Positivity Journal Page & Tag

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

I'm sitting here at my computer listening to the rain outside.  Love that sound, especially because I'm lucky enough to be sitting in a nice warm house.  Just wish everyone was as blessed.

I have another PJ to share with you today.  No, No, not pyjamas, hehe!!  Just a Positivity Journal page.

The background was created using some watered down red acrylic paint along with 'Black Soot' and 'Broken China' Distress Inks.  Once it was dry it was stamped with Kaisercraft's 'Arty' Stamp and then I randomly added some 'Clear Rock Candy' Distress Crackle Paint.

Added some strips of washi tape to the side and that cute little die is the 'Loopy
Rings' from Memory Box.  Doodled around a few of the Loops with a white gel pen for a bit of added interest.

The clock was fussy cut from Prima's 'Engraver' papers and the Die Cut is from Kaisercraft.  

Here is a better look at the 'crackle'.  Love the effect you get on the paper.

I've also completed another tag for this Journal.

Again, this is a fairly simple tag as they can't be too dimensional or they won't fit into the pockets.

The tag was cut from a scrap of  Prima's 'Ledger Pad' papers.

Added a couple of scraps from Kaisercraft's 'Art of Life' 6 x 6 Pad and stenciled the background with Tim Holtz's Burlap Stencil and 'Walnut Stain' Distress Ink ...

... and fussy cut the Sunflowers and the labels from G45's 'French Country' 8 x 8 Paper Pad.

So now I have finished page 5 of my Journal and the 4th of my tags.  Only 5 more pages and 11 tags to go.  Just as well I'm not in a hurry for these, LOL!!

Thank you so much for visiting and, perhaps, for leaving a little comment!!  I hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.

Page 4 - Positivity Journal

Hello everyone I hope you've all had a lovely weekend.  Shame that it's nearly over.

Sorry it's been a bit quiet on my blog but I have been quite busy in the background and soon I'll be able to share a little secret I've been keeping.   No clues, no hints, you'll just have to be patient for a few more days.  Sorry!!!  (I'm not really sorry, just wanted to peak your interest!!  LOL!)

In the meantime I thought I would share the next page for my Positivity Journal.  I did show you all a little peek at this a few days ago now here is the full reveal.

 As with the other pages, the background was created with Distress Inks.  The colours used are Broken China, Chipped Sapphire and Walnut Stain.  The splats were created with Walnut Stain re-inker.  To be truthful, I had a little accident.  While re-inking the stamp pad a couple of drops ended up on the page.  Thought it was ruined at first but then I added a couple more and it worked out fine!!  Whew!!  Sometimes you can be lucky.  hehe!!   

 I created the 'tree' using a free stamp from the 'Get Stamping' Magazine and some flower soft in 'Citrus Crush'.  The background stamp is the 'Crackle' stamp from Kaisercraft.

 The quote and key are Kaisercraft die cuts, and the clock and gear were  made from some free printable images.

 The circles were created by dipping a bottle top in to some gesso and also Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink.

 Just a closie of the background.  I love that you can still see some of the pattern on the paper that I've used.
Adds some extra detail I feel. 

And another page completed!!  

Thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of the weekend.  What little is left of it anyway.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Positive Tags

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog space.  A very special welcome to my new followers, so lovely to have you here.

Sorry that I've been AWOL for a little while.  I actually didn't realize it had been so long since my last post.  I had some problems with my computer which, thankfully, are now fixed and I have been a bit busy creating  but unfortunately can't show any of that as it's mostly DT projects.  I now have a lot of blog visits to catch up on and all that is apart from things happening at home.  Nothing drastic thank goodness, but still things that had to be taken care of.  Anyway, now that I'm kind of back to normal I find that I don't have a lot that I can actually post about except for a couple of tags that I made a while ago for my Positivity Journal.

I had to make these tags fairly simple so that they will fit into the pockets so, basically, I've only used some stencils and stamps on them.

 I cut these tags from Prima's Ledger Pad Collection as it is quite thick and sturdy.  Inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then stenciled with TCW's Mini Bricks Stencil and Tea Stain Distress.

 The stamps are both from Kaisercraft.  The butterflies are from their Tiger Lily Collection and I stamped it with Fired Brick Distress Ink and the quote is from the Blubelle Collection and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black.

 The Washi tape with the script is from Tim Holtz, it is my absolute favourite, I use it all the time.  I have no idea who produces the other one though.

This next tag was cut from the same papers but then I used a technique from a tutorial shared by Jenny Marples on A Vintage Journey blog.  If you'd like to take a look for yourself HERE is the link.   It basically shows how to layer stencils and stamps etc. which I had done before but not quite in the same manner.   I didn't follow Jenny's tutorial exactly but I do like how this turned out.  

Painted the tag with gesso first and then edged it with gathered twigs D.I.  When dry, I used the Tim Holtz Doily Stencil with Crushed Olive Distress Ink and over that I used the Tim Holtz Burlap Stencil with Gathered Twigs.  Then it was stamped with a Prima script stamp and Walnut Stain D.I and Kaisercraft's Crackle Stamp and Black Soot D.I.

The die cuts are from Kaisercraft ...

... and the flourish was cut with the Hearts Swirl Die from Magnolia Ink.
As I said, these tags are fairly simple because I can't use anything dimensional on them, but I'm still pleased with how they turned out.
Slowly but surely my Positivity Journal is taking shape.  There is still a lot to do though, so it is going to take quite some time to finish, especially as I'm only working on it in my spare time.

Thank you so much for dropping by and for any comments you may leave.  I really appreciate you taking the time.

I do hope you enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
Marg   oxox

A Little on the Shabby Side #2

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog, so pleased to have you here.

Well, I am back again to show the second of my little Shabby Cards.  Don't think I mentioned this in my last post, but this is my favourite of the two.  Once again I've used Pion's Flower Frame Papers and of course I've just ripped and torn and curled them as I did on my previous card.

As you can see the composition is quite different from the previous card but it is still only a fairly basic card and yet the tearing and curling of the papers make it look just that little bit more special.  

A mix of flowers with some added stamens and a gem spray.  The small blue rose was originally white, but I felt the cluster needed a little extra splash of colour so I used some Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink mixed with water and painted it blue.  I also added a little of the colour to the grey flower as well just to give it some extra shading.

Here is a better view of the blue rose.  The colour turned out a little uneven but I think that also adds to the interest.  The two flower clusters are basically the same.  

As in the first card, this one was also simply lined with strips of the same papers.

The mesh underneath the layers was actually a flower meant to be made into a Fascinator.  I'm not sure what it is made of but it feels a bit like straw although it is quite flexible.  I simply pulled it apart and ended up with lots of bits of mesh to use for texture.  The belly band is made up of paper with some gauze stretched over the top and then tied up with some twine.

I am really happy with the way these two cards turned out but this one is definitely my favourite!!  Hope you like it too!!

Thank you once again for visiting  and I would love it if you could leave a little note to let me know what you think of my shabby little cards.  I treasure each and every comment made and really appreciate you taking the time.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day.  Please take care and God Bless

oxox Marg

ATC Block

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog!!  Hope you've all had a good day today and that the weather has been nice in your part of the world.  It's been absolutely beautiful here in Adelaide, almost like summer again.

Today I'd like to share an ATC Block  that I made.  I first saw one of these on Astrid Maclean's blog and I really loved the one she created.   She has made a couple more since then and they have all been gorgeous.  Any of you who visit Astrid's blog will know about her amazing creations.  Her work is stunning!!

Anyway, on one of her comments on my blog, she told me about Jenny Marples of 'Pushing the Right Buttons' and how she uses a lot of mixed media on her cards so, of course, I had a look and fell in love with her creations too.  Well, Jenny also makes ATC Blocks and I totally fell in love with one of hers and could no longer resist the temptation to make one of my own.  I'm afraid I pretty much copied Jenny's  because I loved it so much.  If you'd like to take a look at hers, HERE is the link, and HERE is the link to Astrid's Blog for any of you who haven't been there before.  Take the time to check them both out, you will not be sorry.  They are both awesome artists and create the most gorgeous things!!

So, here is my block.

 The block was made from paperboard and measures 3 x 3 on each side, and the papers I've used to cover it are from BoBunny's Weekend Market Paper Pack.  I've had these papers for a long time and never got around to using them.  I'm so glad I still had them in my stash because they were perfect for this Block.  The colours were just what I was looking for.

 The leaves were cut with my Silhouette except for the autumn leaves, they came from  Meg's Garden.com.  The flowers are a mix from different retailers but I have no idea what brand they are.  All the edges, including the leaves, were inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

 The chipboard Trellis is the Moroccan Shape with Cutouts from Imaginarium which was heat embossed with Whispers Metallic Embossing Powder.  It does actually look like bronze but that doesn't show too well on the photos. The cutouts were coloured with Versa Colour in Gold, Silver and Bronze and then clear embossed.

 View from the top.  Added a few gem sprays from Magnolia Ink to the flower cluster.  The chipboard tag is from G45 as are all the other chippie labels.

 A closie of the cluster on the front ...

 ... on the right side ...

 ... on the right corner ...

 ... and on the left side.

 A view of the inside.

I enjoyed making this block so much that I am definitely going to make more of them.  Have no idea what I'm going to do with them, although I do think that they would make a lovely little gift when filled with chocolates or sweets of some kind.  They could even be used as Birthday Card replacements although they would not be easy to post.   Perhaps just for ones that get hand delivered.   Hmmmmm!!!  Might have to consider that.  Would give me a wonderful excuse to make more, not that I need an excuse!!  LOL!!

Well, I hope you like my little ATC Block and I want to thank Astrid and Jenny for giving me the inspiration.  I absolutely loved making this!!!  Gotta make More!!!!!!

I have decided to enter this into the Challenge at 613 Avenue Create 

Thank you so much for visiting and putting up with my nonsense.  I do hope you enjoy what's left of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Cherry Blossoms

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.

Well, here I am again and with yet another Art Journal page.  For someone who really only does these once in a blue moon, I've been quite prolific lately.  I've been experimenting because I could not get the hang of using gesso to seal the pages  and stop everything from seeping through the paper.  Every time I tried coating my page with gesso first I seemed to lose all the colour once I started spraying.  Used a few different brands but all I would be left with is the shimmer and not much colour at all. Well, this time I coated the page with watered down gesso and, when dry, sprayed with watered down acrylic paint and the colour actually stayed on the page.  Woo!! Hoo!!

Once the paint dried I was able to spray with Distress Inks as well, and it all worked.  I haven't quite got the effect I was after, but I'm hoping that will come with experience.

As stated before, I coated the page with watered down gesso and while doing that I added in a few cotton threads for a bit of texture. The orange  colour is the acrylic paint.  I simply mixed some Vermillion with Ochre Yellow  until I achieved the shade I wanted.  Then, when that was dry I also sprayed with watered down Broken China and Mustard Seed Distress Inks.  You can just see the watercolour type blotches on the side.  That was the effect I was trying for.  Hopefully, one day I will get it all over. 

 Used Urban Artist  'Mt. Fuji Blossom' Stencil with some homemade texture paste, coloured it with watercolour pencils and highlighted with a white gel pen and a black sharpie.  Then went around the blossoms with a black watercolour pencil and a wet paint brush so they would stand out a bit more.  Not sure if I should have done that actually as it turned out a bit messy.

Unfortunately I forgot to do the stamping before I did the stenciling so the surface wasn't exactly smooth and the stamps didn't work too well but, I'm just going to say it adds character to the piece. LOL.  The stamps used are Kaisercraft's Tiny Dots and a Chinese or maybe a Japanese Script stamp.  It is also a Kaisercraft stamp but I haven't got the name of it I'm afraid.

 I searched the net for a Confuscius quote, but they were mostly quite rude except for this one which I quite liked.  'Wherever you go ... go with all your heart.'
So, there you go, I finally managed to do an Art Journal page that didn't seep into the back of the paper and make a mess of the next page.  Yay!!
This will actually be the last of my Journal pages for a while.  I have also been making cards as usual, but I can't show any of them here just yet as they are mostly DT projects although I've also been working on a project I purchased from Marion Smith Designs and I will be showing that in the next few days so do please come back and take a look at that.
I thank you so much for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

 

Art Journal - 'Bird House'

Hello everyone and welcome to my little blog.  

It has not been a nice day today weather wise.  We're suffering through another heat wave in Adelaide and it is not pleasant at all, although perhaps I'd rather have the heat than the masses of snow they are getting in other parts of the world.  I guess extreme weather is something we will always complain about, no matter which extreme we get.  Have to make the best of it I guess.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my next Art Journal page. 

 My background was, again, created with Distress Inks.  Some watered down 'Brushed Corduroy' and 'Broken China' were sprayed on and then flicked around the page, and then I dabbed 'Shabby Shutters' through some sequin waste.  

Then did the stamping using Kaisercraft's 'Arty', 'Crackle', 'Tic Toc' and 'Grafiti' stamps in Memento's 'Tuxedo Black'.    

 Stamped the Bird on some tissue paper and coloured it with water colour pencils.  It was then glued on with Multi-Medium and did the same with the Bird House in the picture below. 

Both of these stamps came with a magazine I bought quite a while ago and have no idea of who produced them. 

 The words I've used here are part of a quote ...

... by Albert Einstein.  Unfortunately, I can't give you the rest of it because I forgot to write it down and this was all I remembered.

I printed it on some tissue paper and then also glued it on with the Multi-Medium.  Then I just edged the page with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and it was done!!

I usually work on this Journal in between other projects so it takes me quite a while to do a page but I really love it.  I find it very therapeutic and soothing.  

Once again, I'd like to thank you for visiting.  I really appreciate you taking the time.

Please take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg