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

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

 

'Happiness' Art Journal Page

Hello lovely people and welcome to my blog.  

Here I am again to share another Art Journal page with you.  Wow!!  This is a first for me ... two journal pages in a row.   My Journal pages usually take quite a long time for me to finish because I never really know what I'm going to do.  I am still experimenting with this medium and I very rarely have a design in my head when I start.  I do usually know the colours I want to use but once I've got that on the paper I don't always know where to go from there so it sits on my desk until I decide what to do next.  This page was a bit different.  I started with the basic colours and it all came together quite quickly from there.  It still took most of a day but when you consider that they usually take me a few weeks to complete, this one came together very quickly indeed.

 After posting my last page, I was in the mood for getting a bit messy so started creating the background colour.  I tried laying down some gesso but still don't seem to have the knack.  I watered it down a bit thinking that might make the difference but for some reason, when I coat the page with gesso the colour just seems to disappear.  I've seen other people's work using gesso and theirs is fabulous, but I just can't seem to make it work. Consequently my first page ended up in the bin.  It was an awful mess.  So then I started this page without the gesso and it worked!!  I'm really happy with this background ... I love the dark, richness of it!!  I used watered down Distress Inks in Brushed Corduroy, Broken China and Walnut Stain and also used watered down Viva Precious Metal Colour in Olive.  You can't really see it in these photos but the green has a lovely golden sheen to it.

 Brushed on some 'Clear Rock Candy' Distress Crackle Paint in a couple of places and used 'Walnut Stain' through a  Crackle Stencil by Scrapbookncraft.  Used a music stamp by Prima with Memento Tuxedo Black and the top from one of my spray bottles dipped in gesso and then in Black Soot Distress Stain for the circles.

 The hearts were cut from some plain cardstock with a Fiskars Shape Cutter and then coloured with Fired Brick and Mustard Seed Distress Ink.  Glued them onto the page and then outlined them with a black watercolour pencil and also highlighted them with a white gel pen.

 Here you can see the other patch of the crackle.

I had actually intended to put flowers on this page, hence the washi tape which was meant to be the ground.  When I changed my mind and used the hearts instead I tried to remove the tape but it started tearing the paper beneath it so I simply left it there.   

The quote stamp is from Kaisercraft.  Stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black and then clear embossed it.  I was very pleased with myself that I finished this page so quickly and I must say, I am really happy with the result, it really represents how I feel about my life right now.  I am very, very blessed to have a wonderful, loving family and some amazing and treasured friends, so my heart really does bubble over with happiness right now and happiness is so much better when it's shared isn't it??
Even in the tough times we really do need to sit back and count our blessings.

Thank you so much for visiting, I am really pleased you came to have a look.  Please do come again.

Take care and God Bless.

oxox Marg

Masculine Step Card

Hello lovely ladies, and, possibly, gents!!  Welcome to my little crafty space.

Hope your day is going well so far.

I'm here to share another step card with you but it's a step card a little different from the norm.

I'm not sure whether it's a 'crossover' step card or a 'tag' step card or maybe even a crossover tag step card.  Yeah!!  I agree, that sounds just a little ridiculous!!  lol  To explain, I really love Crossover Cards.  You know, the ones that look like an open envelope with tags inside.  I also love Step Cards, so I decided to combine them into one card. Now, I'm probably not the first person to do this, but I haven't actually seen any around so I can't give anyone else credit for this.  The inspiration for this card actually came from Heather Jacob who has made some gorgeous Tags in a Pocket just recently.  The tags are based on her design but I wanted my card to be a bit different.  If you'd like to take a look at her incredible creations, you can find them HERE.

Anyways, here is my card.

 I've used Kaisercraft's Art of Life Paper Pad for this.  Other than the little button at the bottom, all the labels, etc. are from this Collection.

 All the papers are distressed and then edged with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I've also added a little doodling around the edges as well.  Another inspiration from Heather.

 The film strip and the labels, as I said before are from the Paper Pad and also from the Collectables.  They've all been layered with foam dots to give them dimension.  The top piece has been covered in clear embossing powder.

The tags, as mentioned before, are based on Heather's design.  The labels are from the same collection and then I've simply folded some of the paper over the top of the tag and added the eyelets  and the twine.  As you can see, I've also attached a smaller tag to one of them for added interest.

 Here is the inside ...

 ... and a closie showing the build-up of the layers.

So, there you are ... a Centre Step Crossover card.  Hope you like it.

I've decided to enter this card into the Challenge at Crafty Cardmakers and More ...

Thank you so much for coming by for a visit and for any comments you may leave.  I read every single one and really appreciate you taking the time.
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

  

More Positivity !!

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog.

I have been quite busy in my Craft Space lately  and I can actually post two days in a row.  Wow!!!  I even amaze myself sometimes.

So, I am back this time to show you the first double page in my Positivity Journal!!

If you haven't come across this before and would like to know more, check out Astrid Maclean's post HERE.

First of all I'd like to show the inside cover of my Journal.

 Not a lot going on here but I found the quote on the left hand side on the net and felt it was very appropriate for this project.  I simply wrote it on some scraps of paper and glued them in with a few leaves and small flowers.
The journaling on the right simply explains what this journal is all about.  I printed that from my computer and glued it to the page along with the die cut leaves.
I am not actually writing in this book every day but I am recording special days such as Scrapbooking with my Granddaughter.  When I look back at the end of the year I will be able to recall those special days more readily.  Not that I will forget about spending time with my Granddaughter but now I will actually know which day it was.  LOL

Here is my first double page spread. 

The stenciling was done using sequin waste and Shabby Shutters Distress Ink.  When dry it was randomly sprayed with watered down Broken China D.I. and flicked with Faded Jeans D.I.   

The cursive writing, the clocks and the 'Cherish' stamps are from KC and were done in Coffee Archival Ink.  The music stamp is from Prima and was done in Faded Jeans D.I.  For the circles I simply pressed some different sized lids onto the Coffee Archival Ink Pad and then onto the page.  I also gave the 'Cherish' stamp a little extra colour with some watercolour pencils.

The two tags at the back are a Prima tag and I think it's from their 'Engraver' Collection.  I simply cut it in half so it would fit into the pocket.  The tag at the front is one I made myself.  I am using these tags to record my 'Positive' days. 

The butterfly was cut from a separate sheet of paper and then coloured with Mustard Seed and Shabby Shutters DI.  It was then stamped on the left with a KC floral stamp and on the right with the Prima Bold Print stamp.  The floral stamp was coloured with Reeves Watercolour crayons.  I have to say I am really happy with how this butterfly turned out.

Once it was coloured I glued the butterfly to the page and then drew the trail and the antennae with a Sharpie.  I also went around the outside of it with watercolour pencils to blur the edges a little.

When I wrote the quote on this page my pen was running out so I had to go over it all again with another pen so it's a bit messier than I would have liked but I am still happy with it. 

I will leave you with the same words - 

LIVE every moment.  LAUGH every day.  LOVE beyond words.

Thank you so much for visiting.

Take care good people and God Bless.

oxox Marg

A 'Boy' Card and a Challenge!!!

Hello everyone and a very warm welcome to my blog.

Hope you are all well and having a lovely day.  The weather is a bit warm here in Adelaide but I think we're going to have to get used to it as we are heading into another 40+ heatwave.  Yuck!!

Anyway, to my card.  A few days ago, Brenda Caldow (one of my FB friends ) invited me to 'like' Scrapbookit's FB page and in doing so she urged me to enter their Challenge.  Now, as most of you will know, I don't really Scrapbook.  I did create a page a little while ago, but that was with my Granddaughter so it was a special occasion.  Brenda assured me though that they will accept cards, so here goes. 

There is a list of different criteria, and you have to use any three in your project.  One of the criteria is to use Kaisercraft papers.   

I wanted to use some brighter colours on this card so I chose papers from four different Kaisercraft Collections.  'Check In', 'Basecoat', 'The Looking Glass' and 'Pickled Pear'.  I love how you can mix and match KC Papers and it all still blends together so nicely.

 The next criteria I chose was to 'ink' the edges.  Well that was a no brainer.  I usually do ink my edges anyway and more often than not I use Walnut Stain Distress Ink which is what I used here.  Wasn't as heavy handed with it this time because I didn't want the card to become too 'grungy'.  

 The third criteria I chose was to use layers of patterned paper which, again, I do quite a lot so that was no problem either.  As you can see there are three layers of different patterned paper on this card.

 All the labels used are from 'The Looking Glass' 6 x 6 Paper Pack.

 I think I'm getting addicted to Centre Step Cards as I've made quite a few now.  Will be posting more of them later.

 The inside is decorated quite simply.  It will get a bit more treatment when I'm ready to add the sentiment.

So there it is.  Another 'Boy' Card done and a Challenge entered.  A good day's work I reckon.   

  

If you'd like to take a look at Brenda Caldow's Blog you can find it HERE.  

If you'd like to  check out the Scrapbookit Challenge you can find it HERE.

Thank you so much for visiting my little blog and, hopefully, leaving me a little love.  Always appreciated.

Please take care and enjoy the rest of your day.

God Bless.

oxoxMarg