Tag Archives: brayer

Magical Snowflake Winter Wonderland

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It’s time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is Snowflakes.

I adore the sparkly snowflake winter wonderland that I created and I think the little hare is mesmerized by it too (smile!).

Please join me and watch the video below, as I create a breathtaking MAGICAL Winter Wonderland Art Journal Page, adorned with intricate gold and silver snowflakes that will transport you to a world of frosty magic.

https://youtube.com/shorts/lfIwu6YGI3c

In this video, I’ll share my artistic process, from conception to completion, showcasing the techniques and materials used to bring this enchanting winter scene to life. With a focus on mixed media and journaling, this tutorial is perfect for crafty individuals looking to add a touch of winter wonder to their art journals. Get ready to be inspired by the sparkle of gold and silver snowflakes, and let’s dive into the creative process together.

The mixed media that I used to create this A6 page includes white cardstock, Gold and Silver Metallic Acrylic Paint, Ranger Mini Brayer, Maremi’s Illustrationi Collage Ephemera for art journaling Autumn Stories & backgrounds book, UHU Stic, UniPin Fine Line Marker, Uniball Gel Pen, Pébéo white gesso, Snowflake Die Set and Thinlits Set, Metallic cardstock, Distress Archival Ink, Block Wooden Stamp and Crafter’s Companion Glue Tape Pen.

As T Stands for Tuesday and my page is full of sparkle, I’m joining Bleubeard & Elizabeth and the rest of the T Gang with these very sparkly travel mugs – Happy T Day everyone!

For more inspiration, please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the wonderful creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies.

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

Happy and creative wishes! x

Fairy Collage : A Sweet Transformation!

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It’s time for a new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is Oh So Sweet.

I enjoyed creating this sweet springtime fairy page using papers from a Maremi Small Art Collage Book that my mum kindly gifted me for Christmas (smile!).

I started by loosely covering the page with Driftwood DecoArt acrylic paint using a baby wipe and then added a thicker layer of the same paint using a brayer. Next I fussy cut the flowers, fairy and pink paper from an Autumn Stories Collage Book by Maremi Small Art and then I tore the leftover paper, that surround fussy cut image, into squarish pieces.  I layered everything together onto the page with some grey/blue paper, after edging them all with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink. They were stuck in place using Liquitex matte gel medium, and I added a couple of washi tapes, that I tore too. I stamped a script and number stamp onto the background using Black Soot Distress Archival Ink; stamping the stamps onto a piece of paper before the page for a fainter image. I added some shadows and outlined the images, papers and washi tape first using a Brown Grey Spectrum Noir TriBlend marker and then using a black Unipin fine line marker. To finish, I added the “sweet” and “adorable” wording which were from a Kaisercraft sticker sheet. Once stuck in place, I outlined then using the black Unipin marker and a white UniBall gel pen, and I added some shadows using the TriBlend marker. To finish, I splattered the whole page with white Liquitex acrylic ink.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the wonderful creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang with my mug of green tea and as it’s nearly Easter some homemade chocolate crispy cakes filled with a chocolate fudge centre and topped with mini eggs and marshmallows – Happy T Day everyone!

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

Happy and creative wishes! x

Challenges

The lovely Erika from her blog BioArtGal is hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month; she has chosen Spring Birds as her theme and so I’m joining her with my sweet springtime fairy page.

Seasonal Wishes

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It wouldn’t be Christmas without using my favourite Merry Moose Thinlits by Tim Holtz, so inspired by the Christmas trees, architecture and decorations that we saw when we visited Prague recently … here’s Merry Moose celebrating the holiday season one snowy starry night (smile!).

I hope you have a lovely Christmas and wishing you a very Happy New Year!

I started by recycling some tissue papers sticking them in place using a glue stick and Liquitex matte gel medium; for the sky I used starry tissue paper and for the foreground white tissue paper which I scrunched up to add some snowy texture. Next I added the moon using a stencil/template set, stencilling white acrylic paint and then when dry, I stamped some texture over the top using Hickory Smoke Distress Ink. I stamped the houses and trees along the horizon line using Black Soot Distress Ink and added some of the same ink to the sky and foreground using a baby wipe; a special thank you to Vicki for the stamp, which she kindly sent me some years ago. Then I used a brayer to add some white gesso over the page. The Christmas tree was recycled and fussy cut from an old Christmas card and then I added my die cut Merry Moose; which I heat embossed using Antique Gold Stampendous Enamel Powder and Gold Ranger Embossing Powder. To finish, I added the parcel stickers and splattered the page with white acrylic paint for a snowy effect.

We often visit Prague this time of year, I find myself very thankful for all the wonderful memories we have of our time there. This is the Old Town Square where you’ll find an amazing Christmas market and buildings of various architectural styles. The Gothic church in the centre is Church of Our Lady before Týn and is a well-known landmark.

Prague is a magical place especially when it snows (smile!).

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing these pretty kitty cat mugs that we saw in one of the many florist shops in Prague; I automatically thought of Bleubeard & Elizabeth when I saw them. I’m saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang and wishing you all a very Happy T Day this Christmastime!

Hoping that you are all staying safe and well, Merry Christmas and wishing you peace, health and happiness for 2025! x

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

Challenges

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted this month by the lovely Sharon from That Girl Fritchey, who has chosen Snow as her theme so I’m joining with my snowy scene.

Life is more beautiful

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It’s time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is Autumn Magic.

I’m creating some autumn magic with these adorable forest friends (smile!).

To see how my mixed media page came together, please check out my short YouTube video which is only a couple of minutes long; it shows the essentials of how I created this page taking a step-by-step approach and showing you the mixed media that I used.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how this page came together; here’s the link to my YouTube channel Let’s Art Journal so, if you wish, you can like this video and subscribe to my channel.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the autumnal creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies.

As T Stands For Tuesday, I’m sharing this fun toadstool mug that we saw in a local home store; as I love all things pumpkin I’d also love to try the pumpkin spice latte – yum! Wishing you all a very Happy T Day (smile).

Stay 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 so pleased to join Alison/Craftytrog with her theme of Autumn Colours and Inspiration‘over at Art Journal Journey with my autumn page.

In a flutter

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It’s time for a new challenge at Try it on Tuesday, which for the next two weeks is Black & White + 1.

It was fun creating this page with the limited colour palette of black and white and my additional colour was the brown background of this chipboard page.

To see how my mixed media page came together, please check out my YouTube video which is only a few minutes long; it shows the essentials of how I created this page step-by-step as well as the different mixed media that I used.

I’m in a flutter as I’m excited to be sharing this YouTube tutorial with you; I hope that you enjoy it (smile!).

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and my fellow Design Team members over at Try it on Tuesday too. I hope you are inspired to join us, it would be lovely to see you there!

Talking of black and white, here’s a sign that we saw when we visited a tea shop in Tenerife earlier this year; aren’t those pandas adorable – have a nice day!

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m also joining the T Gang with the red mug on the top left-hand side of my panda photo, did you spot it? Sending you “have a nice day” wishes – Happy T Day everyone!

Stay 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 be joining:

Art Journal Journey and Aimeslee‘s Anything Goes challenge with my page.

MIUCB #73 Anything Goes + optional Smooshing with my smoothed gesso background mixed media page.

Create

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I had fun creating this page using some new crafting goodies from the Create Happiness range by Vicky Papaioannou from Stamperia.

To create the background, I collaged some blue design papers using a glue stick and I outlined the pieces using a fine line Uni Pin marker and a Sand Spectrum Aqua marker. Next, I added some Pébéo white gesso over the top of the papers using a brayer. The pretty bird in the photo frame was created by layering together: a photo negative frame from a Create Happiness Ephemera pack by Vicky Papaioannou from Stamperia; some birch tree cardstock; and a bird image from a Secret Diary Washi Pad by Vicky Papaioannou from Stamperia. I arranged them onto the page with more of the tickets, labels and postage stamps from the Ephemera pack, birch tree cardstock and Secret Diary Washi Pad images and also some little butterfly stickers, a small tag tied with wax twine and three buttons. I added some leaf washi tape stickers and then the “Create” wording, which was from an Atelier des Arts chipboard pack by Stamperia. To finish, I splattered the page with white Liquitex acrylic paint.

As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m sharing my decaf oat milk latte, that I enjoyed recently at a local café, and joining our wonderful hosts Bleubeard and Elizabeth, who ask us to share a drink related post each week – Happy T Day everyone!

Challenges

I’m also joining Art Journal Journey and the lovely Halle of Halle’s Hobbies, who is hosting her I’ve Got A Notion theme with the buttons on my page.

As you’ll find birds, foliage and butterflies in the garden and also on my page, I’m reminding you still have another week to join our In The Garden challenge at Try it on Tuesday too.

Light the way

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For today’s page, we are travelling back to Prague to look at the most beautiful chandelier in St. Nicholas church.

I started by covering the page with pieces of music sheet and old dictionary pages, then I applied some white gesso using a brayer and left it to dry. I stamped the script text using black Archival Ink and an Etcetera stamp set by Tim Holtz. Next, I stencilled the stars using Faded Jeans Distress Archival Ink and I also applied some of the ink around the edges of the page. Then, I used an ornate baroque style stencil to apply some Ranger Texture Paste , which I mixed with Iridescent Bright Gold Liquitex Acrylic Ink before applying it to the page. I also coloured some of the background using this gold paste by applying it with my finger. When dry, I used a Daler-Rowney gold metallic acrylic paint marker and black UniPin fine line marker to add some contrast to the stencilled gold paste. I added the metallic word stickers by Tim Holtz, which read “Enjoy today”, “Collect beautiful moments”, “Light the way” and “Find joy in the ordinary.” I splattered the page using the Gold Liquitex Acrylic Ink, and then to finish, I added the chandelier image, highlighting the candles using the gold metallic marker.

St. Nicholas Church is a late-Gothic and Baroque church located in Prague’s Old Town it was built between 1732-1737.

It has the most magnificent chandelier of antique crystals, which is 4.5m in diameter and weighs 1.5 tons.

This is one of the views from the front steps of St. Nicholas church; the Old Town Square where you’ll find an amazing Christmas market and buildings of various architectural styles. The Gothic church in the centre is Church of Our Lady before Týn and is a well-known landmark.

We headed to the Christmas market after visiting St. Nicholas church, where we enjoyed a cinnamon crepe and a hot chocolate – yum! As T Stands for Tuesday, I’m saying a big hello and welcome to the T Gang and wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

I hope that you are staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Vicki Parson from stampedsmiles.com and her Light challenge with my Light the way page.

No place like home

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There’s “no place like home” and I’m so glad to be back here in Blogland; I missed you all!

My page today is for our new challenge over at Try it on Tuesday, which is Autumn and features some beautiful autumnal colours – Happy October everyone!

I started by stamping Dandelion, Rich Cocoa, Potter’s Clay and Toffee Crunch Memento Inks over the background using a square patchwork stamp by Urban stamps. I added a zig zag stitch stamp, which was from the same stamp set, between the squares using black Archival Ink. Then I covered the page using white gesso using a brayer to tone down the colours a little. Next I die cut some flowers and foliage from some Tim Holtz Kraft Cardstock – Classic using a Funky Nature Sizzix Thinlits set and I arranged them on the page with some die cut pieces from a Ephemera set by Simple Stories. To finish, I added a button along side the wording “No place like home”.

For more inspiration please pop over to Try it on Tuesday to see the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and the rest of my Design Teamies (grin!). I hope you are inspired to join our challenge; it would be lovely to see you there!

I haven’t been blogging for a couple of months, life just got in the way and the time off helped me realise that my priorities and commitments have changed. As I haven’t really shared any life events with you for a while, here are some of my happy highlights so far this year:

Holiday in Torbole, Lake Garda, Italy

Family Birthday Celebrations (not mine nor my hubby’s).

Spending time and visiting with Family and Friends – this was a yummy meal that we enjoyed at our local Greek restaurant with our dear friends.

Although I haven’t been blogging, I have been getting creative so there will be more art journal pages and photos posted if you’re interested to see what I’ve been up too.

I hope that you are staying safe and well!

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

Challenges

As well as Try it on Tuesday, I’m pleased to join the following challenges:

MIUCB #67 Anything Goes + optional Make Your Own Background over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with the background that I created and techniques that I used.

Hello March

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It’s the first Friday of a new month, so it’s time for a new challenge over at the Creative Artiste Challenge Blog, which as always is Anything Mixed Media Goes.

I would also like to send a warm welcome to the lovely Fiona from http://www.craftystamping.blogspot.com/ who has joined our Design Team; please be sure to visit her blog and show her some love!

My mixed media page is saying “Hello March” and celebrating the pretty crocus that flower this time of year!

I started by covering the background with a couple of cyclopaedia book pages and then covered them with some Villainous Potion Distress Paint applying it like watercolour. When dry, I applied some Yellow Ochre Kuretake Watercolour and I stamped some foliage and a circular filigree stamp using a Magnolia Grove stamp set by Kaisercraft, black Archival Ink and Dusty Concord Distress Archival Ink. Next I added some Pébéo white gesso over the top using a brayer and layered some more of the stamping over the top, to create a distressed grungy look. Then I splattered the page using black DecoArt acrylic paint. The crocus were fussy cut from an old garden flower book, edged with a black Faber-Castell marker and stuck in place using a glue stick. I stamped the “Hello March” wording using a Sophisticated Script stamp set by Concord & 9th and black Archival Ink, then to finish I highlighted the letters with a white Uniball gel pen.

For more inspiration please check out the amazing creations from our Guest Designer and my fellow Design Team members over at Creative Artiste too. All you need to do is to use three different mediums on your projects to join our mixed media challenge; I hope you are inspired to join us, it would be lovely to see join you there!

Every year, there is a beautiful display of crocus’ at the church in Poulton-de-Fylde; which is a small town near to where we live.

These little crocus flowers look so amazing and it’s always such a beautiful sight as they cover the church yard in so much colour!

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.

Challenges

As well as Creative Artiste , I’m pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Art Journal Journey which is being hosted by the lovely Valerie of Bastelmania and her Anything Goes challenge with my Hello March page.

MIUCB #64 – Anything Goes + optional Distressing over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my distressed background crocus page.

Triple B Challenge where everything is about Birds, Blooms and Butterflies so as their March challenge blog was launched this month, I’m joining them with my spring blooms.

T Day ATCs and a Big Thank You

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I had a lovely surprise in the post, some happy mail from Bleubeard and Elizabeth which contained the napkins from the napkin swap to celebrate T Stands for Tuesday 9th Anniversary – thank you so much!

Although it wasn’t part of the napkin swap, I created an ATC for each of those taking part; so today I’m sharing how I made them (smile!).

Using some old playing cards as my base, I started by covering the front of 9 cards using some Pébéo white gesso with a brayer and left them to dry. Next I added some torn Dictionary page pieces over the top using Liquitex matte gel medium. When dry, I coloured them using washes of Burnt Sienna and Ultramarine Kuretake Watercolour paint and then I stamped them using a Fragments stamp by Tim Holtz and black Archival Ink.

I used a couple of die cut sets to cut out the teacups and saucers, the flowers and little bird from some coloured papers. The teacups and saucers were stamped using the Fragments stamp and Moonlight White Brilliance Ink. Everything was arranged onto the ATCs using Liquitex matte gel medium along with various DoCrafts stickers to create the “T Day” wording and a number “9” which was die cut.

For the reverse of the ATC, I covered the back of the cards with black DecoArt Acrylic paint and I stamped the Fragments stamp using the Moonlight White Brilliance Ink. The wording was printed using a Dymo Letratag Label Maker and I stamped the “Handmade with love…” using black Archival Ink; everything was stuck in place with some of the die cut flowers.

As you may know Bleubeard and Elizabeth kindly sent some amazing postage stamps as part of the napkin swap which you can see here – thanks so much, they are so beautiful!
It looks like I may have the pink flowered international stamp that was mentioned on Bleubeard & Elizabeth’s blog post last week – yippee! Also the black and white washi tape was holding the ATCs together which I plan to recycle.

Of course all the napkins are fabulous and I received so many that I couldn’t fit them all in one photo (grin!).

I can’t wait to get creative with them on my art journal pages – thank you so much to everyone who sent napkins for the swap! Also a big thank you to E and Sharon for organising everything – you’re both stars!!!

I had such a lovely surprise when I found all these stunning ATCs amongst the napkins; from top left to right we have Sharon, Elle, Lisca, Bleubeard & Elizabeth, Chris and Mia). It was so kind and thoughtful of everyone – thanks so much!

All the teacups featured on this post allow me to join this week’s T Day – wishing you all a very Happy T Day!

I hope 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 pleased to be joining the following challenges:

Paperbabe Stamps and their #176 – Anything Goes challenge with my ATCs.

LTSCB#157 – Anything Goes over at Love To Scrap Challenge Blog with my ATCs that I created from old playing cards.

Challenge #62 – Anything Goes at Ally’s Angels with my handmade ATCs.

MIUCB#61 – Anything Goes + Optional Smooshing over at Mix It Up Challenge Blog with my smooshed watercolour background my ATCs.