Category Archives: art journal

Art journal week 21 Hobbies

art journal, hobbies, ukstampers weekly challenge No. 21
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Finished another journal page: this one is about hobbies and had to include:

  • how many hobbies or what hobbies have you had over the years?
  • what is your earliest recollection of doing anything crafty?
  • include some kind of hand made embellishment

Wow – where do I start with this one – I have had a lot of hobbies and most of them were some kind of sport.  I dabbled in gymnastics, ballet and tennis as a youngster.  Athletics soon took over for quite a few years then motorcycle sidecar racing for a few years.  I then started athletics again just to keep fit and also had a go at judo and modern dance.  Next came weight training which I kept up for many years with a little dabble at wheelchair basketball. I have to watch what I am doing these days so I now consider my main hobbies to be gardening, cooking, reading and crafting.  My first recollections of crafting are making paper chains and pom-poms, rub-ons (transfers), toilet paper flowers, papier mache bowls and finger knitting.  There were loads more but I remember those in particular.

Card:  white card painted with green and red paint, bits of black and white too
Stamps: Tim Holtz mini muse
Other:  bottle cap, red UTEE, heart cookie cutter, glossy accents, dragonfly punch, Stencil The crafters workshop Circle Circle Dot Dot, white pen, gold pen, punchinella, crackle glaze

Art journal week 24 Wildlife

art journal, wildlife
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Two pages in two days, have I got my mojo back – let’s hope so?  Here is my page for week 24 on the ukstampers weekly challenge.  The prompt was Wildlife and you had to include:

  • do you like animals, do you have pets, what was the name of your first pet?
  • if you were an animal what would you be?
  • include some animal print on your page.

I couldn’t make up my mind about what animal I would rather be so I left that out and instead of including animal print I included animal prints – the faded mouse paw prints   (artistic license and all that!)
We have had many pets over the years and they include: tortoise, budgies, goldfish, dogs, cat, gerbils, rabbits, rats and dogs.  I loved them all and couldn’t contemplate not having some kind of pet and at the moment our dog is enough to cope with.  We also have plenty wildlife visitors to our garden.  The first pet I really remember is a cat called Sherry.  I used to dress her up as a Queen and sit her on a regal cushion and I sometimes would push her about in my toy pram which she didn’t seem to mind.
When I was young I would go out for walks in the meadows or woods and I was always bringing something back to either just  to show my mum or for her to ‘look after’.  This could be anything from baby frogs, voles, birds, sticklebacks, caterpillars, bees, bugs of all sorts.  Even dead things came back with me like sheep skulls, bird skeletons, snail shells, owl pellets and the like.  Boy was my mum thrilled!

Inks:  Stazon Jet black, Memento Tuxedo black
Card:  White card
Stamps:  Inkadinkado Morphic bugs and Patterned pets, SeeD’s Cute as a bug, Crafty secrets Mouse party, Joanna sheen JNM Meercats, Lavinia stamps silhouettes Bats, spider, web with twigs and damselflies, House mouse Mouse feet, RS tapestry Tiny frog and mayfly, Autumn leaves Silhouette blossoms
Other:  Acrylic paints Mustard, Sienna and Moss and dabber Snow cap, coloured pens, white and black journalling pens, That Special Touch honeycomb mask

Art journal week 23 Secrets

art journal, secrets

For week 23 on the ukstampers challenge the prompt was Secrets and you had to include:

  • can you keep a secret or how long have you kept a secret?
  • use some hidden journalling
  • stamp some hearts on your page

Edited:  I have only just noticed that I have made the masquerade mask upside down!! DOH!!   Hmm or have I?

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I started this page a few weeks ago and I can’t quite remember all the colours I used but here goes…

Inks:  Stampin up Mellow moss and Cameo coral, Distress ink Black soot, Black stazon
Card:  white card
Stamps:  Studio G small alphabet, Elusive images Diamond art, Heritage rubber stamps – lips, Free stamp from craft stamper mag – eyes from Visage, Non sequitur Grave tidings, tiny heart from Papertreyink Out on a limb
Other:  punchinella (stars and circles), rub-on arrow,  Tim Holtz tissue tape, acrylic paints, beads, Tiara stickles, white and black journalling pens, diamond glaze, gems, black ribbon
Template for the mask is from splitcoast stampers (I think).

Art journal week 19 Lists

art journal, uk stampers challenge 19. lists
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This page is for week 19 on the ukstampers weekly challenge and the prompt was Lists:

  • are you a list maker, do you need lists
  • include a list of some kind on your page
  • use some arrows on your page

That has to be a big yes for me as I am very much a list maker.  I like to break down big jobs that may look overwhelming at first into lots of smaller easier to manage things to do.  I then get great satisfaction as I score them out once accomplished.  I try to write them in a logical way for example I still write my online shopping lists by aisle that I used to go around the actual supermarket, or maybe write them in order of importance.  If I don’t write a list I will usually forget something.  Sometimes if I have written a list and then lost it or leave it behind I can at least picture the list in my head and still remember things that way.  I even have the post-it note gadget on my computer desktop with little reminders.
It isn’t just about remembering things but it can also be a good time-management strategy.

Card:  watercolour card
Stamps:  Tim Holtz chronicles alphabet
Other: acrylic paints, copic pen cadmium red, white and black pens, neon pencils

Art journal week 22 Random

art journal, random, ukstampers weekly challenge No. 22
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I am even doing my art journal pages a bit randomly at the moment.  This one is for week 22 of the ukstampers weekly challenge and the prompt is – Random and should include:

  • 5 random facts about you
  • 5 random stamps
  • a random embellishment that was lying about your desk

My 5 random facts are: 1. I love my new bed 2. I am not on facebook  3. I love opening new jars and tubes of things and throwing the old ones away  4. I laughed when I ran over Harry’s toes  as he hopped about in pain (he had bare feat and was looking for an ice pack for his sore elbow and I was helping him but got too close to his toes with my wheelchair), and 5. I have hazel eyes.
My random stamps are: a mermaid (newest stamp still on my desk), silhouette plants, Eastern style patterned leaf, small maple leaf (not put away from my last card) and numbers (up the right-hand side in teal embossed in clear sparkle, but it didn’t stamp very well on the textured surface).  My embellishment is a punched tab with a piece of faux dichroic glass.  I have a small box next to my desk where I chuck things that I have got out to use on a project but weren’t quite right and they stay in the box  until I have a big tidy-up.  I didn’t wait for the paints to dry – I used my heat gun until they bubbled up then heated again until the bubbles burst into craters to give loads of texture.  Using tissue paper to stamp on, colour in then apply using mod podge also gives more texture.

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo black, Distress ink Worn lipstick, Stampin up Teal
Card:  watercolour paper which had been sprayed randomly from another project with Aqua lagoon Glimmer mist
Stamps:  Stampotique Smumauha by Daniel Torrente, Stampin up Just believe (silhouette plants), Tim Holtz Fairytale frenzy (numbers), Non Sequitur Samurai (small maple leaf), Eastern style leaf (unknown make)
Other:  Distress crackle paint Tarnished brass, Acrylic paint Ballet pink, Adirondack dauber Snowy cap, Distress stickles Worn lipstick and Broken china, Punched tab, small piece of faux dichroic glass, copics to colour, tissue paper, Mod podge, clear sparkle embossing powder, black and white pens.

P.S. don’t ask your partner to give you 5 random facts about you as it will only cause an argument!

Art journal week 20 Food

art journal, food, uk stampers challenge 20
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This one was done in a bit of a hurry.  It is week 20 of the ukstampers weekly challenge and the prompt is food:

  • what is your favourite food and why – does it trigger memories (choc does not count)
  • what is your food hell/has it traumatised you?
  • include a recipe on your page

One little page is not enough to get in what I would like to say about food (I am a bit of a foodie) so I will keep this to the bare minimum.
I don’t really remember cooking with my grannies but I have always cooked with my mum, especially baking and having to fight my brothers to be the one to lick the spoon.
I will try most food items but still haven’t plucked up the courage to try mussels and the like and I will not try chicken feet.  Cheese has to be a definite favourite although not goat’s cheese and really good fresh coffee is a must.  I have always enjoyed fried egg rolls and fresh home made bread goes without saying.  Dauphinoise potatoes are my favourite way of cooking potatoes.  My food hell is flowery potatoes as I find them difficult to swallow and I have always been told to leave a clean plate especially in someone else’s house but I usually have to leave these. The recipe I have included is for a very simple rice pudding – it is so easy and by the time it comes out of the oven the milk has evaporated to leave it nice and creamy.  The image is from Karen’s whimsy.

Inks:  Distress inks Tumbled glass, Bundled sage and Scattered straw, Memento Tuxedo black
Card: white card, black card
Stamps:  Stampin up Something yummy, Marianne design Eline’s Huis Cross-stitch (leafy flourish)
Other: coloured pens, white and black pens, black half pearls

Art journal week 18 Domestic Goddess

art journal, domestic goddess, ukstampers weekly challenge No. 18
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Week 18 for the ukstampers art journal page challenges prompt is Domestic Goddess:

  • are you a domestic goddess – if not – what are you?
  • include some stamped or painted wings
  • include a figure on your page

The figure I have includes is part of a napkin (don’t know who the artist is but it is a Born to shop brand) and just for the record I don’t drink wine but I do use it  in cooking!
I love cooking and entertaining and I am not too bad at it. I do loads of housework but I like our to house to look like a home and not like a hotel so it is never perfect.  Therefore I would say I am definitely domestic but most definitely not a goddess.

Inks:  Black Stazon, Distress inks Wild honey and Dried marigold, Versamark with opaque white embossing powder
Card:  white card, acetate,
Stamps:  Stampin up Out of the box (cupcake), SeeD stamps Domestic Goddess, dragonfly wings on acetate behind the cupcake (unknown)
Other:  Napkin, acrylic paints white Prussian blue and gamboge, sequin waste, small bit patterned paper

Art journal week 17 Celebration

art journal, uk stampers challenge week 17
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Had a nice play today with some paint and crayons for this art journal page for ukstampers weekly challenge.  The prompt for week 17 is celebration, to include:

  • one special event that you have celebrated
  • the letters R.S.V.P on your page
  • use some sparkle somewhere on your page

I didn’t include one special event, I mean how does one choose from so many?
Celebrations are so much better when they are shared and my doodles around the border read; sharing, music, friends, good food, family and drink.  For the sparkle I added glitter glue and there is mica in the spray mist.

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo black
Card:  watercolour paper
Stamps:  Stampin up Cheer & wishes and the word celebrate, Inkadinkado Hello hummingbird, Delish Lush treats
Other:  Stickles lime and yellow, bleach to remove some colour, white wax crayon, watercolour crayons, copic pens, black pen, Cosmic shimmer mist Aqua lagoon.

First of all I stamped the word celebrate and then doodled the other words around the border.  I then stamped the central words and hand wrote some too.  Then I scribbled the white crayon over the black writing and doodles (to act as a resist).  Using the watercolour crayons I coloured the border and used an aqua brush to blend the colours together.  I then stamped the humming bird and other elements in.  I sprayed it lightly with water first then with the mica mist while masking the border roughly.  Using a piece of parchment I ironed the page so the wax would melt and the pale paper would show up.  Well that didn’t work out quite as well as it could have so I used a yellow copic pen to brighten a few of these parts up.  I then lifted some of the colur from the stamped images (which would have been much easier if I hadn’t ironed it first).  Once lightened I could then colour them in and I used copic pens for this.  I highlighted some areas with the stickles.  In real life the colour of the blue area is more aqua and the yellows are brighter.

Art journal week 16 – television

art journal, TV, ukstampers weekly challenge No. 16
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I haven’t exactly done these in order so this is week 16 and I will get around to week 15 at some point.
Week 16 in the ukstampers weekly challenge is all about television.  Things to include:

  • do you own a TV, more than one? What is your first memory of television?
  • what’s your favourite programme?
  • use a TV listing page as part of your background

My first memories of TV were black and white images and the testcard that was showing when there were there were no programmes on.  I think we only has 2 stations back then.  I remember when the testcard F came on in colour with Carole Hersee with her clown doll called Bubbles.  My gran used to keep the TV in a roll-top cabinet which I can just about remember but it is just a vague memory now, it also had side doors.  ‘Watch with mother’ was one of my early favourites with ‘Pogles wood’.  I do remember always having to fiddle with the indoor aerial and every now and then give the TV a sharp thump to get rid of the snowy interference.  When there was a good film on or good comedy show on the whole family would watch it together and pass round a bag of sweets.  My gran had a wee dog called Scottie who would always sit in front of the telly (not the roll-top one) waiting for ‘Crossroads’ to come on.  I can’t say I have a favourite programme these days but I do like a wide variety – a bit like my music taste really.

Inks:  Stampin up Soft suede
Card: ivory card, copy paper, page from local paper TV page
Stamps:  Tim Holtz (stamper anonymous)Mini muse, LLB Venaissance, Tardis (unknown), Studio G alphabet and small flower bracket
Other:  photo of Scottie in front of the telly printed onto copy paper, coloured pens, emulsion paint pink, blue, cream, pale green, drawn aerial and doodles

Art journal week 14 Music

art journal, ukstampers weekly challenge No. 14
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Today I decided to play first and do the housework afterwards to make sure I could catch up on my art journal pages for the ukstampers weekly challenge.  This page is for week 14 and the prompt was music –  to include:

  • what was the first record you bought
  • what would be in your top 5
  • use sheet music or stamp in your background

As I recall my first single I bought was Wizzard “Are you ready to rock” but it was the B side I liked the best and I would bop around the house to it.  I have still got that single but have lost the sleeve as I liked to keep my records safe in these cardboard sleeves.
My music taste is varied and it depends entirely on my mood to what I will like to listen to.
While making this journal page I was listening to the soundtrack to Amelie.
For my top 5 this week would be : Clannad, Pink floyd, KT Tunstall, Peatbog Faeries, Yann Tierson but I couldn’t leave out the Scorpions, Neil Young, Capercaillie, Bob Dylan……..too many to mention.

Inks:  Memento Tuxedo black, Adirondack Red pepper
Card:  ivory textured card, sheet music from an old book
Stamps:  Tim Holtz Chronicles alphabet, Inkadinkado Rock star
Other:  acrylic paint various, white pen, black pen, red pen