Art For Hermine & a Mini AJ

I was recently asked by the very talented

Hermine Koster, to make a piece of

art for her project. I was sent an Art card

& then spent about two weeks trying to decide

on my theme!! France was my choice.

Here is the completed card below.

Stamps - Elusive Images

Background - Emboss resist stamp - Tim Holtz.

 

This is the card I made to accompany the little art card.

Stamps by Art Journey.
Clouds and grass are stamped using
embossing folders. Colour added for flowers
using distress markers & watercolour brush.

I also sent to her the matchbook that I recently made

as it went well with my final design.

 



 

I also sent her a blank miniature Art Journal.

Below is mine.

I am showcasing the front cover, the first spread

and the back cover today.

 

Inks used Hero Arts Shadow Inks.

Archival Black Ink.

 



Stencils are TCW and Donna Downey.

Stamps - Stampers Anonymous

Kaisercraft & Paperbag Studios.

 



This little Art Journal measures 3" square.

I made it from a piece of 140lb watercolour paper

and I created a Maze Book.

To create the two covers I copied the idea from

Tim Holtz Valentine Book 
instead of making card covers, I folded them
over to make sturdier covers. I did not bind the book with tape
I left it free flowing until it is completed.
I did seal all the pages together on my version.
I have left them open on Hermine's,
so she can make pockets if she wishes too.
Being so tiny, there are only 6 double spreads but as my
name suggests, I love minis!!!

Caught up with my Art Journal

I have been very creative behind

the scenes making things for others

and taking care of a few commission pieces.

Today I got chance to finish page 6

of my Art Journal and make page 7 too!

 

 I had made a mistake on the word MOON

but with some bold drawing around the word,

it is hard to see now where I went wrong.

The background is made spraying home made

distress inks in peacock feathers and pumice stone.

 

This page came together really easily once

I decided on my theme. In fact

the only problem I had with

this one was knowing when to stop!

The colours do not look as good in photo

form as they do in real life.

The camera makes them much lighter.

I had planned to offer this piece for the

latest Vintage Journey challenge,

Spring Flowers but I do not think it floral enough.

The background on this one is stamped white tissue

coloured with distress ink sprays. I made it in the week

following reading an old CS article by

Rachel Jackson & seeing France Papillon

use it on her latest AJ layout.



Quick Cards

No Art Journal page to share again, this weekend.

It still isn't quite right. I made an error (smudged my colouring!)

and to fix it is a slightly lengthy process.

If I could get away with leaving it I would.

I have also been extremely busy trying to

finish up some commission work so that I

can crack on and create for me & others.

 

Once I'd finished one of the commission cards,

(It will not be blogged as the person it is for reads &

it wouldn't be fair on the person who requested it!!)

I had all the inks, stamps & embossing gear out so,

I made a quick couple of cards just to have

on hand.

 

Les Papillons

 

 

Life 

 

It is always good to have a few

cards  in reserve!

Stamps; Kaisercraft, Next

Cavallini, T Holtz

Butterfly - 2 Cavallini stickers fussy cut.

White embossing detailed powder

Distress inks; worn lipstick,

bundled sage, victorian velvet,

squeezed lemonade.

The first card has gesso on the surface surface before embossing

the stamp and inking it up.

Ironed off the powder and added further stamping.

Second card was a piece of left over from the

commission using wrinkle free technique.

 

 

Vintage Journey - A Little bit French

The third challenge on The Vintage Challenge blog

is "A Little bit French"

I had to think long and hard about this one,

not because it was hard, but because I had

too many choices!!

 

I finally decided on a matchbook in browns and pinks.

Here is the front.

This is the back.

 

 This is the front of the glassine bags

 

and this is the back of them.

I made six of these mini cards to insert

into each bag and they have images on the front

and quotes on the reverse. 



 

This is the whole piece put together.

If I could have done this differently,

I would have used sturdier cardstock.

The whole thing took me about 8 hours,

with drying time at about half hour.

Materials;

Glassine bags (internet purchase)

White cardstock

Distress stains - gathered twigs/ Victorian velvet

picked raspberry

Perfect Pearls - Cappuccino/ perfect gold

Staz-on Timber Brown ink

Archival black

Hero Arts Shadow Inks in

soft sand/wet cement
CW - Harlequin Stencil

Stamp sets;

Tim Holtz/Elusive Images

Kaisercraft Quotes

Wooden Paris stamp
B Line Designs Paris duo
Typographie - unknown
 

I coloured the main body of the matchbook with

gathered twigs distress ink & then once

dry sprayed with gathered twigs

re-inker & the perfect pearls.

Mini cards were sprayed with V/Velvet

& then a quick spritz of P/Raspberry

added to the back of each.

They were lightly over-stamped with text
and V/Velvet was sponged through a
Crafters Workshop Harlequin Stencil,
prior to having the images & quotes added.

 

Hope you like it as much as I do. The shimmer is gorgeous!

Edited to add I have also entered this in the
Kraft Journal Paris or France Challenge.

Do Seagulls like Lettuce?

Hi guys! No Art Journal page to share

this weekend. It just isn't quite finished!

 

But I do have the first scrap layout of the year.

In fact, the first layout since October 2013!

The title of my blog post says it all.

While staying with my sister last July, we went to Holy Island.

It was the most beautiful hot day. Not a cloud in the sky,

the sea was a dazzling blue & the birds sang their hearts out.

We sat down for a drink in this pub garden & watched the birds flocking to the tables.

It was really comical. I would never imagine a Seagull

liking lettuce!! Oh well, I guess what ever was on offer suited them.

 

I wanted this layout to be loose & scribbly,

hence all the black lines around the triangles.

I also wanted it bright because it was such a gorgeous day.

I stamped the background first with

Tim Holtz paint & Kaisercraft stamp.

Papers are Finnley - Glitz Design

The word Lettuce was die cut using

Tim Holtz Chipblock die & funky foam.

The other letters are from the Finnley pack.

Vintage Journey Challenge & and Art Journal Page

My first piece of art is for challenge 2

A Vintage Journey - Say it with Words

I made my background spraying various homemade sprays

mixing distress re-inker with water.

Colours used; Broken China, Peacock Feathers,

Salty Ocean, Dusty Concord.

Edges blended with Chipped Sapphire & Archival Black ink.

Corner bird stamped - Prima-  embossed black.

Tim Holtz phrase - embossed white.

Die cut clock &bookplate.

Stamped Tattered Sparrow.

Other stamps Tim Holtz background stamps.

Spring (Birds)

 This second piece of art is my 5th Art Journal Page.

This was started over a week ago.

As I visited my sister last weekend,

today was the first chance to complete the piece.

Stencilling, dry wall tape, die cut birds

& swirls. Stamped birds nest & floral sprigs

die cut words & TH Chit Chat sticker

all make up this page.

Now it is complete, I wish I had done it

quite differently! Typical that!!

Oh well, the technique in mind can wait

for the next page.

Painted Tea Cup & Cabbage Rose Flower

It's my birthday today & so I have had

the luxury of a craft day at home!

I had been away to my sister for a long weekend

& didn't see the point in returning to work just yet!!

 

A while ago I bought a china white cup & saucer

& made a start painting it.

I used Artiste Pearl Acrylic paints & pearl medium to

create this gorgeous blue/green shade.

 

 

My next issue was, what to put in it!

So, it sat on the shelf empty for a month or ten!!!

Then, a couple of days ago, while watching a friends You Tube Channel,

I came upon this cabbage rose tutorial by this very

crafty lady, Lee (crafty loops)

Sadly my rose is not as gorgeous as Lee's but it is my first attempt!



Art Journal - Time

This was meant to be page one!

However I just wasn't happy with it,

re-created it and now it has ended up page 4.

In my first version, I coloured the faces of each clock & they just lost all definition

& meaning because of course they are the important elements.

Also the Da Vinci style wings (free cover stamp CS)

turned out far better in this version.

Finally, the original version was wild honey,

I much prefer this purple/blue colour!!!

 

 

My background was created by making up my own distress ink mists.

I used re-inkers - Chipped Sapphire & Dusty Concord (with perfect pearls)

You won't be able to see the pearls,

but I added a bit of interference blue to the purple mix.

Clock faces are white gesso & then stamped

with my Heidi Swapp clear stamp set.

Lady Time as I like to call her is PaperArtsy.

I used Tim Holtz weathered clock

plus some free cover stamps from CS

journal strips computer generated.

 

Thanks for looking hope you like it!

Happy Birthday, Dad & Vintage Journey Challenge!

Today is my Dad's birthday & I made the card below.

Typically I was quite poorly last weekend and it was a struggle to complete

& photograph. so the image is poor :(

 

This next card is for A Vintage Journey Challenge

Anything Tim!

This is a brand new challenge blog which has some very

 talented people on the DT. Go check it out!

 

To be honest, they are both totally Tim Holtz but I guess my

Dad's birthday card does not really fit with the

Vintage/Shabby theme.

 



 

I got to play here with some of my favourite techniques!

Wrinkle free distress, lemon juice distress

(to add nice aged spots to my design)

except these came out a gorgeous caramel colour.

And, I also used the Perfect Distress technique.

The writing isn't too clear  under the fragment but it says

Its the little Things that makes life big.

A TH stamped quote.

 

Thank you for looking :0)



Art Journal Page 3

Technically this is page 1. I started a page about TIME

the first week in January. However, I hated it.

I went on to make France & Butterfly House,

but kept adding to page 1 here & there.

It just didn't work, I covered it with this page instead.

 

Materials Used;

Golden Gel Medium, Gesso.

Reeves Soft Pastels.

Adirondack Die Ink Pads.

Prima Floral Stencil, TCW Mini Ledger Stencil

Stamps; Cats Life Press - Happiness Definition

& Stampotique Jo Capper - Sandon Bees

Faber Castell Big Brush Pitt Pens

Orange paint

Archival black Ink

Distress Stickles Clear Rock Candy (bee wings)

The background is made using "hand made tissue"

to do this I took white tissue paper (Crafty Individuals)

& I over-stamped with French Script & CI script stamps

it was then attached to my page with gel medium.

 

 

Finally, many people know I have a thing about clocks & books.

Few people know I also have a thing about mugs!

Yesterday while out shopping

I purchased this fabulous baby!!!!

(for just 99p I should add)

 



Second Art Journal Page - France

I am very pleased how this turned out :)

I started the page by cutting up a whole 12" sheet of paper and then sticking it to my page randomly.

The paper I used was Madame Payraud from Papermaina

 I used a sheet made up of advertisements and had the image of the Eiffel Tower.

 I put them the right way up but thought they looked better

moved around as opposed to laid down as a whole sheet.

I then applied torn pieces of the Madame Payraud Tissue over several sections to soften the imagery.

I got the idea for the frame from this Art Journal Page by Shari Caroll

The main image was printed onto a piece of canvas. I bought it some time ago from a website.

I covered the frame with the tissue paper as well and coloured it with ink - Frayed Burlap.

I added gesso circles for some interest and glued the word PARIS cut from the paper.

I then took an Inkylicious stamp to add random swirl imagery around the page.

Once dry, I covered the whole page with regular golden gel medium to seal.

The word FRANCE is die cut using Tim Holtz Chipblock Alphabet from

a piece of card covered with metal tape, coloured with Oregano & Espresso Alcohol inks.

To add a little more interest I added a die cut door hinge inked and embossed.

Shading was applied with a Pitt Pen - Big Brush in Raw Umber

and some colour to warm up the greys & browns with Purple Violet.

I

Happy Birthday, Hayley

Today is Hayley's birthday. She is my beautician.

I decided on a minimal card with a French theme.

All the products she uses for my monthly massage are French.

 

This is the front

Tim Holtz Wallpaper stamp using Picked Raspberry Distress Paint

French Stamp - B-Line Designs.

 

 

I used the same wallpaper stamp using Brushed pewter.

Heart is a Craft Stamper free stamp

second generation stamping with Grey Versafine.

 



I added the same heart on the back using the same

Picked Raspberry Distress Paint.



I LOVE stamping with Distress Paint!!!!

My First Art Journal Page

 

I have wanted to start an Art Journal for the past year and decided I would begin in 2014.

I had planned a page a week, but so far I have two started that I feel are not quite complete.

This one I feel would be ruined by anything else added & another one just begun!

I based this page on image transfer after watching this Donna Downey Video.

Materials used; Gesso, Acrylic Paint, Golden Gel Medium, Butterflies from Swirlydoos,

Memory Box die cuts, Jenni Bowlin letters. I die cut a mini house with Silhouette Cameo.

Stamps by Cavallini. My page is based on a book I read

The Butterfly House.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to share it but I am so happy it turned out well!!

Art - inspired by Storage?

You bet!!!

I just bought some new storage.

I have to craft in my living room and so I bought

book boxes and chests to disguise my stamps & dies!

 

I loved the browns and the French imagery.

So I decided to make this mini canvas to match.



 

 

I used Madame Payraud Tissue and the butterflies were

cut from a sheet of the matching paper.
I coloured it using oil pastels & painted the edges
with Burnt Umber Acrylic paint.

The Eiffel Tower was part of a wooden design

& I added a small Wood Veneer Studio Calico Bicycle.

Then while preparing my evening meal I found this little guy!

My very own Heart Shaped Spud!!!



Birthday Number Three, Happy Birthday, Rachel!

 

Crikey, three birthdays in four days. That has to be a record!!

Well today it is the turn of Rachel (aka Taniwha)

Again, Rachel,  is a scrapper friend of mine & I decided that

as she had a scrap style Christmas card, I would do a mixed media birthday card.

 

I am quite pleased with this, it turned out better than I imagined & I got

chance to play with some forgotten art materials, my soft & oil pastels.

 

 

I won't bore you too much with the detail,

 but basically I glued book text to a piece of watercolour paper.

I applied white gesso to the surface & once dry

I coloured it with the soft pastels, adding oil pastels at the edges

to give a darker frame effect.

I stamped the background with TH Attic Treasures

& Elusive Images - Paris Postcards set of 4 plates.

I die cut the bookplate (TH) & applied gesso then antique linen distress paint.

I added a touch of brushed Pewter distress paint too.

Added Madame Payraud -  Washi Tape strips

an Xcut die cut swirl & Memory Box Butterfly

which was stamped with text. Adding two brads for decoration.

Birthday Number Two, Happy Birthday Pauline!

As I said yesterday, it's Pauline's birthday today.

she is a scrapper friend of mine but I decided on a

mixed media card for her birthday.

I incorporated my fav technique of the moment;

stamping with paint!!!

 

 

 as I love the mini doily so much I made it a feature on the back.

 

I used TH Wood & wallpaper stamps

Crafty Individuals Girls on Beach stamp

Die cut circle frame

Marion Smith Designs paper

Madame Payraud paper tape

That Special Touch Stencil - Delicate

Memory Box die - Honeyblossom

TH Die cut swirl

Coloured girls with Distress Markers

 

see you again Monday for birthday number three!!!!!

hint another mixed media card....

Birthday Number One, Happy birthday to Kath!!

Kath, my aunt has her birthday today.

I am not going to tell you her age but it is a big birthday.

I made this stamping with an inked glass block using wild honey

then I stamped the Urban Stamps Madame Payraud Postcard stamp.

I then added a bit of text stamping & the die cut birds & lamp posts.

I added detail with Jo Capper-Sandon's Stampotique Bee

& the other part of the postcard set, which houses the greeting.

 

I have 3 birthdays this weekend so pop back tomorrow for birthday number 2, Pauline.

Then on Monday it is the turn of Rachel, for birthday number 3!!!

A Thank You

to my sister & brother in law for my lovely Christmas presents.

I had hoped to share with you a page from my journal but have decided I really hate the

colour.... thank crunchie for Gesso!!!

It really is the defender of all evils!!

Anyway the card above was made to send my thanks

& it was simply done with two memory box dies.

I've had a few days off work & made 4 cards for up

& coming birthdays.

I'm also off work after Tuesday for a week :) & I

have an online class lined up along with some more

craft tidying up & I have also promised myself that I will

make a few Christmas cards in readiness for the festive season.

Penny's Birthday

My craft friend Penny had a birthday on Friday.

Now to say she is an Alice Cooper fan is

not really enough words to explain her passion!

Naturally her card needed to feature the man himself

so huge thanks to Andy Skinner who just

happened to have two great images on his website.

 

Front of card

 

inside of card

 

The images were added using image transfer.

Inkjet printer and sticker sheets.

I used distress stains, inks, texture paste & stencils.

My stencils are by Julie Fe i- Fan Balzer

I only wish I had lightened the background more.

New Year, New Craft

 

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope 2014 will be filled with crafting delights for all my friends.

I started my first page in my art journal & this year I am going

to share each page. It strikes me the only way to be arty from now

until May when light is poor, is to create small do able pages.

More on that next week.

 

My forum friend, Carol had a birthday this week.

Normally after Christmas I am a tad rushed.

She gets a card I feel I don't put enough effort in.

So this year I started it early!!!

 

My design is based on a tunnel book.

 

 This is the inside of the front design.

The part with the girl was stuck to the card front.

Products used;

Distress re-inkers neat, swirled on watercolour paper

TH Stamp - weathered wallpaper

Corner stamps from my stash

Girl - Paper Bag Studio





This is  a canvas I fell in love with in July.

Alex Clark has an art gallery run by her mum right near my sister.

She bought me this for Christmas, I was thrilled when I opened it!!!

I love the colours, they are so yummy.