Layered stamping...

I am making the most of the extra hour today and have created this card for this week's Less is More challenge which is layered stamping.

It is actually one of my favourite techniques. I've stuck with neutral tones of brown, adding another collage stamp and sentiment in black ink for contrast.

 

The frame stamp and sentiment is by Papertrey called Boutique borders love stamp set, and the lovely postal collage stamp set is by Kaisercraft. 

I have tried to create some balance with the stamping on each side of the card, and then adding a black tab with a Stampin' Up brad to add extra interest.

 I hope you are having a great weekend, thank you for stopping by x

Mixed media collage art journal pages *you never know*

As I was still in the mood for art journalling I decided to use my new Dylusions creative art journal. I bought the 9" x 11" size, and it was only when I opened it I realised how much blank space there was to fill.

I don't normally journal in quite such a big book and it was daunting. However, I just started by collaging in opposite corners and tried to let the pages evolve.

Some of the collaged pieces were left over from another project where I had used blue paint, so I used blue and magenta pink watercolour together with highlights of gold, and then added black for some dramatic contrast.

I did go a bit overboard with the Tim Holtz flourish stencil!

I have to say I really like the colour combination and I'm pleased with how these pages turned out.

Thank you for stopping by xx

Mixed media collage art journal page * be strong*

I do love collage and creating art journal pages, but when I started this page I had really no idea what I was trying to achieve. It was the background stamp, a frame stamp by Melissa Frances, that gave me the idea to try and do an abstract Cityscape and this was the result. 

I collaged some pages from a vintage book and and gesso'd all over. Then I used texture paste to add the script stencil, and some drywall tape for extra texture, and then added some earthy watercolour tones to my page. The ornate book plate is by Tim Holtz.

It took a while, but this page has actually grown on me the more I look at it. I shall be entering it into the Simon Says Monday challenge which is "monochrome".

 

Thank you so much for stopping by x 

Mixed Media Collage Collection...

30 years ago today, here in the South East of England, we were hit by a great storm. I remember it vividly. I was woken at approx 4am and looked out of the window to see trees bent over straining against the wind and debris flying everywhere. I remember our greenhouse being lifted up almost in one piece and then dropping to the ground completely smashing it to pieces. I could not believe this was happening in our little part of the country. I had only ever seen this kind of weather in films or in news reports from other parts of the world. No-one had ever seen anything like it in the UK in their lifetime, or indeed since. 

Luckily we have escaped ex-hurricane Ophelia which has hit the west and north of the UK today, but I feel for those who are affected and hope everyone is OK.

Today I have been making a collection of collage pieces. I used old dictionary papers and magazines to collage and then used my Prima Oil pastels to add colour. I also added some stencilling and stamping to add a bit more pattern and detail. The lovely lace pocket die I've used on the larger card is by Elizabeth Crafts.

 

I collaged an A4 piece of card and after cutting it up found I had enough for all of these creations.

I really love the colours of yellow, pale pink, grey with hints of gold here and there. The tags were made using a tag die by Papertrey.

I have used my Donna Downey Empowered words stamps again, with the exception of the Gift sentiment which is by Heartfelt creations.

  

 And here is the whole collection...

 
 I really love how grungey they turned out.

Anyway, I hope you are all OK and the weather is being kind to you x

Collage art journal pages...

Sometimes I like to create mini collage pieces that are not just quick to do but make me think about how I can build on what I have created. 

And so I came up with these little collage journal pages.

I stamped Kaisercraft "Postmarks" stamp onto 2 pieces of white card and then collaged some stripes of deli paper which I printed on with my Gelli plate in oranges, pinks and gold colours. I then adhered them inside my 8" x 5" Dylusions creative journal. I could have stamped and collaged directly into my journal but I like the contrast of the white card against the buff colour of the journal.

I like the areas of white space for the eye to rest on, and the transparency of the deli paper allowing the stamped image to show through. And to finish I added the simple Donna Downey sentiment stamped and embossed in silver.

This will be my second entry for the Simon Says Monday challenge which is "anything but a card".

Thank you for stopping by x

Watercolour marbled cards...

Since my last post I have been experimenting more with abstract watercolour and came up with this marbled effect.

It was very easy. I just sprayed Adirondack wash in Espresso and Butterscotch and added some burnt sienna and burnt umber paints. Then I just dragged a very thin paintbrush with India ink through the wet paint and allowed it all to dry.

 

Once it had dried I was trying to think of ways to incorporate it into some card making, and came up with the idea of some aperture cards, so that the aperture would draw the eye to the marbled cardstock. I did however make just one card where I have used it as a background so that the marbling effect can be clearly seen.

I really like this next card. I love the sentiment by Penny Black and then at the last minute I decided to thread some beads from Hobby Craft and attach them to the card. The beads have a lovely gold fleck that matched the marbling perfectly.

 

All other sentiments used are from my fave Donna Downey Empowered Sentiments stamp set.

 

And one more aperture card with a yellow flower that also matched my background.

 

I make no excuses for using my India ink yet again. The india ink when it is painted holds a line and splits beautifully when added to wet paint to create this marbled effect, and as I've mentioned before stays a true black when dry.

I was really pleased at how these turned out and I hope you like them too x

Abstract Watercolour Mini Art book...

One of my many passions is creating mini art books. I have created quite a few now and love to look back them to remind myself of the different techniques I used, and sometimes if I need some inspiration. Often as I look back at my art books I am thinking of how I could change what I have done and maybe improve on what I have previously done.

I love abstract art and have created abstract paintings with acrylics but never with watercolour. I wasn't really sure how things would turn out but actually as I experimented I really liked what I was seeing.



I used my Gansai Tambi watercolours, they are really lovely and creamy. To get this random abstract effect I applied some quite wet paint to an A4 piece of watercolour card and started to drag an old credit card through my work, also adding some black India ink as I went.

I deliberately left some open space as I knew I wanted to cut up the A4 piece of card afterwards.

The next photo shows the glimmer of Decoart Champage gold acrylic paint that I added for some highlights.

And finally to close the book I added some silk sari ribbon and some beads which I threaded onto some black lined thread. There are 2 beads at each end of a piece of thread which I have tied around the ribbon so that the mini book can be opened easily.

I really enjoyed the whole process and will definitely use watercolour more in my abstract work.

I shall be entering this into the Simon Says Monday challenge which is to create anything but a card. Thank you for stopping by xx

A Walk on the dark side...

This is my entry for this week's Simon Says Monday Challenge.

I do love bright colours but I will be honest that if given the chance I will always prefer to work with dark colours so this challenge was a joy for me.

I decided to do a collage art journal spread, with lots of old dictionary papers and beautiful tissue paper by Papermania which has lots of really great dark imagery, perfect for my art pages.

I added some of my stamps by Hampton Art and Inkadinkado which I stamped in black archival ink.

Then I added some black india ink around the edges of my pages to add to the Halloween effect.

I like how it turned out and the overall monochromatic effect.

I really enjoyed creating these pages and hope you like them too. Thank you so much for stopping by xx 

Autumnal art journal page...

Today we are not so lucky with the weather as it has been raining all morning, but it does feel very autumnal which I love. I found a great challenge over at Mixed Media Place this month with a very beautiful autumnal mood board which inspired me to create these art journal pages.

This little book started life as a children's book which I picked up at a local charity shop. It has very thick hard pages perfect for using as a journal or art book.

The mood board not only gave me the inspiration for the imagery but the colours too. I love the combination of the reds, orange and teal.

 

I covered the pages in thick white Gesso and adhered some Prima offcuts to each side of the journal. I then used a lacey stencil with texture paste for added dimension.

The lovely branch stamp is by Inkylicious, as is the Autumn sentiment, which I've stamped in black archival ink. Then it was just a case of drizzling Lindy's Starburst spray inks in Tears on my pillow tangerine, autumn maple crimson and Tibetan poppy teal.

I later found a teal colour tassell which I tied to some string around the spine of the book so that I can move the tassell to the outside of the book to close it. I just thought it looked kinda pretty.

Quite stripped back kind of art journal pages but I hope you like it.

I hope to back again soon with more creations, but in the meantime please do leave me a message so that I can come and visit you x