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)
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.
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.
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 & 9th. 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:
Concord & 9th 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.
Today I’m celebrating autumn and Halloween over at A Vintage Journey with a double-sided tag featuring the Arthur Thinlits from Tim Holtz, as you can see my ghostly owl is having fun playing Peek a Boo!
I used some Tim Holtz Poster Card to create my double-sided tag and added a metal eyelet to reinforce the hole using a Crop-A-Dile punch. My plan was to create the owl peeking out of the hollow of the tree and then appearing to say “boo!” so both sides of the tag were created in the same way except for the owl of course (grin!).
First I applied some white gesso to the backgrounds and then to form the hollow of the tree for my owl to hide in I stuck an oval piece of Tim Holtz Halloween Collage Paper onto the tag using matte gel medium. I coloured the collage paper black using a Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and then edged it with Ranger Texture paste to give it a 3D look. When Dry, I coloured the texture paste with Dark Sepia and Black Faber-Castell markers and defined the inside edges of the hollow using a white UniBall gel pen to add depth. Next I created a wood effect using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and matte gel medium by dragging the ink pad vertically over the background and then applying matte gel medium vertically over the top. When dry, I added more detail to the woodgrain using the Dark Sepia and Sanguine Big Brush markers and a black Uni Pin marker smudging the inks with my finger.
Next I die cut some ivy leaves from black paper using a Garden Greens Thinlits set from Tim Holtz. They are stuck in place using matte gel medium and when dry I edged the leaves with the white gel pen to give them more definition; I like the spooky look.
The autumnal leaves were created using another Tim Holtz Thinlits set called Fall Foliage; they were cut from some white paper that I coloured using Yellow, Sandstone, Orange, Brilliant Red, Moss Green and Dark Brown Colourcraft Brushos.
For the owls and branches, I used the Arthur Thinlits die set; cutting the owl pieces from different coloured papers, edging them with some Black Soot Distress Ink using a blending tool and then piecing them altogether. For the “Peek A …” owl, I cut out the eyes and stuck them in place and edged them with some collage paper so they looked like the owl was peeking out of the hollow.
As you can see the naughty owl jumped out of the hollow onto the branch to say “Boo!”. Once the owl was pieced together, I coloured the small feather detail using the white gel pen or a pencil. To finish, I added the wording which I die cut from orange paper using a Sizzix Thinlit alphabet die set.
Please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some fabulous tags created by my fellow Creative Guides too and don’t forget there is still another week to join our Numbers challenge too.
I recently bought these cute owls from the supermarket when I was food shopping, I thought that they’d make a lovely addition to my autumnal and winter displays – aren’t they adorable!
Of course, I based the design of the ghostly white owl that is on my tag on this one although he is more cute than grumpy (grin!).
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.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this double-sided tag:
Tim Holtz idea-ology (Pocket Cards #TH93208)
Pébéo White Gesso
Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Halloween #TH93727)
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker (Black 199, Dark Sepia 175 B, Sanguine 233 B)
Ranger Texture Paste
Uniball Signo Gel Pen (White)
Uni Pin Fine Line Marker (Black 0.1mm)
Leon X-Large Coloured Paper (Black, Orange, Light Blue, Dark Blue, Beige)
Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlits (Garden Green 661206, Fall Foilage 660955, Arthur 664730)
I got creative to join in with a number of challenges today including the Texture challenge that I’m hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey. Thanks so much to all those who have joined in the fun so far with all your wonderful texture creations!
I’ve been meaning to use this Emily Dickinson quote on one of my pages for a while now and it seemed to match the feathers I used beautifully!
To start, I covered the page with Colbalt Blue Liquitex acrylic paint and added some Prussian Blue and white acrylic paints using a credit card to create some texture. When dry, I stamped a hexagon pattern stamp and my favourite Script stamp from Kaisercraft using black Archival Ink. Then I splattered the whole page using white acrylic paint and applied some Ranger Texture Paste around the edges of the page using a Carabelle Studio Stencil.
The feathers are stickers which I outlined using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and white Uniball gel pen. For the quote, I cut the letters from white cardstock using an X-Cut die set and then stuck them in place using Liquitex matte gel medium.
The colours of the feathers on this page remind me of some flowers that were kindly gifted to me this week when we had family visiting – the orange yellow autumnal colours look fabulous!
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 joining in the Use Your Favourite Stamp challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge as I used my favourite Script stamp as part of my design.
I’m also joining the Complimentary Colours challenge over at Country View Challenges with the blue and orange complimentary colour combination on my art journal page.
I’m also pleased to join the #127 – Picture Inspiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the blue pantone background.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Liquitex Acrylic Color (Colbalt Blue)
Liquitex Artist Color (Prussian Blue)
Art Discount Acrylic (White)
Kaisercraft Clear Stamp (Script CS752)
Docrafts Capsule Collection Clear Stamps – free in magazine
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Carabelle Studios Art Template A6 (Weft Fabric & Numbers TE60034)
Ranger Texture Paste
Feather Stickers
Faber-Castell Big Brush Artist Pitt Pen (Black 199)
I had fun creating some texture on my art journal page using stamping, doodles, buttons, paints and decorative tape so I’m joining the Texture challenge that I’m guest hosting this month over at Art Journal Journey; it would be lovely to see you there!
I started by covering the page with Swedish Blue Liquitex and white acrylic paints using a baby wipe. When dry I stamped London Fog Memento Ink using a 4-point star background stamp and a Serpentine background stamp from Art Impressions. I also stamped black Archival Ink using a Script stamp from Kaisercraft and a homemade grid stamp which I created by sticking drywall/plasterboard tape onto a block of wood. I then stamped the edges of the page with circles using tubes/lids on my craft desk and some white acrylic paint. The two lovebirds on the branch are stamped using Onyx Black Versafine Ink.
I had fun doodling the lines cascading down the page and the large heart using a white Uniball gel pen and black Uni Pin marker and then used lots of recycled buttons to add further texture using Ranger Glossy Accents to stick them in place. The cream, blue and lilac hearts were cut from some adhesive-backed papers using a couple of paper punches; the hearts were stuck in place, outlined and I also doodled around them. I added some black Decorative Border Tape to the edges of the page and emphasised the pattern and texture by applying some Coconut Faber-Castell Gelato. Next I applied some Coconut, Fig and Metallic Blueberry Faber-Castell Gelatos to the background scribbling them vertically onto the page and then smudging the colours with my finger.
I stamped another layer of the white paint circles over the top and then I splattered the page with both black and white acrylic paint. To finish, I added three Tim Holtz stickers which read “follow your heart”, “be in love with your life” and “start each day with a grateful heart”.
As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a cup on green tea in a pretty mug that matches my page with its blue colour, heart design and gingham texture (grin!). Wishing you all a very Happy T day!
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
I’m joining in the Oodles Of Doodles challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge it was fun adding lots of doodles as part of my design.
I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge theme that I have chosen for this month is Texture.
We would like you to have fun creating texture on your pages. As you can see from the different panels on my page there are lots of possibilities to create texture. This could be by adding texture paste, crackle paste, high density mediums like gesso, paints or embossing powder. You could also use embossing folders, layers of papers, die cuts, fabrics or chipboard pieces too. The choice is yours!
I couldn’t just choose one texture so I decided to create my page using 21 different texture panels to inspire you and as I started creating the panels they turned into little scenes, I hope you like them (grin!).
If you’re interested, here’s close up pictures and full details of how the panels that make up my page were created. There’s also a list of all materials I used at the end of this post too.
1. Foil For my first panel, I stamped a dragonfly using black Archival Ink onto some coloured foil, which is recycled from an Easter egg wrapper. I stuck it onto the panel using a glue stick and to create the worn textured look I added some black Archival Ink to emphasis the creases and then I rubbed the foil back to its base silver colour with a baby wipe. To finish I added the glittery flower.
2. Teabags & staples Using staples I attached a used teabag to the panel and then I stuck three teacups on the top which were die cut from some design paper.
3. Glass beads I coloured the panel with some Summer Sky Memento Ink and then applied Liquitex Glass Beads Texture Gel over the top with a palette knife. Whilst the medium was still wet I pressed some pretty blue glass beads into the texture gel. When dry I added the little orange fish which is a brad.
4. Dried leaves I used matte gel medium to layer together a yellow skeleton leaf, a dried beech leaf and a die cut flower, which was cut from some linen textured paper using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.
5. Fabric, threads and lace The panel was covered with some self-adhesive fabric and layered with a piece of frayed muslin, some Hessian/burlap and some threads which I topped with a lace flower.
6. Corrugated card I added a piece of corrugated card, which was recycled from some packaging, using matte gel medium then applied some Pébéo white gesso over the top. When dry, I emphasised the corrugations using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The postage stamp is from Graphic 45 and was distressed using the Dark Sepia marker, Tea Dye Distress Ink and black acrylic paint.
7. Elastic bands I applied some matte gel medium to the panel and sprinkled on some Orthodontic elastic bands that CJ kindly set to me (grin!). When dry I covered them with white gesso and highlighted the circles using a Dark Sepia marker. Then I edged the panel using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and coloured some of the circle centres using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. To finish, I added three little hearts that were in my craft stash; they were created using the Falling Hearts Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and glossy white cardstock.
8. Crackle I covered the panel with white gesso and when it was dry I applied Earl Grey, Caramel and Coconut Faber-Castell Gelatos smudging the colours with my finger. To create the crackle I used a BoBunny stamp and some Toffee Crisp and Rich Cocoa Momento inks and Black Archival ink.
All the letters for the “texture” wording were created using an X-Cut die set; they were cut from both black and white paper and then layered together onto a panel of textured design paper.
9. Glitter I cut some different coloured glitter sheets into squares and then stuck them onto the panel using a glue stick.
10. Cork I simply stuck a piece of cork designed paper onto the panel.
11. Paint Splatter To add more texture I used some high density Liquitex paint, splattering Vivid Lime Green, Cold Grey and Bright Aqua Green onto the panel and leaving it to dry.
12. Wood This is one of my favourite techniques; I applied Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy and Ground Espresso Distress Ink pads vertically down the panel and used a paint brush to add some matte gel medium over the top keeping the brush strokes in a vertical direction. I repeated the process a couple of times making sure each layer dried before adding the next.
13. Texture paste I applied some Ranger Texture Paste to the panel using a Vintage Diamond stencil. When dry I coloured the panel using Salty Ocean and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks, then emphasised the texture paste using some Midnight Sparkle lustre wax.
14. Napkin I simply covered the panel with a gold embossed napkin using a glue stick.
15. Wooden chipboard pieces and rust effect I started by sticking the cogs in place using matte gel medium. When dry I added layers of different shades of rust and brown acrylic paints which I had created by mixing Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow and black acrylic paints. When dry I added more detail using Dark Sepia and a Sanguine Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. Then I added some patina by lightly stippling some Bright Aqua Green acrylic paint over the top.
16. Paper layers I covered the panel with leftover paper pieces and edged them using a black Uni Pin marker. The flower is a paper sticker and the foliage was cut using a Funky Floral Thinlet from Tim Holtz and coloured using two green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.
17. Doily and gems I added lots of texture to the panel using layers of doily which I edged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia marker. They are stuck in place using double-sided tape and then embellished with some textured gemstones to add some shimmer and shine.
18. Embossing Folder, thread and buttons I used an embossing folder to add a flower design to a piece of Kraft cardstock and then coloured the raised embossed design using a white Uniball gel pen and Aqua Green Promarker. Then I wound some wax thread around the panel and attached a big button.
19. Drywall/Plasterboard Tape I added some drywall/plasterboard tape to the panel and coloured it using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray. I splattered the panel with black DecoArt acrylic paint and added some washi tape to create the foreground. Then I added the mushrooms which are from the Field Notes Ephemera Set from Tim Holtz.
20. Embossing enamel and die cut trellis The panel background was coloured using Tea Dye and Antique Linen Distress Ink and Dandelion and Pistachio Memento Ink. The trellis was die cut from white cardstock covered in black Archival Ink and Chunky Silver Stampendous embossing enamel. I added two little birds which were stamped using black Archival Ink, coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut out.
21. Tissue Paper For the final panel, I crumpled some white tissue paper and then added it to the panel using matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured it with Lemon, Cadmium Yellow, Cerulean Blue, Yellow Ochre, Burnt Sienna watercolour paint. The flower was cut from some Kanban cardstock using a Wildflower Tim Holtz Thinlet.
Once the panels were complete I stuck them onto the page using double-sided tape; I coloured the background with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to outline the panels before sticking them in place.
Do you have a favourite panel? It’s hard for me to choose, maybe number 3 with the beads and little fish, number 6 as I love the corrugated card, number 15 with cogs and rust or number 20 as you know I adore robins (grin!).
I hope that you are inspired to join us at Art Journal Journey this month too! We are really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all the Texture that you create on your pages (grin!).
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 joining the It’s A Wrap challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the Easter Egg wrapping, corrugated packaging and tissue paper wrap I used to create my panels.
I’m happy to be able to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page.
This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Tag You’re It, which is being hosted by the lovely Amanda. Here’s what it’s all about:
“We would love to see what you create with, or on, hang tags. Your hang tags can be created from any material or be any size. We would just love to see that iconic hang shape front and centre in your design. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk”.
Creating tags for an art journal page is always fun, so, inspired by nature I designed these layered tags – I love the way they turned out (grin!).
For the main hang tag on my art journal page design, I cut out the largest tag from Kraft card stock from the Tag Collection Framelit set by Tim Holtz. Like all the tags, I coloured the inside panel of the tag using a white Faber-Castell Big Brush marker and edged it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using a blending tool and a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. I also die cut the tag-hole reinforcement using the same Framelit set from butterfly/script design paper.
To embellish this tag I cut three panels from the same Kraft card stock and then layered papers over the top of them using a glue stick. The papers included: some embossed gold napkin; some dressmaking tissue paper which I had stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink; and some torn pieces of the butterfly/script design paper. I layered some Field Notes ephemera from Tim Holtz over the top and added some tiny leaves; the leaves were cut using some Funky Florals Thinlets by Tim Holtz from some recycled notepaper which I had coloured with Mowed lawn, Peeled Paint and Pine Needles Distress Ink. On the top and bottom panels I added the white wording “Live simple” and “Love this life” which are rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz. The three panels were stuck to the hang tag using double-sided tape.
I followed the same process to create the other tags layering them together with the ephemera and leaves – I love the pretty dragonfly! The letters creating the “Let nature be your calming breath” wording were cut from the same green paper that I used for the leaves using an Alphanumeric Labels Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and once glued in place they were outlined using a white gel pen and a black Uni Pin marker so they stood out more.
I mounted all the tags on my page which was covered with the same embossed gold napkin, dressmaking tissue paper (stamped using a Finnabair stamp and some black Archival ink) and butterfly/script design paper that I had used on the tags. Then to finish, I splattered the whole page with some Pébéo white gesso.
I hope you are inspired to join in the Tag You’re It challenge over at A Vintage Journey too, for more inspiration you’ll find some amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there!
As you may know, my favourite colour is blue and this plant in particular from my garden reminded me of my page, it’s a Salvia nemorosa called “Blue Marvel” and the bees and insects love it!
My page also reminds me of a frequent visitor to our garden, a small blue butterfly called Common Blue which has proved difficult to photograph. So I was pleased when my dear friend who we walk with, shared this photo of a Large Blue which it is related to and this is one of the rarest blue butterflies in the UK.
I hope that you’re all keeping safe and well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Challenges
I’m pleased to join the lovely Alison AKA Craftytrog over at Art Journal Journey and her Pockets and Tags challenge this month with the nature inspired tags on this page.
I’m also pleased to join the Use Your Favourite Tool challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge as I wouldn’t be without my Tim Holtz Thinlets and Big Shot machine that I used to created my page.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Kraft card stock
Tim Holtz Sizzix Framelits (Tag Collection 658784)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (White 101, Cold Grey IV 233)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Vintage Photo, Mowed Lawn, Peeled Paint, Pine Needles)
Napkin
Style Dressmaking Pattern Tissue Paper
Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Gothic Book 966966)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Butterfly/Script Design Paper – local craft shop
Pritt Stick
Tim Holtz idea-ology Ephemera Pack (Field Notes #TH94051)
Today over at A Vintage Journey it’s Tag Friday, there is no particular theme as it’s all about creating something you love, experimenting and having fun! I hope that you will join our tag challenge, it would be lovely to see you there!
Spending more time in my garden means that my art is being inspired by some of the beautiful flowers which are blooming at the moment, so today’s double-sided tag features purple poppies and rudbeckia.
The tag itself was made from a large Poster Card by Tim Holtz and I added some texture and colour to the edges of it by applying some Broken China Distress Embossing Glaze and then some Rusty Hinge Distress Ink. As I planned to use Faber-Castell Gelatos on both tags, I applied some white gesso to the tag first; this enhanced the colours and made it easier to apply the Gelatos. When the gesso was dry, I scribbled Kiwi and Aqua Dolce Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top smudging the colour with my finger.
Next I removed some of the Gelato colours using a baby wipe through a Halftone stencil from Tim Holtz and I used the stencil again to add some Memento Inks; I used Cottage Ivy ink for the poppy background and Paris Dusk ink for the rudbeckia background.
I stamped a document stamp and a grunge stamp from two different Tim Holtz stamp sets using black Archival Ink and then some leaf stamps from Carabelle Studios using Cottage Ivy Memento Ink for the poppy tag and London Fog Memento Ink for the rudbeckia tag. To finish the backgrounds, I added some rub-on transfers from a Specimen Remnant Rubs set by Tim Holtz.
The flowers were stamped onto some Mixed Media paper using a Stamping Platform to ensure a clear crisp finish. The stamps are from a Flower Garden stamp set by Tim Holtz and are stamped using black Archival Ink. The foliage was coloured using Sap Green Kuretake watercolour paint and highlighted using Lime Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers.
I had fun painting the poppy using Colbalt Violet, Black and White Kuretake watercolour paints and I coloured the edges of the petals using Amethyst Winsor & Newton Promarker. I used Lime Green and Canary Promarkers to colour the centre of the flower and a white Uniball gel pen, a black Uni Pin marker and a Cool Grey Promarker for the stamens. The flower was stuck in place using a glue stick and some glue dots and I added the “Create Art” wording which was a Quote Chip from Tim Holtz that was edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker.
The rudbeckia flower was painted using Lemon Yellow, Cadmium Scarlet, Black, White and Burnt Umber Sienna Kuretake watercolour paints and a Canary Promarker. I used a black Uni Posca paint pen and a black Uni Pin marker to add the texture to the stamens. I added the “Be Brave” wording and edged both tags using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. To finish, I added an eyelet with my Crop-A-Dile machine to reinforce the hole as I’m using a book ring to secure all of my double-sided tags together as part of my Tag Journal (grin!).
For more Tag Friday inspiration, please pop over to A Vintage Journey where you’ll find some fabulous tags created by my fellow Creative Guides. I hope you are inspired to join us as I’m so looking forward to seeing your tag designs!
These purple poppies are a welcome addition to our flower bed and were totally unplanned; I think the birds must have brought them into the garden (grin!). They have been flowering non-stop since the beginning of July. I’m featuring them again as some of you had never seen them before so I thought I’d share some more information about them:
This particular poppy is called Papaver Somniferum “Hungarian Blue” and is an heirloom variety with single flowers.
They are gorgeous purple-violet shades with dark inner markings on each petal.
They are easy to grow being ideal as a cut flower and the dried seed pods can also be used in flower arranging.
They grow to a height of 90cm.
The rudbeckia has just started flowering and adds a happy vibrant yellow to our flower bed; this particular one is Rudbeckia Fulgida ”Goldsturm” and is also known as the Golden Cone Flower or Black Eyed Susan.
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
I’m pleased to join the Summer challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my summer flower tags.
I’m joining in the fun at Country View Challenges and their Do What Makes You Happy Challenge with my flower tags as although I always find making tags a bit daunting I always enjoy making them; they also make me smile when I look at them as they are always on display in my craft room.
I’ve always loved this quote “remember you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine” which happens to be from a song that was sung by Snow White in the original Disney animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs”.
As an experiment I sprinkled Yellow, Orange and Brilliant Red Brusho Powders on the page and spritzed them with White Linen Dylusions Ink Spray and a little water. I mopped up any excess colour from the edges of the page using a piece of kitchen towel and then left the page to dry; I love how the Brushos and spray blended together to give the soft summery sherbet background. Next I stamped the quote using a Concord & 9th Sophisticated Script stamp set with black Archival Ink, I used this ink for all the stamping on this page. I added some highlights to the quote using a white Uniball gel pen and then stamped lots of tiny butterflies using a Butterfly Peiredae stamp set from Paperbabes Stamps. Next I stamped a circular filigree sun shape from Kaisercraft around the edges of the page. Then I used a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker to edge the page and splattered it with black and also white acrylic paint.
For the large butterflies, I used my stamping platform to stamp the butterfly wings using black Archival Ink to get a clean finish and deepen the colour; they are stamped onto the dried kitchen towel that I used to mop up the excess background colours. I cut them out and stuck them in place using double sided tape, and then I stamped the butterflies body and antennae which are from the same Paperbabes Stamps stamp set which finished the page.
If you’re interested you can find a full list of materials that I used to create this page at the end of this post.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released in 1937 by Disney and here’s Snow White singing “A Smile and A Song” where the quote is taken from.
This quote made me think of the Snow White musical teapot which sits in our display cabinet; it’s one of my hubby’s keepsakes from 1960’s America where he lived when he was a young boy. I’m pleased to share this beautiful teapot, which plays “Hi Ho, Hi Ho…” when you pick it up, with the T Gang over at T Stands for Tuesday – 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.
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs as I enjoy taking part, they provide me with inspiration for my pages and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m pleased to join the lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal over at Art Journal Journey and her When It’s Hot challenge this month with the hot colours on my page.
