Thank You Friend

It’s the first Friday of May, so it’s time for a new challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, which as always is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

My mixed media page was inspired by birthday cards and goodies from my dearest friends; the dotty paper was a recycled envelope from one of my birthday cards and the gorgeous butterfly was a napkin that was sent to me by my good friend, Tracey.

I started by ripping the dotty envelope into pieces and arranging them onto the page using a glue stick and some matte gel medium. Then I ripped the edges of napkin from around the beautiful butterfly image and applied the butterfly to the page. I arranged the ripped pieces of leftover napkin in-between the dotty paper and stuck them in place using matte gel medium. When dry, I used various colours of Kuretake watercolour paint to match and colour around the napkin pieces. Then I edged the papers and butterfly using a Uni Pin fine line marker smudging the ink with my finger. To finish, I added a Tim Holtz label sticker which reads “Thank You Friend”.

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

I received some beautiful cards and gifts last month for my birthday; this homemade card and crafting goodies were sent to me by my dear friend Tracey from New Beginnings …Creating in my Corner – thank you so much!

Stay safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Creative Artiste , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Aimeslee this month, who has chosen Flowers as her theme; so I’m joining in the fun with the flowers of the butterfly image on my page.

Triple B Challenge where everything is about Birds, Blooms and Butterflies so as their May Challenge; I’m joining them with all the blooms and butterflies that my main butterfly image is made up from.

LTSCB#161 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Thank You page.

Advertisement

Gnome for Christmas

Over at Sparkles Monthly Challenge, we are launching a new challenge today which is Gnome Home For The Holidays.

I had so much fun creating this colourful Christmas Gnome page, I hope you like it too (smile!).

I started by drawing the top of the toadstool onto to some red and white dot Christmas paper and cutting it out. Then I created the fronds and bottom of the toadstool out of white cardstock, which I coloured in a Brown Grey TriBlend Spectrum Noir marker and a black UniPen fine line marker. I also drew the door, fussy cut it out and coloured it using a Dark Brown Blend TriBlend marker and a black UniPen marker to create the wood effect and a Gold Spectrum Aqua Marker for the door handle. For the snow on the toadstool roof and in the foreground, I cut the shapes from some white cardstock and then I added some detail using a Ice Grey Blend TriBlend marker. I covered the chipboard page using some blue snowflake cardstock before sticking everything in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. The glittery Christmas trees on the right-hand and left-hand side of the page were layered together from a sticker pack. I stamped the cute Gnome using a Woodware Crafts stamp set and I coloured him using Alpine Green Blend, Dark Red Blend, Ice Grey Blend, Brown Grey Blend and Pale Pink Blend TriBlend markers and a also Yellow marker for the pom pom on his hat. To finish, I added the “Merry Christmas” wording which I framed with two gold coloured star gems.

I hope you’ll join us at Sparkles Monthly Challenge too, for more inspiration please check out the amazing projects from my Sparkles Buddies in the Design Team too; we would love for you to join us so please be sure to check out the rules here.

I love Christmas and saw these cute gnomes whilst visiting a garden centre with family last week, they reminded me of my page.

I hope that you are staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Sparkles Monthly Challenge , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey which I’m having fun hosting this month; I chose the challenge theme Snowy Winter so like me all you need to do is add snowflakes and/or snow on your pages. I hope to see you there!

Paperbabe Stamps and their #182 – Anything Goes challenge with my Gnome page.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #29 where Anything Christmas Goes with my Gnome for Christmas page.

Merry Little Christmas Challenge and their MLCCB #47 – Anything Christmas Goes challenge with my fun Gnome for Christmas page.

Happy

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is Black and White + 1, where we would like you to use black and white plus one other colour on your entries.

Limiting colour options is always a challenge for me, so I decided to create a black and white collage background and see where my creativity took me; I ended up adding a dark cherry colour as my “plus 1” – what do you think?

I covered the page with leftover pieces of white tissue paper which had been stamped with black Archival Ink and some black and white Botanicals/Halloween Collage papers by Tim Holtz; they were collaged onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium. Next I added some pieces of an old magazine page (which was where the cherry coloured inspiration came from) and then I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer over the whole page and left it to dry. I mixed some Kuretake watercolour paints to match the cherry colour and used it to add a colour wash over the collage pieces and also some splatters. For my flowers, I arranged some white paper flowers onto the page and drew in their stems using a black marker. The leaves were stamped using a Carabelle Studio stamp set and black Archival Ink. To finish, I added the “Happy” wording panel which was by Kaisercraft.

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

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our mugs of green tea along with my hubby’s favourite Black Forest Gateau (which happens to be cherry like my page … smile!) and my favourite cream filled meringue – Happy T Day everyone!

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.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #162 – Anything Goes challenge with my happy page.

Add A Die Cut over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with the die cut paper flowers that I added to my page.

It’s all about time

Over at Try it on Tuesday our challenge for the next 2 weeks is It’s all about time.

For this challenge I was inspired by the time I have spent this month celebrating my hubby’s birthday and also our wedding anniversary. I hope are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!

The background was a wallpaper sample detailing a large clock face, roses and the words “Take time to love the little things”; it was stuck in place using a glue stick and then cut to size, and I collaged the remnants together to create the panel on the left-hand side of the page. I also added more detail to the rose images using a white Uniball gel pen so they stood out more. Next I stamped the two clock faces onto some design paper by American Crafts using black Archival Ink and a couple of stamp sets by Kaisercraft. I cut them out and arranged them onto the page with some silver roses and circles which were outline stickers and a quote from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet which reads “Love the time we spend together”. To finish, I fussy cut the two butterflies from the wallpaper sample and stuck them onto the page.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the wonderful It’s all about time creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday and we’ve been out celebrating, I’m sharing our drinks and meal that we enjoyed for our wedding anniversary (time sure does fly, we celebrated 33 years of marriage this year!). My hubby had chicken with black pudding in a mustard sauce and I had a warm bacon and chicken salad; I couldn’t eat all mine so we had some for lunch the next day (grin!).

Cheers and Happy T Day!

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

For the sake of brevity I am no longer listing the individual items that I used to create my page, however I’m more than happy to let you know which particular product was used if you contact me via comments below or using the following contact me link.

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today with my page:

Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #154 – Anything Goes with my page.

Thinking of you over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.

MIUCB#54 – Anything Goes + Paper Piecing challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog.

Love to Craft Challenge Blog and their LTCCB#63 – October Anything Goes challenge.

Soar

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

For this challenge, I had fun using my new Scribbly Birds in Flight stamp set by Dina Wakley. My three birds are soaring high in the sky looking down on the lush green countryside filled with pretty flowers.

To start, I stamped the three birds in flight using a stamp set by Dina Wakley and black Archival Ink. Then I painted the sky around the birds using Ultramarine Pale watercolour paints; I also used these Kuretake Watercolours to colour everything on my page except the birds. When dry, I painted the mountains and the countryside foreground using Sap Green, Dark Sap Green, Hooker’s Green and Burnt Sienna paint, blending and layering the colours together. The flowers were created using a Flower Field Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and were die cut from some mixed media paper. I coloured them using the Sap Green Light, Dark Sap and Hooker’s Green paint and when they had dried, I painted the flowers using Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Rose Madder, Colbalt Violet, Red, Ultramarine paint; they were stuck into place using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium.

For the birds, I wanted to try a new technique using clear gesso and marker pens so I covered the birds with a layer of clear gesso and left it to dry. This allowed me to smudge and blend the marker inks by applying the marker colour over the gesso and then smudging it with my finger; the markers were Tri-Blend Spectrum Noir and the colours were Burnt Orange Blend, Gold Brown Blend, Earth Brown Blend and Gold Yellow Blend. I finished the birds by adding eyes and more feather detail with a black Uni Pin Fine Line marker and a white Uniball gel pen. To finish, I added the quote which I stamped onto a Pocket Card by Tim Holtz using an alphabet stamp set from Dovecraft and Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink. Once stamped, I cut out the wording to fit the page design and stuck them in place using double-sided tape. The quote I used is by William Blake and reads “No bird soars to high, if it soars with his own wings”.

I hope that you are inspired to join our Feathered Friends challenge too, for more amazing inspiration from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies please pop over to Try it on Tuesday.

This page was inspired by the English countryside and reminded me of our walks in the Forest Of Bowland, which is an “area of outstanding natural beauty” located near to the Lake District.

On this particular walk, we passed through beautiful countryside and farmland, woodlands and lakes making our way to a summit called Nicky Nook.

From the summit there are spectacular views across Lancashire; our house is located somewhere on the left-hand side of this picture faraway in the distance by the sea (grin!).

As T Stands for T Day I’m sharing our refreshing iced water that we always enjoy on our walks – Happy T Day everyone!

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.

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

• Dina Wakley Media Cling Rubber Stamps (Scribbly Birds In Flight MDR47636)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale No:61, Sap Green Light No:51, Sap Green No:53, Hooker’s Green No:52, Burnt Sienna No:46, Cadmium Scarlet No:31, Lemon Yellow No:40, Rose Madder No:34, Cobalt Violet No:139, Red No:32, Ultramarine No:64)
• Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits Dies (Flower Field 665369)
• Daler-Rowney Mixed Media Paper
• Pébéo Clear Gesso
• Tri-Blend Spectrum Noir Markers (Burnt Orange Blend, Gold Brown Blend, Earth Borwn Blend, Gold Yellow Blend)
• UniPin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
• Dovecraft Essentials Alphabet Stamp Set (WDN ALPHA STMP DCVW0050)
• Ranger Distress Archival Ink (Ground Espresso)
• X-Press It! Double-sided tape

Challenges As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Alison from Words & Pictures; she has chosen Summer Countryside as her theme so I’m joining her with my summery countryside page. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #149 – Anything Goes with my summery art journal page. LTCCB #60 – July Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my birds in flight summer page.

Be happy, be you

It’s a new month so we are launching our July challenge today over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, this is a monthly challenge and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I always love to use mixed media to create my art journal pages and this month’s celebrates summer.

I started by sticking the orchid flower napkin pieces onto the page using a glue stick. Then I coloured the remaining white areas of the page using some Gold, Light Green and Hooker’s Green Liquitex acrylic paint. When dry, I used a Flutter stamp from Kaisercraft to add the trellis pattern using Cottage Ivy and Pistachio Memento Inks and also black Archival Ink. I outlined and defined the flowers using a black fine line marker and I added the two dragonflies which were rub on transfers. I applied some Glistening Gold Lustre Polish by Cosmic Shimmer around the edges of the napkin which added some lovely texture and sparkle. Finally, I splattered the page with some black and also some white acrylic paint using a paintbrush. Then I added the wording which are stickers from Kaisercraft; they read “be happy”, “be you” and “celebrate the little things”.

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

This page reminded me of these amazing orchids that we saw hanging in a garden centre some time ago; so beautiful (grin!).

I 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 all the materials used to create this art journal page:

• Orchid Napkin
• Pritt Stick
• Liquitex Basic Acrylic Color (Gold, Light Green, Hooker’s Green Hue Permanent)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Flutter CS853)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Cotage Ivy, Pistachio)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Royal & Langnickel Rub-On Transfers (ROY1643G)
• Cosmic Shimmer Lustre Polish (Glistening Gold)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Art Discount Acrylic (White)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Say Aloha SS281)

Challenges As well as Creative Artiste, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today: Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Alison from Words & Pictures; she has chosen Summer Countryside as her theme so I’m joining with my summer inspired page and the green and gold colours and pretty dragonflies that you find in the countryside. Paperbabe Stamps and their Challenge #147 – Anything Goes with my mini art journal page. LTSCB #147 – Anything Goes over at Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my summer inspired mixed media page which includes stamping. Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with my page too.

Sweet music

Today I’m joining the lovely Sheila’s Single Flower challenge over at Art Journal Journey with my single daffodil page; I’m sorry I’m so late joining in the fun but this is the first opportunity that I’ve had to join you so far this month.

My single daffodil is making sweet music with some pretty birds and lots of green inks and papers to say that spring is on its way (grin).

For the background, I applied Peeled Paint, Pine Needles and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks through a Dissolving Planets stencil by Sheena Douglass. When dry, I added some Pébéo white gesso over the top using a brayer. Next I tore some paper pieces from a wallpaper sample and layered them onto the page using some Liquitex matte gel medium. They are arranged with two framed birds and the “Sweet Music” wording which were all fussy cut from the same wallpaper sample and also the daffodil which was cut from an old magazine. I edged all the paper elements using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and a black Uni Pin marker smudging the inks with my finger. Then I applied some Ranger Glossy Accents to the metal corners that framed the bird images; this gave them a 3D appearance. To finish, I added some torn pieces of yellow and white polka dot washi tape which were edged using the Dark Sepia marker.

Here are some of the pretty little daffodils currently flowering in our garden making it feel like spring is on it’s way!

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

• Sheena by Sheena Douglass Create a Flower Stencil (Dissolving Planets)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Pepper Paint, Pine Needles, Shabby Shutters)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Wallpaper sample
• Old magazine
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.5mm)
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• The Works (Polka Dot Paper Washi Tape)

Challenges As well as Joining Sheila’s Single Flower challenge at Art Journal Journey, I’m pleased to be able to join some the other challenges that inspired my page design, they are: #139 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps as the green and yellow colours that I used match those on the picture. The Anything Goes challenge over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog with my vintage springtime page. The Use Something Green challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge too with all the green colour I included in my design. LTSCB #143 – Anything Goes challenge over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my spring page. A Bit O’Green challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge with all the green inks and papers I added to this page.

Sweet & Cute

Using up leftovers is one of my crafting goals this year, so I used lots of leftover papers and die cuts on this page to create homes for these sweet and cute critters (grin!).

Don’t forget that there is still another week to join our Oh So Cute challenge over at Try it on Tuesday; we are so looking forward to seeing your cute creations!

I started by covering the background with some colourful leftovers papers that have been sitting on my craft desk since Christmas – eek! They were stuck in place, like all the paper elements, using a glue stick. As the papers were quite brightly coloured, I applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top using a brayer.

When dry, I added strips of bunting washi tape that my sister had kindly gifted me. The wording and stars were stickers from Craft Sensations and I outlined them all using a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more.

Next I raided my stash of leftover die cuts and created little scenes with them for those cute critters which were foam stickers.

This malt loaf may not be cute but it is sweet (grin!). I bought it as a treat, when I was food shopping for my mum and dad, from our local bakery and it was so very yummy!

If you aren’t familiar with malt loaf, it’s a type of sweet leavened bread made with malt extract which originated in Scotland in the United Kingdom. It has a chewy sticky texture, and often contains fruits such as raisins. It’s usually eaten sliced and spread with butter.

We enjoyed it (sliced with butter) for our elevenses and as T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing it today with my cuppa – 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:

• Docrafts Ultimate Die Cut & Paper Pack (Folk Christmas PMA160933)
• Pritt Stick
• Pébéo White Gesso
• Bunting Washi Tape
• Craft Sensation (Creative paper Collection CRO458/GE)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
• Leftover die cut pieces – Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Fall Foliage 66955, Garden Greens 661206, Holiday Greens 658759, Funky Florals #1 662700), Papers (Tim Holtz idea-ology Paper Stash – Halloween #TH93712, Paper Bundle from local craft shop – green heart paper and metallic linen textured cardstock, Recycled Notepad Paper, White cardstock), Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Twisted Citron, Scattered Straw, Rusty Hinge)
• Hobby World Foam Craft Stickers (Forest Friends)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the metallic linen textured papers that were used for some of the leaves surrounding the cute hedgehog. I’m pleased to join the Anything But A Card challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with my art journal page. I’m happy to join Paperbabe Stamps and their #138 – Anything Goes challenge with my art journal page too. I’m also pleased to join the Favourite Technique challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge, as collage, using white gesso to push back the background colour and die cutting are some of my favourite techniques. I’m also joining in the fun over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog and their #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold challenge with my art journal page; the different techniques I used to create this page included collage, using white gesso to push back the background colour and die cutting.

May all your wishes come true

It’s time for our first challenge of the year over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, this is a monthly challenge and as always the theme is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I had fun creating this mixed media page using my favourite Frost Fairy stamp from Paperbabe Stamps; she seems to be casting a spell – may all your wishes come true!

I started by applying black DecoArt acrylic paint to the edges of the page and blending it towards the centre. When dry, I applied the gold stars over the top using Versamark Watermark Stamp Pad, a Sparkles stencil by Tim Holtz and Gold Ranger embossing powder. The centre of the page was coloured using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and the wording was created using foam letter stickers.

The Frost Fairy from Paperbabe Stamps was stamped using black Archival Ink onto some mixed media paper. Then I coloured her using Spectrum Noir TriBlend markers; the dress was coloured using Green Turquoise Blend, the ribbon using Yellow Gold Blend, her hair using Dark Red Blend, her skin using a Fair Skin Blend marker, her lips using Pale Pink Blend, her eyes using True Blue Blend and her wings using Iced Grey Blend. I also added more detail using a black Uni Pin fine line marker and white Uniball gel pen. Then I cut her out and added the Gold Ranger embossing powder using a Versamark Watermark Pen to create the stars. She was stuck in place using a glue stick which finished the page.

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

I was reminded of this beautiful glass angel that we bought when we visited Prague, there is room to place a tealight behind her and being made from glass she looks so delicate and pretty (grin!).

I hope 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.

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

• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil (Sparkles THS132)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Stamp Pad)
• Ranger Embossing Powder (Gold)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo)
• Paperbabe Stamps Stamp Set (MLD Frost Fairy)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Spectrum Noir TriBlend Markers (Green Turquoise Blend, Yellow Gold Blend, Dark Red Blend, Fair Skin Blend, Pale Pink Blend, True Blue Blend, Iced Grey Blend)
• Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
• Tsukineko VersaMark (Watermark Pen)
• Pritt Stick
• Simply Creative Alphabet & Number Stickers (Glitter SCSTK025)

Challenges I’m pleased to join the lovely Valerie over at Art Journal Journey and her Heavy Metal challenge this month with the golden stars that I included on my page. I’m pleased to be able to join the Groundhog Day over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog as I couldn’t resist using my Frost Fairy stamp and TriBlends again (you may remember on my Believe page that I created last month) and of course the background may look familiar too, it’s from an ATC that I created in December, I just had to create it on a bigger scale (grin!). I’m also pleased to join the #136 – Patterns challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pattern of stencilled stars on my page. I’m also joining MIUCB #46 – Anything Goes + Fancy Fold over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog with all the different techniques I used; I’m still perfecting my colouring and blending techniques using the TriBlend markers.

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.