Winter Blues

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Winter Blues, where we are asking you to use the colour blue.

This was the perfect challenge for me as blue happens to be my favourite colour (grin!). I hope you like my wintry blue journal page and are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by colouring the background using After Midnight Dylusions Spray Ink and Speckled Egg Distress Ink. When dry, I covered the page with Pébéo clear gesso; this stopped the inks reactivating and bleeding into the next layers of media that I added. Next I splattered the page with white acrylic paint and left it to dry. For the snowflakes, I die cut them using a Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some blue and white mottled paper from Craft Sensations. They were arranged around the edges of the page using Liquitex matte gel medium.

The pretty winter scene of the hares was a recycled Christmas card and the quote was from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet. I thought the quote was perfect to combat those winter blues; it’s by Ralph Waldo Emerson and reads “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year”.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the amazing Winter Blues creations from my Design Teamies too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my new Assam Tea. This is a loose leaf tea and has a delicately rich and malty flavour – Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Ranger Dylusions Ink Spray (After Midnight)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg)
• Pébéo Clear Gesso
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Craft Sensations (Creative Paper Collection CR0458/GE)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Paper Snowflakes Mini 661599)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Recycled Christmas Card
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Wandering Ivy SS352)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I blue is my favourite colour. I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the square Christmas card on my page. I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the uplifting quote that I used on my page. I’m also joining the Layer It Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the snowflakes, image and quote that I layered on my page. I’m pleased to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my blue wintry page too.

Grateful Heart

I had fun creating this journal page to join some of my favourite challenge blogs and the words I included resonated with me and seemed perfect for the New Year – “start each day with a grateful heart”.

On my craft desk, I always have a piece of paper that I use to test stamp images, inks and markers before using them on my pages, so for today’s page I recycled one of them. I ripped the paper into different shapes and stuck them randomly onto my page using a glue stick and Liquitex matte gel medium. Then I painted some Pébéo white gesso and Cadmium Yellow Acrylic paint around them using a paintbrush. When dry, I edged them with a Cold Grey and then a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker smudging the ink with my finger. Next I added some shadows and contrast around the paper pieces using a Gold Champagne Faber-Castell Gelato and also a Gold Daler-Rowney Acrylic marker; applying each of them and then smudging the colour with my finger. Then I splattered the whole page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.

For the heart, I created a stencil by drawing a heart onto some paper and cutting it out. Then I stamped the square postage sheet design through it onto some white card, using a Woodware stamp and some black Archival Ink. I cut the heart out and added some colour using a Gold Champagne Faber-Castell Gelato. Before sticking it down, I outlined the heart shape on the page using a black marker so it stood out more.

To finish, I added the flowers and wording which were from a sticker sheet from Kaisercraft.

Here’s a canvas sign that I have in my craft room, I love the sentiments it contains and the top one “have a grateful heart” reminded me on my page (grin!).  I fell in love with this sign as soon as I saw it and the words are a wonderful reminder of how live life to the full!

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

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

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

• White paper – Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (SA60175), Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black), Concord & 9^th Clear Stamps (Sophisticated Script), Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black)
• Pritt Stick
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Liquitex Basics Acrylic Color (Cadmium Yellow Deep Hue)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Cold Grey IV 233, Black 199)
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Gold Champagne)
• Daler-Rowney Acrylic Paint Marker (Gold)
• White paper and cardstock
• Woodware Craft Collection Clear Magic Singles (Postage Sheets FRS076)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Golden Grove SS343)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I created this page to join some of my favourite challenges including AJJ! I’m so pleased to join the Squares Challenge at Country View Challenges with the postage stamp squares making up the heart on my page. I’m also pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #135 – Picture Inspiration challenge as the colours and design of my page were inspired by the ladies clothing. I’m happy to join The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the positive quote I used on my page. I’m also joining the Layer It Up challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the layers of papers, colours, heart and flowers on my page design. I’m pleased to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Grateful Heart page too. Don’t forget that there is still time to join our Uplifting or Positive Quote challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there!

Angel Wings

Happy memories spring to mind when I see a certain Christmas decoration as it reminds me of my sister saying the happy quote that’s on my page – I hope it makes you smile!

Don’t forget that you still have another week to join our Uplifting or Positive Quote challenge at Try it on Tuesday too!

I started by colouring the background using Antique Linen Distress Ink through an Iso Fun stencil from Paperbabe Stamps. The wording was stamped using black Archival Ink and a fabulous alphabet stamp set from Paperbabe Stamps.

I drew the angel wings onto a book page and fussy cut them out. Before sticking them onto the page, I created some shadows around their edges so that they stood out more, by applying some Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelato with a paintbrush. Next I created lots of feather shaped pieces to layer over the wings; they are cut from some Sheet Music and edged using Mustard and Willow Inktense pencils and also a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and black Uni Pin marker. I arranged them over the wings using double-sided tape and added some pieces of lace between the layers to add more texture.

Then I stencilled a border around the edge of the page using the Iso Fun stencil again and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink; I splattered some water over the top and left it a few minutes before mopping it up with a piece of kitchen towel which gave a lovely bleached effect. To finish the page and add some sparkle, I added the metallic copper gems.

Here’s the Christmas decoration that inspired my page, both me and my sister bought one of these whilst out shopping; when she saw them my sister said “every time a bell rings an angel gets her wings” so I always smile when I see it and remember her words.

Some of you were asking about the angels that I included on my post last week. They are acrylic LED figurines, one has a harp and the other a violin; I’ll try and remember to take a better photo of them next Christmas so you can see the detail. Their lights are battery operated and rotate through a series of colours – so very pretty!

As I’m showing these angels with my poinsettia cocktail again, I’m joining the T Party over at T Stands for Tuesday – Happy T day everyone!

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

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

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

• Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (Iso Fun)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo)
• Paperbabes Stamps Stamp Set (Fun Alphabet Outline)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Faber-Castell Gelatos (Iced Chai)
• Book Pages – text and sheet music
• Pritt Stick
• X-Press It! double-sided tape
• Derwent Inktense Pencils (Mustard 1700, Willow 1900)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• The Range (Crafting Lace CR0546)
• Docrafts Adhesive Dome Borders (Forever Friends Opulent FFS35111)

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as they provide me with inspiration 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 BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I used my favourite Christmas quote on this page. I’m joining in the fun over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog and their Put A Good Word In challenge with the happy quote I used on my vintage angel wings page. I’m happy to be able to join the MIUCB#45 – Anything Goes + Bleaching challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my Angel Wings page and bleached effect border. I’m pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #135 – Picture Inspiration challenge with the colours and abstract patterns (inspired from those on the dresses) that I used on my art journal page. I’m also pleased to join the MLCCB#30 – Anything Christmas Goes challenge over at Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog with my Angel Wings art journal page that was inspired by a Christmas decoration and a well known Christmas quote from the film “It’s a wonderful life”. I’m also joining Challenge #85 – Anything Christmas Goes over at The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge blog with my Christmas quote and vintage angel wings design.

Believe

Over at Try it on Tuesday our first challenge of 2021 is Add an Uplifting or Positive Quote.

Adding a positive quote to my page was such a lovely way to start the year; I hope that you are inspired to join us too, and I can’t wait to see the quotes that you add!

I started by colouring circles for the background using Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks through a Sun and Moon stencil from Inkylicious. I also used an Iso Fun stencil from Paperbabe Stamps to add some patterned detail to some of the circles using the same inks. The wording was stamped using black Archival Ink and my favourite Script stamp set from Concord & 9^th. I added some highlights to the letters using a white Uniball gel pen; it reads “all things are possible if you believe”.

For the pretty fairy, I stamped a Frost Fairy stamp from Paperbabe Stamps that I won – thanks so much! I stamped the fairy using black Archival Ink and then I had fun colouring her with my new Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers; the dress was coloured using Ice Grey Blend and Dark Red Blend, her hair using Pink Violet Blend, skin using Fair Skin Blend, lips using Pale Pink Blend, eyes using Alpine Green Blend and her wings were highlighted using True Blue Blend. I also added more detail using a black Uni Pin fine line marker and white Uniball gel pen, then I fussy cut the fairy out and coloured the two starbursts using Fossilised Amber Distress Ink.

I was really pleased with how she turned out and thought she would be perfect for the quote I’d chosen; she was stuck onto the page using a glue stick. To finish, I stamped some starbursts onto the background from the same Frost Fairy stamp set using black Archival Ink.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the uplifting and positive quotes my Design Teamies have added to their amazing creations (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our New Year’s drinks which are Poinsettia cocktails; they are made with 1 part Cointreau (orange liqueur), 3 parts prosecco and 3 parts cranberry juice. Happy T Day – cheers!

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!
Wishing you all the very best for 2021 – Happy New Year! 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 the materials that were used to create this art journal page:

• Inkylicious! Stencil & Template Set (Sun & Moon)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Antique Linen, Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry)
• Paperbabe Stamps Mixed Media Stencil (Iso Fun)
• Concord & 9^th Stamp Set (Sophisticated Script 10056)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (Frost Fairy)
• Spectrum Noir TriBlend Markers (Ice Grey Blend, Dark Red Blend, Pink Violet Blend, Fair Skin Blend, Pale Pink Blend, Alpine Green Blend, True Blue Blend)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Pritt Stick

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as they provide me with inspiration 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 BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her Favourite Things challenge this month as I used my favourite script stamp set from Concord & 9th for the quote on this page. I’m pleased to be able to join Paperbabe Stamps too and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page – thank you for the crafting goodies (grin!). I’m also pleased to join the Use a New/Unused Product challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog as I used my new Frost Fairy stamp and Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers for this page. I’m so happy to join the LTSCB #141 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Believe art journal page too. I’m also joining the Sparkle and Shine challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge too with my bright sparkly fairy page.

Merry Christmoose Card

I can never resist using my favourite Merry Moose Thinlits set at Christmastime; this time he’s on a Christmas card so I can share some “Christmoose” joy with my friends (grin!).

To start, I cut a panel of mixed media paper to fit my greetings card and positioned a circular template from an Inkylicious template and stencil set to mask out the moon. Then I stamped the pretty snowflakes using a Frozen Fractals stamp set from Simon Says Stamp; they were stamped using Versamark Watermark ink and then covered in white Stampendous embossing powder. Next I positioned a hand cut paper template to mask out the foreground. and then I painted the panel using a mixture of Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine and Turquoise Blue colours Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour paints. When dry, I removed both of the templates and added some colour to the snowflakes in the foreground using the watercolour paints again. I coloured the moon with some Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink and added some texture using a white gel pen and also by stamping some grey dots using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and an Urban Tapestry stamp from Tim Holtz. Then I splattered the whole panel with white acrylic paint.

The tree and moose were die cut using the Merry Moose Thinlets by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot Machine. The tree was cut from some paper that I had used to mop up brown inks and the snow was cut from some white linen textured cardstock. For the Merry Moose, I used some linen card stock which I coloured using Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Inks. His antlers were coloured using Antique Linen Distress Ink and I edged all the pieces with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell maker. His harness was die cut from some blue glitter paper and white cardstock which I had coloured with the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. To finish, I added the “Merry Christmas” wording which was from a Christmas sticker book from Tim Holtz; it’s edged using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker before sticking it in place.

I love moose and there are quite a few moose on our Holiday Tree which is decorated with ornaments that we purchased whilst on holiday/vacation. We always enjoy looking at this tree and reminiscing of times gone by; all the decorations hold such happy memories (grin!).

As you can see, these ornaments are from Maine; the wording on this one makes me smile – Merry Christmoose everyone (double grin!).

Stay safe and keep well!

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

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

• Simon Says Stamp Clear Stamp Set (Frozen Fractals SSS101694)
• Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
• Stampendous Embossing Powder Basics (Detail White Opaque DP100)
• Inkylicious Stencil and Template Set (Sun & Moons)
• Recycled paper
• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine, Turquoise Blue)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Stamp Set (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Hickory Smoke, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Antique Linen, Chipped Sapphire)
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix Thinlets (Merry Moose 663103)
• Recycled paper used to mop up brown inks
• Craft Sensations (Luxury Card Stock with Linen Texture)
• Poundland (Glitter Paper Sheets)
• Zig Memory System Chisel Tip Glue Pen
• Tim Holtz idea-ology Sticker Book (Christmas #TH93999)

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as they provide me with inspiration and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today: I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my Christmoose card. I’m also pleased to join the Christmas Critters challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my Merry Moose Christmas card. I’m happy to join the # 119 Non-Traditional Christmas Colours challenge over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with the colours that I used on this card. With my frosty wintery landscape, I’m also pleased to join the Ice Cold challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my Christmoose card. I’m also pleased to join in the LTSCB #140 – Winter Wonderland challenge over at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my Merry Moose walking in his winter wonderland card. I’m so happy to join in the fun over at the Rudolph Days Challenge where Anything Goes, as long as it’s Christmas with my Merry Moose Christmas card too. Don’t forget there is still another week to join our Christmas Sparkle challenge at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

Frosty Snowflakes

I love winter so to wish you a Happy Christmas I created this frosty page, using a variety of techniques to build up layers of snowflakes – I hope you like it (grin!).

I started by stamping snowflakes onto the background using a Versamark Watermark stamp pad and then heating it with a heat gun to fix the Watermark ink onto the page. Then I used some Distress Ink re-inkers to apply drops of Speckled Egg and Peacock Feathers inks, spritzed them with water to disperse and blend the inks over the background and left it to dry.

I stamped my second layer of snowflakes using a Woodland Christmas stamp set and Peacock Feather Distress Ink, Teal Zeal and London Fog Memento Inks. Next I die cut some snowflakes from three different coloured tissue papers using a Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and layered them onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. I love how frosty this page looks with the different layers of snowflakes. Next I added lots of sequins from Simon Says Stamp and some glittery wooden stars; all of which are stuck down using Ranger Glossy Accents.  Then to finish, I added a silver sticker to wish you all “Happy Christmas”.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing some of our beers from our advent calendar – cheers and Happy T Day!

Here are some of the ones we’ve had so far; the Ruby Ale has been my favourite so far, probably because it is a classic British dark beer with a toffee malt and chocolate flavour which I prefer. We have had quite a few Craft Beer IPAs too; they tend to have a distinctive sharp citrus finish due to the big flavour American hops and so far my favourite has to be the Talking Head Extra Pale Ale, which had a lovely tropical mango flavour.

This Buckhorn Stateside IPA was also refreshing and had a smoother hoppy finish.

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Tsukineko Versamark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• The Works Clear Stamps (CRO274/TW1)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Speckled Egg, Peacock Feathers)
• Clear Impressions (Woodland Christmas)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Teal Zeal, London Fog)
• Poundworld (Patch Paper DS9454)
• Teal Blue Tissue Paper
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Paper Snowflakes 661599)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Simon Says Stamp (Winter Sequins Mix, Snowflake Sequins)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Wooden Glitter Stars
• The Works (Christmas Embellishments)

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as they provide me with inspiration 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 Tracey over at Art Journal Journey and her Meaning of challenge this month as I created this page to wish you a Happy Christmas. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my frosty Christmas page. I’m also pleased to join the Let It Snow challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my snowflake design. I’m happy to join the # 119 Non-Traditional Christmas Colours challenge over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with the frosty colours that I used. With my frosty colours and snowflakes, I’m also pleased to join the Ice Cold challenge over at Simon Say Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my Frosty Christmas page. As I used lots of different techniques to create all the frosty texture and snowflakes on this page, I’m also joining the MIUCB #44 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Clean and Simple challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog. Don’t forget there is still another week to join our Christmas Sparkle challenge at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

Dashing through the snow

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

For my page I used some glittery paper pieces that I had die cut snowflakes from; they were leftover from this year’s Christmas cards. I just couldn’t throw them away and with all the sparkle they seemed to fit this challenge perfectly (grin!).

For the background, I painted the page with Cadmium Red and Alizarin Crimson Liquitex acrylic paint. When dry, I stuck the remnant glitter die cut pieces onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium to form a frame around the edges of the page. Then I splattered the page using white acrylic paint and left it to dry.

The larger snowflakes were cut from the same glitter paper using a Mini Paper Snowflakes Thinlits set from Tim Holtz and the smaller snowflakes using a Christmas metal die.

To finish, I added the “Dashing through the snow” winter scene which was recycled from a Christmas card; it is stuck in place using double-sided tape.

For more inspiration check out the amazing Christmas Sparkle creations from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday. I hope that you are inspired to join us; it would be lovely to see you there!

To celebrate the festive season, my hubby had the fabulous idea of creating our own beer advent calendar. As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing our selection of beers; we haven’t tried any of these before and we plan to share one can or bottle of beer each day with our meal to see if we like them. I’ll be sure to share which ones we have tried next week – cheers and Happy T Day!

I hope you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic Paint (Cadmium Red Medium Hue)
• Liquitex Basics Acrylic (Alizarin Crimson)
• Die cut off cuts – Glitter wallpaper
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Art Discount Acrylic Paint (White)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Paper Snowflakes Mini 661599)
• Deer metal die
• Recycled Christmas Card
• X-Press It! double-sided tape

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as they provide me with inspiration 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 Tracey over at Art Journal Journey and her Meaning of challenge this month as I love art journaling and Christmastime. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my Dashing through the snow art journal page. I’m also happy to join the MIUCB #44 – Anything Goes + Clean and Simple over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the techniques I used to create my snowy page and this is a simple page design for me too (grin!). I’m also pleased to join the Fun With Dies challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the die cut pieces I used to create this page. I’m also pleased to join the Love To Scrap and their LTSCB #140 – Winter Wonderland with my dashing through the snow page.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

There is still another week to join our Winter Wonderland challenge at Try it on Tuesday so I thought I’d create this wintry page to join in the fun; it was inspired by our travels to Prague at Christmastime (grin!).

I started by sticking a magazine image of a couple walking in a winter wonderland onto the page and then I covered the remainder of the page with black acrylic paint leaving a frame of white around the image. Next I dragged some of the black paint towards the image using a flat paintbrush to marry the black and white areas together. I stamped some white acrylic paint over the black background using a piece of scrunched up tissue paper and when dry, I added the wording which was created using some white letter stickers. The snowflakes were cut from some recycled white tissue paper, an old magazine page and some white card stock using a Tonic Studios die set. I layered them onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium and then to finish I splattered the page using white acrylic paint.

We often visit the Christmas markets in Prague this time of year and as we are staying home this year, I find myself very thankful for all the wonderful memories we have of our time there.

Prague is a magical place especially when it snows and here I am enjoying the snowfall whilst listening to Christmas carols by the tree on the previous photo.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing another of my favourites … Kozel dark beer and don’t you just love this sign; Kozel happens to mean “male goat” in Czech (grin!) – Happy T day!

What could be better than walking in a winter wonderland with Michael Bublé too (double grin!).

Hoping that you all stay safe and well!

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

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

• Old magazine page
• Pritt Stick
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Recycled white tissue page
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Simply Creative Alphabet & Number Stickers (White Glitter SCSTK025)
• White Cardstock
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (Falling Snowflakes 1792e)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as they provide me with inspiration 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 Tracey over at Art Journal Journey and her Meaning of challenge this month as this page reminds me of Christmas and Prague. I’m pleased to join LTSCB #140 – Winter Wonderland challenge over at the Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with the snowy winter wonderland that I created on this page. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with winter wonderland page. I’m pleased to join the Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – December Anything Christmas Goes with my winter Christmastime page. I’m also joining the # 119 Non-Traditional Christmas Colours challenge over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with my black and white Christmas winter wonderland page. I’m pleased to be able to join the A Time to be Grateful over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as we are always thankful to visit Prague especially when it snows as we love nothing better than walking in a winter wonderland. I’m also pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my winter page too.

Winter Wonderland

At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Winter Wonderland.

My winter wonderland page was created using a fun technique with acrylic paint and cling film which made the perfect background for the pretty deer, snowflakes and trees. I really enjoyed creating this page and I can’t wait to see your winter wonderland creations too!

For the background, I started by painting horizontal lines of Navy, Swedish Blue and Aqua Green Liquitex Acrylic paints onto the page. Then I placed scrunched up cling film (plastic food wrap) over the top, moved it around and left it to dry. When the paint was nearly dry I peeled the plastic wrap off and then applied some white paint to the same piece of cling film and placed it onto the page, over the other paints, scrunching it up and then I left it to dry overnight. When I peeled the cling film off the page it left some fabulous patterns which formed my winter wonderland.

The deer and snowflakes are stickers and I added lots of white dots in the sky using a white Uni Posca paint pen to create more snowfall which took a while (grin!).

I die cut the trees and star from some white cardstock using a couple of Thinlits sets from Tim Holtz and pressed them into a Versamark Watermark stamp pad. Then I covered them with Wow! embossing glitter and heated them using a heat gun until they turned glossy; they are stuck in place using a glue stick. Next I created the “winter wonderland” wording which is cut from white card, which I had covered in the Wow! embossing glitter, using an Alphanumeric Label Thinlits set from Tim Holtz. The letters were mounted onto some recycled navy cardstock which was cut to shape using a Tag Collection Framelits set from Tim Holtz; this finished the page.

I hope that you are inspired to join Winter Wonderland Challenge too! For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too.

As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing our mugs of tea; as you may remember I shared my new robin mug a couple of weeks ago so I thought I’d share my hubby’s matching deer mug as my page has deer on it, although they aren’t wearing scarves (grin!) – wishing you a very Happy T day!

Hoping that you all stay safe and well!

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

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

• Liquitex Artist Color Acrylic (Navy, Swedish Blue)
• Liquitex Heavy Body Acrylic (Bright Aqua Green)
• Cling film
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• White Cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Woodlands 660978, Snowy Stars 663117, Alphanumeric Label 664177)
• Wow! Embossing Glitter (Singing in the rain WS183R)
• Pritt Stick
• Home Bargains (Wall Stickers #16221 – deer & snowflakes)
• Recycled navy cardstock
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as I always enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today: I’m so happy to join the #132 – Frosty Feels or Cool Tones challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my winter wonderland scene. I’m pleased to join in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything But A Card challenge with my wintery art journal page. I’m pleased to join MIUCB #43 – Anything Goes + Making Your Own Background over at the Mix It UP Challenge Blog with the fun cling film and paint technique that I used to create my background. I’m also pleased to join the Christmas challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my winter wonderland page too.

Celebrate the season

At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Traditional Christmas Colours.

I loved this challenge as it gave me the opportunity to create my first Christmas page of the year; the traditional Christmas colours I used included the “red” of winter berries, the “green” of evergreen plants, the “white” of snow and the warm glow of “gold” (grin!).

I started by covering the page with some gold holly tissue paper using a glue stick and then I applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top using a baby wipe.

When dry I stamped some fir tree branches using an Inkadinkado stamp set, firstly using Pistachio Memento Ink to provide some shadows and depth to the branches and secondly using some Peeled Paint Distress Ink to intensify the colours.

Next I selected lots of gold foil and cardstock images from a Classic Christmas Die Cut Book which are arranged and layered together onto the page using double-sided tape and double-sided foam tape.

Here you can see some of the gold foil pieces sparkling more clearly.

I hope that you are inspired to join our Traditional Christmas Colours Challenge too and for more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from my fellow Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday; it would be lovely to see you there!

As my page celebrates the season with traditional Christmas colours and T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my Cinnamon Orange tea in a new robin mug that was bought for me as a Christmas present last year along with some mini shortbread – yum! Wishing you a very Happy T day!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well!

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

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

• Holly tissue paper
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Inkadinkado Stamping Gear Stamp Set(Branches 65-32007)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Pistachio)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peeled Paint)
• The Works (Classic Christmas  Die Cut Book)
• X-Press It! double-sided tape and foam tape

Challenges I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as I always 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 Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #28 – November Anything Christmas Goes with my Celebrate The Season page. I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything But A Card challenge with my art journal page. I’m joining the Rudolph Days Challenge, where Anything Goes, as long as it’s Christmas, with my Christmas page. I’m also happy to join Challenge #83 – Anything Christmas Goes over at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge with my traditional Christmas art journal page. I’m also joining the Challenge # 118 – Gold or Silver or Glitter over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with the gold I added to my page. I’m also pleased to join the LTSCB #139 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my winter season page too.