Summer Songbird

I just had some photos developed yesterday from last week's cottage time and got the urge to document this fun memory of cousin Hadley as she was singing her little heart out.

Supplies: patterned papers, flower die cuts, stickers (Basic Grey), stencil, fabric flower, clay flower, metal flower, golden wood leaf (Prima), texture paste and Distress Stickles (Ranger), glitter liner (Viva), gelato (Faber-Castell), gesso (Golden), pen (CTMH), thread (misc.)

I cracked open the June Limited Edition kit from My Creative Scrapbook, full of Basic Grey's Tea Garden collection and Prima goodies along with a Kristine Davidson sketch which in combination was ideally suited to the single photo and its colours.

Texture pasted the background using the Prima Wild Flowers stencil. Then added some glitter to the leaves and colour splatters to the background with a Metallic Mint gelato and water mixture.

It was very relaxing to just play with the paper, distressing the edges and adding touches of gesso to give it all a bit of a shabby feel as well as playing with levels and layers.

Entering this one into Frilly and Funkie's Raise It Up Challenge and Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge of Anything Goes.

TTFN,

Go On... Get Messy

A while back there was an interesting post where Get Messians (that is the Get Messy Art Journaling community nick name) were sharing which brand/type of journal(s) people use. I personally use several different sizes which are all Strathmore and either watercolour paper or mixed media paper as I tend to do wet based techniques. Many other group members use Moleskines and while I have looked at these on and off for a year now (because I really like their size), I always decided that the pages just looked like they couldn't handle the media that I prefer to use. This week I was in Curry's (fav art store), when I spied this single lonely black Moleskine Notebook and you can guess who it came home with.

So as the proud new owner of a Moleskine, I created my inaugural page in this journal with a Get Messy inspired page.

Supplies: journal (Moleskine), Qor watercolours (Golden), pen (Uni-Ball), marker (Fibracolor)

I used the neat printable that DT member Nina Christensen offered up on her blog when she hosted the Get Messy Instagram account.

The journaling reads... "No Regrets... go on... it's okay... give yourself permission to... Get Messy".

I tried out watercolouring on the pages with Qor watercolour by Golden using a water brush. The pages became a bit too saturated in my attempts to move the colour around and to get the blending effect that I was going for but in the end, I didn't mind it warps and all. I will try out different techniques to get the hang of the right saturation point that I can work with in this journal.


TTFN,

Adventure Awaits

Another Get Messy season of Adventure art journal page to share. This one was made with the washi tape scraps from my season of Love "Love Unconditionally" page (can be seen here). At the time of that page's creation, I had adhered the scraps and gessoed over them being sure to leave some washi showing for a future page.

When the Adventure season came along, I was inspired to turn that page into a sort of envelope front. The colour is from Magenta's Nuance powder water soluble dyes in Orange, Bright Yellow and Hot Pink. While the inks were wet, I used them to stamp the postal marks at the top.

Supplies: 6x9 watercolor journal (Strathmore), washi tapes (Scotch 3M), gesso (Golden), Orange, Hot Pink and Bright yellow Nuance powders and grid stencil (Magenta), Distress Glaze (Ranger), stamps (CTMH), StazOn ink (Tsukineko), Stamper's Big Brush (Faber-Castell), blk acrylic paint (DecoArt), pen (Signo)

Once all was dry, I removed some of the colour through a grid stencil. Next, to hold down the colour so that it would not rub off or mix with the acrylic paint, I used the new Distress Micro Glaze. This stuff worked awesome. As there was a slight sheen even after buffing, I just ran my corn starch sack over it that I use for anti-static with heat embossing. I wiped any residual starch away and it was sealed perfectly for the next layer.

I photographed the journal on a Muskoka rock which if you are not familiar with this type of distinctive pinkish granite, it is what makes up the Canadian Shield and is one of the sight-seeing things to see when traveling in northern Ontario. You can see how the rock was my inspiration for colouring... but of a brighter summer variety.

TTFN,

New Adventures in Art Journaling

Get Messy Art Journaling is winding up the season of Adventure. This page was an adventure in trying out Caylee's tutorial on abstract painting giving me an opportunity to crack open my new Dina Wakley acrylic paints. This was definitely a different style for me but nothing ventured nothing gained. So I gave it a go.

Supplies: 6x8 400 series mixed media paper (Strathmore), grid and heart stencils, sentiment stamp (Magenta), Dina Wakley acrylic paints (Ranger), blk acrylic paint (DecoArt), gold Sheer Shimmer Spritz (Imagine Crafts), heat emboss powder (Stampendous), embroidery thread (Aurifil Mako'ne)

This one looks better in real life. You can't see it from the photo but the gold stenciling is all shimmery. As you can see, I had some crafty mishaps with the black stenciling when I went to the reverse side of the stencil but hey it is not to be stressed about, it is happy crafting and I learn from these for the next time. For me that is part of the beauty of art journaling. It is a great way to try out something and get the hang of it before using it in a bigger project.

I would give this a try again. I liked the background work but feel I need to either add more layers and/or embellis. Lots more season of Adventure pages to come.
  
TTFN,

Cardabilities and Lemoncraft

I have been on a bit of a card making kick of late. Today I am sharing a card that I made using patterned papers from Lemoncraft's Heart Painted collection from My Creative Scrapbook's May Limited edition kit and Cardabilities sketch #126.

Supplies: patterned papers (Lemoncraft), clear gesso (Liquitex), gesso (Golden), watercolour pencil crayons (Prima), stamp and thread (Dollarama), ink (Ranger), glass bead glitter gel (Faber-Castell), ribbon and doily (My Creative Scrapbook kit May 2015), cardstock (CTMH)

I gave this one a touch of watercolouring using Prima Watercolour Pencils adding colour to the black and white magnolia image after it was treated with a layer of clear gesso. Watercolour was also added to a lightly gessoed area beneath the flower.

For a touch of bling, I dragged thread through glass bead glitter gel for a sparkly effect and nested it under the image area once it was dry. Some distressing and stitching rounds this one out.

This was the sketch that I used:

TTFN,

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Capture a Rainbow

Hi Friends! It is a rainbow kinda day today as I am up on the Magenta blog with my Capture a Rainbow post sharing this mini 4x6 mixed media art journal zine. When I created the mini book it ended up being eight pages which was perfect for a title page and Roy G. Biv. I have to thank Lauren Hooper's Creative Captures Photo Prompts for the inspiration on this one. Lauren is part of the very talented duo (the other being Caylee) that is responsible for Get Messy Art Journaling... a fun, supportive, educational, inspirational art journaling community that I participate in.

I balanced solid colour pages with white backgrounds on the opposite pages. It is a small book of cheery colourful textural goodness. To learn more about its creation and to see page details, please head on over to the Magenta blog here. As always, comments are greatly appreciated. :)

TTFN,

It's Summer and I am off to Camp!

I'm off to camp... Camp Scrap 2015 that is.

Look what I was already inspired to create from the pre-camp bonus video.

Supplies: chipboard animals (DCWV), stamps and die cuts (CTMH), Stamper's Big Brush (Faber-Castell), Tim Holtz Distress ink  and Archival ink (Ranger), Tim Holtz burlap texture paper (Advantus), glimmer mist (Tattered Angels), wood veneer camera (Studio Calico), hemp twine and embroidery thread (misc.)

I have been watching all the sneak peek prep that May has been sharing on her Instagram feed and I was tempted but was still on the fence. What with vacation time in there and the current exchange rate, I was unsure if it would be worth it. Then May offered a coupon the other day, it is was just the push I needed.  I thought... what the hay... I'll give it a try.

This will be my first Camp Scrap experience and I am already happy that I signed up. I like her laid back approach... no rules, just happy crafting. She explains this in a cute little video as part of the bonus pre-camp project. You make it your adventure and participate as little or as much as you want. No pressure... just happy crafting. You can always come back to the class anytime. It will be there for you. Love the philosophy and the inspiration!

So are you tempted? Come join me in the adventure.

The forum just opened last week and there are lots of friendly campers already arriving. Several are return campers and with May being in her 5th year as camp director, it is always a good sign. ;)

You can even choose whether you want the full camp experience or just a week session based on the theme: cards, layouts, mixed media or just techniques with different pricing structures.

It looks to be great fun for all!

With my card including misting and stamping techniques, I am also entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge for Stamp + Mist.

TTFN,

Hello Darling!

Hello to the first day of summer! I am marking the summer solstice with a festivity of floralness.

Supplies: watercolour paper (Canson), patterned papers and die-cut (WRMK), stencil and some flowers (Prima), Tim Holtz Distress inks, and texture paste (Ranger), metal ribbon and crocheted flower (Michaels), bloomer flower (Webster's Pages), green ribbon (miscellaneous)

Flower goodness all around with texture paste stenciled base along with a variety of different florals on the top.

Inspiration for this one came from the Simon Says Stamp Monday Blog challenge for Don't cut, just paste!, colour inspiration from Colour Me...Subtle! and the sketch from Cardabilities #125.



                         
            


TTFN,

Presenting...

Love creating with stencils and/or stamps? Want to give either a try? Check out the exciting new addition to the Magenta family.






There is a little something for everyone with such an eclectic variety of tastes and styles in this premier collection.

Ask your local craft retailer or purchase directly from the Magenta Boutique here.

TTFN,

Flowers for a Friend

Well it's another tri-factor of inspiration in the creation of this mixed media card that I made this weekend. This one is for a friend in need of some cheering up. Nothing like a bouquet of flowers and a handmade card to do the trick.

Supplies: cardstock (CTMH), gesso and light molding paste (Golden), clear gesso (Liquitex), Salty Ocean and Faded Jeans Tim Holtz Distress Inks (Ranger), Fading Floral stencil, flowers, and butterfly stickers (Prima), friends stamp and ticket corner punch (Stampin' Up), Versamark (Tsukineko), emboss powder (Stampendous), hemp cord (Darice), thread (Somore), red marker (Sharpie)

A few close ups...

After using the white gesso, I went back over in clear gesso as it seems to work better with watercolour. Then I used the light molding paste and once it was dry, I applied Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Salty Ocean and Faded Jeans. I added some Salty Ocean splatters.

I heat embossed the friends F and then ticket corner punched it before inking the edges. I added a little red Sharpie to this bottom butterfly sticker so that it would pop a bit more and better co-ordinated with the top one. Little swipes of white gesso put the finishing touches on the Prima flowers.

Playing along with Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog for The Love of Plants and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge blog for Friends or Superhero.

                 

Colour inspiration comes from Colour Me... Striking for their challenge #75.

TTFN,