Happy Valentine’s Day

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges sharing my “Happy Valentine’s Day” journal page for this month’s Be Sentimental challenge.

For the background, I covered the chipboard page with Lumberjack Plaid and Saltwater Taffy Distress Paints and left them to dry overnight. Using Kraft Cardstock – Classic papers from Tim Holtz, I die cut the prancing deer using a Delightful Deer Sizzix Thinlits set by Lisa Jones, the hearts using a Heartfelt Sizzix Bigz Die by Tim Holtz and the sentiment using an All Occasions Sizzix Thinlits set by Olivia Rose; they were all stuck in place using matte gel medium. To finish, I splattered the page with white DecoArt acrylic paint and added the white ceramic hearts.

I hope you are inspired to join our Be Sentimental challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts.

The deer on this page were created using this Delightful Deer Sizzix Thinlits set by Lisa Jones and I was amazed to find not only the two prancing deer shown on the packaging but a third deer too; I can’t wait to use this adorable deer – perfect (smile!).

Stay safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Erika at her BioArtGal blog and she has chosen Seeing Red as her challenge which my page definitely is.

Challenge #67 – Anything Goes over at Ally’s Angels Challenge Blog with my Happy Valentine’s Day page.

MIUCB #63 – Anything Goes + optional no stamping over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my page which was created with no stamping.

Double D Challenges and their Hearts challenge with all the hearts on this Valentine’s page.

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In With The New

Over at Try it on Tuesday we are launching our first challenge of 2023, which is In With The New.

Please join us using a new product or a new technique or like me maybe you’re welcoming in the New Year too (smile!).

I started by covering the page with Silver Extreme Sheen Metallic DecoArt paint and then stenciling the starburst lines over the top using Black Soot Distress Ink through a Steampunk Mixed Media Stencil by Stamperia (new). The “Happy New Year” wording was die cut from some black glitter cardstock using an X-cut Folk Alphabet set. I used the same glitter cardstock for the black stars, which were die cut using a Snowy Stars Thinlits set by Tim Holtz. I added some silver glitter foam star stickers (new) and lots of circular black and silver outline stickers. To finish, I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing a selection of Brewdog beers; my sister kindly gifted my hubby for Christmas a box of their “12 Beers of Christmas” which he was delighted with and we have been enjoying throughout the New Year – Happy T Day everyone!

Happy New Year and I hope that you’re 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 join the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge and their January Stencil Fun – Anything Goes (as long as you use a stencil) with optional Winter challenge the Stamperia stencils that I used to create the starbursts on my page.

LTSCB#159 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Happy New Year page.

Mischievous Cats’ Happy New Year Party

Hi everyone and a very Happy New Year to you all! 

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges celebrating the New Year for our Time Challenge; this page was created using Tim Holtz products, as these Mischievous Cats wanted to wish you a Happy New Year too!

I started by cutting some Tim Holtz Pocket Cards, that had different clock face and wallpaper designs on them, into pieces and then I covered the page with them by collaging them together using matte gel medium. Next I applied some white gesso to the edges of the card pieces to fill any gaps and I also applied it to create a frame around the page itself. I added the clock hands so each clock was striking midnight to signify the New Year; like the cats and letters, they were die cut from Black Kraft Cardstock – Classic by Tim Holtz. I arranged four of the Mischievous Cats Thinlits onto the page adding a measuring tape, for each of them to sit on, which were from a Numbers Remnant Rub-on Set by Tim Holtz. Next I die cut the wording using an Alphanumeric Tiny Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and then I added them to the green glitter bunting triangles which I created using Adhesive Deco Sheets 12pcs – Christmas by Tim Holtz. They were arranged onto the page with some black cotton which I wound around the Mischievous Cats tails and paws, and to finish I added some tiny green gemstones for the cats eyes – Happy New Year everyone!

For more inspiration, please see the amazing Time creations from my fellow Design Team members over at Country View Challenges.

I look forward to seeing what you make and you never know, you might even win a £20 voucher for the Country View Crafts shop! Before you enter, please read the rules!

With it being New Years Day today, me and my hubby are wishing you all the very best for 2023 too! x

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

MIUCB #63 – Anything Goes + optional no stamping over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my Mischievous Cats’ Happy New Year Party page which was created with no stamping.

Thank You – Snowy Winter

As it’s the end of December, I’m sharing my last page for the Snowy Winter challenge over at Art Journal Journey which I’ve been hosting this month.

Thank you so much to everyone who joined me; I really appreciate all your kind comments and support throughout the month and have thoroughly enjoyed visiting your blogs and seeing all your wonderful artwork (smile!).

_{Please note: I took this photo earlier this week and will add any names I’ve missed when the challenge has finished (smile!).}

My page celebrates all of you who joined in the fun and I chose to design a page full of gifts, like you’re artworks were this month. I started by die cutting lots of squares from different Christmas design papers by Docrafts and arranged them onto the page with some blue square stickers. Then I painted some Cracked Pistachio Distress Stain between the squares giving it an icy snowy look. When dry, I added lots of stickers to the squares and background; they included tags, presents, bells, snowman, trees, snowflakes and stars. Next I printed the names of those who joined the challenge using a Dymo LetraTag Label Maker and once stuck in place, I decorated them using some silver Stickles glitter and a sequin snowflake.

I hope you had as much fun as I did, I enjoyed creating snowy winter pages for this challenge whether it was in my mini journal or …

… in my A4 sized journal.

Thank you all for your participation and lovely comments, you made it such a joy to host this challenge!

I’d like to say a special thanks to Bleubeard & Elizabeth and the rest of the AJJ Team for asking me to be a guest host; it’s always a pleasure to join you!

Not only is tomorrow a New Year, it’s the start of a new month which brings a new challenge at Art Journal Journey and I can’t wait to see what the new theme is and say hello to our new host – see you there! 

I hope you’ve had a safe and happy Christmas. Wishing you all the very best for 2023! Hugs Jo x

Thanks for joining me and if you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.

Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer

Today I’m sharing another page over at Art Journal Journey for the challenge theme Snowy Winter; like me all you need to do is add snowflakes or include snow to your page.

I started by covering the chipboard page with a used baby wipe that was stained blue using mop-up inks from previous projects; like all the paper elements it was stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium. The blue snowflakes were created from blue tissue paper using a Paper Snowflakes Mini Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz; they melted into the background beautifully. The deer was cut from some white cardstock using a Reindeer Bigz Die by Tim Holtz; it and was coloured using Antique Linen, Brushed Corduroy and Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Pitt Pen. When stuck in place I added his nose which was a red mini pom-pom. I added some glittery foam snowflake stickers and some white glittery stars which were created using a Snowy Stars Sizzix Thinlits set by Tim Holtz and covered in Clear Sparkle Embossing Powder Glitter by Wow!. To finish, I added the “up in the clear sky” wording which was from a Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book.

I hope that you are inspired to join in the fun this month too! I’m really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all your wonderful Snowy Winter creations (smile!).

As T Stands for Tuesday and to continue the Rudolph theme, I thought I’d share this fun mug that we saw whilst out shopping – Happy T Day everyone!

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and sending you best wishes this holiday season! Hugs Jo x

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

Challenges

As well as Art Journal Journey, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Challenge #65 – Anything Goes over at Ally’s Angels Challenge Blog with my Rudolph Reindeer page.

Christmas Reindeer

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays!

I am so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge theme that I have chosen is Snowy Winter; like me all you need to do is add snowflakes or snow to your page.

For my Christmas Reindeer page, I started by stamping lots of snowflakes onto some cream paper by Docrafts using Ground Espresso Distress Archival Ink and I arranged it so it covered the right-hand side and left-hand side of the page. For the reindeer panel, I tore the edges of a piece of the Docrafts paper and used a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to colour the edges. I stuck this paper onto a piece of white cardstock and adhered the reindeer and sleigh ephemera along with some gold snowflake outline stickers, a gold “Merry Christmas” foam sticker and the “dashing through the snow” and “let it snow” wording which were from a Christmas Sticker Book by Tim Holtz. Then to finish, I stuck the panel onto the page framing it with two gold filigree border outline stickers.

I hope that you are inspired to join in the fun this month too! I’m really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all your wonderful Snowy Winter creations (smile!).

This reindeer reminds me of Sven from the animated feature film Frozen, who is very lovable (smile!). If you haven’t seen the film here are some of Sven’s best moments from Frozen and Frozen II.

Hoping that you’re all staying safe and well this Christmastime – enjoy! Hugs Jo x

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

Challenges

As well as Art Journal Journey, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #30 and their Christmas Anything Goes Challenge as my gold and neutral page matches their photo inspiration and celebrates Christmas.

December Anything Goes Winter Challenge over at The Four Seasons Challenge with my winter reindeer page.

Challenge #65 – Anything Goes over at Ally’s Angels Challenge Blog with my reindeer page.

All Hearts Come Home for Christmas

Today I’m sharing a page that I created to remember family at Christmas including those who are no longer with us, as the wording says – All hearts come home for Christmas!

The brick background was created using a stencil and Ground Espresso, Brushed Corduroy and Rusty Hinge Distress Inks. Next I added the red door which was a recycled Christmas card and I arranged some leftover glitter paper across the bottom to create the snowy foreground. The snowflakes were die cut from the leftover glitter paper too, using a Paper Snowflakes Mini Thinlits set by Tim Holtz. To finish, I added the wall plaque which reads “All hearts come home for Christmas” from a Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book and I added some snow to the top using the glittery paper.

I was pleased to use all the recycled materials as part of the design and with the snowflakes on my page, I’m joining my Snowy Winter challenge that I’m hosting over at Art Journal Journey.

My closest family members went for a Festive Afternoon Tea on a very cold and icy day. We went to The Villa, which is a gorgeous country home set in it’s own grounds near to where we live.

We went to celebrate and remember a very special loved one, my dear dad who passed away this time last year. He loved Christmas so the setting was perfect with all the beautiful Christmas decorations!

We had our family dog with us, so we sat in the cosy lounge/bar area.

Of course the Festive Afternoon Tea was amazing; this setting is for two people to share and we enjoyed pigs in blankets, salmon and leek tart, a selections of sandwiches and patisseries, mince pies and a mulled spiced fruit scone served with clotted cream and jam – delicious and so very filling (smile!). As T Stands for T Day, you’ll also find tea and coffee and although it’s not pictured we enjoyed some mulled wine too – Happy T Day wishes! .

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

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

Challenges

As well as Art Journal Journey, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today:

Stencil Fun Challenge and their December Stencil Fun with optional Holidays with the brick stencil I used to create the background and the Christmas Holidays that are celebrated on this page.

Challenge #130 – Christmas Anything Goes over at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge with my Christmas page.

A Christmas Song

Today I’m over at Country View Challenges with my second page for our Christmas Anything Goes challenge this month.

I love robins especially at Christmastime and had lots of fun creating this page using some of my favourite crafting goodies by Tim Holtz.

I started by covering the chipboard page using Twisted Citron and Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint and when dry, I applied some white gesso over the top using a brayer. Then I stamped some fir tree branches over the page using Pine Needles and Rustic Wilderness Distress Ink and a Sketch Greenery stamp set; all by Tim Holtz. The page was splattered using white DecoArt acrylic paint and left to dry. The papers are from a Tim Holtz Worn Wallpaper Christmas set; I tore them into pieces before sticking them in place using a glue stick. The snowflakes were die cut from the same paper using a Paper Snowflakes Mini Thinlits set by Tim Holtz. For my robins I cut three different birds using a Silhouette Birds Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some brown and red Kraft Cardstock – Classic by Tim Holtz and once stuck together added some glitter to their red breasts using Red Stickles and a tiny black gemstone for their eyes. To finish, I added the wording from a Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker book which reads “A Christmas Song” and “Message of Love”.

I hope you are inspired to join our Christmas Anything Goes challenge over at Country View Challenges too, if you do, you’ll have a chance to win a £20 voucher to use on the Country View Crafts (grin!).

As you may have seen from a previous post, I always visit our local garden centre for their Christmas evening with my family and this year there was free face painting. I know what you’re thinking this is for kids, but as no one was waiting I asked the lady if she would paint my face and she said yes so of course I couldn’t resist – can you guess what I asked for?

Yes I love robins so much that that’s what I asked for; well maybe it looks like a cross between a robin and a cardinal, but who cares, as you can see it really made me smile – wishing you a Merry Christmas and all the very best for the New Year! x

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

Challenges

As well as Country View Challenges, 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!

December Anything Goes Winter Challenge over at The Four Seasons Challenge as robins and poinsettias always remind me of winter and Christmastime.

Challenge #65 – Anything Goes over at Ally’s Angels Challenge Blog with my a Christmas Song page.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

I’m so delighted to be hosting Art Journal Journey this month and the challenge theme that I have chosen for is Snowy Winter; like me all you need to do is add snowflakes and/or include snow as part of your page design.

Today’s page was inspired by a Christmas Event at our local garden centre which I attend every year with my family.

I started by painting some white acrylic paint to the centre of my chipboard page and some Salvaged Patina and Speckled Egg Distress Paint around the edges. Then I used a clean paintbrush to pull the white paint out to the edges to produce a starburst effect. When dry, I stamped some small snowflakes using Faded Jeans Distress Archival Ink over the page. Next I added some cute animal Christmas scenes which were 3D stickers and to finish, some pretty snowflake embellishments.

I hope that you are inspired to join in the AJJ fun this month too! I’m really looking forward to visiting you and seeing all your wonderful Snowy Winter creations (smile!).

The Christmas Event is held in evening and Santa was there to greet us as we arrived at the garden centre.

We always have fun looking at the Christmas displays, listening to the live Christmas music and of course, shopping.

It’s become a family tradition to attend this evening and it’s such a lovely way to start the Christmas festivities!

We also enjoyed the complimentary mulled wine and mince pie – yum! As T Stands for T Day, I’m sharing the mulled wine with you, grab a glass and Happy T Day!

Hope that you’re all staying well! x

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

Challenges

As well as Art Journal Journey, I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

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

MLCCB #47 – Anything Christmas Goes over at Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog with my fun Christmas page.

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

Hello Winter

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

Whilst tidying up, I found this adorable robin image that I had saved from an old calendar and just couldn’t resist creating a page with it straight away; I even abandoned another page that I was creating, oh and also the tidying up (grin!).

I started by covering the background using white acrylic and Speckled Egg Distress Paint. Then I die cut lots of holly and fir branches using a Holiday Greens Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some green coloured cardstock; I added more colour to them using a Dark Green Blend TriBlend Spectrum Noir marker. The cones were die cut using a Funky Festive Thinlits set by Tim Holtz from some brown Kraft cardstock – Classic by Tim Holtz. The holly berries were die cut using an old Festive Holly set and the wording using a Sizzix Doodle Alphabet and Letters set; they were all cut from orange paper which I later coloured using Orange and Sunflower Spectrum Aqua markers. I fussy cut the robin and stuck him in place, then I die cut the snowflakes from the remaining calendar paper. All of the foliage and snowflake pieces were arranged onto the page using Liquitex matte gel medium and to finish, I splattered the whole page using white acrylic paint.

I love robins and have quite a few beautiful metal robins in my garden; one Christmas my dearest friend in America bought us this pretty red robin sitting in a heart – isn’t it delightful (smile!).

Hope that you’re all staying safe and well, and wishing you a Happy December!

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 and the Snowy Winter challenge that I’m hosting this month as their are snowflakes on my wintery scene.

LTSCB #158 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my Hello Winter page.

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

December Anything Goes Winter Challenge over at The Four Seasons Challenge with my Hello Winter page.

Challenge #64 – Anything Goes over at Ally’s Angels Challenge Blog with my Winter page.