Christmas is coming

For the next two weeks our new challenge at Try it on Tuesday is Christmas is coming.

My art journal page features traditional Christmas red and green colours and Christmas trees; I love all things Christmas so I can’t wait to see your Christmas creations (grin!). 

For the background, I stamped a Lattice stamp using Aged Mahogany Distress Ink over the whole page and then spritzed the page with water. When dry I added pieces of green polka dot washi tape to create the Christmas tree, added some red gemstones and then the numbers and trunk which are stickers from Kaisercraft. Next I die cut the letters to create the “Christmas is coming” wording out of white card; they are coloured using a green pen, stuck in place using Zig glue pen and more detail was added using a white Uniball gel pen. I used another sticker set to add the snowflake discs and create the tags, layering them together with the trees and stars and adding a bow of red and white twine. I also added some wording from a Tim Holtz Christmas sticker book which reads “the best tree”, “the magic tree”, “Christmas time has come at last” and “25^th of December”. To finish, I added some green and white glittery snowflakes and also some red gems to the tags and snowflake discs.

There’s some amazing inspiration from my Design Teamies over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over to take a look.

The numbered tree that I’ve created on this page could be used to count down the days until Christmas. I’m not sure where this year has gone now that December is here and oh my, there are only 15 days left until Christmas!

Another way this page could be used is as a calendar marking off the dates until Christmas Day is here. I think my friends have the best idea though, with the reward of a chocolate each day from this fabulous advent calendar! I may just have to get one of these next year – looks so yummy (grin!).

I noticed this advent calendar when we were visiting little Ellie, doesn’t she look adorable after her recent visit for her trim at the doggie parlour (double grin!).

Oh, and not forgetting hot chocolate for T Stands for Tuesday . This time of year we often enjoy a cup with a scrummy Lebkuchen which are only on sale at Christmastime. These ones are dipped in dark chocolate – delicious! I’m saying a big hello to the T Gang – Happy T day!

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

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like Try it on Tuesday, as 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 Yvonne, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the words on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Traditional Christmas challenge with the traditional red and green Christmas colours on my page.

I’m also pleased to be able to join the Stars challenge over at Country View Challenges with the stars on the tags and the snowflakes star shapes I included on this page.

I’m also joining in the Stars challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the stars on the tags and the snowflakes star shapes I included on this page too.

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

• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Lattice CS120)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Aged Mahogany)
• Poundland (3 Washi Tapes)
• Eleganza Craft Stickers (Gems Red No:16)
• Hero Arts Gemstones (Red & Green CH120)
• Docrafts Papermania Adhesive  Stones (Red PMA351607)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Turtle Doves SS149)
• Docrafts X-Cut Alphabet Die Set (Centurion XCU503083)
• Recycled white card
• Pentel Sign Pen (Green)
• Zig Memory 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Uniball Signo gel pen (White)
• Dovecraft Collections Christmas Basics (A5 Glitter Stickers DCSTK018X16)
• Red & white twine
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Christmas Sticker Book #TH93999)
• Poundland (Christmas Craft Pack)

Holly Jolly Christmas

Our new challenge over at A Vintage Journey is Holly Jolly Christmas, which is being hosted by Sandy. Here’s what it is all about:

“This month Anything Goes as long as it says Christmas and is in one of our preferred styles of vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk.”

I love all things Christmas so I had great fun Art Journaling this Holly Jolly Christmas page using lots of Tim Holtz products.

I started by covering the page with Botanicals Collage paper from Tim Holtz using matte gel medium and left it to dry. Then I coloured the centre of the page using Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Rusty Hinge Distress Ink with a blending tool. I painted white gesso around the edges pulling the gesso into the centre of the page using a dry paintbrush so the gesso didn’t mix with the Distress Ink. I then added some splatters of white gesso, black acrylic paint and Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Next I die cut some holly using a Holiday Greens Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot machine; they are die cut from some scrap white paper which I coloured using Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles and Forest Moss Distress Ink, edged with a Cold Grey Faber-Castell marker and stuck in place using a Zig glue pen. The berries were also die cut from some scrap paper which were coloured with Festive Berries Distress Ink.

I layered the sheet music and tartan strips together which are from a Christmas Sticker Book from Tim Holtz and edged them using a black marker smudging it to give a worn look. The Santa Claus, “25” and “Special Delivery” signage are from the Tim Holtz Christmas Sticker Book too. I also added the wording “have a holly jolly Christmas”, “A visit from Santa Claus” and “was a jolly happy soul” which were again from the Tim Holtz sticker book; once stuck in place they were edged with a black marker. 

If you create a Christmas art journal page then why not share it with us at A Vintage Journey, it would be lovely to see you there (grin!). For more Inspiration, please pop over to see the amazing creations from my fellow Creative Guides over at A Vintage Journey too.

Whilst creating this page I was listening to the fabulous Michael Bublé crooning the song “Holly Jolly Christmas” (grin!). This is a song that you can’t help but sing along to – wishing you a Holly Jolly Christmas!

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

Challenges

I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, like A Vintage Journey, 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 Yvonne, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the words and numbers on this page.

I’m joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Traditional Christmas challenge with my Holly Jolly Christmas art journal page with the Santa Claus and holly.

I’m pleased to be able to join the #108 – Winter challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my Holly Jolly Christmas page too.

I’m also happy to join Creative Artiste Challenge Blog for their #56 – Anything Mixed Media Goes with my mixed-media art journal page as I used collage paper, inks, gesso, paper, stickers and markers to create it.

Over at the Mix It Up Challenge Blog their theme is # 32 – Anything Goes + optional twist of Veggie Stamping, so I’m pleased to be able to join this challenge too.

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

• Tim Holtz Collage Paper (Botanicals #TH93705)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Rusty Hinge, Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Forest Moss, Festive Berries)
• Recycled white paper
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Holiday Greens 658759)
• The Range (5×5 Dies Holly)
• Tim Holtz idea-ology (Christmas Sticker Book #TH93999)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Cold Grey IV 233)
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Magical Reindeer

My page today features a magical reindeer and was inspired by some Christmas shopping at a fabulous shop specialising in wool and haberdashery; there are photos later!

For the background I stuck a piece of wood effect design paper onto the page using a UHU Stic. Then I added some ripped pieces of holly tissue paper over the top using Liquitex matte gel medium and stuck some glittery snowflake stickers to the page. Next I arranged an A6 card, stars, leaves, gem flowers and foliage which are all from a Die Cut Book with some gold swirl foliage and gold stars which I die cut using my Big Shot machine. I added the wording “It’s the most wonderful time of year” which is from the same decoupage book and also the magical reindeer image which I cut from an old book; it’s stuck in place using double-sided foam tape. To finish, I added some small blue gemstones using Ranger Glossy Accents to add a little more sparkle.

Mrs. Johnsons Emporium is located in Blackpool in this grand building and they stock a large range of wool and haberdashery.

The owners are enthusiastic about knitting and created this amazing reindeer to decorate the shop and …

… also this colourful elephant – aren’t they both amazing!

They have an extensive range of wool and haberdashery to choose from, with lots of finished examples to show how the pattern and wool turn out. I was very tempted although I do not knit or crochet (grin!). As there website says, it really is a haven of gorgeousness for those who knit, crochet, sew and craft!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our deer mugs filled with tea and a yummy custard slice – Happy T day (grin!).

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 Yvonne, aka Meggymay and her Words and Numbers challenge over at Art Journal Journey with the wording I added to this page.

I’m happy to join in the Stars challenge over at Country View Challenges with all the gold stars I added to my art journal page too.

I’m joining in the Let’s Sparkle challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge with the glittery snowflakes, gold accents and gemstones on my page.

I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge too.

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

• Docrafts A4 Ultimate Die Cut & Paper Pack (Festive Fauna PMA160949)
• Holly Tissue Paper
• Home Bargains (Wall Stickers 16221)
• The Works Die Cut Book Foil (Royal Christmas)
• Gold Paper
• Spellbinders (Unknown – Leaf Swirl)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Snowy Stars 663117)
• Hobbycraft Decorative Embellishments (Round Gems Blue 5665381001)
• UHU Stic
• Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
• Stix2 Mini Glue Dots and double-sided tape
• Ranger Glossy Accents
• The Range double-sided foam tape

12 Days of Christmas

Our new theme for the next two weeks at Try it on Tuesday is Inspired by a Song/Christmas Carol.

My page was inspired by the song ‘12 Days of Christmas’. I’m so excited to find out which song you have chosen to inspire your creations, please be sure to let us know.

I started by dividing the page into 12 equal sections; each sections is coloured and then stamped with a Sheet Music stamp using a different colour of Distress Ink; in numerical order the colours were Shabby Shutters, Festive Berries, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron and Fired Brick. They are all edged using a Postage Stamp border stamp and black Archival Ink and then splattered with white gesso and black acrylic paint. I added the numbers which are die cut from black paper and stuck into place, like all of the paper elements, using a Zig Memory glue pen. Then I created a scene to depict each line of the song using some white mixed media paper to either stamp with black Archival Ink or die cut the different elements. The main characters are from a 12 Days of Christmas stamp set by Urban Stamps and for:

1. A partridge in a pear tree – I fussy cut the partridge and three pears that I had stamped and arranged them on the page with a die cut branch from a Garden Greens Thinlet set by Tim Holtz which I edged using a black marker pen.
2. Turtle Doves – I surrounded the dove with some hearts that were created using a paper punch.
3. French Hens – The foreground was created using a circle die cut which I stamped with some French wording and the three snowflakes are die cut too.
4. Calling Birds – The berry branch was from the Tim Holtz Garden Greens Thinlet set and the music notes were hand drawn and cut out.
5. Gold Rings – I suspended the five gold rings using thin strips of paper and added some bows that were stamped from the 12 Days of Christmas stamp set and they were very fiddly to cut out (grin!).
6. Geese a Laying – I stamped and cut out some extra eggs.
7. Swans a Swimming – I added some extra waves and a circle die cut to depict the sun.
8. Maids a Milking – The flowers were die cut using a Funky Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz.
9. Ladies Dancing – I created the dance floor and little flowers using another Urban Arts stamp set.
10. Lords a Leaping – The foreground and the snow fall were created using die cuts.
11. Pipers Piping – I used the Sheet Music stamp again to depict the Piper’s music.
12. Drummers Drumming – The tiered podium is created using a square die cut set and the stars are from the 12 Days of Christmas stamp set.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from my Design Teamies.

Do you know the song 12 Days of Christmas? It’s an English Christmas carol which has a simple verse structure that is modified with the progressive addition of Christmas gifts, so that each verse is longer than the verse before. It starts:

On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
2 Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

… etc, etc

And ends:

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
11 Pipers Piping
10 Lords a Leaping
9 Ladies Dancing
8 Maids a Milking
7 Swans a Swimming
6 Geese a Laying
5 Gold Rings
4 Calling Birds
3 French Hens
2 Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Our local garden centre had a Christmas evening that I went along to with my sister and mum, we had a wonderful time and we all bought some Christmas gifts for family and friends.

The Christmas displays were so pretty and they even had live music which I really enjoyed (grin!).

They also treated us to a free mince pie and some mulled wine, so as T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing this treat with you too – Happy T Day!

Sending Happy Thanksgiving wishes to those of you who celebrate this week too!

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 Rike from rike’s art and her Fruit and Veggies challenge over at Art Journal Journey with ny pear tree.

I’m also happy to join in the Hand Stamped challenge hosted by the lovely Craftyfield over at Country View Challenges as I used six different stamp sets for this page including the main characters for each of the 12 scenes being hand stamped and fussy cut out.

As I included stars on my page, I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Starry Starry Night challenge too.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Shabby Shutters, Festive Berries, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Peacock Feathers, Mowed Lawn, Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron, Fired Brick)
• Woodware Clear Magic Singles (Sheet Music JGS111)
• Docrafts Papermania Mini Clear Stamps (Letters to Santa PMA907917)
• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Pébéo White Gesso
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (Black)
• Leon X-Large Coloured Paper (Black)
• Sizzix Thinlets Debi Patter (Brush Numbers 661726)
• White mixed media paper
• Docrafts Papermania Urban Stamps (12 Days of Christmas – Icons PMA907909, Craft Collection – Pastels PMA907223)
• Sizzix Tim Holtz Thinlets (Garden Greens 661206, Funky Floral #1 662700)
• Sharpie Permanent marker (Black)
• Tonic Studios Paper Punch Accent (Hearts Sider 830E)
• The Works (Cutting Dies – Stitched Circles, Stitched Squares)
• Crafter’s Companion Parisian Collection Clear Stamp (Beau Collage S-PAR-ST-BCOL)
• Poppy Stamps Craft Dies (Small Blooming Poinsettia Style No: 902)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.2mm)
• Craft Sensations (Clear Stamps CR0274/16R1)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Glue Dual Action Pen)

Let it snow

My page design today was inspired by my new winter hat which is so pretty, it is navy blue in colour and has butterflies and sparkly gems on it (grin!).

This is also a reminder that you still have another week to join our Cold, Cold, Cold challenge at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!

I started by smooshing Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink onto the page by stamping the ink pad onto a blending mat, spritzing with water and pressing the mat onto the page. Then I used a blending tool to add the same Distress Ink around the edges of the page to darken the colour. Next I stamped a Hessian texture stamp from Kaisercraft, as it reminded me of the woven texture of my hat, using Paris Dusk Memento Ink. I also stamped some dots from Hampton Arts, as they looked like the sparkly lines of gems on my hat, using the same Memento Ink and also some Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink. I added the silver snowflakes which are stickers from Docrafts and then I splattered the page with silver Liquitex Ink and the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. I added the embroidery butterfly and lots of clear gems to the lines of stamped dots to represent the sparkle on my hat. I’m all set for winter now as I have my new hat so I finished the page by adding the “Let it snow” wording which is from a set of silver glittery letter stickers.

Here’s my new hat, I just fell in love with it as soon as I saw it! What could be better than the navy blue colour, sparkle, pretty butterflies and a big fat pom-pom on the top (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing the love and my hot chocolate which like my hat is guaranteed to keep you warm on cold winter days, and this one has a shot of gingerbread syrup in it – so yummy! Wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

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 Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps .with my wintry art journal page.

I’m joining the Peace & Tranquility challenge over at Moo Mania & More with my winter butterfly page.

I’m pleased to be able to join in the fun over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog for their Anything Goes + optional twist of Watercolouring with my wintry art journal page.

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

• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Chipped Sapphire)
• Kaisercraft Clear Stamps (Texture – Hessian CS253)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Paris Dusk)
• Hampton Art Doodlebug Designs (Thankful ICO162)
• Tsukineko Brilliance Ink (Platinum Planet)
• Liquitex Ink! (Iridescent Bright Silver)
• Docrafts Glitterations Create Christmas (Snowflakes Silver)
• The Range (Fabric Butterflies)
• Stix2 glue dots
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• The Range (Alphabet Stickers PO205184)

Change

Our new challenge for the next two weeks at Try it on Tuesday is Inspired by a Word – please note on your blog post which word you used for your inspiration.

Please check out the creations and words that my Design Teamies chose over at Try it on Tuesday too; we hope to see you there!

This time I got my hubby to choose a word for me which was “Change”, so I created a page based on the changing winter to spring seasons (grin!).

I started by stamping a letter stamp from Carabelle Studios using black Archival Ink onto the page, concentrating the letters at the bottom of the page to depict the ground. Then I covered the page with thin layers of Windsor & Newton watercolour paints using a baby wipe; I coloured the left-hand winter side of the page with Payne’s Gray and the right-hand spring side with Ultramarine watercolour paint. Then I covered the Payne’s Gray with Platinum Planet brilliance Ink which gave it a lovely shine of frosty grey and the Ultramarine with a wash of Salty Ocean Distress Ink so it was a sunshiny blue. For the foreground I added some white DecoArt acrylic paint to my winter scene and some watered down Cottage Ivy and Dandelion Memento Ink to the spring scene. Next I stamped the two trees from Docrafts Build a tree stamp set using black Archival Ink which gave an outline of the tree shapes.

For the winter tree I stamped lots of snowflakes from three different stamp sets using Bahama Blue, Summer Sky, Paris Dusk, Danube Blue and Teal Zeal Memento Ink. I coloured the tree trunk and branches using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker. Then I die cut some snowflakes from glitter paper and arranged them onto the tree with some silver snowflake relief stickers and some clear and blue gems. To finish the tree I stamped a festive ornament and tiny star from one of the branches using black Archival Ink decorating it with a blue gem.

For the spring tree I stamped the leaves and flowers using the same Tree stamp set from Docrafts using: Cottage Green and Dandelion Memento Ink for the leaves which I blended together on a blending mat before applying to the stamp; Rose Bud Memento Ink for the flowers. I coloured the tree trunk and branches using the Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker and then I added a couple of pink flower paper embellishments and some pink gems. To finish the tree, I stamped a bird house using black Archival Ink and decorated it with a blue gem.

Next I die cut the “Change” letters from some recycled black packaging paper using a Folk Alphabet die set from Docrafts and my Big Shot machine. They are stuck down the centre of the page using a Zig Memory System glue pen. To finish, I stamped the Carabelle Studio letter stamp using black Archival Ink over the bottom of the tree trunks so they blended in more, and added two Kaisercraft stickers with the words to describe the change in the seasons as it was a “Happy” Winter and I “Love” Spring (grin!).

As T Stands for Tuesday and with the change in the seasons I changed my drink choice when I was out and about with my mum recently; so instead of drinking my normal hot chocolate (pictured on the left), I enjoyed a chocolate frappe (pictured on the right) – yum! Wishing you all a Happy T day!

Challenges

I’m pleased to link my art journal page to the Hello Springtime challenge that I am hosting over at Art Journal Journey as it depicts the change of the seasons from winter to spring. I hope you are inspired to say hello to springtime too, it would be lovely to see you there!

I’m pleased to be able to join the Letters and/or Number challenge over at Country View Challenges with the letter background that I created and die cut lettering.

As I used snowflakes to represent winter and sunny blue skies to represent Spring I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Whatever The Weather challenge too.

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:

• Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
• Winsor & Newton Cotman Water Colours (Payne’s Gray, Aquamarine)
• Tsukineko Brilliance Pigment Ink (Platinum Planet)
• Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Salty Ocean)
• DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic (White)
• Tsukineko Memento Ink (Bahama Blue, Summer Sky, Paris Dusk, Danube Blue, Teal Zeal, Cottage Ivy, Dandelion, Rose Bud)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Uni Pin Fine Line marker (Black 0.05mm)
• Carabelle Studio Art Stamp (Background – avec des letters SA60233)
• Docrafts Creativity Essentials Clear Stamps (Build a tree DCE907130)
• Free with magazine Embossing Folder & Stamp Set (Winter Wonderland)
• Sheena Douglass Stamp Set (Winter Woodland) – free with Creative Stamping magazine Issue 62
• The Works (Clear Stamps CRO274K/TW1)
• Kars Clear Stamps (Christmas Hanger 180009/2024)
• The Works M&C Boutique (Cutting Dies, Mini Paper Flower Embellishment)
• Docrafts XCut A5 Dies Set (Folk Alphabet XCU503286)
• Recycled black packaging paper
• Poundland (Glitter Sheets 116432)
• Crelando Relief Sticker Set (IAN289011)
• B&M Craft Goody Bag (Turquoise 321451)
• Hobbycraft (Rose Gem Stones 5666091006)
• Kaisercraft Sticker Sheet (Secret Garden SS283)
• Zig Memory System 2 Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)

Sweet Winter Season

It’s been very cold and frosty this week, we even had a light sprinkling of snow, so I thought I’d create a page to capture the pretty frozen landscape.

I started by covering the centre of the page with Pébéo white gesso and then I added some Silver Metallic acrylic paint around the edges, gradually blending the gesso and acrylic into each other where they met. Next I arranged some images, wording, flowers and leaves from a Sweet Winter Season decoupage book and die cut some branches using Garden Greens Thinlets by Tim Holtz from some pink and brown paper using my Big Shot machine. They are all layered and arranged onto the page using double-sided tape or a Zig glue pen. I also die cut some snowflakes from grey/pink paper using two different die sets and stuck them onto the background along with silver snowflake relief stickers. I used some of the smaller snowflake relief stickers to decorate a few of the decoupage pieces, then to finish I added some tiny clear gemstones to add a bit of extra sparkle.

With it being so cold out, our bird feeder has been working overtime. We have had an array of birds visiting including a pair of Coal Tits; they have a distinctive grey back, black cap, and white patch at the back of their neck with beautiful creamy peachy coloured breast-feathers.

Coal Tits look similar to this Chickadee that we saw in the US when we visited last year. I have included a squirrel on my page but luckily we don’t have them raiding our bird feeder, unlike our friends in America who get chipmunks as well as red and grey squirrels on their feeders.

This little guy with his pretty grey and brown feathers is a Dunnock and reminds me of the little bird on my page; we see him in our garden on a daily basis feeding underneath our bird feeders.

Of course I wanted to also show you our resident Robin, although this isn’t the best of photos he still looks so sweet (grin!).

Challenges

I’m pleased to join the Anything Goes challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my wintry art journal page.

I’m also joining Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Anything Goes challenge too.

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:

• Pébéo White Gesso
• Poundland Metallic Acrylic Paint (Silver)
• Faber-Castell Big Brush marker (Dark Sepia 175 B)
• Sizzix Thinlets Tim Holtz Alterations (Garden Greens 661206)
• Tonic Studios Christmas Trio Die Set (falling Snowflakes 1792e)
• The Works Cutting Dies (Snowflake Garland)
• The Works 3D Decoupage Book (Sweet Winter Season)
• Poundland Design Pad (Changing Seasons CRO701/16PL1)
• Craft Sensations Design Pad (Endless Love CRO206/A)
• Crelando Relief Stickers (IAN289011)
• Home Bargains Special Occasion (Mini Decorative Stickers 22740)
• Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
• Stix2 double-sided tape