Saturday 9 November 2019

Tag swap


This is a tag I made for the monthly decorated tag swap over at UK Stampers group. I loved building up the layers for this, starting with torn printed papers, layers of gesso, paints and then tons of stamping over the top to make the base, before stamping and fussy cutting the flower and leaves elements. Charcoal pencil and white gel pen were used for highlights and job done.

Until next time
Cxx

Saturday 12 October 2019

Anniversary card



This is the card I made for my brother and his wife for their recent wedding anniversary. They live in New Zealand and cards need to be fairly flat and simple if they are to arrive on the other side of the world in any kind of decent shape... so this was a simple mat and layer base, with a die cut and stamped sentiment.

Although its really simple, I think its cute and was happy to send it on its travels
Until next time
C xx

Thursday 26 September 2019

Be Authentic...Life is Beautiful


This spread was two separate pages done about a week apart and simply linked by colour palette.

The first completed was the Life is Beautiful. The background was blended using distress oxides and some kitchen towel to act as a stencil guide. Everything else on the page was stamped in black archival and all stamps are from Viva Las Vegas Stamps.

Be Authentic was very much an organic process. I blended the background with distress oxides and then wiped back some of the colour through a Tim Holtz crazy paving stencil. Then I used another  stencil to outline the face shape and I built it up  from there with an assortment of flowers and butterflies for her hair. Poor girl has no ears because I had intended to give her long hair but then the flowers and butterflies spoke to me and that was that...

It is fun to sometimes simply let go and go with the flow. The results are sometimes great and sometimes awful...but it is always interesting...and for anything not lovely, there is always gesso!

Until next time
Cxx

Sunday 22 September 2019

Simple Happy Birthday


My poor husband contracted chicken pox recently and it threw us all off kilter...which lead to me remembering the day before that I needed a birthday card. So this quick make came to the rescue. Pretty paper, a mat and a die cut and it was job done and into the post box quick smart...and it arrived with the birthday girl the very next day.

Sometimes keeping it really simply just works on so many levels

Until next time

Cxx

Friday 20 September 2019

Adventure awaits...AJP


This page came about from a challenge prompt in Maremi's cafe group on Facebook. As I recall the main prompts were to use musical notes, circles, blue and cut away the edge of the page...

My response to this challenge was very simple and I had no real idea where I was going with it...so when I reached this stage I decided to simply stop! I may go back at a later date and make some adjustments but for now I am happy to let it be...
Until next time
Cxx

Monday 2 September 2019

Ladies Day


Just playing around with this one. I was getting to the last double spread in my art journal and I think I was keen to get it done and start a fresh one...

 I will admit I still find sprays hard to control and prefer other means of building backgrounds ...and so I decided I would push myself a little and I would use sprays on this spread...I still can;t control them and I'm not a fan but hey ho... maybe one day ...

I do like making little doll like characters though and these two were no exception. The fact that they almost fill the page makes the background a little easier to bear (although I'm still not keen ) Normally I might use a little gesso or some white acrylic to tone down the background but because I used sprays I know they will react to anything I add on top ...unless I seal them first...and to be honest I wanted to get her done...so it is what it is and I am happy with that

Until next time
Cxx

Wednesday 28 August 2019

Shine


This page came about as part of the Well Spring 2019 course I did over at Mixed Up Creative. The exercise involved using a self photo but I didn't have anything to hand so went for a pencil drawn face instead. The background was sponge stencilled, the dolls dress is a gelli print and her hair was circles of text with finger painted flowers over. I really enjoyed making this one.

Until next time
Cxx

Thursday 22 August 2019

Happy Birthday Sister


This was the birthday card I made recently for my husband's baby sister. A mix of textured card and die cutting resulted in this simple but effective card.

I couldn't get the circle to sit exactly right so I chopped it in half and budged the two halves over a bit until I was happy. I utilised the small pop outs from the die cut as my "buttons" on the edge of the sentiment panel... nothing needs to go to waste if it can be put to creative use.

Until next time
Cxx

Monday 19 August 2019

Taking my own advice


Whenever I talk to people about art journalling, or if we are art journalling in a workshop, people will often say that they "aren't artistic"... or they are sure they "couldn't do it"...or they are worried about "making mess of it"... and I always say its just paper and if it does go horribly wrong and you can't save it then you can always gesso over the whole thing and start again.... and this week I opened what I thought was a fresh blank journal to find the most ugly test page in the whole universe... it was truly horrible and beyond saving.
 I think I may have just been testing products rather than trying to build a page, but what was there was totally unworkable. Of course I could have simply pulled the page and started with my fresh new journal, but then I thought of my own advice and decided to follow it.

Out came the gesso and I used a liberal layer to cover what was beneath. I had previously applied  colour using a spray and  the wet gesso reignited the colour and I was left with pinkish and yellow tones in my gesso, but that was fine because the gesso muted them from their former vibrant shades and I knew I was going to do a real cover up job anyway.

I added lots of different torn strips of papers...everything from scraps of patterned paper left over from projects, left over gelli prints, scraps form magazines and old book pages and once they were dry I lightly added some white gesso over the top with a palette knife, paying particular attention to the edges and lightly going over the centre to highlight the texture.

Next I  added some random stamping before adding some modelling paste through a home made circle stencil. Once this was dry I added colour to the circles and then added additional finger painted circles in a different colour. After that is was a little more gesso and some doodling...and finally the word Dream was added and I "called it done."

I love this page now... and thee is no trace of the ugly thing that lies beneath. I am so glad I took my own advice.

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 16 August 2019

Magical - an AJP



This was something that came about from a challenge prompt from the lovely Marta Lapkowska.

It had to include a door, a wall, some brickwork, some handwriting and something upside down. 

This was a very wet and messy project but I really enjoyed the process. I used ordinary poly-filler through a stencil for this. It gave the depth and feel or real brick and was super cheap because I bought my tub of filler from the pound shop (why not?)

Once the poly-filler had dried - I zapped it quickly with the heat gun to dry the surface and set it aside overnight to be sure it was fully dry  because I planned to use a lot of wet medium and did not want to end up with a soggy mess.

I used DAS air dry paper based clay to make the door and windows and the toadstools and I also zapped them with the heat gun and left them overnight to dry out (actually they dried over two days while I worked on the other stages)

On the opposite page I used a  fairly thick layer of gesso applied with a palette knife and then  randomly added a mix of crackle paint and crackle paste with the palette knife and that also had overnight to dry.

On day two I began to add the layers of paint washes to build up the layers and depth of colour to add detail to the wall and the brickwork. Messy and repetitive but I kept going until I was happy with the result... I gave the same paint and wash treatment to the clay elements and left everything to dry thoroughly before adding it to the pages.

The hedgehogs and flowers were stamped, coloured and fussy cut before being adhered with gel medium. I really like this page, even if it is heavy and bulky in my journal.

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 19 July 2019

Life goes on....


This is a photo of  one of a series of paintings by my Dad

It has been a very stressful few weeks. Ten days  after the stroke my Dad died.  We were with him and his passing was peaceful but it will take time for us as a family to adjust....and just when we thought life was done dumping on our family,  along comes more . ...but life goes on and we will continue to put one foot in front of the other and do the very best we can.

I took a short break from all things creative simply because there weren't enough hours in the day, but things are settling again now and I am finding creative pursuits are very therapeutic on so many levels.

My Dad loved to paint and so I am sharing this photo of one of his paintings. I think he would like that.
 I hope life is treating you kindly...
Until next time
Cxx

Wednesday 19 June 2019

Son Birthday


I was asked to make a card for a son's birthday and with very little time or information to go on this was the end result... which his Mum loved.
I cut some Stampin' Up! designer papers to make the background base and stamped the wording and heat embossed with a copper embossing powder. I also die cut a circle frame for the centre panel which is raised on foam pads for a 3D effect. I was pleased with how it turned out and thought the end result was quite effective.

Until next time
Cxx



Sunday 16 June 2019

Happy Father's Day


So its Father's Day again  and time to make a card to make Dad smile. This is the card I made for my Dad using layered embossed card from a wood collection. I  stamped the Happy Father's Day greeting in chocolate chip ink five times and finally added die cut letters spelling out DAD
I was quite pleased with how it turned out ...but sadly my poor old Dad suffered a stroke on Friday and is in hospital. His wife has taken the card in for him but right now Father's Day is not something that will really feature for him this year.

Hope all the Dads out there, young and old, are having the best day possible.

Until next time
C xx

Tuesday 11 June 2019

Things with wings -AJP


This was another art journal loosely linked to a prompt I had seen online. For this one I used modelling paste through a series of stencils, distress oxides for the background, archival ink and a script stamp from Paper Artsy, some die cut insects (these were test cuts from a new die set I purchased recently) and some gilding wax.

There was no real idea behind  or direction for this piece which just evolved as I went along. It is good  for me to work organically and I was pleasantly surprised by the end result.

Until next time

Cxx

Monday 3 June 2019

Life is Beautiful (Tag)


Finally life has settled down a bit and I am able to start resuming swaps again. So this is my tag made for the monthly swap over at UK Stampers group.

It is a very simple one this time with a crackle background, an acrylic wash and stamps from VLVS store. I was really pleased with how it turned out and hope the recipient will like it too.

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 31 May 2019

What's outside - AJP


This was an Art Journal spread created in response to a challenge with the theme what's outside.

I decided to go with whimsical animals, birds and butterflies...all bar the dog are often found in our garden even though we do not own pets ourselves. I ended up not adding any title or wording to this. That may come later or it may just stay as it is. I liked how it came out.

Until next time
C xx

Tuesday 28 May 2019

Happy Birthday Son



Yesterday was number one Son's birthday and this was the card I made for him... with a little  design input from his Dad, who thought it was perfect for his dog crazy "boy".

I used distress oxides for the background and assorted stamps from Tim Holtz, Letter it and Stampin' Up!

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 24 May 2019

Happy Birthday card


Quick and simple card using a free stamp set from a magazine with a wording stamp by Ranger (Letter It range) I used a small element stamp for each corner of the base card and matted the central panel onto coordinating pink card and popped it up on dimensionals.
Until next time
C xx

Monday 20 May 2019

If you are lucky enough to be different, never change


This art journal spread was in response to a mood board prompt in Nina Ribena's art journal group on FB. I spent ages staring at the mood board and then I went off to my creative space (which is a TV and PC free zone) and this is what happened.

The background was made by layering gesso with a palette knife to give some early texture and then layering up paint (with the palette knife) on top of that until I was happy with the general effect. The birds and leaves were stamped onto linen paper, coloured and fussy cut (took ages to do all the leaves).

To build the page I stamped the borders with black archival and then began to adhere the leaves to form the tree...and then I used brown Posca pen to build up the tree trunk. When it was dry I added some texture and then went over the trunk again with two shades of brown promarkers. Once that was done I just had to place the birds and add the words and I was done.

It came out better than I expected and I am quite pleased with the latest addition to my latest art journal.
Until next time
Cxx

Friday 17 May 2019

Spring is Sprung, the grass is Riz.....


This was made for an art journal challenge in an online group - the prompts were "Spring is here, some teal (ish) colour, birdies, some hidden numbers, use pencil, add some words"

 I had such fun with this. It was inspired by my late Mum who, at this time of year, would always quote

"Spring is Sprung, The Grass is Riz... I wonder where the Birdies is?"


It goes without saying (or should do) that I used gesso on both pages to prime them before I got started

On the first side I adhered some torn book pages (happened to be foreign language text) and then using a palette knife applied a layer of teal paint that had been mixed with tinting base. Once dry I used the same palette knife to drag layers of colour over the top, sticking to shades of teal , grey and blues. This helped to build up texture as well as add dimension to my "sky". The leaves , grass and flowers were stamped onto to linen paper and coloured with promarkers. I fussy cut them all and used gel medium to add them to the page, building up the leaves with layer upon layer....

 On the birdie page I added numbers using a stencil and some crackle paint before adding and blending white, Payne's grey and teal acrylic paints. I used a couple of different stencils to go over that with both grey and teal paint and used a white gel pen to scribble some words on there too, before adding my birdies which were stamped and then coloured with promarkers.

I am really pleased with how this page came out. I think of my lovely Mum all the time and love it when my art work is inspired or influenced by her. She would love that too.

Until next time
Cxx

Thursday 9 May 2019

Rise Above


I have recently been playing around with abstract art using acrylic paints and a hot glue gun. The thing I particularly love about this technique, is that it's quick and easy to do and every project is an absolute original.

For this one I used a round wooden base, black gesso, metallic paints in green and teal, the hot glue and I added fairy wings sparks paint over the top of the glue. The paints I used were all from a range by Finnabair, but any acrylic paints will work as well and these were just to hand.  To finish it off I added a wording sticker (from a range by Tim Holtz) and I went around the outside edge of the wooden base with some gold wax.

All in, including drying time, this took around an hour and would make a great project for a class or group.
Until next time
Cxx

Monday 6 May 2019

Happy Birthday Brother


I made this card for my "baby" brother who had a birthday this weekend. He is in his fifties now so not much of a baby, but he is the youngest sibling and  I saw him being born so he has always been - and always will be -  my baby bro.

For this one I used glossy embossed background papers and a quirky Illusionary Artists stamp by France Papillon. I think he will appreciate the  sentiment (courtesy of Tim Holtz)
Until next time
Cxx

Monday 29 April 2019

Altered Hearts


These are a couple of altered heart projects I have been working on this week. They were great fun to make and I did them over a few days to allow everything to dry fully and naturally between stages.

The smaller heart was wooden, and the larger cut from grey board. Both were given a layer of gesso (on both sides) to prime them. Then I painted the reverse sides with acrylic paint. Next I used white modelling paste through a brick stencil and I left that over night to dry

Then I gathered my flowers, chipboard and stones and played around with the positioning until I had a pretty good idea of the layout I wanted, then  I adhered them to the heart with gel medium and left them to dry. It really doesn't matter what colour the flowers and bits and bobs are because the next step (once everything was dry) is to add another coat of white gesso over everything, making sure to get in all the petals and nooks and crannies.

Again I left that  all to dry overnight and the following day was colour day. I used acrylic paint (I used primary magenta  for  DecoArt media line) and a water spritzer, adding colour to all the flowers etc first and then using watered down acrylic and the water spray to add and build up colour to the rest of the project.
Once I was happy I set it aside to dry naturally.

The final step was to add gilding wax to highlight the details and I did that using my fingers and a dry baby wipe (really dry; one that had been taken out and left in the air) to add and wipe back until I was happy with the result.

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 26 April 2019

Shine Bright - buddy card


This card is one I made for my monthly swap buddy Suzanne. I used a stamp set that came with a magazine, distress oxides for the blended background and a border embossing folder for the background panel. I added the random border with a fine liner pen  and added glossy accents to the heart in the centre of the small bulb just to finish it off. I hope Suzanne will like it.
Until next time
Cxx

Sunday 21 April 2019

Friend Birthday


This was made to order for a friend. I used textured linen card as base and fussy cut and layered up the flowers by hand. I was very pleased how this pretty card turned out. Pastel and pretty but still very simple. I hope that  the recipient is going to like it as much as I do.
Until next time
C xx

Monday 15 April 2019

MoM Day two.... Desk Organiser







This was the practical project we made in the workshop with Andy Skinner. Not a skull in sight but lots of rust and industrial grunge to make this desk organiser. There were a lot of processes to take this from pieces of wood to the finished product and it was a lot of fun.
The light is not good here at the moment but hopefully you can get a decent idea  of the finishes from the detail pics.



The finished piece has a working clock mechanism  and since I don't have a clock in my craftroom at the moment that is an added bonus....although the loud ticking might drive me crazy over time.




Although sitting on my desk it is unlikely to be seen much, I also decorated the back of my project...because I could and because I will know it is done.


I really enjoyed making this and I love a practical project....There is something particularly satisfying about making something with a purpose that I can put to use every day ....and especially something as cool as this piece.

Until next time,
Cxx 

Friday 12 April 2019

Back from our travels


Had a great time in the USA as always and got home with just a few days to spare before the wonderful Ministry of Mixology weekend retreat...this time in Milton Keynes.

It was so good to get back to creative pursuits after a couple of weeks of sightseeing, meeting up with friends, eating, lazing by the pool in the sunshine - yep its  hard life going on holiday- and what better than the immersive MoM experience.

This was my day one project...made in a lively workshop with Maria Kantzali - a clay artist from Greece. I absolutely loved this project and definitely intend to incorporate more clay into my mixed media art in the future. I am currently trying to figure out the best place to display it at home because this one is most definitely staying with us.

Day two was spent with Andy Skinner and I still have a couple of things I want to add to that one before calling it done...but once it is (done) I will post pics here. It is a practical items and  as much I love making art for the sake of it , I also love making art and coming away with something useful at the end of the day. I don't part with my practical makes either ;)

Until next time
Cxx

Sunday 10 March 2019

Happy Birthday ...celebration of fabulousness


This is the card I made for my nephew's birthday last month. He is definitely a one of a kind individual and this stamp was perfect for him. We went to visit them the  weekend before his birthday and he opened the door to reveal an orange stripe across his face...his almost three year old daughter had face paint too... and so when making this card I simply couldn't resist. I hope it made him smile when he opened it.

Until next time
Cxx

Monday 4 March 2019

Happy Birthday


This bright and cheery card was made as a last minute request. I used some SU designer paper, butterfly stamps and punches and a memory box die to make this quick and simple card.

Until next time
Cxx

Monday 25 February 2019

Teenage Birthday Girl



This was made for a teenage birthday girl. I used patterned paper for the background. For the focal panel I used distress oxides and a spritz of water for the background, then added pink ink through a stencil and went round each circle with white gel pen. The image and sentiment were stamped with black archival ink. Both panels were matted onto black card to make the pink really pop. I was happy with the end result.

Until next time
C xx

Friday 22 February 2019

Happy Birthday Dad



This week its my Dad's birthday and this was the card I made for him this year. Very simple mat and layered base with die cut wording and birds. I liked how it turned out. I am sure he will like it too.

Until next time
Cxx

Tuesday 19 February 2019

Male Birthday Card


This was the card I made for my niece's partner Chris, for his recent birthday. I love grumpy old man  stamp (from VLVS) and I matched it with some designer paper from my paper mountain.

I have a thing for nice paper and over the years I have bought tons of it, but  I have this weird thing where I am always reluctant to cut into a sheet. It has reached the stage where I stopped buying patterned paper about three years ago and I still have enough to last me ten years or more...so I decided I must use it.

I thought the card was fun... and luckily Chris has a good sense of humour.

Until next time
Cxx

Saturday 16 February 2019

Valentine


I have to be honest and say that we don't usually "do" Valentine's Day. We've been together a little over thirty years now and while he arrived with card, flowers and a teddy on that first year, and we sent each other a card on year two, that is about where it stopped...

So imagine my surprise when he says we are doing Valentine's aren't we?  It turns out he bought me a card. That was very nice if a little unusual, but it might have been better to have known before 10pm on the 13th of February!

So craftroom it was... stamp. stamp, stamp....and this is the end result. I was actually quite pleased with how it turned out.... and I may have written inside that I love him even thought he made me make a Valentine's card at the very last minute...

We were going to go to the movies that evening but I fell asleep around 5pm and he decided that since dinner was already doing well in the slow cooker, he would leave me sleep.  That kind of thoughtfulness is more romantic than any card in my book

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 8 February 2019

Just a girl...


This is a quick and easy card I made using a gelli print and a stamp from VLVS. I stumbled across the stamp while looking for a different image and thought it was so cute...so I made several projects using it. This is just one. The wording is from TH snarky sayings.

Until next time
Cxx

Tuesday 29 January 2019

Hello


This was a card I made during our recent media blackout  after construction workers killed the main cable and knocked out phone, tv and broadband for miles around and it took weeks to get it sorted out. I am waiting to see if the bill reflects the time we were without services...and if not I will be making a claim...but the down time saw an increase in productivity in other areas of life...including some creative time.

The construction site is still active so we are really hoping they will be more careful moving forward, but for now its good to be back up and running.

Until next time
Cxx

Friday 25 January 2019

Forever Fearless




Last year a friend put me onto an art journal group with weekly  inspiration prompts - the kind that you can dip in and out of whenever you like - and this was made for the first prompt of 2019. The prompt was words and it also had a mood board to go along with it. I chose to work on this grey board book page.

 I first covered the entire page is some newsprint style designer paper and
lifted the colours (pink and blue) and a little grunge form the mood board.  I used DecoArt media line fluid acrylics for the background and Distress Oxide inks for the heart.
I used black modelling paste and a stencil for the Forever and Fearless wording and once it was dry I used Treasure Gold over the top. The Here I am is a chipboard piece which I painted with fluid acrylic, stamped over with black archival and added touches of treasure gold for highlights.

Additional background stamping using black archival and a selection of mark maker stamps form VLVS and a little doodling with black and white gel pens finished it off. I was really pleased with how this piece came out and I am going to add the finished piece into a book I am building.

Until next time
C xx

Monday 7 January 2019

Hello Friend...



This card  (one of many  this week) made  using freebies from a magazine. The magazine had a selection of stamps and stencils as free gifts. I know, we all know, they are factored into the price of the magazine and so not exactly free, but hey we use this to justify buying the  mag right?  But anyhow these freebies included smaller samples of stamp sets I already own but they are perfect for tags and atcs/coins etc and the mini stencils are great for any project. I love the font used in the sentiment stamps and just know I will use them loads....unlike the focal flower on this card which is possibly my least favourite of all...and that is the reason I chose to use it first.

I made the background for this card using one of the stencils (flowers and leaves)  and I  used three shades of distress oxides through the stencil, moving it randomly across the card until I was happy with the end result. I stamped the focal image onto white card three times...once using green ink to get the tint detailed leaves in green, and the other two which were fussy cut and layered, were stamped using memento black and coloured with promarkers. Although this flower will never be a firm favourite, I was happy enough with how this turned out and will try to find at least two other ways to use this image. Watch this space
Until next time,
C xx

Thursday 3 January 2019

Have an open heart.... First AJP of 2019


This is my project made on the first day of 2019...my first AJP of 2019  which was made for a swap in an art journal group. I had such fun getting all painty and inky after all the Christmas stuff and with January first being a holiday I was able to spend as much time as I needed just working on this to get it finished in one day.

I used a 7 x 10 inch Canson mixed media page for this project and started off with a  fairly thick layer of gesso randomly applied with a palette knife to give some natural texture to the base page.

My background colours were DecoArt media line fluid acrylics in Pyrrole Orange and Diarylide Yellow,  over which I used a scratchy stamp from Andy Skinner's Toxic set using black archival ink.

The borders were made using a Dylusions stencil and black archival ink (which I also used to ink the edges all the way around) Once the ink was dry I outlined the pattern using a broad white uni-ball signo gel pen.

The cat lady (Ranger Dylusions design by Dyan Reaveley) was stamped direct to the page and also onto linen card. I coloured the dress and shoes with poppy red promarker and cut  out the dress and the legs from the linen card and adhered them over the stamped image.

The hearts were a free stamp with the latest (Feb 2019) edition of Craft Stamper Magazine and all of then were made into mini pockets before being adhered to the page with gel  medium. The centre pocket was stuffed with assorted small and  mini hearts punched from red textured and red glitter card. The wording on that heart is from Tim Holtz  small talk (sticker stack)

This page is all packaged up and will be on its way to my swap partner tomorrow. It is my first project of 2019 and I will be kinda sad to see it go... but there will hopefully be hundreds of projects in 2019...so onward and upward
Until next time, Happy New Year!
C xx

Mysterious (AJP)

Back to basics with this simple art journal page offering. A mop up page, some finger painting, stamps and mark making added and I was pl...