Creativity......an art journal page

Welcome back! 

I am still on a roll with creating pages in my calculus textbook art journal.

This page is full of colours and layers. I created while away at a 4-day retreat and the 

Silhouette Script stencil from Crafters Workshop and the Tim Holtz Motivation stamp from Stampers Anonymous I used were borrowed from another crafter.

I started by dry brushing some gesso over the pages and letting it dry. The first 3 paint colours were applied with a brayer. I then added some contrasting colours with a few different stencils & some random stamping with archival ink.

I stamped the sentiment on some tissue paper with black Archival Ink before applying with some matte medium. I used paint to stencil a chevron pattern over the edges of the tissue paper to help it blend into the background.

I used black Dylusions paint for the 6x6 Silhouette Script stencil.

This was pretty fun to create and I love all the bright colours and how they layered together.

Garth Brooks - 2 page layout

Hello & welcome to my blog!

I have a 2-page layout to share with you today. I was lucky enough to see
Garth Brooks at one of his 9 concerts he had in Edmonton, Alberta this month.
It was amazing and I knew I had to scrapbook it asap.

I found these great pattern papers at Treasured Memories in Edmonton and knew they would be perfect. Treasured Memories has an exclusive line of pattern papers that they manufacture and these are from that collection.

I started by mixing some Distress Grit-Paste with some black gesso. Then I applied this through the Tim Holtz bubble mini layering stencil. After this dried I added some stamping & paint splatters. I took my ink blending tool and applied some black Dylusions paint to the edge of the paper.

My layered focal point was made with some old sheet music, twine, stickers and paper scraps that I had in my stash.

The second page of my 2-page layout was created with pretty much the same techniques as I used on page 1 except there are more photos.

I love how these pages turned out and they will be a great way to remember
our amazing evening with Garth.

Let It Snow....Christmas Gift Tag

Tis the season for gift tags! 

I absolutely love designing and making these mini works of art.

This gift tag was attached to a pair of treat filled Christmas socks for a gift exchange party with a great group of friends. Yes, we had a Christmas Party this past weekend and it totally got my in mood for Christmas. 

Here is my finished tag ~

I started by cutting out my tag in kraft cardstock and my blue base from Ranger Distress cardstock.

I started with the blue distress cardstock - I applied embossing ink to one side of my chevron embossing folder & embossed the cardstock. Next I sprinkled Weathered White Antiquities Embossing Powder (Ranger Ink) over the embossed cardstock and tapped off the excess.

Before I heat embossed the powder I rubbed the powder off the raised parts and in various spots around the edge.

I distressed the edges and applied some Walnut Stain Distress Ink to 'dirty' it up a bit.

To create my focal image. I first started by cutting out the Dashing Deer die cut from kraft cardstock.

I used a sponge to apply white acrylic paint to the Halftone background stamp from Stampers Anonymous and laid the die cut down on the stamp.

I laid a piece of copy paper over the die and stamp and gently applied pressure. I love the random pattern it made on the die cut.

I made sure the paint was completely dry before covering the die cut with Gathered Twigs Distress Stain. (Sorry - I forgot to get a photo of this step)

For the tag base I applied Ground Espresso Distress Ink over the entire tag, spritzed some water and made sure to dry it completely with my heat gun.

I took some ephemera pieces from the Festive pack and added some Vintage Distress Collage Medium over all them. When this dried I applied some Crazing Medium as well. 

I applied some Crazing Medium to the die cut word 'SNOW' as well. I just love those tiny cracks!

I finished off my Dashing Deer die cut by adding some lines with my Dylusion Paint Pen. It really helped define the edge. I brown sequin for the deer's nose was perfect for a small bit of bling.

There you have it - my finished tag for a pair of treat filled Christmas socks.

Summer Of Creative Chemistry - Week 2

It's week 2 of the Summer of Creative Chemistry!

I was late starting week 1 because I thought I didn't need it. I did CC 101 & 102 already.

Why did I need to repeat it all over again? Well, let me tell you that revisiting these techniques has only opened my eyes to the new possibilities!

So if you are a Distress product fan and haven't decided on taking the course, it is well worth it!

Check out all the details here -

For week 2 we were challenge to use Distress Stains & stamping.

I decided to make a birthday card ~

I used Stormy Sky, Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feather & Picket Fence Distress Stains to create a marbled effect background on my card base.

I then used the Halftone stamp (from the Halftone & Rings stamp set) & Picket Fence Distress Stain to stamp on top of the marbled background. 

Here is a closeup of the Picket Fence stamped over the background.

I stamped the the word "Celebrate" and the Party Hat image on the card.

I stamped the party hat a second time on to some watrcolour paper and used my Distress markers to watercolour the image before cutting the hat out and adhering it to my card. I added some ribbon to complete the hat.

Mosaic Heart ~ My Tim Tag April 2016

I'm here to share my take on Tim's Tag Remix for this month. I wasn't sure about the whole mosaic thing but when I was able to get my hands on the Distress Paper Mosaic Kit. I decided to give it a go.

Check out Tim's blog for all the instructions here 

My first tag was a direct copy following Tim's. I really love the Distress Woodgrain cardstock - the fine details of the texture is amazing!

While I was waiting for my mosaic layers to dry I was thinking of some ideas for another tag ~ and I decided that I would try some hearts from the Sizzix Heartfelt die.

I liked how they turned out so I made tag base using cardstock covered in gesso then sprayed with Prima Color Bloom in Boysenberry.

I added some Ground Espresso Ink with my blending tool to the edges of my tag and it just made the boysenberry look so much richer.

I added another layer with the Ringer layering stencils from Tim Holtz. 

Its my new favourite stencil!

A few rub-ons, paper scraps and cheesecloth and my tag was complete!

Christmas Sweater Inspired Advent Calendar - Festive Project for Emerald Creek Design Team

It's the end of November and my thoughts are turning to all things Christmas.

Cards & gift tags to make, gifts to wrap, meals to plan and all that decorating!

What better way to get into the holiday spirit than to make & decorate a 25 Day Advent Calendar.

Each box is like a tiny piece of art and I love how this one turned out.

I was initially inspired by this package of paper from Carta Bella called Warm & Cozy. Isn't is dreamy! Then I decided to combine it with an 8x8 pad of Yuletide from Tim Holtz.

These advent calendars are handmade - my dad builds the wood box out of MDF and then I make the smaller boxes from chipboard. I have bought the advent calendars available on the market in the past but these are so much more sturdy.

I painted the outside of the box with a mix of bright red and burnt sienna acrylic paint - at about a 2:1 ratio. I didn't mix the paints completely as I wanted the brown of the burnt sienna to be visible as streaks throughout the red.

Each smaller box was painted with Peeled Paint Distress Paint on the outside and a wash of burnt sienna on the inside.

I then used the Holiday Knit Layering Stencil from Tim Holtz and Fired Brick Distress Ink to apply the design on all sides of the MDF box.

I then glued squares of the paper on the front of each box as well as lined the back and bottom sides of the boxes on the inside.

Once I found enough handles & drawers pulls and other bits & bobs it was time to start decorating.

I used the Alphabet thinlit die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix and a sheet of gold adhesive backed deco sheets from Tim Holtz Idea-ology. 

 I traced around the numbers with my hickory smoke distress marker just to add a bit of shadow.

I was so excited to finally use my snowflake charms from Emerald Creek Supplies. These metal alloy charms are gorgeous! I used alcohol inks in various shades of brown to give them a vintagy look.

Check out the Victoria Snowflake Charm & Mini Snowflake Charm.

I also used a Buckle Charm for a drawer pull. It was the perfect size and looked great after I used alcohol inks to add some colour.

I know I have said it before but I am in love with the Exclusive Line of embossing powders from Emerald Creek Crafts. This time I used the Soft Fallen Snow. I first used it on the words Let It Snow. I just love the texture and the tiny flecks of sparkle is perfect.

 I also used the Soft Fallen Snow on the Stacked Snowflakes - I first covered them with Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint and while it was still wet I sprinkled the embossing over it. I just love the look of it after the paint dried ans cracked. I finish it off I gently inked the edges of the snowflake with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I also used this embossing powder on a couple of scrap pieces of torn white cardstock.  This made a nice little 'snowdrift' for my Crazy Bird.

Here is my finished 25 day Advent Calendar - already to go for December 1st.

 For more Festive inspiration check out the projects from the rest of the Emerald Creek Design Team

Karon - Karon's Krafty Korner
Diana - missusgmoments
Cathy - Amethyst Dragonfly's Alcove 
Katelyn - A Creative Journey

Now that you are feeling festive head on over to the Emerald Creek Dares blog for the new Festive challenge. Share your Festive projects with us for a chance to win a $25 credit to the online store.

Thank you so much for dropping by my blog today!
I appreciate you taking the time and leaving a comment.

We're going to have a party!

Oh, yes...and what a party it will be.

A Bangers & Balls Engagement Party - celebrating the love of Simon the Swede and Jessica the Brit. Well, my sister is really Canadian with British ancestry......and Poutine & Balls just didn't sound right.

 

I offered up my crafty services and *ping* I got a message on Pinterest. From my sister.

This link in fact...Union Jack Mason Jar...asking me if could make centerpieces.

I checked out Linda's blog - It All Started With Paint and decided I was up for the challenge.

Linda did say in her blogpost that it wasn't easy and  and she was brutally honest in how long it took but in my enthusiasm I went full steam ahead. 

The Swedish flag was a piece of cake compared to the Union Jack and it was probably a good thing I didn't start with the Union Jack as I probably would have had a meltdown and not finished at all.

To paint 24 jars ~ 12 of each flag ~ it took me about 3 weeks. 

Three weeks and about 8000 metres of painters tape. And patience. 

Plenty of patience. 

 

Once the jars were done the fun part really began - my sister and her hubby-to-be sent me photos of themselves from babyhood to very recent. I paired photos together of them around the same age and printed them out on cream linen cardstock.

I then used the Big Ticket Die and Vintage Cabinet Card Die from Sizzix/Tim Holtz Alterations 

to frame each photo.

It was a fabulously inky time! I made a front and a back layer with a small dowel glued in between.

I used the following Stampers Anonymous sets from the Tim Holtz Collection to add interest on the frames ~ Here & There, CityScapes, Paris to London, London Sights & Correspondence.

 

I felt the jars needed a little something so off I went to make flowers with my Tattered Pinecone Die & Jumbo Pinecone Die from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. 

The Correspondence Paper Stash from Tim Holtz Ideology made lovely flowers for each jar.

So there you have it - 4 weeks of work and 24 completed jars all ready for the big party!

Thank you so much for visiting my blog today!

~~stay crafty~~