I do like to be beside the seaside

I’m so pleased and honoured to be Guest Designer over at Country View Challenges for their I do like to be beside the seaside challenge this month.

This challenge is very fitting as I live by the sea so I decided to transport this adorable bear in his homemade Hawaiian shirt to a seaside scene inspired by where I live (grin!).

I started by covering the foreground with Ranger Texture paste to create a sandy texture. When dry I coloured it with Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed and Tea Dye Distress Inks. Then I coloured the sky using Salty Ocean Distress Ink by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. Whilst the ink was wet I also added some Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink onto an acrylic block and pressed the block lightly onto the sky background to create the cloud effect. The sun was created using Ranger Texture Paste by applying it through a Mosaic stencil from Tim Holtz. When the texture paste was dry, I coloured it with a Canary Winsor & Newton Promarker. For the sea, I drew a straight horizon using a ruler and then coloured the sea using the Salty Ocean Distress Ink; applying it like watercolour.

The sea foam was created by applying some Pébéo white gesso and then some Liquitex Glass Bead Texture Gel over the top. I used a Funky Floral Tim Holtz Thinlet set to create the grasses from some recycled note paper that I had coloured using Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles Distress Ink and a Soft Green Winsor & Newton Promarker.

I created the bear using the Theodore Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; he was cut out of some linen textured cardstock and coloured using Ground Espresso, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker for his nose, eyes and eyebrows and a Putty Winsor & Newton Promarker for his ears. I hand drew the shirt and then cut it out from some design paper, re-adjusting the arm so that he was holding the ice cream which is a sticker – such fun!

The wording is cut from black paper using an Alphanumeric Label Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and to finish, I added three seagulls which were die cut from white cardstock and coloured using Cold Grey and Black Faber-Castell markers.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from the Design Team over at Country View Challenges – I hope that you are inspired by this month’s I do like to live beside the seaside challenge too and are able to join in the fun!

I feel very blessed to live by the sea, here is the view overlooking the sand dunes …

… and this is our beautiful beach with the pier in the background.

As my hubby will tell you it’s essential to have an ice cream whilst at the seaside and here are a couple of our favourite flavours – Double Chocolate and Sticky Toffee Pudding (grin!).

I have really enjoyed spending time with you today and I’d like to say a special thank you to Country View Challenges for giving me the opportunity to design for them!

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

Challenges

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Art Journal challenge with my seaside art journal page.

I’m pleased to join the Summer challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my summer seaside 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:

• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed, Tea Dye, Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Ground Espresso, Vintage Photo, Hickory Smoke)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Liquitex Glass Bead Texture Gel
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Mosaic THS084)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Canary Y367, Soft Green  G817, Putty 0618)
• Recycled paper
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #1 662700, Theodore 664410, Alphanumeric Label 664177)
• Pritt Stick
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199, Cold Grey IV 233
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Vintage Travels CR0378/18R)
• Home Bargains Puffy Sticker Sheets (Sweet like … 14227)
• Leon X-Large Coloured Paper Pad
• White card stock
• Seagull Die Cut

Happy Wishes

This page send happy wishes your way to celebrate T Stands for Tuesday’s 7^th Anniversary, where our wonderful hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth ask us to share a drink related post each week. It’s so much fun meeting up with the T Gang each Tuesday, thanks so much to everyone for making it such a friendly and happy place – Happy T Day!

I started by painting a mixture of Cadmium Yellow and white acrylic paint onto the page. Then I stamped a Tiny Dot stamp from Kaisercraft using Dandelion and Angel Pink Memento Inks and black Archival Ink. I also dragged the Angel Pink Memento ink pad page over the page to add some more colour to the background. Next, as Bleubeard and Elizabeth love to recycle things, I cut some pink dotty strips and also fussy cut the teacup and little dog from an old birthday card. They are stuck in place using a glue stick and edged with a black Uni Pin marker, as was everything on this page.

I added some strips of pink hearts and the “there is no place I’d rather be” and “friends” wording which are from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet. The “7 today” is cut from the same birthday card using a Sizzix Thinlets and the pink flowers and fabric yellow hearts are from a couple of sticker sets. I added some dots around the edges of the page through a stencil using Ranger Texture Paste and when dry I painted them using white acrylic paint. To finish, I splattered the page with black and also white acrylic paint.

To celebrate the 7^th Anniversary at T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing this photo can you see my mug of green tea in the background. The pink and white dot heart on the mug and this very special little lady called Ellie reminded me of my page; needless to say this photo was taken when we were looking after her for our friends earlier this year before Lockdown. We have just started walking with our dear friends and little Ellie again as the restrictions are easing here in the UK – yay!

Here she is as a puppy, such a cutie! She has grown so much in the last year and I can’t believe that she turned one last month – Happy Birthday (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her When It’s Hot challenge this month as my July T Day celebration page.

I’m also entering the Do What Makes You Happy challenge over at Country View Challenges too as this page celebrate joining the T Gang for a cuppa which always makes me happy (grin!).

I’m happy to be able to join the #123 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the yellow and pink summer colours and teacup on my page.

I hope that you all are 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 all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Cadmium Yellow Light Hue)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Tiny Dot CS360)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Dandelion, Angel Pink)
• Recycled Birthday Card
• Pritt Stick
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Sizzix Thinlets (Brush Numbers 661726)
• Wilko (A5 Stickers)
• Poundland (Decorative Stickers)
• Stencil (Dots)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)

Adventure Awaits

This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Rustic Charm, which is being hosted by the lovely Astrid. Here’s what it’s all about:

“Rustic describes a design that is natural, rough, aged and casual. We would love to see you create a project using these elements: think nature inspired textures and simple and earthy colours. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or Steampunk”.

I had so much fun creating this rustic art journal page for this challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed making the wood effect background and this happy bear from my new Tim Holtz Theodore thinlet set really makes me smile!

I started by covering the page with blobs of Burnt Umber, Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna Liquitex acrylic paints and then I used an old gift card to spread the paint over the page in a criss-cross pattern. Any white spaces were lightly coloured with the same paint and a wet paintbrush, then the page was left it to dry.

Next I stencilled some tree trunks using some Ranger Texture Paste and a Pronty Mask Stencil.

When dry, I painted around the stencilled areas of the background with some Parchment Liquitex Acrylic.

Then I scraped the paint horizontally across the page very harshly using the gift card; I did this a number of times until I achieved the worn wood effect I was after. The mixed media paper I use is 250gsm so it can take this type of treatment.

The branches, leaves and flowers were die cut from some linen textured cardstock using a Tattered Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; the branches were coloured using Ground Espresso Distress Ink, the leaves using Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Forest Moss Distress Ink, and the flowers using a mixture of Fired Brick Distress Ink and White Linen Distress Spray. They are edged, like all of the elements on this page, using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and stuck down using a Zig glue pen.

The signpost was made from some wooden panels that I cut out from some Tim Holtz paper and some wording from a Tiny Text rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz which reads “wander”, “adventure awaits” and “discover”. I added some grey tartan (plaid) paper from the same paper pad to define the ground under the signpost and the bear.

To finish, I created the bear using the Theodore thinlet set and some linen textured cardstock colouring him using Ground Espresso, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker and a Putty Winsor & Newton Promarker – such fun!

I hope you are inspired to join in the Rustic Charm 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!

This page reminded me of a bear that we saw on our travels to Stratford-upon- Avon some years ago when our friends from America came to stay with us.

This bear can also be found on this beer glass and always brings back such happy memories of our time when we were in Stratford together – such fun!

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 A Vintage Journey, 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 faux tartan/plaid that I included on this page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the Quote challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my “adventure awaits”wording.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Make Your Own Background challenge with the wood effect background that I created for this page.

I’m also pleased to join the Masculine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my page too too.

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

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Burnt Sienna)
• Pronty Mask Stencil (Tree Trunk)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Small Tattered Florals 661806)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Linen Textured Cardstock)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Forest Moss, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Tea Dye, Hickory Smoke)
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain (White Linen)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Halloween Paper Stash #TH937120, Tiny Text Remnant Rubs #TH93695)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Theodore 664410)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Putty 0618)

Heuchera

At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Cut It Out.

Like me, you could use die cuts that you make and colour yourself or pre-made die cuts and stickers or you could simply fussy cut something out, the choice is yours!

My page today was inspired by some beautiful heuchera flowers that are flowering in my garden at the moment (grin!).

I started covering the page with Botancial Collage Paper from Tim Holtz using a glue stick and then I covered it with white gesso to push the images back. When dry, I applied some Earl Grey, Caramel, Kiwi and Lime Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top, by scribbling them onto the page and smudging the colour with a wet finger. I then toned down the colours and added some darker shading by applying some Iced Coffee and Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelatos to the page. Next I added some Ranger Texture Paste through a brick design stencil from Craft Sensations and left it to dry. The brick design is coloured using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and the Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato. I stencilled a trellis pattern using Black Soot Distress Ink and a Moroccan stencil from Creative Expressions, then I used a baby wipe to remove some of the colour allowing white patches of the collage paper to show through which added depth and contrast to the background. The page is also splattered with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and then black and also white acrylic paint.

I used a Wildflower #2 Tim Holtz thinlet set to die cut the flowers from some linen textured cardstock and coloured the flower petals by painting on some Abandoned Coral Distress Spray Stain using a paintbrush. The leaves and stems are coloured using Olive Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers and they are stuck to the page using a Zig Memory glue pen. To finish, I added a pretty die cut butterfly from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz and the “Heuchera” wording which are letter stickers from Kaisercraft.

My Design Teamies have been busy fussy cutting and die cutting to create some amazing Cut It Out inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over and take a look.

Here are the heuchera flowers that are in bloom in our flower bed, they are so delicate with tiny flower heads.

They look very striking with their coral colour especially when they catch the sunlight!

These plants come in all sorts of leaf and flowers colours, to find out more about them check out this Heuchera link.

You may already be aware that I have been completing a series of flower art journal pages inspired by my garden. If you are interested you can see the other pages here:

• Bluebells
• Tulips
• Welsh Poppy

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a new batch of Raspberry Gin that we made, it tastes so fruity and is ideal for drinking whist sitting in the garden on a hot sunny day – Happy T Day!

You can find the Raspberry Gin recipe here and I think Halle asked about the amount of sugar added – this is just for taste so you can add as much or as little as you like (grin!).

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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with my Heuchera flowered page.

I’m so happy to be able to join the #119 – Picture Inpiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pretty flowers on my page. Thanks so much for my win too, how exciting!

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

• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Botanical #TH93705)
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Earl grey, Caramel, Kiwi, Lime, Iced Coffee, Iced Chai)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Rusty Hinge, Black Soot)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch Of Mica Mask (Moroccan)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflowers #2 661808)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain (Abandoned Coral)
• Winsor & Newton Promarker (Olive Greeb Y724, Forest Green G356)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Ceylon Tea

We bought some new Ceylon Tea recently so I thought I’d have some fun and create an art journal page with the packaging that was sitting on my craft desk (grin!).

I started by mixing some yellow, red and black acrylic paints to create a medium tea colour and then applied it to the page using an old gift card. I used a wet paintbrush to move the colour around to cover the page giving it a grungy look. On the lighter painted areas of the page, I stamped a crackle effect using a BoBunny stamp and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Next I added some black flowers, oriental shapes and leaves which are rub-on transfers from Kaisercraft. I die cut the tea packaging using circular, square and flower shape doily die cuts and then I arranged them onto the page using double-sided foam tape and a glue stick. I stencilled a criss-cross lattice pattern using Ranger Texture Paste and then I splattered the page with white and also black acrylic paint. When dry, I coloured the criss-cross shapes with a white Faber-Castell Big Brush marker which finished the page. 

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m having a cup of Ceylon Tea today and joining the T Gang – Happy T Day everyone!

Ceylon tea is a popular type of black tea that is also known as Sri Lankan tea as it is produced on the island of Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon. This particular blend is rich amber in colour and has a zesty aroma with a fresh and bold flavour which makes it a refreshing and energising cuppa any time of the day. It’s suggested to have the following health benefits too:

• Weight loss by increasing your metabolism, which may help increase energy and help your body burn fat.
• Boosting your immune system being rich in antioxidants, which may increase white blood cells, boost the immune system, and help the body fight disease-causing viruses and harmful bacteria.
• Ceylon tea contains potassium which relaxes the tension in your blood vessels and arteries.
• Reducing blood glucose levels which may help prevent the spikes and drops that can be dangerous for people with diabetes.
• Skin elasticity as some of the antioxidants in Ceylon tea are linked to reducing collagen loss in the skin.

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

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with flowers I included on this page.

I’m pleased to join in the Tea Party challenge over at Country View Challenges with my Ceylon Tea art journal page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their We’re All A Buzz challenge with my Ceylon Tea page as this tea energises you, giving you a buzz (grin!).

Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog too, it would be lovely to see you there!

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Cadmium Red Medium Hue, Cadmium Yellow Medium)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• BoBunny Stamp (Rough It Up Item# 12105155)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Kaisercraft Rub-ons (Lush Collection – Black & White RB867)
• Tea box packaging
• The Works Cutting Dies (Circles 211766, Squares 211759, Circular Doily 251335)
• X-Press It! double-sided foam tape
• Pritt Stick
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (White 101)

Tulips

It’s a new month so we are launching our May challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and as always the theme is:

Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I was inspired by the beautiful tulips in my garden and had fun playing around with mixed media to create this Tulip art journal page. I hope you’ll join in the fun too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by ripping and fussy cutting a tulip napkin and then I stuck the pieces into place using a glue stick. I painted around the napkin pieces with Parchment Liquitex acrylic paint and while the paint was still wet I added some Vivid Green Liquitex acrylic paint using a palette knife so it matched the napkin background. When the paint was dry, I stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink and also a crackle texture stamp from BoBunny using Pistachio Memento Ink over the painted areas.

Then I added some Ranger Texture Paste using a heart stencil that I created with a Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and when dry, the hearts were coloured using Red Violet, Crimson and Magenta Spectrum Aqua markers. Next I added the “Tulips” wording using letter stickers from Kaisercraft and also a pretty blue butterfly from an Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz.

To finish, I added some shadow to the tulips with a Charcoal grey Derwent Inktense pencil and then emphasised the tulip petals using a black Uni Pin marker and white Uniball gel pen.

I hope that you are inspired 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.

This year the tulips in our garden have been beautiful.

I love all the colours and structure that they have added to our flower border.

We plan to add more tulip bulbs every year; we planted these striped tulips a few years ago …

… and these gorgeous purple tulips are the ones that we planted in November last year (grin!).

Hoping that you all stay safe and keep 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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with the Interlocking Circles on this page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Not A Card challenge with my art journal page.

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

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

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

• Tulip Napkin
• Pritt Stick
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Parchment)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Vivid Lime Green)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• BoBunny Stamp (Rough It Up 12105155)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Pistachio)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Falling Hearts 664415)
• Ranger Texture paste
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Red Violet, Crimson, Magenta)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Derwent Inktense Pencil (Charcoal Grey 2100)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)

Creative Card Making at A Vintage Journey

Today I’m over at A Vintage Journey with our Monthly Creative Card Making tutorial.

I’m sharing how I created some Mixed Media cards that are suitable for different occasions such as birthdays, to say thank you or even just simply to say hello (grin!).

I was really pleased with the design and how they came together!

You may have already guessed that I used one of my favourite smooshing techniques using inks to create a Masterboard background.

It was fun making the Masterboard with all the layers of stamping and stencilling, and when it was complete I cut it into four background panels.

I kept the design simple by adding a pretty white flower and butterfly die cut and some inspirational wording; I really like how they contrast against the colourful inky background.

Please check out my full tutorial over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find lots more photos and details of how they came together.

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the #117 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the splatters, border and sentiment that I included on these cards.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Flower Power challenge too with the flowers that I added to my cards.

I’m also happy to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the butterflies on these cards.

I’m joining in the Create A Scene challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my pretty flower and butterfly nature scenes.

Of course some of you may remember me using the leftovers pieces of this Masterboard on my Happy Easter page and ….

…. Easter cards too (grin!).

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

Stay safe and keep well! x

Here is a list of all the materials used to create this card:

• Daler-Rowney A4 Mixed Media Paper
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Black Soot)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencil (Interlocking Circles CEMSINTER)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Black Soot)
• Prima Marketing Finnabair Stamps (Old Receipt #966980)
• Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Documented CMS226)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Tim Holtz Layering Mini Stencil (Set 16 THMST016)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Sidekick Die Cut (Springtime 662711)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dial Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• White cardstock
• X-Press It! double-sided tape

Home is the place to bee

When I was sorting through some old photos on my phone, I saw one of a jug/pitcher with the wording “Home is the place to bee”. It seemed to be very appropriate given that we have to stay at home at the moment – I hope that you are keeping safe and well at home too!

I started by applying Scattered Straw and Tea Dye Distress Ink to the page by dragging the ink pads lightly over the paper and then using a wet paintbrush to disperse the colour. When dry I used a Reversed Honeycomb stencil from That’s Crafty to add the honeycomb design; first applying Tea Dye Distress Ink, then Ranger Texture Paste and then Black Soot Distress Ink making sure that each product had dried between applications. Then I stamped the wording using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th and black Archival Ink. The larger honeycombs are cut from a doodle book and coloured with Saffron, Sandstone, Honeycomb and Canary Winsor & Newton Promarkers and then stuck in place using a glue stick.

I stamped the bees which are from a Dovecraft stamp set directly onto the page and also onto some white cardstock using black Archival Ink. Then I coloured the cardstock bees with Canary and Black Promarkers, fussy cut them out and stuck them over the bees I had stamped onto the page. To finish, I added some wooden yellow and white flowers.

Here’s the jug that inspired my page, it was taken in a local store whilst Christmas shopping last year, if you look closely on the top right-hand side of the photo you will see a glass with bees on it which I bought for my sister; she loves bees! As this photo has mugs and glasses too, I’m also sharing it with the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day everyone!

Stay safe and keep well! x

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

Challenges

I’m happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with my honeycomb stencilled background.

I’m also happy to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the bees taking centre stage on my page.

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join our Have fun with stencils challenge over at Try it on Tuesday 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 Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Black Soot)
• That’s Crafty Dinky Stencil (Reverse Honeycomb Background TC031)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (sophisticated Script 10056)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Animal Kingdom Suduko and Doodle Book
• Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Saffron 0739, Sandstone 0928, Honeycomb 0547, Canary Y367, Black XB)
• Pritt Stick
• Dovecrafts Premium Clear Stamps (Bee Happy DCSTP129)
• The Works (Wooden Flower Embellishments)
• Stix 2 Glue Dots

See the Magic

Time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday so for the next two weeks we are asking you to Have fun with stencils. 

I had lots of fun with stencils to create this art journal page, can you see the magic (grin!).

I started by applying Ranger Texture Paste using a Tim Holtz Floral stencil around the right-hand side, top and left-hand side of the page and left it to dry. Then I applied some Bright Aqua Green, Magenta and Cadmium Yellow Liquitex acrylic paints over the whole page including the texture paste. Next I painted some white gesso to lighten the centre of the page so it looked like the sun is streaming through the flowers and foliage. Then I applied some of the Magenta paint using a brayer over the stencilled texture paste which gave a lovely effect highlighting different areas of the flowers with colour. I used the brayer again to apply some of the Magenta paint to some flower stamps from Gummiapan and Carabelle Studios, stamping them in the foreground; I made sure that I cleaned the stamps immediately so the paint didn’t dry on them. Then I splattered the page with some black DecoArt acrylic paint.

Next I stamped some tiny stars and the wording “See the magic” using a Paperbabes Stamps stamp set and black Archival Ink. I edged the page with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stamped a grid design from Sheena using the black Archival Ink. Then I added more detail to the flowers by painting them using the Magenta and black acrylic paints and adding highlights using a white Uniball gel pen which finished the page.

For more inspiration check out the amazing creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday who had fun with stencils too!

Some of you were asking if I had candles on the birthday cake that I made, as you can see I did – well just one candle (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a piece of my birthday cake with my cuppa today! It was so yummy, if you missed it in my previous post it’s a homemade Victoria sponge cake filled with butter cream and cherry jam and topped with pink and white royal icing in a feathered design (double grin!) – Happy T day!

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 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 happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with the grid stamp I used on this page.

As birthdays are magical, I’m pleased to be able to join the Birthdays challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my See the Magic page too.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Spring Moodboard challenge with the colours and flowers that I included on this page.

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

• Tim Holtz Layering Stencils (Floral THS077)
• Ranger Texture Paste
• Liquitex Artist Basics Acrylic (Bright Aqua Green, Quinacridone Magenta, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger (Mini Brayer)
• Gummiapan Stamps (Large Rubbeckia 15030501)
• Carabelle Studios Art Stamp (SA60175 Dans la Nature, il y a …)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Paperbabe Stamps (Flourish &  Grow Stamp Set)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Black 199)
• Sheena Douglas Create A Flower Rubber Stamp (Funky Textures 2 SD-CAFS-FT2)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)

Joy and Beauty

It’s a new month so we are launching our April challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and as always the theme is:

Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I had fun playing around with mixed media to create this springtime birthday art journal page. I hope you’ll join in the fun too; it would be lovely to see you there!

I arranged the paper pieces onto the page and then applied some Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Inks around them. Then I stuck the papers in place using a glue stick and some Liquitex matte gel medium; the papers included some Aviary Collage Paper from Tim Holtz and some old Sheet Music that my sister gave me for my birthday last year, which is quite apt as it happens to be my birthday today (grin!).

I then added some Ranger Texture Paste over the Distress Inks through a new Kaisercraft leaf stencil; the Distress Inks seeped into the texture paste which gave a lovely effect (my hubby says they look like fossils). I added some flowers which are from a Botanical Layers set and also some wording which are Small Talk stickers; both are from Tim Holtz. The wording reads “everything has beauty”, “look on the bright side” and “find joy in the ordinary”.

I hope that you are inspired to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes Challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too.

Here’s the beautiful Sheet Music which my sister gifted me last year, I remember her playing music on both the piano and violin when we were both children – such happy memories!

Due to everything going on at the moment I’m home with my hubby this year for my birthday so I decided to make myself a birthday cake (something I don’t normally do as my mum usually makes one for me). This is a homemade Victoria sponge, with butter cream and cherry jam topped with white and pink feathered icing; I can’t wait to try a piece later with my cuppa  – yum (grin!).

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 in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with art journal page.

I’m joining in the Spring Mood Board challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the spring blooms and images on this page.

I’m pleased to be able to join the Birthdays challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my springtime birthday celebration page too.

I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Happy Birthday! challenge too – Happy Birthday!

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Collage paper – Aviary #TH93706, Layers – Botanicals #TH93554, Stickers – Small Talk #TH93193)
• UHU Stic
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Kaisercraft 6×6″ Designer Template (Tropical Leaves IT433)
• Ranger Texture paste
• Stix2 Glue Dots