Blue skies, birds and blossom

Posted on February 20, 2024 by Let's Art Journal

It’s time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is It’s In The Spotlight.

I used the spotlight technique to create this art journal page, spotlighting the blue skies, birds and blossoms that we saw when we visited Malaga last year.

I started by selecting two identical blossom pages from a colouring book and stuck one onto the page using a glue stick. Then I used a circular die set to die cut three circles out of the second page and I coloured the sky and blossoms using Kuretake watercolours; the colours I used were Ultramarine, Rose Madder, Dark Rose Madder, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green and Dark Sap Green. I stuck the circular images onto the page using a glue stick, making sure the designs matched and were in line. Next I cut two birds from a Kraft Cardstock Pad – Basics by Tim Holtz using a Silhouette Birds Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and stuck them in place. To finish, I added the black and white wording; they read “go where your heart takes you”, “live in the moment” and “the journey is the destination”.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies (smile!).

When we went on a last minute holiday to Torremolinos, we visited Malaga for the day; we were surprised to see these pretty pink blossoms on the trees as it was November.

Malaga is a very beautiful city and it’s history spans about 2,800 years; the cathedral was constructed between 1528 and 1782.

The cathedral gardens are beautiful too …

… as are the surrounding buildings.

This is the Episcopal Palace that is located next to the cathedral and is an amazing example of baroque architecture.

We stopped for a refreshing beer served in frosty glasses; turns out this is a pub chain, 100 Montaditos, can be found in other areas of Europe too. Cheers and Happy T Day over at T Stands for Tuesday!

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

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Vicki Parson from stampedsmiles.com and her Keeping It Light challenge with my spotlight technique.

With Love

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Let's Art Journal

It’s the first Friday of February and we are pleased to be back all refreshed after our annual break with our new challenge at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, which as always is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I fell in love with a beautiful tag, that my mum attached to one of my Christmas presents, so I recycled it on this mixed media page – I hope you like it too (smile).

I started by colouring my chipboard page with Salvaged Patina, Tumbled Glass Distress Paints adding patches of light using Brushed Pewter Distress Paint and stamping Moonlight White Brilliance Ink using an Etcetera stamp from Tim Holtz . Next I cut out lots of foliage, from Tim Holtz Kraft cardstock, using a Festive Bouquet Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz. I arranged the tag and foliage onto the page using glue tape. To finish, I added a chipboard snowflake, which I covered in Wow! sparkly embossing powder and then I cut it in half before adding the two pieces to the page.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our mixed media challenge; I hope you are inspired to join us, it would be lovely to see you there!

As this page reminds me of winter festivities, I’m sharing this photo taken in Prague that we found whilst exploring. This square is in the old town, and the restaurant seating was so pretty with all the lights and winter foliage. There is even a beautiful Christmas tree; you’ll find lots of Christmas trees in Prague, just turn a corner and you’ll find another square with another tree on display (smile!).

Of course, we couldn’t resist taking a selfie of us with those twinkly Christmas tree lights in the background (double smile!).

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

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Vicki Parson from stampedsmiles.com and her Keeping It Light challenge.

Mix It Up Challenge – MIUCB #69 Anything Goes + optional Mixed Media

Alpine Punch

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Let's Art Journal

It’s time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is Add Some Text.

As you can see, I used lots of text on my page; recycling a menu and book pages for the background and also some tea packaging.

I started by covering the page with text; I collaged torn pieces of Dictionary and cyclopaedia pages and also Andělský Pivovar menu, which was from my previous post (as the tea shop, that we bought the tea from, was located in the same area of Prague).

The papers were stuck in place using a glue stick and Liquitex matte gel medium. Once dry, I added some colour using an Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelato and edged the paper pieces using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker; smudging the colours onto the page with my finger. Next I backed the red snowflake tea packaging onto cardstock and cut out the labels. I also used the packaging to die cut a teacup, hearts, and snowflakes using three different Sizzix Thinlits sets; the Thinlits were Tea Time by Olivia Rose, Falling Hearts by Tim Holtz and Cosy Winter by Tim Holtz. I arranged them onto the page with some winter foliage, to match the wreath on the packaging, which was also die cut; from linen textured cardstock using Funky Festive Thinlits by Tim Holtz. I arranged everything onto the page using a glue tape pen and I painted some steam rising from the cup, using a sponge to apply white acrylic paint, before sticking the hearts and snowflakes in place, so they stand out more.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies (smile!). I hope you are inspired to join our challenge; it would be lovely to see you there!

When we visited the Anděl district of Prague, we purchased a Christmas blended tea. The tea is called Alpský Punč, which means Alpine Punch and is a blend of black tea, raisins, apples, cinnamon, raisins, orange blossom, walnut leaves and cloves. As T Stands for T Day, I’m pleased to join Bleubeard and Elizabeth with my tea inspired page and photos – Happy T Day!

I hope 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 be able to join the following challenges today:

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Erika from BioArtGal; she has chosen It’s On The Calendar as her theme so I’m joining with my Alpine Punch tea page.

Mix It Up Challenge – MIUCB #69 Anything Goes + optional Mixed Media

Winter Snowman

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

So do you wanna build a snowman … well I had fun building mine for this fun seasonal page (smile!).

For the wintery sky, I covered my chipboard page using Villainous Poison Distress Paint which I blended with some white and black acrylic paint using horizontal brush strokes. Next I hand cut some white cardstock to form the foreground and die cut the tree using a Woodlands Sizzix Thinlits by Tim Holtz; they were edged with Seedless Grape and Black Soot Distress Ink before sticking them in place. Then I spattered the page with white acrylic paint. The snowman was die cut using a Mr. Frost Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some white and black linen textured the paper. I coloured the edges of the main body of the snowman with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink using a blending tool, the scarf and hat band using red and green TriBlend Spectrum Noir markers, his carrot nose using Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and the twig arms using Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The die cut pieces were layered together using Liquitex matte gel medium and I added a holly gemstone embellishment to the hat, then stuck him onto the page. To finish, I added the wording which was from a Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book and read “Far across the snow, on the frosty hills”.

Here’s one of my Christmas cupcakes; it’s a chocolate cupcake and the snowman was created using marshmallows, a Rolo chocolate, chocolate sprinkles, buttercream icing and some candied orange – super cute (smile!).

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well and are having a wonderful Christmastime! x

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today:

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Wendy K from Wendy’s Craft Journal; she has chosen Above Us Only Sky as her theme so I’m joining with my snowy winter sky.

So Thankful

Posted on November 30, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

I’m sharing my last page for the Nature challenge over at Art Jou rnal Journey which I’ve been hosting this month.

I’m so thankful that you joined me and really appreciate all your kind comments and support throughout the month. I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting your blogs and seeing all your wonderful artwork (smile!).

For the grungy background, I covered the page with Pébéo white gesso using a palette knife and when dry, I used a baby wipe to add some Black Soot and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. Then I tore three different autumnal papers and layered them onto the left-hand and right-hand sides of the page .

The wreath and leaves were die cut from a dark paper and the same papers that I’d used for the background using some Sizzix Thinlits sets and I edged them using some Ground Espresso Distress Ink. They were arranged onto the page with a little bird that I stamped using Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and fussy cut out. I added the roses and the wording which were Kaisercraft stickers. To finish, I added some Pébéo glass bead texture gel and left it to dry, which created some lovely texture and gave a frosty feel to my autumnal page.

I hope you enjoyed this challenge as much as I did. I had fun creating all my pages whether it was in my A4 sized journal or …

… in my mini journal – thank you for joining me (smile).

Don’t forget that tomorrow is the start of a new month, so there will be a new challenge at Art Journal Journey; I can’t wait to see what the new theme is and say hello to our new host – I hope to see you there!

Thanks for joining me and if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Challenges

Triple B Challenge Blog – Birds, Butterflies & Blooms – November Challenge

Together

Posted on November 17, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

Here’s another page for our Nature challenge which I’m hosting over at Art Journal Journey; this time celebrating a recent beach holiday to Menorca, Balearic Islands!

I started by creating a masterboard using mixed media paper and then smooshing together some Salty Ocean and Mustard Seed Distress Ink to create my ocean background; by pressing the ink pads onto an acrylic block, spritzing the ink with water and pressing the block onto a page flooded with water. When dry, I cut the masterboard to fit my page and stuck it in place using a glue stick. Next I die cut all the fish and bubbles from some Tim Holtz Kraft Cardstock – Basics and white linen-textured cardstock using Under the Sea #1 Sizzix Thinlits by Tim Holtz . I arranged them all onto the page with the wording which was a Kaisercraft sticker.

The colours and fish reminded me of our recent holiday to Menorca with the beautiful beach and sea; there were fish in the sea which often jumped out of the water which was fun to watch and rather surprising when you are swimming (smile!).

Together is definitely a beautiful place to be!

Thanks for joining me today and I hope you will join our Nature challenge at Art Journal Journey! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Winter Magic

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

My page today is for our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, which is Baby It’s Cold Outside and features a pretty bird enjoying the cold!

I started by stamping three different foliage stamps onto the page using Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress Archival Ink and Pine Needles Distress Ink. While the inks were still wet, I used a wet wipe to mute and smudge the colours. Next I added the bird photo, which was cut from an old magazine and framed with some leftover stitched design paper. The pine cones and holly were cut using Funky Festive Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from different colours of Kraft Cardstock-Classic by Tim Holtz and layered together. To finish, I added the topper wording by Docrafts which I backed with some leftover papers.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies (grin!). I hope you are inspired to join our challenge; it would be lovely to see you there!

I enjoy watching the birds in the garden this time of year, here’s an Eurasian Blue Tit (as featured on my page) visiting our feeder – so pretty (smile!).

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

Art Journal Journey which I’m pleased to be hosting this month and the challenge theme that I’ve chosen is Nature.

Triple B Challenge Blog – Birds, Butterflies & Blooms – November Challenge

Deer Family

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

Today’s page was a quick make on one of my mini chipboard journal pages. It features a cute deer family for our Nature challenge over at Art Journal Journey; I hope to see you there!

I started by covering the edges of my chipboard page with some Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker. Then I cut the pretty forest backdrop from a Forest paper pad by Stamperia. The deer family were die cut from some cream linen-textured cardstock using Darling Deer Sizzix Thinlits by Tim Holtz and were coloured using Ground Espresso, Brushed Corduroy and Antique Linen Distress Inks. I arranged them onto the page using a glue stick along with the wording which were from a Sentiments Word Sticker Pad by Finnabair.

You’ll also find a deer family on these pretty mugs, they often make an appearance this time of year and are pictured here with a couple of custard slices that we enjoyed with our Ceylon tea for our elevenses (yum!).

Stay safe and well!

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

Challenges

Double D Challenges – Oh Deer Challenge

Take a chance

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

I love to recycle and use up leftovers from previous projects on my pages, so here’s such a page to inspire you to join our Nature challenge over at Art Journal Journey, which I’m happy to be hosting this month. I hope you’ll join us there!

For my grungy background, I recycled some paper kitchen towel which I’d used to mop up Distress Inks; they were layered onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Next I added the two butterflies and lots of die cut foliage and flowers that were in my craft stash; as far as I remember, the butterflies were stamped using a Paperbabes Stamp set using black Archival Ink onto some ink stained tissue paper, and the flowers and foliage were die cut using a Wildflower Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from yellow and brown tissue paper, and also from some black/white cardstock that was recycled from some cookie packaging. I added the wording “Take a chance don’t ever look back” which was a Kaisercraft sticker. Then to finish, I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint.

This page was inspired by these colourful flowers that we saw whilst walking to Riva from Torbole in Lake Garda, Italy.

I love Red Hot Pokers and these looked picture perfect with Riva and the mountains in the background.

Thank you so much for joining me and I hope you’ll join us over at Art Journal Journey.

Happy Journaling! Hugs, Jo x

Challenges

MIUCB #68: Nov 1 – Dec 15 — Anything Goes + optional Stamping (rubber/clear – no digis)

Triple B Challenge Blog – Birds, Butterflies & Blooms – November Challenge

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Grunge It Up

Happy Halloween

Posted on October 17, 2023 by Let's Art Journal

It’s October so our new challenge for the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday, is Halloween.

For the background, I covered my chipboard page with Villainous Poison Distress Paint and white acrylic paint. When dry, I stamped a cobweb design by Molly Blooms and a star stamp by Lavinia using Moonlight White Brilliance Ink by Archival. Next I arranged two black cobweb stickers onto the page and outlined them using a white Uniball gel pen. The pumpkins were die cut from Kraft Cardstock – Basics by Tim Holtz and some other Linen Textured cardstock using a Pumpkin Duo Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz; the pieces were edged with Black Soot Distress Ink before piecing them together using a Crafter’s Companion Glue Tape/Dot Pen. To finish, I added a piece of Happy Halloween washi tape and outlined it using the white gel pen.