Happy New Year 2020

We are so pleased to launch our first challenge of 2020 over at Try it on Tuesday:

Such a cutie/ Make someone smile

So I couldn’t resist using my favourite Merry Moose Tim Holtz thinlet set as the moose is such a cutie and always makes me smile especially with his antlers decorated with New Years bunting – wishing you all a Happy New Year!

To start, I coloured the background using Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain and when dry I stencilled the stars using the same Distress Stain too. I fussy cut a star constellation design in a semi-circle shape from an American Crafts paper pad and stuck it to the bottom of the page using a glue stick.

Next I die cut the moose using the Tim Holtz thinlet set and my Big Shot machine from some linen textured paper. I coloured the moose Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and his antlers using Scattered Straw and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I edged the moose with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck him in place using a Zig Memory System glue pen. For the bunting, I stamped a bunting image onto some coloured design paper using black Archival Ink and fussy cut them out. Then I arranged some black wax cotton around the moose antlers and stuck the bunting triangles onto it.

I also stamped the bunting onto the top of the page and onto some more of the coloured design paper; again I cut the bunting triangles out of the paper and stuck them on top of the stamped bunting images. I added the gold glittery letters to create the wording “Happy New Year” and “2020” and also three clusters of stickers from Tim Holtz which I thought were appropriate for the New Year; they read “Artist – Life is full of beauty”, “Exploring – The first step in the journey” and “Wishing – peace, happiness and love”. Then to finish, I added lots of glittery flowers and dots which are Glitterations stickers.

For more inspiration please pop over to see the amazing cutie creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday, they are sure to make you smile!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m toasting in the New Year with a cocktail of pineapple gin and cream soda – Happy T Day! The pineapple gin was homemade by soaking pineapple fruit pieces in gin with some sugar for 4 weeks – so yummy!

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 Something New challenge over at Art Journal Journey that I’m hosting this month with my New Year page.

I’m joining the Triangles challenge over at Moo Mania & More with the triangular bunting on my page – so sorry that this is your last challenge at Moo Mania, I will miss you very much!

I’m also happy to join in the Love challenge over at Country View Challenges as I love the Merry Moose thinlet set that I used on this page and as my page says I’m wishing that 2020 is filled with peace, happiness and love.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Something New challenge with my New Year page too.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Stain (Cracked Pistachio)
• Creative Stencils Craft Essentials (Stars MAOB0004)
• American Crafts Paper Pad (DIY Shop 366665)
• Pritt Stick
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Wilko Metallic Glitter Tape (Gold)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz (Merry Moose 663103)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso, Antique Linen)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Black wax cotton thread
• Paperstash from local craft shop
• Hobbycraft Clear Stamp (Bunting SO300HC)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Trimcraft Alphabet & Number Stickers (Gold Glitter SCSTK013)
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Gold Flowers ANT8181020)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Clippings Stickers #TH93583)

Material Girl

At Try it on Tuesday we have a new challenge theme every two weeks and we would love for you to join us. Today we are launching our Material Girl challenge where you are asked to create all things feminine, maybe using fabrics, lace or like me faux stitching and dressmaking images.

There are some beautiful inspirational creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday so please pop over and take a look, and you’ll also find a full set of guidelines on how to join in the fun too (grin!).

I started by painting the background with watered down Scattered Straw Distress Ink and once dry stamping it with a set of Urban Arts stamps using black Archival Ink, the stamps included: lace stitched flowers; a dressmaking heart pin; a safety pin; a tape measure; and a tiny flower motif. Next I cut strips of a pretty floral design paper and some button embossed card. I arranged them on the left-hand side of the page using a glue stick and then I edged them with some zig-zag stitched stickers. I used the same floral paper to stamp the tape measures and fussy cut them out. They are stuck over the tape measure images that I stamped on the background. I then added an oval image of a mannequin which was a topper from the same set as the floral paper; the outside oval is stuck down using a glue stick and the central piece using double-sided foam tape. I attached a piece of satin ribbon to the tag which is a sticker and reads “Happy girls are the prettiest”. To finish, I added some yellow pearl gemstones to the flower motifs on the background and to the bow on the mannequin.

We have been having some hot sunny days of late so as T Stands for Tuesday I thought we could cool down by drinking a pineapple frappe or a chocolate milkshake – Happy T Day 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 Halle of Halle’s Hobbies and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey as being happy is a wonderful way to live although I’m not sure you’ll be the prettiest as a result (grin!).

I’m happy to join the Spots and/or Stripes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the spots from the embossed buttons and gems and the stripes of design paper and measuring tapes.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (Craft Coollection – Pastels PMA907223)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Create & Craft Paper Craft Topper & Background Paper (Birthday Celebrations)
• Button Embossed Cardstock (Lavender, Yellow)
• Sandylion Sticker Designs Kelly Panacci Scrapbook Collection (Stitches & Borders KSCB102)
• Little Yellow Bicycle Cardstock Stickers (Fresh Verse PD-140)
• Satin Ribbon
• Trimcraft (Adhesive Pearls SCDOT056)
• Pritt Stick
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Man’s World

Time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday and for the next two weeks our challenge is It’s a Man’s World. So be masculine, it could be something for Father’s Day or for a male birthday.

As I always find it hard to get started on masculine designs, I ended up getting all my appropriate crafting goodies out for inspiration and once I got started I really enjoyed creating this page; it all came together quickly and I love the grungy vintage look and I hope you do too!

I started by ripping some decoupage paper into large pieces and sticking it to the page using a glue stick. Then I stencilled the metal plate effect using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and a Dinky Stencil from That’s Crafty! I splattered the page with water to smudge the Hickory Smoke ink using a piece of kitchen towel giving it a grungy look. Next I smooshed and splattered some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink over the page and I edged the pieces of decoupage paper using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish the background, I added three rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel which I outlined using a black Uni Pin marker so the edges looked worn and then I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint. Next I layered all the different paper elements together having edged them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and also a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker before I stuck them onto the page. They included: letters creating the “mans world” wording, some numbered tiles and shields which are Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers by Tim Holtz; some pieces of a book page which I distressed with scissors along the edge; a vintage car stamp from Tim Holtz which I stamped onto some American Crafts paper and also some recycled Kraft paper using black Archival Ink and then fussy cut out; a clock which was stamped using a Kaisercraft stamp and black Archival Ink onto the same American Crafts paper then cut out; a clock which I fussy cut from an old magazine; two Victorian style brown tags; two wooden effect tags from Docrafts that read “Brilliant” and “The World’s Greatest”, and I emphasised their design using a black Uni Pin marker; a ruler which I cut into two pieces and finally two round discs, which read “in these moments time stood still” and “A lifetime of memories” all of which are fussy cut from a Kaisercraft paper sheet. To finish, I added some brown metal brads to all of the tags and splattered black DecoArt acrylic paint over everything.

For more inspiration please check out the fabulous creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our pie and a pint that we enjoyed whilst sitting in the sunshine at a local pub. We only had one day of sunshine last week and I’m now wishing for more with all the grey cloudy and rainy days we have had of late, although I’m sure the flowers in my garden are grateful (grin!). If you are wondering, our pie is meat and potato which is much loved in the North of England, you probably won’t find this pie in the South of England. It’s served hot and goes very nicely with a pint of beer too – cheers and Happy T day!

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 Halle of Halle’s Hobbies  and her Words to live by challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Masculine challenge with my Man’s World page.

I’m pleased join in the fun over at Creative Artiste and their June #50 – Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge with my mixed media art journal page (which included decoupage paper, ink, markers, stickers, etc).

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

• Trimcraft Santora London (Decoupage Papers SBDEC043)
• That’s Crafty! Dinky Stencil (Metal Grid Background – TC041)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B, Black 199)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Create-A-Collage (Men’s Accessories #ROY-853)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Book page
• Tim Holtz {Components} Collection Stamper Anonymous (COM013 CAR)
• American Crafts Papers (DIY Store 366665)
• Recycled Kraft Notepaper
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Vintage- Believe CS832)
• Old Magazine
• The Works (Victorian Style Embellishments)
• Docrafts A5 Die-Cut Toppers & Sentiments (Mr. Smith’s Workshop PMA157261)
• Kaisercraft Glossy Paper Story Book Collection (Trinkets PS445)
• Craft Sensations (Brads CRO550/A)
• Pritt Stick

Everything has beauty

I hope you had a lovely Easter weekend; here in the UK we have a four-day holiday for Easter and we have had some glorious weather, so we’ve been spending time visiting with friends, in the garden and out on our tandem (grin!).

As part of our ongoing garden project, this week we started landscaping the back beds of our garden so my page today reflects nature and earthy colour tones as I took inspiration from all the dirt we have been shovelling (grin!) along with the brick wall colours that we have been exposing and the birds that we have seen in our garden too – I hope you like it!

For my grungy background, I started by covering the page with Chestnut, Boulder, Dessert, Fawn and Topaz Spectrum Aqua markers by scribbling each of the inks onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the mat onto the page. Then I stencilled a Vintage Diamond stencil from Creative Expressions and Black Soot Distress Ink and added some pieces of decoupage paper using Liquitex matte gel medium. I used a palette knife to add some Pébéo white gesso over the page and once dry, I edged the decoupage pieces using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. Then I stamped a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and also a grid patterned homemade stamp using black Archival Ink. I splattered the page with the Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker ink by scribbling it onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and dripping it onto the page. Then I used black Archival Ink to stamp the bird on the branch which is part of the Urban Tapestries stamp set from Tim Holtz and also the flowers in the foreground which is from a Carabelle Studio stamp set. To finish, I added two Small talk stickers from Tim Holtz and edged them using a black Uni Pin marker; they read “live gently on the earth” and “everything has beauty”.

I had a cuppa with friends at Bijou of Lytham last week, it’s a pretty place and I had a wonderful time catching up with some friends – here’s my pot of drinking green tea …

… and my friend’s hot chocolate with all the works (marshmallows and cream) – as T Stands for Tuesday I’m wishing the T Gang a very Happy T Day!

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 Wendy from Wendy’s Art and Craft Journal  and her Having Fun challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I had fun using all the different mediums to create this page.

I’m happy to join the Neutral Zone challenge over at A Vintage Journey with my grungy Mixed Media Style page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, and their Creative Artiste’s #48th Challenge  – Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge with the different mixed media (markers, inks, decoupage paper, gesso) I used to create my art journal page.

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

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

• Spectrum Aqua Markers (Chestnut, Boulder, Dessert, Fawn, Topaz)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Black Soot)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Creative Expressions Mini Stencils (Vintage Diamond CEMSDIAM)
• Kaisercraft clear stamp (Script CS752)
• Homemade Wood Mounted Stamp – plasterboard tape
• Tim Holtz Collection Stampers Anonymous (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (SA60175 Dans la nature, il y a …)
• Trimcraft (Decoupage papers SCDEC025)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Small Talk #TH93193)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Violet Butterfly

Yellow and violet are colours that are prevalent in my garden at the moment with all the pretty spring flowers that are in bloom. So with a number of challenges in mind, I created this journal page using a yellow and violet colour combination, some recycled materials and a lovely new Postcard Butterfly stamp that I just couldn’t wait to use (grin!).

I started by recycling some book pages which I ripped and stuck to my page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I used a yellow pastel coloured acrylic paint which I diluted further with white gesso and painted over the whole page varying the shade of the colour. Next I mixed some pastel purple acrylic paint with white gesso and stamped it onto the page using some recycled bubble wrap; to do this I wrapped the bubble wrap around an acrylic block which gave a stronger and cleaner stamped finish as I dipped it in the paint and applied it to the page. Next I added some leftover pieces of butterfly decoupage paper using Liquitex matte gel medium and when the gel medium was dry I outlined all the collaged pieces with a black Derwent marker. Then I stamped some Ground Espresso Distress Ink using corrugated cardboard from some packaging in a criss cross pattern and covered the whole page with splatters of white and black DecoArt acrylic paint. I stamped a Butterfly Postcard stamp from Stampendous using black Archival Ink onto a piece of yellow and white paper and also the butterfly image from the same stamp onto some purple paper that I recycled from an old notebook. I fussy cut the images out and along with some yellow leaves, a piece of recycled beige card from some packaging and a spotted purple card leftover from card making, I edged them with the Ground Espresso Distress Ink and a blending tool then stuck them onto the page using glue dots, double-sided tape and foam tape. To add some shine to the purple butterfly wings I covered the black dots with Glossy Accents. Then I added some purple flowers and metal vintage embellishments which I accessorised with some tiny yellow and violet pearls, which finished the page.

We have quite a few yellow flowers in our garden including daffodils and forsythia as well as purple crocus and hyacinths, and both of these colours can be found in these pretty pansies that are in our planters which we can see from our kitchen window.

This variety has quite big flowers, aren’t the colours of this yellow one amazing!

If you are interested, here are some fun facts about pansies:

• The pansy is a member of theViola family.
• Their name comes from the French word, pensée, which means thought or remembrance.
• Pansies are one of the oldest cultivated flowers and are also one of the most popular plants in our gardens.
• In the language of flowers, the pansy represents thoughts of lovers and in the 19th century this flower was used in love potions.
• Pansies are edible and their petals have a mint flavour; they are often added to salads and desserts.
• The flower is used as a natural dye.

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/Craftytrog, who is hosting the Recycle and Collage challenge over at Art Journal Journey as I used stamps recycled from packaging and recycled book pages, packaging and leftovers to create this page!

With the stamped butterfly as my focal image and butterflies being part of the animal kingdom, I’m also happy to be able to join Fashionable Stamping Challenges and their Animals challenge.

With the stamping I used to create this art journal page, I’m also joining in the fun at the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It Challenge and their April Challenge: Anything Goes!: (stamping MUST be included).

I’m also joining the Color Wheel! challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge as I used a complimentary pair of colours, which are opposite each other on the colour wheel, yellow and violet to create my mixed media art journal page.

I was also inspired by Corrie’s use of book pages on her Design Team creation over at Country View Challenges so I’m also joining their Pimp It Up! (reuse or alter something) challenge.

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

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Aldi Script Ready Mixed Paint (Pastels – yellow, purple)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Ground Espresso)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black, White)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Stamps made from bubble wrap and corrugated cardboard recycled from packaging
• Stampendous Cling Rubber Stamps (Butterfly Post CRP147)
• First Edition Deco Maché Decoupage papers (Vintage Butterfly FEDEC112)
• Paper Bundle from local craft shop (Yellow and white circles)
• Recycled purple memo paper
• Recycled beige card from packaging
• Leftover purple dot card from card making
• The Handmade Paper Company (Nature’s Touch of Art)
• Wilko (Flower Embellishments) leftover pieces
• Poundworld DécoTime (Vintage Stickers 54748)
• Trimcraft (Adhesive Pearls SCDOT056)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Wilko (Sticky Dots)
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Pretty Snowdrops

The snowdrops flowering in our garden always make me think of spring so in order to remember one of the first flowers of the year and also the beautiful displays we have seen at Lytham Hall of late, I was inspired to create this snowdrop art journal page.

I started this page by covering it with squares of decoupage paper using Liquitex matte gel medium. Once dry I edged the squares with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and smudged it with my finger. Then I stamped some postage marks and text using black Archival Ink and covered the whole page with green paint that I had mixed from Liquitex Christmas Green acrylic paint with some black and white DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic paints. Once the paint was dry I rubbed and removed some of the paint using a baby wipe to give the page a worn look and then covered the whole page with PVA Glue to brighten the green colour and give it a glossy finish. Next I added some Pébéo white gesso with my finger and stencilled a doily image by Craft Sensations using a Bud Green Spectrum Aqua marker. I stamped a doily image using white DecoArt acrylic paint by applying the paint to the stamp using a brayer making sure that I washed the stamp immediately afterwards so the paint did not ruin the stamp by drying onto it. Then I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paintbrush. With the background complete, I added a white lace border on the left hand side of the page which is an outline sticker, a pretty circular bird sticker from Docrafts and some black button letters which spell out the word “Snowdrop”. I die cut some brown paper which I recycled from a notebook using a Spellbinders die set and my Big Shot die cutting machine and arranged them onto the page with: a white doily by Dovecraft which is stuck down using a UHU Stic; a snowdrop image that I fussy cut from an old book of garden flowers and stuck into place using a Zig Memory System glue pen; text from the same book about snowdrops which I mounted on white and black card using double-sided tape; and finally a “S” alphabet letter sticker again mounted on white and black card.

If you are interested, here’s a close up of the text I included on my page.

This is one of the small clumps of snowdrops in our back garden before the snow came this week (grin!).

We went to see the snowdrop displays again at Lytham Hall this year, which have now almost finished and although they didn’t seem to be as bountiful this year the displays were still very beautiful. Here I am on a cold sunny day last week amongst the pretty snowdrops. I’m well wrapped up against the cold, do you like my new winter hat with its two bobbles or pom poms (grin!).

You may remember the amazing displays of snowdrops at Lytham Hall that I posted last year, so if you would like to see more of these pretty snowdrops please take a look my post here.

I so enjoyed reading the different stories associated with how the snowdrop flower came to be that I thought I would share a couple of them with you:

• Garden of Eden: When Eve was cast out of the Garden of Eden, continuous snow covered the earth leaving it cold and barren. The angel, who appeared to comfort Eve, caught a snowflake and breathed upon it. The snowflake fluttered to the earth and gave birth to the snowdrop which later came to symbolize hope and rebirth.
• German Legend: With the creation of snow, God tasked it with visiting the flowers of the earth to gather colours. Seeing that the gentle snowdrop was a kind and generous soul, the snow agreed to allow the snowdrop to bloom first every spring in exchange for her colour. So white snowdrops can be seen flowering amongst the snow each spring.

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 Rosie from Rosie’s Bastelwelt who is hosting the Spring challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my snowdrop page!

Over at Moo Mania and More the theme is Think of Spring so I’m pleased to join this challenge too!

I’m joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their In My Garden challenge with this snowdrop art journal page.

I’m also joining the Use a stencil and Three Mediums challenge over at The Mixed Media Challenge as I used a doily stencil and at least three mediums which included Spectrum Aqua marker, acrylic paints and Memento Ink to create my page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page.

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

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

• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Christmas Green)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Tsukeniko Memento Ink (Cottage Green)
• Spectrum Aqua Artist Marker (Bud Green)
• Prima Marketing Clear Stamps (Rossi Belle 587499)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Script CS752)
• Dovecraft Curiosity Corner Clear Stamps (A5 Lace & Doile DCCS009)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Spellbinders Die Set (Unknown)
• Viva Gade Decoupage Paper (Skagen 25561)
• Trimcraft (Decoupage Papers SCDEC064)
• Recycled brown paper from old notebook
• Oxford Book of Garden Flowers
• White card
• Dovecraft Paper Doilies (Painted Blooms DCDLS010)
• Docrafts Papermania Label Stickers (Botanicals PMA157234)
• Docrafts Anita’s Outline Stickers (Delicate Lace Borders ANT8101510)
• Home Bargains (Love Letters 22738)
• PSX Designs for Creativity Stickers (Florentine Alphabet Green SR6042)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Everbuild 501 Universal PVA Bond
• UHU Stic
• Docraft Stick It! double-sided tape

Valentine’s

To celebrate Valentine’s Day tomorrow I created this art journal page and I used my winter window display as inspiration too as it looks so pretty with the red hearts and white snowflakes (double grin!).

Over at Try it on Tuesday, our current theme is Love is in the Air (think Hearts, Valentine’s Day, Love etc) and there is still another week to join in the fun, so it would be great to see you there!

I started by covering the page in a thin layer of Pébéo white gesso in preparation for the Faber-Castell Gelatos that I added next. Once dry, I graduated the Gelato colours using Iced Currant around the edges of the page then Iced Rosé then Metallic Icing in the centre using a sponge to blend them. Next I stamped some bars of music and a scroll border from Penny Black and also an “I Love You!” stamp by Hampton Art using black Archival Ink. I stamped my favourite circle and heart design from Sugarloaf Inc. using a VersaMark watermark stamp pad and covered it with white Stampendous embossing powder making sure any excess powder was removed using a paintbrush. Once the excess powder was safely returned to its container, I used a heat gun to melt the embossing powder. I swept the gun over the stamped images, taking care not to direct the heat in one area for too long until the embossing powder melted to a glossy finish and became smooth and dimensional. Then I used some silver metallic rub-on transfers from Royal & Langnickel to add the “Forever & Ever” and “Love” wording and also some hugs and kisses. For my snowflakes I used a trio snowflake die from Tonic Studios and some recycled white card. They are stuck to the page using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium and I finished them using some pretty glitter and silver snowflakes and also some sparkly jewel stickers. For the small hearts, I used a paper punch from Tonic Studios and some recycled red card and stuck them in place using the matte gel medium again. The cupid heart and postcard are from a card making kit by Docrafts and are stuck in place using double-sided tape. I also added an “I Love You” sticker to the postcard which is by Graphic 45. The chalkboard heart is a tag and I tied a red piece of leather into a bow and added our initials which are foam sticker letters. I coloured the letters using red Stickles in the centre and then edged them with silver Stickles using a very steady hand (grin!). I added three red hearts, to the focal images, which are punched from the same red card using another paper punch from Tonic Studios and also some more sparkly jewel embellishments to the background which finished the page.

I love our Valentine’s window display this year; it looks extra special with the lovely winter decorations that I made and the beautiful “G” and “J” initial decorations that were bought for us for Christmas.

The red hearts and white of the decorations and snowflakes look lovely together and the snowflakes seem even more relevant as we have snow forecast for this week too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m also sharing his and hers hot chocolates – normal  hot chocolate for hubby and white hot chocolate for me (grin!) – Happy T day!

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 in the fun over at Moo Mania and More and their Valentine’s challenge.

As I included red on my page, I’m also joining the Roses are Red (use the colour Red) challenge over at The Artistic Stamper.

I’m pleased to be able to join Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their It Must Be Love challenge with my Valentine’s inspired art journal page.

I’m also pleased to join the Photo Inspiration challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

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

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

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Faber-Castell Gelato (Iced Currant, Iced Rosé, Metallic Icing)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Script Metallic Pen (Silver)
• Stampendous Embossing Powder (Detail White Opaque)
• Sugarloaf Inc. Anita’s wood-mounted stamp (26645)
• Penny Black Stamp Set (Clearly in Love 30-009)
• Hampton Art Studio G clear stamps (VS4911)
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 17920)
• Red and white card (recycled Christmas cards)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Kisses and Hugs Silver #ROY790SV)
• Docrafts Papermania 6×6” Decoupage Card Kit (Victorian Valentine PMA169102)
• Graphic 45 Cardstock Stickers (Place in Time 4500617)
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch Accent (Hearts Sider 830E, Classic Heart Sider 858E)
• The Works (Chalkboard Heart Tags, Christmas Embellishments, Jewel Stickers)
• Trimcraft Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter – Gold SCSTK013)
• Ranger Stickles (Christmas Red, Silver)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Fire and Ice

Today at Try it on Tuesday we are launching a new challenge called Fire and Ice, where you are asked to use hot or cold colours. This new challenge runs for two weeks and we would love for you to join us.

I had fun creating an art journal page using hot fiery colours and icy glittery flowers (grin!).

I started by applying Pébéo modelling paste using a Swoosh stencil from Creative Expressions and a feather mask from Craft Sensations. Once the modelling paste had dried, I spritzed the page with water and sprinkled Brilliant Red, Scarlet, Orange, Yellow and Lemon Colourcraft Brusho Powders over the top and spritzed them with more water so that the Brusho colours fully covered the page. I controlled where individual colours went by adding each Brusho colour separately then spritzing the powder with water after each application; replicating flames with a red glow in the centre and oranges and yellows around the edges. I then dried the page with my heat gun and stuck a glitter adhesive border strip along the bottom edge. For the quote I cut out a circle of patterned paper and stamped the quote using an alphabet stamp set and black Archival Ink. It is by William C. Hannah and reads:

“The day will be what you make it, so rise like the sun and burn”.

It is edged with a gold outline sticker and then with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and a black Derwent Graphik marker. I stuck it on top of a circle of pink tissue-thin fibrous paper which I ripped around the edges leaving some of the silky fibres intact to give a textured feathery look; they are both stuck down using double-sided tape. Then I added some pearls, gems and glittery flower embellishments around the quote and to the background of the page; sticking the flowers in place using Glossy Accents. Next I fussy cut the phoenix from an old magazine and backed it with white card and I edged with a black Derwent Graphik marker. It is stuck to the page using double-sided foam tape and I stuck some torn pieces of the pink fibrous paper to represent feathers using a Zig Memory System glue pen and added some of the pearls and gems to give it a 3D look which finished the page.

I hope you will join in the fun over at Try it on Tuesday where you will find loads more inspiration from my fellow Design Team Members too.

As the quote I used inspires new adventures, I’m also pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the “New Year, New Adventures” challenge over at Art Journal Journey.

We often visit the Blackbird café with our friends and as I’m featuring my favourite drink of green tea I’m pleased to join T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T Day! The drinks at this café are always served with a little treat on the side. If you look closely at the teaspoon you will see an Iced Gem biscuit, these little treats took me right back to my childhood (grin!).

If you haven’t come across Iced Gems before, you may be interested to know that:

• Iced Gems are tiny round biscuits (maybe 2cm diameter) with a swirl of hard icing on top.
• They were first made over 150 years ago in Reading and were apparently the result of a biscuit making accident back in the 1850s when Huntley and Palmer shrank their biscuits during the cooking process when experimenting with some new biscuit technology. They called the resulting mini biscuits Gems.
• In 1910 they added icing to these mini biscuits to create the product we know today.
• There were different ways of eating them; maybe the icing first, or the biscuit, or as I preferred both together. Leaving them to melt in your mouth was a good idea too as they were quite hard if you tried to chew them.
• Today’s iced gems have five colours of icing, white, yellow, orange, red and purple, which seem to be different from what I remember and there is also now a chocolate version too.
• They are said to be most popular in France, America, Canada, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and Sweden.

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

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

• Pébéo Modeling Paste
• Colourcraft Brusho Colours (Brilliant Red, Scarlet, Orange, Yellow, Lemon)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.05mm, 0.1mm, 0.8mm)
• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Mask (Swoosh)
• Craft Sensations (Deco Stencil Set 154892)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Paper bundle from local craft shop
• Fibrous light weight Mulberry paper (Pink)
• White card
• Old magazine
• The Range (Glitter Adhesive Border Strips CR0517)
• Starform Outline Stickers (Gold 1144)
• Trimcraft (Adhesive Pearls SCDOT056)
• The Range (Craft Embellishments CR0824)
• Poundland (Accessories Pack)
• Hobbycraft (Rose Gem Stones 5666091006)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• UHU Stic
• Docrafts Stick It! double-sided tape
• The Range double-sided foam tape

Happy New Year! 2018

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year filled with love, peace and happiness!

I went for a grunge look today and started by applying acrylic paints to the edges of the page using an old plastic gift card. The paints I used were Navy Liquitex acrylic paint, a metallic gold paint and then also some white and some black DecoArt acrylic paint. I also used the same paints to stamp stars and hearts around the edge of the page using an Urban Stamps set by Docrafts Papermania. I used up the excess paint by applying it to some white paper and also to the centre area of the page. Once the paint had dried I used the same star stamp with black Archival Ink to add more detail to the stars and border. Next I added some previously stamped white tissue paper from my craft stash, using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium to stick it in place; the stamps used include a chandelier, postage marks, words, starburst, Art Deco border, numbers, scroll work and music sheet. These pre-stamped images are leftover from pages that I have created as I often stamp the image onto tissue paper and then place it on my page in order to see what it looks like first (grin!). When the gel medium had dried I applied a very thin layer of Pébéo white gesso to blend them into the background more.  Then I used some sparkly gold glitter tape to add the sun burst pattern to the page and added the “Happy New Year!” sentiment and “2018” which are foam stickers. I added shadows to them using a black Derwent Graphik marker and a black Derwent Inktense pencil. Then I splattered the page with white and also black DecoArt acrylic paint using a paint brush. The stars are made from gold outline stickers which I backed with a starry night paper from The Works and grey script paper from Craft Sensations along with some white paper which I had applied the leftover paint to earlier. I cut the stars out of the papers and stuck them down using double-sided foam tape, this finished the page.

I hope you all had a wonderful time over the holiday season! Here are our New Year drinks, a Poinsettia cocktail for me and a homemade Christmas beer for my hubby – cheers and wishing you all the very best for 2018!

With this drink related photo, I’m saying a big hello the T Gang at T Stands for Tuesday  and wishing you all a Happy T Day!

Challenges

I’m glad that I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with so much inspiration and it’s a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people too. The New Year brings some new exciting themes, so here are the challenges I’m joining today:

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika N, also known as BioArtGal, who is hosting the “New Year, New Adventures” challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my Happy New Year journal page.

I’m joining Moo Mania & More and their “Somebody/Something/The New Year” challenge – Happy New Year!

With “New” Year celebration, I’m also very happy to join the “Something New” challenge over at  Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

I’m also pleased to join the fun over at Country View Challenges and their “Anything Goes” challenge.

As I created this mixed media page to welcome and celebrate the New Year, I’m also joining the “Ring in the New” challenge over at the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge.

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

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Navy)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White, Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Derwent Graphik Line Marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (2200 Ink Black)
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (12 Days of Christmas – Icons PMA907909)
• White paper
• White tissue paper pre-stamped with various designs
• The Works Paper Pack (The Night Before Christmas HCPAP003X15)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Soft Colours CR0730/R)
• Wilko Glitter Tape (Gold)
• Outline Stickers (Gold Stars)
• Trimcraft Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter SCSTK013)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• The Range double-sided foam tape