Today is full of possibilities

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Words/Numbers.

I created a world of Words and Numbers for my steampunk birds using collage paper, stencils, stamps, stickers and quote chips; I hope you’re inspired to join us too, it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by covering the page with collage paper by Tim Holtz, this one is called Typeset and has lots of words and numbers on it. Then I applied some Pébéo white gesso with my finger and left it to dry. I dragged a Tea Dye Stamp Pad over the top of the paper and spritzed the ink with water to disperse the colour. When dry I stencilled some Wheels using a Dina Wakley stencil and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Then I stamped some Steampunk images and some background texture from a couple of Docrafts stamp sets using Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Archival Distress Ink.

The crowns, butterflies, strips of numbers and banners are from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet; I created some shadows around their edges using a Black Faber-Castell marker and outlined them using a black Uni Pin marker.

The birds were created using a Feathered Friends Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; they are cut from linen textured cardstock that I had coloured using Tea Dye, Ground Espresso and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. Their hats were stamped, using the Steampunk stamp set from Docrafts and black Archival Ink, onto white cardstock which I had coloured using Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss and Twisted Citron Distress Inks. I coloured the goggles on the hats using metallic gold and silver Daler-Rowney pens and used Glossy Accents to depict the glass in the lenses. To finish, I added wording with a Quote Chip from Tim Holtz which reads “Today is full of possibilities”.

I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more inspiration my Design Teamies have created some Words/Numbers creations for you over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing some homebrewed beer that we’ve been bottling. As you can see we have capping machine which makes short work of capping 35 to 40 bottles (grin!). This particular beer is a wheat beer which is perfect for summer but we have both amber and dark beers too (even a Porter style one which I believe some of you would prefer) – cheers and Happy T Day!

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

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

Challenges

I’m 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 Summer Special – ANYTHING GOES in Steampunk and Industrial mixed media challenge over at SanDee & amelie’s Steampunk Challenges.

I’m joining in 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:

• Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Typeset #TH94046)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Ranger Dina Wakley Mixed Media Stencil (Wheels MDS45588)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss, Twisted Citron)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials Clear Stamps (Steampunk DCE907125, Steampunk Background DCE907128)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (The Looking Glass SS206)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Black 199)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Feathered Friends 664433)
• White cardstock
• Daler-Rowney Acrylic Paint Marker (Gold, Silver)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Quote Chips #TH93563)
• Stix2 Glue Dots

Summer

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

I had fun using the hot colours of summer to create my seascape page capturing a summertime sunset. I hope you’re inspired to join our Summertime challenge too, it would be lovely to see you there (grin!).

The background is layers of paint and stamping; I started by applying Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Orange and Ultramarine Blue Liquitex acrylic paints to the page using a brayer. Then I used a texture stamp from BoBunny to transfer some of the wet paint around the page cleaning it immediately so the paint didn’t ruin the stamp. When the page was dry, I stamped the same texture BoBunny stamp and also two other texture stamps from an Urban Tapestry Tim Holtz stamp set using black Archival Ink. Then I applied some Pébéo white gesso and the Cadmium Yellow and Cadmium Orange acrylic paints again over the top using the brayer.

I created the horizon using a black Uni Pin marker pen and a ruler, blending the marker pen along the bottom edge using a wet paintbrush. Then I doodled some waves using a black Uni Pin maker and white Uniball gel pen. The seagulls and boats are drawn and cut from a dictionary page which detailed the word “sail”. I stuck them in place using a glue stick, outlined them using a black Sharpie marker and shaded them using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish, I added the word “summer” which is a rub-on transfer and highlighted it using a white Uniball gel pen.

For more Summertime inspiration, there are some amazing creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

We are lucky enough to live right by the sea on the west coast and the sunsets are often spectacular, whether it’s simply yellow and orange …

… or maybe clouds of blues and pinks – so beautiful (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of green tea with a custard tart. This is a pastry case filled with egg custard, sprinkled with nutmeg and baked – so very yummy (grin!). Wishing you all a Happy T Day!

I hope that you are all staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

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

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her When It’s Hot challenge this month with the hot pink that I added to hot sunset page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their A Day At The Beach challenge my seascape art journal page.

I’m also happy to be able to join the #123 – Photo Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the colours that I included on my page.

I’m entering the Do What Makes You Happy challenge over at Country View Challenges too as walking along the beach and seeing the sunset always makes me happy.

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

• Liquitex Basics Artist Color (Cadmium Yellow Light Hue Cadmium Orange Hue, Ultramarine Blue )
• Ranger Mini Brayer
• BoBunny Stamps (Rough It Up #1205155)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Uni Pin Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Oxford Pocket Dictionary
• Pritt Stick
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Point (Black)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Summer Sentiments #ROY-505)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)

Create your own sunshine

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Use Book Pages.

I had fun using some book pages to create the sun and flowers on this page; I hope that you are inspired to join us too, I can’t wait to see how you use your book pages!

For the background, I applied some Cerulean Blue and white acrylic paint using a paintbrush and left it to dry.

Then I used a book page from an old encyclopedia to create the sun; if you look closely you’ll see the page I chose was about the universe and details information about the sun. I drew around a circular tray to create the round body of the sun and then used a ruler to create the sun’s rays. They are cut out, coloured using Mustard Seed Distress Ink, stuck in place using a glue stick and outlined using a black Sharpie marker. The wording was created using some alphabet stickers which I outlined using a black Uni Pin marker.

For the flowers I used another page from the encyclopedia, this time about growth and I die cut the flower heads and leaves using a Tattered Floral Thinlets set from Tim Holtz. The flowers are coloured using Festive Berries and the leaves using Mowed Lawn Distress Inks which were applied using a blending tool. Next I doodled the stems using a black Uni Pin marker and white Uniball gel pen and stuck the flower heads and leaves into place. For the centre of the flowers I used the cutouts from the centre of the lettering from the alphabet stickers. I outlined them all with a black marker so they stood out more and then to finish, I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

For more inspiration you can see how my Design Teamies have been using book pages for their amazing creations too, so please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look (grin!).

Here we are enjoying the sunshine one evening along the seafront where we live, as T Stands for Tuesday you may have noticed the bottle of water on the wall in the background – Happy T Day everyone!

Hoping that you all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her When It’s Hot challenge this month my sunshine page.

I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Play With Paint challenge with the painted background on my art journal page.

I’m also entering the Do What Makes You Happy challenge over at Country View Challenges too as sunshine always makes me happy and sometimes you just have to create your own sunshine especially with all the stormy weather we’ve been having of late (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Bright & Cheerful challenge with my happy sunshiny page.

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

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

• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Cerulean Blue)
• Artist Discount Acylic Paint (White)
• Pears Cyclopaedia 2007-2008 Edition
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mustard Seed, Festive Berries, Mowed lawn)
• Pritt Stick
• Sharpie Permanent Marker Fine Point (Black)
• Aldi So Crafty (Alphabet Stickers – Multi-coloured)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.2mm, 0.8mm)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Small Tattered Florals 661806)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)

Mountain Scene

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Create a Scene.

There are many options for this challenge so I decided to create a summer mountain scene. As I was creating the scene I knew I had to use my favourite Merry Moose Thinlet set – such fun (grin!).

Everything on this page is coloured using Kuretake Watercolour paints even the die cut Thinlets. To start I painted the gorgeous purple mountains using Colbalt Violet and a little Ultramarine watercolour paint. When dry, I painted the meadow foreground using Sap Green and Hooker’s Green paint, layering the colours to add texture. I also transferred some of the wet green paint using a piece of kitchen towel to blend the colours together at the base of the mountains.

The trees are from the Merry Moose Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and were cut from linen textured cardstock like all of the die cut Thinlets on this page. I coloured the cardstock using a mixture of Burnt Sienna and Black paint for the trunks and added some more detail with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The tree foliage was a mixture of Sap Green and Hooker’s Green. I cut out a circle of linen cardstock for the sun and coloured it using Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Scarlet paints, when dry I painted Lemon Yellow over the top and edged it first with a Cold Grey and then a White Faber-Castell marker. The sky was painted using Ultramarine Pale paint and I gradually built up the clouds by letting each paint layer dry before adding the next to ensure the clouds got darker as I added each layer.

For the shrubs at the base of the trees, I used a Funky Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and coloured them first using Sap Green allowing it to dry and then adding dots of Burnt Sienna and Cadmium Scarlet paints. The moose was from the same Merry Moose Thinlet set and I coloured him using Burnt Sienna and Black paint, I also used Yellow Ochre for his antlers. To finish, I added three Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz, they read “life was meant to be a great adventure”, “live everyday with intention” and “always take the scenic route”; they are edged with a Unipin pen.

I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more inspiration my Design Teamies have created some amazing scenes for you over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

The mountains on this page reminded me of the purple mountains that you find in Wales, this is due to the purple slate that is found and was mined in the area. Of course the only moose that you’ll find there is the Purple Moose Brewery in Porthmadog in North Wales. As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our moose pint glasses that we often use at home to serve our home brewed beer in. They are a lovely reminder of the Purple Moose Brewery that we have visited on a few occasions, these were mementos from their Brewery Tour that we took on my birthday some years ago – Happy T day everyone!

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well! x

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

Challenges

I’m also happy to be able to join the #121 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page design; the bottom panel is depicted by the green foreground and the logo by the moose.

I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Summer Fun challenge with my summer mountain scene.

With my moose walking through a summery meadow at the base of the mountains, I’m pleased to join in the Summer Fields challenge over at Country View Challenges too.

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

• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Colbalt Violet No:139, Ultramarine No:64, Sap Green No:53, Hooker’s Green No:52, Burnt Sienna No:46, Black No:20, Cadmium Scarlet No:31, Yellow Ochre No:44, Lemon Yellow No:40, Ultramarine Pale No:61 )
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Merry Moose 663103, Funky Florals #1 662700)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Zig Memory 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Stickers (Small Talk #TH93193)
• UniPin Fine Line Marker Pen (Black 0.05mm)

Make it Masculine

Our new challenge for the next two weeks over at Try it on Tuesday is Make it Masculine.

I enjoyed creating this masculine page with the help of my hubby who chose the three stamps for the background and also the air balloon rub-on transfers which gave the page a lovely Victorian Steampunk feel (grin!).

I started by stamping the three Kaisercraft stamps that my hubby chose onto the background using Archival Distress Ink; these were an Alphabet stamp using Hickory Smoke ink, a Sketchy stamp using Vintage Photo ink and a Keys stamp using Ground Espresso ink. Then I scribbled some Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and then pressed the block onto the page to add to the grungy look.

Next I cut some rulers and also tore some grid and map papers from American Crafts and arranged them on the page with some leftover pieces of book pages and sheet music; they are all edged, like all the paper elements, using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and stuck in place using a glue stick. The “masculine” wording and shop advertising signs are from a Crowded Attic sticker set from Tim Holtz. I splattered the page using black and rust coloured acrylic paints and then edged it using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.

I added some Men’s Accessories rub-on transfers which included some men’s trouser braces, a pair of spectacles, a lighter, a couple of gentlemen and a wallet. To finish, I added some Kaisercraft rub-on transfers detailing hot air balloons, tickets with the words “explore”, “discover”, “adventure” on them and some scrollwork.

For more inspiration, my Design Teamies have been making it masculine over at Try it on Tuesday with their wonderful creations too, so please pop over and take a look!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my cup of tea that we enjoyed with some homemade chocolate mousse – so very yummy (grin!). Wishing you all a Happy T Day!

If you are interested, the chocolate mousse was made using aquafaba (juice from a tin of chickpeas) which I whisked for 10–15 minutes until it was at the stiff peak stage, like you would meringues, and then I folded 250g of melted dark chocolate and a couple of tablespoons of castor sugar into it, poured the mixture into dishes and refrigerated overnight.

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 Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with the men’s clothing and wallet accessory on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Masculine challenge.

I’m also happy to join the It’s A Man Thing challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with this page.

The challenge over at SanDee&amelie’s Steampunk Challenge is Anything Goes – Steampunk/Industrial so I’m pleased to be able to join them too.

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

• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Alphabet CS887, Sketchy CS878, Keys CS801)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Hickory Smoke, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• American Crafts Papers (DIY Shop 366665)
• Leftover pieces of book pages and sheet music
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Salvage Stickers (Crowded Attic #TH92898)
• Pritt Stick
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Liquitex Artist Color (Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Men’s Accessories #ROY-853)
• Kaisercraft Rub Ons (Up, Up & Away Collection RB870)

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)

Colour me beautiful

Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Lovely Ladies.

We are asking that your page is not just feminine but also features a female image too. I used stamps to add the female images to the background of my page and fussy cut some old magazine images for the two lovely ladies – don’t you just love that hat!

For the background, I applied Antique Linen Distress Ink and Angel Pink Memento Ink to the page by applying the ink pads directly to the paper and pulling them vertically down the page to create stripes. Then I used a wet paintbrush to soften and blend the inks a little. Once dry, I stamped the cameos, perfume bottles and filigree over the background with a Kaisercraft stamp set using black Archival Ink. Next I applied some white gesso using my finger over some of the stamped images to push them back and add some depth to the design. My two lovely ladies and wording were fussy cut from some old magazines and stuck in place using a glue stick. I edged the wording with some black Glitterations border stickers and then stuck some striped black and white ribbon under the images. To finish, I added two large clear gemstones to the ends of the ribbon and three pretty pink acrylic daisy flowers.

I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more inspiration my Design Teamies have created some Lovely Ladies creations for you over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).

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

As T Stands for Tuesday, I think the glamorous ladies on my page might enjoy a Poinsettia which is a cocktail made from Cranberry Juice, Orange Liqueur and Prosecco. Here we are serving them in a posh champagne glass – cheers and Happy T Day!

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.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Angel Pink)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (75 Cents CS864)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Old Magazines
• Pritt Stick
• Docrafts Papermania Glitterations (Black Borders ANT8181015)
• Craft Sensations (Self-Adhesive Deco Ribbons CRO244/16R)
• Poundworld DecoTime Scrapbook Accessories (Gems Art#54745)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Home Bargains Crafty Things (Acrylic Daisy Stickers 50650)

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

Bluebells

As the flower border in our garden is looking so lovely with all the beautiful flowers that are in bloom, I’ve been inspired to create some flower art journal pages; this one celebrates bluebells and is the first of the flower pages that I will be sharing with you – I hope you like it!

I started by stencilling Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink using a blending tool through a mixed media stencil from Paperbabe Stamps.  Then I added some water to the page and removed it with a piece of kitchen towel which also removed some of the stencilled ink. Next I cut the bluebell stems and foliage from some green design papers and stuck them in place using a glue stick. I added some more colour to them using an Apple Green and Field Green Inktense pencil. The bluebell flower heads are die cut, using a Funky Flower Thinlet from Tim Holtz, from recycled paper that was the closest match to the actual bluebell flower colour. I stuck them in place using a Zig glue pen and then coloured the veins of the flowers using a Bright Blue Inktense pencil. I added more detail to the flowers and foliage using a white Uniball pen and a black Uni Pin marker. To finish, I added a yellow butterfly which is a Botanical die cut from Tim Holtz and the wording “bluebells” which are Kaisercraft stickers.

You may remember that we have been working to improve the flower borders in our garden over the last couple of years.

As you can see the bluebells are looking particularly pretty this year and we even have small group of white bells (centre of photo) hence why I added one to my page (grin!).

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 geometric stencilled background.

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

Don’t forget that you still have over a 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:

• Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (ISO Fun)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso)
• B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise 321451)
• Studio Light Paper Pad (PPSL84)
• Pritt Stick
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Funky Florals #2 662701)
• Recycled Mixed Media Pad Cover
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CR0240/GE)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Inktense Derwent Pencils (Bright Blue 1000, Apple Green 1400, Field Green 1500)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Layers (Botanical #TH93554)
• Stix2 Glue Dots
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Mix & Match – Alpha SS252)

Happy Easter

Having visited Tracey’s blog she gave me the idea of creating a journal page based on the Easter cards I made this year – thanks for the inspiration Tracey and Happy Easter everyone!

I started by stencilling a trellis background using a Moroccan mask from Creative Expressions and some Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink. Then I added some off cut pieces of green mixed media paper from another project (which will be revealed later this month) using a glue stick. Next I die cut some foliage using a Wildflowers Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and coloured them green using Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint and Peacock Feather Distress Ink. They are stuck in place using a Zig glue pen and adorned with some small glittery white flowers. Then I added the “spring”, “Good life” and “the sweetest thing” wording which are rub-on transfers.

I stamped “Happy Easter” using a Sophisticated Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th and some black Archival Ink. Then I created the butterfly, bunny rabbit and chick using a Springtime Sidekick Thinlet set from Tim Holtz. The large butterfly wings are coloured using a Canary Winsor & Newton Promarker and some Fossilized Amber Distress Ink and the smaller wings with Festive Berries and Seedless Preserves Distress Ink, I coloured the butterfly body with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker, layered it together and stuck it in place. Then I applied some Ranger Glossy Accents over the body and the edges of the wings.

The bunny is coloured using the Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink and the bow with the Canary Promarker and Fossilized Amber ink. The bow is covered in Ranger Glossy Accents and I also added a white pom pom for the bunny rabbit’s tail.

The chick is coloured using the Canary Promarker and Fossilized Amber ink again, the chick’s breast using a Saffron Promarker and some Ground Espresso Distress Ink, the chick’s beak and feet using a Bright Orange Promarker and the eyes using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Once layered together, I applied Ranger Glossy Accents to the chick’s eyes and beak. 

Here’s the Easter card that inspired my page!

As its Easter it’s time to make Easter Chocolate Nests – yum (grin!). These homemade treats are Rice Crispies coated in milk chocolate and filled with a chocolate fudge icing then topped with chocolate mini eggs, chocolate covered raisins and mini marshmallows – Happy Easter!

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 happy to join the lovely Valerie from Bastelmania over at Art Journal Journey and her Geometric Shapes challenge this month with the rectangles paper pieces on this page.

I’m also pleased to join in the Animal Magic challenge over at Country View Challenges with the bunny rabbit, butterfly and chick on my art journal page.

I’m joining in the Add Some Texture challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the texture from stencilling, papers, linen cardstock and white bunny pom pom tail (grin!).

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Spring Moodboard challenge with the colours, chick, butterfly and spring wording that I included.

Don’t forget that you still have until next Tuesday to join The Beauty of Nature 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:

• Creative Expressions That Special Touch of Mica Masks (Moroccan)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Peacock Feathers, Fossilized Amber, Festive Berries, Seedless Preserves)
• Leftover green mixed media paper pieces
• Pritt Stick
• White cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164, Sidekick – Springtime 662711)
• Zig Memory System 2-way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Poundland (Mini Glitter Embellishments 59409)
• Tim Holz idea-ology Remnant Rubs (Tiny Text #TH93695)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-on Transfers (Spring Sentiments #ROY-506)
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
• Winsor & Newton Promarkers (Canary Y367, Bright Orange 0177, Saffron 0739)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Home Bargains Christmas Crafts (White Pom Poms 03007)