A Birthday Gift for a VERY SPECIAL Lady........

Evening all,

LOL I am still here, honest. I'm just pottering away in my own time at the moment rather than doing any challenges, which will more than likely continue for the rest of the year hee hee.

My apologies if I don't blog hop so much either, I only get on my lap-top for a short time in the early evening at the best of times!!!

Anyhoo, I made this for my fab big sister Karen (me being the 'pesky' one ha ha ha) for her recent birthday. It is a junk/smash journal made from 12x12 scrapbook papers. The cover is made from a large cereal packet..................

........this was covered with some wrapping paper then painted, stenciled and doodled on until I was happy.

The internal signatures, 3 in total, are 12x12 papers folded in half and stitched in using a 5 hole pamphlet stitch down the middle. I then had a fiddle and put in the 'X' stitches at the top and bottom to anchor the pages.
The papers I used were single sided and were glued together for stability and edged with various washi tapes. Some pages have pockets for tags and some have additional tip-ins for journaling on. The inside covers have vellum pockets too for some extra storage hee hee........

Hee hee hee, I filled the pockets with various bits of arty/crafty fun, either made by me or pilfered from my stash. I decorated the fronts of the tag inserts too, leaving the backs free for journaling.

I used some of my own hand-made stencils, Tando stencils, Prima stamps and various other stamps from my stash throughout the journal.

Hopefully Karen will have as much fun playing with it as I did making it.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to.

Mahoosive hugs to you all

Dawn x x x x 

Stamp play........

Hi folks,

quick post with a journal page (A4 moleskine sketchbook) done to have a play with some new stamps........

Stamps used - All texture stamps by Finnibair (Prima), Lynne Perrella's Calligraphy Robe, Stampers Anonymous Classic Set 3.

Other products - Tim Holtz tissue tape, Gold embossing powder, various acrylic paints, patterned vellum, text stencil.

Always a bonus when you get an additional background from left-over paint ha ha ha........

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, I'm always very touched and grateful if you do.......

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Breaking in.................

................a new journal!!!!!!

Hmm, I was ever so naughty and treated myself to an A4 Moleskine sketchbook. Ha ha ha I thought £12.00 with free p&p was a pretty good deal considering they usually retail between £19.00 and £25.00, so I had a 'what the heck' moment and went for it!!!!!!!!

I can understand why they are favoured by so many now, they feel wonderful, are superbly made (sewn signatures too whoop whoop), and the paper is very nice to play with too. I don't think the paper would stand up to too much abuse and dye ink/promarkers will bleed through if you do not slap on a coat of gesso but I have to say that I love it already.

Here is my 'breaking in' spread........

I started by literally winging some paint at it to get over the blank page/new book syndrome ha ha ha. I then stamped all over the spread with various stamps from my stash, using coffee and sepia archival ink.  The next step was to add another coat of paint which I added some additional texture to using a couple of grout/adhesive combs. The next pic shows this in a little more detail........

........you can just see the grid patterns in the paint. I defined this a little more by sponging some raspberry adirondack over the surface using some cut and dry foam.

Next came my favourite bit, building up layers by applying paint using various stencils, my fingers, bottle tops and old plastic cards.

The final stage was the addition of the stenciled/masked figures and various stamped sentiments, some directional tags, strips of washi tape, and doodling.

These scans show a little more detail........

Stencils/masks are a mix of Tando Creative, TCW and Tim Holtz.
Acrylic paints from Ranger, Decoart and Pebeo.
Stamps - heck, I can't remember them all and some are un-named anyways!!!!!!!

Anyhoo, on a final note I have to tell you this story!!!! My delight of a 2yr old son decided to shove a sweet up his nose on Sunday!!!! I was all prepared for a trip to A&E to get it extracted as after viewing up his nose with a torch (ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!!) I could see it was way beyond my reach!! Well, after a few more checks while organising my daughter too I could see that it was melting and Max had lovely frothy green sherbety snot for the next couple of hours as it fully dissolved!!! Needless to say I don't think he will be doing it again in a hurry as it did sting a little until it had gone. BOYS HUH!!!!!!!!

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts mean the world you know.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Fun, fun, fun........

Evening all,

I was the lucky recipient of a fantastic swap package recently, courtesy of the lovely Terrie over at Creative Explorer - a mahoosive envelope stuffed to the hilt with beautiful patterned papers, gelli prints, textured paper, vintage pages, wood veneer, lol I would be here all night if I carried on!!!!!!!!

Anyhoo, I fished out a few bits that caught my eye and had a play in my large altered book journal, one sheet had the most amazing tribal/ethnic animals and patterns on it and I managed to get 2 single spreads from it by using every scrap of it, here you go........

I started by sticking patterned paper down for my background, this was muted by brayering on some white acrylic paint. The animals were very carefully fussy cut and stuck down to create my 'totem' pole. I did a quick border around the edge of the page and the animals with a black copic brush marker and white gel pen.

I wanted to do something with the beautiful patterned pieces that were left after cutting out the animals, this is what I came up with........

Tee hee, a quick painty background to start with!! I had originally planned on creating some kind of border with the patterned pieces but as I was playing with the layout this tree appeared on my page, a serendipitous moment methinks!! The leaves are courtesy of a JOFY stamp set from Paperartsy.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are much appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

A seahorse for BJ and Elizabeth........

Awe,

thanks for the great suggestions BJ, Elizabeth and Tracey, sorry Tracey though I saw yours too late!!!!!! Hmm, challenge for another day methinks!!

After yesterdays post with the mermaid I had asked for some ideas for the adjoining page, 'seahorse' came in first last night tee hee, here you go........

A simple painty background, stamped seahorses (Stampendous) and my hand-drawn seahorse (adapted from a variety of photos lol), which has been watercoloured using distress inks.

Great fun, tee hee hee.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts mean a lot.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Mermaid magic........

Ha ha ha ha ha,

my gorgeous 6yr old daughter, Millie, challenged me to draw a mermaid in my journal - lol how could I refuse!!!!!!!!

We have been playing with an Usborne children's drawing book which teaches you to draw mermaids and fairies (from a childs' perspective of course) and we have been having soooooooo much fun.

Here is my take on it, a single side in my large altered book journal............

Childlike maybe (lol I kept to my challenge brief!!) but so very liberating!

Products used were Decoart Americana and craft acrylic, pebeo iridescent acrylic, a multitude of glittery gel pens, a TCW stencil, and seaweed stamps from a 'Little Big Tree' set.

Hmm, what to do on the adjoining page now!!??

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Technique play........

Afternoon all,

ha ha ha most of my journal pages start off as backgrounds of left-over paint from more specific projects - lol I LOATHE wasting paint!!!
Anyhoo, I had one in my large altered book journal with a real miss match of colours that I thought would be perfect to use for some technique trials. Dina Wakley very clearly explains a paint removal technique in her fab book (Art Journal Freedom) that I have been wanting to try - all you need to do is remove paint through a stencil using a baby wipe in order to reveal the layers underneath. If I remember rightly Dina takes this further than I did by reapplying the removed paint elsewhere on the page - I didn't do this!!!!!!!!

Here you go, clean and simple fun........

I simply covered my whole spread with paint and removed it through a stencil using a baby wipe - fun fun fun!! It revealed the colours underneath beautifully. Lol I got a little carried away in places, and I think my wipe was too wet, as I took off some of the layer underneath but I still like it.

The stencils I used for the paint removal technique were Tando's random circles and tyre tread (designed by Andy Skinner), nice open designs to work with as I don't think this would be so successful with a smaller, more intricate design??!!

The large black chevron around the edge was created using a template/stencil I made myself from some acetate, the stamp is a JOFY mini from Paperartsy.  Lots of doodling and colouring using a variety of gel pens and markers ensued and I added a computer generated quote for good measure.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always greatly appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x 

Playing again................

Evening all,

I'm soooooooo lucky that my 2 gorgeous tiddlies play so well together and that I managed to sneak some play time myself!!!!!!!!

Here is another page from my large altered book journal - lots of layers (ha ha ha, I lost count!!) of inky painty fun. No real purpose to the page either other than the total enjoyment of the process - happy days!!

I started by collaging some scraps I had lying around in the kitchen and paper recycling box (naughty mummy sneaked some of Millie's birthday wrapping paper, tut tut!!), lots of layers followed before I added some lettering, doodling and a stamped image. The stamp used is a Prima mixed media doll by Julie Nutting, one of my faves at the moment - this incarnation is the mask that I had used for a previous journal page, I liked it so much that I kept it back to use on another page as she looks just like my hands do when I have been crafting!! I did tart her dress up with some watercolours though!

Lots of space for some journaling when I feel like it too - bonus!!

Ha ha ha ha ha, the above pic shows the 'assault course' my lovelies had built and been playing with while I was sneaking some crafty time. Tee hee you can just see Max poking out of the tunnel at the top of the pic and Millie balancing on some cushions. Much fun and laughter as you can probably imagine, and yes I did have a go!!

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always appreciated.

Huge hugs 

Dawn x 

Journal page........

Evening all,

phew it's hot!! Can't complain after that long old cold winter we had hey!!

Here is another page from my large altered book journal. This was the first one in the book (always the hardest I think!!) so I just let rip with some stencils, distress ink and doodling........

Hmm, after looking back over a load of my old pages, I have just noticed I seem to have a 'thing' for diagonal symmetry!! Do you see recurrent patterns/themes in your own pages??

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts are always greatly appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Journal page........

Afternoon all,

here is another spread from my large altered book journal, lots of fun again tee hee........

A simple painty, stencilled and stamped background with lots of doodling using a stabilo all pencil.

A huge thank-you to the lovely Gez for the collage images, ha ha ha I found them again under a pile of craft stuff, thought I'd lost them - Phew!! What a fab excuse to have a play at the time too!!!!

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like too, your time and thoughts are much appreciated.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

Journal play........

Evening all,

here is another spread from my large, old book journal........

Very much inspired by Dina Wakley's new book - Art Journal Freedom (lol I would highly recommend!!).

Materials used - acrylic ink, black acrylic, black copic brush pen, white gel pen, various stencils, gesso and an image from an old magazine (painted black to create the silhouette).

Ooh nearly forgot!! The background was done using acrylic ink. I primed the pages with gesso first, made sure this was dry, spritzed with water, dropped on acrylic ink randomley, squished the pages together and peeled them back carefully and quickly (if that makes sense lol). I have found that spritzing with water first helps the inks flow more successfully. The inks once dried had left a fab border shape, which I first outlined with a fine-liner before colouring the rest of the space with a copic brush marker for speed!!!!!!!!

Ha ha ha, my journalling may seem very contradictory (if you can read it??) The main black bit refers to following your heart but personally I have found that mine tends to lead me in the wrong directions even when my gut is screaming at me not to listen to it!! The other main journaling is in white on the sillhouette, the rest is just ridiculously random, just like me!!!!! I think this page was very much me giving myself a damned good 'talking to'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts mean an awful lot to me.

Huge hugs

Dawn x

How Much Fun Can You Have With Three Bits of Paper.............................????????

LOTS!!!!!!

Evening All,

I wanted to share this mini-journal with you all. I had SOOOOOOO much fun making it but I will apologise now as this is a little photo heavy!!

My inspirations for this came from Valerie Sjodin's stunning, shaped edge, hand bound journals and Teesha Moore's fab youtube tutorial for a hand bound journal, please pop on over via the links included if you fancy a peek too.

I have adapted my mini-journal to fit my supplies and make it my own........

Front cover

Back cover

Internal pages

Full cover spread

Ha ha ha, 3 sheets of A4 160gsm paper, folded, trimmed, painted, stamped, stenciled, stamped again, embellished (slightly!!), doodled, bound together with a simple 3 hole pamphlet stitch and secured with a magnetic clasp.

Stamp credits go to - Paperartsy, Lynne Perella (Acey Deucey and Stampington), Stampotique, Lindsay Mason (DooLallyPip), Bo Bunny, Lost Coast Designs, Prima and various others from my stash that I sadly couldn't identify!!

The 'colour pop' embellishments were made by colouring an old book page with distress ink, stamping the images I had chosen, cutting them out and then embossing them with a single coat of clear powder - I love how distress ink intensifies in colour by doing this.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, your time and thoughts mean a lot.

Huge hugs

Dawn

Colour fix................

Hi all,

hmm please come back sun!! It's very grey and thundery here today with some heavy downpours this morning!! I'm not complaining really lol, the weather was kind to us for the school run and its not cold, always a bonus hey!!!!!!!!

I have this old book that I'm using as a journal and wanted to start sharing some of it. It has been a real challenge and totally out of my comfort zone as a double page spread in this book is approximately A3 size - MUCH larger than I am used to but SOOOOOOOOOOOO much fun!!!!!!!!

Ha ha ha between 6-7 layers of paint, stamping, stencilling and doodling - happy days.

Stencils - Tando Creative and TCW.
Stamps - Kars, Kaisercraft and Prima.

Many thanks for popping by and leaving a comment if you feel you would like to, always greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

Huge huggles

Dawn x