Our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday for the next 2 weeks is Make a Rainbow.
For my art journal page, I created a rainbow coloured background of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet with matching die cut flowers. I hope that you are inspired to join our challenge too; it would be lovely to see you there!
For the rainbow background, I painted Kuretake Watercolour paints in the vertical panels onto the page. I did this by applying water to the page first and then adding Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine, Indigo and Cobalt Violet watercolour paint over the top. Then I splattered the page using white and also black acrylic paint and when dry, I applied some Pébéo white gesso using a brayer to push back the bright rainbow colours into the background more. The different flowers were die cut using three sets of Wildflower Thinlits from Tim Holtz; they were cut from coloured papers and also white cardstock. I layered the coloured and white flower die cuts together so they were slightly off centre and then I arranged them onto the page using a Zig glue pen. The letters for the “rainbow” wording were created the same way using a Docrafts Alphabet die cut set which finished the page.
For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday and take a look you at the wonderful Make a Rainbow creations from our Guest Designer and my Design Teamies too (grin!).
It’s always magical seeing rainbows and whilst creating this page it reminded me of this one; taken through my craft room window last year.
As T Stands for Tuesday I’m saying a big welcome to the T Gang and sharing my cuppa with one of my yummy birthday cupcakes that I made (it’s a sponge cake filled with vanilla buttercream and jam then topped with the icing) – wishing you a very 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:
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Red, Cadmium Scarlet, Lemon Yellow, Sap Green Light, Ultramarine, Indigo, Cobalt Violet)
As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to be able to join the following challenges today which are:
Art Journal Journey where the theme is Inspired By in honour of Eileen from The Artful Crafter’s Blog who picked the theme and was supposed to host this month but sadly passed away shortly after her heart surgery last month – she is greatly missed! I’m so pleased to be able to remember her by joining AJJ with my pages this month which was inspired by rainbow wishes (grin!).
MIUCB#48 – Anything Goes + optional No Stamping challenge over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my rainbow page which contains no stamping.
I can never resist using my favourite Merry Moose Thinlits set at Christmastime; this time he’s on a Christmas card so I can share some “Christmoose” joy with my friends (grin!).
To start, I cut a panel of mixed media paper to fit my greetings card and positioned a circular template from an Inkylicious template and stencil set to mask out the moon. Then I stamped the pretty snowflakes using a Frozen Fractals stamp set from Simon Says Stamp; they were stamped using Versamark Watermark ink and then covered in white Stampendous embossing powder. Next I positioned a hand cut paper template to mask out the foreground. and then I painted the panel using a mixture of Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine and Turquoise Blue colours Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour paints. When dry, I removed both of the templates and added some colour to the snowflakes in the foreground using the watercolour paints again. I coloured the moon with some Platinum Planet Brilliance Ink and added some texture using a white gel pen and also by stamping some grey dots using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and an Urban Tapestry stamp from Tim Holtz. Then I splattered the whole panel with white acrylic paint.
The tree and moose were die cut using the Merry Moose Thinlets by Tim Holtz and my Big Shot Machine. The tree was cut from some paper that I had used to mop up brown inks and the snow was cut from some white linen textured cardstock. For the Merry Moose, I used some linen card stock which I coloured using Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso Distress Inks. His antlers were coloured using Antique Linen Distress Ink and I edged all the pieces with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell maker. His harness was die cut from some blue glitter paper and white cardstock which I had coloured with the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. To finish, I added the “Merry Christmas” wording which was from a Christmas sticker book from Tim Holtz; it’s edged using a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell marker before sticking it in place.
I love moose and there are quite a few moose on our Holiday Tree which is decorated with ornaments that we purchased whilst on holiday/vacation. We always enjoy looking at this tree and reminiscing of times gone by; all the decorations hold such happy memories (grin!).
As you can see, these ornaments are from Maine; the wording on this one makes me smile – Merry Christmoose everyone (double grin!).
Stay safe and keep well!
Thanks for joining me today! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Here is a list of the materials that were used to create this card:
Simon Says Stamp Clear Stamp Set (Frozen Fractals SSS101694)
Tsukineko Versamark Watermark Ink Pad
Stampendous Embossing Powder Basics (Detail White Opaque DP100)
Inkylicious Stencil and Template Set (Sun & Moons)
Recycled paper
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine Pale, Ultramarine, Turquoise Blue)
Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Stamp Set (Urban Tapestry CMS061)
Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix Thinlets (Merry Moose 663103)
Recycled paper used to mop up brown inks
Craft Sensations (Luxury Card Stock with Linen Texture)
Poundland (Glitter Paper Sheets)
Zig Memory System Chisel Tip Glue Pen
Tim Holtz idea-ology Sticker Book (Christmas #TH93999)
Challenges
I’m glad I found out about Challenge Blogs, as they provide me with inspiration and are a wonderful way to meet like-minded arty people. So here are the challenges I’m joining today:
I’m joining in the fun over at Country View Challenges and their Anything Christmas challenge with my Christmoose card.
I’m happy to join the # 119 Non-Traditional Christmas Colours challenge over at Sparkles Christmas Challenge with the colours that I used on this card.
I’m also joining Paperbabe Stamps and their #134 – Anything Goes challenge with my Christmoose card.
I’m also pleased to join in the LTSCB #140 – Winter Wonderland challenge over at the Love to Scrap Challenge Blog with my Merry Moose walking in his winter wonderland card.
I’m so happy to join in the fun over at the Rudolph Days Challenge where Anything Goes, as long as it’s Christmas with my Merry Moose Christmas card too.
Don’t forget there is still another week to join our Christmas Sparkle challenge at Try it on Tuesday too, it would be lovely to see you there!
While tidying up my craft room I came across a motivational photo that I used to have on my work desk which always made me smile and inspired me to be more adventurous, it depicts “The power of self-belief”. It reminded me of a lion photo that I had saved from an old magazine so I just had to create this page – I hope you like it (grin!).
For the background I covered the page with Scattered Straw and Antique Linen Distress Ink with a blending tool and then I spritzed with water and left to dry; I love the dreamy way the inks blended with the bursts of colour. Then I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint dabbing it with a piece of kitchen towel to smudge and reduce the intensity of the colour.
For the lion and wording, I used a picture from a magazine. I experimented by die cutting the trellis pattern into the left-hand side of the picture to blend it into the page; I really like the result (grin!).
I die cut the letters for the wording using a Docrafts alphabet die set from the remainder of the magazine page. They are edged with a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker before sticking them in place and surrounding them with pieces of the trellis, which finished the page.
Here’s the photo that inspired my page, I love how the kitten looking into the mirror depicts how powerful self-belief is and I’m a great believer in being able to achieve something if you set your mind to it (grin!).
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
With the background and trellis texture that I created on this art journal page, I’m pleased to join the Texture challenge over at Art Journal Journey that I’m hosting this month; it would be lovely to see you there!
I’m so happy to join the Staying in the Background challenge over at the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge Blog with the dreamy background that I created for this page.
I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their No Stamps Allowed challenge too as no stamps were used to create this page.
I’m pleased to join the Time Out Challenge where for their Challenge #170 they are challenging you to be Adventurous; I’ve been adventurous three-fold in that my art journal page inspires me to believe and therefore be more adventurous, secondly in that I experimented by die cutting into the magazine picture to blend it into my page, and thirdly because I focused on making my page more paper-based so I could play along at this challenge blog.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Scattered Straw, Antique Linen)
DecoArt Crafter’s Acrylic Paint (Black)
Old magazine
The Works (Die Cutting – Trellis)
Pritt Stick
Docrafts X-Cut A5 Die Cut Set (Folk Alphabet XCU503286)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt artist pen (Black 199)
Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
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.
I’m so pleased and honoured to be Guest Designer over at Country View Challenges for their I do like to be beside the seaside challenge this month.
This challenge is very fitting as I live by the sea so I decided to transport this adorable bear in his homemade Hawaiian shirt to a seaside scene inspired by where I live (grin!).
I started by covering the foreground with Ranger Texture paste to create a sandy texture. When dry I coloured it with Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed and Tea Dye Distress Inks. Then I coloured the sky using Salty Ocean Distress Ink by stamping the ink pad onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and pressing the block onto the page. Whilst the ink was wet I also added some Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink onto an acrylic block and pressed the block lightly onto the sky background to create the cloud effect. The sun was created using Ranger Texture Paste by applying it through a Mosaic stencil from Tim Holtz. When the texture paste was dry, I coloured it with a Canary Winsor & Newton Promarker. For the sea, I drew a straight horizon using a ruler and then coloured the sea using the Salty Ocean Distress Ink; applying it like watercolour.
The sea foam was created by applying some Pébéo white gesso and then some Liquitex Glass Bead Texture Gel over the top. I used a Funky Floral Tim Holtz Thinlet set to create the grasses from some recycled note paper that I had coloured using Mowed Lawn and Pine Needles Distress Ink and a Soft Green Winsor & Newton Promarker.
I created the bear using the Theodore Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; he was cut out of some linen textured cardstock and coloured using Ground Espresso, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker for his nose, eyes and eyebrows and a Putty Winsor & Newton Promarker for his ears. I hand drew the shirt and then cut it out from some design paper, re-adjusting the arm so that he was holding the ice cream which is a sticker – such fun!
The wording is cut from black paper using an Alphanumeric Label Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and to finish, I added three seagulls which were die cut from white cardstock and coloured using Cold Grey and Black Faber-Castell markers.
For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from the Design Team over at Country View Challenges – I hope that you are inspired by this month’s I do like to live beside the seaside challenge too and are able to join in the fun!
I feel very blessed to live by the sea, here is the view overlooking the sand dunes …
… and this is our beautiful beach with the pier in the background.
As my hubby will tell you it’s essential to have an ice cream whilst at the seaside and here are a couple of our favourite flavours – Double Chocolate and Sticky Toffee Pudding (grin!).
I have really enjoyed spending time with you today and I’d like to say a special thank you to Country View Challenges for giving me the opportunity to design for them!
Thanks so much! If you have any questions or comments, I would love to hear from you.
Over at Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Create a Scene.
There are many options for this challenge so I decided to create a summer mountain scene. As I was creating the scene I knew I had to use my favourite Merry Moose Thinlet set – such fun (grin!).
Everything on this page is coloured using Kuretake Watercolour paints even the die cut Thinlets. To start I painted the gorgeous purple mountains using Colbalt Violet and a little Ultramarine watercolour paint. When dry, I painted the meadow foreground using Sap Green and Hooker’s Green paint, layering the colours to add texture. I also transferred some of the wet green paint using a piece of kitchen towel to blend the colours together at the base of the mountains.
The trees are from the Merry Moose Thinlet set by Tim Holtz and were cut from linen textured cardstock like all of the die cut Thinlets on this page. I coloured the cardstock using a mixture of Burnt Sienna and Black paint for the trunks and added some more detail with a Dark Sepia Faber-Castell Big Brush marker. The tree foliage was a mixture of Sap Green and Hooker’s Green. I cut out a circle of linen cardstock for the sun and coloured it using Yellow Ochre and Cadmium Scarlet paints, when dry I painted Lemon Yellow over the top and edged it first with a Cold Grey and then a White Faber-Castell marker. The sky was painted using Ultramarine Pale paint and I gradually built up the clouds by letting each paint layer dry before adding the next to ensure the clouds got darker as I added each layer.
For the shrubs at the base of the trees, I used a Funky Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz and coloured them first using Sap Green allowing it to dry and then adding dots of Burnt Sienna and Cadmium Scarlet paints. The moose was from the same Merry Moose Thinlet set and I coloured him using Burnt Sienna and Black paint, I also used Yellow Ochre for his antlers. To finish, I added three Small Talk stickers from Tim Holtz, they read “life was meant to be a great adventure”, “live everyday with intention” and “always take the scenic route”; they are edged with a Unipin pen.
I hope that you are inspired to join us too, for more inspiration my Design Teamies have created some amazing scenes for you over at Try it on Tuesday, so please pop over and take a look (grin!).
The mountains on this page reminded me of the purple mountains that you find in Wales, this is due to the purple slate that is found and was mined in the area. Of course the only moose that you’ll find there is the Purple Moose Brewery in Porthmadog in North Wales. As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing our moose pint glasses that we often use at home to serve our home brewed beer in. They are a lovely reminder of the Purple Moose Brewery that we have visited on a few occasions, these were mementos from their Brewery Tour that we took on my birthday some years ago – Happy T day everyone!
Hoping 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.
Challenges
I’m also happy to be able to join the #121 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page design; the bottom panel is depicted by the green foreground and the logo by the moose.
With my moose walking through a summery meadow at the base of the mountains, I’m pleased to join in the Summer Fields challenge over at Country View Challenges too.
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Colbalt Violet No:139, Ultramarine No:64, Sap Green No:53, Hooker’s Green No:52, Burnt Sienna No:46, Black No:20, Cadmium Scarlet No:31, Yellow Ochre No:44, Lemon Yellow No:40, Ultramarine Pale No:61 )
Today I am sharing a page that I created especially to join in with the fun themes over at some of my favourite challenge blogs. This includes using a ballpoint pen to create the grids on my page, dividing the page so it has a distinct panel along the bottom, some splashes and splatters and celebrating summer with the hot colours and wording – I hope you like it!
I love the contrast between the black and white and the sunny summer colours (grin!).
I started by drawing the grid patterns on the page using a black ballpoint pen and a ruler which was fun and took quite a bit of time (grin!).
Then I stamped the central leaf, the numbers and letters using my new Postal Mix stamp set from Woodware Craft Collection and black Archival Ink. Next I coloured the bottom of the page with some hot summer colours using Yellow, Lemon, Orange and Rose Red Brusho powders. I did this by sprinkling the Brushos onto the page and spritzing with water; it always amazes me how magically the powders burst with colour when water is added (grin!). When dry, I splattered the page with black DecoArt acrylic paint.
I stamped the leaf three more leaves onto some white cardstock using my Ranger Stamp Platform, this helps get a clear crisp image as you can re-stamp over and over again until you get the ink intensity that you want. Then I fussy cut them out and stuck one of them over the stamped image and then arranged the other two leaves around it. I used rub-on transfers for all the summer related wording which includes “summer”, “hot”, “sun”, “easy”, “June”, “July” and “August”. To finish, I added two small black butterflies and drew on some antennae with a UniPin marker.
The colours on this page reminds me of a lovely lily that we have flowering in our garden – it certainly is a spectacular sight (grin!).
Hoping 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.
I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Sprays and Splatters challenge with the splashes of Brushos and paint on my art journal page.
I’m also happy to be able to join the #121 – Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page design; the bottom panel of colour and leaves match the sketch.
With the hot summer colours and wording, I’m also pleased to join in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge and their Summer Fun challenge too.
Don’t forget that you still have time to join our Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge this month over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog too, it would be lovely to see you there!
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Inspired by a beautiful notebook that my sister bought me, I created this fun Highland cow page as a reminder to ‘Just be your beautiful self’ (grin!).
I started by taking a page out of the notebook to use as part of the collage background. I dyed the page with inks, firstly Bluebird ink for the sky and then with Leaf Green, Fern Green and Prickly Pear ink for the grass; they are all Wendy Vecchi Blendable Dye Inks.
As the page was lined I ripped the paper diagonally, positioning the pieces so the lines ran from left-hand side up to the right-hand side diagonally across the page. I collaged them using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium along with some torn pieces of kitchen towel and baby wipes that were used to mop up blue and green inks and paints from previous art journal pages that I had created. When dry, I painted Ultramarine and Sap Green Kuretake watercolours to add more colour to the sky and grass. The highland cow is from an old magazine and layered some of the pieces of coloured paper, kitchen towel and baby wipes over the edges to blend it into the background. As you can see, I created my page background so that it matches and blends with the felt/fabric look of the highland cow image background.
For the foliage and daisies I used a Wildflower Stems #2 Thinlet set from Tim Holtz: cutting the tall grasses from brown tissue paper and layering them on top of the background using Liquitex Matte Gel Medium; I used white cardstock for the leafy foliage which I stamped using black Archival Ink and a Finnabair Stamp, coloured using the Leaf Green, Fern Green and Prickly Pear Wendy Vecchi Blendable Inks and Mowed lawn Distress Ink, and edged using a black Faber-Castell Big Brush marker; and I used some linen textured cardstock for the daisies which were coloured using the Leaf Green and Prickly Pear inks and also watered down Watering Can Wendy Vecchi Blendable Ink for the petals. Once stuck into place using a Zig glue pen, I edged the leafy foliage and daisies using a Cold Grey Faber-Castell Big Brush marker so they stood out more. Then I added a Kaisercraft sticker which reads “Just be your beautiful self” which finished the page.
Here’s the beautiful A4 notebook that inspired my page.
You may notice that I always list the materials I use for pages at the end of my posts and as you can see here I use this type of notebook to record these details, so this gift was perfect (grin!).
As T Stands for Tuesday I’m also sharing my cuppa (of Ceylon Tea) which I often enjoy whilst crafting – wishing you all a very Happy T day!
Hoping that you 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 pleased to join the lovely Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with the faux felt/fabric background.
I’m pleased to join in the Summer Fields challenge over at Country View Challenges with my highland cow summery field art journal page.
I’m also happy to be able to join the #121 –Sketch challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my page; the green and blue splits the page and images.
I’m also joining in the fun over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Sprays and Splashes challenge with the splashes of green ink on the die cut foliage.
Don’t forget that you still have time to join our monthly Anything Mixed Media Goes challenge over at Creative Artiste Challenge Blog too!
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Notebook page
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Make Art Blendable Dye Ink (Bluebird, Prickly Pear, Leaf green, Fern Green, Watering Can)
Recycled kitchen towel and baby wipes used to mop up inks and paints
Liquitex Matte Gel Medium
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese Watercolour Paint set (Ultramarine No:64, Sap Green No:53)
Old magazine
Pritt Stick
Tim Holtz Sizzix Thinlets (Wildflower Stems #2 664164)
Recycled brown tissue paper
White cardstock
Prima Marketing Finnabair Clear Stamp (Old Receipt #966980)
Ranger Archival Ink (Jet Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Mowed Lawn)
Craft Sensations (Luxury Cardstock with Linen Texture CRO240/GE)
Zig Memory System 2-Way Glue (Dual Action Glue Pen)
Faber-Castell Big Brush Pitt Artist Pen (Black 199, Cold Grey IV 23)
This month over at A Vintage Journey our challenge is Rustic Charm, which is being hosted by the lovely Astrid. Here’s what it’s all about:
“Rustic describes a design that is natural, rough, aged and casual. We would love to see you create a project using these elements: think nature inspired textures and simple and earthy colours. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or Steampunk”.
I had so much fun creating this rustic art journal page for this challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed making the wood effect background and this happy bear from my new Tim Holtz Theodore thinlet set really makes me smile!
I started by covering the page with blobs of Burnt Umber, Raw Umber and Burnt Sienna Liquitex acrylic paints and then I used an old gift card to spread the paint over the page in a criss-cross pattern. Any white spaces were lightly coloured with the same paint and a wet paintbrush, then the page was left it to dry.
Next I stencilled some tree trunks using some Ranger Texture Paste and a Pronty Mask Stencil.
When dry, I painted around the stencilled areas of the background with some Parchment Liquitex Acrylic.
Then I scraped the paint horizontally across the page very harshly using the gift card; I did this a number of times until I achieved the worn wood effect I was after. The mixed media paper I use is 250gsm so it can take this type of treatment.
The branches, leaves and flowers were die cut from some linen textured cardstock using a Tattered Florals Thinlet set from Tim Holtz; the branches were coloured using Ground Espresso Distress Ink, the leaves using Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters and Forest Moss Distress Ink, and the flowers using a mixture of Fired Brick Distress Ink and White Linen Distress Spray. They are edged, like all of the elements on this page, using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and stuck down using a Zig glue pen.
The signpost was made from some wooden panels that I cut out from some Tim Holtz paper and some wording from a Tiny Text rub-on transfers from Tim Holtz which reads “wander”, “adventure awaits” and “discover”. I added some grey tartan (plaid) paper from the same paper pad to define the ground under the signpost and the bear.
To finish, I created the bear using the Theodore thinlet set and some linen textured cardstock colouring him using Ground Espresso, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo and Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, a Black Faber-Castell Big Brush Marker and a Putty Winsor & Newton Promarker – such fun!
I hope you are inspired to join in the Rustic Charm 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!
This page reminded me of a bear that we saw on our travels to Stratford-upon- Avon some years ago when our friends from America came to stay with us.
This bear can also be found on this beer glass and always brings back such happy memories of our time when we were in Stratford together – such fun!
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 Halle from Halle’s Hobbies over at Art Journal Journey and her A Stitch In Time challenge this month with faux tartan/plaid that I included on this page.
I’m also happy to be able to join the Quote challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with my “adventure awaits”wording.
I’m joining in Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and their Make Your Own Background challenge with the wood effect background that I created for this page.
At Try it on Tuesday our new challenge for the next two weeks is Cut It Out.
Like me, you could use die cuts that you make and colour yourself or pre-made die cuts and stickers or you could simply fussy cut something out, the choice is yours!
My page today was inspired by some beautiful heuchera flowers that are flowering in my garden at the moment (grin!).
I started covering the page with Botancial Collage Paper from Tim Holtz using a glue stick and then I covered it with white gesso to push the images back. When dry, I applied some Earl Grey, Caramel, Kiwi and Lime Faber-Castell Gelatos over the top, by scribbling them onto the page and smudging the colour with a wet finger. I then toned down the colours and added some darker shading by applying some Iced Coffee and Iced Chai Faber-Castell Gelatos to the page. Next I added some Ranger Texture Paste through a brick design stencil from Craft Sensations and left it to dry. The brick design is coloured using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and the Iced Coffee Faber-Castell Gelato. I stencilled a trellis pattern using Black Soot Distress Ink and a Moroccan stencil from Creative Expressions, then I used a baby wipe to remove some of the colour allowing white patches of the collage paper to show through which added depth and contrast to the background. The page is also splattered with Rusty Hinge Distress Ink and then black and also white acrylic paint.
I used a Wildflower #2 Tim Holtz thinlet set to die cut the flowers from some linen textured cardstock and coloured the flower petals by painting on some Abandoned Coral Distress Spray Stain using a paintbrush. The leaves and stems are coloured using Olive Green and Forest Green Winsor & Newton Promarkers and they are stuck to the page using a Zig Memory glue pen. To finish, I added a pretty die cut butterfly from a Field Notes Ephemera Pack by Tim Holtz and the “Heuchera” wording which are letter stickers from Kaisercraft.
My Design Teamies have been busy fussy cutting and die cutting to create some amazing Cut It Out inspiration for you over at Try it on Tuesday too, so please pop over and take a look.
Here are the heuchera flowers that are in bloom in our flower bed, they are so delicate with tiny flower heads.
They look very striking with their coral colour especially when they catch the sunlight!
These plants come in all sorts of leaf and flowers colours, to find out more about them check out this Heuchera link.
You may already be aware that I have been completing a series of flower art journal pages inspired by my garden. If you are interested you can see the other pages here:
As T Stands for Tuesday I’m sharing a new batch of Raspberry Gin that we made, it tastes so fruity and is ideal for drinking whist sitting in the garden on a hot sunny day – Happy T Day!
You can find the Raspberry Gin recipe here and I think Halle asked about the amount of sugar added – this is just for taste so you can add as much or as little as you like (grin!).
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 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 Mia from Craftartista over at Art Journal Journey and her Flowers challenge this month with my Heuchera flowered page.
I’m so happy to be able to join the #119 – Picture Inpiration challenge over at Paperbabe Stamps with the pretty flowers on my page. Thanks so much for my win too, how exciting!
Here is a list of all the materials used to create this art journal page:
Tim Holtz idea-ology Collage Paper (Botanical #TH93705)
Let's Art Journal 