua green paper.

The tags were edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and splattered with black DecoArt acrylic paint. After mounting the postage stamps onto some white card to give them more stability, I stuck them onto the tags using double-sided tape and then used the same tape to stick the tags in place which finished the page.

For more inspiration, my fellow Design Teamies have also been having fun with our Splash and Splatter challenge, so please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see their wonderful creations!

As you may remember, CJ kindly had a prize draw to share some of her goodies with us and kindly agreed to send some goodies to someone outside the US too. I was so thrilled to have won and received this gift box, full of amazing goodies! Even the lovely tissue paper is something I’ll be using for my pages too (grin!).

Here’s what the box contained as you can see it was jam packed – thank you so very much!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my water flask that I take with me whilst out walking, this was a recent visit to Lytham Hall as you can see the flower beds are full of gorgeous colour (grin!). Wishing you a very Happy T Day!

I hope that you are all staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with the tags that I created for this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their  Midsummer Blues challenge with the blue splashes of ink and pretty blue bird on my page.

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

• Tim Holtz idea-ology Distress Ink (Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Cracked Pistachio)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Rose Bud, Bahama Blue)
• Ranger Mini Spritzer
• Gift from CJ – thank you so much!
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Shadow Script #1 662684)
• Leon X-Large Coloured Paper Pad (Black)
• Recycled packaging from socks
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Black 199)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• White card stock
• Pritt Stick
• Stix2 double-sided tape

Let nature be your calming breath

This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Tag You’re It, which is being hosted by the lovely Amanda. Here’s what it’s all about:

“We would love to see what you create with, or on, hang tags. Your hang tags can be created from any material or be any size. We would just love to see that iconic hang shape front and centre in your design.  Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.

Creating tags for an art journal page is always fun, so, inspired by nature I designed these layered tags – I love the way they turned out (grin!).

For the main hang tag on my art journal page design, I cut out the largest tag from Kraft card stock from the Tag Collection Framelit set by Tim Holtz. Like all the tags, I coloured the inside panel of the tag using a white Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also die cut the tag-hole reinforcement using the same Framelit set from butterfly/script design paper.

To embellish this tag I cut three panels from the same Kraft card stock and then layered papers over the top of them using a glue stick. The papers included: some embossed gold napkin; some dressmaking tissue paper which I had stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink; and some torn pieces of the butterfly/script design paper. I layered some Field Notes ephemera from Tim Holtz over the top and added some tiny leaves; the leaves were cut using some Funky Florals Thinlets by Tim Holtz from some recycled notepaper which I had coloured with Mowed lawn, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Ink. On the top and bottom panels I added the white wording “Live simple” and “Love this life” which are rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz. The three panels were stuck to the hang tag using double-sided tape.

I followed the same process to create the other tags layering them together with the ephemera and leaves – I love the pretty dragonfly! The letters creating the “Let nature be your calming breath” wording were cut from the same green paper that I used for the leaves using an Alphanumeric Labels Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and once glued in place they were outlined using a white gel pen and a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more.

I mounted all the tags on my page which was covered with the same embossed gold napkin, dressmaking tissue paper (stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink) and butterfly/script design paper that I had used on the tags. Then to finish, I splattered the whole page with some Pébéo white gesso.

I hope you are inspired to join in the Tag You’re It challenge over at A Vintage Journey too, for more inspiration you’ll find some amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!

As you may know, my favourite colour is blue and this plant in particular from my garden reminded me of my page, it’s a Salvia nemorosa called “Blue Marvel” and the bees and insects love it!

My page also reminds me of a frequent visitor to our garden, a small blue butterfly called Common Blue which has proved difficult to photograph. So I was pleased when my dear friend who we walk with, shared this photo of a Large Blue which it is related to and this is one of the rarest blue butterflies in the UK.

I hope that you’re all keeping safe and well!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with the nature inspired tags on this page.

I’m also pleased to join the Use Your Favourite Tool challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge as I wouldn’t be without my Tim Holtz Thinlets and Big Shot machine that I used to created my page.

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

• Kraft card stock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (White 101, Cold Grey IV 233)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles)
• Napkin
• Style Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Butterfly/Script Design Paper – local craft shop
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #2 662701, Alphanumeric Label 664177)
• Recycled Notebook Paper
• Stix2 double sided-tape
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Pébéo White Gesso

Create Art/Be Brave Tag

Today over at A Vintage Journey it’s Tag Friday, there is no particular theme as it’s all about creating something you love, experimenting and having fun! I hope that you will join our tag challenge, it would be lovely to see you there!

Spending more time in my garden means that my art is being inspired by some of the beautiful flowers which are blooming at the moment, so today’s double-sided tag features purple poppies and rudbeckia.

The tag itself was made from a large Poster Card by Tim Holtz and I added some texture and colour to the edges of it by applying some Broken China Distress Embossing Glaze and then some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. As I planned to use Faber-Castell Gelatos on both tags, I applied some white gesso to the tag first; this enhanced the colours and made it easier to apply the Gelatos. When the gesso was dry, I scribbled Kiwi and Aqua Dolce Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top smudging the colour with my finger.

Next I removed some of the Gelato colours using a baby wipe through a Halftone stencil from Tim Holtz and I used the stencil again to add some Memento Inks; I used Cottage Ivy ink for the poppy background and Paris Dusk ink for the rudbeckia background.

I stamped a document stamp and a grunge stamp from two different Tim Holtz stamp sets using black Archival Ink and then some leaf stamps from Carabelle Studios using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink for the poppy tag and London Fog Memento Ink for the rudbeckia tag. To finish the backgrounds, I added some rub-on transfers from a Specimen Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz.

The flowers were stamped onto some Mixed Media paper using a Stamping Platform to ensure a clear crisp finish. The stamps are from a Flower Garden stamp set by Tim Holtz and are stamped using black Archival Ink. The foliage was coloured using Sap Green Kuretake watercolour paint and highlighted using Lime Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.

I had fun painting the poppy using Colbalt Violet, Black and White Kuretake watercolour paints and I coloured the edges of the petals using Amethyst Winsor & Newton Promarker. I used Lime Green and Canary Promarkers to colour the centre of the flower and a white Uniball gel pen, a black Uni Pin marker and a Cool Grey Promarker for the stamens. The flower was stuck in place using a glue stick and some glue dots and I added the “Create Art” wording which was a Quote Chip from Tim Holtz that was edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

The rudbeckia flower was painted using Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Scarlet, Black, White and Burnt Umber Sienna Kuretake watercolour paints and a Canary Promarker. I used a black Uni Posca paint pen and a black Uni Pin marker to add the texture to the stamens. I added the “Be Brave” wording and edged both tags using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine to reinforce the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my double-sided tags together as part of my Tag Journal (grin!).

For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some fabulous tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!

These purple poppies are a welcome addition to our flower bed and were totally unplanned; I think the birds must have brought them into the garden (grin!). They have been flowering non-stop since the beginning of July. I’m featuring them again as some of you had never seen them before so I thought I’d share some more information about them:

• This particular poppy is called Papaver Somniferum “Hungarian Blue” and is an heirloom variety with single flowers.
• They are gorgeous purple-violet shades with dark inner markings on each petal.
• They are easy to grow being ideal as a cut flower and the dried seed pods can also be used in flower arranging.
• They grow to a height of 90cm.

The rudbeckia has just started flowering and adds a happy vibrant yellow to our flower bed; this particular one is Rudbeckia Fulgida ”Goldsturm” and is also known as the Golden Cone Flower or Black Eyed Susan.

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.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the Summer challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my summer flower tags.

I’m joining in the fun at Country View Challenges and their Do What Makes You Happy Challenge with my flower tags as although I always find making tags a bit daunting I always enjoy making them; they also make me smile when I look at them as they are always on display in my craft room.

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

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this double-sided tag:     

• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glaze (Broken China)
• Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Kiwi, Aqua Dolce)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Halftone THS144)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cottage Ivy, Paris Dusk, London Fog)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Stamp Set (Documented CMS226, Urban Tapestry CMS061, Flower Garden CMS215)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Carabelle Studios Art Stamp (Dans la nature, il y a … SA60175)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Specimen #TH94047)
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Ranger Tonic Studios Stamping Platform
• Kuretake Gambai Watercolour Paints (Sap Green No.53, Colbalt Violet No.139, Black No.20, White No.10, Lemon Yellow No.40, Cadmium Scarlet No.31, Burnt Sienna No.46)
• Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Lime Green G178, Forest Green G356, Amethyst V626, Cool Grey 4 CG4, Canary Y367)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (Black)
• Pritt Stick
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Quote Chips #TH96563)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (Black 199)
• American Crafts Crop-A-Dile (Hole Punch & Eyelet Setter, Standard Eyelets – Black)

Sewing Bee

I always enjoy watching The Great British Sewing Bee on the TV and now it’s finished it inspired my to create this vintage sewing page – such fun!

I started by covering the page with an old napkin using a glue stick and when dry I edged the page with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool. I added some vintage sewing designed gold outline stickers which included a pair of scissors, a thimble, needles and pins, cross-stitches, flower shapes, a cotton reel, a pin cushion and a sewing machine. The “Sewing Bee” wording was constructed using letter outline stickers too.

For the tags I covered a piece of white card with some dressmaking pattern tissue paper and some of the napkin that I used on the page background. Then I cut three different sizes of tag and some circular reinforcements using the Tim Holtz Tag Collection Framelits and my Big Shot machine. I applied some Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool to each of the die cut pieces and then collaged some sewing related Tim Holtz stickers onto the tags which I edged with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker so they stood out more. I added a circular reinforcement to each tag and threaded some cotton through them; the threads were leftover from some sewing that I’ve been doing. To finish, I added some outline stickers of cross-stitches, needles and pins and some the lace and silk flowers to the tags; they are stuck in place using double-sided foam tape.

If you haven’t seen or heard of The Great British Sewing Bee it’s a television programme on BBC1. It’s a spin off of The Great British Bake Off and is a reality show where amateur sewers compete to be named “Britain’s best home sewer”; they compete in a Pattern challenge, Alteration challenge and Made-to-measure challenge each week.

If you are interested you may be able to access the programmes here BBC programmes – The Great British Sewing Bee (this link may only be available to those of you who live in the UK).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m showing you my cuppa by my sewing machine, like everyone I’ve been making face masks (that’s where the leftover threads came from for my page); the material is recycled from one of my hubby’s old summer shirts (grin!).

Hope that you are all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with my Sewing Bee page.

I’m joining the Cattywampus challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the askew tags and stickers on this page.

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

I’m also happy to be able to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my Sewing Bee art journal page.

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

• Napkin
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Sew Retro – Gold ANT810136, Flower Blossom –Gold ANT810143)
• Outline Stickers (Alphabet – Gold)
• White Cardstock
• Style Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• The Works (Self-Adhesive Lace Trim)
• The Range (Crafting Flowers)
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape

Snowdrop and Valentine Tag

Today over at A Vintage Journey is Tag Friday, where any tag goes; it’s all about creating something you love so there is no particular theme, it’s time to play, experiment and have fun – it would be great to see you there!

I had fun creating another double-sided tag for my Tag Journal using lots of Tim Holtz products, one side features snowdrops as this January I’ve been surprised by them flowering so early and the other side is a Valentine heart design as it’s nearly February.

To start, I used a large Poster Card by Tim Holtz to create the tag by cutting off two of the corners to make a tag shape and punching a hole using my Crop-A-Dile machine. I added some stickers from a Crowded Attic sticker book from Tim Holtz to alternate the designs and tie the tags together; the stickers are edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and outlined with a black Uni Pin marker. I also used some the Vintage Photo Distress Ink to colour around the edges of both sides of the tag.

For the snowdrop design I stencilled some frosty snowflakes using a Dyan Reaveley stencil and some Ranger Texture Paste and when dry I intensified the colour using a white Uni Posca pen. I used Alphanumeric Label Thinlets for the wording, Funky Florals #2 Thinlets for the flowers and foliage which I coloured using Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge, Ground Espresso, Spiced Marmalade, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Twisted Citron Distress inks.

For the Valentine design I used the texture paste again, this time using a heart stencil that I made from a Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz. The wording is Alphanumeric Label Thinlets and I used the Funky Florals #2 Thinlets for the flower stems which are coloured using Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Twisted Citron Distress inks. All the hearts are from the Falling Hearts Thinlet set and are coloured using Fired Brick and Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. To finish, I doodled a stitched border around the edges of the large heart flowers using a white Uniball gel pen.

To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine which reinforced the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my double-sided tags together when they are finished in my Tag Journal.

For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some fabulous tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!

We were surprised to see snowdrops out already as it’s only January …

… especially whilst walking around Lytham Hall, this will be what they look like in full bloom – don’t they look beautiful (grin!).

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

Challenges

I’m joining in the fun at Country View Challenges and their Love Challenge with my Valentine tag.

I’m pleased to join the All Loved Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my Valentine tag.

I’m also happy to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #111- Picture Inspiration challenge with the colour palette of browns, reds and white that I used for my Valentine tag.

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

Over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog their theme is #33 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Paper Piecing, so I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge too.

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this double-sided tag:     

• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208, Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers #TH92898)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge, Ground Espresso, Spiced Marmalade, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Twisted Citron, Fired Brick, Picked Raspberry)
• Ranger Dylusions by Dyan Reaveley Stencil (Snowflake – Large DYS63742)
• Recycled cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415, Alphanumeric Label 664177, Funky Florals #2 662701)
• Ranger Texture Paste (Opaque Matte)
• Uni Posca Paint Pen (White)
• Craft Sensations Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture (White CRO240/GE)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• American Crafts We r Memory Keepers (Crop-A-Dile and Standard Eyelets 41582-4)

Spooky

Hi everyone! I am so delighted to be in the Designer Spotlight this month over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thanks so much for all your kind wishes last week!

This week the theme is Spooky.

For this challenge I created a spooky art Journal page full of magic and mystery, maybe there’s a magic potion in one of those bottles – what are you going to wish for? (grin!).

I started by stencilling texture paste using a Mini Specimens template from The Crafter’s Workshop and when dry, I painted the page using Indigo and Black Kuretake watercolour paints. Then I applied Aged Silver Stampendous embossing enamel to the texture paste using a Versamark watermark pad. I used a Versamark watermark pen and Shabby White Stampendous embossing enamel for finer details. I also coloured some of the texture paste using a black Sharpie pen then I splattered the page using the black watercolour paint and also White Linen Dylusions Spray. I added some bats and cobwebs that I stamped onto tissue paper which finished the background.

For the tags, I die cut five tags using Sizzix Framelits and my Big Shot machine. They are cut from Pocket Cards from Tim Holtz, edged with black Versamark ink and then stamped using a Gothic Book Finnabair stamp and an Urban Tapestry Tim Holtz stamp set using the black Versafine ink and covered with black Stampendous embossing powder.

Next I added the pretty bottles which are from a Kaisercraft Sticker Book and decorated with some black ribbon and the metal “31” and “13” which are Countdown brads from Tim Holtz. The tags are finished with some eyelets and recycled black satin ribbon, and layered in place with some blue flowers which are fussy cut from a Botanicals Layers card. To finish, I added the “objet trouvé”, “finders keepers” and “make a wish” wording which are Quote Chips from Tim Holtz.

This spooky window can be found at the Moose and Moonshine restaurant in Liverpool and I think the witch may be making us a magic potion.

 This restaurant is part of the Moose Coffee chain and they make the best hot chocolate with a shot of pumpkin spice syrup in it – yum! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang over at T Stands for T Day – Happy T Day!

I enjoyed creating this art journal page for the Spooky challenge and I hope you will join in the fun too! For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from the Design Team over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

Don’t forget that Simon Says Stamp is generously giving away a $50 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! and one lucky participant will be randomly drawn to win this voucher. How amazing is that! Good Luck to everyone!

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Eileen of The Artful Crafter and her Dreams or Wishes challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the spooky dreams and wishes on my page.

I’m also joining the Die Cuts and Punches challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the die cut tags that I included on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my spooky page as their theme is Halloween.

Don’t forget that you can also join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday for our Witches, Wizards, Halloween challenge too.

Here is a list of materials over at Simon Says Stamp to create this spooky art journal page:

• The Crafter’s Workshop Mini Specimens Template
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Zig Kuretake Gansai Tambi
• Ranger Palette Knife
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Emboss Pen
• Stampendous Embossing Enamel
• Sharpie Marker (Black)
• Ranger Dylusions Spray (White Linen)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• Finnabair Clear Stamps (Gothic Book)
• Tim Holtz Stamp Set (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Tim Holtz Stamping Platform
• Tsukineko Versafine (Onyx Black)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Black)
• Crop-A-Dile Eyelet and Snap Punch
• Standard Eyelets
• Kaisercraft Antiquities Sticker Book
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Countdown Brads
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Quote Chips
• X-Press It Double-sided Tape
• X-Press It Double-sided Foam Tape
• UHU Stic
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Pocket Cards – alternative Tim Holtz Paper Stash Documented and Tim Holtz Paper Stash French Industrial
• White Tissue Paper – recycled
• Bat and cobweb stamp
• Black Satin Ribbon – recycled

Butterflies for my Tag Journal

Today at A Vintage Journey it is Tag Friday, which takes place only when there is a fifth Friday in the month; it’s all about creating something you love so there is no particular theme, it’s time to play, experiment and have fun – it would be great to see you there!

I had lots of fun creating a Mixed Media tag for my tag journal and this time I was inspired by the butterflies that have been visiting our garden recently, so I captured both a Painted Lady and a Peacock butterfly on this double-sided tag.

To start, I used a large grid design Poster Card by Tim Holtz to create the tag by cutting off two of the corners to make a tag shape and punching a hole using my Crop-A-Dile machine. I used Distress Ink to colour each side of the tag by stamping the ink pad onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the tag onto the mat. I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink on the blue side of the tag and then Fired Brick on the red side of the tag.

For the blue tag, I stamped Sheet Music from Woodware using black Archival Ink, added some white gesso with my finger and then stamped the branches from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink again. I also stamped a lot of butterflies using a Docrafts stamp with Teal Zeal Memento Ink. Next I added some mini white flowers and a Painted Lady butterfly that I had fussy cut from an old book, and stuck into place using double-sided tape.

For the red-side of the tag, I stamped some letters from Tim Holtz using the black Archival Ink, added some white gesso with my finger and stamped a round ornate design from the same Kaisercraft stamp set with the black Archival Ink. I added two stems of flowers which are from a Botanical Layers set by Tim Holtz and then I fussy cut a Peacock butterfly and stuck it in place.

I chose some wording that I thought was appropriate for the butterflies that I saw in our garden, all of which are from Tim Holtz and edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; the “Butterflies” wording is from a Salvage Sticker set and “A memory to hold”, “beauty and grace”, “happiness” and “in the garden” are Clipping Stickers. Both sides of the tag are edged using Black Soot Distress Ink and a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine which reinforced the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my Tag Journal tags together when they are finished.

For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some amazing tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!

The purple flowers were popular in our garden this year and we had so many Painted Lady butterflies on our lavender …

… as well as this beautiful Peacock butterfly (grin!).

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

Challenges

I’m joining the Letters and/or Numbers challenge over at Moo Mania & More with letters I used on my tag.

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

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this double-sided tag:

• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean, Fired Brick, Black Soot)
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Sheet Music JGS111)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Magnolia Grove CS822)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Clear Stamp (Everyday Assortment PMA907003)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Teal Zeal)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• The Illustrated Book of Nature – Painted Lady Butterfly
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Layers – Botanical #TH93554, Salvage Stickers – Crowded Attic #TH92898, Clipping Stickers #TH93583)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• The Fruit Pixie (Collectors Cards – Peacock Butterfly)
• Pritt Stick
• Stix2 double-sided tape
• American Crafts We r Memory Keepers (Crop-A-Dile and Standard Eyelets 41582-4)