"Each of us." Mini Junk Journal

I wanted a textural, vintage look for this page & so

I added torn die cutting off-cuts

to create a textured background.

I then built up my colour in stages,

using glazed layers. I love this technique!!

I usually only do it on canvas, but fancied a go

in an art journal.

I am very pleased with the results.

 Over the torn pages I applied a layer of Liquitex Heavy Gesso,

followed by a painted layer of Acrylic Titan Buff.

Once dry, I applied Prima Finnabair Art Basics Clear crackle paste

through a mini Tim Holtz numbers stencil.

I also added the pste with a palette knife to add other texture.

For my glazes I used;

PaperArtsy French Roast / Toffee

Daler Rowney Burnt Umber / Red Ochre

To emphasis some areas I added Dylusions Black Marble

paint & a little PaperArtsy White Fire.

I die cut the Xcut Cogs & applied gold embossing powder,

I then reheated the powder & sprinkled on salt.

This gives a distressed look.

I computer generated the words.

My thinking behind them was that we are all a mass of

tiny parts, which when working together in harmony,

create a happy world. The cogs symbolize the working together.

Not as in the most commonly used phrase, cogs in the wheel.

Happy Birthday, Kim

Kim worked with me for 10 years.

Since my redundancy, we have kept in touch.

She has two Labradors,

Bailee, her little lady is yellow & Bo,

her boisterous boy, is chocolate.

So, I made her this using the free stamps from

Creative Stamping issue 68

All stamps used were free with the magazine.

I used copics to colour the dogs & dog bed.

I used prismacolor pencils for the bones & toys.

Inside it reads.. Have a Fur..ry happy birthday.

 

Centre Pages of the Mini Journal

Having watched even more videos on

YouTube of LorriMarie Jenkins,

I just HAD to try her image transfer technique!

It turned out FABULOUS!!!!!!!

Seriously, if you have never seen her Altered Book

videos, go check them out.

She is based in Vallejo, California,

teaches in a really easy to understand manner

& is a really lovely human. 

In the past my transfers have been very much

hit & miss, with a whole load of miss.

This turned out perfect.

Granted it is a magazine image, but I am going

to try my hand with an inkjet print.

I have already learned how to get a coat of 

gel medium on them before they smear.

I saw the idea of putting a coat of medium

down on the gel plate & then placing images face down

& brayer them. It worked in the video by Artzology, here 

As this is the very centre of my mini junk journal,

it made sense to make a double page spread.

I prepared my image as per LorriMarie's instructions,

then after applying a coat of heavy gesso over my page, 

I applied a coat of PaperArtsy Smurf (blue) 

Once the image was prepared & dried,

I added a coat of Winsor & Newton Galeria Matt Medium

to the page & brayered down my image.

I then walked away for 48 hours!! 

I think this was the crucial thing, to let it dry.

Once dry, I added a little water & the backing literally

all came off leaving very little behind!!

The light blue underneath helped the image

to appear light. I added a white gesso border

all around as a vignette. I also added

some texture paste with a TCW well rounded

mini stencil to look like moving water/spray.

All I added to this were the stamped seabirds,

free with creative Stamping issue 72

& Tim Holtz words. I wanted the image to shine.

In hindsight, I wish I had added light green

in the areas where the cliffs are.

Magazine image was from Daphne's Diary.

 

More about the bees

The houses are getting quite full,

but the last week of rain has held them back.

The Tree Bumble Bees that are nesting

in my soffits, are very busy gathering

pollen & don't appear phased by the rain.

I have had a job on my hands

reviving them. 😢

They do not have a long life cycle

but they are so pretty close up.

here is one enjoying a sugar water snack.

It's little tongue was out, lapping for all it was worth.

They never seem to stop, then suddenly they can't fly.

When they get really bad, they just run everywhere.

Sadly some are dying now.

 

This image shows three different types of bee

heading into the houses.

The bottom furry one is a mason bee,

I am not 100% certain what the other two are.

They are all solitary bees regardless & they

all have eggs tucked away now until spring.

 

Remember to Play.

Mini Junk Journal page.

I stumbled upon the YouTube channel,

of a lady called LorriMarie Jenkins.

She makes all kinds of Altered Books,

a subject dear to my heart.

(although I never tried a "true" altered one yet!)

What struck me was how she applied collage to

most pages for background texture.

It isn't something I do often.

I wasn't intending to make this page, it just sort of happened.

I was searching for something entirely different,

but during my search, 3 pieces of paper fell

onto my lap & I was surprised by how well

they appeared to go together.

I was drawn to create something immediately,

& this is what I came up with.

The torn wallpaper lining had a torn

piece of paper already glued to it.

The red with white scribbly flowers & button pieces

just fell out with it. 

I tore around the flowers & buttons,

attached them all together & then created my background.

This had some titan buff & glazes left over

from working on the adjacent page

(number 14, not completed yet)

it peeled off so I added a spot of Burnt Umber

& Red Ochre & blended them with gesso.

I then added burnt umber with a palette

knife around the frame & with an old gift card.

In fact the thing that took longest to

create was the word "collage" which

was cut from 7 different words in a magazine.

The final touch was the Tim Holtz phrase

"Remember to Play" 

I couldn't resist adding the little ladybug.

If nothing ever changed

Another mini junk journal page,

I have never been so prolific!

24 pages in approx. 2 months.

It's the power of the smaller surface,

works it's charm every time.😉

This is another cheerful page,

but with a more muted tone as I used gesso

to turn the colour more pastel.

I began with a coat of gesso, then added stenciling

using the same Julie Fei - Fan Balzer mini patterns

stencil with Dylusions paints.

Once dry, I added the images from Tim Holtz

stamps Fairytale Frenzy in Onyx Black

Versafine ink & heat embossed clear.

I added colour using brushos, keeping each

colour separate to prevent mud.

I used a brush to help them move.

Once dry, I stamped my quote which was

a free stamp set with issue 160

of Simply Cards & Papercrafts. 

To finish, I added texture paste through 

Art is - stencil TCW.

I love how it has soaked up colour in each section.

The texture paste I use is;

Golden Gel Mediums Light Molding Paste.

I bought the 946ml (32 fl.oz) size & it lasts.

 

Happy Father's Day

After last year's moving

lawnmower, I knew I would have

my work cut out this year!

Still, thanks to Sam - Mixed Up Crafts

I came up with this! 😉 

 Birds - RSPB Garden Birds

free with Simply cards & Papercraft 187

Die cut watering can - Papercraft Essentials 173

Tools/Wellies/sign - Dovecraft Secret Garden

 Elizabeth Crafts - Susan's Garden Flowers;

Primula / Marigolds / Nigella

die cut frame from my stash.

Stamped Images from;

Papercraft Essentials 173

Sentiment - Creative Stamping 70 

Flowers created with coloured cardstocks by Gina K Designs.

Inked with Distress Ink (original)

The Gina K Designs card cuts like a dream.

Sanctuary - Mini Junk Journal

This page was a map with a bird on it.

I so wanted to keep the bird but short of

tearing paper scraps & sticking them all over,

I had no idea where this page was going.

So I left it a while & did other pages in the journal.

Then I had an idea & came back to it.

This is actually page 6 - Sanctuary.

I thought the outlines of all the torn text

pieces looked like old castle walls or some

similar old building.

So I used PaperArtsy Fresco paints to

colour them using several greens, browns & grey.

I then added more colour to the bird & gave it some

sort of nest/ ground material. 

I fashioned the arch rather too perfectly

for real life, but it could really be

a small window in a castle.

I used my Inktense pencils to add further colour

& to highlight the "stone work".

Finally I added a sentence & some words from

an old RSPB magazine. It was an article about

birds seeking sanctuary in the urban cities of UK.

Memories - Colour Journal

This is another multi-coloured piece,

but with a black outline around my images.

I was watching some YouTube videos by

Niamh Baly & Inkyfairy design 

& I had forgotten how effective this technique

can be. Some really great examples on

YouTube are by Nika in Wonderland 

I decided to use the technique here.

I made a multi-coloured background,

added stenciling, gold leaf, all the same as

my Open Heart mini junk journal page,

but I added black marble paint over a die cut 

as a mask (Tim Holtz Bigz Sewing Room)

I added a lot more black than I liked &

when I tried to remove it, the colours smeared

losing the stenciling everywhere.

But, it is very visible in the mannequin silhouette

so I am extremely happy.

I added a Tim Holtz Mini Blueprints 2 image 

(Sewing Machine) & as my gold pen ran out,

I did my journaling in silver on the mask

(Cardboard die cut) & stuck it overlapping 

the silhouette. My words are about my mum.

she was a self taught seamstress & was bloody good.

All words by Tim Holtz.

Background stamps - Attic Treasures (TH)

Open Heart

Another mini junk journal page.

This began as a page from Daphne's Diary,

covered with clear gesso.

I added a couple of spots of Dylusions

paint in Vibrant Turquoise & Fresh Lime

& brayered them together lightly.

I added white, then more green.

Once this layer was dry, I added stenciling.

I used Mini Patterns - TCW

designed by Julie Fei - Fan Balzer 

I used more Dylusions paint

Lemon Zest/ Squeezed Orange

& more Vibrant Turquoise. 

 Once that layer was dry, I added Bubblegum Pink

through Swatton Flowers v.2 - Stencil Girl

Over this layer I added stamping in Archival Black

& Hero Arts Raspberry Jam inks.

The next layer was to add glue through a stencil

I used a UHU gluestick for ease.

Once tacky I added gold leaf.

I stamped Dina Wakley's Handwritten Heart Collage 

& then added heavy gesso around the edge to

white out the page & also the heart centre.

I then added Tim Holtz words.

This was extremely layered & colourful.

Way out of my comfort zone, but not now! 😀

I find myself loving this technique

& must try again ... SOON!!

"She Was" - Colour Journal

This page was all decided in my head,

except for the colour. I knew I wanted girly,

bright & happy because the quote itself

is not happy really.

The quote is by author Anna Funder & it says

"She was brave, strong & broken.

All at once."

I had planned to use three Mechanical Dolls,

digital stamps by A Day for Daisies, free from the

Simply Cards & Papercraft website.

However, I realised I would need to use

one doll, three times for the quote to make sense.

I didn't use limbs.

I added underskirt/bodices using brayered paper

& die cut flower heads for the skirt of the dress.

 Materials:

Background is a card front die cut

Spellbinders Emmeline Treillage

Venise Lace - Becca Feeken.

Cut from fun foam & torn.

Script & number stamps -

Prima / 49 & Market

Tim Holtz - Flower Garden

Colour - Brushos Colourcraft Ltd;

Computer generated words.

 

Bee Update!

The bees have been extremely busy!

They are so clever! They know that female bees

hatch later than males & so they lay

the female eggs right at the back of

the tubes, put a bit of food in, then partition

it off with mud, before laying the next egg.

They continue this to the front of the

tube where the male eggs are laid & then

they seal up the entire tube.

This is the new house.

They have already filled about 20 tubes in

this photo. The actual number is 27 today.

This is the original house,

it is almost completely full.

Good job I saw sense & bought a second house!

This is totally new to me & absolutely fascinating!

I adore my little families, even if they are only eggs.

Sadly the bees fly off to die once the tubes are finished 😢

I ❤ Mason bees 🐝🐝🐝

Two Junk Journal mini pages

As this page is a folded piece

of Kraft packaging, I decided to 

create a single theme but over each side.

Side One - London

 Side Two - Paris

Each side measures no more than

4 3/4 inches tall x 2.2 inches wide.

London - was made using torn fragments of

Tim Holtz French Industry paper.

I sprayed Dylusions inks in browns,

Stamped Big Ben & the word London

then lightened the background so

you could see the design.

I added the stamped guard (Tim Holtz)

Paris - was made by painting the page buff.

I then adhered used tea bag paper over the top.

I added a little colour before stamping Notre Dame

& Eiffel Tower (Elusive Images stamps)

I then added the stamped French Man (Tim Holtz)

I thought it would be a struggle to create on such a small area, 

but as soon as the London/New York/ Paris 

phrase popped in my head, I had a light bulb moment.

Birthday Card for Lorraine

who I used to work with at Bluefin.

(now Jelf)

I wanted something a little more 3D as this is

the first card I haven't made for others to sign.

Card front  is created using lilac cardstock by Gina K Designs

White card is Neenah Solar White card

Die cut is Woodland friends,

free with Die Cutting Essentials issue 32.

The inside is based on Jennifer Maguire's Spinner card,

but minus the spinner & with the grassy hills.

 

 The card was made exactly to the size of her card,

but I added the die cut grass by trial & error.

Materials used;

XCut Woodland Build a Scene dies

Stamps; A Walk in the Park

(free with issue 150 Simply Cards & Papercraft)

Die cut creatures; from the woodland friends die

used on the card front.

I kept it clean & simple inside to show off

the scene inside the woodland.